I’ve been so touched by all the kind thoughts and words that everyone has sent to me since I spoke about my illness here. A few of you decided to send cards and gifts, too, which just blows me away! I never expected such an outpouring of camaraderie and kindness, and for that, I thank each and every one of you.
These adorable wooden koala and kangaroo buttons are from Sandra in Australia, through whose quest for instructions on the KnipMode twist top, I discovered the pattern myself!
She got them from this local shop, and I really must find the perfect place to use these as an accent!
Then I got a mysterious package in the post with a card from Cidell!
She posted about this Chinese-themed sewing kit a couple weeks ago and I commented on how I’d had it on my various birthday and Christmas lists for a few years but never quite received it! And then it arrived out of the blue! 😀
It’s really adorable, and completely functional, too. It’s pretty much got everything I need to work on projects on the go, plus enough room to add a spool of thread in the colour of whatever I’m working on, and the tin is so cute I just love bringing it out in public! (The needles came in a dial-a-needle case that refused to twist, so hence why they’re organised on fabric scraps in the photo above!). I used to have to pick out the tools I needed from my sewing room whenever I went to my various craft nights or brought projects to the boat’s back cabin to work on in the evenings, so having a second copy of stuff all together in one box has been really very handy.
You can buy them here (Use the code “CRUNCH” for 20% off this week, too!), or see the entire range of kits here.
There’s good news on the bone marrow donor front – I’ve been told they’ve found five broad matches for me so now those five will go to have more sensitive tests done to try and see which one or two are the absolute closest to me as possible. My brother was only a half-match, though, so he’s disappointed he won’t be getting a free flight to London any time soon! As such, it looks like the transplant will be pushed back to later in April, which means I’ll get to enjoy Easter in relative freedom, and also give me more time to sew up some more projects before then (hooray!).
It’s still a hazy, formative idea at this point, but there may be a way for some of you to contribute to my fight against hospital boredom. When I was little, there were some kids that donated little wrapped toys and colouring books and stuff so I had something to open every day I was in hospital, and I’m thinking a grown up version of this would be nice, especially since I can expect to be in for 6 weeks (that’s, umm, 42 days, ick!) with the high possibility of being admitted a few times after the transplant, too. I do not want anyone to spend much money on this – it’s a request for fun activities, not cash!
Possible ideas might include:
- Sending a fashion/gossip magazine you subscribe to anyway, and writing snarky comments in it as you read through
- Cutting out softie shapes from scrap fabric along with instructions on how to assemble
- Squares of old wrapping paper and origami instructions
- An embroidery or cross stitch drawing with lengths of floss
- Funny stories of something that happened to you, with drawings (the less artistic, the funnier!)
- Some beads and wire to make a bracelet
- Scrap fabric shapes and quilting instructions
- Papercraft put-togethers like those from the 25 Project
- A mix cd of your favourite embarrassing songs from high school
- A copy of a favourite novel off Amazon UK Marketplace (most older paperbacks go for like 1p + shipping these days) and a note about why you love it or at what point in your life you read it
But I’m sure you can come up with better ideas! I’m foreseeing having a box with all the little wrapped activities inside, and pick one of of the box each day, and hopefully blog about these on the days when I’m feeling stronger.
I’ll gather together the specifics of where to send stuff closer to the time when I know my hospital dates, but you can get thinking in the meantime. I’ll be restricted to handsewing (no knitting or crocheting please), but I will have tv and wifi (with limited bandwith so no sucking down YouTube all day) in my room. As far as I know, the only restrictions I have are 1) No flowers, and 2) Nothing from anyone who has even the slightest cough or cold or runny nose, as I’ll have no immune system and could catch germs off anything you pack…
I’ve been reluctant to post about this idea of mine as I’m a bit afraid that it’ll come across as a big selfish “Send me gifts!” grab, which isn’t what I mean at all! But so many people are asking how they can help, or that they’re happy to email me every day to keep me company that I wanted to do something more organised that won’t tax any few people in particular. And of course, if any Londoners want to travel down to Denmark Hill, I am allowed visitors, two at a time (and no sickies!)…