“We’ve learnt to not over-investigate” – findings from the Australian Long COVID Enquiry

In September 2022, Mark Butler, the Minister for Health and Aged Care, commissioned an enquiry into Long COVID and Repeated COVID Infections. The House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport has been accepting submissions and testimony on the topic of Long COVID since then, and the submissions made by Long COVID Clinics is….enlightening.

Muna and Broad Waikerie Shirt

I’m still catching up on the backlog of garments I sewed last year, by the considered system of ‘take a photo and write a blog post of a shirt as I wear it’. This is View B of the Muna and Broad Waikerie Shirt, a boxy shirt with yoke which features “an inverted box pleat at the back and a high-low hem with beautifully finished, mitered side splits.”

Article published on Independent Australia

Hello again, just a note to say I’ve had an article published on Independent Australia. It’s in reference to Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, Paul Kelly, referring to the deaths of the vulnerable from COVID-19 as a “reaping”.

You can read it here: Chief Medical Officer’s COVID comment leaves the vulnerable gasping.

Elbe Textiles Cornell Shirt and Style Arc Brooklyn Knit Pants

Hello friends! It’s been a long time since I posted sewing content, largely because it’s been a long time since I sewed anything. Prior to contracting COVID in January, I sewed up a heap of shirts (yet to be blogged). But post-COVID, with Long COVID seriously affecting my health, I knew sewing was just too much for me.

Long COVID

Last post, I wrote about my experience having COVID in January and not being able to access an at-home PCR test (or any other useful support). Recovering from COVID was a slow and arduous process, but in March I felt I had maybe regained 80% of my pre-C function – that’s still not great, considering how little functionality I had to begin with, but probably as good as it was going to get.

At-home PCR testing for Disabled people discontinued

 

In January, I came down with what felt like the worst virus of my life. I was weak, feverish, shivering and shaking, delirious and had a sore throat and splitting headaches. My first thought was to ring the COVID hotline, only to find the at home testing service for Disabled people had ceased to exist.

I spent hours on the phone, trying to reach someone who could help me. Alternating with lying exhausted and breathless on the couch. I was finally told to get a GP referral to ‘prove’ my need for the service. How? I asked. Just go to a GP clinic!

Muna and Broad Watermelon Waikerie Shirt (and Common Stitch Loungewear Pants)

I’ve been mostly sewing button up shirts lately, but haven’t been able to share them with you without a tripod to take photos. I finally bit the bullet and bought one, so now you can enjoy my awkward poses when I have no one to direct me.

This is my latest creation, the Muna and Broad Waikerie Shirt. I actually made the long sleeve version of this shirt first in a lovely linen/cotton blend, and enjoyed wearing it so much I wanted to make another.

Goodbye, mum

It’s taken me over 2 months to figure out how to put this post together. But if you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that my dearly beloved mum passed away unexpectedly in October.

It would be difficult to overstate how much she meant to me. I had never left home, and she was my carer for much of my life. In the past couple of years, as her health declined, that role reversed and I looked after her. I wish I could have done more.

There’s nothing I can say, or do that will change things. But I felt I couldn’t go back to posting my handmades without acknowledging how profoundly my life has changed without mum, my best friend, carer, counsellor and guiding light.

Ready to Sew Julien Chore Jacket

As I’ve been working through my fabric stash, I made my way to a checked flannelette I bought from Spotlight last winter. I think I intended to make a long Named Esme Cardigan from it, but the “cool reddish check” pattern on the roll looked a lot more like “grandma’s tartan pants” when laid flat, so I put it aside.

When I revisited the fabric this year, I decided that a button-up, chore style jacket / “shacket” might tone down the check pattern a bit and make for a comfy winter addition to my wardrobe.

In the Folds Wide Leg Pants, take two

Have you ever browsed through Peppermint Magazine Sewing School? They have a bunch of rad patterns made by indie pattern designers available for free!* I’ve made the In the Folds Wide Leg Pants before, but they were a snug fit. This time, I altered the pattern to make them elastic waisted and much more generously sized.