Keep Your Arms, Hands and Wrists Happy in the New Year

If you’re like me, you’ve probably started a new knitting project or two with great enthusiasm in the past couple of days. Or maybe you’re just planning to knit more in the new year. Either way, you need to be mindful of what all the sitting and knitting is doing to your body, and if you have repetitive strain injuries like I do you really need to stretch and rest often. (This is one of my resolutions this year, since I’m going to be doing a lot of knitting for my next book.)

Knitting Daily has been thinking about this, too, and recently published some tips for stretching the fingers, wrists, head and neck (originally from a 2012 issue of Interweave Knits) that are really helpful.

Perusing Pinterest I found a few videos from Mala Yoga studio in Brooklyn, which include a wrist stretch using the wall and a quick stretch to repeat that works the arms, wrists and hands. There’s also one for a supported fish pose you can do in your chair that’s great for people who tend to hunch over their knitting (or their computer).

I also like these tips on yoga for carpal tunnel from my About colleague Ann. They remind you to be mindful of your wrists while building strength.

Doy you ever stretch before, during or after knitting? I’d love to hear the moves you use.

[Photo via Knitting Daily.]

Next Pattern:

Not too long ago I was seeing a crochet pattern for a glasses holder shaped like a bear all over the Internet. It was super cute, and also useful as a place to put your glasses on your bedside table instead of just throwing them somewhere random.

This project stewed in my brain for a little while and I decided I needed to make a knit version, but I didn’t want to make a bear. If you know anything about me you might know that I’m a cat person, so of course my version had to be a cat.

The base is just a basic little basic worked from the center out to the desired size, then up the sides as long as you want them. Knit some ears and add embellishments to make it whatever kind of animal you want.

The way I figured out to work the base from the center out was to use a crochet cast on, which gives you an easier way to pick up stitches from the back of the cast on than if you worked a more traditional cast on for a knitting project. It’s kind of fun to do things in a different way from time to time.

This little project is adorable if I do say so myself, and even as a plain little basket not made into an animal it’s a cute way to keep your glasses or other little things in one place. I’m tempted to make one for my desk to hold pens or even little little scissors and sewing needles that are always on my desk but somehow always seem to get lost on my desk.

If you need a little holder for your glasses on your table, check out the pattern at Our Daily Craft.

[Photo: Our Daily Craft]

Next Pattern:

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