I'm back with another chance to win my new Christmas crochet pattern!!!! Also a short bit about why I don't believe in labeling crochet patterns with an experience level. There's also news from home of course and I answer I question I got this week from someone.

Chance to win

I will start my newsletter with this. In 1-2 weeks I'll have a new Christmas crochet pattern ready. Just like last time, you have a chance to win this one. All you need to do is guess what it is in the comments section at the bottom of this newsletter. 1 person who guesses correctly will then get the crochet pattern for free from me. Here are some tips to help you guess:

1. It's in traditional Christmas colors
2. I am using some gold colored bells
3. There's some gold colored text on it
4. It's not a blanket, garment, table runner or tree skirt

Have fun guessing 😁 and yes, you are allowed to guess more than once.

Pattern of the week

My pattern of the week is:

That is my Christmas lady crochet pattern. You can check it out HERE.

This crochet pattern is my very first doll crochet pattern. I made it in 2021 or 2020 I think. That's quite a while ago. She's still one of my favorites. Simple but so pretty! And small enough to hang in a Christmas tree.

As you can see on the picture, this crochet pattern is available in English, Dutch, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Portuguese. I plan on adding a UK English version later and perhaps also an Indonesian version.

The crochet pattern is available on my website here with PayPal and Credit card and also on Etsy, Ravelry, Payhip and Haked.nl. This last one (Haked.nl) is great for people who prefer paying with Bancontact, Ideal, bank transfer, Sepa, KBC, ... because that website offers those payment methods. You can get to that website by click on my link to the pattern and then on that page you scroll down a bit to the large, pink Haked.nl button. If you click on that, it will take you nicely to the correct page on Haked for that crochet pattern.

Labeling crochet patterns

I'm not a big fan of labeling crochet patterns as for experienced or for beginners, ... . That may surprise you because almost every crochet pattern designer labels their patterns like this. I'm not one of those that do this. I believe that something being difficult or not is just a mindset. If you believe you can make something well and you really go for it, then you will be able to do it. Perhaps not perfectly the first time but that will come with practice 😊

I have had several customers who were literally total beginners and had never made a doll before. These people went straight for "more difficult" patterns of mine with a determined mindset. And guess what...the results were amazing! They made such beautiful items.

I always say when we were toddlers learning to walk, we didn't say 'oh, that is too difficult for me". No, we just tried to walk, over and over, and because of that we can now walk. If as a toddler we could have such a mindset, why not have the same mindset as an adult? Learning to walk doesn't come with an experience label so why should a crochet pattern have such a label?

And that is why I'm not a fan of labels. Telling a beginner that the crochet pattern is not for them as like telling a toddler he or she should not learn to walk because you could fall and get a nice big bump on your head. A crooked doll sounds a lot less painful than a bump on your head 😄. So go for it I say! You'll be ok ❤️

Question from a customer

So I customer asked me what I do with customers when they leave a nasty, angry review. Don't worry... I don't threaten them 😂 (even though some threaten me though). No, I just write their names down.

These are then people who cannot win anything. For example the "chance to win" above here in my newsletter. Or a chance to win a discount or coupon for example. The people that leave nasty reviews are not eligible for winning. I am not going to send such a person a free crochet pattern. Writing a terrible review and then in a private message threatening to ruin my business or to come deal with me in person...yeah no, these people won't be getting a free crochet pattern from me.

Sometimes there are reviews that say they couldn't finish the crochet pattern because they didn't understand something. Instead of asking me for help, they went straight to the reviews (or social media) to publicly complain. Not a fan of that. If you don't understand something, just email me. That is what the contact information in the crochet (or knitting) pattern is for.

You can send me as many questions as you like and yes, even if it's literally 101 questions. I don't mind. My crochet and knitting patterns include all the customer service you need. Sometimes I even make drawings or a short video. I really don't mind. We are after all, not all wired the same way. Sometimes you just simply need a visual aid or a different way of explaining. Drawings are often most helpful. I even make those for customers when I am not at home. I just draw in the notes app of my phone. The drawings are not artworks of Rembrandt or Holbein quality but they do the job well enough and the customer understands what I mean with my explanation.

Long story short: if you don't understand something = just ask me for help and I will help you 😁❤️

News from home

I hear from family, friends and customers that parts of Europe are dealing with a storm. I hope you all stay safe 🙏🏻

Some better news from here: the rain has come! So far only once but anything is better than nothing. It was enough to start the growth of grass so it's a bit greener outside now. And my roses are loving that rainwater!

In local news they're saying there's a tropical cyclone coming my way but there's no sign of it. Perhaps it turned into a different direction 🤷🏻‍♀️

My newsletter has gotten quite long so I'll stop now. See you next week and stay safe everyone ❤️