A Cross Stitch Sampler

Two blog posts in two days! No, I won't be posting every day but I thought I'd try a quick post on one of the things I've been doing over the summer.

I find that I can only do little bits of anything at one time and, although I have lots of lovely kits to do, most of them look too daunting at the moment. So I was really glad to unearth a cross stitch sampler that my daughter gave me for my birthday a couple of years ago. Samplers are good because the patterns tend to be quite repetitive and symmetrical and there are no fractional stitches or back stitches to worry about.

I'd just made a start on it when I got it and then put it away (as you do) so there was lots left to do. And, slowly but surely, I finished it!

Excuse the creases and not particularly good photo. When I look at it, I can remember when I stitched certain parts. I did most of the brickwork while waiting for a doctor to come and check my oxygen levels and that little row of motifs under the house took me days and days to do when I was feeling particularly tired.

Isn't it a lovely design though? I'm particularly fond of the sheep above the house and I think the wide floral border really sets it off. It's called 'Country Cottage' and was designed by Moira Blackman for Bothy Threads. You can see the design much better on their site.

As you can just about see, I added an extra bit at the bottom (where it will be hidden by the frame), saying that I stitched it while ill with Covid. Can you tell I've got an archivist daughter? She's training me to sign everything!

Living with Covid

Hello everyone. It's been a long time since I wrote on here and those of you who are on my ravelry group will understand that the last few months have been particularly hard for me. To put it briefly, I have been looking after my stepfather Bob since he had a fall in January. Sadly, Bob died in April, from a combination of another fall and Covid which he caught while visiting A & E with a 'normal' chest infection.

Bob was a lovely man, he made friends wherever he went and everybody loved him. As a friend said to me, Bob was an all too rare example of a genuinely good man. My daughter found this photo of him which sums him up really. Laughing, a packet of crisps in hand (with chocolate cake waiting) and his trusty mobile phone near to hand.

Owing to the lockdown, Bobs funeral was a small graveside service with only myself and my son present. Having said that, it was a friendly occasion that I remember with a smile.

I expect you can guess what's coming next. The day after Bob died I came down with Covid. As I live on my own, the first few weeks were a frightening time, especially when it got worse after ten days. I got through it though and was glad that I didn't have to go into hospital.

Since then I've been recovering at home very slowly. It's been over three months now and I can walk eight lengths of my garden before getting breathless (that's about a tenth of a mile). Apart from the breathlessness, I am very tired all the time and, most days, I have a slight temperature and aches and pains. Oh, and my sense of taste and smell still haven't come back. The other thing that makes life difficult is that my memory and concentration have been affected. I forgot what I'm saying, what I'm doing ... My daughter says it's just as well she can finish my sentences for me as I'm pretty useless at it!

I've been in contact with my doctor over the phone during my recovery and, yesterday, she decided enough was enough and that it was time to do some tests on me. Although lots of people are still struggling after several months like me, they need to know if the virus has damaged my lungs or heart and if I've had a mini stroke. So ... yesterday I had an ECG (which was fine) and gave about an armful of blood for all the tests she could think of. Tomorrow I'm having a chest x ray and then she'll arrange some CT scans for me.

I'm not up to driving yet but I've been very lucky to have a good friend who drove me to the doctor yesterday and is taking me to the hospital tomorrow. All my friends have been wonderful actually. I've had so many presents and treats sent in the post or left by my door - it's been amazing.

I'm very lucky to have a garden so I've been able to sit outside in the fresh air which is lovely. I can do little bits of gardening but can't manage things like cutting the grass. This meant that, until my son and I could be a support bubble, my garden turned into a meadow.

The cats loved it. If you look closely you might be able to see them stalking through the grass. It also attracted neighbouring cats who were very pleased to find a new field. The grass is now short again which makes it easier to walk but isn't quite so pretty.

Apart from just sitting a lot, I have been doing lots of crafts over the past three months. Knitting is proving tricky - my tension's a bit off and I tend to drop stitches - but I have done quite a lot of sewing. Now that I've 'filled in the gap' I'm hoping to be able to manage short blog posts about some of the things I've made. Using the computer is one of the things that's challenging but I shall try to make it little and often.

For those of you who haven't had Covid and perhaps don't know of anyone who has, please do take this virus seriously. It's not like flu and you don't get better quickly. Whatever the government advice, keep your distance from people and stay safe. It's not over yet.