Welcome back to our regular book review feature. I'm scraping into December by the skin of my teeth. It's always easy to underestimate just how busy life becomes around Christmas/school holiday times. 

This month I've been looking at another book by the fabulous Anna Nikipirowicz, following hot on the heels of 'Crochet Socks that Rock' comes 'The Crochet Stitch Companion for Blankets & Afghans' (Search Press 2025 ISBN: 978-1-80092-293-8).

As the title of the book suggests this is a stitch directory, but not your average stitch directory. It is divided into five sections: Stitches, Motifs, Edges, Blankets and a comprehensive techniques section. 

The Stitches section includes both written instructions and charts, stitch multiples and a rating  of easy, moderate or challenging to help you choose according to your skill level, although with such comprehensive instructions I think anyone could have a try of any of the stitch patterns. The Motifs section divides the motifs by shape. covering hexagons, squares and diamond shapes and there are ten patterns in the Edges section, several of them really quite unusual, such as the Fair Isle and Overlay Mosaic stitch patterns. They also include stitch multiples so they can be adapted to work with your own blanket designs. 

The layout of the book is clear and concise, with the text set in lots of white space so the pages aren't cluttered. US terms are used throughout.

There are four suggested blanket patterns so that you can have a go at testing several of the stitch patterns, motifs and edge stitches without needing to incorporate them into a design of your own. The blankets are colourful and look fun to make, with a variety of stitches/motifs to try out. You can see the Teignmouth Blanket in the photo below.

As today is the 31st December and I have just finished the squares for my JC temperature blanket my first job for this book will be to help me choose the edging! Emma would have me launching straight into a picot edging but I'm just not sure! 

If you like the look of Anna's book and fancy getting hold of a copy for yourself you can find it on the Search Press website here. If you are in the UK you can get a 20% discount and free delivery by entering the code DD88 at checkout. 

I'll be back next month but I haven't chosen a book yet so if you have any suggestions do let me know in the comments. Happy New Year! 

Have you made your list and checked it twice? Have you managed to get the tree up and at least started a bit of gift preparation? I can only say yes to one of these questions, but with less than a fortnight to go before the big day I hope that you guys are getting into the swing of the festivities! 
 
We have continued to be so busy here at Janie Crow and my list of work related jobs seems to be growing, rather than dwindling as we head towards the Christmas break, but as things generally start to slow down over the next week or so, I am confident of having my to do list whittled down to very little in preparation for new and exciting things in 2026.
 
I have a few things to tell you about this week, so I hope you have a bit of spare time to catch up with my news….

I have really been impressed by how far the competitors on The Game of Wool have come in terms of their design and technique skills since the first programme only five weeks ago. Seeing their progression and experimentation with crochet has been particularly great and I can't wait to see what challenges they will face next.
 
During filming of the third episode, when I was lucky enough to be a guest judge, Tom Daley and I grabbed the chance to have a quick catch-up over a spot of freeform crochet and you can find the resulting video on YouTube by following this link. 

If you have seen The Game of Wool shows already, then you might fancy listening to the Craft Talkin podcasts, which are recorded straight after the show is aired on Sunday evenings. Alongside hosts Merion and Jamie, you will find guests such as Emma Varnam and Anna Nikopirowicz discussing the projects and competitors featured in the weekly episodes.

We still have a really healthy stock of kits and patterns, so if you are looking for a project to work on over the holidays, or want to get one as a gift you should be able to find what you want in our shop.
 
Please note that we will not be able to guarantee the dispatch of items after the 18th December because many of our suppliers will close on Friday 19th for the festive break. This means there is less than a week left if you want to purchase anything from us and get it in time for Christmas. 
 
We will also be taking a break over the holiday period and so, even though you will be able to purchase items from our store throughout the holiday period, we will not be processing any orders until week beginning 5th January.

We are continuing to see a spike in sales of kits for projects that were shown on The Game of Wool a few weeks ago, including the Climbing Rose Wrap (shown above) and the Mystical Lanterns blanket. The Marrakesh version of Persian Tiles is also proving particularly popular and we have lots of stock of the Eastern Jewels colour way too.
 
You can find all our kits and yarn packs by following this link and all our paper patterns here. If you would prefer download copies then check out our Etsy and Ravelry stores.

It's no secret that I adore a bit of bling and love adding beads to my projects. You can find my beading masterclass pull out brochure in this month's copy of Inside Crochet Magazine, which you can find by following this link. 
 
I have also updated the Halley Pouch project (shown below) to make a shawl version (also shown below) in the same edition of the magazine. Yarn and bead packs for this project are available exclusively via Wool Warehouse by following this link.

Emma has been busy planning our traditional Twelve Days of Christmas 
posts for social media, which will run from Christmas Day through to Twelfth Night the 5th January. We have some really lovely posts planned and may well have a few offers in the mix, so do make sure to check out our Instagram and Facebook feeds to get involved.

At the weekend I made the viral three ingredient slow cooker fruit cake which is doing the rounds on social media at the moment. It is a tad boozy, which is not surprising given the ingredients, but it is super yummy and our cake certainly didn't hang around for very long! 
 
All you need is a bottle of Baileys. Not the huge one, I used around 700ml I guess. Between 800g and a kilo of dried fruit and 300g Self Raising Flour. 
 
I soaked the fruit in the Baileys for a couple of days in the fridge, then mixed in the flour. I lined the slow cooker with baking paper and set it to cook on low. The recipe says to cook it for about 4 hours, but it took mine 5 hours to firm up a bit after testing it with a skewer after 3. 
 
The cake is really good, but is definitely better if you leave it a few days before eating. Ours evened out and improved a lot by day three, but we had eaten most of it by then!

I'm usually all over the festive season like a rash and can't wait to head out to see the lights and get on with my holiday planning, but this year I have really struggled to get in the swing of things. I think it might be because we have been so busy at Janie Crow and October was taken up with shows and workshops. I was also unwell for about five weeks, right into the middle of November, so I guess that has made me feel like I am playing catch up with everything.
 
Andy and I are heading into town today to spend time with the lovely Sarah and Paul Hazell (the other half of our show team if you've ever met them at Yarndale or Wonderwool) and I am really excited about seeing the lights and store windows and catching up with them. I am sure that their company and being in London will have its usual effect on me and have me super excited and feeling festive in no time.

I have pretty much finished decorating the spare bedroom and have really enjoyed adding a few finishing touches over the last couple of days - moving all my ornaments and nicknacks around the house to choose which bits look good in the newly decorated room. Having a freshly painted space has made me realise just how in need of a spruce up the rest of the bungalow is, so hopefully there will be some time in the new year to add a few more DIY jobs to the ever growing list of things to do.  
 
We have a super busy weekend planned with a catch up with old school friends to see a local band on Saturday evening and we are hosting a Christmas get together with another group of friends on Sunday, so I guess we better make some time to put up the Christmas tree and get all the decorations out at some point too! 
 
I have seen a load of reels about making your own wreath this year, and I particularly liked this one on Instagram, so I am hoping to have a go at that tomorrow. I found a second hand wicker basket on Vinted and have collected some bay, rosemary and olive branches from my Mum and Dad's garden in preparation. We also have plenty of ivy and yew in our garden that I can cut, so I am sure I can cobble something together! If it is any good I will post a pic on the Janie Crow Lifestyle Instagram feed. 

I recently posted a blog where I talk about my Christmas traditions - you can find it by following this link. From the general sound of this email I think I probably need to remind myself of it too! I trust you will forgive me for being a little bah humbug - I promise to rid myself of the Grinchy feeling by the time I press send on this email!
 
I leave you this week with a link to this video taken by my daughter of our fabulous grandpup, Sto, having a bit of quality time with their festive decorations. Not sure how long their tree is going to withstand so much attention! 

It's been an eventful couple of weeks here at Janie Crow with our festive workshop at Bournemouth and an incredibly busy website in the mix! Time seems to be rushing by at such a rate and it's hard to believe that Christmas is now less than three weeks away. I don't feel at all festive yet, but hopefully that will change this weekend when we are hoping to put up our decorations. On our street the seasonal lights and decorations are going up earlier every year, with some appearing at the end of November, so we are definitely the late comers round here! 
 
Over the last fortnight we have seen an incredible number of new followers on our social media accounts, which we are guessing is as a result of The Game of Wool. If you are new to this newsletter - welcome! I hope you will all enjoy catching up with my news.

​We have a really healthy stock of kits and patterns at the moment, so if you are looking for a project to work on over the holidays, or want to get one as a gift you should be able to find what you want in our shop.
 
Please note that we will not be able to guarantee the dispatch of items after the 18th December because many of our suppliers will close on Friday 19th for the festive break. This means there is really only a fortnight left if you want to purchase anything from us and get it in time for Christmas.

We have seen a bit of a run on kits for projects that were shown on The Game of Wool a few weeks ago, including the Climbing Rose Wrap and the Mystical Lanterns blanket. The Marrakesh version of Persian Tiles is also proving particularly popular and we have lots of stock of the Eastern Jewels colour way too. 
 
You can find all our kits and yarn packs by following this link and all our paper patterns here. If you would prefer download copies then check out our Etsy and Ravelry stores.

If you're struggling to choose a project then how about a gift card? They are available in lots of monetary values from £10 to £250. You can find them by following this link.
 
If you fancy getting some accessories, rather than a kit or pattern, don't forget about our Emma Ball items, which includes things like stitch markers, project bags and storage tins. You can find the range here.

It's hard to believe that we are rapidly approaching the end of our temperature blanket project, with the final month now here. Gemma has struggled at times to keep up, but has made a start on the November squares and, with the Christmas holidays fast approaching, she is hoping to get back up to speed and be ready to start putting a border on as we see the New Year in. In the picture below you can see the simple moss stitch border that Gemma added to our sample blanket - we are really looking forward to seeing your ideas for finishing off. 
 
We have now set up a temperature blanket page on the website so, if you didn't join in this year but fancy having a go in 2026, you can find all the information you need in one place. 
 
In the second photo below you can see an absolutely gorgeous version we found over on Instagram by crafts_r_for_us. Those pinks and peaches are beautiful aren't they! 

Over on Instagram Emma shared that her pre-Christmas crochet project this year is a Mystical Lanterns pelmet. Those of you who have been following us for some time may remember that this pelmet was originally made by Jane's friend Rosemary and incorporates tiny mirrors and bells into the design. You can read all about it in a blog post here. You can see Rosemary's pelmet in the first picture below. We can't wait to see how this progresses. Keep us posted Emma! ​

The blues and golds on the decorations below by Louise Haigh are just stunning. Thank you both for sharing your photos with us. ​

It has all been about The Game of Wool out in the online yarny world over the last few weeks and, love it or hate it, you can't deny it has got people talking about knitting and crochet, which can only be a good thing! We're looking forward to what weird and wonderful projects are still to come over the remaining episodes of the series. 
 
Tom Daley and I managed to grab a bit of crochet time in between filming and had a good chat about our yarny passions - you can find a video of our catch up over on Youtube by following this link.

This month Gemma took a closer look at the recently published ‘Crochet Socks that Rock’ by Anna Nikipriowicz (David & Charles 2025 ISBN-13:9781446314517). 
 
Was this dedicated sock knitter converted to the crochet variety? You'll have to head on over to the blog to find out!

Andy and I have been vegetarian since 2020 so this year will be our fifth veggie Christmas. Andy tends to make this vegetarian wellington and I also make a celeriac and spinach bake. I only make it at Christmas and love the smell of nutmeg and gruyere when it is cooking in the oven. I can't find the recipe online - I think it was originally published in a Sainsburys magazine. This recipe is similar but without the spinach.
 
Gemma has been assigned the task of cooking a vegetarian main course for this year's family Christmas dinner too, so she has been browsing for inspiration. In the lead at the moment is this parsnip, feta and butterbean pie, over on the Good Food website, but she is considering swapping the parsnips out for sweet potato as sometimes the flavour of parsnip can be a little overpowering. She's going to have a practice run any day now, so we'll keep you posted. If you have any tried and tested recipes that you could recommend do let us know and we will pass them on. 

​Inside Crochet Magazine recently asked me about my festive traditions and they printed a summary of the interview in their most up to date magazine. You can find the full piece, with lots of questions about me and my work, as well as my Christmas wish list, on the blog here.
 
I have been doing a little bit of decorating this week and am looking forward to the weekend when I hope to get it finished. Our little bungalow is in need of quite a lot of TLC having been pretty neglected since lockdown, so I am hoping that this most recent spate of DIY will continue long enough for me to knock a few other rooms back into shape. I really love the planning side of decorating but am not keen on the reality of the endless prep and brush washing! In fact my favourite part of any project is making the Pinterest board! You can find the board I made for our little spare bedroom by following this link if you are interested!
 
We will be puppy sitting for a few days from tomorrow and I am really looking forward to having our little grandpup around over the weekend. He is such a little love and thankfully is finally calming down a bit! 
 
I will be back in your inbox next Friday, rather than in a fortnight's time, with the December newsletter so do look out for my next email.
 
Big yarny hugs….

​Inside Crochet Magazine recently asked me about my festive traditions and they published a short summary in the most recent magazine. Here is the interview in full for those of you who want to find out a bit more about me and my Christmas!

​Tell us a bit about yourself – where do you live, with family/pets?
 
I live in suburban North London with my husband Andy (who is also my business partner) and our grown-up son Charlie. Our daughter, Summer, left home more than five years ago now. She has a fabulous husband and a puppy who is now coming up to a year old, so we get to have doggy snuggles most weeks!
 
I love living in London and can’t imagine being anywhere else. We are just a seven-minute walk from a tube station, but, as we live on the edge of the green belt, it is quite rural here too, with a cricket pitch and a large country park at the top of our road. We are lucky to be able to go for long walks in the woods, but also pop into the centre of London very quickly and easily, so we feel it is the best of both worlds. 
 
Andy and I have never moved more than about five miles away from where we were brought up and we are very lucky to have our extended family very close by so no one needs to travel too far for Christmas festivities!

Could you tell us a bit about what you do/make, and how long you’ve been crocheting for?
 
I studied textiles to degree level and specialized in machine knitting, later becoming a hand knitter and working as a design consultant, helping people with their hand knit projects, doing demos and teaching workshops. In 2005 I started to get to grips with crochet and really enjoyed the portability and 3D nature of what I could create. I find crochet much more organic in terms of designing compared to hand knitting and love mixing techniques and colours – somehow my brain seems to work better in crochet than it does in knitting.
 
I design items for the home mostly. Blankets, throws, cushions and such like. I also make accessories such as shawls, scarves and bags. I think of my designs as works of art and can only really envisage flat things when I design – a bit like paintings in frames! I cant seem to get my head around designing garments. I have been trying that over the last year or so, but I haven’t been very productive at it yet!  

What inspires your designs, and how would you describe your style?
 
As part of my textiles degree, I studied the History of Art, and I always enjoyed learning about individual artists and movements. My mum was very proactive at taking me to exhibitions when I was younger, so I have always been surrounded by art. When I was doing my degree, we always had to back up our design work with proof of where our ideas came from and this is something I still do today, and I often use the work of artists as the inspiration for my designs.
 
I love surface pattern and tessellations and often look at existing textiles, wallpaper and carpets as inspiration too. I would say my work is quite decorative and I like pretty little touches and clever stitch combinations. I spend a huge amount of time playing with colours – choosing a palette for a project might be my favourite bit.

​How do you like to celebrate Christmas – can you share some of your favourite family traditions? 
 
I really enjoy the lead up to Christmas and all the planning involved in it. We tend to host a few gatherings of friends in the weeks before the big day and always travel into London a couple of times to see the Christmas lights and look in the shop windows. We like to see a show at this time of year too, often choosing a musical or circus (not animals). 
 
We start the food prep a few weeks before the big day. Andy makes a cracking vegetarian wellington from scratch– even the flaky pastry, which can be frozen a few weeks before. 
 
Our Christmas traditions have changed a little now that my children are grown up and Summer doesn’t live at home. Charlie often works on the days either side of Christmas, so we don’t travel and tend to stick close to home. I like to batten down the hatches al little during Christmas week and we get out the board games and jigsaws.
 
We don’t watch TV on Christmas Day and don’t do gift giving until after lunch. We do always watch the Gavin and Stacey Christmas episodes over the holiday period and can often be found quoting Smiffy’s version of ‘Do they Know its Christmas’. Our main aim is being together as a family regardless of what day it is, so we have been known to have our official Christmas celebrations on Christmas Eve or Boxing Day, depending on who is working or needs to be somewhere else on Christmas Day.

What do you most look forward to doing during the festive season?
 
We lead a really busy life with lots of commitments, both work and personal, so Christmas is traditionally a time when we opt out a little and look forward to some serious R&R. (Of course, that tends to mean that we get poorly!)
 
We usually do the food shopping so that we don’t have to touch a supermarket for about ten days other than to nip in for some fresh fruit and vegetables.
 
I love spending time with all the family, but I also really enjoy not having any arrangements and we tend to go for lots of walks and watch movies. I usually cast on a new knit project on Boxing Day or make it my mission to finish some WIPs before the New Year.

​How do you like to decorate your home for the festivities – what’s the look you go for, and has this evolved over the years?
 
I never really have a plan, and I don’t really agree with the whole consumerism side of having a fresh look, with new decorations and themes year after year, so I guess my look is not curated!
 
There is always something that has got broken in the loft in the eleven months between packing the decorations away and getting them out again, so the last few years I have been trying to source things that are more environmentally friendly, such as wooden, tin or felted versions.
 
I also try to source items we can use again. Last year I bought a couple of (real) small trees that sat either side of my mantel piece. They have been out in the garden all summer in new pots and are thriving, so I don’t think they will fit there this year! I tend to cut foliage from the garden and buy a real fir wreath to hang over the fireplace. It all gives off that lovely piney smell and makes up for the fact that we don’t have a real tree. 
 
We have an artificial ‘snow’ covered tree that we have had for about 20 years. It is a little less snowy every year and the house gets covered in white powder when we put it up, but I still love it and think it will probably ‘see us out!’ We have some heirloom baubles and tree decorations that have been passed down a few generations and I still have some that the kids made at school when they were little, so our tree tends to be a real mish mash of things with no real theme. Andy recently referred to it as a tree full of memories, which I think is lovely! 

​I do have a bit of a thing for Christmas bedding. The brushed cotton duvet covers are my favourite and we tend to put them on at the beginning of December, alternating the sets throughout the holidays. 
 
I love seeing the house all twinkly and festive in the lead up to Christmas, but I admit that I take the tree and decs down before New Year if I can. It just doesn’t feel the same when the festivities are over and I like to go into the New Year with everything tidy and sorted. A fresh start I suppose.

​You are well known for your beading, sparkle and rich colourways – can you share some tips for capturing the Jane Crowfoot Christmas look in our own homes this year?
 
Traditional palettes, like green, red and white are not so fashionable anymore and I really like the vintage 50's feel that is popular again. I like a bit of kitsch too and have some lovely old decorations that belonged to Andy’s Grandmother that come out every year. I believe she collected coupons from boxes of Fairy washing powder to save up enough to get them! 
 
I often look for things that would look great in the house in the charity shops in the lead up to Christmas. Last year I found a fabulous candelabra which I decorated with cuttings from the garden and there are always serving platters and festive tableware that can be picked up at little expense. Vintage cut glass vases and bowls, with baubles and fairy lights in, look lovely placed around the house for a quick and easy festive feel.
 
If you fancy making some crochet decorations, then adding beads will give you an instant sparkle. It’s a good idea to add a contrast bead rather than a close match to your yarn as this will create more on an impact. I don’t believe that there are colours that don’t go together – I think it is all a case of quantity and impact. When I am designing, I tend to go with the ‘suck it and see’ method of choosing a colour palette. I sample a yarn shade by adding it in - if I like it, then it stays, if I don’t like it, I rip back and try another. 
 
Cosy crochet blankets look great stacked up ready for those evenings by the TV. Andy and I have our favourites that are always in the living room, but at Christmas time I tend to dig out a few more so that we can all snuggle down and get comfy!

Do you have any Christmas designs and if so, which are your most popular patterns?
 
Handknit Designer Debbie Abrahams and myself run a festive workshop every year in Bournemouth and we both design a project for it. I tend to release these as patterns so there are quite a few now. There are also the designs that I have created for Inside Crochet Magazine over the years – the beaded decorations that featured in a supplement in 2020 and the Glitzy Stocking that I designed last year.

​Tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the patterns you’ve created for Inside Crochet for this Christmas issue?
 
I had the idea of making an artwork with the decorations and decided that I wanted them to create the shape of a Christmas tree, so I worked on shapes and sizes that would all go together and allow me mount them as a cohesive piece as well as looking good on their own. When making the decorations this year I realized that the designs echoed those that I have made previously, which must mean that I have a standard way of doing things and that when it comes to Christmas my brain thinks of flowers and stars! 
 
I really love playing around with beads to get new effects. Making beaded loops and hooking them up later on in the design is so exciting and is a technique I have used in the decorations and the Halley wrap. 

​Do you like to make handmade gifts for friends and family? Which makes have been the most well-received as gifts? Do you have any reliable patterns (of your own, or others) that always work well as a last-minute gift, for example?
 
Every autumn, I think ‘this will be the year that I make some Christmas gifts’ and every year I fail dismally! I think that because creating crochet pieces is my job it means that when it comes to my downtime, crochet is often the last thing I want to do. I also worry about giving a handmade item that isn’t appreciated, but I do know that there are certain people who understand the amount of work that goes into things.
 
I love to cook, so I spend quite a lot of time making tasty things for people – cookies and brownies make great gifts and there are not many people I know who would refuse a home cooked lasagna either, so this might well be the path I will take this year.
 
Last year Andy prepared lots of bulbs to give as gifts. He planted narcissi bulbs in gravel placed in glass jars and timed their growth perfectly so that they burst into flower in time for festive gift giving. I always plant up some hyacinths too as they fill the house with such a lovely smell and add a great pop of colour in the dreary months of the new year.

​What are you hoping to find in your stocking from Father Christmas this year? 
 
It’s a funny thing as you get older – the whole ‘wanting stuff’ goes out the window and you realise that sharing good times with friends and family makes the perfect gift, so I don’t tend to have a list. That said, Andy and I have been discussing getting an infrared sauna! Decadent I know, but Andy has suffered with arthritis since his mid 20s and finds the cold months of winter quite difficult, so the idea of a sauna is very appealing, and they are not as expensive as I first thought. 
 
We live in a bungalow and don’t have spare space, so the sauna would need to go in the summer house where my studio is currently. We would need to do a bit of shifting things around to find a space and maybe our son would need to move out (hint hint), but it would be nice to think that having one might be a reality as we head into 2026.

​If you could make a Christmas wish, what would it be?
 
Of course I have to say that I wish for peace and goodwill across the globe and that winning the lottery wouldn’t go amiss, but I would also like life to slow down a little as it races past the older you get. A couple of extra hours in a day, an extra day in the week and another one added at the weekend would suit me fine – all with not getting any older at the same time please! 

​What are your new year resolutions for 2026 – or just your plans/dreams for things you’d like to do – both in crochet and in life generally? 
 
In 2025 we gave ourselves too much to do and didn’t have enough down time, so for 2026 I am hoping that life will slow down a little. I like to create a vision board as we go into the New Year but always overfill it so this year I am going to be a little more realistic! I would like to create more crochet art pieces. Some one-offs would be great and I like the idea of revisiting some of my Spirit of Flora designs to see how they would work in finer yarns and new palettes.
 
I decided to get physically strong and upped my fitness this year, so I hope to build on that and keep up with the gym sessions. I have found it really helps my concentration and has been a great asset as I get older. Crochet is going from strength to strength too, so seeing more beginners come through and encouraging more people on their crochet journeys would be an amazing thing to do in 2026! 

It seems like only yesterday that Emma and I were thrashing out the finer detail of how we were going to launch the Janie Crow Temperature Blanket project. We were on the phone comparing our Stylecraft stashes, trying to come up with a colour palette from what we had. Emma sent balls to me and I sent balls to her so that we had a complete set of colours each. I have struggled at times to keep up to date with my blanket, and indeed I didn't manage to stick for long to my routine of adding a round each night. I'm running approximately 1 month behind still. Last month when I checked in I had just started my October squares and this month I have just started November, so at least I have made progress! 

October and November have very definitely brought all the green shades back in to play as the temperatures have cooled. Lime, Meadow and Apple Green have been my most frequently used colours. We did have some crazy temperature variations in November, with the highest temperature at 17 degrees and the lowest at 3 (hello Mint)!

So, here we are at the final month. I hope those of you that have joined in have enjoyed the project. I'm contemplating another temperature project for 2026 but probably a smaller item like a wrap or scarf and probably knitted. I must stop leaping ahead though and probably should consider finishing some of the many projects I have on the go already! 

Here is the December temperature recording chart for you to download:

December chart

I can't wait to see your blankets and how you have decided to join them. I will be back at the end of the month to wrap up this project so I'm determined to get back on track! 

Bye for now

Welcome back to our Book of the Month feature and this month we are looking at socks! You might have seen on our socials that we recently took part in a book tour for 'Crochet Socks that Rock' (David & Charles 2025 ISBN-13:9781446314517) by Anna Nikipirowicz. 

Crochet socks are a far rarer beast than knitted socks but patterns are starting to appear more often in the crochet magazines these days and Anna has put together a whole book of fabulous designs. 

I am a sock knitter and so I hadn't ever attempted a crocheted sock so I thought it would be a good idea to start with the Shortie Socks pattern. DK sock yarn is less common than 4-ply/fingering weight and so there wasn't a huge selection to choose from in my yarn stash so I used some leftovers from a skein of green DK merino/nylon from Castle View Yarns, together with a skein of Coop Knits Sock Yeah DK. As you might see in my photo above I hugely underestimated the amount I would need for the toe/heel/cuff and only have a tiny amount of the green left so for the second sock I will be substituting in another colour from the Coop Knits range, which is lighter but similar. 

There is a choice of 3 sizes for this pattern and most of the others but a couple of patterns only have 1 or 2 sizes to choose from. The instructions are laid out clearly on the page, with a good amount of spacing so they don't appear cluttered or squashed together, which really helps when it comes to following them. For patterns with lace or colourwork there are charts too. 

Towards the beginning of the book there is a very helpful information section , which includes information on the best types of yarn to choose, tools needed and very importantly how to measure your own feet. The anatomy of a sock is clearly explained, which really helps you to understand the construction of the sock as you make it. 

There is a also a glossary of techniques towards the end of the book, including pictures, useful as the book uses US terms throughout and whilst there is a note on the differences between UK and US terms in the introduction there isn't a full conversion table for the stitch abbreviations, which is quite a lengthy list. I think this is a shame as it could lead to confusion for crocheters used to working in UK terms.  

This is a lovely book and visually very pleasing. I confess that I'm not going to be a convert to crochet socks as I love knitting them so much but certainly if you aren't a knitter and would like to have a go at making socks it is well worth taking a look. 
If you are in the UK you can purchase the book from Search Press here with a 20% discount and free postage by using the code DD88 at checkout. 

Until next month, enjoy your crafting and if you do have a go at a pair of socks from the book let us know in the comments.
Bye for now...

Phew! What a manic month it has been here at Janie Crow! I have so much to tell you about this week, including news of some brand new kits and festive projects, so I hope you can spare a few minutes to catch up with my news! ​

Whether you are a fan of the show or not, there is no denying that The Game of Wool is doing great things for the knitting and crochet industry, with yarn shops and online sellers reporting a rise in visitors over the last couple of weeks. The great news is that many of these customers are new to the crafts and are looking to learn new skills. This is something that makes me feel incredibly hopeful for the future preservation of my beloved crochet in particular! 
 
I am incredibly proud to have been invited onto the show to be a guest judge of the projects made for episode 3. I had no idea beforehand of what the projects might be, so it was a complete surprise to be judging crochet deckchairs - not something that immediately springs to mind when you think about crochet! I am giving away no spoilers in case you haven't seen the episode yet - you can find it by following this link.

In the lead up to filming the show, the TV company asked me to send through some ideas of which projects I could wear. I gave them the option of the Magic Circles, Summer Palace and Climbing Rose wraps. They chose the latter, which I was pleased about as it kept me super cozy on what was a very chilly shoot day!
 
Climbing Rose was released as a crochet along project back in 2019 and patterns and kits are still available in the shop. Due to some discontinuations I have recently revamped the yarn usage by having a version made solely in Stylecraft Special DK. You can find the free yarn substitution document by following this link. The kits in our shop still contain some of the original yarns and will do so until they have sold through. You can find them by following this link.
 
Please note the image above is not too accurate on the colours within the wrap. Images below are closer to the true shades.

Many other projects of mine were showcased on episode 3 of Game of Wool and it would be great to know how many you spotted! I saw Spirit of Flora hanging in the background and there was Mystical Lanterns on the table when I demonstrated some crochet stitches. ​

Of course it was also a big thrill to see the image of Justin Bieber with my Persian Tiles blanket! You can find a Youtube video of him at the Vanity Fair Oscar's afterparty wearing the design here. Fabulous to see Tracy keeping warm with the Marrakesh version too!
 
If you are looking for a project to keep you cosy over the winter then do take a look at our kits and patterns. We have pretty much everything in stock in our shop at the moment - the first time that has happened for quite a while! 

I have been toying with the idea of creating crochet artworks for some time and love the recent trend for festive wall hangings. When Inside Crochet Magazine asked if I would like to work on a beaded masterclass booklet I jumped at the chance and set about creating four different designs, which you can make to hang on your tree, thread up as bunting, or pin to a board to create an artwork like mine.
 
Using the perfectly cute, mini balls of Ricorumi cotton to make these decorations was incredibly rewarding too, especially when paired with beads. They are a designers dream as their size and the array of shades makes it so easy to pick a lovely colour palette without making too much of a dent in your bank balance. The yarn is 100% natural and of a great quality, so it is a brilliant choice if you want to make special, heirloom worthy projects.

​The patterns for these designs are only available via Inside Crochet Magazine issue 184 which is out now and we have a limited number of yarn and bead packs for sale in the shop at just £29.95. 

This time last year I designed the Halley pouch as the project for a festive workshop. I love making the beaded flowers that are a part of this design so much that I keep going back to them to create more designs. I have used the beaded flower as the centre part of one of the hanging decorations and have also created a wrap version of Halley using yarns from the Yarnsmith's range.
 
The pattern is currently featured in Inside Crochet Magazine and you can find kits for the project on the Yarnsmiths site by clicking here.

With a little under five weeks to go before Christmas it is slowly beginning to feel a bit festive round here. I have managed to get a couple of gifts already, which is a bit of a record for me as I am usually very lastminute.com. I have also been thinking about decorations and have rooted through my projects to find all my festive things.
 
We have quite the collection of crochet decorations now and you can find them by following this link. We also have quite a few bags and pouches that would make great gifts. 

Andy and I have been taking part in a 50 day countdown to Christmas challenge, which has included specific exercises (the 100 squats before each meal was a particular killer on Wednesday) and good habit making ideas, including pointers to being healthy and mindful.
 
One of the days we were asked to experiment with a brand new breakfast idea and another day we had to create a new healthy evening meal. This weekend we have been set the task of trying out a new dessert recipe, but making sure that it does not include any refined sugar.
 
Always up for a challenge, we have found this recipe for lemon ice cream which is made using frozen bananas and cauliflower. Sounds crazy doesn't it! I will report back next time to let you know what it was like…

We have a lot of jobs that need doing in the house and the garden could do with its late autumn clear up, so we will be busy ticking things off of our to do lists all weekend. I am hoping to get in some baking time too as it is so long since I made a cake. I found a recipe for a boozy fruit cake made in the slow cooker, so I might give that a go on Sunday.
 
I am hoping that I will also be able to have lots of crochet or knit time on the settee with a movie or two, and of course The Game of Wool, on the TV. I have almost completed the Utility 2 cowl by The Knitting Shed and I have loved every single stitch of it. I used their Ainsworth & Prin plump sock DK yarn and it is just such a joy to work with. I think I might be a little sad to cast off, but then it is always so good to start a new project.
 
Whatever you have planned for the weekend I hope you keep safe and warm and that you mange to grab a little crochet fix! Much love until next time…..

Hello wonderful woolly crafters! I hope this email finds you well.
 
This is a really speedy email today as I have just three things I want to tell you about:
 
No 1: Due to a cancellation we now have two spaces on the Festive Knit & Crochet Weekend Workshop in Bournemouth.
 
No 2: Wool Warehouse now have Climbing Rose Wrap kits in stock, put together using their lovely Yarnsmiths range of yarn.
 
No 3: I am so excited about Game of Wool on Channel 4!
 
If any of these things tickle your fancy, then do read on for more information!
 

We had an amazing time in Morocco with Stitchtopia and now that I am home I keep looking through the hundreds of photos that I took to remind me of all the surface pattern and wonderment that we saw. It's the light that I am craving more than anything though, that lovely golden light that make colours pop and sing! ​

I haven't been particularly well since arriving home, with a cough that came on a few days after our trip. I had a cold while I was in Morocco too, so I am pretty sure I have had two bugs on the bounce, which is just bad luck! Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be shifting particularly quickly, so that, and the fact that it is getting dark at 4.30pm, is getting me down a little now that we are home. 
 
To cheer myself up I am sharing a few of my favourite pics from the trip on here. The one of the shepherd with his arms, and the tree behind him full of goats, was taken by the fabulous Teresa Wardlaw, my fantastic tour manager - isn't it great! We couldn't believe our eyes when we spotted a tree full of goats by the side of the road!

As I mentioned in the introduction, we have a twin room available on our forthcoming Festive Workshop in Bournemouth at the end of the month. The places are available due to a cancellation and are based on two people sharing either a twin or a double room. If you fancy coming along, either with another workshop participant, or with a non crafting companion, then email Sue at the following address:
 
[email protected] 
 
To avoid confusion we have not added the available spots to our Inspired Minds website, but you can find the dates and all the information about the workshop by following this link. To see the correct price you need to look at the inland double.
 
The workshop is hosted by hand knit designer Debbie Abrahams and myself and we both create a festive project for you to work on while you are with us. This year I have gone full on bling with a ton of lovely sparkly beads on my project - more info on that a bit closer to Christmas! 
 
The images above and below show last year's workshop where participants made my Halley Beaded Pouch.

Over the last few months we have been creating some yarn packs in conjunction with Wool Warehouse, using their lovely Superwash Merino yarn. The most recent one is my Climbing Rose Wrap and you can find the kits (which currently have a 40% discount) by following this link.
 
The wrap looks really fabulous made in gorgeous high end yarns and I have used their Heathers range and Pebble Haze which both have a lovely subtle tweedy feel to them. 

So, onto the final topic of this week's Quick Catch Up: GAME OF WOOL and I am already a big fan! 
 
There have been a few grumbles on social media this week, mainly about the scale of the yarn and needles that were used in week one, and poor Gordon's doomed steeking, but the good reviews far outweigh the negative, and the icing on the cake has to be making in onto Gogglebox on tonight! 
 
The framework of the show follows a very similar one to that of Bake Off, where contestants have to complete challenges in set time periods and are voted off on the basis of their achievements each week. Nothing new there, but what I think is AMAZING is finally seeing yarn crafts highlighted on a mainstream TV channel in a prime time slot. 
 
If you haven't watched the show you can find it on catch up by following this link. If, like me, you are already hooked, then don't forget to watch episode two on Sunday evening - I have it on good authority that the next episode includes crochet and finer yarn - so what's not to like! 

​I am looking forward to a weekend at home and have already lined up some comfort knitting on the settee for the evenings. I am making a cowl on circular needles. It has an i-cord cast on, which seemed to take me forever to do, so I am looking forward to getting to grips with the more straight forward (hopefully quite mindless knitting) part! 
 
If I am feeling completely better after my brush with the lurgy I might go to the Make Joy event at Woolwich Works tomorrow. The wonderfully talented Suraya of Mahliqa (knitted wire jewellery) is exhibiting so it will be lovely to see her stand and I really enjoyed the show last year. A fix of mingling with all the gorgeous yarn, accessories and other attendees has to be a great plan for a Saturday right?
 
I think that Sunday may well have the first roast dinner of the season on the cards, as I get ready for the second episode of Game of Wool. I haven't had a roast potato in what feels like months, so it will be good to have a treat! Maybe even an apple crumble to go with it - now that really would be living dangerously! 
 
Big hugs to you all. I will be back next Friday with the November newsletter - until then, stay safe and well.

Hi to all my fellow temperature blanket makers. We are here in the penultimate month of our project and even though I have to confess to being a month behind, I've only just finished my September squares, the blanket is getting big now. 

Temperatures here in North London have started to cool and we have had our first frosts on chilly mornings, although the daytime temperatures have consistently reached double figures each day. Apple Green and Meadow will be coming back out of the bag for the October squares and Copper, Raspberry and Pale Rose will be put away for now. They may be used in the border but I will decide that once all the squares are made and joined. 

I have been busy working on other projects this month but with just a sleeve to finish on a warm knitted jumper I will now be turning my attention back to this one and getting all the October squares made and back on track. In the meantime you can find the November temperature recording chart here. See you next month. 

Greetings from Rabat, our second city location on the Yarn Inspirations of Morocco Tour with Stitchtopia. We have been in the country for five days now and are having an amazing time experiencing all the glorious things that this fabulous country has to offer.
 
I am incredibly grateful that Gemma and Emma have taken the reins while Andy and I are away. I know we can leave Janie Crow in very safe hands, so I hope you have a few minutes to catch up with our news.

We spent four days in Marrakesh before moving on to Rabat by coach yesterday. While there we visited many sites, including the Majorelle Gardens and the Yves Saint Laurent gallery, which featured a fabulous exhibition of his work. We also went to the beautiful Bahia Palace and the Dar El Bacha museum, both of which have the most incredible mosaics, carved and painted wooden ceilings and intricate plasterwork. ​

On Tuesday we travelled to a Berber community in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains and enjoyed a traditional meal and tea ceremony. This was also the location for our second knit and crochet workshop. In Rabat we have visited an artisan weaver and were shown traditional techniques.
 
Over the next few days we travel on to Fez, and then onwards to Casablanca, followed by Essaouira early next week, before returning to Marrakesh and then our journey home. I have been posting on Instagram when the signal is strong enough for me to upload images, so do take a look if you fancy following our journey! Our tour manager Teresa has also been busy posting and you can see her feed by following this link.
 
If you like the idea of a knitting and crochet holiday, you can find more information on the Stitchtopia website here. 

It's hard to believe that we are rapidly approaching the penultimate month of the year, which also means the penultimate month of our temperature blanket project. You can download the November temperature chart here. Aren't we well organised this month?
 
It will be interesting to see how those of you who are working on the project decide to assemble your blanket, especially if you have decided not to use a join as you go method. It would also be good to hear your thoughts on what sort of border you might put on the blanket. When we made our sample we opted for a simple moss stitch one using some of the colours we had left over, with the inclusion of a few front post stitches to line through with the seams in the blanket.

We were very excited to be invited to take part in a book tour for the fabulous new book by Anna Nikipirowicz. ‘Crochet Socks that Rock’, published by David & Charles, contains 15 gorgeous crochet sock patterns, together with a wealth of information to help you achieve a perfect fit. 
 
You can join us for a flick through the book over on Instagram here and Gemma will be doing a full review of the book in her Book of the Month blog post in November. As you can see in the photo below she has been busy testing out one of the patterns already! 

On Facebook we celebrated Lucia Dunn's recolouring of the Persian Tiles blanket, known as Eastern Jewels, and invited you to share photos of your completed projects. You can find the post over on Facebook here and check out all the lovely photos shared. ​

In order to complete the Eastern Jewels project you would need the original Persian Tiles pattern, together with the Eastern Jewels colour substitution document (available directly from Lucia's website here). We do currently have kits in stock over on our webshop here. ​

An incredible crocheted model Spitfire has gone on display in the Town Hall Gardens in Southport, a UK town on the Lancashire coast. In collaboration with the Royal British Legion, the Southport Hookers have spent over 2,500 hours crocheting, sewing and assembling the model. 
 
You can read more about the project here and if you happen to be in the area, do go and take a look. The display will remain in place until the 7th November 2025. 

You can read Gemma's thoughts about the book within her Book of the Month blog post here. ​

This week Gemma has been very adventurous and tried out tofu for the first time! Stir fry is a regular meal in her house, with a variety of protein sources and it's always lovely and quick to make. Looking for something slightly different to the usual, she gave this recipe a try from the GoodFood website:
 
Sesame & spring onion stir-fried udon with crispy tofu. 

It was enjoyed by all the family, so will now be added to the ‘allowed to cook again’ list! ​

A few weeks ago I promised you some news of an exciting event, and so I am really pleased (after months of having to keep a big secret) to be able to say that Channel 4's new series, Game of Wool, presented by the fabulous Tom Daley, kicks off on Sunday 2nd November at 8pm. Week 3, which will be shown on 16th November, is crochet week, and I was really honoured to be invited along to filming as their guest judge! 
 
You can find more information about the show by following this link and by checking out The Game of Wool Instagram feed.

We are looking forward to a busy time when we get back from Morocco. We have our festive workshop in Bournemouth at the end of November and all that the festive season brings with it over the next couple of months! As Gemma has said already, it seems amazing to be hurtling through October and heading towards Christmas already! 
 
I will be back in a couple of weeks time with news of a couple of new kits and small projects and hope that whatever you get up to in the meantime, that you stay safe and well.