Stitchlinks- My Story

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Betsan's Story

The idea for Stitchlinks first took seed one afternoon in January 2005 when I was helping out as a Production Editor on Cross Stitcher magazine - a Production Editor is the person responsible for putting the words on a page.

I was surprised to find that lots of stitchers were using cross stitching as an effective way of dealing with conditions such as stress, depression, pain relief and more. It appeared to be going much deeper than simply occupying people, so I decided to investigate further.

Until 2002 I was a Senior Physiotherapist, working in the community and there were many people on my rounds I could do nothing for. They simply existed behind four walls and didn't have a reason to get out of bed in the mornings. Their days had no structure or purpose. What they needed was social contact with the outside world. I became very frustrated and decided on a major career change. Fast forward the next few years here to the point I found myself called in to help out the Cross Stitcher team.

There were so many people writing to the magazine saying the same thing; that stitching was helping them deal with all types of medical and social conditions that I realised they had found something important and I began to think of ways I could get the message across to others who might benefit. So the idea for Stitchlinks was born. It was at this point I became aware of similar comments being made about knitting, so I decided to concentrate on both cross stitching and knitting because I think the combination can help a greater range of people. We have since included crochet and members will find a Guide on the members Home page.

Over the last few years I have met many influential people and experts in pain and depression, who have given their time and helped me so much. Also Cathy and her Cross Stitcher team, Debora and the Simply Knitting team and Ruth and the Quick&Easy Cross Stitch team and the many at Future Publishing who have supported and encouraged me all the way. There’s Jeni Brown of Fyberspates, who is as passionate about this as I am and thank you to her for getting together our starter kits for knitters. And of course thank you to Textile Heritage, Coats Crafts and the British Handknitting Confederation for donating some kits for use in clinical trials. I’ve made lots of new friends from around the world, too, which has confirmed my views that a friendship network can enhance anyone’s life, making it more fulfilled and happier.

There is now a large and growing group of experts in the fields of psychology, medicine and publishing who are genuinely interested in improving peoples' quality of life, and we have a number of research projects planned.

This would only have been in my wildest dreams just one year ago, but the level of interest is increasingly convincing.

Just imagine Doctors prescribing a dose of stitching twice a day! "Impossible" we can hear you say, but I think, through our research, knitting and stitching could form the basis of significant therapies in the not too distant future, so please Contact me to let me know of your experiences.

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