Hi everyone.  I have been long absent from this blog and have had a couple of people write and ask..."are you dead?"

Nope.  I can sum up the reason I've been away from my crafts in three words.

SEVERE JOINT PROBLEMS

First, frozen shoulder.  If you've ever had one you  know it is worse than childbirth and lasts for YEARS.  It may be that I spun too much and too long.  Who  knows?  Anyway, it has kept me from spinning for quite a while and has caused me a huge  amount of pain.  It has also kept an army of doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists and pharmacists employed.  It is mostly better.  Mostly.  And I have avoided surgery.

Second, tennis elbow.  And I do not play tennis.  This keeps me from weaving (waaa) and knitting.  Seriously.  Who knew there was a joint thing that would make even KNITTING painful?  I'm working on it.

Third.  Three hand surgeries.  Yeah.  Three.

It turns out that once I hit fifty my tendons rebelled.  My orthopedic surgeon said, "Some people just have crappy tendons."  That's me.

My loom is quiet for now.  My spinning wheels are quiet.  My yarn is waiting.  It has been hard, and depressing, a really difficult time for me to face my limitations and aging and all that goes with it.  I am VERY hopeful that I will be able to go back to it all, but it will have to be at a different, less driven pace (no more speed demon).

So I'm taking voice lessons.  And I have a new puppy.  And my joints are healing but it's slow!

I still have my Etsy store, I am still a dealer of fiber goodies.  I have a LOT of fiber to sell (e-mail me if you need fuzzy stuff) but I'm keeping my stock of equipment low so if you need equipment in a hurry, I am not your girl.  If you're not in a hurry, I'd love to help!

Spin on!  Weave on!  But do take care of your body first of all.

If it makes you ache, take a break.