Hello, introducing myself to you all

gelflin · Post by **gelflin** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 3:56 pm

Okay I am not very good at introducing myself, being the kind of anti social person that prefers to stay home and stitch or read rather than attend social gatherings but I will give it a goâ€¦

I first started cross stitching when I was about ten or eleven years old, influenced by my Nan who I lived with. She could do anything when it came to crafts from making Christmas cards through to reupholstering, and still found time to make her own brand of hand made cuddly toys that she sold to Harrods. As I got older I had little spare time to indulge in hobbies and my cross stitching faded away into non existence.

Two years ago my world came crashing down when I was diagnosed with M.E. at first although feeling constantly ill and tired I was still able to continue with most of my hobbies (Sugarcraft and Miniature â€˜War games’ painting) at a competition level. Sadly my M.E. quickly deteriorated and I now suffer with Severe M.E. as well as Fibromyalgia, Posturally Orthostatic Tachycardia and many other associated illnesses caused by the cell death and immune dysfunction so apparent in late stage M.E. After a few months of utter boredom and frustration at daytime T.V. and the lack of busy hands and mind I picked up one of my old cross stitches. Now cross stitching is helping me to stay sane in the midst of a completely soul destroying illness. I still have to take it easy, too much stitching tires me and causes swelling and pain in my hands, but so long as I listen to my body and stop when it tells me too I am happily a new found stitcher.

Family:
I am now 27 (28 this October) and happily married to a wonderfully understanding and loving husband, I have a son Matthew who turns 8 this October and is a hyperactive bundle of trouble but who never fails to make me smile. I have two rescued cats Dooley and Greebo and two beautiful house rabbits that terrorise our cats.

Education:
I have a Diploma in Marketing, eight GCSE’s at A grade, City and Guilds in Patisserie, Sugarcraft grade 3 and Proven Working Design. I have also trained in Data Protection Law and have passed on Financial Services Authority Compliance.

Other Hobbies:
I love history, my favourite history topics are Ancient Egypt, Mayan Culture and Civilisation, Tudor and Elizabethan Royalty and Ancient Warfare, Weaponry and Tactics. I love Fantasy Fiction, my collection of authors is far too numerous to list but favourites includeâ€¦
Raymond E. Feist
Terry Pratchett
Mary Gentle
Terry Goodkind
Elizabeth Haydon
I used to adore writing and have won various awards for my poetry and short stories, though due to my M.E. my cognitive functions are slowly getting worse and hindered my enjoyment of writing.

I used to paint war games miniatures and in the past this was more than a hobby and I used sell painted miniatures and compete at a high level. This is one of my hobbies for which I mourn the most but it has sadly become the hardest due to the loss of a steady hand.

Well I think that I have rambled on enough now, I will let you nice people get back to your needles and threadsâ€¦

Jilly · Post by **Jilly** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 4:06 pm

Rambling is always welcome on here,I am sure you will fit right in

I am so sorry to hear of your health problems, having to give up a loved hobby must be so hard, my husband paints and plays wargaming figures, they are so intricate.
Join in and have fun with us, it gets very crazy at times

Jilly

hada56 · Post by **hada56** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 4:06 pm

sorry to hear about your illness, just want to say hello and welcome ! I'm sure you'll enjoy your time here, and meet lost of nice people.
by the way, where do you live?
I'm just a boring housewife, nothing much to add to that, except for 3 cats and a grown up DD. I've been cross stitching for about 4 years now, although I've always liked to do crafts and other "handiworks".

Rose · Post by **Rose** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:22 pm

Welcome to the forum. Stitching is a therapy that makes us all feel better. I think most of us have used our stitching to help us through a difficult time. I am glad you are able to find help with your ME. Come by often we love hearing from everyone, share your stitching and life stories. We have big ears and big shoulders.

mags · Post by **mags** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:06 pm

Hello gelflin,

We've already met in the shout box, but welcome

Sorry to hear about your illness - sounds like you have had a rough time. Hope your return to stitching helps - it is a good therapy, certainly helps me - I'm a fibro.

Look forward to chatting more

Serinde · Post by **Serinde** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:48 pm

Welcome from the West of Scotland. I think you are going to fit right in here, so don't be shy. Real help and pals plus virtual tea parties and celebrations at the drop of any hat at all are the standard order of the day. We love newbies (whether you have any chocolate or not)!

~threadbear~ · Post by **~threadbear~** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 5:37 pm

... but chocolate is always good!

Welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry to hear about your illness. It's awful when you are held back from doing the things you enjoy.
I'm sure you'll find the forum a place of encouragement though, plus it's fun too!

Stitchindude · Post by **Stitchindude** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 5:43 pm

Welcome to the forum gelflin! So sorry to here about your illness. My daddy always said that sometimes "laughter is the best medicine" and we try to get a healthy dose of it here on the forum everyday! So join in and let the fun wash your cares away!

Genevieve · Post by **Genevieve** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 8:45 pm

A warm welcome to the forum. So sorry to hear about your illness and the way it's limited your enjoyment, but pleased you found us and hope that you have fun here. Enjoy your stitching too - i agree with Rose and Mags that it's great therapy and I certainly found it helpful when I was going through a stressful time. One of my favourite authors is Terry Pratchett too - I read and re-read his books. My son met him at a book signing and he's a lovely person. Looking forward to seeing more of your posts - so join right in.

sammy_v · Post by **sammy_v** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 9:04 pm

Hello, welcome to the forum. Sorry to here about ur illness and that u find it hard to do things but u aint alone and u now have lots of friends on here to chat to and everything.

Everyone is rite about it being a great therapy as i have just found that out, stressful times with illness etc and the stitching helpt me take my mind off it. I really hope it gives u something same as it has for me.

Look forward to seeing some of ur work and hope to chat soon.

Alexanie · Post by **Alexanie** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 9:49 pm

Hello From Austria!

Sorry about your health problems but you'll always find someone on the forum to cheer you up and it often helps just to write down problems.

wendywombat · Post by **wendywombat** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 10:49 am

Welcome from me too. We are always here to listen to the good as well as the bad!

nicgoss · Post by **nicgoss** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:17 pm

Hello,

I've just joined the site today and found your message and had to reply.

I've been diagnosed with ME for 6 years now, so can completely sympathesis with you and your illness.

Its not easy and boredom and frustration can easily lead to depression. Especially when your only young (i've just turned 29) so we are roughly the same age.

Cross stitch has helped me so much through the boredom (and day time TV) and really de-stresses me when life is getting too much.

There seems to be some really cool peeps on this forum, so look forward to chatting to them and you in the future.

Laters x