Purl and Seam

handmade in Lancashire

Life in a northern town – March 2017

March 3, 2017

Hello my lovelies.

I had a wee window of time where I should be doing other stuff but, quite frankly, can’t be arsed.

I’ve had a lovely morning skiving off with my friend Julia at my favourite cafe, No 15 in Penwortham.  Julia is wise and witty and should be available on the NHS to cheer all who need it.  She’d save them millions.  With avo and poached eggs on toast and a couple of good cups of coffee, it was the perfect end to the week, even if she had to dash off to get her Louie cat to the vets.

Life here is a full as ever.  The hubby is still working every hour god sends.  The kids are dancing 3 nights a week and we’re about to put an advert out for a partner for our wee man.  Much as I’d love them to dance together, my blood pressure really can’t stand it. The pinch and stomp and whinge and whine and it’s just not worth it. Maybe in a couple of years, but not right now.

I’m on the home stretch with the current studies.  I’ve an exam next week and then two more modules and I’m done for this year.   The jury is out whether I’ll do next year.  Which is actually an 18 month course.  I may bunk off and do something fun like a photography course or a couple of weeks of sewing in London (subject to being able to figure out a solution to childcare other than locking them in a cupboard.  Apparently social services frown on that.  Odd! 😉 )

I have much to share with you but it is so grey here that I struggle to get enough light for decent photos.  But…spring is coming, and then I’ll catch up.

There are knits, almost a quilt, and….drumroll….the sewing room.  As soon as I’ve finished the binding on this quilt that Ma made, I can finally, finally go into the sewing room and get to it.  First up is blinds.  Preferably before the clocks change.

I can make 4 roman blinds in 3 weeks, right? (cue hysterical laughter).

I’ve got a review for a great Craftsy course on the topic of curtain making.  So much to share.

But for now, I can share some super good news.  Some of the best.  As you know we’re having rafts of tests and meetings with various medical and educational peeps to try to get to the bottom of some challenges our wee monsters are up against.  Last night we learned that the boy definitely doesn’t have ADD or ADHD and we’re 95% sure he’s not on the autistic spectrum.  We’ll have final confirmation on that within about a month. We are narrowing the field and it feels good.  Once we hit upon an answer it informs the support strategies we can put in place for them.  This also speeds things up for him as the Autistic Spectrum Pathway (the route to a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder) is currently are 49 week waiting list in our area.  Which is shameful.

So, on that happy note I’m off to pin the final stretch of binding so I can spend a happy evening stitching with wine tonight.

Have a great weekend full of the fun things you love to do.

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Comments

  1. Tialys says

    March 4, 2017 at 8:05 am

    Good luck with finding the best strategies to help your kids – and you – with their challenges. Once you have a support network in place things should get easier.

    • Pendle Stitches says

      March 13, 2017 at 11:11 am

      Thank you. I’m very lucky to have family and friends who “get it” and a super supportive school. Now we just need to get to the bottom of it!

  2. Liara says

    March 4, 2017 at 1:20 pm

    I LOVE your attitude. As a teacher and a mom of a kid on the spectrum, I see many parents who don’t want their kids to have a “label.” It’s so hard to help them understand that the purpose isn’t to stuff them in a box, but to get an idea of how they think so the most suitable strategies can be used. I know testing etc. is a bear. Stay strong!!

    • Pendle Stitches says

      March 13, 2017 at 11:12 am

      Thank you….your comment really means a lot. I cannot understand parents who don’t want to find out what’s going on so the kids get the best chance in life. Testing is a bear….but it’s got to be worth it. You stay strong too! x

  3. Kim says

    March 5, 2017 at 2:05 pm

    Once all the things they aren’t are ruled out it narrows the field of possibilities to a reasonable amount. Good luck narrowing it down to one.
    Can I recommend that you look at Morley College if you want to go to London for a sewing course. There might not be anything appropriate but the courses I have done there have been fabulous.

    • Pendle Stitches says

      March 13, 2017 at 11:14 am

      Narrowing it down…exactly! For various reasons, including overlapping “symptoms” we may never get a definitive diagnosis. But just ticking off some of the more challenging ones is a result in itself.

      Morley College….great idea. I’d forgotten about them! Thank you.

  4. Mother of Reinvention says

    March 5, 2017 at 5:31 pm

    That is great new about your children. It will be such a good thing when things are all sorted and you know what resources and support that they will get. That is a terrible waiting time for anything. The NHS is crumbling to pieces everywhere. *grrr* Good news about the sewing room and looking forward to hearing about your Craftsy course on curtains. I still need to make a whole heap too. Xx

    • Pendle Stitches says

      March 13, 2017 at 11:16 am

      The NHS is so broken, but at the moment I’m overjoyed with them after boy had to have an emergency appendectomy last week. Crikey, that was a worry. But the system is too top heavy and they keep wasting money on tech and software that never gets used. Bring back ward Matrons, I say….they’d soon sort stuff out!

Evie

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