For a long time (I mean a loooong time) I've been contemplating to stop. Yes, there you have it. It has very much been going in wild waves here. I seem to get this big swirl wind of energy and motivation every now and then but then the wind dies. And I mean dies. Life gets in the way. Kids are growing up so fast. I lost my job and fell back into laundry piles and picking up toys and socks, running to the grocery shop and just walking around chore circles here at home. I just didn't feel that great really. And to be honest, social media started to stress me out (and that we can talk about another time...). I lost my blog voice. I forgot the reason behind My Rose Valley.
People dropped out. Bloggers I've followed for a long time. They closed down. Said good bye and farewell. Some tried hard to stay in the blogging loop and expressed their frustration (similar to mine) in blog posts. It was good to know I wasn't alone feeling this way. At the same time it made me wonder: "Is blogging over? Is it a dying phenomenon? Is it replaced with quick fixes as Instagram and other social media platforms?"
Behind commenting doors, I spoke to many other bloggers about this. They said they felt the same way. Through conversations I reached out for a branch of hope to hold on to. Again I could confirm I wasn't alone. So what was I going to do about it? Stay or go? The thought of letting go of My Rose Valley and say "Thank you for this time. It was a hell of a ride." is overwhelming and very heart breaking. I took a pause... Stepped away for a while. It was good to get some perspective.
After a few months of "slow" blogging I feel strongly that I can NOT let go. Even if I lost my blog voice and focus a bit lately, I know it will all come back to me if I just persevere. I'm so proud of this space. I created this. Me and only me. I found you and with your support and encouragement this place has turned into a very special place not only for me but for many others. I couldn't have done all this without you.
This is a great place. I love this community and I'm not giving up. I read this interesting post over at Blogging Your Way (read it!) and it inspired me to keep going. I'm staying because I want to and because this place makes me feel good. My blog fulfills me, it is a part of me and it is my way of keeping a journal over my life and everything it holds. It is my space where I can express my creative self, share and connect with other like minded people all over the world. It is freaking amazing if you think about it and I want to make this place even better for both me and you. My Rose Valley is not just my happy place but also my very own craft and lifestyle blogazine where I decide what is being published or not. I control this space, no algorithm (Je déteste l'algorithme!). I write, I publish and you follow, interact, understand and connect. That means a lot to me.
So what do you think about blogging? Is it dying? Do you still read blogs? What do you read? And if you blog, why do you blog? I'm curious to know. I'm looking forward to hear what you have to say.
Have a lovely day my dear readers.
Note 12 hours after pressing Publish: THANK YOU all for your sweet response on this blog post. I am reading every single comment sincerely and they all make me so happy!!! This is the reason why I want to be here and will stay here. :) You're the best.
Kärlek
Annette
Annette
FOLLOW My Rose Valley HERE:
I am so glad that you decided to keep going. I read your blog because you write about crafting, your daily life and Sweden. I love Sweden, have been there so many times because I have family there. I don't write a comments so often, because it is hard for my to express my in English, maybe I should practice more :) I have a blog and would love to write more, but I am not good at using a computer, so .... But I hope you keep going
ReplyDeleteHi Annette, I enjoy reading your blog and am glad that you are continuing. I read quite a few crochet and craft blogs. I haven't tried Instagram and am not on Facebook, but I do get lost in Pinterest quite frequently and of course I am on Ravelry every day, I am Maryfairy, if you are interested in taking a look. http://www.ravelry.com/people/Maryfairy Best wishes and keep on blogging:)
ReplyDeleteIt's like you fell into my head and read my thoughts, I've felt the same. I've been blogging for 7 years and I don't blog as much as what I used too but the I remember why I started it .. I started it to keep track of what I have made, to share things I loved, to have a voice.
ReplyDeleteI've actually set up a time for me to read blogs each day now, as I fell out and stop reading them for a while. So every day, I sit with a hot cup of tea and my blog reader and read until my tea has gone and then it's back to the chaos of my life.
I love blogs! I follow at least 15 different ones regularly. I also love reading your blog and being inspired by what you create. I don't crochet, so that isn't such a good fit for me, but you used to do some patchwork and that was how I found you (I think). Your blog and others have certainly had a big part in making me develop my creative side. Thank you so much for that! I also like reading about your life as an expat. Best wishes, Sonja
ReplyDeleteOh please don't stop your blogging I love to read what is happening in your world and to see all the wonderful photos from another part of the world. To read your blog makes me feel like I've a friend here who loves being creative as I do and you are always here for me. (Hope that makes sense) I would be so sad to think that you would stop blogging as I would miss it so much. Love Marion xx
ReplyDeleteI am in your boat. I moved south, from a city to a town, from the highveld to the seaside. I left a huge group of hooky friends there, and although I still drive 30 min to a crochet group, it is now in another town. Many things get in the way of blogging, and I find that I follow less bloggers as well.
ReplyDeleteBut a blogpost is so much different to an IG post. So much more detail and the personal story behind the photo. I limit my social media to Facebook and IG, where I follow only a small group. And then blogland, with a few blogs that I followed since my discovery of crochet and blogs 😉 I think it will stay for a while still, but people will go.
(I had to laugh when one blogger announced she'll pursue 'slow blogging' now, by replacing her blog posts with daily IG's!)
Dear Annette, I for one will be devastated if you stop blogging. I absoultly love your blog, having an insight to your beautiful world. I love your photograpghy and seeing the lovely things in your holiday home. I adore your crochet posts and your wonderful patterns. They inspire me very much. I know blogging must take a lot of your time, maybe be kind to yourself & just blog when you feel like it. I think social media ie, IG & facebook are taking over but theres only so much you can do on those. My favorite blogs are yours, Attic24, Tales from a happy house, Pink milk & a few others. I think you ladies are amazing & with the world as it is today its nice to escape into your lovely places in blogland. I completly understand if you say goodbye but I'm keeping my fingers crossed you won't xxxxxx
ReplyDeleteGood morning Annette! The thoughts you wrote down I will be this post are exactly the ones that make me doubt whether to start a blog or not... I want do it perfectly (like all this great in life...) and therefore I know that it will be very time consuming. And right now I am not sure if I have the the time and dedication for that. So yes, I understand your doubts.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy though that you have decided to continue! I don't read a lot of blogs, there are a few that I actively follow (including yours), that same time consuming thing again...
Enjoy your day!
Xx
So VERY glad you are not going anywhere Annette. I think about blogging quite a bit as well and often ask myself why and whether I should continue. But I come up with enough reasons to carry on. It's a bit of a diary to look back on the in the future. And I like to share little bits of wildlife and to be encouraging about growing things. And also I like to write and connect with people. Some blogs I've loved very much have ceased lately, it's sad. But some others that I love are carrying on, yours included, and that makes me very happy. I am looking forward to following you through it all. CJ xx
ReplyDeleteHi Annette....... I read your for your colour, your perspective, your inspiration, the lens through which you view the world. We have very different lives but the magic of creativity of colour and of crochet keeps me hooked (pardon the pun) to blogs such as yours. I've dipped my toes in a few blogs but yours and Attic 24's are for whom I do a silent "yippee" when I see a new email in my feed! Don't try too hard....... where's the fun in that!?
ReplyDeleteIt is with blogs the same as with jobs. After a few years working in a job a lot of people want some changes, new inspiration, new work. Some people find these changes at the same companie, some are leaving their job and look for a new job.
ReplyDeleteA lot of blogs are closing after three or fouw years. Other bloggers are recycling their blog and go for it with new inspiration and energy. Look around in blogland and you can find great new blogs. They can replace the ones that closed.
Hopefully you can find new inspiration, energy to go further with your blog. Do new things in live and on your blog, make a new bloggingschedule. See what things are inspiring you in your life. Maybe those are the things that can inspire others also.
I love reading new and old posts on blogs. It gives me a lot more fun and inspiration for the long term than Instagram, FB and Pinterest.
Have a lovely day, Margaret
Hey Annette,
ReplyDeleteI get your frustration. But I don't think blogging is dying. I'm a blogger for more than 3 years now and I really love to share some things in my life with other people. Next to blogging I follow a lot of blogs. I love to get inspiration from others and read about their experience's. Just like your blog. I hope you keep on blogging Annette. :-).
Have a nice day.
Sweet greetings,
Emily
(casacreaemilia.blogspot.nl)
Such an honest and thought-provoking post Annette, you echo a lot of what is being felt in Blogland of late I'm sure. I have mourned the "quietening" of some of my favourite blog voices, I miss them dreadfully. Instagram just isn't the same. It's the difference between sending someone a quick text, or planning a proper catch-up with coffee and cake. Blog posts are the coffee and cake experience and I would take those any day over a quick text. Having said that, blogging does take time, effort, heart, soul and vision, and the longer we blog, the more of all of that we need to pull on. Sometimes life means that time feels precious and in short supply, but in my experience, we can make choices about the hours in our day and how we spend them. And if we took all the minutes we spend on IG/FB/Pinterest and put them into creating a short but heartfelt blog post instead, I think we would all feel more fulfilled and benefit enormously. It's all about choices, and keeping true to our creative and sharing hearts, beleiving that our words and pictures, ideas and inspirations do reach out all over the world and make a difference to how somebody else feels about their day, their life, their choices. Blogging is worth every second, this community is precious and like no other and I am so proud to be a part of it. I really, really, really hope you stay here Annette, your bloggin voice is precious and would be missed! Much love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ReplyDeleteSpot on Lucy! This is where we sip coffee, cry on each others shoulders, laugh out loud and share every day anecdotes. This is where we connect more than any other social media platform. Blogging is by far a place for deeper thoughts and interaction in a world suffering so much from superficial quick fixes and stressful news flow. Come in! Cuddle up on the couch and make yourself comfortable. Lets have a moment with cozy chats and sharing shall we?
DeleteThanks for commenting today. It made me heart skippy happy.
Xxx
Lucy, I read your comments with interest - and it feels to me as if you DO plan to stick around and blog on....and I'm so happy. When I picked up my hooks again a couple years ago - after about 20 year layoff - yours was the first blog I found and I fell in love with it immediately. Annette - yours was the second one I found - and I also fell in love with you and your blog! So you, Annette, and Lucy are my "bestest" (I have grandkids who are little!)
DeleteIt would be very upsetting to me to see either of you go away. And I don't "do" Instagram. I have a Facebook page - but only because my now grown kids insisted...most posts on there are put there by others - and some I've had to block!
Point of this is I want BOTH you and Lucy to stay here with us in Blogland....you are needed and loved - and either of you would be greatly missed. Some of us are not as talented as you and we NEED talented 'hookers' and designers like you to inspire us to keep going. Whenever I feel like I'm losing my "cro-jo" I open up one of your blogs and feel a renewed inspiration to go on and keep hooking...
Thank you again for all your sharing - for being part of our "family" and inspiring all of us.
I do read blogs. I love reading yours even though I don't knit or crochet (maybe someday I will). I can't even begin to imagine the amount of work it takes to put together a well-written post with beautiful images. Getting a photo with a caption on Instagram is all I seem capable of doing. If blogging is something you would do even if you didn't have followers, then continue. If blogging is no longer fun then don't do it anymore. You would be missed, but you need to spend time with things that satisfy your soul.
ReplyDeleteI read you every time you post, and am always glad to hear from you.
ReplyDeleteI stopped writing my blog (meezermeowmy.wordpress.com) after Minky, my muse, died. The last entry was my eulogy to her, and somehow I have never wanted to post another entry. It is great to be able to look back through the posts, though.
Yes I still read blogs and I have enjoyed following along with you. I'm glad your staying.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog, and I hope you do indeeed keep going. Your posts make me happy! Blessings from Texas to you and your family:-)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're going to stay. I love to read blogs. Bloggers share such inspiring things. I just started my own blog in july so I'm still trying to find my voice.
ReplyDeleteI had just added your blog to my "I love" list -- before I read your post. I have spent several happy evenings reading back into your blog, and enjoying it all. I'm so glad you're not going to stop.
ReplyDeleteI live in CT, USA and do not blog myself but enjoy your blog tremendously. Thank you for your thoughts and the time and effort you put into your photos.
ReplyDeleteI don't blog myself but have a list of blogs that I enjoy reading, including yours :-)
ReplyDeleteYes I still read blogs!! Every morning with my coffee I check my blog list to see who's posted today, some days only a few posts, other days a long list to read. I've always dreamed of getting to know people from all different countries. I can do this through blogs! I don't care if you post sporadically or regularly, I love the photos, the crafts, the artwork, the words... everyone please keep blogging.
ReplyDeleteI think blogging is dying. I think lots of people jumped on the bandwagon even if they didn't enjoy it or had nothing to say. But you can't keep that up indefinitely and so they took the quick fix at instagram. However, many of us don't have smart phones and can't join in there.
ReplyDeleteSome of my favourites have lasted the course, and I believe it is because of their reasons for starting in the first place. Some started out of a place of integrity and sharing. I still read and love Posie gets cozy. Sometimes blogs are not what they seem though and some put a pretence forward of being happy and jolly when it becomes clear to me that they are not. People believe them though and so their popularity overtakes them and I wonder why people can't see the wood for the trees. There can be a lot of manipulation of blog readers going on, with readers just sales opportunities.
However, you blog with honesty and integrity and passion and share truthfully and warmly. Qualities which are pretty hard to find. Which doesn't mean to say you don't have boundaries. Of course you do. However, you come from the real heart and that is why I love your blog and it will be such a shame if you were to go. Instagram chats amongst itself but blogging reaches out to everyone.
Some bloggers only care about accountable numbers and the amount of comments received. I never follow a blog but I read every post of those I like. It annoys me that I am 'ignored' by many as if I am not a reader if I am not a 'follower'.
Blogging is a talent and it was always one that few people really had. There were many many blogs before which were frankly boring and not interesting to read and with ugly crafts. However, I do miss the good ones very much. There are now probably only half a dozen I actually really enjoy but I read some others because they are there. All the creativity with crochet and sewing and knitting used to be so inspiring, but now there is sometimes only merchandise being pushed at us and little creativity.
Podcasting has pushed forward, but oh my goodness how dull knitters seem! (With a couple of exceptions). Crocheters are much more interesting (I do both, so am interested in knitting but predominantly knitters tend not to be very good at being enthusiastic and tend to knit with meh colours. Knitting seems more boring when spoken about, even by the same people as when they talk about crochet or sewing.) There are few of those relatively speaking. I just haven't got all the time needed for listening, as there are so many - whereas even a very long blog doesn't take so long and every word enjoyed. There are a handful that I really love after yawning my way through many. I do enjoy those that I like very much and appreciate them greatly but generally, blogs at their hey day were so much better.
What do I read? You of course, Cherry Heart, Posie gets cozie, Betsy makes, lovely Bunny Mummy and Bobo bun when there are any posts, sometimes Flossie Teacakes. Three stories high reminds me of what blogging used to be. Blog posts when they are too sporadic annoy me. Most missed blogger is Coco Rose. I would love to say who I don't like and why but that wouldn't be very nice of me so I will refrain. I don't like 'happy places' which persuade us that they are, only to find that they are not at all as it can seem dishonest. They provoke envy and get people to erroneously think they have charmed lives living in a bubble. It all just feeds into an impossible ideal which doesn't actually exist.
Podcasts I enjoy are Cherry Heart, Sew Sweet Violet, Inside Number 23, Betsy Makes, The Bakery Bears, Legacy Knitz and Hey Sisters, also Crafternoon Treats. I wish everyone would stop dying wool and talking about it though!
I've never blogged, not shy generally at all but shy about sharing what I make. Very grateful to those who do it so well. Thank you for your blog. Would miss it terribly were you to stop.
Hi
DeleteThank you so much for your incredibly long comment. :) A very interesting read and I do agree with a lot of it. But, I don't think blogging is dying. After reading all these comments on this blog post I truly believe blogging will remain as a source of connecting and sharing and laughing and getting inspired for a long long time. Thank you for visiting and sharing your thoughts today.
Xxx
I will try to react in as good English as possible. I love reading blogs, they are a great source of inspiration for me. And I like blogging weekly. It motivates me to look beter around, be more alert, it stimulates my creativity. And I do love the bloggers world, I get such nice comments weekly. It really feels good.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and read it with a lot of pleasure
With warm wishes , Manon
I love your blog - I pinned your photo of the happy cows on my pinterest vegetarian cooking page. Thanks for writing it.
ReplyDeleteHello my lovely, well...you already know how I feel as we have discussed this in person before.
ReplyDeleteI am still not sure about any of it, and, like you, I have
my ups and downs. Your blog is one of the very few that I do read
and I would miss your voice very much, so I am glad you are staying.
Sending hugs and much love
Heike xx
Oh wow ! I know how you feel, i had that too. I was blogging about paints, but I realized I needed a break. And my problem was: What talk about? So, I stopped for a year and now I am a blogger again (for almost 2 years) and I am so happy I retrieved my blog. And even if it was not easy for me, I feel it's more personal every month.
ReplyDeleteI think that when we are blogger one day, we stay a blogger in our soul. If you stop, there's something missing, empty. Blogs aren't dying. Well, here in France I don't think it's true. We're a lot ! And we do it beacause we like it, so there is no reason to stop it. We're not giving up. Nobody could tell me "Stop it, you're ridiculous, that's not the moment for that! Now it's Twitter and Instagram!" But no. They are very different and nothing could remplace our blogs.
I am very happy you feel better about it. Even if it's your choice to stay or not. :)
Keep on being yourself ! I really like your blog, and you are such an inspiration for crochet (and else ^^).
OMG, Anette, when I started reading your post I feared you were announcing that you were closing your blog... such a relief, when I realized you weren't ! :) Your blog is SO inspiring to me, although I rarely post any comment (sorry), it's among my favourite ones, and I would miss your posts very much in case you'd say Goodbye...
ReplyDeleteI can understand your questionning : my first quilt blog ("Friendship Threads")was 7 years old, when it was hacked. Although still readable, it's totally out of use, and I was very frustrated... I stayed one year without blogging, then I missed it and created a new blog ("Notes from my Corner" - still active) - yet things were never quite the same, and I'm not posting very often... BUT, this is on my list for 2017, and I promised myself to post at least once a week.
To me, blogging is a bit like "journaling" on my crafty life, and it helps reaching goals, as well as keeping in contact with lovely readers. I'm living in a very small Belgian country village, and blogs reading helps me staying on track.
Many people are saying that Blogs will slowly become obsolete, as many are now joining Facebook. I don't like Facebook. To me, it's too big, too much addictive (with all the deviances implied). As a (retired) teacher, I can still recall how my students were totally trapped, and diving into it, out of real life.
It' even the same with adult people : I recently had an evening at a restaurant with my husband, and we were amazed seeing so many couples, browsing Facebook on their smartphones, without even exchanging 2 words between each other !
But this is certainly another debate. Anyway, the blogging world feels much more real and cosy - at least to me, and I'm very happy you're staying in. Keep blog posting, dear Annette ! :)
In stitches,
Nadine
I really like blog world. Writing and reading. Commenting and reading comments. So nice to feel connected even though, many say this isn't possible. All the best! Regula
ReplyDeleteGlad you are going to continue, I enjoy your blog. I don't read as many blogs as I did, every once in a while, I'll update my bloglist, but I don't intend to drop your blog, you write from the heart.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Annette for hanging in there.
-From the east coast of Canada
I see the same evolution, a lot of bloggers are quiting their blog and I loose some ' followers'. But I do blog because I like it, so I keep on doing it. There are still a lot of people who do read what I write.
ReplyDeleteIt is also a kind of personal archive, and I need that.
But you just have to do wathever you feel like you want to do .
Please carry on blogging.I am a quilter but have knitted and crocheted in the past and have now started crocheting again because of blogs like yours and Lucy's. I don't go on Facebook and Instagram but follow a lot of blogs. I am late coming to this new technological age but since discovering blogs I wish I had come sooner!
ReplyDeleteI was really sad when I started reading this post because it sounded like you were going to say “good bye”, but very happy when you said you are staying. I started a blog long time ago and never got further from a couple of posts. I wish I could do it but I cannot. I envy and admire you for being able to do it and I love, love your posts. They are interesting and have a little bit of this and that in it and they are very personal. Reading it I feel sometimes like you are my good friend and we are chatting over a cup of coffee or tea. I would not want you to stop, but in the end of course you should do what feels right to you. All the best and Happy Holidays.
ReplyDeleteI Am glad when you write Your blog.
ReplyDeletePlease stay, I love Your blog
Good morning, Annette!
ReplyDeleteI am sitting here in my housecoat, drinking my second cup of coffee, reading my morning blogs. Some come into my email overnight, others are on bloglovin. I read a variety of bloggers: craft bloggers, sewing bloggers, writting bloggers, lifestyle bloggers. I try to comment on three or four every day, if the subject resonates with me. They are all part of my community. I am also a blogger. I write about the same subjects I read...knitting, quilting writing, lifestyle stuff. I write posts on my own blog sporatically. Sometimes a couple per week,,sometimes a couple per month. I think it's been three weeks since my last post. I think of them as letters we write to each other. :)
From the start of this post, I have been nodding my head in agreement with you - so many shared thoughts on blogging, Annette! Time always brings changes, so I suppose I should have realized that my enthusiasm for blogging would ebb and flow. The landscape of blogging has definitely changed since I started back in 2007 (in a group blog, to discover if I would like it or not... then I started my own blog less than a year later). The excitement of sharing with others was so energizing and making friends from around the globe was (and still is) amazing, but along the way, I too felt like I lost my voice. That blogging was taking so much effort and unless you blogged a certain way, readers would wander off. I became disillusioned with it all. This year, I have spent more time away from my blog than in all the years previous (in part due to the move to another province, with all the accompanying changes). IG is something I have finally ventured into, after avoiding it for years. I see the appeal, but comparing it to blogging is like comparing apples to oranges. Each has their place, in my opinion. Blogging gives us a place to share our stories - more so than IG can. For myself, I don't want blogs to disappear, I see the value of blogging. I feel I am still finding my way, learning as I go - but on my own terms. Starting out, blogging was fun and that's how I intend to go forward with it in the future. I want to keep it simple and authentic because to me, those are the blogs that I enjoy most and where I feel most comfortable. I echo Lucy's sentiment that, "Blog posts are the coffee and cake experience". Your blog is that experience and your voice is appreciated, Annette. I think we all need more of that and that's why I hope you will continue.
ReplyDeleteI think I could have write this post! This is the second time, I write this message on your blog ...first time it did'nt work! but I really wanted to be part of the discussion!
ReplyDeleteWell, I have a blog for years too! and I feel alone sometimes!!! this year particularly...I think podcasts about knitting on Youtube are growing fast and It is so nice!!
But i feel my blog is dying too and I do not want to! This is our space to create, to write our feelings and to have a little personnal touch! (don't need to be well dressed and the house perfectly cleaned).
I live in an isolated area and blogging is just good to stay connected with people and a community which is honest and kind!
But the battle is hard too!
As a mother of 2, I go with my time, my health and my kids!
Sometimes I just want to be as podcasters...they exchange things, makes gifts to others podcasters, they receive things to try them, they present it! well...blogging ...is it not so nice?? is it too old??? I am asking me too!
But I will keep it! I will continue to blog! and I hope we will fight for our space on the web!
I always admire you and always read your blog ( That is my fault...I do not have always time to write a comment!) but well..you and other bloggers are so great!
I don't want you to stop it! keep blogging ! you are not alone!
Rose, xx
I'm not a blogger, but I faithfully follow serveral. Your blog is one of my favorites andI would miss it tremendously if it were to stop! Thank you for your thoughtful postings and wonderful pictures. Kind regards.
ReplyDeleteYou blog how I would like to Annette. Lets put aside your crochet talent and beautiful photos for a moment. Your post contents vary, you are honest, you are inspiring and you provoke thought and debate. For me, you hit the blog nail on the head. I'm not just saying that. Your balance is spot on. I would miss your blog terribly if you disappeared.
ReplyDeleteOne thing my shop has afforded me is the opportunity to meet many of the people who read my blog. I've been bowled over by the number of lovely folk who have visited me and mentioned it. So, if ever you or I wonder if anyone is ever actually reading what we write, I have news for you - yes they most definitely are!!!
Honestly written blogs reach out and touch people in a way that Instagram/Facebook can't. There will always be a space for them. As you know, I've been sporadic at best regarding posting on my own blog over the last six months. I simply haven't been able to do it for personal reasons. That said, during that time, I got a lot of comfort from reading other people's blogs, yours included. Not other people's Instagram feeds or Facebook pages; their blogs. If my world didn't have you, Posie Gets Cozy, Attic 24, Tales From A Happy House, The Cottage Nest and Cherry Chops, it would be a far bleaker place I can tell you.
H xxx
Yes, this! Well said H!
DeleteS x
So so true all of it. we might loose our voice at times or get distracted but as many others have mentioned: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter can NOT replace an organic and cozy blog. Like Lucy in the Attic said above as well: blogs are like getting together for coffee. This is where we chat, cry on someone's shoulder or giggle out loud letting cookie crumbles fall to the ground in laughter. Blogging will never die and this community is WONDREFUL! Love you!
DeleteXxx
Oh my, this is interesting, as is the link you included. Glad I read that one. I'm so very happy you want to stay, although you know I understand only too well why you may wish to stop all this. I'd miss you so, so much if you left. (I still miss Coco Rose very much.) Lovely to read through the comments you are getting too, thanks for posting this my lovely.
ReplyDeleteS x
I love reading blogs, and I do read your blog for several years now.
ReplyDeleteI do not leave comments often, I am sorry for that!
Your blog is the number 2 in my (long)favourites list, after Attic 24, and before Bunny Mummy...
Thank you for letting us being a part of your life!
I feel like I know you, like a friend, even if we never met.
Actually, I told my sister about you today. We visited ou local Belgium IKEA shop today, and by seeing the typical red and white and green Christmas decorations, I had to think about you!!
I am very happy you decided to keep bloggin! I shure will keep reading your blog, as I do with all the others.
Thank you for staying!!!!
I
Hej Annette.Even though I have already commented on Instagram, I would like to do it here also. I love your blog and read every single post. Sometimes twice. I have a blog myself now for 2 years, although I'm not a good writer. I love taking pictures and with a few words they tell a lot. Lots of love, Jeanette.
ReplyDeleteI love reading blogs! I read crochet blogs. I enjoy reading about yarn and crochet. I also enjoy pictures and posts about life in general. It is so much fun getting to know people around the world through their blogs! Thank you for taking the time to share yourself.
ReplyDeleteVery very selfishly , I hope you don't stop...I so love tapping in and seeing glimpses of your life in that country I so love and where I have lovely memories.First as a child, with my parents, when the journey from Italy was still a major event, in summer with the motorway only reaching Quincinetto and from there, twists and turns till Aosta, then the St Bernard; in winter by coach, boarding at Aosta , the swiss driver doing everything from selling tickets to unloading suitcases for the very strict custom's checks , then being picked up by a swiss taxi ( the only one of the village) , and learning the meaning of " ver de glaçe"...fast forward many years and the tradition started all over again with my three little sons: many many happy holidays first in rented flats , then in our camper, in Villeneuve, exploring on our bicycles all the Riviera; in Chateu d'Oex, putting our bikes on trains in little stations in the woods after picnics and fun; I often wished I could live in Switzerland and I am glad that you are so lucky to be able to. These are not reasons to ask you to keep blogging, I know, but I just wanted to let you know. All the best barbara
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you have decided to stay! Your blog is one of my favorites and I read quite a few that have been mentioned. I enjoying reading about your daily life and your summer cottage. Your beautiful children, the cats and the garden. Your eye for color and your photography. You are an inspiration and You would be missed! Happy Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteThank you for all your posts. I never comment but i reaad all your posts, and sometimes, you made my day with your pictures, crafts... please stay.
ReplyDeleteEs la primera vez que comento algo en tu blog, me parece una pena muy grande si no lo tienes más. Es muy inspirador para mí las fotos y las reflexiones sobre tu vida diaria, aunque este muy lejos (soy de Argentina), me siento identificada con muchas cosas que cuentas que te suceden. Además aprecio mucho las bellas fotos que publicas, son preciosas! Sigue adelante!
ReplyDeleteHola guapa!
DeleteMuchas gracias por su dulce mensaje. Estoy tan feliz de escuchar que disfrutas de mi blog y espero seguir inspirándote durante mucho tiempo. Gracias por su visita hoy. (Pardon my Google Spanish, I hope it isn't ttoo bad...)
Xxx
Glad you have decided to stay. I love your blog. I haven't blogged for more that a year now but I never said goodbye or anything. It's just hanging in cyber space and I will get back to it if I want to. Life got busy due to having to look after my mum. You don't owe anyone any reasons if you don't blog for a while and people will enjoy reading your posts when you do. xx
ReplyDeleteGlad to read that you're staying. I've only begun to blog last year, but already had some moments of doubt. Though, I feel the same way as you: blogging makes me feel good, it's nice to meet other bloggers... and so what if it's not that popular anymore? I think your blog is totally worth keeping and staying.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comfy but realistic stories everytime, and this post even gives me courage.
Take care and hope to read you for years and years to come!
Sigrid
I'm glad you are staying! I might not read every post because life gets in the way but it is nice to be a part of your world, so far away and so different, from my little world.
ReplyDeleteI DO read blogs....and no, it's not "passe"! I understand that sometimes it can be frustrating - and very difficult to feel that you "have" to write that blog....but I think most of us out here who read your blog (and others, to be honest) really don't mind if you miss once in a while...we understand that life DOES get busy. and sometimes maybe you just need to take a bit of a rest from blogging....but please! if you possibly can - don't go away! It's okay if you feel you have nothing new to write about this week...but just a few words now and then - let us know your latest inspiration - because of bloggers just like you, WE are more inspired. Because of bloggers like you, WE are encouraged to keep crocheting. Because of beautiful crochet like yours, WE want to keep on hooking....
ReplyDeleteSo - if you must - take a break from time to time. Call it a vacation from blogging....but keep your site up and say hi once in a while. Some bloggers have given it up - and they are missed...but you are one who I would TRULY miss.
Dearest Annette, what a great post! Exactly what we were discussing the other day, your blog has inspired so many and we all would be so sad to see you leave. Blogs are more intimate and show not only the pretty flat picture, they are multidimensional and - especially in your case - honest and inviting.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you are sticking around!
See you hopefully next Wednesday :)) Hugs, Mariana
Annette, I have followed your blog for years and love to read it all. I comment from time to time, but my life too is changing, kids growing, less time for me, I read blogs less often , BUT I still read them. I love to visit your blog and others, and to feel connected to someone from across the world who shares similar views, passions and craftiness. I have seen many of my favourite bloggers leave their space, and it makes me sad, but ultimately you need to do what feels right for you. Your blog started for you and you owe no one anything.... but if you keep on going (and it seems you will... Yaay :) )... I will keep on reading. Thank you for your honesty, and for sharing it with us.... and thank you for keeping on blogging. XX
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you decided to stay Annette, I love your blog , love seeing your photos, reading their story, and finding inspiration. I find blogging so therapeutic but equally life gets in the way sometimes and I don't post as often as I'd like. I do come back to it though so I think each of us must just do what's right for us in our current circumstance. Looking forward to reading lots more inspiring posts from you,
ReplyDeleteJillxo
Thank you for deciding to continue blogging. I enjoy reading about your lives and crafts and often gain inspiration from your blog though I don't always leave a comment. Keep up the good work. Cheers from Sandra in Brisbane Australia xx 😀
ReplyDeleteHello my lovely,
ReplyDeleteIt's been a while since I have checked in to read from my blog list and catch up with posts from my favourite blogs. Life changes. Sometimes it goes full circle and sometimes it just runs off in a completely different and new direction.
My time management has changed so much this past year. My plans for remaining very much connected to the blogging world, even though I had myself ceased to blog anymore, have really gone awry. I work more days now the Bears are older, and because they are older, their computer time for homework and revision means less time for me when I am actually home.
I think there will ALWAYS be a place for blogging. It is EXACTLY right what Lucy said. Instagram and Facebook are for takeaway coffee catch ups, but blogs are for coffee, cake and a nice comfy chair catch ups.
As you know, I gave up my blog. I had wobbles for a while and I just couldn't shake them. I think perhaps because my life was shifting, I was working more, and the Bears were reaching an important phase in their school life, I just felt that I didn't really have a lot to offer those who read my posts. My creative makes were becoming fewer, and it was essentially a crafting blog I had created. I just felt that I had reached a point where I had nothing to give my blog. I could have just become silent for a bit and done the odd sporadic post, but if I'm honest, other blogs that were doing that because they had left for Instagram, just didn't grab me. They were very half hearted, and I just didn't want to be like that. I felt at the time, that I had to be either all or nothing, and last year, I didn't have much to offer so it had to be nothing.
Do I miss it? Yes, I guess I do a bit. I thought maybe I might do a yearly post, more for myself than anything else, just a catch up to remember for posterity if nothing else. Not sure anyone would be interested, and after a year, I still have nothing crafty to show!!!!!!!!! ha ha! We shall see.
It does take a lot of effort and thought to regularly keep a blog going, especially blogs where patterns and what not have to be photographed and laid out. I'm thinking really of Lucy here when I say that. How that woman manages to cram in all that she does. Seriously, she is superhuman! I'm in awe of her!
Podcasts too. Catching up with some bloggers, I have discovered they are podcasting. Wowzers! I find it amazing that people can do that....it would be my worst nightmare, I'm WAY too shy!!!!!!
I think people will always love to read blogs. Blogs that are special, well for me anyway, are blogs where I can be inspired by makes or colours.......but.......also where I can engage with the reader. I love pretty pictures, but I want honesty too. I want them to tell me if they've had a bad day so that I can empathise with them. I want them to tell me if their house is a mess (because they spent too much time crafting to do anything about it), or if they realised that they hadn't fed their kids tea because they had to finish a few rows of crochet, so cereal was on the menu! I want to feel like they are like me and just juggling a passion for crafting with the reality of life in a busy household.
You have that reality Annette, and that is why I have loved your blog for so many years. Sitting down to read a post, it's like catching up with an old friend whose journey you have travelled along with for several years. You experience it all, and because you do, you are so much more connected. It's not false, and it doesn't make you feel inadequate. I think, in the end, that's all we want really, something uplifting, but real and not superficial. Blogs give us that more than Instagram and Facebook can.
2016 has been a year of highs and lows. I'm hoping that I can be more organised in 2017 and more creative for sure. who knows......but what I do know is, your blog is awesome Annette!
Much love
Vanessa xxxx
Dear Annette, Thank you for sharing your world and life with us. I've admired your handiworks and creativity for the past few years. Your blog provides inspiration, views of new places, and life happenings beyond my familiar home town here in the States. I may never have the opprotunity to travel to your hometown, but I've visited through your photos and sharing. It's like catching up with a friend from afar. I appreciate the time , energy and thoughtfulness you invest into your blog. Over the years, I've admired and wished I could be brave enough to write and keep up with a blog of my own.... Kids do grow up quickly and life does change.... Now you have a special journal of your life's events, happenings, and thoughts. Tresuare this special Journal you've created and shared with others.
ReplyDeleteThank you again for sharing through blogging. May you continue to find joy in doing so.
Dear Annette, I also love your blog and I am glad you'll continue to share with us. I have tried to comment many times but still not mastering it :-) Your google spanish is great by the way!!!
DeleteCompletely agree with Sandra, Lucy, Vanessa, Heather...... (together with you and Gillian, some of my favourite bloggers...). Please Stay Annette !!!! I I love reading your posts and crocheting from your patterns... -currently making your Scandinavian style mittens...
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely weekend, Pati xx
So pleased you decided to stay. I like the "slowness" of blogging and the ability to read other blogs at my leisure (without fearing I'll miss out due to that algorithm!). I think we all get periods of nothingness with blogging, but they pass. And, encouragingly, I'm still getting one or two new followers each week, and on meeting in person lots of positive comments. Keep going, please!
ReplyDeleteI don't write a blog, but I enjoy reading several, about quilting, cooking and crochet. My favorites contain interesting writing, ideas, projects and life activities. Yours covers all categories very nicely, and I'm always pleased to see you have a new post. The blogs that are slowed to a crawl by all the ads, or that emote about the sponsor's products, get tossed aside quickly Other social media hold little appeal for me; Facebook is useful sometimes for keeping up with distant friends and family.
ReplyDeleteI love reading blogs, I read cooking ones, decorating ones, yarn-y ones, doggy ones... I am happy you are continuing, It's nice to get a peek into your life even if it's not as frequent! And I LOVE your crocheted creations!
ReplyDeleteI still read blogs and write mine. I don't post as much as I like, but that is because I don't make as much as I'd like sometimes! Fitting in my crafting around work and life is tricky - sometimes I'm on fire with creations, other times it's all a bit sparse in that world! I would never want to stop blogging, though - I still love it after all these years. I also miss those who have stopped blogging - and think that you can't beat a good sit down and blog read! I hope it doesn't fade away - you get so much more from a blog post than other forms of social media. Keep going!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Annette for your decision to stay here. Your blog post are those whose I am always waiting for! I really appreciate your time and effort in it! I enjoy a lot to know about you and your famiy and your beautiful craft.
ReplyDelete