A little while ago someone told me that they thought my stroke had ‘softened me up.’ This remark — made in an offhand manner— upset me deeply. It still upsets me, in fact: perhaps more than any of the countless other well-meaning and unintentionally hurtful things that people have said to me about my stroke.… Read More
Hello, here is my new hair, and my new cardigan. For quite a while it has been obvious (to me at least) that my hair was no longer naturally brown, but grey. I got to a point a few months ago when I was just tired of the continual touching up. What might my hair… Read More
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… Read More
We have re-released the Tortoise and Hare Gauntlets pattern in association with the Handywoman launch. So if you pre-order a copy of Handywoman, you’ll receive a complementary download of the gauntlets pattern! The original photography of the original gauntlets (which I knitted and designed way back in 2010, sheesh) was taken in Victoria Park, opposite… Read More
We are now preparing for the publication of my new book, Handywoman! I’ve been working on this book (in between my other projects) for a couple of years now. I am more proud of, and happy about, completing this book than any other I’ve ever written. Probably the best way to understand what Handywoman is… Read More
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… Read More
On Thursday it will be eight years since my stroke. I am doing pretty well now, and think that I am doing well because I have learnt that dealing with a stroke is at least as much about managing limitation as it is about recovery. I know that I need an unusual amount of sleep… Read More
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… Read More
I’m currently working on a couple of chapters for my book. The first chapter looks at learning to walk (which, unless you’ve experienced injury or disability most of us will never engage in as an acquired skill) and the second chapter explores some thoughts I have about walking itself (one of my favourite activities, which… Read More
I’ve recently been writing about teaching my left hand to work again following my stroke. Because of this, I’ve been thinking very carefully about braiding hair, and knitting socks, about how it felt, and what it meant to re-instruct my hand (whose memory of habitual movement had been completely lost) in those activities. I’ve also… Read More
Tom and I are currently working hard on separate projects. Tom is developing some of his studio techniques, exploring different ways of depicting the textural qualities of vegetables and flowers. I’m writing about my recovery from stroke, and for the past fortnight have been working on a chapter specifically about my left hand, and the… Read More
I have been doing a lot of reading and writing of late. It feels like a total luxury to be spending my days with books and words and I am enjoying it immensely. As well as writing a good chunk of my own book, I have enjoyed reading a lot of other people’s work. I’ve… Read More
