The New Year's Post

For starters--Happy New Year for those of you who still pop in on this blog. Sorry I don't post as regularly as I did in the past. Perhaps I'll try to rectify that this year.

Too many things always going on. Travel and health issues, cooking and other projects. But I'm trying not to let all my RSI and other pain issues prevent me from hooking for too long.

From Columbus Day until 12/15/16, I suspended crocheting, thinking surely this would give my elbow some time to rest and recover and possibly heal. And on 12/15/16, I had three doctors appointments, and by the second one, I literally said to myself, "Fuck it, I"m going to crochet," and started hooking like a mad woman possessed. And you know what? My elbow did not hurt any more (or any less) than the baseline of pain I've been experiencing, let's say, conservatively, since roughly June. So that's six months of elbow tendonitis pain, which has been resistant to EVERY SINGLE THING I've thrown at it to abate the pain: NSAIDS (oral and topical), ice, rest, compression, TENS/EMS, my chiropractor has used a cool laser on it too, ultrasound, physical therapy, and lastly trigger point injections and therapeutic massage. Only the last items have had a SLIGHT improvement, but short lasting. 

So, undaunted, I hook.  

The last project I was working on in October was yet another Piquant (which I guess I should blame for my elbow pain, because I managed to hook up 6-7 of them in rapid succession, in SOCK WEIGHT yarn, which requires a lot of fine manual articulation to keep my gauge. After this shawl is finally done (which it is not, currently), NO MORE SOCK YARN EVER!!!! (Imagine this said a la Joan Crawford's NO WIRE HANGERS EVER!)

In August, I hooked up a Cap It Off Topper for a friend, using up some yarn in my stash. (I'll have to dig around for a photo I snapped--or perhaps hope that recipient sends me a photo of her wearing it.)

On December 15th, as I said, I was in NYC for three doctor appointments, and between appointment #1 and appointment #2, I went to Annie & Company to pick up some Malabrigo Rasta, as a new friend in another bureau kept admiring my freeform moebius I wear on particularly bitter cold days, and I figured it would take 1-2 days to hook one up for her as a surprise. It also would give my hands a break by working in a larger yarn with a larger hook, and my grip is entirely different.   (Perhaps I'll get around to snapping a photo of the recipient wearing her gift this week, as she's invited me to lunch as a thank you.)

And currently, I'm hooking up another Cap It Off Topper (for myself) in Ella Rae Lace Merino in their chunky weight. My chief complaint about this yarn is the labeling is so confusing. Sure, "lace" is in the name, but it's not lace weight. And the weight listed is chunky, but it's closer to a worsted or perhaps even a sport. That aside, I love this yarn, both, in the "hand feel," as well as the colors.  This weekend I broke for the sleeves, so this is where a top down sweater goes from possibly a shawl to an actual sweater. VERY exciting part of the project!

I'll be traveling again soon, to visit in-laws in south India, but will stopping in Hong Kong first. Again--more excitement. I've checked on Knit Map and there doesn't seem to be any yarn stores in HK itself, unless there's a more specific way to search. I'll be in Kowloon and eating my body weight in dim sum, Cantonese and Macanese food before heading off to south India. 

Despite no online presence of a shop in either Kowloon or Madras, I always keep my eyes open in markets and stores to find something unique related to crochet, whether it be yarn, hooks, notions, pattern books, or a crocheted item itself.  I have (at least a dozen) Japanese crochet books, 1-2 in French, and 1 in Dutch. If a book has charts, it's pretty much universal to me. A great souvenir, which brings a lot of enjoyment. 

Happy New Year, and Happy Hooking:)