Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Disability, Beethoven and Me, ambidextrous spinning.

Last summer I tore my rotater cuff repairing and expanding my falling-down office. I really like this space with its windows and plants and room for my spinning wheel so much it was almost worth it.
But it is easy to get depressed when months and months go by and you don't get better, only worse.
When the pain started affecting my spinning, it felt tragic. Now it has slowed down my spindle making to where turn around time has expanded to 2 weeks. I hate that. When a person decides to order a spindolyn, I get excited for them, I want them to have a new spindle and play with it as soon as possible, as I know I would.
 MY APOLOGIES for the delay, sincerely.
I am doing everything rehaby that I can find to do to help my body repair the injury (ice, heat, rest, brace, nsaid, yoga, vitamins, herbs, meditation, etc,) I am open to suggestions. Surgery is out of the question without insurance, and the way I scar, that is probably not a great option anyway.
So I watched a really interesting documentary online recently "In Search of Beethoven" and  besides all the great historical perspective, it made me think a lot about how frustrating a disability is that gets between you and your art and the way you cope with it is the only thing that keeps you from offing yourself (which he considered often) I can better understand why he had a reputation for being grouchy and "letting himself go" I am feeling pretty grouchy right now myself.  Anyway, his perseverance is an inspiration, especially since he had no chance of getting better, and I do.
     Considering this, I decided to try and learn to spin better drafting with my right hand. I am left handed, but have no trouble drafting with either hand on the wheel. It just doesn't seem to matter, and I often switch drafting arms just to rest the other. BUT, I have another confession (telling people about my bad shoulder seems like a really personal confession of defeat, btw)I can not seem to draft right handed on the spindolyn.
     It is darn skippy and crazy awkward how odd it feels to try and draft on the spindolyn with the right hand. I am primarily a left handed spindolyn drafter. There, I said it.
       So, I have discovered that I can still spin if I put my bad left shoulder in a brace and a sling and twirl the spindolyn by the side of the whorl all the while minding to keep it loose and not tense, and draft with the right (wrong) hand.But it is slow going.
      Not because of the strange left arm set up, but because my right hand is having to learn to draft upward. It feels silly and like I am new at this, and that is GREAT! It is like the gift of being a newbie all over again. You just can't borrow or buy that feeling! It makes me feel like I can relate better to new spinners, and I am very proud of this small amount of uneven yarn I have gotten spun drafting with the right (wrong) hand...tada!

All about the base, the styles, the whys and wherefores
