New Stripes

Hello there, it's been a while!

I didn't mean to be offline for so long, caught up in a whirlwind family visit and a move to a new flat (my sewing machine surived, thank goodness) and everything that comes with the build up to Christmas.  This blouse was supposed to be my entry in le Challenge way back in November, but I couldn't finish the hem in time to post it and so it's been living in a moving box till now.  Embarassingly late, but here it is!

 Another reason to post now comes from an email sent to me from a reader named Heather.  I stick to sewing related stuff on this blog but Heather's email hit close to my heart.  Heather was diagnosed with the same disease, mesothelomia, that I lost my father to a few years ago. Both were exposed to asbestos in their younger years. 

If you know it, you know that this diagnosis doesn't leave much room for hope, which makes Heather's story all the more amazing because she's been cancer free for 8 years.  You can read more here.

To help raise awareness, Heather has asked me and other bloggers to name something we're grateful for.  My Dad was always full of life, the soul of the party and loved to celebrate. In the spirit of this, I'm grateful the New Year, new starts, new stripes.

Happy New Year.