Has anyone had any hand surgery? I go in on Wednesday for surgery on my thumb, the Doctor says he is going to take a tendon from my arm and wrap it around my thumb. Not looking forward to it but I am in such pain it needs to be done.
My concern is my sewing and quilting! It is my right hand! I will not be doing anything for 6 weeks or more. Does anyone quilt with the "wrong" hand? I have been reading about stab stitching has anyone ever done this?
Hubby is being a love and doing all the cooking and cleaning! He even offered to "help" me quilt....not so sure about that.
Any ideas, so I don't go crazy will be of help.
Thanks to all!

Why not let him help quilt? You might awaken an interest and talent that has been "sleeping." Sounds like he is being a real willing helper.

I am so sorry for you, but thank goodness for good surgeons. Make sure you do your re-hab exercises.
I pray everything will come out perfectly.
I go in on Monday for my left eye cataract surgery. In 3 weeks I will go back for my right eye.

Let him help, he needs to be close to you. He must feel a little helpless right now. Stab quilting will work nicely and will work a side of your brain that you normally don't work. It may be a little frustrating at first but stick with it, you will get the hang of it. Best wishes for a successful surgery, I will pray for you and your care givers.

I had hand surgery when I 1st got into quilting. Fortunately, it was my left hand & I was still able to quilt. In the midst of this I was traveling back & forth across the state of PA - 300 miles as my sister was losing her battle with colon cancer. My hand got infected, so I have some extra scar tissue. Be very careful after your surgery & good luck!

Use the time to look at quilt magazines and store up ideas for all you plan to do when your hand is healed. Also, maybe if it needs it, you could organize your sewing room, stash, or whatever. Good luck with the surgery; I'll keep you in prayer and hope all goes well!

What is stab stitching? I've never heard of it.

Machine sewing ? You should be able to work with your left hand

I had thumb arthroplasty (joint replacement) this past September. Thankfully it was not in my dominant hand. I had about 3 months of physical therapy. I still don't have full strength in that hand.

When I first learned to quilt, I did the stab quilting until I got used to a thimble. My quilting stitches on the back were no where near straight.

Good luck with your surgery.

I have had both basal joints replaced with great success! No more pain and my dexterity (after two years) is quite normal. Quilting was a problem one handed but the cast comes off fairly quickly and in a brace your other fingers are quite useable. Best of luck!

Have a supply of magazines and quilting books handy and some post-it notes. Plan your next few quilts. The less you do with that hand until it heals the better off you'll be in the long run. Good luck.

Thank you all for your prayers and great ideas, I will keep everyone posted. This is such a wonderful place, I am so happy I found this site. Happy quilting!

Thank you, Good luck with your eye surgery, my neighbor had that done about 6 months ago and she is thrilled with the results.

You are in my thoughts and prayers. Keep us posted.

Best of luck to you! I'm sure it will be just fine. :)

A pro golfer had surgery on her thumb and within 2 months, won the LPGA.

Hopefully, your recovery time will fly by!

With stab stitching you do not load multiple stitches on the needle at one time and pull all of them through. Instead, you stab the needle to the back side and pull it through. Then you stab it back up - in essence doing a single stitch per movement. It is a little harder to control the stitch size - but what the hey ---- at least you can still work.