Wednesday, 19 September 2012

Reap What You Sew seed wallet

I am back home after 11 days at Westmead Children's Hospital with my daughter. We have returned with new medications to try, and a diagnosis of Chronic Daily Headache. The bottom line is that we have long term chronic pain to contend with, and that there are no quick fixes. We are worn out with it all, but determined for recovery, however long it takes.

The last few months have seen very little stitching from me. However, the companion project to my garden apron has just been published in Australian Homespun magazine.
I made a fold-up wallet for storing seed packets. It can be hung in the garden shed for easy access, or stored folded.
There are four sets of pockets, one set for each season. My idea is to store seeds according to the season they should be sown. When that season rolls around, I can quickly find the appropriate seeds and get them into the garden. That's the theory anyway :)
 
Below the pockets, there are 5 small elasticised keepers for storing pens and pencils, and a larger keeper for a garden notebook.
The weather is slowly warming here in Australia, and with it, the incentive to get out in the garden is building.  
The stress of caring for my daughter has taken its toll on my enthusiasm for stitching, gardening and even blogging over the past few months. But the concern and warm support expressed to us through this blog have sustained me, and I'm sure my mojo will return soon! Love to you, Bloom x
P.S. 'The Pink Issue' of Australian Homespun (No. 112) is available in Australian newsagents now, and a digital version can be purchased from Zinio.

29 comments:

  1. Your project is adorable! Hopes and prayers for you and your daughter that all will be back to normal soon.

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    1. Thank you Cindy! Hope and prayers are what we need right now :)

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  2. One can not understand the stress and heartache at watching a child suffer... I am currently blessed to have three healthy girls and I am ever thankful for that. Know that our hugs are around you both and we all wish for a cure or quick recovery... stitching will be there to help mend you when you are ready and the roses will soon be blooming to give you a fresh start to each new day.. hugs

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    1. Thanks for the hugs Helen! Up until now, we too have been blessed with good health in our family. How suddenly things have taken a turn for the worse. The wheels have well and truly fallen off at the moment! I am looking forward to getting back to some stitching in the school holidays, and being at our farm, urging the roses to unfold :)

      Warmest congratulations on your new fabric line - what an achievement! It is such a gorgeous, happy range. Must be amazing for you to see it popping up in shops all over the globe, and waiting to see what stitchers will create with it. So happy for you!

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  3. Ros, I am sorry to here of yourdaughter's diagnosis. Gentle hugs for you all.

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    1. All hugs gratefully received Jodie! The diagnosis is frustrating, but thankfully our time in Westmead eliminated many potentially nasty causes. The diagnosis could have been so much worse. Just need to make sure we have plenty of patience and encouragement for her stored up in the tanks. It's going to be a long haul. Love to you in sunny Queensland. Perhaps we need a change in climate :)

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  4. Hoping the new medications do the trick.... hard for all of you.....
    Hugz

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    1. Hugz back at you Fiona! Waiting patiently for medication to provide some relief. Not entirely hopeful as nothing has helped so far. Trying to stay positive for her though. The unrelenting pain has taken its toll on her mood. Desperate to have our happy girl back! Hopefully soon :)

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  5. Wonderful storage idea!
    I've already bought this issue, so cute :)

    Hugs,
    Tatyana

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    1. It is a great issue, lots of cute projects. Lots of pink! While my project was made for gardeners, it would be handy for storing all manner of things. Could be interesting to see how others interpret it!

      Really enjoyed your post on St Petersberg. Beautiful photos of what is obviously a beautiful city!

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  6. Really hoping that the new medication will work some magic and that she feels much better, soonest.
    Love your seed purse, almost enough to start gardening! I really love the script you used for your embroidery - is it a font you found somewhere or is it original Bloom Print? Congrats on another publication!

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    1. Ha, I will convert you to gardening one day Kirsty! Very kind of you to comment on the font - did you hear my scoffing?! The 'script' is a variation of my own scrawl. Interestingly, I got myself into a bit of trouble with a design once because I used a 'free' font sourced online. These days it is safer to use my own handwriting, scrawly as it might be! No copyright isssues that way.
      PS Y-u-mmmmm, calissons ... a new addiction :)

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  7. Your seed wallet is very clever. I love it. I never heard of chronic daily headaches as a diagnosis. I am a headache sufferer and my heart goes out to your daughter. Hang in there!

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  8. That seems like an odd diagnosis for a child. Have they gone down the food testing route? it's a terrible thing for her to have to live with, I had a headache for months but was able to find out that I'm allergic to oranges and all that healthy juice I was drinking was ruining my head. I still suffer, but not daily.

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  9. Oh, I'm sorry they couldn't find anything more definitive (although, maybe it's a good thing) and I sure hope the new meds will help your daughter to feel better. Your seed wallet is beautiful!

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  10. I had a son with chronic head aches as a child. It was an awful ordeal 48 years ago trying to find what caused it all. No solution, except to keep him quiet (easily done with the pain) and fairly dark room. Much like we do today for migraines I suppose. The good news for him was that as the years went, so did the head aches! He still gets some to this day, but usually he says it is caused by work stresses and dead lines. My heart goes out to your girl...hopefully over time they will subside some..

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  11. That is a beautiful seed wallet. My heart to you and especially your child I hope you find resolution fast.

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  12. Good Luck with the Chronic pain, I think all chronic illnesses are very difficult to deal with and hope that you find all the support and assistance you need.

    I love your seed pack organiser, even though I am not a gardener, I am sure I would re-purpose it for a million other things.

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  13. Good to hear you are all back home now. Hope everything is going ok from day to day.....Lovely stitched creation Ros, so beautiful. (definitely a desperate gardening wife here! lol) Hope you can all enjoy a break during the school holidays.

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  14. I am so sorry to hear of your daughters problems, Bloom. I really hope the new meds bring her (and your household) some relief, and she is feeling much much better soon.
    I actually popped in to thank you for your "Beyond Measure" pattern. I made the sewing machine cover a while back, but also used it as inspiration for my ironing board. If you'd like to take a peek, here is the link...
    http://www.stitchscrapsew.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/role-reversal.html
    Love your seed packet holder too...such a clever and useful idea!

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  15. My heart breaks for your daughter and for your family. This has to be so hard for all of you. Hopefully the meds will start to bring her some relief and you'll find some definitive answers. Keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers.

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  16. Good to hear you are safely home but with few real answers by the sound of it. I guess sometimes there are no answers, just possible solutions. Hope both you and your daughter are soon feeling strength and motivation/inspiration increasing.

    I love your seed wallet, especially the front cover.

    Karen

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  17. I've been a while away from Blogland, so sorry to hear about your daughter. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Hope your beautiful work helps you through.

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  18. Just lovely Ros, and congrats on another entry in Homespun :))

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  19. My heart goes out to your daughter (and you!). I've had migraines since I was six (I'm 52 now!) and for the past 10-15 yrs they worsened then became chronic/daily (even overlapping). There's a long story, but the short version is: I tried a gluten free diet on the off-chance and noticed a difference in two days. Within a week I was migraine-free, and now get them rarely (every 2-3 months & less severe). I have to make sure I don't have even the tiniest crumb or smear of gluten (different chopping boards, toaster pockets to "protect" my toast, etc) but I can't tell you the difference it's made. I've since heard that a high percentage of chronic headaches are triggered by gluten but this seems to be just anecdotal so not much attention is given to it by the medical profession. From my experience, a week's trial on GF would help you find out (research it first though).

    BTW, I found you after researching patterns. I was checking my designs were suitably different from others out there and yours intrigued me - very different from mine but I absolutely love your work.

    Best wishes to you both!

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  20. So sorry to hear your lovely girl is stilll unwell, I was wondering how she was... Hope things settle down for you all soon,.enjoy your time away at the farm. Replenish, recover amd refresh

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  21. What a great idea to have a seed wallet. So organised and handy to have. Thanks for sharing it.

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  22. Hi there,
    I hope it feels better to finally have an answer for your daughter's illness, even if it isn't one with an easy solution. It took me quite a while to accept and manage my chronic pain, but believe me it does become easier!
    I'm not sure if you'd be interesting in some supportive reading material, but there's a book I read when I was struggling which helped me get my head around the pain and learn how to manage myself and regain something of a normal lifestyle. It's called 'Manage Your Pain' by Dr. Michael Nicholas and a few other doctors.
    Thinking of you,
    Hannah

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  23. Dear Ros

    I admire you that you are so positive, it will surely help your daughter to deal with her illness!:-)
    Somebody who can make such a beautiful things despite her sick child must be very special.

    Greetzzz, Elise, Netherlands

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