Slow Stitching Sunday - Loving Hands
I have been noticing my hands this week, because in this cold climate at this time of year, my skin is so dry and my nails have mostly broken off from snow shoveling and ice scraping...they are a mess! The snow continues to fall and it is bitterly cold. This is how deep the snow was yesterday... we just shoveled a little path through. It was up to my daughter's knees!
Even though I torture my hands, they keep on sewing for me and I know I should take better care of them. Hand stitchers know that we can't do anything without our hands. They are instruments of our creativity, to work with our tools, fabric, threads, and beads, and turn them into something we love.
This past fall I participated with some of my friends in a course by Brene Brown called "The Gifts of Imperfection".
It was a terrific course and I really enjoyed the learning and creativity. One of the exercises was to write on your hand "I am enough" or another meaningful positive statement. I love this picture of the hands of my friends, and the memories it brings to mind.
As you are using your hands this week, remember to appreciate them and all that they do for you! And take good care of your hands, so you can keep on stitching!
Today I am finishing up the binding on a pair of oven mitts that I started as a Christmas gift a year or two ago. They were really a pain to make and I was struggling to finish them, and just gave up. I found them again in my clean up efforts this week, and today I plan to finally finish them.
What are your hands making today? Link up your hand stitching blog post below and if you want to, share how you take care of your hands so they are in tip top shape for stitching.
29 comments:
I am like you...dry cracked skin, callous built up on middle finger ( just ordered something called thimble pads ) and need to put lotion on more often! :)
I love that shot of all of your hands ...beautiful
I keep lotion handy at all times. Yes, great photo of the group hands.
At night, when I go to bed, I apply the oil from a Vitamin E capsule on my quilting fingertips. It helps heel needle pricks sooner than later and helps with dryness. I use a pin to pierce the capsule and that releases the right amount of oil. Then the pin can be left in the capsule as a stopper.
I'm a nurse so my hands are constantly being washed or gelled! Hand lotions my hand survival tip, and lots of it
My hands are so dry due to this weather. Your hand picture is a reminder of what all we can do with our hands.
You are so right how important our hands are, especially as stitchers. That thought crosses my mind occasionally when I am doing something stupid that could cause an injury! I have arthritis in my hands so I am especially conscious of their care - but sometimes they are neglected. I pledge to take better care in this cold weather! Thanks again for the linky party!
Interesting post, hands down! I love the quilt in your header.
I was thinking the same thing about my hands this week. I find prewashing fabric helps and I use bag balm on them.
I agree with Carla - my fingers get sore when I handle new fabrics and I must always prewash.
Shea butter. You can buy the stuff on Amazon for next to nothing. It warms up on your hands and then acts as a humectant. A friend in chemo and radiation was told that this was the only thing to use for her skin. amazing stuff.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CTT0TOM/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
My hands are a victim to this weather also. I've tried lots of lotions. But found Bag Balm for hand quilters sore fingers seems to help some but not a nice fragrance at all. Thanks for providing the link Kathy. Happy slow stitching to you!
Don't laugh -- I'm a big proponent of sleeping in cotton gloves, after I've slathered my hands with coconut oil! I wake up with hands that smell heavenly and are as smooth as a baby's bottom. Too bad I can't find a cotton *body* glove. LOL! :)
I put a "recipe" for lotion with my link above #8
Kathy, I am really enjoying this opportunity to learn more about how to link up with someone else's blog and also to show what I am doing with my slow stitching. Thanks again.
I have been extra careful with applying lotion this winter too and using gentler hand soap. We need our creative hands!
You've been doing a lot of finishing up projects lately, hopefully that means your sewing room is getting cleaner.
We've not had any snow or ice with the recent cold fronts, but that means it has been cold, dry air. We all feel like prunes. Hand lotion has been a hot commodity in this house.
Thankfully I don't have too much trouble in the winter with my hands, but my poor grandson does ... his knuckles are so raw that they almost look like ground meat. DD cannot find anything that helps, so I'm definitely going to check out everyone else's tips.
I use Avon Natural's on my hands during the winter time, but winter time in Brazil, is nothing compared with the winter where you live. I do take care of my hands, because as you said they are precious, Grace of the Lord. One thing that I always did before and after stitching is 5 minutes of stretching. Have a wonderful week.
i enjoyed reading your thoughtful post and have added a quote from it to my own blog post as well as a thought or two of my own that i thought was relevant.
thank you so much for hosting this wonderful weekly link-up. it helps keep me motivated with my slow stitch projects and i like seeing what other stitchers are doing too.
take good care.
:-)
libbyQ
I remember lathering my hands in lotion all winter when I lived up north. Now I just occasionally need to put some on. Now.... to enjoy some slow stitching - I just prepped 5 more hexie flowers to stitch.
In the winter my hands are always so dry! I have lately been using Neutrogena's Norwegian formula fast absorbing hand cream and am finding it works really well for me.
Really great post today Kathy! Love it! I cut one of my fingers two weeks ago with the rotary cutter and just looked at it in disbelief--I NEED my hands! lol
About a year ago I looked down at my hands and realized they look like my mother's hands - complete with lines and wrinkles giving testament to a life well lived.
I am slowly stitching away on some knitting these days.
Ahhh, the trials of winter on our hands!! Wonderful thoughts that you shared!! I've had to rest my thumb from hand quilting - too sore to pull the needle! So doing some hand stitching on quilt binding!
Blessings and hugs!
Ironically, I spent almost every free minute stitching today. I just put some lotion on (in hopes my dry skin will not snag the floss as much tomorrow) and found your blog through a link at Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting. I may have to join in the fun next Sunday. ;)
I love this post, Kathy!
My hands used to crack and bleed every winter and I would go through gallons of lotion. That is why I started making my own soap 17 years ago. My BIL shared a bar with me that he had made and within two days the bleeding had stopped and my hands were nowhere near as dry. I wanted to buy soap from my BIL, but he didn't want to make it a business, so he just taught me how to make it and I have made all of our soap since then. I still use lotion, but I need a fraction of what I used to go through.
The idea of Slow Stitching Sunday is awesome! This is my 1st time here and I'm enjoying it. I don't normally post on Sunday's but do work on hand stitching through out the week/weekends when I have a chance. Wanted to link up but since I'm on my phone (PC currently out of service) it didn't uploaded right (#41 picture is not showing). I hope I knew how to fix it!
I've read that making a homemade scrub of sugar and olive oil works well for extra dry hands. Also putting on gloves/mittens overnight after using hand lotions and creams helps.
Yes, thank God for hands. Even though sometimes they don't work all that well in my old age...I'd hate to have to learn to do anything with my feet instead!
Just love this link up, as hand stitching is my most favorite thing in the world. Except what I shared today was machine pieces. I did, however, stitch it slowly. :) I have been doing a lot of hand sewing lately because I've been in bed with the flu. I can't go one day without working with fabric in some way. I hope you stay warm. I have always loved Mary Kay's satin hands. Or I will put vaseline on my hands and sleep with a pair of socks on them.. LOL How old school is that??? Happy Quilting!
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