Batteries Fail, Life Goes On

My power wheelchair's first set of batteries started showing signs of failure mere months after they were given their inaugural run. Concerned, I contacted the service representative I'd been dealing with at the store through which I purchased the (remarkably expensive) chair. It took some back and forth, but she was helpful and kind and … Continue reading Batteries Fail, Life Goes On →

Just Like Christmas

If one measures accomplishments in tangible output, as our capitalist society is wont to do, my summer and early fall weren’t incredibly fruitful. As a productivity-worshipping perfectionist whose self-worth has traditionally been based on such standards, I feel obliged to remind you that my lack of much to show for these months was by design: … Continue reading Just Like Christmas →

Wrinkles

Please note that this is part one of what I swear will be a two-post series. I'm serious this time. Bear with me. In the list of sewing-related activities I dislike, a very close second to cutting is ironing. For the purposes of this post, which isn't a how-to but rather an opportunity for me … Continue reading Wrinkles →

Curse of the Solstice Gown

When I was ten or so, my mom sewed a solstice dress for me to wear to winter solstice rituals. (I won’t elaborate on the yearly event, but think “simulated birth canal.”) I still have that magnificent gown, which is in a purple 1990s celestial print that could be mistaken for nothing but a relic … Continue reading Curse of the Solstice Gown →

Oh Donny Boy

If the last three shirts I’ve sewn are anything to go by, it’s safe to say that I’m squarely in my camp-collar era. It all started, of course, with the Gilbert. Next was the Donny. For months, I kept seeing Friday Pattern Company’s Donny Shirt while perusing other people’s finished objects on Instagram. IG’s algorithm … Continue reading Oh Donny Boy →

Cutting It Out

Before I get caught up in a million project recaps, I'm going to make good on my promise to maintain the disability component of DMS. This feels important because the more time passes, the more I realize that accessibility-related considerations play into almost everything I do, hobbies included. Not always in a bad way, though: … Continue reading Cutting It Out →

When Life Gives You a Ridiculous Tablecloth, Sew a Gilberto

I’m finally sitting down to hammer out my first post-pivot post after a brief pause caused by sewing-related distraction and my inability to decide how best to launch this next chapter of the life of DMS. When imagining how it'd take shape, I assumed that I'd begin by reaching back to my first completed project … Continue reading When Life Gives You a Ridiculous Tablecloth, Sew a Gilberto →

From DMS to … DMS

The more time passes, and the more consistently secure I feel in where things have settled with my health and my daily rhythms, the more aware I’ve become of how different my life is now as compared to how it was when I published my first De Morbo Sacro post eons ago. Back then, epilepsy … Continue reading From DMS to … DMS →

When 2 Become 1,000

When my power chair and I hit 100, it felt like a significant milestone in the coming together of one soul and one motor. We'd bonded in those first 100 km, and I remember being sure that it was impossible for woman and machine to be any closer unless in a cyborg situation such as … Continue reading When 2 Become 1,000 →

Stalled

Hell hath no fury like a woman with a full bladder and nowhere to empty it. Scrap that: hell hath no fury like a wheelchair-using woman waiting for someone to vacate the only accessible stall in a public washroom with plenty of unoccupied toilets. And can you blame her/them/me? It's hard enough to locate a … Continue reading Stalled →