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| Natural Stitches will be closing at 5 PM on December 24th and will be closed on December 25th. We will also be closing at 5 PM on December 31st and will be closed on January 1st. |
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By Dana H., a local physical therapist with 10 years of experience The holiday season brings on many great opportunities for knitted and crocheted gifts and projects for friends and loved ones. Unfortunately, sometimes the increase in projects can also bring on unwanted pain as well. Frequent or longer periods of knitting and crocheting can lead to repetitive stress injuries (RSI). These are conditions that are brought on by repeatedly performing a motion in a way that is often incorrect for your body. Symptoms of RSI typically include numbness, pain, swelling, stiffness, weakness, and discomfort that spread along a body part. Knitters and crocheters who experience RSI will commonly experience symptoms in their hands, wrists, necks, and/or backs. These symptoms are most often caused by sitting for longer periods, poor posture, putting too much weight on the wrists, and gripping needles or crochet hooks too tightly. If you should experience these symptoms, you should take a break from knitting or crocheting. Apply ice to the affected area to reduce inflammation. Ibuprofen may be helpful to reduce pain and swelling, as well. If the symptoms persist, see your physician who may prescribe stronger pain medication or provide you with a brace or therapeutic gloves. Repetitive stress injuries are much easier to prevent than to treat. Some ideas to avoid RSI include:
Periodic stretching activities can also be helpful. Begin by sitting up straight and tilting your head slowly first towards one shoulder, then towards the other. Turn your head to look over your right shoulder and then your left. Shrug your shoulders then slowly rotate them backward. Repeat 10 times. Hold your right hand in front of your body, palm facing outward. With your left hand grasp your right fingers and gently pull the fingers back toward your body. Hold for 10 to 15 seconds and then repeat on your left hand. Gently rotate the wrists of both hands clockwise and counterclockwise 10 times. The Berroco website has some great illustrations of some of these exercises and other helpful stretches as well. Creating your holiday projects should be just as much fun as giving them to each lucky recipient. Don’t get sidelined this holiday season by injury. Enjoy the process, and happy holidays! |
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If you’ve thought about trying Columbia 2-ply or Tracie 2-ply but have been waiting for bolder colors, stop in and see the new colors! We love Solemate from Lorna’s Laces and have some new colorways on display! Look for Helen’s review of Solemate in this issue. Spinners, have you ever heard the term “spin to the crimp”? Learn how in Spin-Off Winter 2011. Plus, learn how to choose and sort a fleece and read all about yak fiber! If you need a new storage solution for your yarns or projects, we are proud to carry Bolga baskets from Honeycomb Enterprises. These baskets are hand-woven in a small village in Ghana and the workers are paid a fair wage for their work.
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by Yvonne We have some very big and exciting news: You may now purchase patterns that are for sale on Ravelry through our shop! What does this mean? If a pattern is available for purchase on Ravelry and is open to shopkeepers, you may purchase your pattern here. You will receive an email link and the pattern will go directly into your Ravelry library.
FAQ
My printer is broken! Can you print the pattern that I purchased? There is an option for us to print the pattern for you, yes; however, we reserve the right to limit the number of patterns that are printed at any one time. How do I know you won’t keep this pattern for yourself? It’s Natural Stitches. We are honest and forthright. Plus, if we print the patterns for ourselves, the Powers That Be of Ravelry will know that we have done this and we will be charged accordingly. The patterns are not downloaded to our computer. What if the pattern I want isn’t for sale at shops but is only available for personal download? Unfortunately, in that event, you won't be able to purchase your pattern from Natural Stitches. How does this work, exactly? When you visit the shop, you let us know that you would like to purchase a Ravelry pattern (let’s use the Sivia Harding Harbour Lights Shawl as an example). With the magic of Ravelry, we fill in your information (name, email address, Ravelry user name) and then ring the pattern out with your other purchases. Does it cost any more than if I bought directly from Ravelry? Nope, not at all! Remember that this is a brand new thing for us, so if there are a few glitches in the first week(s) of this new service, please be patient! |
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By Helen I am addicted to knitting socks. Big, little, wild, yak . . . if it’s sock yarn, it wants me to make it into socks. I always have at least two different pairs of socks going at the same time. So, when Natural Stitches received the order of Lorna’s Laces Solemate, I had to have a skein. And I couldn’t resist a colorway called “Zombie BBQ”! Who could?!? Lorna’s Laces Solemate has a different fiber content than their other fingering weight yarn, Shepherd Sock. Solemate contains superwash merino, nylon, and Outlast®, a material used for temperature regulation. Outlast® is designed to absorb, store, and release heat. As you wear a pair of Solemate socks, Outlast® will absorb the heat from your foot as it gets warm, store it, and then release the heat as your foot cools off, keeping the temperature as even as possible. Solemate is wonderful to knit with. The superwash merino is very soft, and the yarn felt nice flowing through my fingers as I knit the sock. Zombie BBQ has a striping quality that looks nice, is still fun, but not over the top stripes. I’ve really enjoyed watching the sock grow on my needles! I wanted to test to see if the Outlast® in the yarn’s fiber content works as it says it should. So, I conducted a study in my home while watching football. It was very scientific! I put a slipper on my bare right foot (the “control” foot). On the left foot (the “test” foot), I slid my Solemate sock on and then added a slipper. After about half of a football game, I noticed my feet felt warm. I took my slipper off of the “control” foot. It was really hot, clammy, and a bit sweaty. It wasn’t pleasant. Then I pulled the slipper and sock off of my “test” foot with the Solemate sock. My foot was warm and toasty, but there wasn’t any sweat, it wasn’t clammy. My left foot felt great! I’m looking forward (and knitting as quickly as possible) to having a complete pair of Solemate socks. You’ll probably find me in the shop knitting more Solemate socks soon. A pair in each colorway Natural Stitches carries? You bet!! |
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And, as always, if there's anything we can do to help, just let us know!