Lots to report.

Firstly, I had a brilliant day last Thursday with Betsan of Stitchlinks. We talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and I felt an incredible affinity with her project and ideas, and I’m really excited about what we may do together in the future! As an ex physiotherapist Betsan has a lot of insight into the world of disability, chronic illness and ongoing pain. What impressed me, though, was her straightforward and comprehensive understanding of the social problems associated with chronic health problems. We talked alot about how self-confidence can be damaged through the medical system, how self-esteem can be lost when energy levels drop. She loves the fun element of The Knitted Walking Stick Cosy Competition and understands completely how customisation links to dignity, self-esteem etc.

So meeting her was great and we talked about how we might work together in the future for the S’n’B day in London, how I might write up the knitted walking stick cosy pattern for beginner knitters, and other, health-related knitting projects we could include in some kind of stitchlinks/Missability knitting pack to be distributed through Stitchlinks.

So that was all amazing.

In other wondrous news, I was very happy that Brenda Dayne mentioned The Knitted Walking Stick Cosy Competition in the Cast-On Podcast; the stats on the site have risen since and I think this week my site might have it’s thousandth page reload!

i-Knit have also been in my thoughts lately; I was troubled by Craig’s blog-post mentioning recent medical problems… one of the lines that stuck in my head was ‘I’m 34 and I just bought my first walking stick…’ big love to the i-Knit posse and good luck with the massive drugs concoction is what I have to say on the matter. It is a big deal to get used to seeing yourself with new equipment; customising is maybe a later stage in the process, once you’ve gotten used to the idea. Because customising is like saying ‘this is like a part of my life now.’ As long as your stuff looks like it came straight out of a hospital, it looks like it could go straight back again too… once it’s red and yellow and stripey and joyful, you know it’s part of you. Or, well, then I know it’s a part of me, being as not everyone is with the yellow and red ridiculousness.

Also been thinking of I-knit in relation to the forthcoming S’n’B day in London; Betsan is all up for us having a table together and the bluestockings are keen to help me on The Knitted Walking Stick Cosy Stall, so I think that’s going to be brilliant. I have also been in touch more with Ann Weaver, whose wonderful Wheels of Fury hat caught my attention. She has been writing up the pattern and promises to have something ready by the time The Missability Radio Show goes live, which is very exciting. I hope to show the pattern and some photos in the Oxford Centre for Enablement also, in my corridor exhibition. Other exciting Flickr news is that the National Disabled Arts Forum requested to use my The Sky is the Limit!! photo in their newsletter! Isn’t flickr brilliant? Thanks to Abby for her encouragement with that photo…

That just about wraps up today’s report. I have nearly compiled the first of the three podcasts, which means I am quite behind schedule being as I need now to make the other two, build the set for the evening, email everyone about the opening of the event, organise two different approaches to the opening night (dependent on amount of cosies received,) edit my videos for the Vaults cafe, celebrate Mark’s birthday with him, figure out the final sound-presentation for the exhibition, finish editing the group catalogue/newspaper, somehow not run out of money, keep the website updated, compile the exhibition for the OCE and somehow not go insane trying to remember everything.

Tomorrow I’m in Shopmobility for the day knitting my cosy, spreading the word and hopefully getting some interviews I can use in the radio show.

It is busy but I’m loving it.