This post is a little unusual as I don’t normally write about personal stuff but this week has been unusual, and I feel the need to record it. So buckle up and hold on tight, for it is a bumpy ride. Oh and grab a cuppa because this is a rather long read.

Monday started off pretty good, quite a few orders came through over the weekend and I had a full schedule planned with pre orders and ongoing projects, then at 6:30pm a bombshell dropped: my partner Sebastian received an email from the Immigration Department that his visa application, the one he’s been waiting for for the past fifteen months, had been rejected and he was given 34 days to depart the country, on the 29th November. Without going into too much detail, Sebastian’s application was rejected on technicality ground. Apparently he had applied 8 days too soon, despite meeting every other criteria. An oversight on his/our part perhaps? All the same we were stunned, shocked, flabbergasted and lost for words. But maybe there was ground for appeal? Maybe?

There was not much we could do on Monday night so we started researching possibilities for appeal, what we found was not reassuring. But we researched nonetheless, including finding an immigration lawyer.

Came Tuesday morning we contacted one of the law firms that seemed to have good reviews and managed to schedule a preliminary consultation that afternoon. Throughout the day neither of us could function properly, I kept myself busy dyeing pre orders and packing ready to ship orders, Sebastian tried his best carrying on with his work. Eventually the call came and instead of hearing something positive and uplifting our hope was dashed, as the lawyer ruled out any chances of appeal because the rejection was based on technicality. And, because of the refusal the only options left for further visa applications were limited to: Partner Visa, on medical grounds or humanitarian. The latter two were out of the question so Partner Visa was the only possibility. However, because Sebastian was currently on a bridging visa the prognosis for applying Partner Visa onshore did not look good as “the Immigration wouldn’t like that” - according to the lawyer. So it seemed that we needed to lodge an offshore application and THAT presented many difficulties of its own. Of course the lawyer couldn’t give much else advice as we couldn’t go into more details during the preliminary consultation. We did manage to secure a full consultation on Wednesday afternoon.

The clock was ticking, ticktock, ticktock… 33 days left, the panic was setting in.

After the preliminary consultation I called my friend Deb who is a registered celebrant and enquired about how to get married at short notice. Deb, being the brilliant friend she is, immediately sent over the NOIM (Notice of Intended Marriage) and walked me through all the steps. She said that if we could get all the necessary signatures pronto we could just make it by 28th November, the day before Sebastian has to depart.

Sebastian checked flights back to Quito and found that all the flights nowadays has to transit in the U.S.A. which means he has to get a transit visa. He applied and paid for a transit visa, then found out that there were no interviews (a must for his passport) available. None.At.All.

Now what do we do? Ticktock, ticktock… we were really panicking now.

If Monday evening felt like a deer just got trapped in a snare, Tuesday evening was when the deer realised the horror of the snare and couldn’t see a way out.

By Wednesday morning we were both exhausted, shaking, downtrodden and really feeling the despair. Sebastian called the U.S. consulate who confirmed that there were no appointments available but advised keep checking their website for updates; later that morning some appointments were posted on the consulate’s website, the earliest available being 24 June 2022. Obviously that doesn’t help.

We counted the hours and minutes until the full consultation, by the time the video call came we were both utter wrecks.

The lawyer listened to our story, asked many questions and advised that given the circumstances there might be a chance for applying for Partner Visa onshore on compelling grounds: a) the fact that Sebastian cannot leave without transit visa until June 2022; b) the fact that he works in a key sector (NDIS) as a Software Developer (skills shortage), if he could get a letter from his employer saying that he is a vital part to the organisation functioning smoothly, we can fight this and Sebastian wouldn’t need to leave. We immediately agreed to retain the law firm to represent us, after what we had just been through in the previous 48 hours $15k seemed a fair price to pay… I just need to sell (a lot) more fluff and he carry on working.

Sebastian called his employer after the consultation (he’s been working from home throughout the pandemic) and they immediately agreed to write that letter, which is not surprising because he is the only software developer at the organisation and during the past two years he has made more than 30 apps and there are more in the pipeline. Finally some good news!

Now what has all this to do with Fibre Arts you might ask? Well as I said I tried to keep myself busy even though I couldn’t stop thinking about it all, and doing the things I love did help steady my nerves.

Sometime ago I signed up for a workshop called 24 Days of Sashiko by sashiko.lab on Instagram that started last Sunday, each day a new pattern is released. Day 1 started with a simple cross and subsequent patterns builds on that simple cross. I was particularly thankful for this workshop because it provided much needed relief during this challenging time, each day the pattern is just small enough to keep my mind still for a short period of time.

I’m using my natural dyed sashiko thread of Australian Cotton, this colourway is called Granite and it was dyed with Logwood with a homemade iron mordant. If you are interested in plant dyed sashiko threads you can find them here.

I also tried working on the Moondancer Shawl test knit and the Shawlography MKAL that I talked about last week. But I was clearly not in the right frame of mind because I kept making silly mistakes. For the Shawlography MKAL I found out that I’d read the pattern wrong after 12 rows and I had to rip back and start again, then after 10 rows I realised I still didn’t read the pattern right and had to frog again - this time I was just too devastated that I didn’t have the willpower to do it, so it’s been sent to the naughty corner for the time being.

For the Moondancer Shawl test knit the same thing happened again:

But after the consultation on Wednesday I felt better and managed to finally correct the mistakes and carried on to the final part.

This week has been a rollercoaster of emotions, it reminded me that life is full of surprises. Even when you think you are strong and that you have been toughened by adversities life can still throw a curveball out of the blue, your strength and resolve is being tested again and again. Sebastian and I both realise that despite all the dramas we are the lucky ones, because we still have an option, albeit a risky one, and that we are fortunate enough to be able to follow that path. We cannot forget those who are less fortunate than us, to think having your dreams and hopes dashed because of a simple misunderstanding, to have your visa application rejected because of an innocent technicality error, and then to have further options forever closed to you is just too much to contemplate.

Of course we are not out of the woods yet, with 30 days left we need to put the application together and assemble all the documents, but there is hope. And I have my crafts and my people to keep me steady.

I hope your week was better than mine. Happy Fibre Arts Friday!

Much love,

Cat ❤️

p.s. The wedding is off, for now ;)