yarn n. 1: a continuous often plied strand composed of natural or man made fibers 2: a narrative of adventures
Still no knitting but I was busy with this guy -
His name is Soso and this is his friend Vladimir -
and their third companion is Gizmo.
In between keeping these guys happy I went to The Little Knittery and Steinberg & Sons where I bought the requisite cute L.A. summer dress to show off at the reopened Griffith’s Observatory. This is me telling my honey to puhlease take the photo already - note the attractive wrist bands as the hot accessory for the CTS/RSI gal-on-the-go!
And I bought Misti Chunky Alpaca to be made into Patty’s scarf.
This is life without knitting. Pretty damn good but I’ll sure be glad when I can pick up the sticks again.
I guess I jinxed myself with the last post because my wrist/neck/shoulder have started to hurt again. It’s very discouraging.
I was able to get some knitting in, before the pain returned, because I’m taking Knitting for Pleasure again. Arnetta Kenney is such a great teacher. She knows so many tips and tricks and she’s hysterically funny. We started with learning about lace. The class has been knitting lace swatches and we had a homework assignment of experimenting with lace patterns that go well with each other in a garment. I came up with three designs that I’m very pleased with and Arnetta encouraged me to make them. For now, I’m just swatching.
I’m also still working on my project that I started from the last class. As you can see, it’s been slow going. I love this yarn but I’m beginning to question my sanity at choosing this thin, lace weight yarn.
Last Friday Alex and I went to The Point after work to knit even though the air conditioning was broken. Isn’t that dedication? (Veronique was there with I’m guessing was The Spiders? and I got to see her cute, cute haircut!) Alex poured over patterns for a sweater she’d like to make for herself. I sustained myself through a couple rows of my project with a slice of banana bread with chocolate chips and a cold ice tea. That was the last time I knit - five days ago. FIVE. DAYS. AGO!!!! I totally skipped out on Knitting In Public Day and instead took my friend’s son to the park to get him out of her hair for the afternoon. Very fun but then I was exhausted afterwards and took a nap. Three year olds are tiring, even the good ones. The other times I’ve been busy with house guests to keep me distracted, but when I’m not running around I’m all antsy because I am not knitting or crocheting. I need to keep creative - going back to painting was suggested for the interim - I think I might.
I had my first pain-free night last Thursday - sometimes I felt my wrist in an uncomfortable position as I slept but there were no sharp twinges. Yeah!
I haven’t needed my wrists to be taped and I still go in for treatment. I have my own braces that I sometimes I wear and I find help support my wrist. If anyone is suffering from CTS or RSI, these products have helped me tremendously*.
Ace TekZone Wrist Wrap - I used this when I wanted complete immobility of my wrist. It was also good to wear at night. I have small hands and wrists and this fit me comfortably. The three velcro straps make a snug fit, and I never felt chafed by the interior fabric. It also has a gel pad right around the bony wrist area that keeps you wrist cushioned when you work on a computer, and it has two metal plates that can be removed for washing.
Futuro Energizing Support Glove - I wear this when I need mild support. I like this because it’s reversible for either hand. I was a little skeptical at first of the simple wrap around velcro strap being of any help, but it is has the right amount of firmness when you only want a little support.
Handeze - I bought one of these therapeutic gloves long before my CTS started. These are just great when you need a little TLC if you’ve been knitting or crocheting too long. Sometimes I would wear this under my Ace TekZone.
I also bought the Thermalon Moist Heat/Cold Carpal Cuff - While I like how this fits, is light and targets the wrist area, it doesn’t stay cold as long as I would like it, no matter how many hours I keep it in the freezer. I prefer my flexible ice pack that I bought cheap from the drugstore; it wraps around a wrist just as well and can cover a larger area.
Lastly here’s a link on RSI that my friend forwarded me from the website of Annette Petavy.
While this has been a frustrating experience in terms of productivity, I’ve learned a lot about my body and the mind/body connection. Patience really is a virtue when dealing with an injury.
If there are any lurkers out there who have any good links on CTS or RSI or who just want to share their experiences, I’d love to hear from you and how you dealt with it.
*Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice; this is only a friendly sharing of my experience.
