Thursday 17 June 2021

Keep crafting and carry on

 A little while ago I mentioned that my new found enthusiasm for crochet was impacting on my health.  'Trigger Thumb' was causing a lot of pain and there was one morning when I honestly thought the top of my thumb had locked forever in a bent position (dramatic?  moi?) So with a bit of help from my resident consultant (Google) I found some exercises to do, popped over to eBay and found a reasonably priced thumb splint to wear overnight and I am happy to report that normal service has been resumed!


I'm taking it slower now and restricting how many rows I do a day - there is a possibility I may have been doing too much in one go as I was enjoying it so much.  OK, let's be honest, I was doing way too much in one sitting!  I'm now on row 90 of 157 so I'm over half way now.  My friend is doing the same blanket and realised that she had lost several stitches on the way and had to undo 40 rows this weekend - how disappointing!  Memo to self - count stitches more often than you think you need to!  Fortunately at the last count I still had 180 per row - phew!  One thing helping me to restrict the time working on it has been the heat that we've had this last week, because the last thing you want on a humid evening is a wooly blanket over your knees!

Another thing I almost stopped was my Duolingo.  I thought I'd reached my optimum point.  The endings of the verbs was driving me to distraction and I was quickly running out of hearts (you get 5 hearts per session and then you lose your unbroken daily streak). However, Paul suggested that I go back to an earlier lesson to do some revision so that I have a finished lesson for that day, and then try the impossible more challenging one so if I lost all my hearts on that more advanced one I hadn't lost the daily streak.  


Ta dah!  I'm still Duolingo-ing!  AND I finally managed to crack those pesky verb endings.  Turns out that when I didn't feel under so much pressure I didn't make the same silly mistakes. 

I must say that there has been quite a sense of relief and accomplishment on both things and I'm really pleased I persevered. 

5 comments:

Patio Postcards said...

Well done you on both projects - gold stars all around!

Your blanket is looking marvelous & I am very glad to hear that your trigger thumb is on the mend. We have had a return to chilly mornings, so a blanket on the lap is just what this doctor has ordered.

How is house hunting coming along from your son & his family?

Ruth said...

Your blanket does look wonderful and I'm glad you've found a solution for your poor thumb. And well done on the Spanish - great job!

onceuponatimehappilyeverafter.com said...

A bit envious of your Duolingo streak. Do you take your lesson at the same time each day? I was doing well when I did my lesson shortly after supper each night. But going out of town and then going across the mountain in the evening to help with the babes has messed with my routine. Need to get back at it!!

Oh, Deb, your crochet work is so lovely. You have really done well with this new hobby. Now to get you back to scrapbooking a bit so we can Facetime and scrapbook together. Those colors are really pretty. The burgundy or maroon pops against the lighter tones.

Glad Dr. Google and Nurse eBay were able to square away your trigger thumb. That ailment is no joke. My mom had it and required two surgeries. I think both my sister and I suffer slightly with something similar from shelving books and the force we put on our thumbs in doing so. Hope you can keep it from returning.

Barbara Eads said...

Your blanket is so gorgeous! It really looks hard to do. I love your color combination too!

alexa said...

Well done on your determination with language learning - I've recently read how slowing down when learning tricky things is exactly the right strategy: 'slow down to speed up'. Such a gorgeous blanket, and am pleased that your thumb is on the mend. It must have been very warm there to not need a blanket over your knees in the evening! I got my long-sleeved winter vest out yesterday ...