...head squirrels that is.  You know them?  They're all distracting with their fluffy cuteness but if you get up close they can be quite scratchy & bitey & everything they leave behind is nuts!

I've had a right old problem with the head squirrels this last few weeks or so.  For me they come out a lot in the sunny weather, my body can't regulate my temperature so I'm feeling exhausted & in pain, which in time invites depression & anxiety to take hold, meanwhile positivity is off having a nap in a dark room somewhere.  Perfect squirrel conditions!

As most of you know my business is still just a new one, around 7 months in I'm still really building the foundation & finding you gorgeous ideal audience members...yeah, you there, I saw you drooling over that corset earlier, did you know you can have it in any size, shape or fabric you want? ;) 

I digress.

My point is, nobody expects me to have earned my first million within 7 months of business do they?  (Do they?!?)  So why, when the squirrels invade, do I think I'm useless at this whole self employed lark because all I've managed is not to go into overdraft? NUTS!!!  

In reality, my last wage was over a year ago & I've supported myself since then.  How many people could truthfully say that if their wages stopped tomorrow without warning they could survive a year without outside financial assistance?  My guess is not many!

Yes, it would be fantastic to be living comfortably & never to be thinking "jeez, I really need to get a proper job" but I'm hanging on in there & I have A PLAN & I'm not going to let the squirrels win!

I do have a teeny tiny favour to ask to help me out a little, & I suspect those of you who haven't stopped reading already are just the kind of lovely people who will help me out.

If you see something from Miss Red you like or know someone else would like, share it. 

You can tell just one other person about it, shout it from the rooftops, plaster it over the whole of the internet but pretty please with cherries on top, don't keep it to yourself. 

You could start my sharing my Facebook page, Twitter, the website, the newsletter or even just a particular product.  It'll probably take about 30 seconds, you could do it right now ;)

Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!

Cor, it's a bit warm isn't it?

I've been pretty broken by the weather so lots of bits & bobs going on depending on what I can manage & which room is cooler at the time.

Couple of his & hers lilac pillowcases up first.  These will be being listed at £10 per pair initially but there is the option to personalise further & choose different colours.

Bit more progress on the "Tied up" cross stitch.

And a new one started...

...and a bit of bunting on the go for my stall :)

Phew!  Time for a drink of something with ice cubes in I reckon ;)

This time last year I'd just received my final wages from my last job.

I'd started as a temp at this government quango & after a year of glowing reports, pay rises & contract extensions I was *promoted* into a permanent role.  Much as I missed teaching I knew my health wasn't up to a full time teaching role so begrudgingly accepted, relieved that my financial situation would at least become stable.

Little did I know it would all be downhill from there, the new role being nothing like the temporary roles I'd done & essentially turning me into a phone monkey.  No offence meant to anyone who works in call centre/contact centre, in fact hats off to you!  As someone with severe anxiety issues & a phone phobia I'd never have accepted the post had I been aware of the change in role!  I approached my line manager who assured me despite being put through phone training I'd soon be back in my administrative post because it would be a busy period for my team & I knew more about the process than anyone on the team (including/especially her!)  Of course just a couple of months later it'd be my word against hers that she'd made these reassurances & she'd convince management that I'd known all along what I was agreeing to when I accepted the job.  (8 hours a day on the phone being told when I'm allowed to leave my desk & watching bimbling idiots around me stuffing up the job I *used* to do really well)

After 5 months off ill followed by being pushed too hard on a phased return & being ill again occupational health & other medical professionals were unanimous in the decision that redeployment was the way forward.  Shortly after this decision was formalised I was brought in for a *redeployment* meeting.  Allegedly there was no position to move me to, despite hiring 3 new staff members to carry out the job I'd managed without illness and with glowing reports for several months.  Since I'd already had my trial period extended by three months it was decided I was incapable of carrying out the role I was hired for (no shit Sherlock!) so therefore I no longer had a job.

Obviously it hadn't been my ideal job but it had been my lifeline for almost 2 years & to suddenly just stop having any income came as a shock as well as causing many sleepless nights & exacerbating my ME .  Having already been turned down for DLA (but in the process of appealing it) I had no idea how I'd pay the bills & no optimism where new employment was concerned with over 100 sick days under my belt.  Already in a very dark place it did nothing for my mental health either, it's very difficult trying to see a silver lining when even somewhere you don't want to work but slog your heart out for doesn't think it's worth giving you a break.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger apparently ;)

Are you an artist or designer by trade or do you just love creating beautiful pieces of art?

Would you like to see your artwork in a different medium?

Would you like more widespread recognition for your work?

If your answer is YES then YOU may be just the person I'm looking for!

(If not then pretty please do me a huge favour & share this with your talented arty friends, I'll love you forever!)

I currently draw all the artwork for my cross stitch kits by myself & this can be very time consuming as well as limiting what I can create - because 
a) I'm no artist &
b) the length of my working day is completely dependent on my health day to day.

The idea is that artists could make my process shorter by creating the original artwork so I can focus on creating the patterns, stitching them out, editing & creating the completed counted cross stitch kits.

• A new medium & line of sale for your artwork
• Professional kit creation using genuine DMC threads & quality materials
• New audience
• Credit for your work on the kit packaging, within all sale listings and in general on the Miss Red website & social media
• Links to your own website on mine so people can see more of your work
• Choice of how many pieces to submit & how often to submit
• Final review of the kit before it goes on sale to ensure it truly reflects the quality & value of your work
• Collaboration with MEEEEEEEE ;D

A choice of:

• A percentage of profits (to be negotiated)

or

• Kits and/or digital patterns to sell yourself (pricing to be mutually agreed)

Here are some of the kits I've already made:

Interested?  Great!

Drop me an email or message me using the contact page - a link to some of your work would be fab too ;)  Thank you for reading.

Started a new cross stitch this week - can you guess what it is?

Technically these ones aren't in progress any more as they're complete but I'm having a week of taking it easy & focusing on getting my health sorted so work progress is limited.  This one's just a quickie & already on sale here.

Finished at last!  Buy yours here :)

That's all from me today, birthday curry awaits!

Just lately when I've started talking to new people "oh, you're so lucky" has been a frequent response when I tell them I'm self-employed.

Well, the short response to that is "hell no!"

The longer response?  Lets see, I've battled for years with my health & struggled to hold down jobs my entire adult life because my M.E means I have more sick days than the average person.  As a (terminally) single woman there's never been anyone to support me financially so working part time was never really an option.  The result - working myself to death in temporary roles until I just can't work any more then having to move on & start all over again.  Oh, and don't forget the gruelling doctor/hospital/dietician/psychologist/specialist schedule in my *spare* time!

After 14 years of fighting each & every day to stay afloat I decided enough was enough.  No employer is going to give me a job that fits around my health.  DWP aren't going to support me in any way because, unlike employers, they believe being able to walk from my bed to the loo on a good day means I'm perfectly capable of holding down full time work.

I decided to set up my own business.  I did the research & courses needed to get up & running.  I searched for funding.  I went to trade fairs, put in the hours of hard work making things & perfecting my skills & tracking accounts, networking & finding out what people wanted & would buy.  I bought stock & supplies instead of food & a social life, ME!


So hell no, I'm not giving luck any credit here!  This didn't just happen to me while I sat idly by, I made all of this happen.  I work damn hard at what I do & will continue to do so because I'm passionate & motivated & sooooo stubborn that I refuse to let this fail (despite the fact that even writing this post has taken me 2 hours because my wrists & back ache too much to do it all in one go)  

I love my work & I love that the credit all belongs to me & the fantastic customer base I continue to build along the way ;)  

Just for me, next time your brain tells you that you can't do something because it's too difficult, give it a little go anyway.  You might be surprised what you CAN do!

M.E has pretty much stopped me in my tracks this week but there has been a little bit of progress so here goes.

Firstly it's Avon week so I've been packing up goodies & getting books & posters out.

I decided to read a bit more of the instruction book for my embroidery machine & have a stab at machine appliqué.  As a result I learned that it's best to not start with tiny fiddly things & that it's best to stick down your appliqué rather than rely on it sitting still on the sewing machine.  Despite that I don't think my first attempt came out too bad at all & I shall be having a few more practice runs but then getting stuck into some of the ideas I've got for it.

Good old Cthulu, slowly getting there with this.  Loving how it's looking, hopefully next week this will be a completed Cthulu!

I have to give credit to the lovely Victoria for this idea as she suggested it to me a little while ago & it's turned out fab!  

I'd love to hear your cross stitch suggestions, what would you love to see me create a pattern of?

Please do send me your suggestions, either in writing or if you're an arty type send me a drawing & I'll turn it into across stitch!