After I fell and broke my hip and wrist, my daughter said, after surgery while I was unconscious, I held my hands up and “knitted”. Funny! It was so difficult not to be able to knit! After lots of OT, I am back! Yeah! Love your video! Much sympathy! From Indiana
Thank you so much for your speedy response. I would love to knit this shawl in the very yarn that you have used. I too have mostly grey hair and I think it looks very elegant.
I work at a desk and have done for over 40 years so i am well versed in neck back and shoulder pain. Ive learned to follow the physio instructions and there have been many and recovery will follow. Thank you for sharing your reading and your research on looking after ourselves.
Hope you are feeling better soon and that a good rest is all that's needed. I've been struggling with hand pain myself lately ( combo of intense sock knitting and too much snow shovelling) so appreciate the links for Arne and Carlos, will give the Norwegian way a try :) If you didn't catch the gingerbread house construction video from the Arne and Carlos' recent advent series I highly recommend - so hilarious! All the best with your rest. 🙂
The Linus shawl looks beautiful on you. I’ve done a few beloveds by tin can knits and I love that pattern. I try to take breaks as often as I can to prevent injury. The mitten. I need this book. Feel better soon.
I am so sorry to hear that you are experiencing these difficulties! The same thing is currently happening to me! You never realize how much your shoulder does until it doesn’t work. In my case one of the problems was a huge buildup of calcium which caused a lot of inflammation and other things. As awful as it sounds ice has helped a lot and Physical Therapy as well. I was offered a steroid injection but have declined so far. I’m afraid if I don’t feel the pain I will injure myself more and have a longer recovery period. Another thing I discovered is that poor posture is a cause of a lot of stress on our body. I’m doing posture exercises now and being more mindful about that. I can encourage you that time and effort will heal you and that eventually you will be able to do the things you love.
Good to see you, Kathy! Sorry your shoulder and hand are still causing problems. Have you thought about weaving? Rigid heddle looms are small and portable and you get to use up yarn. Totally different body movements, so you can rotate through your crafts without over stressing any one body part. IF you can let go of the “I must finish xxx” obsession 😂. Have a wonderful holiday!!
Hi, Wendy! I hadn't thought of weaving, but it looks fun. I can definitely see that rotating crafts could be helpful. I'm not convince that knitting was the initial cause of the shoulder problem because I haven't knit in 3 weeks. Hope you are having a good holiday and that we can knit (or something) together early next year!
kathy - battenberg cake is indeed british. it's delicious! it's basically vanilla cake with a little bit of jam and a marzipan icing. your scarf is just beautiful. i surely hope that your arm and hands heal quickly!
Oh, Kathy! I hope you feel better! Achiness, pain, and problems that keep us from our activities is such a nuisance! Aging is not for sissy, as Gram used to say!
Good luck with the arm injury! I took a mini course with Carson and he encouraged us all to do a shoulder check frequently while knitting to see if we were scrunching up. I do this and always need a little shoulder relaxing and lowering. I want to avoid being where you are, not able to knit. It must be awful!! Thanks for the Jane Smiley recommendation.
O no! So sorry you are having pain. Hopefully the rest and excursive help. Don’t let it keep you from popping in and giving us your updates. Happy Holidays to you and your family
Hope your feeling better soon and able to get back into the knitting groove. When you mentioned the book to go along with your grandchild’s mittens it made me think of another UA-camr, In a Pickle Knitting. She is a retired school teacher/librarian and crafter. In each of her episodes she talks about a fiber related children’s literature book. Some of them have crafts to go along. The books are so endearing. I don’t have grandchildren but have thought of checking them out of the library just for a sweet break from life. 😊
Oooh, I feel your pain, literally. I'm so sorry you're going through this. This past year, my friend and I went through a similar experience. For me, the pain has improved by about 80%, but the range of motion has not improved much. I am an English knitter, and my friend happens to be Norwegian and knits the exact way of Arne and Carlos. My current problem is my wrist....I've had 6 knitted animals to make for Christmas, I'm on #6 now. I'm certain it's the lack of stretch in the cotton yarn that is causing the problem. I'm pushing through, and hope to be done by the weekend, then I'll take it slower. On a positive note, I believe your down-time should help. A few years back I developed trigger finger in a finger and a thumb....I was doing hand-applique every free moment in order to have a quilt ready for a competition. I'd actually seen a surgeon. While waiting for surgery I limited my applique time to 15min per day....and the problem healed itself! I've also just finished the Simplest Mitten pattern for my granddaughter's Christmas present, and joined them with a long icord. My daughter asked for that since little Remi is always taking her mittens off...so thanks for the book recommendation, The Mitten, I'll go order it right now! Take care, I hope you feel better soon 😊😘
Thanks, Sandra! Yes, I do think the friction of the yarn on the needle makes a big difference, so cotton can be very hard on the hands. But I think most of my problem is failing to take a rest, stand up, move around, especially when sitting in a comfy chair, watching "one more episode" and "one more row"! I've been feeling a lot better and have been able to do some mending.
I've had both of my shoulders surgically "fixed", torn rotator cuff problems 13 years apart and was told it was caused by wear and tear with head down, rounded shoulder activities reading, computers, and any hand craft. It is hard to concentrate on keeping you shoulders back to open that joint while doing those things. The act of knitting is not the problem but our body position. I hope you find some relief and can have a wonderful Holiday season.
If you were a horse, we'd say you were on stall rest - words dreaded by every horse owner. I hope you can get back to regular activities (knitting!) soon. BTW, my book group read Perestroika - very enjoyable. Smiley's works are captivating - a horse named Justa Bob in Horse Heaven is a character I'll never forget. Keep up the good spirits!
I recommend checking out Carson Demers book. It reads a bit like a text book but has a lot of valuable information. Something he mentions is type of needle. I recently had a lot of hand pain and tried square needles (knit picks four square). They seemed to have helped a lot. Hope you feel better soon!
Kathy, Well It is interesting that I am having a similar issue with my left shoulder. I am a thrower.I stopped knitting for a while. I went to PT.My Dr says I must have osteoarthritis because PT did not help me as much as I had hoped. I am back to knitting anyways. I read that there are 7 joints in the shoulder. I still have pain in various areas of my arm and shoulder with various activities. Recently I bought a book written by an orthopedic Dr. called “Shoulder Pain : The Solution & Prevention” by John M. Kirsch MD through Amazon. I am working with his method now. (The PTs did not want me to do other things while doing PT. ) I can’t tell you if it’s helping or not yet but am keeping my fingers crossed. And yes I am older.Never had any pain issues with knitting before this. Good luck with PT by the way.
I'm sorry to hear I have company with this issue, but apparently the shoulder joint is a bit fragile. Good luck with the book. My PT seems very good, and has increased my range of motion quite a bit already. It's interesting that it doesn't seem to be the kind of knitter you are, as there are problems that can arise with any style, according to Carson Demers.
Hope you get better soon and get rest. I have shoulder pain in both ending having to get steroid injections. Did more testing finally found out I had Rheumatoid arthritis. Had to slow down and just take it easy. Stay safe and happy holidays with your family.
@@northwestknitting5993 Yes I have, my rheumatologist has me on methotrexate/ Rasuvo injections and they work wonderfully. Hopefully they’ll work for a long time. I’ve been able to start knitting and crocheting again. I wasn’t to before. Take care and stay warm in this crazy weather.
Hello Kathy - Loved the podcast. You mentioned that the shawl you are wearing is the Linus pattern on Ravelry. My question is did you knit 2 seperate pieces and then join them together? And of course then I would double the amount of yarn mentioned in the pattern. Thank you 😃
Oh, I’m so sorry about your arm and hand. I follow Margaret Martin here on UA-cam. She just released a video about caring for your hands. She is a physical therapist and does videos with exercises for those of us at a certain age. Have you researched using a warm wax dip on your hands? I haven’t but it seems like it would would be great for soothing aching hands. My hands suffer mostly during garden season. I hope you heal quickly.
Like you, I also am not a big science fiction person, but I loved the Doomsday book. I have her others on my TBR list. Have you read Station 11? Another book I didn’t think was for me, but I liked it a lot. I also get shoulder and neck pain from knitting. I’ve found that, along with exercise, myofascial release done by a good massage therapist is very helpful.
I really enjoy your podcast. I love your shawl but when I look at the link to the pattern it does not seem to be knit in sections like yours. Might it be a different pattern or did you modify?
I goofed! The shawl is Gamma by Larissa Brown, not Linus. And it is not free, either. I'm so sorry about that. We did love making the shawl in my knitting group. Thanks for commenting, so I could correct the mistake in the show notes.
Please reconsider learning crochet. It causes the most severe hand pain for me and when I mentioned it at my knitting group an others commented that it causes hand pain for them too.
@@northwestknitting5993 It’s hard to explain. It just made my wrist hurt. And then my upper back. What was interesting is others had the exact same experience, so I think it’s the way that you hold the yarn and hook I do not have that problem when I knit. And I have tennis elbow in both arms arthritis and a shoulder injury and knitting still doesn’t bother me, only crochet
Hi Kathy, that is such a shame about your shoulder! I have seen embroidery frames on stands ? You can attach to a table. Perhaps that will help fill in the time till your knitting needles are back in your hands.
It’s so calming to listen to you! I missed your last 3 podcasts due to a busy time in my life but I’m diving in to catch up as soon as I write this💕 Wishing you a fast and full recovery! I’ll listen no matter what craft your sore arm leads you to pursue 🧵 🐑 and I always enjoy the book recommendations!
After I fell and broke my hip and wrist, my daughter said, after surgery while I was unconscious, I held my hands up and “knitted”. Funny! It was so difficult not to be able to knit! After lots of OT, I am back! Yeah! Love your video! Much sympathy! From Indiana
I'm so much better now! Thanks for watching!
Thank you so much for your speedy response. I would love to knit this shawl in the very yarn that you have used. I too have mostly grey hair and I think it looks very elegant.
I work at a desk and have done for over 40 years so i am well versed in neck back and shoulder pain. Ive learned to follow the physio instructions and there have been many and recovery will follow. Thank you for sharing your reading and your research on looking after ourselves.
Thanks, Nicole! I worked at a desk for many years, too, and it is so hard on the body!
So beautiful shawl and love your colors too💝👌🙏🥰
Your sweater and shawl look so good together. Feel better!
So sorry to hear about your injury. Physical therapy can work wonders. I hope you find something to tide you over and recovery comes soon!
My physical therapist is fantastic and I'm faithfully doing the exercises, so I'm hopeful!
Hope you are feeling better soon and that a good rest is all that's needed. I've been struggling with hand pain myself lately ( combo of intense sock knitting and too much snow shovelling) so appreciate the links for Arne and Carlos, will give the Norwegian way a try :) If you didn't catch the gingerbread house construction video from the Arne and Carlos' recent advent series I highly recommend - so hilarious! All the best with your rest. 🙂
I'm slowly getting better, Susan, and hoping to be able to resume knitting soon. I did see the gingerbread house deconstruction!
Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
The Linus shawl looks beautiful on you. I’ve done a few beloveds by tin can knits and I love that pattern. I try to take breaks as often as I can to prevent injury. The mitten. I need this book. Feel better soon.
Phyllis, the shawl is actually called Gamma and I've changed the link for that. Another easy shawl pattern, but not free. Thanks for commenting!
I am so sorry to hear that you are experiencing these difficulties! The same thing is currently happening to me! You never realize how much your shoulder does until it doesn’t work. In my case one of the problems was a huge buildup of calcium which caused a lot of inflammation and other things. As awful as it sounds ice has helped a lot and Physical Therapy as well. I was offered a steroid injection but have declined so far. I’m afraid if I don’t feel the pain I will injure myself more and have a longer recovery period. Another thing I discovered is that poor posture is a cause of a lot of stress on our body. I’m doing posture exercises now and being more mindful about that. I can encourage you that time and effort will heal you and that eventually you will be able to do the things you love.
Sorry to hear you're in the same boat. I am slowly improving with PT.
Good to see you, Kathy! Sorry your shoulder and hand are still causing problems.
Have you thought about weaving? Rigid heddle looms are small and portable and you get to use up yarn. Totally different body movements, so you can rotate through your crafts without over stressing any one body part. IF you can let go of the “I must finish xxx” obsession 😂.
Have a wonderful holiday!!
Hi, Wendy! I hadn't thought of weaving, but it looks fun. I can definitely see that rotating crafts could be helpful. I'm not convince that knitting was the initial cause of the shoulder problem because I haven't knit in 3 weeks. Hope you are having a good holiday and that we can knit (or something) together early next year!
kathy - battenberg cake is indeed british. it's delicious! it's basically vanilla cake with a little bit of jam and a marzipan icing. your scarf is just beautiful. i surely hope that your arm and hands heal quickly!
Thanks, Jane! I hope to return to the UK so I can try the cake for myself. I sure do love how it looks!
Oh, Kathy! I hope you feel better! Achiness, pain, and problems that keep us from our activities is such a nuisance! Aging is not for sissy, as Gram used to say!
Thanks, Pam! Gram sure worked and worked to get her projects done, especially at Christmas!
Good luck with the arm injury! I took a mini course with Carson and he encouraged us all to do a shoulder check frequently while knitting to see if we were scrunching up. I do this and always need a little shoulder relaxing and lowering. I want to avoid being where you are, not able to knit. It must be awful!! Thanks for the Jane Smiley recommendation.
I'm convinced that stopping and relaxing is the key here!
O no! So sorry you are having pain. Hopefully the rest and excursive help. Don’t let it keep you from popping in and giving us your updates. Happy Holidays to you and your family
Thanks, Teresa! Happy holidays to you, too!
Hope your feeling better soon and able to get back into the knitting groove. When you mentioned the book to go along with your grandchild’s mittens it made me think of another UA-camr, In a Pickle Knitting. She is a retired school teacher/librarian and crafter. In each of her episodes she talks about a fiber related children’s literature book. Some of them have crafts to go along. The books are so endearing. I don’t have grandchildren but have thought of checking them out of the library just for a sweet break from life. 😊
Thanks for the suggestion. That sounds so charming! I'll have to check it out.
Oooh, I feel your pain, literally. I'm so sorry you're going through this. This past year, my friend and I went through a similar experience. For me, the pain has improved by about 80%, but the range of motion has not improved much. I am an English knitter, and my friend happens to be Norwegian and knits the exact way of Arne and Carlos. My current problem is my wrist....I've had 6 knitted animals to make for Christmas, I'm on #6 now. I'm certain it's the lack of stretch in the cotton yarn that is causing the problem. I'm pushing through, and hope to be done by the weekend, then I'll take it slower. On a positive note, I believe your down-time should help. A few years back I developed trigger finger in a finger and a thumb....I was doing hand-applique every free moment in order to have a quilt ready for a competition. I'd actually seen a surgeon. While waiting for surgery I limited my applique time to 15min per day....and the problem healed itself! I've also just finished the Simplest Mitten pattern for my granddaughter's Christmas present, and joined them with a long icord. My daughter asked for that since little Remi is always taking her mittens off...so thanks for the book recommendation, The Mitten, I'll go order it right now! Take care, I hope you feel better soon 😊😘
Thanks, Sandra! Yes, I do think the friction of the yarn on the needle makes a big difference, so cotton can be very hard on the hands. But I think most of my problem is failing to take a rest, stand up, move around, especially when sitting in a comfy chair, watching "one more episode" and "one more row"! I've been feeling a lot better and have been able to do some mending.
I've had both of my shoulders surgically "fixed", torn rotator cuff problems 13 years apart and was told it was caused by wear and tear with head down, rounded shoulder activities reading, computers, and any hand craft. It is hard to concentrate on keeping you shoulders back to open that joint while doing those things. The act of knitting is not the problem but our body position. I hope you find some relief and can have a wonderful Holiday season.
Changing position often is key, but hard to do.
Weave! Try a small rigid heddle or a frame loom on your lap. As addictive as knitting. And it’s still yarn!
If you were a horse, we'd say you were on stall rest - words dreaded by every horse owner. I hope you can get back to regular activities (knitting!) soon. BTW, my book group read Perestroika - very enjoyable. Smiley's works are captivating - a horse named Justa Bob in Horse Heaven is a character I'll never forget. Keep up the good spirits!
I like that...stall rest!
I recommend checking out Carson Demers book. It reads a bit like a text book but has a lot of valuable information. Something he mentions is type of needle. I recently had a lot of hand pain and tried square needles (knit picks four square). They seemed to have helped a lot. Hope you feel better soon!
I think Santa is bringing me the book! I'm intrigued by the needle suggestion.
Kathy, Well It is interesting that I am having a similar issue with my left shoulder. I am a thrower.I stopped knitting for a while. I went to PT.My Dr says I must have osteoarthritis because PT did not help me as much as I had hoped. I am back to knitting anyways. I read that there are 7 joints in the shoulder. I still have pain in various areas of my arm and shoulder with various activities.
Recently I bought a book written by an orthopedic Dr. called “Shoulder Pain : The Solution & Prevention” by John M. Kirsch MD through Amazon. I am working with his method now. (The PTs did not want me to do other things while doing PT. ) I can’t tell you if it’s helping or not yet but am keeping my fingers crossed.
And yes I am older.Never had any pain issues with knitting before this.
Good luck with PT by the way.
I'm sorry to hear I have company with this issue, but apparently the shoulder joint is a bit fragile. Good luck with the book. My PT seems very good, and has increased my range of motion quite a bit already. It's interesting that it doesn't seem to be the kind of knitter you are, as there are problems that can arise with any style, according to Carson Demers.
Hope you get better soon and get rest. I have shoulder pain in both ending having to get steroid injections. Did more testing finally found out I had Rheumatoid arthritis. Had to slow down and just take it easy. Stay safe and happy holidays with your family.
Thank you! I'm sorry to hear you have RA and hope you can control the symptoms with treatment.
@@northwestknitting5993 Yes I have, my rheumatologist has me on methotrexate/ Rasuvo injections and they work wonderfully. Hopefully they’ll work for a long time. I’ve been able to start knitting and crocheting again. I wasn’t to before. Take care and stay warm in this crazy weather.
Hello Kathy - Loved the podcast. You mentioned that the shawl you are wearing is the Linus pattern on Ravelry. My question is did you knit 2 seperate pieces and then join them together? And of course then I would double the amount of yarn mentioned in the pattern.
Thank you
😃
I made a mistake about the pattern. It is actually the Gamma shawl and I've corrected the link. Sorry about that!
I wonder if you are having a "frozen shoulder" that I have experienced in the past? Sorry about your pain. Hope you get some relief soon.
Thanks, Chelle!
Oh, I’m so sorry about your arm and hand. I follow Margaret Martin here on UA-cam. She just released a video about caring for your hands. She is a physical therapist and does videos with exercises for those of us at a certain age. Have you researched using a warm wax dip on your hands? I haven’t but it seems like it would would be great for soothing aching hands. My hands suffer mostly during garden season. I hope you heal quickly.
Thanks for the suggestion of Margaret Martin. I'll check her out. I did use a warm wax dip once and it was heavenly!
Like you, I also am not a big science fiction person, but I loved the Doomsday book. I have her others on my TBR list. Have you read Station 11? Another book I didn’t think was for me, but I liked it a lot. I also get shoulder and neck pain from knitting. I’ve found that, along with exercise, myofascial release done by a good massage therapist is very helpful.
Debra, I did really like Station Eleven quite a bit. And massage is definitely something I'm thinking about!
I just want to learn how to knit,why I can't knit,I m getting too frustrated at some yarn and needles
I really enjoy your podcast. I love your shawl but when I look at the link to the pattern it does not seem to be knit in sections like yours. Might it be a different pattern or did you modify?
I goofed! The shawl is Gamma by Larissa Brown, not Linus. And it is not free, either. I'm so sorry about that. We did love making the shawl in my knitting group. Thanks for commenting, so I could correct the mistake in the show notes.
@@northwestknitting5993 no worries. I’ll check it out. Thank you
Please reconsider learning crochet. It causes the most severe hand pain for me and when I mentioned it at my knitting group an others commented that it causes hand pain for them too.
I'll be careful! Is there twisting of the wrist that causes the problem?
@@northwestknitting5993 It’s hard to explain. It just made my wrist hurt. And then my upper back. What was interesting is others had the exact same experience, so I think it’s the way that you hold the yarn and hook I do not have that problem when I knit. And I have tennis elbow in both arms arthritis and a shoulder injury and knitting still doesn’t bother me, only crochet
Hi Kathy, that is such a shame about your shoulder! I have seen embroidery frames on stands ? You can attach to a table. Perhaps that will help fill in the time till your knitting needles are back in your hands.
Thanks, Jo-Anne! That's an interesting idea.
When this happens to me I take B vitamin with B6 works for me.
Black Friday, not Good Friday….😉
Oops!
Humerus
Yes! Thanks!
It’s so calming to listen to you! I missed your last 3 podcasts due to a busy time in my life but I’m diving in to catch up as soon as I write this💕 Wishing you a fast and full recovery! I’ll listen no matter what craft your sore arm leads you to pursue 🧵 🐑 and I always enjoy the book recommendations!
Thank you so much!