About five weeks ago I had carpal tunnel release surgery on my dominant, right hand. This was the type where they cut and open part of your wrist and palm--not the endoscopic type.

The worst part of the surgery was what I went through before the actual surgery--total angst from the very idea that I would potentially spend a number of weeks without being able to, of all things, knit.

I know you're thinking that that is totally normal since you must think that I absolutely love to knit, but the the truth is, I haven't loved knitting for a long time (being very truthful here). The reason? First, pain. The second reason has to do with the fact that over the past many years, knitting has become "work." I've now written six books, and with every book comes many hours of knitting samples which takes along with it lots of stress and worry about things from color choice, how to grade the pattern, math, making the sample look perfect, knitting the sample(s) super fast, etc.

Despite the pain and the stress, before the surgery I spent weeks--probably three--with this terrible cloud over my head that I wouldn't be able to knit for quite some time and it was terribly depressing.
So, the day after surgery what did I do? I discovered that I could embroider left-handed. 

I am that crazy.

And before you tut-tut me in comments, every, single thing I did post surgery was absolutely supported by my surgeon and physical therapist. So, once I figured I could embroider left-handed, I embroidered everything in sight. I did this for, oh, about three weeks. (If you're curious about these samplers, they're made by Dropcloth Samplers.)

Using my hands was really good for my soul. I can't imagine what I would have done if I couldn't do this. I sometimes think its a curse, really. A day doesn't go by that I don't make something. Even if it is a doodle or a batch of pickles or a couple of stitches on a pair of socks, there's this urgency to make . . . something.

Anyway, today I have my last follow-up with the surgeon. 

And I have been able to knit now for about a week.

I don't spend too long knitting because I don't want to jinx myself, but guess what?

I am knitting with linen and I have never, ever been able to knit with linen without some amount of discomfort. I mean, linen--although it is my absolute favorite fiber--can be a little challenging. Now? It's like butter!

In celebration, I am having a go at a sideways linen top for summer. Right now, I've just done some preliminary calculations and have knit about two inches. The yarn I'm using is Euroflax Wet Spun Linen (sport weight) in the Natural color. 

I am also using these new square knitting needles. They're Kollage Square Circular Knitting Needles. Gosh, what a difference they make! The package claims that they're easy on your hands and made for knitters with arthritis, carpal tunnel and stiffness. I'm usually a skeptic on this kind of stuff, but I tell you what, they're really helpful. I'm using US size #5 (3.75mm) for this project and I have actually tried conventional needles on the swatch and then changed to the square ones, and the square ones really do make a difference. 

I'll be showing you pictures as I move along. I love linen for summer! 

BTW: It looks like I'll be getting the same surgery on my left hand before end of year (insert sad trombone sound here.)