Monthly Quote: November

October was a month where my patience was (yet again) put to the test, as I struggled and still struggle to cope with sore arms and wrists, making me unable to knit. It was also a month where a lot of things happened, and not only frustrating things. We started to work inside our house, painting the first few walls of our dining room/library, and seeing that the colour we picked out worked out beautifully. I also published my very first pattern, The Little Bumps Cowl, and the joy of realising a dream like that (almost) makes me forget my aches and pains.

So, the dining room/library has gone from looking like this:

To this:

And we couldn't be more happy about it. We are eagerly awaiting the skirting boards as well as the window frames to finish the room off. Earlier today we planned our kitchen using the IKEA kitchen planner. It's all very exciting, and I'll share more pictures as soon as I can.


But - for most of October I've been unable to participate in any of the renovating. Painting the outside of the house, as well as the ceiling in the room above, the base coat and the first coat of yellow on the walls did my arms in. It probably didn't help that I spent every evening, after a good many hours of renovating, knitting frantically to get all my Christmas knitting done in time. I should've known this would happen. It's happened before, the summer two years ago, and I had to go through a period of no knitting for what seemed like an absolute age!

I hate that my arms are, apparently, so weak. I hate that I get jealous and think horrible things about people who can knit and knit and knit for however long they want without even the tiniest twinge of an ache in their arms (I've never been able to do that, I've always had to check myself from time to time, because there's a history of tennis elbow in my family). I hate that I let this upset me so much, when I know that it will most likely get all good again, with time and rest. Most of the time I think I'm just terrified that it'll become a permanent thing, something that I'll just have to 'learn to live with'. It makes me incredibly sad to imagine a future where I can't do all the needlework I want to do, because my arms refuse to cooperate. I stress myself out thinking about all the things I'd love to knit and want to finish for my friends and relatives. Then I try not to worry about it, it's not a big deal, and I'll get it done eventually. But this time, it just doesn't seem to help, I'm too scared and sad.

The past few days I've knitted one row on a hat a day, to see how my arms would cope. Yesterday I did two rows in one go, and I think I may have upset my right arm again. And so the story goes...

I'm absolutely loving the look of this hat, and can't wait to get it finished. It's Cúram from Knitworthy 2, by Ysolda Teague. The yarn I'm using is Sandnes Garn's Alpakka Ull, which consists of 65 % alpaca and 35 % wool - it's delicious and soft to knit with. I'm knitting it without the fold, for a more simple look, but it's still a really interesting knit. It'll take forever to get it done, though, but so be it...

Let's hope for better knitting times in November! In the meantime, I'm bathing my arms in Epsom salts, and eating lots of turmeric in the hope of getting rid of my inflamation, and fingers crossed they'll get better soon. (This has been an uncommonly negative post, and I apologise for it,  things aren't really as bad as I make them sound. At least I can function normally and do normal things with both my arms. They've gotten SO much better since I stopped knitting, and I'm sure only a few more weeks will cure them almost completely). 

So, for November I've chosen a quote to remind me to see the good and positive in every day as it comes, and for that I turn to Walt Whitman:

"Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you." 

Have a wonderful week, everyone - I'm starting a new job tomorrow, wish me luck! 

x, Elise