Health and Self Care – Page 2

20 Days!

October 19, 2012Celebrating, Health and Self Care1 Comment

I can barely believe I’ve actually managed to blog everyday for the past 20 days (counting today of course). I might even make it to the end of the month, though no guarantees.

One thing that makes all the writing and computer work I do go easier is my nifty ergonomic split keyboard and ergonomic mouse. The keyboard slope and overall shape helps keep my hands relaxed as I type. Which is why I can type approximately 120 wpm. If you are spending hours on the keyboard and finding you are experiencing pain a keyboard like this might be the solution.

Of course, no matter what keyboard and desk set-up you have, you still need to take regular breaks every 20-30 minutes to just move in a different way from the seated posture with hands on the keyboard.

Gotta Have One!

October 3, 2012October 3, 2012Health and Self Care, Hooks1 Comment

Now, now, I meant the hooks.

This is the talented Mr. Harrison Richards, founder and president of Furls Crochet and I’m here to tell you that these are some amazing hooks. He calls them the finest crochet hooks in history and he is spot on.

His company is based out of Austin, TX and each hook is handcrafted in their studio out of local and exotic woods. I was having a very difficult time picking one to bring home with me. So instead he decided I needed a custom hook.

Harrison can measure your hand and create a hook that is the perfect fit for you. Mine arrived this past Monday in the mail. It is so beautiful, I don’t know if the photograph can do it justice. It is made from a piece of Mexican Cocobolo wood, the finishing polish is so smooth that the wood seems to glow from within.

It took a while for me to actually crochet with this hook. I was slightly hypnotized by the feel of the hook in my hands. When Harrison and I conferred about my hook I specified a size L – 8mm hook. That has been my favorite size lately to use with light worsted and worsted weight yarns, as well as fluffy mohair yarns that need a little breathing room to work up beautifully in crochet fabric.

Of course, a luscious hook like this needs some equally luscious yarn for its first test drive in my hands. So I picked a ball of gorgeous Artful Yarns “Heavenly” a novelty style yarn with fluffy mohair and sparkles that makes me happy just to look at. It was interesting crocheting with this hook. Took me a moment to get used to the feel of the hook, as it is much shorter than most of the hooks I normally work with and it doesn’t have any sort of thumbrest.

I hadn’t realized how much I actually depend upon a thumbrest for orienting my hook to my stitches. After all these years crocheting I don’t look at every stitch. Once I got a feel for the hook though I was really enjoying it. My hands felt very relaxed even working with a yarn that can be a bit tricky whether knitting or crocheting.

I think this hook may become more than a beautiful object to look at, it might just be my new “pet” hook when I’m working with larger hook sizes. In fact, I may have to acquire a few more of the Furls hooks in the near future.

If you think you would like a Furls hook of your own Harrison has very graciously offered a 15% discount for my wonderful readers. When you order a hook from him on the website, you can use the coupon code: M2HBlog at check-out to get your discount. This is a limited time offer though, you need to place your order by or before December 10th, 2012.

What’s in a Hook?

June 7, 2012Crochet, Health and Self Care, Hooks, Product ReviewsLeave a Comment

I’m reminded of Juliet’s soliloquy about a name. So what is in a hook, they are all the same right? Maybe not.

I’ve written articles about handle shapes and how they affect your grip. But did you know that the shape and smoothness of the “business” end of your hook can also have an impact on the health of you hands, wrists and even neck?

Matching the hook you are using to the project and type of yarn can make a big difference in your comfort level. If your hook doesn’t work well with your yarn the adjustments you have to make while crocheting can add up to long-term pain.

There are a number of hook styles and shapes available commericially. Here in the US hook shape debate seems to be between the “Boye” tapered style and “Bates” inline style hooks. Now, no offense to either manufacturer, but there is far more to hooks than that.

First let’s look at the anatomy of a hook. The “business” end is the Point, Head, Throat and Shaft.

The shape of the point is key when you are looking at how easily the hook slips into a stitch. This is particullarly important if you are doing stitch work that requires a dense fabric…like amigurumis.

Another important thing to consider is the sharpness of the edge of the head in front of the throat. When there is a sharp edge or sharp point there it can get caught on splitty yarns.

In fact, having the right hook for your project and yarn can change your mind about what types of projects and yarn you like to work with. I used to think I didn’t like working tight stitched projects like amigurumi. Then I discovered that using the Clover Soft Touch hooks made them much easier. I now design projects like these regularly.

The Clover Soft Touch hook has a fairly tapered point that is slightly rounded. They are also very smooth with an almost “teflon” finish that slip into snug stitches without splitting your yarn. Unfortunately, being the visual person I am, I have never been thrilled with the color of the handles. I recently saw that Clover has come out with a new line of hooks called “Amour”. Colorful Elastomer handles with an interesting shape. Hopefully I will get my hands on some soon, and can post a product review.

Clover does have their Reflections sets too, which I think are beautiful. These are acrylic with an elastomer inset on the thumbgrip and handle. Over the years that I have had these sets the elastomer has begun to peel and occassionally the edges between elastomer and acrylic can wear on my hands as I work. I do wish they had these hooks in a wider range of sizes.

They have a similar shaped hook point to the Soft Touches, but the material that the hook is made of isn’t always the best match with acrylic yarns. Definitely not a good match for a project that requires tight stitch work.

Next hook post I’ll write about In-line versus Tapered. This is really the debate for many American crocheters between the Boye and Bates hooks.

Reality Check

May 27, 2012Health and Self Care, Humor2 Comments

Recently I had to have some photos taken of me in Yoga clothes. Looking thru those photos was definitely a reality check.

Fact is…I’ll be celebrating my 49th birthday this year. Most of the time I can conveniently forget that. Afterall, I don’t feel like I’m in my late forties, in many ways I feel like I’m still a 20-something with my life ahead of me. I can mentally select what I notice in the mirror, but photos seem to make everything visible, even the aspects of my physical self that I would like to ignore.

Of course photos aren’t the only way I’m getting a reality check. This past year more of my work involves sitting for hours in front of the computer or sitting crocheting. Either way I’m leading a much more sedentary life than I was 2 years ago, and I am noticing the difference. I have more aches and pains, I’m gaining weight and I’m losing muscle mass.

So that makes me wonder, is this just what happens as we age? Should I just accept that the rest of my life I’ll be living with these issues? Was my Mom right, and every thing after 50 is just “patch, patch, patch”? For those who know me well, you already know my answer.

I’m fighting back. I’ve already been making efforts to become more active in my life, interspersing physical activity through-out my day. I now have a tread-mill that I walk on for at least 20 minutes each morning. With our family adding a dog to the mix I get out and play ball with her and take her for walks as well.

I have plans for more physical activity as well, especially with summer finally arriving…hiking and swimming with my kids and yard work.

But exercise, though important, it isn’t the only change I’m making. My Chiropractor told me about a book called “The Paleo Diet” by Loren Cordain, Ph.D. that I am currently reading. It is very interesting, discussing how our physiology isn’t really in sync with the modern diet. The argument is we are basicially Stone-age beings living in the Space Age.

The Paleo diet consists of eating like our Stone-age ancestors; lean meats, fruits and non-starchy vegetables. I’m very impressed by the information Dr. Cordain presents in his book. I have already discovered that I do better health-wise by eliminating wheat and gluten from my diet.

I’m a little leary about the amount of lean meat the diet recommends, but I know I’ll be happy with eating all the veggies and fruit I want. The hardest part will be eliminating the sugars and salts I love. His recommendations for the diet do include an occassional “cheater” meal, but I don’t know how easily I can adapt.

So I have decided to conduct an experiment on myself. I will be incorporating the Paleo diet into my eating life-style. Hopefully even convincing my husband and children to join me. And I’ll be blogging about my progress as I go along.

A Very Sharp Edge

May 14, 2012May 18, 2012Health and Self Care, SewingLeave a Comment

As much as I love to crochet I have another craft I love that compliments crochet nicely. I sew.

Lately most of my sewing has been about making project bags for my crochet endeavors, or linings for crochet projects. Sewing isn’t as portable as crochet, and that is the reason I spend less time sewing lately. My life is full of “on-the-go” situations and crochet can accompany me everywhere.

When I do sew, the biggest part of the task isn’t really the sewing…it’s the cutting out the fabric in the shapes to be sewn. I am fortunate that I have a big table that is tall enough that I can cut at it without hurting my back. Best of all it has a cutting mat on it so I can use my rotary cutter.

Rotary cutters are a necessity if you are doing more than cutting a single short line. Scissors are certainly an efficient means of cutting fabric, but they begin to take a toll on your hands after a while. It is also more difficult to get a clean cut with scissors, since you need to have the blades on either side of the fabric.

With a Rotary cutter, the blade slices thru from top to bottom with minimal disturbance of your fabric. Of course the sharper the cutter the easier it is to cut your fabric.

Which leads me to my least favorite part about rotary cutters. Their blades are very sharp and it is easy to cut yourself with them without even realizing it. I have learnt the hard way not to use my rotary cutter when I am tired or distracted.

One safety feature I like about my Fiskar Rotary cutter is that the blade is retractable. This is nice from the standpoint of avoiding cutting myself, but it also helps keep the blades sharp longer as it isn’t bumping against other implements in my work basket.

I’ve had my rotary cutter for quite a while, so if you are looking to purchase your own rotary cutter there may be some better ones available now. Either way, a nice sharp rotary cutter and mat can help keep your hands happy during your next big fabric cutting project. Just remember to be careful of that very sharp edge.

Holey Smokes Batman!

April 14, 2012Crochet, Health and Self Care2 Comments

I know far too many folks who have given up crochet because it hurts their hands. This is one reason that I continue to learn as much as I can about how our hands work and modifications that can help us avoid injury when crocheting.

Something I have observed when watching other folks crochet, and when crocheting myself, is that working into actual stitches instead of spaces can create greater tension in the hand and wrists. That tension can translate to pain in the neck, shoulders and even our backs if it goes on too long.

It is one of the reasons I like crocheting and designing lace or open-work (holey) stitch patterns so much. Those types of stitch patterns are easier when working with “furry” yarns as well.

One of the simplest of open-work stitches is the V-stitch. Once you get the initial foundation rows set up you will very rarely need to stitch into the top of a stitch. I also love how drapey the fabric is with this stitch and have used it often as my “go-to” stitch pattern when I just want to make a quick scarf.

My favorite version of the V-stitch is (Dc, ch 1, dc) in same stitch or space. The stitches can be worked into the Chain-1 spaces of the V-stitches on the row below or worked into the space between V-stitches to create an off-set pattern.

Another great hand friendly stitch pattern is the classic Granny Square. The “shells” of the square are all worked into spaces with a slip stitch ending each round.

Like the V-stitch there are a number of versions of Granny Squares out there. The version I tend to use the most has 3 dc “Shells” divided by a chain 1, then chain 2s for the corners. After the center “round” or square is completed additional squares can use a new color or be repeated in the same color. I tend to turn each round as I often work my granny squares in a continuous yarn strand, instead of the typical multi-colored squares.

If you find your hands getting sore from tighter projects have a few holey projects at hand to mix things up. You just might be surprised how much happier your hands will be.

Taking a Breath

February 26, 2012Health and Self CareLeave a Comment

This has been an amazingly busy week. 4 different deadlines as well as a more than usual busy balancing act with family life.

Fortunately I had scheduled appointments to get a massage and see my chiropractor this past Friday. That helped with some of the tension in my body. Then I took all day yesterday as a “computer free” day. I read a book, watched a movie with my children and did some relaxing crochet. The computer spent the day all alone in my design office, which I did not set foot in.

Now I feel rested and ready to tackle some more deadlines.

Sometimes in the midst of “busy” we all feel like we don’t have the time or money to do the things needed to take care of ourselves. But stopping and taking a breath can mean the difference between a healthful quality filled life and a stressful non-healthy life. Just a reminder to myself and all my dear readers.

My Little Purple Wagon

February 12, 2012Celebrating, Health and Self Care, Product ReviewsLeave a Comment

Okay, it’s not really a wagon. But it does sort of behave like one.

This is my new Tutto Carry-on. It has 4 wheels that can go in all different directions, an incredibly strong yet lightweight frame, and a nifty telescoping handle that allows me to either push or pull the case when it is full.

After my recent trip to Phoenix for the TNNA Winter Show I knew I needed a better way to carry stuff at shows I attend. My neck, shoulders and back were not happy with me hauling around heavy totes. My big black bag will still be useful at shows and conferences, but hopefully this little “wagon” will also serve me when I need something that can manage the weight better than my shoulders.

What is really nifty is how it folds up so I can store it easily between trips. I’ll give a more comprehensive review in the Fall once I’ve tried it out on a trip.

Jealousy

November 19, 2011Celebrating, Health and Self CareLeave a Comment

Sometimes I feel very jealous of other designers who don’t have small children sucking their time and brains away. And then there are those who have small children, but wisely had their offspring whilst they were young enough to keep up with them.

I know that my boys will be grown up before the blink of an eye. I know how quickly the past years have already zipped by. Yet, I feel like my life is this constant crazed balancing act.

Finding time to swatch, write, crochet finished pieces, manage the laundry, shopping, meal-prep and the myriad tasks for work and home life that creep into everyday seems nearly impossible. I fall into bed, often at insane hours of the night (technically morning), so exhausted that it seems 5 minutes later the alarm is dragging me out of a deep sleep.

Of course, when I get too far into this jealousy grump I remind myself of how blessed my life is. Coming into the week of the Thanksgiving holiday (US) is a wonderful time to count those blessings. So I will try to blog at least 4 times this week about the blessings in my life.

The first blessing I’m counting is actually feeling jealousy. Because that feeling allows me to contemplate what it is I think I’m missing. Often times it is a wake-up call to see the joy in my own life, or to put my feet more firmly on the path I want to be following.

It is easy to become distracted when one is born with the number of creative brain cells I have. So noticing those little twinges of jealousy helps me see if those distractions are helping or harming the hopes and dreams I harbor.

I have found it very interesting the results of that exercise. Many times I’ve discovered that I’m really okay being where I am and doing what i’m doing.

So my challenge to you my dear readers, look at what you’ve been feeling jealous or envious about and see if it really is something you would want for yourself. The answer just might surprise you.

Timing is Everything

July 25, 2011July 25, 2011Health and Self Care, Humor2 Comments

I am currently faced with the challenge of finishing 2 rather large projects by the 24th of August. So I am reminding myself that I need to stop and stretch my body and particularly my hands regularly.

One of the things I love about crocheting is that it’s easy to reach a meditative state while working. In that state I become less aware of the passage of time. The smooth action of making stitch after stitch is somewhat hypnotic.

Unfortunately, once I do stop I become quite aware of discomfort and even pain in my body if I have been sitting there for hours crocheting. So what to do?

It’s a simple solution. A timer.

My favorite timer is my kitchen timer. I even leave it in the kitchen. When it goes off I have to at least get up to turn it off (it’s quite loud and obnoxious) and that action alone breaks up the static position I’ve been working in. I generally set my timer for 25 minutes, but any interval between 20-30 minutes is helpful.

When the timer goes off, I stand up and stretch. Other things I do…move the laundry into the dryer or take it out to hang it up, get a big drink of water, have a bite of chocolate (that’s in the kitchen too), pet the cat, check on my boys if they are in a different room.

Taking breaks like these can be the difference between being very productive or being laid up with injuries to our hands and bodies. So sharing this lesson with all of you my dear readers will hopefully remind me to take care of myself as well. After all, Timing is Everything.