Oh the heartbreak. January and February are the time of year when I do the most knitting, so it's a particularly unfortunate season in which to have broken two fingers. I had hoped I could go for long walks in my newfound leisure time, if nothing else, but I haven't been able to get my splint through a sleeve and you can only be outside so long in winter with nothing but layered ponchos, you know? (Moving around too much indoors seems to be leading me to more small injuries, so I've learned to mostly sit still and live vicariously through UK real estate and cooking shows on television… SO much sock knitting time wasted!)
On Tuesday I graduated to the second level splint, which I have to keep on full-time for a week, and part time for another week, while doing excruciatingly painful finger curling exercises. Here are its mugshots:
I named the last one The Claw but this one is called Lambchop in honour of Shari Lewis' hand puppet.
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That's Lambchop, on the left. |
My Lambchop splint is made of molded plastic and is very painful to wear, so my physical therapist kindly layered a piece of adhesive felt where my knuckles touch it (aka 'slowly grind away skin, layer by layer.) The felt really only contributed an additional source of irritation so as soon as I got home I tucked in some unspun, supersoft fiber, a thing that every home should have, apparently.
Sweet relief! Since that first hour when I had just a little protecting two sore knuckles, I have added an entire slab to protect all four of my fingers.
I am so glad I did not break my fingers in July, because mohair + wool = steam heat.
This brings us back to today's theme: knit yourself a poncho!
Truly, whether or not you think ponchos are an attractive fashion accessory, you may very well need one someday and it's good to be prepared. Had I but known, I would've spent last winter knitting small neat swatches to tuck inside my splint without getting long strands of mohair all over Lambchop's Velcro straps. I would've knit more soft, loose cowls because they are easier to secure with one hand on a windy day. I would have knit long armed fingerless mitts – you know the ones that look so impractical? Because if it's warm enough to need a glove it's too warm to be sleeveless? Yeah. I would have knit those, and stopped them just above the thumb opening.
I got an email from Churchmouse Yarns and Teas promoting a new poncho pattern the day I came home with Lambchop, and let me tell you there was some serious tooth gnashing going on as I read it.
I guess I shouldn't be too hard on myself though. If I'd known in advance I would need a poncho I would've known in advance not to run to the number 11 bus route… And even without knowing, this is the winter I finally gave in and bought a giant lambswool wrap at the winter fair, as well as a swingy cashmere poncho in a Boxing Week sale – well before I fell down and broke my fingers. Like Fate was stealthily giving me some assets in advance because it felt sorry for me and my blind devotion to handknit socks.
We can't always count on pity from Fate though, so I highly recommend having a poncho in your life, and Churchmouse has a dizzying array of options on their pattern page.
When I get my hand back, I am totally knitting some!