Head, shoulders, knees, and toes

Head: I finished a cute little sparkly scarf to keep someone’s neck warm:

Shoulders: I finally realized the hindrances I’ve had in learning to play the guitar are that I have short arms but large hands (not quite man hands, but large for a female of my height), and a well-meaning guitar instructor started me off on the wrong foot ages ago when he steered me towards his own preference in ‘rock’ guitars instead of my more mundane fireside singalong goals. I’ve tried three different guitars (all steel string, two acoustic and one electric) and have not been happy with any of them. Either my shoulder kills me from reaching over, or I can’t seem to get clear chords because I’m stretching so much to reach certain fingering positions that my fingers touch adjacent strings, or my fingers develop painful blisters from exerting so much pressure on the strings. The fingertips I know will toughen up, but the arms, I can’t do much about those…

I really, really want to learn to play more than a few (strained) chords and so I have spent some time lately trolling local guitar shops, strumming on a huge range of guitars trying to figure out what works for me. I think I’ve found it, a combination of size and sound that fits in my shoestring budget and starter status. I’m going to go back a few more times to make sure, but my next guitar (after I find homes for my current two, of course) might be a Cordoba C5. I like the wider neck yet smaller body of the classical guitars (my shoulder doesn’t seem strained reaching over it), the sound is more in line with I was craving, and the nylon strings are so much nicer on the fingers. Plus, for being a less expensive guitar this one has a really round, warm sound. It has a red cedar top, which I like the look of more than spruce.

(stock photo from an online store; it’s much prettier in person)

Knees: Actually, they are doing pretty well (knock wood). I just couldn’t skip right from shoulders to toes.

Toes: I’m working on a pair of socks for myself. They are farther along, and a lot less yellow, than in this picture, but you get the idea. Simple stockinette, contrast toes. This is my current commuter project and easy enough that I can read while I knit them. Multi-tasking at its best!

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