Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Survived.

The Blizzard of 2013, that is. :)

We ended up getting 2 feet of snow in this part of CT, more in the drifts. Came down at the rate of 6 inches at one point, which was.............interesting. But the power held and we, along with our neighbors, didn't seem to suffer any mishaps from the wind gusts, so that's good. 
(And so far it seems like most of the bloggers in these parts that I follow came through it well, so yay for that too!)

 My mittens, I'm happy to say, came in quite handy for all that shoveling. Warm & toasty were my hands  - even after a couple hours of being outside. Double thick knits for the win! :) 

The white pair got a little fuzzed on the thumbs (from the shovel handle freezing to them) and the green yarn near the top of the hand seems to have bled a teeny teeny bit but I'm okay with that. I like putting my hand knits to work for me vs. sticking them in a drawer somewhere as a keepsake.

I'd like to say I had a lot of time for handcrafts during the storm and while the roads were shut down by the governor  but the tendonitis in my left hand has been brutally painful off/on lately so I spent most of the down time reading. :(

(I really do need to find someone local-ish who does the surgery to fix this *SOON*. Grrr.)

HOWEVER, I did finish a couple smalls earlier in the week when my hand was ok. (And by 'ok' I mean, still painful but not intolerably so. Because it has never once NOT hurt in some capacity since last August or so.)  I decided to 'reward' myself for finishing a big WIP the week previous with a couple smalls. 

Honestly, I almost like small pieces better than large ones these days, which is the complete opposite of how I felt when I started doing cross stitch back in 1990 or so. I think my attention span, over all, has just, ummmmmm, diminished over the years because I only finish 1 out of 3 movies I start nowadays too. (Man, I just can NOT get through a movie at home any more!! I can't even count on one hand the number of movies I have started - and then abandoned 30 minutes in - in just the last 2-3 months.)

 Happy Chirp Chirp Day, The Trilogy

 Sampler Pear IV, Santas & Samplers (free)
Added in the buttons and date.

Does this last one count as a Valentine finish? If so, it's the only one I got to this year.
Plans to finish it up as an actual pear are in the works!


Does anybody else love the heck out of these vintage Valentine's cards? I keep seeing them pop up on Pinterest and I love them so. :)

This one seems to be (if the internets are correct) circa 1950's. 

How about one with fried eggs?
Ahhh, nothing says love like......eggs in a pan
Happy Valentine's!

15 comments:

Margaret said...

Oooh, I love that fried egg one! lol! So cute! I am still in love with your mittens. You need to teach over the internet how to knit with color. :D Love your two xs finishes too. Such a bummer about the tendonitis! My wrist periodically hurts, but I've managed with it so far. I hope it doesn't get worse. Glad you survived the storm ok!

Sweet Sue said...

You too Mel, love your mittens and finishes. Hope your hand gives you some relief soon, great eggs!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful mittens. You do great colorwork!

Love the smalls. They are so sweet.

Hope your hand gives you a break. Constant pain is well, a PAIN!

Beth said...

Melanie - Oh your poor hand - how awful I hope you are able to find someone who can take care of it for you soon. Such lovely mittens - glad you survived Nemo. I too suffer from ADD (stitchingwise anyway) so little pieces are my best friends.
Um that kitten Valentine looks very familiar to me - early grade school 1965-1967.

Annie said...

That is way too much snow! At least you had power this time and you are safe. And you knit so fast that if you wear out the mittens, it won't be long before you can whip up more. I guess the hand would slow you down at the moment, but I suspect you have a drawerful of spares somewhere!

The smalls are so cute. Finishes feel so good. that's why I like the small ones.

The Valentine oldies remind me of grade school!

Hope you find someone or some way to take care of the hand pain. You have too much to do for that to be in the way!

Siobhán said...

I love your smalls! Congrats on the finishes. I'm loving the smalls these days, too. It's nice to have a quick finish or two. The vintage Valentines are too cute. Enjoy your day!

Jennifer said...

So sorry to hear about your tendonitis. I love the mittens . They are beautiful! And your vintage Valentines are so cute. The cross stitch is beautiful as always . I think I should add chirp chirp to my stash! Always look forward to reading your beautiful blog!

Roberta said...

Glad you made it through the snowstorm of 2013. Love your mittens and your smalls.

The vintage Valentine's bring back memories of making Valentine boxes in school!!!

valerie said...

Happy Valentine's Day Melanie! Glad that your hand knits are being put to good use. I just love your mittens! I hope that your hand feels better soon. No fun! Love your smalls. Don't even talk to me about movies. I can only manage to pay attention at the theater or if I am watching it with someone. I tried to watch a movie yesterday and I have no idea what happened. Ugh! I have to rewatch it. I was too busy texting and frogging on my Jane. Love those vintage postcards! :) Happy Valentine's Day!

Ranae said...

So glad you survived the storm
I love the mittens and the smalls are fabulous
I have a bunch of old valentines from grade school, I love to go through them
Happy Valentine's Day

Julie said...

Those mitts are stunning! Superb stitching.

Maggie said...

Yeah i'm sort of getting the taste for stitching small this year too, it's good to see something finished instead of stuffed in a zip lock bag!
Love your small stitches :-) I downloaded a couple of the sampler pear freebies too, i love them but find this putting together thing a bit daunting!

Glad the mittens held up in the snow, they are lovely but should definitely been seen not hidden away in a drawer!

Carol said...

I'm very late with my comment, but I couldn't let those gorgeous mittens go by without a WOW!!! Triple WOW!! Really--they are so unbelievably lovely :) And your little birdy finishes are so pretty, too. Very cheery!

I'm another lover of vintage cards--just adorable. They're so corny, but recall a seemingly more innocent time in life...

Minerva said...

Those Estonian knitted mittens are amazing! You are so talented. I also like the vintage cards. I posted a bunch a few years back on Valentines Day on my blog. I found them at my Dad's house. Love the egg one! Love the stitching smalls, too. Especially the alphabet sampler.

Leslie said...

wow... are you still digging out. : ) we hardly got any snow in Baltimore this year. I love all of your projects!!