Broken Thumb = No Crafting? No way!

Oh crafty nightmare! Ever ungraceful, I fell and broke my left thumb while reaching for a naughty SuluKitty last Sunday afternoon. And frankly, the idea of not crafting for 2+ weeks is not settling well with me.

The nurse practitioner I saw Sunday afternoon didn't bat an eye when delivering the horrible news that I would have a brace on my left hand for at least two weeks. My husband said it would be good for me to rest. EEK! And just how am I supposed to watch TV or go on any car trip over about 15 minutes without knitting or crocheting or doing some other craft? How, I ask you? And two WHOLE weeks? That's an eternity in my crafting timeline! That's over a dozen hats and/or a couple of prayer shawls and/or tons of wire wrapped earrings, depending on how much crafting time I have in my week and how many NCIS and Big Bang Theory re-runs are on TV on a given day.

And in the midst of my pain, here comes the rude awakening by the unspeakable joys of breaking your thumb, which include but are not limited to: figuring out how to pull up your pants with one hand and zip them, realizing you broke the thumb on your nose blowing hand, and teaching the cats that my splint is not the perfect chew toy or face rubbing utensil. Yee-ouch!

So, I'm off to discover crafty things I can do while my left thumb and hand heal. I'm open to suggestions for one handed crafting.

My Poor, Sad, Neglected Blog No More

Don't you hate it when real life gets in the way of having crafty fun? Me too! That's why in the midst of getting tax stuff together, I decided to take an online knitting class. And I'm really having fun with it! Woohoo! Another excuse to buy more yarn, like I really need another excuse. Anytime is a great time to buy more yarn, right?

I'm taking Stefanie Japel's Knit Lab class on Craftsy.com. Talk about having a blast! Yes, Mom taught me to knit years ago, and what she didn't teach me, I taught myself. So, I wanted to take the class to help with my basic techniques and correct any bad knitting habits I have, 'cause I know I have some. And it just might get my mind off of wanting to add on to the house to accommodate my yarn collection.

So far, I'm pretty happy that most of my technique is just what Stephanie is teaching. Woohoo! And then, my dyslexia shows me that it extends to my knitting. Just peachy. I'm planted squarely in front of my monitor,  watching Stephanie teach a stitch, noting every move of her fingers and absorbing her words of knitty wisdom. And even though she was right there on my monitor showing me exactly how to do it, I knitted those stitches completely backwards from what she clearly demonstrated on screen. Well, slap a dunce cap on my head and call me Miss Frog It 2012. It's quality TV time for me tonight, frogging part of my class project and re-knitting it so I get it right! Is it any wonder that I collect frogs?

For those of you who aren't familiar with the knitting term "to frog", it means to correct a mistake in knitting by ripping the yarn out of the stitches until you reach the place where you goofed up so you can correct your mistake and start again from that point. Some smart knitter figured out that rip it, rip it, rip it sounded an awful lot like something frogs say. The term stuck and Anonymous Knitter earned a place in the Knitting Hall of Fame.

If you are unfamiliar with a dunce cap, lucky you. Google it, get a good laugh and then come back here for more amusement. Judging from my husband's peals of laughter every night, I should headline comedy shows. I just don't see it, but at least he's amused.

I'm off to frog my project as soon as I can use the detecting  skills I've learned while frogging projects to sleuth out where the cat stashed it. He waits until my attention is elsewhere, snags my knitting or other project and sneaks off to his favorite hiding place of the day. As I am easily distracted, he has lots of opportunities to indulge in feline thievery.  If I'm very lucky, he'll leave himself a clue as to where he hid it, like a long tail of yarn poking out from behind the couch.

So, it's a good thing that I haven't seen much of this week's TV offerings yet. Frogging is always more palatable watching NCIS nab a bad guy or two, CSI figure out who dunnit from a drop of blood and a lipstick imprint, or what Olivia and Tracy are up to on Jerseylicious. Knitting and on demand TV were made for each other, right? Now where's that TV remote? Ah yes, in my knitting bag. See y'all later!

Disclaimer time: I will be a Craftsy.com affiliate soon. However, they are not sponsoring this blog post. This is my own doing. I thought about it, started writing it, and then discovered that they have an affiliate program.

PS: More updates and links to photos of my finished projects on Craftsy coming soon! Happy Crafting y'all!