Today’s Quilt Lab entry has nothing to do with actual quilting but more personal maintenance. A few years ago I had a job making very small detectors for a company. It was a very hand intensive task. I had to do a ton of crimping with a pair of side cutters and my left hand really started to hurt. It turns out I have developed arthritis in my left hand. This seemed really odd to me since I am right handed so I started noticing what kinds of tasks my left hand did. Last weekend I was sewing quilt bindings on some table runners I made for my Etsy shop (coming soon) when my hand really started to hurt, it dawned on me that I use my left hand to hold things still so I can do things to them with my right hand. Not only do I hold things but I hold them with a pretty tight grip. Luckily there are hand exercises that can really help this so if you find this happening to you go here and do these. I definitely want to keep my hands in shape because I have so many more quilts to make.
Hmmm, maybe it is time to try and sew with your left hand!
Posted by: Debbie Jacobs | 10/07/2009 at 05:33 PM