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On our January Friday Night Knit Club (FNKC) our theme was all about rest, relax, and renew. We had a spa night and partnered with Salon Bliss who is our neighbor, two doors down from our shop. They did paraffin hand waxing on everyone and showed them all of the wonderful amenities of their salon. Then everyone came back to our shop and one of our customers, Carrie Cavanaugh, who is a licensed massage therapist, kindly gave the ladies hand and forearm massages. Need I tell you how heavenly it was?
Carrie also shared some great tips and stretches for knitters who are having hand and arm pain while knitting. I've decided to include Carrie's tips and stretches (minus the actual demonstration that she showed us). Thank you, Carrie!
Tips- If a pain arises, take a short break to do some stretches, clean, run errands, make a phone call, etc.
- If pain becomes chronic, take a few days off to allow your hands, wrists, etc. to heal.
- Make a point of taking breaks to prevent pain from occurring.
- Use circular needles instead of straight needles whenever you can! Circulars bring your work closer to the middle of your body, reducing the torque placed on your arms and shoulders.
- Watch your posture! Do your best to keep your back in a relaxed, but not slouched position. (Boy did this speak volumes to me!)
- Sit up as straight as you can. Your neck should be straight, elbows should be at your sides, and wrists straight or slightly flexed in.
- Taking breaks helps to keep your posture by allowing your muscles to rest.
Stretching
It's very important to understand how a stretch should feel. A good, effective stretch shouldn't hurt. As you go into a stretch you should feel tension building up until you feel the stretch begin. The beginning of the stretch is where you want to hold it. If you strengthen a stretch too much you lose the relaxing feeling you get from it. When muscles are over-stretched, they have a tendency to contract or spasm, causing the potential for injury.
Gently hold stretches for 8-10 seconds.
Warm up muscles before stretching by shaking your hands and rolling your joints (wrists and shoulders), to get the blood moving.
The Stretches
- Extensors (the tops of the forearms) - With your hand face up, wrap your finders around your thumb into a fist and brind your hand towards you with your opposite hand, bending at the wrist.
- Flexors (the bottom of your forearms) - With your hand face down and flat, use your opposite hand to lift your hand and fingers backwards, bending at the wrist.
- Biceps Brachii (front of your upper arm) - Find a wall, and while standing, place the backside of your hand against the wall. Turn your body away while keeping your arm close to the wall.
- Pectoralis Major (chest) - Use the same technique for biceps, but place your palm on the wall instead.
If pain persists even after trying Carrie's tips and stretches, SPEAK WITH YOUR DOCTOR to rule out any serious conditions. They can offer options such as physical therapy or massage therapy, medication suggestions or prescriptions, or additional home care tips you might not have tried.
If you're interested in getting a massage, visit Carrie's website for more information! She left a corporate massage business and just opened her own business, so we'd like to help her get started.
Keep on knitting (after stretching occasionally)!
I was very fortunate to get the gifts on my gifting list knitted in time for Christmas. Well, all but Tim's sweater, and that's a totally different story!
Tim's "Hiker" sweater has a wide ribbing ("k5-p3" pattern repeat) for the entire back. And when I got to the top of the back it seemed like the gauge changed dramatically. When I got to the decreases for the armhole, the instructions read that I should knit 31 rows and the armhole should measure almost 9 1/2 inches. When I measured the completed opening, it was a little over 7 1/2 inches. I was afraid that even if I blocked the back like crazy, the sleeves, the front and the back wouldn't fit together well when I seamed them. I'm going to ravel and knit the back again with a 7-mm needle instead of the 6.5-mm that I'd previously used. I'm also going to TRY to work at an even tension. The reason I snugged up on the back was because of the loose knit stitches that sometimes occurred on the last stitch of the knit 5 section when I went from knit to purl.
Tim's sweater will have to wait a bit while I knit a scarf for our nephew Zach and a baby blanket for another nephew's baby boy that will be born sometime this March.
I'm using the "Noro Striped Scarf" pattern for Zach's scarf, but I'm knitting it with my favorite yarn, Cascade 220 Superwash (machine-wash and tumble dry low). He picked his own colors (Jet and Christmas Green) for the scarf so I know he'll be really happy and a whole lot warmer walking across campus. Now if he can only keep from losing it!
As for the baby blanket, I'm knitting the "All Purpose Knitted Afghan" from Project Linus. Again, I'm knitting it with Cascade 220 Superwash in a blue-green hand paint color called Celtic. Hopefully I can ship it off to Ben and Karie in Southern California by the end of March...
Keep on knitting!
Tim has finally become a real knitter. He gets it! He really does! At least four years ago a woman that worked for us at the shop, taught him how to knit. Tension was his problem from the beginning. I remember that on New Year's Eve of that same year, we actually sat around and watched movies and knitted together (hmmm ... that's a great name for a yarn store). That is until he started sweating in our really cold family room and took off his sweatshirt. I noticed he had a white knuckle grip on his knitting needles. I helped him relax his grip and soon he was ready to put his sweatshirt on again. Well, that part of his knitting career didn't last. As soon as spring came, he was back on the golf course. End of story (at least at that time).
Two weeks ago Tim decided he wanted to try to knit again. He pulled out his old sample which was still on the needles and he picked it back up right away. Within minutes he committed to knitting a seed stitch scarf and a hat. We picked out Cascade 128 Superwash in a beautiful nearly-black color called Jet. That night after we went home and finished dinner, he cast on 21 stitches and started knitting a seed stitch scarf. He made a few mistakes that night and because our big-boy cat, Louie was on his lap, I kept having to get up and fix his mistakes. For about a week he knitted on his scarf before he went to bed. Rarely did he have a problem, but every time I looked at it I could tell his tension was becoming very regular. Then this past Sunday he spent 5 hours knitting. The next morning he woke up and told me his left elbow had a knitting injury! The injury is related to an old golf injury... sort of a tendinitis issue. He's taken this week off, so hopefully it will heal soon. Half a scarf won't keep him too warm this winter! With his knowledge of the yarns we carry and his new knitting knowledge, Tim has become a great salesperson in our shop!
Last Friday when we had the Friday Night Knit Club, one of our customers brought in the most addictive snack mix. She sent me the recipe and her changes. I'm passing them on to you now. Watch out though, you might need to make a double batch, just because you can't stop snacking!
Addictive Crunch
- 2 sticks of butter
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 6 Tablespoons corn syrup
In a sauce pan, bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Pour over the following and mix gently, stirring until the mix is well covered:
- 1 large box of Rice Chex cereal
- 4 cups small pretzels
Spread mix out on a large cookie sheet and bake at 275 degrees for 15 minutes. Allow to cool on wax paper. Gently break into small pieces. Store in a cool airtight container.
Here are the variations that Jo made for us: She used a gluten-free rice chex cereal, gluten free pretzels, and coconut. She also added 2 teaspoons of cinnamon to the coating mixture. You can also add nuts of any kind. Jo said she has also added 1-2 cups of miniature marshmallows to the cooked mixture.
First of all, I want to apologize for not blogging in over a month! We've been busy around the shop trying to keep up with all of the knitters that are busy knitting for the holidays. We've also been in hiring and training mode, so that all of our customers will get the help and care that they need from us. The other big news in the shop is that Megan had her baby boy, Maddux, on October 27th. He weighed in at 8 pounds, 15 ounces which is a lot for tiny little Megan. She will be back in the shop one of these days. We are hoping that Maddux will be here with her... then we can get our baby fix!
I want to thank the people that answered my last post with what inspires them to knit. We drew one name from those that answered, and the winner is Judy. Judy, I'll email you today to figure out how to get the prize to you.
Now that we know what inspires some of you to knit, I thought I should tell you what I've been inspired to knit for gifts this year.
I'm knitting the Bella Mittens and large sized Daphne and Delilah the Momma and Baby Monster for my daughter Katie. I recently finished the Shroom hat for Katie (from Knitty). I know she won't read this, so for her it will all still be a surprise. I'm still working on Tim's sweater, but it won't be ready by Christmas. I know he will love it anytime it's ready, but preferably before summer arrives (ha-ha-ha). I'm also knitting an average sized Daphne and Delilah for Jonah (Megan's oldest son). I usually make something for my mom, but I'm not sure what it will be. She loves cashmere, so I think I'll finish the Stork's Nest Scarf for her that's been resting (Zzzzzz) in my closet.
Thanksgiving is near and we are debating whether to cook or to go somewhere to eat. I know I'll be thankful if I can get a lot of knitting done that day...
Happy knitting!
I'm taking a poll among readers. If you respond to this post and my poll question you will be entered in the drawing for one of the coffee cozy kits that I created for the last Friday Night Knit Club when our theme was coffee. (Starbucks came and took us on an amazing coffee tasting adventure.) The kit has yarn for two cozies included as well as two simple patterns.
My poll questions:
I'd like to know what inspires you to knit! What are you knitting, or what will you soon be knitting? Did the yarn, the pattern, or something else inspire you? Tell me what the pattern is and what yarn you're using.
Also be sure to include your email address, so I know how to get in touch with you if you are the winner of the kit.
On Friday afternoons in the shop we have had the Wrap Group which has taken on a new life since Carol left us. Today the women that were here talked about getting more knitters to join them at the shop from 1-3 on Fridays. We are currently mulling over some names for this group and will post it on the calendar on our website. I'm inviting you to join us on Fridays from 1-3 pm for knitting, conversation, friendship, and FUN!
Becky (one of the Friday afternoon gals) asked Tim for his salmon salad recipe. It was in our newsletter last year, but I decided that putting it into the blog makes it easier for everyone to get. This is really good and deserves to be here!
Tim's Grilled Salmon Salad
Ingredients
- Salmon, grilled (we usually buy ours fresh from Waterfront Seafood Market)
- Organic baby mixed greens
- Thinly sliced sweet red onion
- Thinly sliced sweet red or yellow bell peppers
- Feta or blue cheese crumbles
- Cherry tomatoes, halved
- Avocado slices
- Asparagus, grilled (optional)
- Shoestring potatoes
- Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette or Brasswell's Creamy Vidalia Onion dressing
Make a bed of the baby mixed greens. Add onion, peppers, cheese, avocado, tomatoes, and asparagus (if desired). Top with grilled salmon; then add a small pile of shoestring potatoes. Drizzle on dressing. Yum!
Tim has wanted a hand-knitted sweater for a long time. I've finally decided that I'll knit him one. It's not that he's not worthy, it's more like I didn't want to knit a man's sweater. (I knitted a REALLY LARGE vest many years ago for an old boyfriend, but before I gave it to him, we were finished!).
Tim has liked many sweaters since we've been in business and last year I'd planned to make him a cardigan out of Rowan Big Wool, which would have been a quick knit, but I sold the yarn before I could even put any of the Big Wool on the shelves. I'm actually glad, since I would have hated knitting an entire sweater on size 15 or 17 knitting needles. Last week he showed me some of the men's sweaters in the new Rowan #48 magazine. When he showed me the one called Hiker which is made out of Rowan Cocoon. I was ready to start making one for him immediately. I love knitting with Cocoon. It's a super soft merino and kid mohair chunky-weight yarn that's a delight to knit with. We choose a soft gray color and after I finished the gorgeous green hat for a friend of ours, I cast-on the back of the sweater Monday night. Tim hinted to me that I should have it done in time for his birthday on October 23rd (I doubt that will happen). He'll be lucky if I'm done by Christmas! One thing I know, as soon as it's done Tim will wear his sweater into the shop.
Keep on knitting!
This past Friday and Saturday I took a mini vacation and road trip to Schaumburg, Illinois with three friends (Ann, Dana and Stacy) from the shop. Each of us had signed up for an all-day class for Saturday. The class I took was called How Do Your Socks Get Striped. Elise Duvekot, author of the book Knit One Below was the teacher. I'm so glad I took the class, because when reading her instructions in the book the technique had seemed kind of confusing. After taking the class, my friend Ann who took the same class, and I talked about class potential for what we had learned! Maybe in the near future we will have a class at the shop to teach the technique.
Dana and Stacy took a class in a Swedish color knitting technique. They really loved all of the history that their teacher gave them which included lots of slides for them to see.
Our other goal was to visit the Stitches Market! For me the market exposed me to some really fun yarns that were new to me. (Some have potential to be new yarns for the shop.) If you've ever gone to Stitches, you can surely relate to the frenzy that all knitters get when confronted with an entire show floor with different booths filled with gorgeous yarns they can purchase!
On Saturday after our classes, we packed the car and started back after a quick dinner. On the way back Dana and I laughed about feeling like we'd been in the car for days. Well, technically we had ... we drove over on Friday morning and drove home on Saturday night, so more than 10 hours was spent in the car! We were all thankful for Ann's expert driving skills, since there have been so many accidents on I-80 lately. I arrived home at midnight and was glad to sleep in my own bed!
I missed the Wrap Group while I was gone, but hopefully this Friday they will enjoy listening to my Stitches class and shopping stories.
Keep on knitting!
