Sunday, November 29, 2015

And I can't even throw a shuttle

I went to the gallery today to deliver the last two garments I was able to make from nothing. Two weeks ago, delivering two scarves I made "before the fall," Diane mentioned a customer demonstrated her yoga skirt and said one in handwoven would be cool.

What are you talking about?  I now will know a yoga skirt if I see it on a person exiting a yoga studio. If you run wearing yoga pants or spandex, if you ride your bike wearing spandex, if you actually practice the art of yoga, the activities conclude, and you and your friends  duck into your favorite coffee shop for a latte.

God forbid your butt  hang out now, so you throw on your yoga skirt. It's only job is to cover the same butt that jogged the trail, rode the bike or did downward faceing dog. Mine was not to question, especially as a yoga skirt merely is a sixties wrap skirt, that anyone can make. Even a weaver with only one decent length of fabric in her stash.

Always too clever for my own good, I decided to put a series of button loops on one side of the fabric and buttons pretty much around, for a rather infinitely variable size feature. This so I could avoid making draw strings, though I remained on the hook for twisted cord. I made the skirt, and I did not like it. Nevertheless, I would hang it on the rack and see if it went off in a bag.

This morning I decided it needed a tweak, so back to the sewing machine. On the way by I put it around my sister's shoulders. Like it was meant to be, there hung an understated little wrap that buttoned down the front. I immediately made another and delivered two. I forgot to take a picture. I did do a count of coat hangers on the rack and see I've sold another ten or so garments this month. And, I cannot throw a shuttle.

It has been four weeks, and my intention of being half through the ordeal isn't panning out. Two sets of  X-rays show no separation, but one round of therapy was disheartening. A couple of the exercises were cake, but another showed up a problem I already put up with--severe arthritis in that shoulder. Moving the arm away from my body now is too painful to contemplate. I made it through three snaps of my shoulder. "It sounds just like a rachet," I groaned. "No more!" Jamie laughed and said that's exactly what is is called, racheting, as bone spurs snap past each other. I must bring this to the attention of the orthopedic fellow this week.

I hope I find another Plan B around the corner.

I neglected to take a picture of my yoga skirt cum shrug this morning, but here are pussy willows behind a gallery, with no idea it isn't spring. 


34 comments:

  1. A multi-use garment is a good thing to have in one's wardrobe. You are a genius.

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  2. I'm a fan of multi-use items. In fact, I wore my (short sleeve) purple shirt (yes, the very one!) yesterday over a black, long sleeve turtleneck. I hope you get back in the swing (shuttle?) of things soon.

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    1. My standard fall and winter garb at shows. At those fall shows that began cold in the morning and ended cold in the evening with low hot sun between I became expert at taking the turtle neck off and putting it back on, under my cotton shirt, and never leaving my booth, or even standing behind anything as every inch of floor space went for selling.

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  3. I hope you didn't get slammed with the nasty winter weather we did. Those poor pussy-willows will be destroyed in a hurry!

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  4. Ouch, I have arthritis in my hip, and I know that sound. Treadmill jogging loosens it up for me a bit. but it is probably a losing battle.

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  5. OW! Your shoulder sounds painful, I have arthritis in various and sundry parts of my body---and boy do those parts love cold, wet weather---not. Hope you get better soon. Loved your description of why they wear a yoga skirt.

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  6. I hope between you and the doctor you can come up with a Plan B to get as much use of the shoulder without pain or minimal pain that you can get and that you need.

    betty

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  7. I bet those yoga skirts are darling. Those kind of injuries do take quite some time to heal.

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  8. I once walked to my car not knowing that my wrap around skirt did not make it that far. I was grateful that my neighbor was not out walking his dog at his usual time.

    Hang in there, Joanne. We take longer to heal, but we still can recover.

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  9. I am so sorry that recovery is slower than ideal - but confident that you WILL make it. You are way too stubborn/determined to settle for anything less.

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  10. I went to the River Light Gallery Facebook page and found your name, but I couldn't seem to find what you have for sale. I'm sorry you experience so much pain.

    Love,
    Janie

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  11. The arm and shoulder are very important. Must take care if you expect to ever use them again. Hope I can help this week. Will be in touch.

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  12. Poor you. Don't they make looms where the shuttle is thrown with a foot pedal?

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  14. I too suffer from bad should and knees due to arthritis. When I can be consistent, I've found that taking a drink each day with turmeric and black cherry pepper is really helpful. I must start again as the weather is playing havoc with me. You are doing so well in your sales and that is excellent. Hope the turmeric can help ease your shoulder pain so you can do the other exercise to get better.

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  15. Hari OM
    As one who is struggling to put one foot in front of another at the moment, you have my empathy!!! Good news that sales are happening, of course; shame the stock needs replenishing. Repair you first - let the rest take care of itself. YAM xx

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  16. A skirt that doubles as a wrap! Genius!
    Sorry to hear your shoulder isn't working as well as it should, if I was God, I'd remove arthritis from the world.
    And tooth decay.

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  17. I was reading your description of the yoga skirt and immediately thought, oh that's just a wrap around and then there were the words. I don't mind doing down facing dog with my spandex clad butt sticking up in the air in class, but at 65, I'm not too keen on going to the grocery store with that same spandex clad butt on display.

    sorry to hear your healing isn't keeping up with your schedule. I'm always afraid of getting an injury that would prevent me from being able to create. so far all the bad stuff has happened to a leg or two, not my hands or arms. back when I was doing the river guide thing, my husband would send me off with the admonition to not injure my hands.

    I am glad to hear that your fine work is selling so well. and kicking myself in the butt for not following up already on my desire for one of your garments.

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  18. The cosmos is getting downright sadistic. A weaver with a broken arm isn't enough. Even better - make that weaver so successful that there's an ever-increasing demand for her work.
    Here's to less painful therapy sessions and quick healing.

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  19. You are an indomitable spirit, Joanne!

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  20. Yes, arthritis is absolute misery, as my husband can tell you. Hope your orthopedist has a good plan to heal it.

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  21. Ratcheting.....yikes...that sounds painful.

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  22. I'm sorry that your recovery is taking longer than you want. I think inactivity doesn't help arthritis although it can be painful to keep moving. I hope you've got someone good there to help you with the therapy. I always find wrap skirts hard to manage but sometimes it's useful to have something that just wraps around, whether the top or bottom half of the body!

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  23. I'm sorry that your recovery is taking longer than you want. I think inactivity doesn't help arthritis although it can be painful to keep moving. I hope you've got someone good there to help you with the therapy. I always find wrap skirts hard to manage but sometimes it's useful to have something that just wraps around, whether the top or bottom half of the body!

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  24. I enjoyed your analysis of the yoga skirt. I've never thrown a shuttle but I think it's that pointed shape part of the loom that gets thrown back and forth. I've only been on shuttle buses and occasionally ones with bad drivers can throw you around some.

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  25. Intriguing garment. Maybe you will take a photo when you are healed up and making more of them ...

    Even more intriguing to me is how you sewed all the buttons on with one hand. (On the second one.)

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    1. I bought an inexpensive Singer that purports to make buttonholes and sew on buttons. It manages buttons, but cannot make a decent buttonhole. I think of my beautiful Viking Husquevarna I sold when we retired and sigh. All it did was make buttonholes by the thousands and sew on as many buttons. I think it was 500 at the time and now comes in at just under a thousand. Sigh.

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    2. The price - yikes! And, yes, Sigh.

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  26. Poor You Joanne. These accidents seem to take an age to clear up the older one gets. Do hope things
    get easier and less painful.

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  27. Dear Joanne, I hope that you soon will be able to master those exercises without that horrible pain - meaning: that you get well again!
    Of course that affects your work massively - do you have helpers?
    I would have liked to see that yoga skirt!

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  28. A yoga skirt? Who would have thought! I hope your arm gets better soon. Therapy on my broken leg turned out to be worse than having the broken leg! Good luck and Godspeed!!

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  29. I love the way you just get on with things. You acknowledge the set back, but shrug and carry on. It is a trait that I often saw in older people when I was in chemotherapy. We just got on with it. The younger ones seemed less inclined to do this and I am not sure whether this is an alarming trait in our current youth or just something that wisdom bestows on us with age.

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  30. Aha! Indeed, by catching up on more posts, I have unlocked the "yoga skirt"--except it sounds, indeed, like it's better as a shrug, eh?

    This arm business is making me wince on your behalf. To live with pain and immobility. OH, honey.

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