Diagnosis

Tennis elbow. Although apparently few people actually get this from tennis, so calling it ‘knitter’s elbow’ would seem just as appropriate.

I caved and saw a doctor this afternoon (after waiting an hour after my appointment time, awesome) who diagnosed me after a few questions and much poking and prodding of the elbow (ow, ow, yes OW OW yes that hurts…). Interestingly enough, he didn’t tell me to stop knitting, he just said to stop and ice it and take ibuprofen when it hurts. (Nice to know I’m ahead on that). I’m not sure if this means that he is genuinely underestimating the ability of knitting to cause RSI or if it really is okay to knit in small doses while this heals. I may look for a second opinion in another week.

He also said that I’m not a professional knitter just a “recreational” knitter so I shouldn’t let it get me down too much. Ahahahah. (Buddy, I don’t care how professional my knitting is or isn’t, it is my frakking valuable creative outlet and my primary form of stress relief in this psychological wringer also known as Writing My PhD Dissertation. Calling my knitting ‘just recreational’ is not making me feel better.) He also said “don’t worry, it’ll clear up in a few months.” AHAHAHAHAHA.

I don’t know, what IS the recommended daily dose of chocolate in this situation? I’ll be over here in a crumpled heap trying to figure that out.

Hold that thought

Le sigh. The left arm is doing better than it was, but it ain’t back to normal. I may have to take another few days off knitting entirely, once again, and it just makes me want to weep since I have soooooo many projects that I want to cast on for, many of them socks or sock-like things.

I realized, when paying specific attention to the motion of my hands and arms during knitting, that I was twisting my left arm slightly every time I helped a stitch off the LH needle to the RH needle. I don’t know if I’ve always done this or if it was a recent thing, but over the last couple of days I’ve tried working on Poppy with a more immobile left arm and this seems to be putting less stress on my elbow. (Just 3 inches away from finishing the body.)

However, as soon as I try holding a set of DPNs, things really do tense up in the elbow area, so I’m still clearly recovering from an RSI that hasn’t resolved itself yet. So, cold turkey for a few more days + icing + ibuprofen. If it’s still not better by next week I will have to go in to see someone about it. Woe. I don’t want my knitting to hurt me. And more importantly, I don’t want to not be able to knit. (Next week I travel to San Francisco for a conference and I am considering – wait for it – not bringing any knitting with me. I know, I just about pass out when I say that.) My sister is gleefully knitting away on cotton washcloths – oh why dost the cotton mock me so? It knows my arms are not strong enough to take it.

I am learning a few things about myself and my habits, though. One is that my knitting addiction is clearly stronger than my television addiction. If I’m knitting, I’ll leave anything on the TV even if it’s a movie I’ve seen five times already. But if I’m sitting there not knitting? Meh. So not worth it unless it’s a new episode of one of my handful of regular shows. (These are, and I know the guilty pleasure status of all of them, Bones, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Office.) And I do have other things to do this week in the evenings, such as, oh, write that presentation for that conference next week, or deal with the pile of grading I just got yesterday. But still. It ain’t knitting.

What do you do when you’re not knitting?

Dangit

(Knit the Classics picks)

I finished The Blind Assassin today at lunch – in the end I quite enjoyed it, although I may have to go back for a bit of a re-read. Is it just me or do some of the final plot reveals come out of flaming nowhere? Most of it I was intrigued by, though. Oh, Margaret Atwood, you so crazeh. I think it is tied with The Woman in White for my favourite pick so far, and although I haven’t knitted anything to tie into either book it wasn’t for lack of ideas. Also, as a pair I think they are interesting glimpses into feminist critique of very different centuries. Brideshead Revisited was fine, but I don’t think the narrative style grabbed me quite so much. It lacked something…more like I was reading several short novels than one whole one.

The Joy Luck Club is up next for April, and would ya lookie there, I am ahead by almost a full week. And it is a good thing I am finishing something around here, because there’s a dire lack of knitting finishing. I’ve been felled by dreaded knitting injury.

(Ice pack on my elbow. Woe, woe is me…)

I’d like to say this past weekend was to blame (and it is true, I did quite a bit of knitting this weekend, trying desperately to finish things and make way for new projects), but in fact I think it is the cumulative result of 2 heavy knitting weekends in a row, without enough ease-up time. I felt the symptomatic stiffness last week, but stupidly ignored it. And alas, now my cruel world has been sans knitting for the past 48 hours. Woe. Is this what it’s like for the rest of the world, people who don’t knit? How can people live like this every day of their lives? I can’t even talk about it.

So, with any luck I’ll be able to get ye olde needles and yarn out again tomorrow night, as I am hoping to get out to the knitting night again and possibly cast on for Poppy. In the mean time, I suppose there are other things I can do besides knit, right? Par example…

(Mmm. MMMM.)

Knitting To Stay Sane
One Canadian knitter dabbling in everything from socks to sweaters to pattern design.