Lately I’ve been suffering more than I would like from aches and pains while I stitch. One area where we often have pain is in our hands and fingers. This knitting blog post has five great stretches for your hands. Print it out and keep it by your stitching chair!
I got a question recently about buying a magnifier. I can’t use these because they aggravate my vision problems, but if you are considering this, take some time before you go looking to do some research. No I don’t mean poke around looking at sites for products, but think about how you will use them. Ask yourself some questions: What I can tell you is that you should think about how and where you will be using it in order to narrow down the options. Ask yourself questions such as this: Will I be using it at home only or when I travel to guild meetings and classes? If you will be using it for classes, you’ll need one that’s portable. When I’m at home do I have a table nearby for holding the magnifier? If not, I’ll need one that hangs on my neck, sits on your nose (glasses),
Doing needlepoint for hours on end can strain more than your back and, perhaps, your eyesight. The repeated motion can do damage to your hands. Barbara Bergsten is having her yoga instructor, Carol More, guest post on her blog and the first post is a real winner. Visit the post to learn about some simple yoga for your hands that will relieve some of the stress we put on them when we stitch
Yesterday I started work on the second Native American-inspired needlepoint designs. This one I’m calling my health needlepoint. It’s focal point is the Zuni fetish of a Medicine Bear (pictured above), my favorite. The Medicine Bear represents powerful healing to the Zuni. It’s always in this rounded form, and usually has the arrow and often has a small offering of feathers or stones attached at the top. While this is a popular fetish, my favorite carver of medicine bears is Stuart Quandalacy, I think his stuff is stunning. Anyway back to the needlepoint. The design is going to fit into a Stirling leather tool tote which is in my stash. A medicine bear in a shade of Impressions that reminds my of a type of Agate with a turquoise arrow will be in the lower right corner. I’m thinking of stitching it in an Offset Scotch to mimic the striations
I have a stomach bug and am too sick to think or write. So I’ll just share this from the archives & hope you are well enough to take advantage of this effect. From the March 2008 issue of O magazine: . . .According to research at the Harvard-affiliated Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, the repetitive motion and focus of needlework can elicit what’s known as the relaxation response – a calming meditation-like state that slows heart rate and causes blood pressure to drop. In addition, a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggests that knitting is associated with a lower risk of dementia for those 65 and older. Thanks to industry publication Creative Leisure News for alerting me to this
My brain is fried, I have too much work to do, and the weather here in Northern California has turned brutally hot. Oh and my migraine is in its second day. Does this sound like you? What we both need is a stress release. Something which takes us out of ourselves, let’s us go to another place in our minds, and something which puts us into a nice relaxing zone. In other words we need stress release. For me, and probably for you, that means needlepoint. Doing needlepoint does relax you and any needlepoint will get you into a relaxed zone where your blood pressure goes down, your breathing becomes deeper and slower, your muscles relax and your heart rate slows down. All of these things are signs of stress and removing or lessening them is a good thing. But what if you don’t have enough time to spend awhile