A Cautionary Tale
My cautionary tale reminds all of us to take care of ourselves while knitting! Before Christmas, when I thought I was done with my holiday knitting, I saw a dear little Santa hat at My Sister Knits. I just had to make it for my two week old grandson! He absolutely had to have it and as soon as possible!
It obviously wasn’t a very big hat and I started making it when I got home that day. Naturally, since it was the holidays, I was stressed. Since I wanted to get it done ASAP, I was knitting furiously and must have had a death grip on my needles. I worked myself into a frenzy that night, thinking that if I could just keep going, I could get that hat finished. I was also thinking about Christmas and everything that goes with it, about my kitchen that needed tidying, you get the picture.
Wrist Flexors from Knitting Comfortably. Hold one hand out in front of you with your hand flexed as if to say ‘stop’. Gently bend that hand back with your other hand. You will feel the stretch in the underside of your forearm. Then of course repeat on the other side!
I did get that dear little hat done but I am still experiencing the consequences of that night. I damaged my Thenar Eminence, the group of muscles at the base of my thumb. It’s swollen and painful. I’m sure this is because of my haste which caused me to tighten up in general and have that death grip on my needles without even realizing it. The extra stress didn’t help any, either!
Wrist Extensors
Wrist Extensors from Knitting Comfortably. Hold your arms out in front of you at shoulder height and parallel to the floor. Make soft fists and bend your wrists down toward the floor. Then turn them out to the sides and you’ll feel a stretch along the tops of your forearms. Keeping the same arm position, bring your arms behind you as you lift your rib cage and feel the awesome stretch while you take a deep breath!
Carson Demers, author of Knitting Comfortably, The Ergonomics of Handknitting, would have told me to slow down, knit with enjoyment and ease, and stop to do some hand and arm stretches every now and then. His passion is to keep people knitting/crocheting without injuries. He advocates stopping to stretch often so we can take care of our most precious tools….ourselves! I am a prime example of why we should do this!
Finkelstein Stretch
Finkelstein Stretch
Finkelstein Stretch from Knitting Comfortably. Hold your hand out as if ready to shake someone’s hand. Touch your thumb to your palm near the base of your little finger. Gently close your fingers around it. Now bend your wrist down. You will feel the stretch along the side of your wrist and thumb.
We carry Carson’s book at My Sister Knits. It’s rather like a text book and chock full of essential information. This book is an investment but oh, so valuable. You might enjoy this episode of the Fruity Knitting Podcast which features an interview with Carson. It starts at about the 56:45 point if you don’t have time to watch the entire podcast!
Thenar Eminence Stretch
Thenar Eminence Stretch from Knitting Comfortably. Your thenar eminence is the group of muscles at the base of your thumb. Hold your hand in an L shape with your thumb pointing down and the back of your hand facing you. Put your hand in this position on your thigh with your fingers pointing towards your inner thigh and your thumb pointing towards your torso. Gently push your thumb into your thigh and straighten your elbow. Try to keep your shoulders down! You’ll feel the stretch in your thenar eminence.
We encourage you to come in, sit at the table, and spend some time looking at Knitting Comfortably! In the meantime, take deep breaths, relax your shoulders, and get up and move every half hour while you’re knitting or crocheting!
Happy Knitting,
