Isak's Bunting pattern coming on Monday, March 27th

Hi my lovelies. Just a note to let you know that Isak's Bunting pattern will be available in my Etsy and Ravelry shop on Monday, March 27th. I'm making listings for the bunting pattern separately as well as TOGETHER with Isak's Blanket, a 2 IN 1 pattern, calling it Isak's Collection at a discounted price. If you have already bought Isak's Blanket pattern, don't worry, you won't miss out. You will receive a personal email from me with a special deal. Watch your inbox. Hope you will enjoy.

I'm off to have my first cup of tea, hang some laundry, do my photography homework and join my last Intermediate Photography Class at Michelle Petersen's Photography. Later I will start to organize my studio (!!! It's REALLY about time...) and take a bike ride before the rain rolls in... If I'm lucky I might be able to squeeze in a muffin bake with Emmy Bo and treat myself a fresh home bake with my afternoon coffee. :)

I'm so pleased to hear you enjoy simple, small things in life too. When listing the small things I will do in my day, it actually sounds like pure bliss, doesn't it? And that is what it is - pure bliss!

What are you up to today? Any walks in the woods? Coffees with friends? Home projects? Crochet? I wish you a wonderful day full of simple things and a Happy Weekend!

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

Small Things

I see my neighbor walking across the field with a friend. He is doing some repair of his bee hives, cutting back some apple trees and bushes, getting ready for the honey and bee season. 

I sit on the bench by the shed, watching the laundry dry, reading and crocheting, having tea and soaking in the warmer temperature and sunshine that peeks out from the clouds every now and then. The Granny cardigan project is showing to be a real challenge. I have frogged it 3 times, and just keep on bumping into more and more hick ups as a go... I'll tell you more another day but I thing I've had it with this cardigan... 

The yellow tree is in bloom, the very first sign of spring coming around. Colorful flowers are sticking up from the ground here and there, the blue ones we call Grandma's Glasses in Swedish.

Luca Bo spends time outside, working on re-design projects like painting the decks of his skateboards. For hours he is entertained by spray cans of paint, sketching and designing. Afterwards he leaves to go skating and comes back home 2 hours later all sweaty and red of his cheeks. "This skateboard is awesome, Mama". I believe him. He made it so of course it is awesome. He is proud and I am proud too.

We have lazy mornings on the weekend, sleeping in and making scones. Izzy won't let me make the bed until late afternoon. She is a lazy primadona... eats, sleeps and goes out just for an hour or so... She is fat. Yes she is. And we love her dearly just the way she is. She is a real character. Knows when to snuggle up with you to give comfort. She always comes when someone is ill in bed. The best snuggle-up-cat ever.

I finished THE blanket. Yes I did! I sat down one evening and weaved in those ends and I was done in less than 40 minutes. Why did it take me so long? We went down to the beach front of the Geneva lake to take some pictures in the late afternoon magic light, me and Nelly Bo, but we missed the great light by 5 or 10 minutes so we just enjoyed the views for a minute and went straight back home. I'm still waiting for the perfect day to take pictures to share.

We make soup. At least twice a week. We have become the family who loves soup. Mixed veggie soup, creamy potato and leek soup, lentil soup, chicken soup, broccoli soup, zucchini soup, yellow pea and ham soup, spinach soup, Minestrone soup... We never get tired of it and it is perfect for those busy evenings with sport activities when everyone comes home at different times. 

The evenings fall and laundry is being folded while watching TV. I've kept the stars form Christmas, not sure when or if I will ever take the down. I love them so.

The time passes 10pm and soon the house is all asleep. Shutters banging in the wind wakes me up at night. It's quite annoying but I always forget to close them at night... Another sunrise arrives around 6.30 am and a new day starts. And maybe it all sounds a bit dull and boring, but lately I've come to appreciate all these small mundane things of everyday life more. They have actually become quite precious. We have had our fair share of dramas here lately, things going on behind the scenes... Why long for special moments, vacations, adventures and a better future? Life is right here, right now with the ones I love the most. And that is all that matters in the big picture, isn't it?

What were your mundane but precious moments this week? I would love to know.

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

A Granny Cardigan?

I have never made a crochet garment but after seeing Fran Morgan's cute Granny Cardigan "A Good Vintage Cardigan" in the latest issue of Simply Crochet #54 I can't resist the temptation. It was actually an Instagram post by Sandra at Cherry Heart that captured my interest at first. She was also tempted to give this pattern a try, but had to many WiPs already on her hook... She reached out to her followers asking what they would do... Of course we all shouted: "DO IT!!!" and within seconds she got persuaded to start on this project from her followers...  And with that the Granny Cardigan fever started to spread in our Instagram feeds.

When I came home from vacation I instantly started to dig into my yarn stash to see if I could join in on all the fun. The pattern asks for 4 ply but I went for my much loved Ideal yarn from Bergere de France. It is a Sport Weight yarn, I would say it is like a very light DK, slightly lighter than the Stylecraft DK. I will be working on a 3,5 mm hook and I think it will be fine.

I am a sucker for blue and grey tones so naturally that is what I am going for. I vision myself wearing this cardigan at the summerhouse with shorts and a T-shirt on early mornings before the sun has warmed up the air or in the evenings when the sun is going down by the bay. I found pretty much what I was looking for in my stash and now the fun will start. I'll keep you posted on my progress. This is a challenge for me. It will be tons of fun though. I'm really excited about this. Are you making this Granny Cardigan too? I would love to know.

Note: I bought the digital version of this magazine and use the magazine app Zinio to read it.

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

NEW PATTERN: Isak's Blanket

Welcome to Isak's Blanket pattern!
I really love this new version of Isak's Blanket. The colors really pop...
If I hadn't already given this crochet blanket pattern its name after my nephew Isak,
I would have called it the Lollipop Blanket. 

I don't have much left of my Tilda yarn, but I used the few colorful balls I had left in my craft basket. And they worked up so beautifully. It's been a delight hooking away row after row
making this test run of the pattern. 

It is a fun and simple pattern. The type of pattern you will make over and over again
in different color themes. I have included some color combo advice in the pattern for inspiration and there is a full description of colors used in both of my blankets:
The Lollipop version (see above) and The Original version (see below).
The sky is a limit and I see many, many variations of Isak's Blanket in the future.

The pattern is asking for a 4ply/Sports Weight yarn, but you can with great advantage
make this blanket in a DK weight as well.
I hope you will enjoy!

ISAK'S BLANKET PATTERN

Makes a baby blanket sized approx 72x94 cm / 28,5x37 inches
MATERIAL & FACTS:
• 6-page PDF file
• Approx. 350g of Sports Weight/4ply cotton yarn
(I used Tilda 50%cotton/50%acrylic from Svarta Fåret)
• UK and US terms
• Written pattern, diagram and accompanied pictures for clarity
• Tips and photos for inspiration

Now available here:
Etsy
Ravelry

Please share your creations on Instagram:
#myrosevalley

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

Welcome to My Rose Valley