Welcome to episode 38 of The Ordinary Knitter, the knitting podcast that’s (mostly) about the projects. My name is Heather and I’m @theordknitter on Twitter, @theordinaryknitter on Instagram and @ordinaryknitting on Ravelry. This week: knitting injuries, the end is in sight for Ivy, new projects mean new yarn, knitting superstitions and other odds and ends.
Ft knitting patterns:
Ft knitting videos:
- P2tog Through the Back Loop (p2tog tbl) (from Knit Purl Hunter)
Ft yarn:
Stylecraft Special Aran: Midnight and Aster
Ft programmes:
- Britain’s Ancient Capital: Secrets of Orkney – with added handknits!
Knitting Injuries
I don’t mean stabbing yourself with a knitting needle, though it’s easily done if you’re holding needles and reaching for things. I’m talking about the aches and pains we bring on ourselves through posture, knitting action and prolonged knitting sessions. The first time I knitted socks I used double pointed needles and lost the feeling in a couple of fingers for a few days. I found that very alarming but didn’t let it put me off! See where that’s led with sock knitting and maybe I should have learnt then.
Recently I found my left hand starting to ache in the index finger and thumb. I was doing lots of straight stocking stitch with my cack-handed purling technique that uses my left hand. I’d assumed that my strange technique of knitting with my ight hand and purling with my left would spread the strain evenly across both hands and be a good thing, but there must be something so egregious in my purling technique that my left hand couldn’t take it after a few hours (!).
As I tried to ignore the ache, I was listening to Staci Perry’s Very Pink podcast titled Knitting Aches and Pains – give it a listen for some good info from a specialist.