Intersection and Small bits, coming soon . . .

It’s been an interesting summer here in Potterville. A bike mishap coupled with my normal activities (biking, pottery, weightlifting, knitting etc) has made a masterful stew of inflammation with the oh so glamorous name Intersection Syndrome**. It’s a painful condition, and I’m immobilized with a splint.

Unfortunately this has all sorts of everyday repercussions. Mine is largely a life led one handed. One of the more frustrating challenges has been no wheel work. I have not been actively throwing, trimming or carving for a few months now. This has been quite the challenge. My hand therapists assure me I will be back to work soon, and so I remain positive. Somedays I am more succesful than others.

This has unfortunately affected my fall schedule and I am unable to attend one of my favorite events, The Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival early this September. The event organizers have been kind enough to save my spot for 2016, and so I’ll be back next year. This schedule change will help me take some extra time to resume my work s l o w l y. I’m typically a bit of a tornado before a show, and my studio work will be more of a drip than a proper storm when it resumes.

It’s mind numbingly  s l o w this soft tissue healing. Most days I look forward to going to bed in the hopes that the following morning I’ll wake up and my hand will feel better. It’s an odd mental shift as I typically relish my first morning thought of, “What can I make today” Instead it has been,  “What can I do to safely mark time until I’m better?” There have been some silver linings, mostly more time with the kiddos and some longer than expected vacations. It’s really been mixed and has made me even more aware of how challenging it is for me to be idle.

I have been amassing quite the selection of small bits, buttons, pendants and stitch markers in the studio. I’m in the process of prepping some of these for online sale. The photography has been slow going. Did you know this ENTIRE WORLD seems to be created for right handed folks? (All my SLR buttons and toggles are on the right.) Photo editing is also a hoot with your non dominant hand. Try it. It’s soo fun. (by fun I mean frustrating) We’ve taken to modifying most everything these days. Including my thumbs up.

I’m almost finished with the editing, and the posts will go live on my Etsy shop this Sunday after 12 noon Central. I’m not sending out a email notification for this small bits sale, as there will not be pots. I’ll be announcing it on Twitter, Ravelry and Instagram too!

**For those interested in the pathophisioloigy of Intersection syndrome here’s an excerpt from MedScape

“The condition has long been held to be caused by friction from the overlying extensor pollicis brevis (EPB) and abductor pollicis longus (APL) tendons.[8] Tensile and shearing stresses in the tendons and peritendinous tissues may lead to thickening, adhesions, and cellular proliferation. Subsequent swelling and proliferation of tenosynovium may cause pain, as these tissues are compressed within the unyielding second extensor compartment.”