Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn. ~Quoted by Lewis Grizzard in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You

So much to do and I have had some recent discoveries.

I haven’t knitted anything in over a month.  I skipped the Ravelolympics and wasn’t tempted by Susan Pandorf’s recent Lord of the Rings / Evenstar Mystery Stole.  I was trying to avoid distractions.  For the past few months I have been increasing the time that I play the harp, and have been averaging four to five hours a day.  An interesting thing occurred -  since I put the knitting needles down, the pain in my left thumb that I have become very acquainted with has been absent. For some time I have suspected that knitting was the cause of the pain.  But I thought that playing the harp might also be the source of the pain. When I knit I do wear a splint on my thumb to reduce the amount of movement.  It helps a great deal but I still experience pain.  It is now clear that the pain comes solely from knitting.  I do not plan to stop knitting but I need to approach it with a great deal more moderation.

Last week I had the great fortune to take a private harp lesson with Frank Voltz.  He is one of my favorite harp composers.  I played his composition, Peace Be With You, and learned an incredible amount during the lesson.  I would love to take lessons with him via Skype and simply focus on his original compositions.  Last week I also attended a fascinating harp work shop with Robbin Gordon-Cartier.   She discussed the act of approaching difficult challenges and recommended the book, The Dream Giver, by Bruce Wilkinson.   I’ve read the first portion and found it to be a very interesting.  On Sunday I played for a small fund raiser, and I think it went pretty well.

There is so much to do outside, but I have been making time to work on a quilt - I did a quick audition of a background fabric with a border fabric and had quite a bit of assistance from two poodle girls.  (The bottom mariner’s compass is not sewn together yet.)  

 

 

Comments

[Kym]

First, that top photo with the daffodils is BEAUTIFUL! I love the pop of the yellow against the bark. I'm so sorry to hear about your thumb pain; it would be a shame if you had to stop knitting. Have you consulted an occupational therapist? I would love to hear you play the harp. Do you have any video clips or anything that you could share via your blog?