Bare knitting needles by Leanne Dyck

What's on my needles?

Nothing. They are bare. No freshly cast on stitches. No nearing completion project. No... Nothing...

A few months ago I was experiencing sharp pain in my wrists. The pain increased after I knit. I went to see my doctor. She directed me to a clinic where my condition was assessed—an electric current was placed on my carpal tunnel. It felt like being tasered—I think; I've never been tasered. The clinic directed me to a hand therapist. This conversation ended with the therapist saying, "Stopping knitting—at least for now—may have been the wisest thing you've done."

Knitting in moderation is okay for most. Knitting in excess—like every waking minute—is not okay.

"Do you miss it?" Many have asked.

I don't miss the pain, but I do miss...
-the creative release
-the sensuality
-the meditation
-the new garment

But change comes to all, and it has come to me. I'm no longer a knitter—at least for now.
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And have no fear, there are many wonderful knitting blogs out there. Here's an example 

Oh, yes, and other people are undergoing a career change. Read this tribute to Steve's
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Next post:  Yuletide Blog

Guest Post Leaf Press, Ursula Vaira (founder and publisher)

Ursula Vaira founded Leaf Press in 2001 as a poetry chapbook publisher. Since 2007 she has been publishing trade poetry while continuing the chapbook tradition and the weekly on-line Monday’s Poem.

"Poetry, paddling and west-coast wilderness camping are my passions, and they show in my writing (And See What Happens, Caitlin Press) and in the works I choose for Leaf's list. This year I am so proud to have published Poems for Planet Earth, a round-up of poems from readers at internationally renowned Planet Earth Poetry in Victoria BC; Surge Narrows by Emilia Nielsen, in which 'words rush like cold, clean water over the skin' (Anne Simpson); milk tooth bane bone by Daniela Elza, 'an open armature for wonder' (David Abram); and Dark Matter by Leanne McIntosh, an invitation to 'listen, listen as though the moon/has just pressed her face/against ours.'

Publishing is not for the easily frightened. The hours are long.  The money is spare. The printing bills come due. Invoice payments arrive late. Contracts are signed long before the granting agencies approve or reject funding applications. No one lasts long in the biz without a passion for the work.

But the rewards! Money aside. Glory aside. But being able to work so intimately with these amazing poets, to spend hours and hours inside their words during the editing and design and typesetting until I know nearly every word by heart--and then to sit in an audience during the book launch, watching the effect of the poet's words play on each face ... I don't know, it just does it for me.

 Ursula Vaira, Publisher

Leaf Press – Publishing Poetry Only

www.leafpress.ca

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