Celebrating American Heart Month

This past Wednesday, January 30, I was finally free of the heart monitor I had to wear for 30 days. Today is February 1 and the month of February is American Heart Month.  Today is National Wear Red Day to raise awareness about women and heart disease.

I spent a lot of time over the past 6 weeks making some items to wear that would hid or disguise my heart monitor. Here I am below showing off my fancy heart monitor necklace.

I made the Ellie & Mac Around the Block Hoodie and it was perfect to hide my monitor and had a pocket for the monitor.

I made two George + Ginger Clover Dresses - Imade the Peplum versions. These were intended to be worn to work and I did finally get a chance to wear that top one. No one at work knew I had my monitor on.

You might be wondering why I had to wear a heart monitor. I have rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and most people think that RA just causes your joints to ache and get deformed. That is so far from the truth. RA can attack just about any organ in your body.

From the Cleveland Heart Lab I found this "...people with rheumatoid arthritis have a 50 percent higher risk of experiencing a heart attack, twice the rate of heart failure and more peripheral vascular disease than those without the condition."

The photo above is me showing where my heart monitor is while I'm wearing my George + Ginger Posh Top. The photo below is to show how the top concealed it.

I had to see a cardiologist for the first time ever last year around June. After having high blood pressure for nearly 20 year, by blood pressure went extremely low. I stopped taking high blood pressure medication and it stayed low for a few months. Then it crept up a little, then went up, then down. My doctor didn't like the roller coaster my heart was on and is determined to find the cause of what has made this sudden change in my blood pressure. My RA is the number one culprit.

 

Another pattern I tested during January was the Itch to Stitch Uvita Add-on. The tall floppy collar and relaxed body were perfect for keeping my monitor disguised. Below I'm pulling the cord out a bbit to show I am wearing it underneath.

Another pattern I tested was the Sinclair Patterns Lauren Top. I loved that it covered most of my chest and I could wear a tank under it and tuck my monitor and cord into and the pleats couldd keep it hidden and hide the contacts on my chest.

I was so ready for January 30th to get here. I am severely allergic to adhesive and the pads started to cause more and more of a reaction as the days wore on. By mid month, they started to cause blisters that would ooze pus. I switch pad types and did slightly better with them. But I was just miserable the last week. Below is an unedited photo of the Halla Vivianne I tested. I had to photoshop out the red marks. You can also see the white pad peaking out.

I go see the Cardiologist on February 14th - Valentine's Day! I feel like it is an appropriate day. Hopefully she has good news for me and we will have a better understanding of how to control my blood pressure going forward. I'll be sure to let everyone know how it goes.

Be sure to take a moment this month to consider your heart health and do what you can to maintain a healthy heart.


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Greenstyle Creations Warrior Pants

I always enjoy testing for Greenstyle Creations. I wish I worked out more to justify buying and sewing all of their amazing activewear patterns. I really enjoy sewing and testing the more athleisure patterns, as those fit into my lifestyle so much better. The newest pattern is the Warrior Pants.

It's hard for me to believe it, but I moved to Plano nine years ago from my hometown. It's so hard to build a new network of friends and get into a new routine. For me that meant I needed to find a new workout routine that was gentle on my body as I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis after moving.

That's when I discovered yoga. The Warrior Pants are named after the warrior pose in yoga. When I think of the warrior pose, I think about doing Sun Salutations. Moving through a series of poses all while slowly breathing in and out. Like life - sometimes you just go through the motions of day to day life.

I haven't been to a traditional yoga class in probably 2 years, but still practice at home. The Warrior Pants are not something I could see myself wearing to a yoga class though. I tend to prefer leggings and tanks. I wore wide legged pants once and I kept catching my foot in all that extra fabric hanging between my legs and nearly fell over - several times.

The Warrior Pants to me are the perfect warm weather athleisure pants. You look like you might work out, but you might just sit on the sofa all day. The pockets have a very unique construction that results in the front leg overlapping the back when you make the pockets.

You sew up the side seam as you desire. While you could sew them completely closed, that would be kinda boring. I don't care to show too much leg, as my legs are not very pretty. I sewed mine down the sides to my knee.

I made this pair of Warrior Pants with rayon spandex from the fabric district. You can find amazing remnants for $2.50 a yard at the fabric district - but you have to take the entire remnant. That's usually not too bad, but some of their remnants can be an entire bolt! I got this fabric from Sharon (Sweet Mama Life - check out her Warrior Pants blog post). She and I often swap fabric leftovers. She gave me this fabric after she had already made something from it.

I also made the Warrior Pants in cotton lycra.

These are so comfortable!

While I may never wear my Warrior Pants to a yoga class, I'll definitely wear them all over town.

As we get further into fall and our nice warm days slowly disappear, I'll be looking forward to next spring to get out my Warrior Pants and even make a few new pairs.

The Warrior Pants are definitely not for a beginner sewist. The unique construction of the pockets could be challenging for a beginner. In addition, these require a lot of topstitching - often with slinky fabrics. While I did make a pair with cotton lycra - the Warrior Pants look best in a drapey lightweight knit. The first pair in my blog is an ITY knit. The ITY and Rayon Spandex are ideal fabrics for the Warrior Pants, but both can be extremely shifty. So be prepared to use lots of pins and patience, but the end result is worth all that extra effort.

The Warrior Pants are on sale for $9 through Thursday, October 25th.

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.