Thank you for talking about ME and ableism. It's still a huge problem trying to get people to understand about ME and all the rubbish we have to go through, and not just the horrendous amount of symptoms we have to deal with.
I once shared the fact I was on disability on Reddit, and my experiences with it (it's horrendous). People just straight up asking what was "wrong" with me to be on disability. It felt so invasive; the only reason I imagined these people asking would be to judge me as a 'benefit scrounger' or not, because why else would you want to know? It sucks having to have a disability, it sucks even more to be on disability/benefits, and it sucks the most that people that have no clue what any of that entails judge you so, so hard for it.
I'm sorry that happened to you. It's part of why I try and show up as authentically as possible online. In the hope that people might see my videos by chance, because they like sewing or knitting, and see the reality of being disabled, in all it's ups and downs.
and that works! I found your channel due to a love for vintage costumeing and your videos have made me realise so many disability -unfriendlinesses in my local costumeing community, just by making me open my eyes
I get that so much, I have fibromyalgia and the amount of anxiety that i feel discussing money and being on disability is horrendous. I’ve had people actually call me a scrounger because some days are better than others. I’m sorry you have to experience this too ❤
I don't know what it's like in the UK, but it's so frustrating in the US to hear people insinuate or outright say that they think we are getting benefits that we shouldn't be getting. If they had any idea how hard it is to initially be granted disability status and then stay on disability And how little money we actually collect they would maybe shut up. They should all be thinking they're lucky stars they don't know what it's like to be in our position because being disabled and living in state capitalism in a dystopia that is increasingly clamoring for a dictatorship…to say it's not as much fun as it sounds.
And considering that one of my friends in England has told me that rickets is coming back and children… I am going to go out on a limb and suggest that it's not any better across the pond.
It's wonderful to "watch" one of your videos where I could listen to you chat while I worked on my buttonband (it needs focused attention!). Really enjoyed this!
I personally love your chatty videos! I find sewing videos interesting, but as someone who has no interest in actually sewing, listening to detailed explanations is not really the draw for me - it's more of the satisfaction of watching a project take shape, and seeing what difficulties inevitably pop up and how they are solved. If/when you get back to sewing, I don't think you need to worry about doing detailed pre-written scripts; vlog style chatty sewing videos would be lovely! I think most of us are just here because we like you
I’ve had ME for 7 years and no one has ever actually explained what was actually happening in my body before so thank you! It’s always so meaningful to me to hear you talk about ME, it’s really validating to see someone else going through similar stuff (even though obviously it all sucks). Also, glad to hear that your channel has been doing well! Hello new people, welcome to the club :)
✋🏻 person who saw you on shorts and binges your videos now💜 I love listening to your thought process making stuff. You keep me company while I do my own crafting💜. (I'm currently homebound disabled)
Me too! I have had ME since 2001 but still get so excited whenever I come across people with it (especially in spaces not specifically focused on chronic illnesses). I've been completely housebound since 2022 so these parasocial "friends" are all the more important for my mental health ❤️
Me too. I started watching your shorts when you were posting everyday with your daisy blouse progress. My Mum taught me to knit and sew and I learnt more advanced techniques from books. I too taught myself to crochet using a (Ladybird) book! Thank you for your vlogs. You are easy to listen to and I love the way you explain/share your thought processes.🎉👏🥳
I loved when you combined the shorts into a long form video. I try to watch your shorts but as I don’t usually watch shorts and usually tell RU-vid I’m not interested I don’t see them. So please continue posting the shorts into a long form video ❤
Thank you for being so real and honest about your experiences and feelings. I have multiple disabilities and often feel isolated and listless. I have a lot of ideas for crafting but due to limitations of energy or finances can't always finish my grand plans. Having you share your circumstances creates a certain comraderie. Cheers, darling.
Wow, thank you so much for that thorough explanation of ME. I have long covid and I had typed out a long comment about those two diagnoses being similar, but then I came to the point where you mentioned it 😄 Apparently long covid also has something to do with the mitochondria not working properly. I also practice pacing and am currently on the mild end of the spectrum, luckily. I've also been very lucky to have a very understanding boss (partly due to another coworker having long covid already) and competent medical help, I've mostly felt taken seriously. I believe the large number of people getting long covid all at once has shown the medical field how debilitating these symptoms are and will hopefully lead to more research and better care for everyone, including ME patients. It's a terrible silver lining to a terrible pandemic, but there it is.
It was awful to be an M.E. patient watching all these new people suffer in an all too familiar way and know that there was so little help available. Like you say the only silver lining is we now how strength in numbers 💜💙
Algorithm recommended you ages ago because I watched a lot of costube. The disability perspective was what kept me around. And it was lovely to have some company for an hour.
I spent most of my year age 17 shut up in a hospital, so I can really relate to your story about using crafting to cope through that. I knit up so many poorly-constructed hats in that year! This video was lovely to watch whilst sewing a spring blouse. I'm glad you're enjoying your new painting hobby :)
Thank you for such a good, honest explanation of ME and the medical negligence we face, it's so hard to get people to understand and I always really appreciate you being open about it. I really enjoyed this chatty casual video!
I got a terrible stomach bug at some point and it trashed my ME. I was stuck in bed for a month and barely ate for most of that time. Doctors weren't doing anything and it was very scary. Thank you for speaking it about our illness. It helps people who've never encountered it to learn
My day brightened up when I took a lunch break and my daughter came running into the kitchen yelling "Claude released a new video!!" I love listening to you and appreciate you answering so many questions. I love to learn about other countries so as some one from the US hearing even a little about your education system is fascinating to me. I also appreciate how comfortable you are sharing information about ME. It's frustrating to hear about another disorder that has little to no research and even less good information available. Thank you for sharing and educating in your video. I'm looking forward to the next thing you release weather a short or long video. Meanwhile I'm on my 7th or 8th play through of stash busting. It helps make working from home more interesting. :)
"At the end of the day, you don't have to be disabled to benefit from those things." YES! Universal design is fantastic and should be normalized everywhere. There are so many things that we think of as "just" accommodations for long-term disabilities that would be massively helpful for people with short-term disabilities, different personal or learning preferences, or in general. The more we implement them into everything we do, the more normalized they are and the more included different people are. A go-to example here in the states is curb cut-outs (where the curb dips down so pedestrians can cross) - those are pretty new, but they've become universal. They were originally implemented as a mobility accommodation but people with strollers (for example) find them super helpful too. This idea is being expanded into schools ("Universal Design for Learning"), although higher education has been a bit slow on the pick up. Captions have been commonly treated as an accommodation for the hard of hearing, but it helps people who can't have sound on videos they watch (for example: baby is napping, but need to hear when baby wakes up), or watch videos during their bus commute (where even with headphones it can be difficult to hear the video), or aren't familiar with the speaker's accent. Accommodations like these benefit EVERYONE. It lets more people engage with and enjoy content or a product, regardless of disability status. It shouldn't take dozens of people constantly requesting an accommodation for it to be implemented. It shouldn't be implemented on a case-by-case basis, either. They should be the default.
I just love this chatty Q&A long form video. I admire your openness (including being frank about what it’s not ok to ask and what you don’t want to talk about.) It must be hard to be the disabled representation you want to see - especially because you’re challenging stereotypes and ableism. I’m not physically disabled and don’t at all claim I know what it’s like but I have mental health issues and possible neurodivergence which have affected my life hugely. So I appreciate hearing about lived experience of disability. I also want to say there is no shame in living with your parents (or there shouldn’t be) because for millennia most people lived in extended family units and it’s only a very recent concept that we should all move out on our own immediately at 18. I feel like a lot of loneliness and isolation in modern society is artificially created by these sorts of unrealistic expectations. I had to move back in with my parents when my mental health was so severe I was barely able to leave the house. It’s so interesting to hear about your experiences as a costume designer in the theatre world. I would love to see you do your dream project one day! It’s also wonderful to see you enjoying a different craft and talking about future projects. I am so here for anything you want to do. Can’t wait for another Retro Claude video!
I have had chronic neuropathic pain since about 2013. I'm 34 and still live with my parents. Sometimes I feel a bit ashamed about it, and looking at me I think a lot of people wouldn't think there's anything wrong as I am still able to work, have hobbies, socialise etc, but what they don't see is that for me to be at work and produce the same amount of output as someone else, might have taken me triple the effort, and I'm just exhausted all the time. I went through a really bad period where I was having to set my alarm at about 5am every day because it took me about 3 hours to get out of bed. Thank you for sharing your story about your disability - I think talking more about invisible disability helps people understand better that someone "looking normal" doesn't mean anything in terms of their actual experience.
I think Claude has done a better job explaining ME than my own doctor did. I feel very seen in this community. As someone in the lower end of the "moderate" category, I feel really dismissed sometimes, or like a lot of people forget that i have very real limitations. I work part time and dont often need mobility aides, but people dont see the times I didnt go somewhere or do something. That I gave up the career i started at 14 because I couldnt physically do it anymore. The days where all i did was sit at my desk and answer the phone, and how appreciative I am that my boss understands that sometimes thats all i can handle, or if I need to leave I can just go. I know this can be a difficult topic, and I want to thank you, Claude, for using your platform to bring awareness of what day to day life with disability can look like. I only found your channel a couple of weeks ago, but i feel at home in your community already.
Fellow ME/CFS tribe member. I think, back in the day, it started with a knitting video. It may have been sewing, but I’m not a sewist (am a knitter). I LOVE this new chatty kind. And the compilations! I’ve seen them broken up, but I think I lose the thread when they are, so the compilations are lovely and coherent to my fried brain. I confess that I’ll also put one on, take a nap, and slide it back to where I left the chat when I wake up. I also fall asleep every night to audiobooks, which I slide back to the last thing I remember the next night, so it’s a bit like you’re telling a story as you sew through a multi piece project. ❤
I'm actually really interested to learn more about your experience with re-learning how to read. I've been dealing with a chronic (as yet unidentified; my DNA test is pending results) periodic fever disorder that has a few features similar to the symptoms you've described. I have energy limitations, fevers, gut malabsorption issues (which caused scary weight drop last year), sound sensitivity, light sensitivity, easy bruising, iron levels that fall off the cliff suddenly, and arthritis in my fingers, knees, ankles, and feet. When I told my doctors I couldn't really read anymore in about 2021, they threw me to a psychiatrist (who ended up being very helpful in getting me ADHD accommodations anyway), and then my condition actually forced me to leave in my second year of medical school. I thought I was *crazy* for suddenly being unable to read, and it's a hell of thing learning that I am not indeed bonkers. I'm still struggling more than before, but I found that video and audio is way easier for me to learn from--and I can't for the life of me follow plots anymore. I've even stalled out on writing, and that's something I've done for 19 *years.*
Not to this part of the video yet, but I also have really big issues reading. I used to be an avid reader and writer but out of nowhere when a lot of my (undiagnosed because I don't have access to healthcare) issues came up, I almost entirely lost the ability to read or write anymore. Which was especially hard because I was in the middle of an English and Creative Writing degree! I barely graduated lol. That was 4 years ago, and I still have issues reading and writing. And it takes me like 40 minutes to watch a 25 minute episode of TV because I have to keep rewinding to stay on top of the plot and keep track of what's actually going on
Thank you for talking about ME and giving such a wonderful explanation of it. I find it really difficult to explain to people, and your discussion of it is so good and so easy to understand that I think I might start directing people here. I love these chatty, vloggy videos, and this sort of body-doubling-friendly video where the viewer can work on their own craft while you work on yours is really enjoyable. So if these are easier for you to make, I'll be happy to see more of them (although honestly you've never made a video I didn't enjoy, so I don't really mind what direction you go in. I must've originally come for the sewing but I stayed for the Claudeness of it all).
The story from your childhood was very cute! 🥰 Those little paint pots are so difficult, I don't think that's a 'you' issue, I think they're just garbage. 😅💜
7:18 I was thinking of the RU-vid creator physics girl who had a very successful growing channel and she was bound for success and then she got Covid and it triggered ME to the point where she had at least in the beginning because I don't know how she's doing this minute but she was unable to do anything but lie in a certain position in her bed with noise canceling headphones and an eye mask so that there was absolutely no sensory information coming in and she had to be fed in bed by her partner and was literally unable to do anything for herself.
I've followed her story. It's heart breaking to see and yet I'm so grateful she, and the people around her, have shared her story so bravely. So often when we get sick we disappear.
@@therewillbecatswithgwenhwyfar I thought of her too, she's the reason I got into physics. Last time I saw a video of her, a few months ago, she was doing a bit better, but I think she's still bed-bound. It's so great that her husband and a bunch of people who care about her are helping her so much, and she is slowly getting a bit better, I think.
I really appreciate how open you are about your chronic illness and disability. As a 30 year old who also lives with their parents due to health issues it’s nice to not feel so alone. It’s only recently that I have accepted the chronic illness/pain labels for myself (14 years of medical gaslighting does numbers) and your videos have really helped with tips and tricks I can try in my own crafting, and overall accepting the limitations of my body and brain. I really like the chatty videos, and paint by numbers so I hope we see more of them in the future. Those dang paint pots are so hard to open though 😅 I have to get my mom to open them for me
I don't have ME/CFS, but as a mostly housebound person with weird, ambiguous relatively severe health issues that I currently cannot get diagnosed, don't really understand, and none of my family believes me about, it's comforting to find RU-vidrs who talk about their experiences witn chronic illness. Even if I don't know what's going on with me, and that can be really discouraging (and I sometimes gaslight myself into thinking i'm being lazy when I know that isn't true), there is overlap between our experiences and I've learned a lot about things like pacing that I likely would have never heard of because I have never thought of myself as being 'disabled enough' to need to look up or benefit from that information. You speaking openly about your experiences with chronic illness has helped me understand other people better, but it has also validated to me that my health issues are real and given me tools to try to address them.
🖐 Exception to the rule here, I first came across your content via Shorts, Stashbuster.... Got intrigued and follow you on YT, thoroughly enjoyed.this video. Fascinating to understand your career progression etc. Good to hear you are exploring new creative outlets, thank you for sharing your opinions on diversity. Fascinating. I am a retired partially deaf female, with all that entails. Have enjoyed the tribulations of the daisy dress. The update on the journey to the Historical Ball, costume and knitted stockings! Thank you for sharing these thoughts etc. Love the painting, though topic NOT my thing. Be well Claude and I for one will be continuing to follow your long form stuff, with the occasional short thrown in. Best wishes from North West Britain.
You wonderful human. There are too many funny, or poignant, or thoughtful moments in here to pick a favorite (favorite poignant moment?!🤷). Thank you for taking the time and energy to make this video. I'm am currently between craft projects, but having a rest and just listening was very nice. Take care, and I will see you in the next one. 🦆
I grew up with a mum who had ME. It was horrible. Thankfully she is in remission now but still gets migraines and fatigue. I never actually thought about what ME was caused by so that was an interesting learn. My mum is also the one who got me into sewing and knitting when I was a kid.
Thank you for your explanation of ME. I never knew any of that. I just happened upon your destash videos and then watched your wonderful video on sewing with a disability. I too am disabled from a number of disorders that make me unable to work full time and there is no cure or meds that fix it. I spend most of my days at home also. I am an avid knitter and crocheter. Those crafts give me such joy so I don't focus on what I can't do. Thank you for your example.
I had fibromyalgia for 15 years and was not helped by all the treatments. My doctors were able to keep me semi-functioning but not fixed. I did recover by taking vitamin D. My doctors all said I had good vit D levels but that was all I changed and saw significant improvements after 6 months. Not everyone needs more vitamins or minerals but my point is that doctors don't have all the answers and neither do the snake oil sales people. Not everyone has an obvious disability but we are here and we are a force together.
Great videos. Really enjoy your style, talent and personality. Thank you for talking about chronic disease and pacing. I have celiac disease and together with a very careful diet, pacing is the only thing that helps me to keep my life/health manageable. Until the pandemic. Then pacing wasn't possible any more as I lost my business and had to continually work to start a new one to feed me and my daughter. There's no social benefits/security where I live. You don't work, you don't eat. And many did starve here. I was lucky enough to be able to keep going long enough to make it through the pandemic but then I had a breakdown and couldn't walk for 6 months. On my way to recovery now. Knitting, sewing, crocheting is helping me mentally a lot.
Claude, I found your RU-vid channel through Engineering Knits and I have always love your 'no sugar coating' any answer. You are so funny and talented. Thank you for sharing all your thoughts and talents.
Thank you for sharing. You have helped me open the communication with my husband about getting a walker/wheelchair. You helped me rethink our disability. ❤
Very interesting explanation of ME. My good friend has had a very successful treatment using neural plasticity training through our local university hospital, the university of British Columbia. She's not 100 percent but she's gotten back to many of her regular activities.
I thought I knew quite a bit about ME but as it turns out I do not - very enlightening Claude . I do hope for improving health ahead for you. Your channel is hugely enjoyable - selfishly I do hope you will be able to sew regularly soon. Whatever you do I will watch you have an endearing personality.
I found you on the short and am watching your longest videos now 😊 I’m in a very similar situation as you, it’s so good to see someone talking about problems that I face daily, thank you 😊❤
I have moderate Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Degen Disc Disease in my lower back, costochondritis, calcifying right shoulder, dropped and tilted right hip, recently diagnosed with neuropathy in my left hip. List is bloody endless. My favourites are when people say "You're not crook, you look fine!!!" Or "Just go to bed earlier..." *rolls eyes* I want my life back...
Seriously, just because they cannot see it, it doesn't mean everything's as it should be. I struggle with depression and psychosis and people keep telling me all I need is a holiday and pull myself together.
Thank you very much. I have fibromyalgia. I had thyroid cancer so I had a thyroidectomy. The thyroid controls the metabolism of every cell. My daughter has MS, my other daughter has Hashimoto’s disease. All of these are immune system related. Is EM about mitochondria’s metabolism? Thanks for the info. I’ll check out the links
I found you through the daisy blouse update shorts but now am hooked on all your longer videos. Also I am interested in historical costuming and that is primarily the people I watch here and I am so very sorry to hear about the ableism you've experienced from the community. That is unacceptable. I hope any future experiences (totally understand if you want to avoid based on past experiences, though) are more welcoming.
Me working on granny squares while watching this 😂. Though tbh I don't entirely get the hype either. But I'm enjoying working on the bright colours for this one. And I appreciate how mindless they are Loved this chatty video to keep me company while I craft
Hi Claude! I don't Ever comment on videos but I just want to say I found you from your shorts and your long form videos have been amazing comfort ever since. I particularly loved the stash busting videos, one as a newer knitter but two because of the vlog style nature of how you chat with your viewers. Your videos have made me feel much more confident as a knitter and your sharing of disability experience is so helpful. Dealing with the ADHD medication shortage here in the US, I've actually started using your "good, better, best" methodology as well to help curb that shame cycle with not being able to complete quite as much as I may have wanted on task. Looking forward to what comes next! ❤
Oh I have been patiently waiting for another Video of yours! I used to do paint by numbers until I got back issues. So glad you are having fun with it!
Glad you're taking care of yourself first. I got your Budeliah blouse pattern and I am hung up on the long stitch . No attempt comes out close to the picture. Would you be able to do a short on that particular stitch? Or point me in the direction of other directions. Really enjoy your knitting and sewing videos.
random little bits but, you probably didn't learn to crochet from youtube because those videos (in my experience) weren't all that common 10-15 years ago. secondly, I don't know if it would work for you, but I have audio processing issues and they're a lot less when I put devices on mono audio. it's the only way I can listen to audiobooks and podcasts. thirdly, I got the sewing scissors I saw you use and they're amazing. They've really made a difference for me, thank you!
checking in to say that I believe I came from shorts! not directly because I was seeing a bunch of shorts about your daisy blouse so the algorithm thought I liked your channel but I still didn't really know who you were until I clicked on your 6 hour stash busting video after being recommended it for weeks straight, and only after that and I saw some of your shorts again I probably realized it was the same person, haha. I'm obviously not everyone but you got at least one new viewer that way
This was really lovely to listen to while lying in bed trying not to think about being sick so I can get a bit of rest. I love the compilations - I’ll listen to them while I work and feel like I’m being kept company, and then I’ll listen while crafting as a bit of motivation. I’m currently watching Clodmas 2022 and honestly find it motivating seeing how you adjust when things aren’t going quite to plan - it makes it feel more approachable to just get a little bit done and inch toward my goals.
I only recently learned what ME really is. It's awful. The way i found out about it though, was upsetting...i felt like the person explaining it to me was saying, "you with fibro have no idea what it's like" which, i just wanted to say, none of chronic illness is good, or easy, and noone should make another feel they aren't disabled enough. It's not a competition! That being said, I'm sorry for those with ME!
Hi! I’m one of your “exceptions that prove the rule” that started on your shorts and made my way to the longer videos. Also again true- the compiled stash busting video was great :) Thank you for sharing about ME and why you don’t call it chronic fatigue syndrome - as someone starting in the medical field (pharmacy), it is always helpful to hear the experience of anyone who deals with a not so common health issue (I now know to be carefully aware of ME and nutritional needs, and while I hope I never have to use that knowledge I am genuinely grateful to know about it. I would also like to acknowledge that is *not* why you shared your experiences and I in no way want to take away from what you’ve been through. ). I really appreciate the way you talk about your experiences and being real that sometimes it just sucks even when it was “okay” before - I needed a mobility aid recently (26) for the first time. I didn’t and haven’t known how to feel about it but seeing your attitude over the course of the stash busting video both validated the “it sucks” moments and has given me a lot of hope about the “it can get better/ life is what you make of it.” On a different note - I primarily crochet and am trying to learn to knit and your videos are making me want to try so many things!! Best of wishes from the USA (Texas) and thank you again for sharing about yourself and all your crafting knowledge!
I found your channel in maybe 2021 because I went looking for sewists making 1930's and 1940's clothing. The 1930's and early 1940's are my favourite era for fashion and they aren't anywhere near as popular as I'd like. There's a lot of 1920's and late 1940's-1950's, but very little in between, and it's such a shame. I don't remember which video I watched first, but "Sewing with A Disability" was one of the first, and honestly? Thank you for making that one. Life smacked me in mid-2019 and I'm partially disabled now, and your advice, especially on batch-sewing and pacing, was extremely helpful. And then I found out you also do yarn crafts! Really cool ones! And I'm still here.
Popping in at minute 5 to say, "Thanks!" for talking about M.E. I knew nothing about it ! ( I did know you had a chronic disease) Back to the video, though, I can not watch the entire video now. I will tune in tonight & finish it !
I found you during your post about working with a disability. Because I have a disability, I subscribed. Now I watch most of what you post. I do not have the ability to watch the 2-hour or 3-hour videos. I apologize. A 1-hour is pushing my limits. This was a fun video to watch and listen to. I did get some knitting accomplished as well.💚💚💚
Im very new to your channel (i found you from Bernadette Banners book actually) but its been so amazing to see a creator with ME. I have moderate/severe ME (and the wonderful hEDS and POTS to go along with it) and I want to get into sewing or making things. Its so great to hear you talk openly about it and explain it in a more coherant way than I could. Its also been great to see what you do for accommodations so I can implement them from the start and hopefully make it easier. This is a long way to basically say thank you and I appreciate all the work you do, sewing content or not.
Thank you for explaining about ME and how it impacts you. It's hard when most doctors are able-bodied and neurotypical, and therefore have difficulties empathizing with patients that are having those issues. On a lighter note, my mother also taught me to knit and I'm a self-taught crocheter. My consistent crochet pattern are these chrysanthemum dishcloths/trivets. Small world
Thank you for talking so candidly about ME and your journey to find a way to adapt to your limitations over and over again. I’m going through some of the same things right now and it’s good to listen to a RU-vid video and crochet in bed to actually rest before my body forces me to
So many interesting topics discussed. I found your explanation for your interest in the 1940s interesting as I have always thought that there was very much a rose tinted view of this period in British culture, and therefore it was not something that should be glorified as it appears to be. There is also a general lack of understanding in the British narrative of WW2 about the impact of war on countries that experienced on the ground fighting or the vast movement of refugees across Europe during this period, let alone the horrors of the holocaust. Also, I had not heard that explanation for the causes of ME and it really brought home to me how little modern medicine actually understands how the body works. And it is just frankly depressing how little time is invested into researching conditions that have such a dramatic impact of quality of life.
The way long covid has basically turned into ME made me realise I'd caught swine flu when i was in my teens and i don't think my body ever truly recovered. After years of intense stress and less energy overall than other people i got sick around Christmas and never recovered. Ive been diagnosed with ME ever since and was forced to get a part time job which lasted 3 weeks before my body couldn't cope anymore and i was left in agony for 2 years as my body healed extremely slowly
I loved this video Claude - I'm a disabled doctor (recurrent depression, probable ADHD and limited arm mobility) working to specialise in neuropsychiatry. Unfortunately I agree with your description of how doctors treat people with ME/CFS and I hope I call it out when I see it in my colleagues. Lots of love from a knitter, crocheter, sewer, and cross-stitcher x
I've been diagnosed with c.f.s./m.e. since July of '23. I only developed symptoms in November '22 and they worsened in April '23 (dizziness, extreme unrelenting fatigue, gastrointestinal motility issues, worsened symptoms from dysautonomia, lowered tolerance for being vertical and higher need for being horizontal and getting flu like symptoms with the worst being a severe sore throat after even minimal exertion-> aka- post exertional malaise). I feel quite grateful for having a neurologist who not only "specializes" in the "rarer" neurological type illnesses but he himself has a fairly mild case of m.e. (at least according to him) although he said that I'm quite a bit into the moderate part of the spectrum of the condition.
Its nice to see you happy and smiling as you work on something, I know how hard it can be when you cant do the thing you love. And I so hear you on the granny squares, I don't get it either...
Hi Claud, I really enjoyed this video. It’s great to know more about you and also about ME as I didn’t know much. I completely agree about about accessibility, I have hearing loss and am now at the stage that I can’t really go to the cinema or theatre, both of which I love, unless there are captions. Theatres and cinemas are so bad at this and it’s completely infuriating. They seem to think that hearing people don’t like subtitles, and whilst I’m sure some don’t, in my experience most either don’t mind or actually find them useful. It’s something I’ve found myself getting really angry about so I completely understand your frustration. Would love to see more chatty videos about any random topic you want to chat about, although I’m sure that chatting for a while is probably quite tiring.
I too find theatre frustrating. It seems rather than make every performance more accessible, they enforce segregation so you have to book a separate performance. That's if you can even get in the theatre! Many London ones are barely Wheelchair accessible (I'm looking at you Vaudeville with NO DIABLED TOILETS)
I'm a hearing person who on the whole prefers subtitled foreign films over dubbed ones... if only because dubbing often flattens or skews the acting... and you just made me realise there's another reason why that option would be preferable. Or more like connect the dots between two seemingly separate concepts I've been aware of before. More subtitled films, yes, please!
I’m a hearing person who’s got so used to watching tv and RU-vid with captions. I think it started with my parents watching especially non-American tv with thicker accents. Ive enjoyed recent RU-vid productions that will have captions (not just subtitles) describing some of what happening, not just strictly what’s being said. As someone who now does transcribing audio for work I’m amused and annoyed by tv captions for older programs that paraphrase what’s said, or have misheard, or just label inaudible or mumbling what I can understand. I have been to theaters so seldom in recent years and miss the captions I’m used to on tv, plus as a sound sensitive person they’re so loud.
Thanks so much for answering my question. Also, as a fellow person with a disability, I really appreciate it when you take the opportunity to address ableism-and I related so much to the absence of disability inclusion in DEI spaces. I enjoyed this episode, and it looks like others did too. I found your channel because of your stash busting compilation, and have a great time rewatching the different segments. But for whatever it’s worth, this style is of video is also really great. While I do get satisfaction in seeing you get closer to your stash goals, I imagine you might sometimes feel pressure to finish projects by a certain time, simply for the sake of your content release schedule. I’m all for more episodes like this, especially if they make things easier for you!
Omg Claudia, I remember the no-pants incident from uni! Hilarious😂I was in the year below you, working on the Urinetown production at the time I believe..
I really do enjoy your videos. I understand your disability as my daughter had the same condition. She passed away in 2021 from a blood clot. Keep yourself safe and listen to your body. ❤
I love hearing you talk about history!! Would you ever consider doing a series on topics you're passionate about/podcast or something? Love your videos!!
I also have ME/CFS and I hate how I feel I have to justify my existence constantly. I’m lucky to be well enough to work part time but so many people just think I’m being lazy and it frustrates me a lot PS thanks for answering my question!
I like these kinds of videos, and it was nice to get answers to some questions I've had over the years. Also, I found you because pf your historical sewing. I've fallen in love with your stash busting series, despite not knowing how to knit. Have a good week, and best of luck on the alterations.
Hey Claude! I came from watching the shorts and I’ve now watched lots of your longer content and even knitted a tea rose slip on from your pattern. I ended up seeing a few different shorts about the progress of the daisy blouse and I ended up watching to see more about that project and how it was getting on, then stayed for the vintage knitting and sewing as I’m just beginning to make garments. You’ve really inspired me to push myself with crafting and I’m really enjoying it, thank you so much ❤
I found your channel a few weeks ago for the vintage dress sewing videos. While I also have been a pretty successful knitter I can't keep it up due to my hand problems. As someone with an invisible disabling condition (peripheral neuropathy) I struggle with my limitations. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
with regard to spinning - my dear mum has rheumatoid arthritis that can be particularly band in her hands when its flaring, so she invested in the ashford e-spinner and loves it (we have sheep and spin their wool so the cost made sense/balanced out), I also have some energy limiting health issues and used to spin with a drop spindle but found it all a bit too much at times so I would definitely recommend an e-spinner in general if you were wanting to try it! edit: i also found you only recently through your 6 hour long stash busting video and it has been keeping me company whilst i knit my first cable jumper so i love love all your long form (and other) videos!
Thank you for this lovely and very honest video. I really enjoyed the paint by numbers aspect of it, and did some knitting while listening to your informative answers about ME and about life with disability, but I also loved your light anecdotes
The sad truth is that it’s easier to put a wheelchair user in a photo than to actually make your patterns and instructions accessible and a company will get more publicity and glow from a single photoshoot than from actual inclusion.
Regarding the vintage 3ply, Susan Crawford has a vintage 3ply replica called "fenella". Its really very pricy, and I know youre trying to use up the yarn you have, but might be worth a try and I would love to hear your review/thoughts on it.
Hi Claude! It was so nice to hear a hello from you as I'm that person who luckily found you by the stash-busting video 😊 also, as a newbie to the channel it was interesting to learn about your disability, because I was curious while watching other films and it's nothing negative, just care I would say? Listening to you talking like this while crocheting is really nice, so I would definitely watch more content like this 🙂 take care!
I just love your channel, but tbh I have no idea how I found you..maybe one of your hand-sewing technique videos popped up in one of my searches? No idea! But I subscribed right-quick. I'm a total n00b knitter and I don't do historical sewing, but I could watch stash-busting and project videos all day! So cool that you did professional theater--can't imagine the stress! I did costumes for local musicals for 2 summers, and I was NOT prepared for how much work it would be. Best wishes from Minnesota!
Such a wonderful catch up. I've been watching your videos for quite a few years now and if I had done only half of what you have I would be so proud. You are a very accomplished lady and I should really pull my finger out and got on with stuff. Thank you.
All great points for making patterns and instructions more accessible. The cynic in me says it’s cheaper to stick a model in a wheelchair than produce useable products. The pessimist thinks that companies market exclusion as a status thing, people feel better about their own talents if others can’t grasp them. Keep shouting.
