2024, new life to my knitting

 My wrist pain has made it altogether impossible to enjoy knitting. And I've tried it all. NSAIDs (ibuprofen and two forms of topicals), wrist splints, etc. 

It's been two years since I've been able to knit. And it's been HARD. I've explored a lot of alternative crafts over the past few years. And while that's been fun and I've enjoyed them. It is not the same. I don't get the same dopamine rush, I don't get the same meditative, soothing, relaxing sensation.

But I found something, and it's even under $10!!!

I found a pair of fingerless gloves that have heating elements on the palms and back of the hands that is heated by a simple USB port. 

Affiliate link - USB Heated Gloves.

I've been wearing them while working (office work, so I'm on a keyboard all day), and in the evening. They've helped the pain ten-fold better than everything else I've tried.

Now, admittedly, I've been nervous about whether they'll work for my knitting or not. So far, I've spent about twenty minutes last weekend and twenty minutes yesterday - keeping my knitting time to a minimum intentionally. But my wrists don't hurt afterwards. I'm not sure if I'll ever knit as much as I used to... easily four to five hours every evening and most of my weekends. But I am definitely feeling more at ease with knitting again. 

I can't vouch for how long they'll last. I've worn mine non-stop since Christmas. For $10, I wouldn't be too terribly upset if I had to replace them occasionally.

I also bought a pair for my son who struggles with Raynauds. He's thrilled as well. He's even bought a separate battery pack for them so he can wear them away from the laptop. 

While the heating pads can be removed for washing, there's a velcro strip to hold them back in place that could be a little stronger; but the light velcro strip is reducing bulk so you don't really notice that while wearing the gloves. I just wouldn't take them out and replace them multiple times unless you really needed to. 

NOTE: No one has paid me to support these, though the link above is an affiliate one, so if you use the link and buy the gloves, I will get a small commission.