It’s Summer Hot

 Today was a hot day in the Old Pueblo. So we took it easy.  A little picking up, knitting and spinning.  John brought in dinner so we did not have to heat up the house.  My body needed a quite day.  

The Real Reason

 The picture below is the real reason we went to Flagstaff for vacation.  I would like everyone to know that I showed great restraint in my purchases.  I really, really did. I could have bought so much more.  Knowing full well that I could have filled 3 or 4 booths with my stash alone.  So here is my list.  

1. A small Takai Spindle and bowl from  The Natural Twist in Albuquerque,New Mexico 

2. Hand-Dyed Fiber by Kimberly Perkins of Colorado. A pack of minis and a skein to go with for a shawl.  You can find her at yarngalleryonline.com

3. Some Hematite balls from a shop near a restaurant we ate at.  I might need some squares or rectangles to properly play with them.  

4. Some lovely comb covers by Mrs. Aragon, mother of Artie Aragon who made the weaving needles.  From Dine Weaving Textile & Looms  From Farmington, New Mexico 

The whole lot fit neatly into one bag.  

Vacation Part 1

We were to busy having fun to take many pictures. We took more on our second part in Sedona Arizona.  This was our first vacation since the end of 2019.   I lost 5.5 pounds because I was limited to outdoor dining, low fat and carbohydrates meals. I hope that I can keep the trend going.  We also walked an awful lot.  No days of less than 10,000 steps.  

Vacation

 

My Learning Curve

 I needed to develope a new learning curve for knitting. I am taking a multi facetted approach. The first thing I did was figure out how I was holding my knitting needles. It turns out I was holding them too close to my body. So I am learning to hold my knitting further away from my body. This has changed a couple of things like muscle memory for one. I am now prone to make more mistakes and can not knit with my eyes closed when I am tired. 

Which brings up the second change which is a major one for me. I stop knitting when my hands or arm gets tired. This means I have less knitting time on bad body days. I used to do more knitting on bad body days to keep my mind occupied.  Now I read more or listen to books on tape. I am actually watching television during the day. This is something I reserved for sick days in the past. 

I am also doing more things with my left hand. I am teaching myself knitting with my left hand for starters. I am practicing coloring with my left hand and then onto writing which I have not done much of since 3rd grade when my teacher did not let us use our left hands at school.  

No my arm is not totally healed by these changes. My right hand is more useful. I am dropping less things. My right hand is not in as much pain. Less pain is always good in. My humble opinion.  

I know that there will be other changes along the way. I need to learn to live within the limits of my body instead of pushing my body to live beyond its limits.  I still push it a little, but not like i use to.  

A Successful Version

 My fingerless mitten version 2.0 is a complete success. I will be knitting up the 1st mitten starting tomorrow. You know I always knit the second mitten 1st. That way the second mitten always gets knit up. With any luck I should publish this pattern before the end of the month so that you can start your holiday knitting. This will make a great gift and you can get 1 1/2 pair per 100 gram ball of worsted weight yarn.  

Then I will pick another color and knit Another pair for myself. They are really comfortable and the yarn is really great. I use them for sleeping to keep my hands warm at night. And also other things. I find fingerless mittens so useful. I also don’t have to take them off to use my iPad.  

A BBD

 My body and I are not on very good terms today.  The only major accomplishment was that I got my 5,000 steps today. I am hoping for a better day tomorrow.