Hand problems and yarnish thoughts

So, my long time readers will know that I suffer occasionally from ulnar nerve pain.  Mine is primarily brought on by over use, but I know there are lots of yarn-wielders out there for whom hand pain is a constant in their crafting lives.  I have also found that the support braces and gloves available for hand pain are often unsatisfactory - many are too stiff, offer too little support, or support in the wrong places.  So I thought to myself, wouldn't it be great to be able to make my very own support glove that was tailor made to my hand problems?  And if I made it myself, I would be able to make it pretty, or at least not butt ugly (as ALL of the commercial options are).  Which of course led me to thinking about writing patterns (because everything leads there these days).  So I ask you, fellow yarners with hand problems: what do you want in a knit or crochet crafting support glove?  Is there a commercial glove that you use?  Why do you like it, and what would you change about it?  Please tell me!

Holly Berry Gloves

Squeaking out under the wire for this month is my Holly Berry Gloves!  The cables are done in the tops of the stitches, rather than the posts, for a fun texture.  With the buttoned, ribbed wrist band, these are a real eye catcher.

The trigger mittens, they are a success!

Remember I was knitting these for my brother's birthday-come-Christmas present?  I just had to show them off!  They fit him perfectly (well, they are VERY snug, but that's how he wanted them), and most importantly, they are DONE.  Doing these magic loop two at a time was a VERY bad idea, although I may give the technique one more try on some socks.  He has declared them Fonzie gloves.  EHHHH!  :D

Evergreen Gloves

I love fingerless gloves!  Braided cables make these interesting to make, but they work up fast... perfect for last minute gifts.  Thick but not too thick, these are nice and warm.

Wool, part 2 -- the texture issue

Soft wool is not always the best for every project.  Sometimes coarse wool (I won't call it scratchy, due to the negative connotation) simply works better.  Some knitters and crocheters don't like working with coarse wool, which is fair enough.  But there are some advantages to NOT choosing the softest wool on the shelf.  Namely, soft wool felts and pills much more easily than coarser wools do.  Felting can sometimes be desirable, and pills can be shaved off, but who wants to shave your sweater's underarm every time you wear it?

The kinds of projects that work better in coarser wool, in my opinion, are items that you don't want to felt that are going to get a lot of heavy wear, but won't be directly next to your skin.  Sweaters are an excellent example.  As a bonus, I've noticed that cables "pop" more in  a slightly coarser wool.  My husband, for example, is incredibly rough on sweaters.  He would DESTROY Malabrigo.  If I were to make him a sweater, I would choose something a little more rustic.  Black Water Abbey's yarns come to mind.

On the other hand, sometimes you NEED the softness.  Socks, for example, need to be pretty soft, as to gloves, scarves, and hats.  Thankfully most of these items also don't receive heavy wear.  The exception of course is socks.  This is why most wool sock yarns are blends of wool and nylon (or, in the old days, silk).  The nylon (or silk) gives much needed reinforcement to the wool, which gives the sock the durability it needs without giving the wearer itchy feet.

Am I going to talk about wool some more?  YES, I'm going to talk about wool some more!  Next time (the final installment) I'll give a brief summary of some of my favorite sheep breeds.