These are Ken’s birthday present. Yes, it is the day after Ken’s Birthday, no they are not done. Yes, that means that Ken got yarn and my best intentions for his birthday. (Again)
I got reasons though. Naturally, I’m some kind of moron, who despite having knit a thousand pairs of socks still can’t seem to get it through my head how long it takes to knit some. Apparently all I can think when I look at socks is not “Hey, those are 32 stitches to four inches….that would take a while” but instead “Socks are small, that would be quick”. Thinking this is not what makes me a moron. Thinking this every single time, over and over is what makes me a moron. Also, these socks are killing me. There is something about the tension, or the yarn or the needles that has turned my formerly effective right hand into a little something I call “The Claw”. The Claw does not like it when I knit the shetland socks. The Claw dictates how much I knit, and for how long. The Claw would like it if these socks were the last thing I ever knit. I am trying to learn what angers The Claw. I’ve never had pain in my hands from knitting before and as an experiment last night I put down Ken’s Birthday socks and worked on something else for a little. The Claw was pleased. The Claw wants me to slow down on the Shetland. The Claw does not like typing, the Claw likes coffee, and watching movies and icepacks. Respect The Claw.
Yarn Harlot
STOP KNITTING NOW!!! Stop for at least a week. Also, go to your local drugstore and buy a strap-on ice pack. They have these in just the right size to go over your wrist.
I once decided to knit through hand pain and ended up not knitting for nearly 6 months. My friends and family were not terribly happy with this – all I did for those six months was smoke, read romance novels and bitch. You don’t want this to happen to you.
Repetive motion disease is not a joke. If you HAVE to knit – change projects AND GAUGE every hour or so. Learn to knit another way. If you pick, learn to throw. If you knit with your left hand, learn to knit with your right. (I throw with the yarn in my left hand (using my index or middle fingers)- idiosyncratic – but it cuts down on my repetive motion disease).
Being pain free and staying away from possibly scarring surgery is MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than finishing off a pair of socks.
The socks are beautiful and you are almost done – I’d say just a couple more hours. Take it easy and you’ll finish. It must be the yarn – some are just like that – You could try avoiding it again or change the guage drastically. The stitch isn’t anything that should give you a problem. I can’t knit with acrylics – the hands just won’t do it. It’s funny, I have never known a knitter that got repetitive motion disorder – arthritis, yes, but most avid knitters don’t do the same type project all the time. Variety is healthy. Very nice socks – wouldn’t mind having the the pattern.
Does the Claw also like chocolate? 😉
What’s the nature of the pain? Is it like writer’s cramp? Or is it an achy feeling in the joints? Or a deep ache in the wrist or tendons?
If the first — I’d say it’s tired muscles cramping up (socks do this to me too, sometimes). Stretch it out, do heat and ice, rest a bit — but you probably won’t permanently damage yourself if you keep going. If the second, maybe arthritis. Go slow, take ibuprofen, keep an eye on it, stop when it hurts. If the last — that sounds like carpal tunnel in the making, and it ain’t fun. Stop. Buy the wrist brace. Take ibuprofen. Take a few days off and see if it gets better before attempting knitting or typing for more than 15 minutes at a stretch. Don’t mess with the carpal tunnel! 😉
Oh, and the socks are beautiful. Lucky Ken!
Sorry to hear about The Claw!
Can I just say you are absolutely hilarious!? I read your entry in KnitLit Too (again) last night and couldn’t help laughing outloud! You are great with words and I’m so happy I found your blog.
Maybe all The Claw needs is a little rest … don’t push it. Ken will just have to wait patiently for his magnificent socks.
So give The Claw some coffee and give the socks a rest for a bit. The socks I’m knitting for you won’t be done for a year or so anyway, so you’ve got lots of time. As I told Amanda, you can catch me later with a present, since I’ll be 38 for a whole year…
I bet The Claw would be useful opening really well sealed mail and super-taped Christmas presents. It might also come in handy opening cans of sardines (does anyone really eat those?) or defending yourself during a mugging. Perhaps The Claw is your friend in disguise?
Today I started spinning for the Very First Time. It amazes me than anyone can spin yarn that is all the same thickness all the way through. Do you have a wheel, or use a drop spindle? Please tell me you have a wheel. Please.
Rest me! Oh, and ice cream works too.
Love, The Claw
Sorry to hear about The Claw (when I first read that title my brain instantly thought of the little aliens from Toy Story: oooOOOOOOoooo. The Claw! The Claw is our master. The Claw chooses who will go and who will stay…. )
Hopefully with rest, drugs, and um more rest, The Claw will relent.
Just wanted to say thank you for your blog. It’s one of my favorite online reads. I disgraced myself in my local bookstore the other day because I found a copy of KnitLit (too), read your story, and stood there in the aisles, laughing my fool head off.