Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Solutions

Hi dear friends,

I hope you are all doing great! It is still cloudy and raining where I live but in a few days we are expecting sunshine for a few days. Last weekend the weather report was also for sunshine for two days and though it did stop raining it didn't really shine all that much. I hope they are right this time!

I continue to nurse my leg. It is really up and down with the pain levels. On my good days I get outside for some errands. Those days aren't as often as I'd like but today the leg is feeling better and I can walk straighter than usual without a side to side gait. I am trying out this new-to-me infrared heating pad.These pads are very pricey but I got it on a significant discount.  I still had to think twice before buying it but the free shipping was the clincher. This one is on a trial basis for a few weeks.  It had many good testimonials from arthritic pain sufferers but for my knee it didn't seem to do much. Last night I also had an aching back and sciatic pain from sitting so much. I decided to use the heating pad on my back and neck before I went to sleep. Boy did it work like a charm. Today I have far less pain in my back and muscles than I did yesterday. I will try it again tonight.

It's a little hard to see the heating pad as it is black against my brown footstool.

While I've been doing all this sitting I have managed to get a lot of knitting done.  I take a break here and there for laundry, tidying, cooking, etc. I'm knitting the same pattern over and over and I'm not tired of it yet.  I expect that I will be ready to move on from this in a few days when I expect my cotton yarn will be used up as well.  Knitting for so many hours leads to some issues with the balls of yarn which can roll all over the place.  I made myself a yarn holder which saved me a good deal of money.  The cost of yarn holders varies as does what they are made of, but I saw one medium sized plastic model which cost approximately $15.00 Canadian.

I poked a hole in the top of this plastic container and it works great. I would recommend you place a piece of masking tape over the centre of the lid where you want to make the hold. Use a drill with a larger size bit if you want to make this otherwise you may crack the lid in places you don't want (like I did).  I used a sharp pointed object and it made several cracks in the lid. The yarn will get stuck in the cracks and fray if you are not careful.

My yarn holder cost me nothing and saved the container from the garbage pile. I saved about $15.00 and it holds several small, rolled cotton balls. I keep 2 or 3 in the plastic jar. Just the ones I'm using for the project I'm knitting.


I have a question for any of you avid crafters out there. I have a lot of negatives from the old days before digital cameras. I was going to throw them out but lately have been thinking it would be good to use them in a creative project if I can find the right project.  These are negatives of a lot of photos I no longer want to keep so I don't want to highlight them in something like a lamp, nor do I want to make a tote bag out of them. If any of you have some ideas as to what I can use them for please let me know.

13 comments:

Denise said...

So glad the heating pad is helping you, love you my friend.

Joyful said...

Thank you Denise. The pad was a Godsend for the back. Love you too. xx

Fred Alton said...

Thank God you are getting some relief from the pain through the use of this heating pad. It's a blessing to be pain-free (which I'm now NOT) like I was once-upon-a-time! Looks like you have really been "tendin ur knittin'" Great work, Penny.

Merlesworld said...

Let me know if relief from the heating pad still works after a while, some of these things only work to start with. I like the knitting jar I have lots of little bit of wool in small balls they are always getting in a muddle.
Merle......

KT said...

As for your yarn when you have some left that you are not going to finish: 1) they work well for bows on birthday/christmas presents, 2) I volunteer at our local resale shop and the left-over yarns fly off the shelf making money for our local youth and family service organization!

Like you, I tend to crochet the same thing over and over again. It becomes mindless and is quite relaxing. When you have to worry about the pattern and counting...it is a little more intimidating!

I'll have to think about the photos...

Joyful said...

Hi Merle, so far so good with the heating pad after two days. I realize it is still early to tell for sure. I hope the knitting jar works for you :-)

Joyful said...

Yes, Fred, I agree that it is so great to get some pain relief. Today is my 2nd day of the left knee feeling better. I think it may finally be on the mend and I'm trying not to overdo. I also added Seabuckthorn oil capsules and Curamin capsules for pain in case you'd like to give them a try yourself. Indeed, I continue to "tend to ma knittin'), lol.

Joyful said...

KT, I do use some left over yarn for wrapping presents. But as I don't give so many presents, I also give away smaller balls of yarn. I put them on Freecycle like I do with my other giveaways and I always see people on there looking for yarn too.

You've captured exactly my feelings about knitting the same thing over and over. When it is mindless and you don't have to think about the pattern and constant counting, it is far more relaxing. That is what I need...relaxation. Thanks for giving some thought to the use of my photo negatives. I look forward to any suggestions you might have.

Anonymous said...

Penny,
What a neat idea with the jar yarn holder. Hoping your let gets much better soon.
Pat

emilyclare said...

Oh Penny, sorry to hear of your enduring great pain but glad the heating pack helped; I have a friend with chronic back pain who finds it works so well for relief... Oh I do admire the way you are using your time to knit and that yarn holder is a fabulous idea - it may solve my tangling issues too :)

Vores have said...

Hello Joyful.
Brilliant idea - glass yarn.
Thanks for your comment on my blog. We currently have winter / snow and frost. We have had bare soil (thaw) but this week we got winter again.
All well here - hope you are well and take care of yourself. Wish you a good day / good coming weekend :) Hugs Hanne Bente

Hayu Maselli said...

Penny, such a brilliant idea putting the yarn inside the jar, tought interesting for my crochet, you know I have no idea how to knit;)

negatives, why don't you put inside the frames then with some touch then become walldecor.
wishing you a beautiful weekend.
I will post my green life and skies tomorrow, saturday just my relax day.

Heidrun Khokhar, KleinsteMotte said...

Was this a new leg issue or a reoccurring one? I like your jar idea for the wool.

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