ETSY SALE ENDS TONIGHT!

LAST CHANCE - OFFER ENDS AT MIDNIGHT
(30th of Nov. 2018 GMT+1)
  
ETSY sale!

 

Use the following codes:

50% discount on handmade items:

HANDMADE50

20% on patterns
BIRTHDAYTREAT2018

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

Alone time on my bench

I stole a moment on my bench, before the November cold came. Sitting there helps me to take a real time out. A pause. It's a moment of just being me, doing what I want. No distraction, only nature. And cats. They wander around my legs, tip toe under the bench, climb the tree, lay down under the table...

I most often make it cozy. It's a procedure I enjoy: dragging out blankets and pillows, a table cloth in summer, some flowers, a cup of coffee or tea, a project of some kind. It can be crochet, a book, a deck of cards, a note pad to draft ideas and plans in...

I bring my phone and listen to Swedish radio, or an entertaining podcast. Or I sit in silence, observing birds, hearing cars in a far distance, seeing airplanes drawing white fluffy lines in the sky, saying hi to the neighbor when he walks up to his bee hives...

The older I get, the more I realize how much I love hanging out with myself. How much I need to be in my own company. Alone. Maybe it has to do with the new phase in my life, the one where kids are growing up and time for me is becoming more accessible? People talk about how important it is to reconnect with their spouse at this time in life. I feel an incredibly strong need to reconnect with myself.

I am not a social butterfly, I don't need endless with activities and stimulation to stay content. Actually I've always been more of a loner. I can be nice, chatty and somewhat hilarious to hang out with at times. I tell stories, curse and laugh out loud in good company. I can probably be mistaken for being a very outgoing person, but the larger part of me loves to be solely me.

My bench represents a free zone, a place where I can withdraw to when I need some space. If I could I would spend days on my bench, on my own... For some reason I feel guilty saying that. Like I am letting someone down. Afraid of hurting someones feelings. But just because I am in great need of some alone time, that doesn't mean I don't want to hang around my little ones and my partner in crime or that I don't want to hang out with friends and engage in long conversations.It doesn't mean I love my family and friends less. I just simply miss being alone. I miss me. Myself. I. It's totally normal, isn't it? Say it is...

Sitting on my bench on a sunny afternoon in November in solitude is a real treat to me. "Embrace it", I tell myself. "It's good to be friends with yourself. It's a gift. Embrace it." And so I do. I sit on my bench and hang out with myself. I'm having a great time. 

Kärlek

Annette

I'm offering a 50% discount on chosen handmade items in my ETSY shop 

and 20% off on all patterns until 30th of November 2018. 

I will add a few more handmade items in the shop the next few days, to stay tuned. 

Use the following codes:

50% discount on handmade items:

HANDMADE50

20% on patterns
BIRTHDAYTREAT2018

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

SPECIAL OFFERS!

Hi my lovelies!

Popping in really really quick as I am rushing out to a freelance job.

It was my birthday last week (I know... cake, gifts, love... it was great!) so I thought I should celebrate it with you too.

I'm offering a 50% discount on chosen handmade items in my ETSY shop and 20% off on all patterns until 30th of November 2018. I will add a few more handmade items in the shop the next few days, to stay tuned. Use the following codes:

50% discount on handmade items:

HANDMADE50

20% on patterns
BIRTHDAYTREAT2018

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

CROCHET PATTERN: Fun With Stripes Blanket

Last weekend I became an aunt once again, for the 7th time. My younger brother Johan and his Moa welcomed a baby boy to this world, and my dear mother happily announced that her offspring now has doubled up with a 10th grandchild taking part of our big and wild family tree.

We still don't know the name of this little fellow, but I knew exactly what I wanted to gift him when I first heard the news about the expected baby boy. A blanket of course! And stripes, of course! And so the Fun With Stripes Blanket was made during our summer vacation and it was such a joyful project.

If I had to choose just one segment in crochet I would say it is stripes. In all widths and variations. It gives me the greatest satisfaction to work with stripy projects. And the Fun With Stripes Blanket pattern is that type of pattern you will make over and over again in different color combinations, with different types of yarn and sizes.

The pattern is made up of basic stitches, suitable for all levels of crocheters, with a puff stitch border. Getting the stripy balance I was striving for, showed to be more of a challenge than I expected... I had some frogging sessions... Once I frogged 40 rows because of a big red stripe that kept on bugging me. Ha! The things we put ourselves through sometimes to reach perfection...

To make it easier for you, I wrote down my exact stripe formula, which is included in the pattern as a complete Color & Stitch chart for you to replicate the pattern. I've used Tilda yarn from Svarta Fåret (read about it here), a 4 ply cotton/acrylic mix, and I made it a stroller size as I imagined using this blanket in the car seat, in the stroller and when carrying the little baby around in your arms. You can of course also make this blanket in DK weight yarn and use merino wool or acrylic if you want to. The size of the blanket will be bigger but the stripy happiness will remain. :)

So I welcome baby Number 10 in my family and welcome to the Fun With Stripes Blanket pattern which you can find in my ETSY and RAVELRY shop. Hope you will enjoy!

PS I am writing up  a blog post on alternative yarn brands to use for this blanket as I know Tilda can be hard to find since I closed my shop. Watch this space. :)

UPDATE:  Alternative yarn Color Chart can now be found here. 

FUN WITH STRIPES BLANKET PATTERN

 • • •
5-page PDF file
UK and US terms
Written pattern
Color & Stitch chart
Step-by-step pictures
Material: approx. 340g of Sports Weight/4ply yarn (cotton or cotton mix and a hook 3 mm
(I used 340g of  Tilda 50% cotton/50% acrylic from Svarta Fåret)
Tips and photos for inspiration

 BUY NOW:
Etsy
Ravelry

Please share your creations on Instagram using hashtag:
#myrosevalley

  • • •

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

Dream catchers for making dreams come true

Hi my lovelies
Do you believe in dream catchers? Do you have them? Do you know anything about them? I believe in dream catchers and so does also my oldest Nelly Bo who preferably spends her free time either at the piano, listening to music or singing but also creating, painting and re-decorating. She loves everything "boho" and spiritual and so naturally she started to make dream catchers to find peace and to release stress between school and studies which is taking up most of her time these days.

Last fall I showed you some of her creations on Instagram which resulted in a few sales and customized orders to Nelly Bo's delight. She is saving up money for traveling around the world once school is over and her future goal is to work in the humanitarian sector to help people in need and environmental rescue projects. My girl wants to save the world, and with that ambition I think traveling the world and seeing other cultures, volunteering in a humanitarian project or similar is a great start.

In Native American culture it is said that dream catchers were hung above the beds of sleeping children to protect them from bad dreams and evil spirits. Legends held that the spider web design of the dream catcher would allow good dreams to pass through and float down the hanging beads and feathers to the sleeping children, while bad dreams would be caught in the web and disappear with the first rays of the morning light.

Nelly Bo's dream catchers are made with great love and attention to details. Every creation is unique and one of its kind. She is a strong believer of a dream catchers' power to protect and spread good spirit. If you are interesting in purchasing one of her creations you can now wind them in my Etsy shop. Nelly Bo will continue to make dream catchers in her spare time and when buying one of Nelly Bo's handmade creations, you are helping her to raise the money she needs to make her dreams come true.

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

Pattern corrections for Pine Tree Wrist Warmers

Hi my lovelies. It came to my knowledge recently,  that there were some errors found in my Pine Tree Wrist Warmers pattern. I try my very best to proof read and make a complete pattern, but I'm only human and errors sneak in when I least expect it. So, thank you to the fellow crocheter and customer who contacted me with the information, I highly appreciate your eagle eye.

The pattern has been carefully proof read one more time and corrections has been made (see a sample of what my patterns look like above). I also updated some pictures in the pattern... More pretty now. :) The new corrected version of the Pine Tree Wrist Warmers pattern is now uploaded to both Ravelry and Etsy for purchase and for previous buyers on Ravelry,  a new version has automatically been emailed to you (great service by Ravelry!). However, I have not yet managed to send the new version to all my Etsy buyers. I'm on it, thank you for your patience.

My apologies for any inconvenience and trouble this might have caused someone. I have to add: the mistakes were minor, nothing drastic, but still... Happy Weekend to you all.

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

Handmade to stay cozy & warm

Hello my lovelies. I'm popping in to let you know I have stocked up my Etsy Shop with some handmade goodies. There are some hats and wrist warmers, buntings and garlands and small crochet decorations. I ship Priority worldwide to a fixed price of 5 dollars per item until Christmas. Give something soft and snugly to keep someone cozy and warm this winter. Welcome to visit!

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE: