Spring bulbs, doilies and 15 degrees

Doily from Maaike at CreJJtion's wonderful book Puur Haken.

Sunny Side Up doily from a pattern found at Red Agape Style & Design

It was one of those days. When the sun came out and transformed our whole life. From sitting inside all day Saturday, cuddled up underneath crochet blankets and with woolly socks on watching the rain never stop outside... To going outside and stripping off to bare feet, feeling the silky grass between our toes and the warmth of the sun making us all bubbly inside.

I cleaned out some flower beds, re-planted the few of my Geranium survivors. The kids balanced on our planting beds, played hide and seek, took the swings outside and made me all happy with their bubbly laughter and giggles. Not once did they fight. And then we had Swedish homemade Semlor, Fat Tuesday buns. Yummy!

I crocheted a Sunny Side Up doily from a pattern found at Red Agape Style & Design, which I modified and made a few rows larger and with a different edging. I placed it underneath some blooming bulbs on my window sill, together with another doily I made last spring from Maaike at CreJJtion's wonderful book Puur Haken. I think I'm awakening a doily obsession in me... Instant satisfaction and so much fun.

Last week I finished 36 Maybelle Flower Squares for my Baby Blanket project, and soon after I started to join them with a simple Join-As-You-Go technique. I'm loving how it is coming together.

The kittens are in and out and about at all times. Sleeping in my unmade bed whenever they get the chance. Running wild in nature and disappearing for hours on end. Next week they will get sterilized.

It is February break here and we are going up to the mountains. We are squeezing in a few days of skiing and I'm going to Chatel in the French Alps to meet with Heike from Made With Loops blog and her friend Julie again. Just like last year. I'm sure it will be a day full of yarn talk and bloggy chitter chatter. And I'm bringing Mariana too, from @WinterBeachByMab. You who are on Instagram knows who she is. If not, don't miss out on her feed.

Now I'm turning in my computer for a well deserved detox and clean up. I will be absent for a good week or so. And when I get back I hope my computer will be as good as new as it hardly functioned very well lately.

Happy last February week all. I which you lots of fun hooky time, squishy yarn time, hot cuppas and laughter. I'll keep you posted on my Instagram feed in the days between, until we meet again.


Note: This week I have worked only with my 4ply cotton/acrylic Tilda yarn from Svarta Fåret. Available in my Yarn Shop.

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

Changing darks to lights

From top: Gypsy Granny Blanket, Scrappy Happy Blanket, Shell Stitch Blanket. Patterns available in my Etsy Shop.

From bottom: WiP's Scrappy Happy Blanket Spring version, Circle In Square Blanket.

The Christmas star has come down and been replaced with a heart. All Christmas red is gone and replaced by pastels and whites. Spring bulbs are starting to show their blossoms on my window sill. Fresh tulips are purchased on a weekly basis to spread the color joy in my home. And to make Emmy Bo happy I've placed the Dala horse family on the window sill as well. She loves to play with them in the afternoons.

Cushion covers are changed and I have dusted and scrubbed, wiped and vacuumed most corners of my living area. I love how much textiles can change the ambiance of room. But those colorful crochet blankets.... Hmmm. I'm not sure they fit in when spring is around the corner. I better get working on that spring Scrappy Happy Blanket and Circle In Squares Blanket to be able to add those to the cozyness instead. They would be perfect, don't you think?

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

Walking in the woods

The wind and the rain forces me to bend over as I walk the path though the woods. Why did I go out, I wonder... It is cold and you would think it is October and not February if you look at the surroundings. I would rather be inside in the warmth of my home, I'm thinking.

The path turns muddy as the public trail turns into an authentic one, and I concentrate hard to navigate between the puddles and slippery slip mud mountains, doing my best to avoid loosing balance. My path turns and now when it is more protected by trees, I raise my head to look forward. And there stands a deer. Just a few meters away from me. She is beautiful. She is big. She is brown and her bottom is chalk white. She looks at me and then she takes off into the woods on my left. And then another deer jumps over the path, following the first one. And another. I'm lost for words and hold my breath while looking after the disappearing deer running into the thick forest land. I want to freeze time.

I'm always amazed when these things happens. I instantly turn into a child in the moment of truth to nature. So exotic. Maybe not that very rare, but pure and beautiful. For the rest of my walk I'm not even bothered by the rain and the wind anymore. I actually think the woods is an excellent place to be. I rest in that moment with a silly grin on my face while finishing my walk with a bubbly happy feeling in my heart. This is going to be a good day.

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE: