a low-level yomp in a glorious landscape
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All articles filed in stroke
holding pattern
just popping in to say hi
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“you’d never know”
what not to say to someone who has had a stroke
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slowdown
Hello! how are you all doing? My migraines have been of the annoyingly recurrent / chronic kind of late, and I’ve been having to take things very easy – especially over the past week or so, during which my vision has been very skewy and I’ve had to limit my screen time. Not being glued…
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a coat for falling
Good morning! Are there garments in your wardrobes from which a particular event or association is difficult to shake? I have friends, for example, who after wearing a certain dress at a funeral, have found that putting it on again becomes difficult. I’m a particularly garment-attached person, and there’s perhaps no garment to which I’m…
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protective measures
Good morning, how are you all doing? Tom really enjoyed all of your wonderful (and hugely helpful) responses to yesterday’s post – and I suspect you’ll see him following up many of these paper folding leads quite soon. . . . It’s rather blustery and rainy here today (though the weather is less severe than…
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from scratch
Sometimes there is nothing better than being a beginner: nothing better than learning something new, completely from scratch. To explain: back in September, I had the pleasure of spending some time in the studio of weaver Belinda Rose, as part of my residency with Applied Arts Scotland (which involves developing a wonderful project with some…
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in mind
Hello, it’s Kate here. I know many of you have been keeping me in mind. Thank you so much. I’m a little better now, so I felt I should let you know what’s been happening. For the past year, I’ve been really struggling with my bipolar. Most of you probably had no idea I had…
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positive change
When I look back on this year, one of the most interesting things for me personally has been the number of small changes that have occurred in recent months. When one considers such changes individually they don’t seem like much – but when I think of them collectively, their impact on me has really been…
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to err is human
I’m really looking forward to our new knitting-related releases, but wanted to say a few quick words before they begin (yes, it’s tomorrow!) about Handywoman. I’ve had so many wonderful responses to the book – from those in their own situations of chronic ill-health or disability, from those who understand exactly what I’m saying about…
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Etac and me
One of Handywoman’s central themes is the importance of tools and made-things in everyday life. I have a different, and much more nuanced, understanding of well-designed tools and objects post-stroke simply because my own physical deficits forced me to notice, and to reflect upon, how such objects addressed (or often failed to address) my body…
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Handywoman is published!
Just thought I’d drop in to let you know that Handywoman has now been published and that all pre-ordered copies have been shipped. Handywoman was expertly printed at Bell and Bain Glasgow . . . from where it crossed the river, and travelled just a few miles to our warehouse in Clydebank. . . would…
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a question of proportion
I’m working on new designs and have found myself musing upon questions of proportion. (please don’t laugh at my shoddy sketching. I am useless with a pencil and Fashionary is a genuine godsend for me!) It recently occurred to me just how much, over the past twelve months or so, I have been enjoying experimenting…
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Swimming in Carbeth Loch
The weather has been unusually hot, so I decided to go swimming in Carbeth Loch. You may remember that I wrote a couple of years ago about how hard it was for me to, um, take the plunge and begin swimming in a pool again. Since then, I’ve done a lot of pool swimming and…
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back here
When something really major happens in your life there is always a before and after. And when that something is a massive transformation that alters your body and identity, when that something is a stroke that suddenly changes you from an able-bodied person to someone who will spend the rest of her life managing the…
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then and now
Last week I was in a bookshop in Glasgow, perusing the outdoor bookshelves, and became absorbed in a tome about the West Highland Way. “Is this you getting ready, then?” asked a friendly assistant, assuming I was preparing myself for a 96 mile walk. “No,” I replied, “I actually walked the West Highland Way back…
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KDD & Co 