Tag: illness

From my sick bed

14_10_toes

I’d only been back at work for about five minutes after my holiday when I came down with The Plague – otherwise known as the stinking cold that I catch every year when 3,500 new students arrive at the University. Usually my hyperactive immune system knocks me down flat for a couple of days, during which I stay in bed, and then I emerge feeling sorry for myself but generally well enough to go back to work. This time I was off work for a week, mostly because I had a cough but no voice, and was therefore pretty useless on a telephone and a reception desk. Once that week was over I assumed I’d be fine, but no. I went to see the doctor yesterday (about something unrelated, as it happened), and she immediately gave me a note for another week off work.

I’ve been spending a fair few nights awake, propped up on the sofa, to try and avoid keeping Paul awake with my terrible coughing. This has resulted in quite a lot of knitting being done, including learning a new technique. This nightmarish tangled mess, for which I do not currently have enough swear words, is two socks at the same time, on two circular needles. It only took me two goes to cast them both on the right way round, and I only knitted with the wrong needle (thereby finding myself trapped in an impossible loop) three or four times, so I think I’m getting the hang of it now. The toes are done, and I’m knitting my way slowly up the feet. (Very slowly, as these are for Paul, who has Very Big Feet.) I’m fairly certain I’m spending more time untangling the two balls of yarn than I am actually knitting, which is extremely frustrating, and makes the whole process seem very slow.

The yarn, by the way, is the “Sulley” colour way of Superwash sock from Woolly Wonders. It was supposed to be for me, but for the first time ever, Paul saw it in my knitting bag and quietly asked me whether it might turn into a pair of socks for him. Despite his size twelves, there was no way I could refuse… and I do have two other fantastically bright skeins (Carnival and Rainbow Sparkle) to knit socks for myself!

14_10_bottles

I’ve also been doing  a few bits and bobs for the new incarnation of Mr & Mrs Magpie’s Inexplicable Emporium. They’re explained (sort of) in the first blog post, and will be available in the shop as soon as the set is complete.

I have to confess to feeling horribly guilty about doing any kind of making while I’m off sick from my Proper Job. The thing is though, there are times when I’m genuinely not well enough to leave the house by 8am, speak to people all day, answer the telephone, concentrate on booking forms and looking after visitors… but I am well enough to sit at a table and quietly make something. (Well, I say quietly, but you haven’t heard this cough!) At home I can get up when I feel like it (except for Paul leaving to drive to a meeting at some ungodly hour this morning), I don’t have to speak to anyone, so my cough is slowly getting better, and if I want to pack everything away and go for a nap half way through the day, nobody will mind! If it was possible for me to do my Proper Job from home I’d be doing just that, but moving the museum’s reception desk to my house doesn’t seem terribly convenient. So, I’m mooching about, doing everything very slowly, and achieving what I can as I try to look after myself.

Desire To Fly from R&A Collaborations on Vimeo.

I’ve been reading a lot of blogs while I’ve been tucked up cosily on the sofa, looking in particular for artists who work with magic and fantasy and character. There are a whole bunch of people I could list (Mister Finch, The Pale Rook, and Amanda Louise Spayd, for a start), but I’ve been particularly enjoying the fairies of Samantha Bryan. I love the fact that she imagines a busy working life for her fairies – and then provides them with everything they might need to be successful. Absolutely wonderful!

There’s a bit of character-related work going on behind the scenes here, although it’s currently very firmly in the “thinking about it” stage. Lots of notes and lots of ideas, but absolutely nothing to show for it just yet. It’s related to the Emporium, in that I’m hoping to be able to bring Mr & Mrs Magpie to life a little bit… but it’s an ambitious project, so it’s sitting quietly in the background for now. We’ll see how it goes.

Going to work in my nightie

Broderie anglais dress

Anybodywho follows me on Facebook will be aware that a) we’re having a heatwave in the UK, and b) I’m not enjoying it. (Please note: this may be an understatement.)

I’m really not cut out for existing in hot weather, never mind still having to go to work and actually Do Things on a daily basis. My current medication makes me light sensitive, which means I burn even more easily than usual, and my eyes hurt. I also overheat easily, which means I sweat a lot (lovely!), which means I’m now on my summer diet supplement of disgusting electrolyte drink sachets, as it’s physically impossible to drink enough fluids to replace what I’m losing in the heat. Not Fun.

So, in order to alleviate the horror of the summer just a little bit, I decided to make myself a couple of Emergency Dresses. They’re both from the same pattern, one I drafted a couple of years ago. I wear the black linen version all the time, so a white one seemed like a good idea.

White linen dress

The one at the top is white cotton broderie anglais, with multi-coloured embroidery. It’s lined down to the knees with plain white polycotton, and I’ll probably wear a pair of bloomers underneath too, to combat horrible sweaty legs. (Classy!) I am slightly concerned that it looks rather like a nightie, especially since I added some matching rainbow coloured broderie anglais trim to the bottom. (It has the cutest little stars on it! Not as awesome as the pears, but still pretty.) I might add some big patch pockets onto the front, to make it look more like a dress than a nightgown. But I think with a nice belt, it doesn’t look too much as though I’ve accidentally gone sleepwalking.

The plain white one is linen. You can’t really tell from this picture, but I definitely should have lined it. And I didn’t. The black one isn’t lined, and the linen is a thicker fabric than the broderie anglais, and of course doesn’t have holes all over it. However it is a looser weave, and the light does pass through it rather well. I think this one might end up as a layering dress rather than being worn on its own. Sadly that means it probably won’t come out of my wardrobe until the weather starts getting a bit colder again. (Can’t wait!) Unless of course, I decide to just wear it as a nightie, on the days when I’m too ill to do anything other than pootle gently around the house. A pretty lounging dress might be quite a nice thing to have, come to think of it.

Fuzzy Feet

Dilemma of the day:

My feet have pins and needles and a burning sensation, which makes it quite difficult to walk without a walking stick.

My hands also have pins and needles and a burning sensation, which makes it quite difficult to hold a walking stick.

Tricky business.

My list of ridiculous and frustrating symptoms is getting longer and more annoying as the months go on. I do have an appointment with my doctor next week, but I don’t honestly expect anything to come of it. (Although I’m hoping for a referral to a rheumatologist, who can at least arrange for some tests I haven’t had already.)

Hey ho.

At least it’s a bit easier to put up with having very uncomfortable feet when you get to put them inside some lovely comfortable shoes. Fairysteps Holly, in case you were wondering. I wear mine with the ribbons around the ankle rather than across the instep.

Just as well I sold my entire shoe collection in order to buy these, really. I can’t imagine I’d have been able to wear a single pair of my old shoes right now!