Beating the Demon: My Survival Story

An open letter to the amazingly creative gang on Fantastical Crafters Ravelry discussion group.

Reader Be Forewarned

This story contains mentions of demons and demon hunters. If the thought of reading about supernatural creatures or tangled skeins disturbs you, read no further for your own safety.  

If Buffy the Vampire Slayer were here, surely she would cheer on the many of us who arm 

ourselves with (knitting) needles and (crochet) hooks. 

Stick 'em with the pointy end! 

Greetings, Fantastical People!

I've been less active on this board and on Ravelry.com in general during the past year. But now, I'm Baaack! I am so happy to be here again.

I've just survived a crafter's nightmare. A Demon came and crawled into my wrists. He would not let go. I armed myself with every weapon available, and yet still he came. Every time I thought that I had vanquished him, freeing me from my chains, he came back again with a vengeance.

Every day I would get home from work and I wanted to cry because the burning, aching sensation would not stop. I would lie in bed every night with my arms throbbing and pounding. It was only after three months when the Demon's visits became unbearable, that I hauled myself off to get some medical help. Sure enough, that Demon Pain was none other than the terrible Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. I battled with him daily for almost of year and a half.  

Even on the weekends I battled him.  I would begin to chase my Demon away with the help of rest and ice packs, but surely as the sun rises in the East, back he would crawl every Monday like clockwork.  

Meanwhile, my knitting needles and crochet hooks started gathering dust. (I had just learned to crochet the year before this began.) Small armies of mice asked if they could take up residence in my project bag, since I wasn't using it 'n all. My Stashweasel started complaining bitterly about my yarn pile going untouched and she moaned that she was unloved. My heart was breaking. How could I neglect such an important part of my existence? I had to destroy this vile creature, no matter what it took.

My work was suffering too. My day job involves a lot of typing. I am an archivist in charge of historic collections in high demand, so I couldn't just slack off at work to save my soul for Aran and Mohair.  While I was off battling my Demon, I wasn't very communicative online in my personal time because I was trying to avoid the pain by not typing. Occasionally, my Demon would allow me a spare moment's rest to craft something tiny. In fact, the only FO* I knitted in the past year was the item I made for our Bag of Holding Swap. Even bringing this little critter to life was precious time to me. 

To win this epic fight, I had a lot of help. For knowledge, I went to a genius chiropractor-scientist, Mr. Schwartz, who taught me the benefits of certain training exercises and a clever trick with a rubber band that worked like a charm. Demon-Pain Hunter (and massage therapist) Bobbie was often at my side, offering me support, advice, and back-up. I could not have been more fortunate than having divine interventions -- often at just the right moment -- from my Super-Wonder-Goddess acupuncturist Tracy. I am convinced that only She, with her magic needle can set my internal wiring straight after battle.

Whew! It's been a long haul. The Demon is dust, and it's rare now that I even glimpse a pixie-demon-spawn lurking. I am back, baby! I really cannot thank my medical team enough. I have finally conquered this, and learned the importance of using arm rests and buying ergonomic furniture and along the way.

I know that after reading this you might think: This sort of creature always afflicts "old" people. 

Let this be a warning to crafters reading this: I am only in my mid-Forties. There were warning signs of this Demon's presence in my life that I should have paid attention to even earlier. The twinges and creaks haunted my body during my Thirties, but I blew them off as no big deal. “I'm a tough girl. I can stand up to you, Mr. Pain,” I told myself. In fact, my very first evidence of this Demon trying to steal my handwork away was when I was typing my Master's Thesis in my mid-Twenties.

Public Service Announcement:  If you love to knit, crochet, or even just to write things out longhand, please, please learn from my mistake. 

PS. I'm happy to post what I've learned for the benefit of others, so such Demons as Carpal Tunnel will not be able to walk our streets again.

*FO = Finished Object

© Maria Day, 21 August, 2013. All rights reserved.Author's note:  This work of autobiographical satire is posted by the author for your edification and reading pleasure. Please do not reproduce, copy, or borrow portions of this story or illustrations without her express written consent. Thank you! ~runningwave~ @ Pull of the Tides management

Getting Un-Stuck

Sometimes I just slow down and the creative juices don't flow.

While I find it frustrating, the ebb and flow of creative energy is innate to its character. The winter season hit me in November last year with a great slump. I found myself sucked into reading and watching films and enjoying others' creativity far more than my own.  Even though the weather never truly became wintry, I still felt dragged down and lumpish throughout. Then I spent most of the spring suffering from creative frustration. I'd begin a knitting or crochet project, but either couldn't find the flow or, ended up making mistakes and ripping it all out.

My first major crocheted garment turned out to be a huge muddle. I started it in a class in late February and did an okay job with the first half of a simple, green shawlette. I could not get the hang of what I went wrong with the decrease side of the pattern. I'd start, then realize it didn't look right and tear out all of my stitches. Several times. My friend, C, helped me diagnose what went wrong and gave me clues to re-starting.  Finally, I found the nerve to rip out yet again and get back to the mid-point where I made my errors.  Not until last weekend, when I was spending time crafting with another friend, that I finally began to make progress towards the second half of my shawlette. Whew! I feel better now that the chevron shape is working out.

Sometimes life is like that. While there's no way to "rip out" and turn the clock back, you can re-group and make forward progress.

I jump-started my work in the mixed media crafting world with an art journaling class taught by Karen Bearse at The Queen's Ink.  I enjoyed it so much, because I needed to get my hands dirty again and remind myself how easy it is for me to slip back into child-like mode when I'm playing with colors, shapes, and collage. Karen had some fantastic tools for us to play with and gave us a series of projects that allowed the students to experiment.  I'd never used the style of pigment called "Gelatos" made by art company Faber-Castell, but that was our main color tool with Karen's May class. It looks like a lip-stick tube, but has pure pigment which can be applied directly to surfaces or mixed with water to produce watercolor effects.

Karen gave us collage elements and sets of instructions, but we had free-rein to choose colors and to decide which elements to combine. Here are some of the practice samples I made with Karen Bearse's wonderful prompts and kits in the class.

So, now the trick is to keep going independently. I've scheduled some more mixed media classes this summer to help keep up the flow. My challenge will be to work on my own in-between them.

My First Crochet Project

I learned how to knit in college. A group of us guys and gals used to hang out on Thursday night after class, drink coffee and knit at the local cafe called the Runcible Spoon (a cross between a spoon and fork, called "spork" by some). [Wow! That cafe is still there in Bloomington. I ♥ the Internet!]

I knitted scarves, then increased my difficulty by jumping straight to sweaters with the help of an artist friend, Joe. He's the one who actually taught me to knit, or more accurately, reminded me how to knit, since my Aunt had taught me as a child.

That was many years ago. Every so often I decide to learn a new technique, often by taking a class but sometimes just by choosing a challenging pattern.

This year I decided that it was finally time to learn how to crochet. A friend made several attempts to teach me but I could never wrap my brain around it or stick with it.

So, I signed myself upnfor a three-week, beginners' crochet class at A Tangled Skein, a lovely little yarn shop in Hyattsville.

It is amazing how humble you feel when trying something completely new. I was definitely not the best and brightest of the students. I got it in my head before I could make my fingers actually hold the fabric properly.

But a little practice and awkwardness becomes sucesss.

My circular coaster is done! I think I going to like having this new textile skill to draw on. Not bad for a first project.