Nolee

I am an herbalist not associated with this company or product but received it yesterday from a Master Herbalist. Take a look. The postage is around $14.00 for the $14.00 tub, but it is 10 pounds and hey, with the type of pain you are talking about and the inability to do what you love, it can't hurt to look at the information.

http://www.earthworkshealth.com/products.php

Tropical

Before I developed my Chemical sensitivities, I used to use a product called Mineral Ice. It really helped. It does have a very strong menthol odor. Now I use Aspercream because it has no odor. It works well for me.

fabric whisperer

I have early onset arthritis too ~ mine set in at age 14. I have some days better than others, and FMQ is rough. But I do what others have suggested ~ move around, get up, stretch, when the lactic acid hits the muscles, it exacerbates the arthritis. Mine is degenerative arthritis, haven't been his with RA (yet) but know it could hit anytime. With the natural vitamin therapy, has your doc mentioned anything like turmeric or capsacins? Some days that helps mine (and I prefer the natural methods anyway) ~ I have an egg-yolk allergy, so cannot have the flue shot, cannot take beta-blockers, cannot manage with Imitrex or the others... so Lecithin (vit E) is my lifesaver, and the turmeric helps with pain too sometimes. I eat a lot of peppers in my diet, so I've got elevated capsacin levels anyway, for exactly this reason.

Don't give up! Do what you can each time, and go back to it and see if you can resume. Don't try and force it, you'll just cause yourself a lot of frustration :)

fabric whisperer

oh yeah, I forgot! Holy Basil ~ see if you can find it (herb you can grow inside on a windowsill) at a local gardencentre or nursery ~ it helps many ailments, including arthritis... I've made a paste of the leaves for a rub... it's an ancient remedy in India

mshawii

Jeez, you sound like my twin. Except I haven't done the shoulders yet. Still getting shots in them. Jan

MomtoBostonTerriers

Ps 150,

Apparently there are a lot of members of the Quilters With Arthritis Club. Definitely a club no one wants to join! Based on advice from folks on this message board, I have done a few things to help me quilt even though I have arthritis in my hands.

I use a Supreme Slider with I free motion quilt -- it certainly helps. I also just purchased a sewing table so my sewing surface is now flush with the table surface. What an improvement! My particular sewing table is made by Tracey's Tables, and I really like it. I change blades in my rotary cutter often -- if it is the least bit hard to cut, then the blade needs to be replaced.

Even with medication for the pain, I find that some days, I just can't sew. I've learned to go with the flow and not let that bother me. My arthritis seems to be worse on some days, better on others, so I've learned to be grateful for those good days.

Arthritis is not something I would wish for anyone, but I can think of MANY conditions that are worse, so I try to keep that in perspective.

As you can see by the many replies to this thread, there are a lot of quilters in a situation similar to yours. Don't be discouraged! I hope you can find some advice here that will help, and will keep you quilting for many years to come.

MomtoBostonTerriers

Please do not let my husband hear about this!

Sheepshed

One option I dont know if it was mentioned.. gorgeous straight line quilting with a walking foot has been done for 150 years on a machine. It *might* be easier on the hands to just do nice patterned grids, diamonds, channel quilting, etc.. without all the attempted doodling associated with freemotion... Let the Walking Foot Do The Work !

Ps 150

:lol: Thanks! I actually did nothing but straight line with the walking foot for my first year with arthritis because it was just so unfamiliar to me and the pain came and went when it wanted to and so unexpectedly, but thanks. With this quilt I wanted to try something different and do feathers...it's been interesting to say the least! :D

Ps 150

Thanks so much for both your posts. I love peppers so I'll try to incorporate them into my diet more. And I love the smell of basil. Is there much of a difference between Holy Basil and the Basil plants I pick up at the grocery store?