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Back Home and raring to go!

1/2/2019

This is a slightly late Friday Feature Newsletter this week as we are freshly back from New York and (after a bit of a jet lag driven lay in this morning) I have spent today trying to catch up with a back log of emails and orders.

We had an amazing time at Vogue Knitting Live last weekend and I would like to thank you all for your good wishes and those of you who visited the booth - it really was incredible to be so far from home and meet so many people who already follow my work. You can find some images from the show lower down this email along with our usual features such as the Palette of the Week and my Instagram Favourite.

We have returned to the studio to find lots of entry forms for the colouring competition waiting for us and you can find the information about this lower down the email too.

This is the final Friday Feature Newsletter to be sent from this mailing list. If you want to sign up to the new list in order to receive the newsletters from next week on-wards then please see the information about this lower down the email. Next week's newsletter will focus on the fashion trends for spring and I will be including a nice piece from Sarah who is going to look at the craft of tie dying.

As always, if you have anything you want to say or something you would like to be included in a future newsletter then do hit reply and let us know.

Happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.
- Roy M. Goodman -

Vogue Knitting Live - New York 2019

I tried my best to share lots of images on my Instagram account while we were away, but the lack of good internet connection and the time difference meant that I was a bit out of sync with posting. Below are a few images I took whilst at the show. I have more and will share them with a little more back ground information over the next few weeks, once I am back up to speed.

The light at the venue was quite blue, so please excuse the quality of a lot of my images - you can find better pictures on the Vogue Knitting Live Instagram site by following this link.

The image above is of the Magpie Fibres stand. The shawl is called Nightshift and it is by Andrea Mowry aka Drea Renee Knits - you can find the pattern by following this link. The image doesn't do this beautiful shawl justice I am afraid, but you will find better images on Andrea's web site.

The image above is of the 3 winning finalist designs in the Donegal Tweed exhibition. The brioche one in the middle, which won first prize, is particularly beautiful don't you think?

After years of yearning I also made it to Purl Soho - a store I have wanted to visit for the last decade or so. The simplicity of the way the store designs it's displays and it's in house garments and accessories is just lovely - I am hopeful that the image above gives you an idea of their style if you haven't come across them before

Tip of the week

I have only had a quick chance to test this tip of the week out, but I am told by my friend Sarah Lally, who sent in the suggestion, that she now uses it all the time. When working treble crochet (US double):

'Instead of doing 3 chains at the beginning of a row or round, do a
double crochet with a chain on top. Looks less leggy and more like a
real stitch.....I must say I have only recently discovered it and am now a complete convert!'.

What's New?

Two weeks have passed since our original Janie Crow web site crashed beyond repair which meant that the new 'Just Knots' site went live a little sooner than we had intended. There is still some work to be done on the site and some glitches are still appearing so I hope you will all be patient with us while we get everything up to speed.

You can find the new Just Knots web site, which has all the stock items from the original site, by following this link. All the original Janie Crow links will be directed to the new site automatically.

Because we have been away we have not had a chance to work on the new Janie Crow brand site, which will be the new home of my blog, technique downloads and design information, but we are hoping to get this sorted very soon. I am building the site myself, with help from Andy, so I and am really keen to show it to you - all being well there should be something for you to see within the next two weeks so keep your eye out for more information.

If you have been following the Dolce and Gabanna related discussions on my social media feed then you may have noticed some comments in regards to copyright statements on knitting and crochet patterns. Copyright statements exist to protect the original designer of a pattern and are applicable whether or not a pattern is free. When the D&G copycat story was first shared a few weeks ago there were lots of people saying they were surprised that patterns hold a copyright statement and so I thought I should mention a few things in regards to this in this week's email.

A crochet pattern is like a recipe in that it can only be attributed to a designer in it's original form. If a certain number of changes are made then a pattern could be said to have been changed enough to no longer be within the ownership of the original designer. This is a bit like adding a few of your own special ingredients to a Jamie Oliver recipe or adding an extra egg to Mary Berry's Victoria Sponge recipe (I do this and it makes the sponge lighter), however, none of these changes to the ingredients alter the fact that the source of the recipe comes from the original celebrity chef and that it should therefore be accredited to them and the same applies to a knit or crochet pattern.

One of the areas that I think may have also caused confusion is in relation to making and profitting from a knit or crochet design published (either free or otherwise) by an independent designer. I have had a surge of people contact me in regards to this so I thought I should try to explain how the copyright statement on my patterns affects those of you who make items to sell.

In short - if you want to sell an item made from one of my patterns, be it a blanket, a hat or a bag, then you should credit me as the designer. In theory you should ask for permission first, before you list an item for sale and you can do this by emailing me - in most cases I will say yes to a request, so it is not the end of the world if you have not asked in advance.

I hope this makes things clearer. If in doubt please email me or hit reply to this email.

To tie in with the words above I want to share this image of my Magic Circles Blanket made by Amikitoramikat - a seller who has listed my designs on her Etsy account. I adore the styling on this image and am in love with the bright pink walls and turquoise wardrobe in Kathryn's picture.

Colour Palette of the Week

The image I chose to take my palette from this week is one I took in New York. It sounds a bit silly, but even after 8 days there I still had to pinch myself that I was seeing big yellow school buses and taxis and wandering down streets from the movies!

I took this image on the east side of Central Park after Andy and I took a rather chilly walk through it. I stood and waited at the lights for a cab to go through so that I could catch the yellow! When I look at the image now I wish I had pulled out the bright orange of the dog coat that is in the bottom left of the image and maybe the burgundy shade on the sign post at the centre as these may have added quite a different feeling to the palette.

Colouring Competition

Don't forget that the colouring competition I launched here last week is open until 15th February 2019. You can enter as many times as you like, so why not unleash your creativity and enjoy some mindful colouring in?

Simply colour in the motif chart to create your own version of my Delft blanket design, then pop it in the post to us along with your written entry form to be in with a chance of winning a great prize. You can find the downloadable information pack and competition guidelines here and the competition entry form here.

The original Janie Crow Delft Crochet Blanket was inspired by the blue and white Delftware from the Netherlands. It is made up of a single motif, plus a half motif, worked in three colour ways: Dark, Medium and Light. Only one colour is worked in each round, and each colour way uses all the yarns – they just appear in different rounds and amounts.

Using all the yarns in each motif is a foolproof way of ensuring a harmonious overall blanket design, but it is not the only way. Those of you that follow my blog or receive my newsletters know that I find inspiration for my colour palettes wherever I go. When I have an idea, I surround myself with the yarns that evoke the same feelings and start to design. I am fortunate in that I have an abundance of yarn in my studio, but you can do the same using felt tip pens, coloured pencils and paper.

I find it fascinating how recolouring a design can completely change the way it looks and I love to see other crocheters versions of my designs, especially those that have used an alternative colour palette. With this in mind Luise and I thought it would be really fun to invite you to colour in a chart representation of one of my Delft design to see what wonderful ideas you can come up with. Dont' worry - this isn’t a design competition! You do not need to know how to design, or even how to crochet, all you need to do is colour in a chart and pop it in the post!

The idea is that the entries will be judged and a selection of finalists will be chosen after a public vote. Winners will be given prizes and the yarn colour packs for the new colour ways, which will include the winner’s name and inspiration, will subsequently be available via Stylecraft stockists. The colour substitution documents for each new colour way will also be available as free downloads via this web site and will feature in an updated version of the Delft Blanket crochet pattern later on this year.

The competition is being launched in support of the release of a newly worked version of my Delft blanket pattern, which uses Stylecraft Life DK. The patterns for the blue and cream colour way, which was inspired by my love of Delftware and The Willow Pattern china, are available now via Stylecraft stockists. You can follow this link to find out more about the design and purchase the 12 page brochure pattern (£4.95) or the Stylecraft Life DK kit, which contains 15 x 100g balls of yarn, the pattern and a sew in label for £44.95. The pattern is available in UK & US terminology and Dutch language.
No purchase necessary to enter the competition.

I really hope that you like the thought of entering the competition. Don't forget that it closes on the 15th of February. You can find more information in this month's copy of Simply Crochet Magazine and via Stylecraft's social media platforms.

Instagram Favourite

My Instagram account recommendation this week is that of Geninne D Zlatkis, who describes herself as a 'passionately curious artist living with Manolo, our two sons and an adorable red healer named Zorro'.

I love it when Geninne's images pop up on my feed, especially when they include pics of her dazzling dog and beautiful art work. You can find her account by following this link. Her work is also available to buy on Etsy.

Sign up or miss out!

As I have already said, today's newsletter will be the final one to be sent from this mailing list. This list belongs to our original web site, which has now been renamed as Just Knots. Because of new laws introduced last year we have to make a clear definition between the mailing lists for our 2 new web sites and so, in order to continue to receive this email on a Friday afternoon, you must sign up to a new mailing list. Follow this link to sign up.

It's nearly the weekend!

We have a snow flurry going on outside right now, which is adding to the existing layer of snow we had over night, so I think it will be a case of sticking close to home this weekend. I am desperate to get my hands on a crochet hook as I have had no time to do any crochet for about 2 weeks and my hands are itching to get going! I have a new design in my head so as soon as I have pressed send on this newsletter I am going to wind off a skein of yarn and get going....

I hope that wherever you are and whatever you are doing you stay happy, well and warm. If you are in the US then I hope you are not too badly affected by your record breaking cold weather.

Sending crochet love and yarny kisses.

Greetings from new york

25/1/2019

Welcome to this week's Friday Feature Newsletter - the Janie Crow equivalent of a Sunday supplement magazine....

Greetings from The Big Apple!

After months of waiting we have finally arrived in New York for The Vogue Knitting Live Show, which starts this evening at 5pm. We are VERY excited! I will tell you all about the show and share some images in next week's newsletter.

At last we have some positive news about the new web sites, which you can find lower down this email in the 'What's New?' section. I have also included some information about a lovely Italian knitting holiday that Sarah will be tutoring in May and I have left in the information about the colouring competition, which I know many of you have already been getting involved in.

The first feature of the newsletter relates to my admiration for the Austrian artists Egon Shiele and Gustav Klimt and my colour palette of the week also relates to this topic. I hope you will enjoy it.

I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.
- Lucille Ball -

Vienna Artists - Klimt and Shiele

When I was at art school back in the 1990s I based my final show on the work of Gustav Klimt. For my textile degree I specialised in machine knitting and for my show I produced fabrics that had a see through rayon knitted back fabric with swirls, circles and squares added on by wrapping yarns around the needles at the front of the fabric to create an extra, almost 3D layer - the effect was almost like a devore fabric and (of course) I added beads and vintage mother of pearl buttons for added sparkly effect.

As part of our course we had to produce art work as inspiration or in support of our knitted designs and so I made accompanying pieces using a collage technique to echo many of Klimt's paintings. My Mum and Dad still have many of these pieces of artwork hanging in their home, although some are now looking a bit sorry for themselves as the pieces of foil, magazine cuttings, buttons, beads and yarn I stuck on almost 30 years ago are beginning to fade and fall off!

Around a decade ago there was a surge in popularity of Klimt's paintings and many stores made the most of the trend by selling large reproduction canvasses of paintings like The Kiss and The Three Ages of Woman so I am sure that many of you are aware of Klimt's work, especially his gold period.

I didn't really get to grips with crochet until about ten years ago, so it wasn't something that I added into my degree work, although we did have to include one hand knitted sample within our final collection. When I first started my crochet journey I remember stumbling across images of crochet inspired by Klimt paintings and I still love the idea of doing something similar. I have posted some images of some fabulous projects with links to the crocheters who have made them below.

Babette by Kathy Merrick

If you like the look of the image above then you might alos like to look at the blog of French designer 'Clothogancho'.

Image from Flickr - Vicx Paper Village

What do you think of these pieces? I think they are fabulous and that there is such a wealth of Klimt paintings that could still inspire fabulous crochet design. Perhaps one day I will return to this idea, maybe once I have managed to visit the famous Albetina Museum and the Beethoven Secession Building in Vienna - two places that are more or less at the top of my bucket list, sitting just under my desire to visit Frida Kahlo's Blue House in Mexico.

A few weeks before Christmas my friend Luise and I went to the Royal Academy of Arts here in London to see the Klimt/Shiele exhibition Drawings from the Albertina Museum - Vienna. We were also lucky enough to attend a talk by the curator of the show prior to walking around the galleries. I am a huge fan of both Klimt and Sheile's work and this exhibition compounded my admiration for the incredible drawing skills of both artists.

'1918 was a seismic year in Vienna. As the Austro-Hungarian Empire crumbled, an intense period of creative vitality drew to an end with the deaths of two of its foremost artists. One was the preeminent and strikingly modern painter of fin-de-siècle Vienna, Gustav Klimt; the other the young, scandalous and prodigiously talented Egon Schiele. Both revelled in the immediacy of drawing, an ideal medium for exploring new ideas of modernity, subjectivity and the erotic.'

Whilst I heartily recommend the show to you, especially if you are a fan of life drawing, if you are not aware of Sheile's drawings in particular then I suggest that you take a look at some of them before you book tickets or make a journey into town to see the show, as, even 100 years after they were drawn, many of them are still pretty shocking for their erotic content.

Tip of the week

My good friend Dedri from Look at What I Made showed me how to use a running stitch marker a couple of years ago and it is a technique that I find invaluable when working in the round and is one that I cannot believe I lived without knowing for so long!

Using a running stitch marker is really simple and makes working in the round so much easier. It is also a great way of helping you understand the way crochet stitches work in the round as the running thread shows you how the round end moves over by one stitch on each row.

Dedri's images above show the first 2 steps of the technique. You will find the full tutorial by taking a look at Dedri's web site, where she has posted a great blog piece about working in the round. Dedri uses US terminology.

What's New?

Those of you who have been reading the newsletters over the last 6 weeks or so will know that we have been promising you that 2 new web sites would be launched very soon. Our original plan was to launch in November, but after a load of technical issues we had no choice but to delay this.

Last week our original Janie Crow web site crashed beyond repair, probably as a result of all the migration of products and images to the new site. This sudden failure of the site has meant that we have had to make the new 'Just Knots' site live a little sooner than we had intended and means that it is still under construction. If you have seen the site I hope you will feel that it looks and works better than the original site anyway, but you may find some glitches, so please bear with us while we work through these.

You can find the new Just Knots web site, which has all the stock items from the original site, by following this link.

All the original Janie Crow links will be directed to the new site automatically and the colouring competition can also be accessed via this site by typing www.janiecrow/delftcompetition into your browser.

The new Janie Crow brand site, which will be the new home of my blog, technique downloads and design information is almost ready and I am really looking forward to showing it to you within the next few weeks.

Colour Palette of the Week

I have taken this week's colour palette from Gustav Klimt's painting Water Serpents 11. Klimt created many pieces using mermaids and serpents as inspiration, but this one has always been one of my favourites and there is my own collage version of this painting within my degree portfolio.

I am currently going through a love affair with the colour orange, so I thought this would make a perfect palette to sit in this week's newsletter and carries on nicely from last week's palette where I also looked at coral and terracotta shades.

Italy in the springtime with Sarah

Sarah here! Most of what I know about Professional Finishing and how to alter a garment so that it fits your size and body shape I learnt from Jane and now I also love teaching workshops that help others get a really good finish on their knitted projects. In May I will be returning to the Watermill in Posara, Tuscany to tutor a series of workshops based on one of my most successful designs – The Phoebe Poncho.

I have taught workshops for many years and one of the things that I have become aware of is that knitters want to understand how they can alter a pattern to get a better fit, so, this year’s project focuses on creating a simple garment tailor-made to your requirements. I will be demonstrating how a simple folded poncho can be altered for different heights, body shape, arm length and necklines.

All participants will receive enough yarn, in a denim shade of their choice, as well as notes and instructions on how to record measurements, make alterations to sleeve and body length and work on a successful neckline. There will be opportunities to swatch different stitch patterns as well as discuss the best ways to finish your project.

The location of this week long workshop in northern Italy is total bliss and the food, wine and hosting by Bill and Lois is second to none. There are a couple of places left on this wonderful holiday, which runs from the 4th to 11th May. It would be fabulous if you could join me!

For more information on the holiday follow this link.

Colouring Competition

The original Janie Crow Delft Crochet Blanket was inspired by the blue and white Delftware from the Netherlands. It is made up of a single motif, plus a half motif, worked in three colour ways: Dark, Medium and Light. Only one colour is worked in each round, and each colour way uses all the yarns – they just appear in different rounds and amounts.

Using all the yarns in each motif is a foolproof way of ensuring a harmonious overall blanket design, but it is not the only way. Those of you that follow my blog or receive my newsletters know that I find inspiration for my colour palettes wherever I go. When I have an idea, I surround myself with the yarns that evoke the same feelings and start to design. I am fortunate in that I have an abundance of yarn in my studio, but you can do the same using felt tip pens, coloured pencils and paper.

I find it fascinating how recolouring a design can completely change the way it looks and I love to see other crocheters versions of my designs, especially those that have used an alternative colour palette. With this in mind Luise and I thought it would be really fun to invite you to colour in a chart representation of one of my Delft design to see what wonderful ideas you can come up with. Don't worry - this isn’t a design competition! You do not need to know how to design, or even how to crochet, all you need to do is colour in a chart and pop it in the post!

The idea is that the entries will be judged and a selection of finalists will be chosen after a public vote. Winners will be given prizes and the yarn colour packs for the new colour ways, which will include the winner’s name and inspiration, will subsequently be available via Stylecraft stockists. The colour substitution documents for each new colour way will also be available as free downloads via this web site and will feature in an updated version of the Delft Blanket crochet pattern later on this year.

Sign up or miss out!

Next week's newsletter (1st February) will be the final one to be sent from this mailing list. This list belongs to our original web site, which has now been renamed as Just Knots. Because of new laws introduced last year we have to make a clear definition between the mailing lists for our 2 new web sites and so, in order to continue to receive this email on a Friday afternoon, you must sign up to a new mailing list. Follow this link to sign up.

It's nearly the weekend!

I told you last week about a situation where I felt my work had been copied by fashion house Dolce and Gabbana. I know that many of you are continuing to send messages to the company and are making your voices heard on social media, so I want to thank you again for all your support. Stylecraft have also been incredibly supportive and we hope that between us we will get some kind of response from D&G. I will let you know if I hear anything. If you missed last week's newsletter you can find it by following this link.

We had a fabulous time at Waltham Abbey Wool Show last Sunday - as always it was a great day with lots of visitors and a fantastic array of vendors. The show is held every 3rd Sunday of January, so you might want to put the date in your diary for next year!

Once we are home from the US our next show will be Unravel in Farnham from the 22nd to the 24th February. I will be teaching a Mystical Lanterns workshop at the show and you can find tickets by following this link. I always feel like this show marks the change from winter to early spring, although last year we had snow in March, so fingers crossed that the same won't happen this year!

We are looking forward to exhibiting at Edinburgh Yarn Festival in March. I think advance tickets may have sold out, but you can get tickets on the door and you can find more information by following this link.

We will be at the show here in New York right through to Sunday afternoon when it closes at 4pm. I am going to try and remember to take plenty of images so that I can show them you next week and I will also be putting some on Instagram, so do take a look.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

GET YOUR PENS AND PENCILS OUT

18/1/2019

Janie's Friday Feature

Welcome to this week's Friday Feature Newsletter - the Janie Crow equivalent of a Sunday supplement magazine....

It has been a really busy week here at Janie Crow as we are preparing to head off to Vogue Knitting Live in New York next week and because we have launched (what I think is) a really exciting colouring competition. I mentioned this briefly last week, but you can find out more about it further down this email.

Another reason for the fervent activity in the Janie Crow studio this week is because we have now launched one of the 2 new web sites. The Just Knots site remains under construction, but is now live and taking orders. You can find it by following this link or by clicking on the logo above. The old web site is not automatically redirecting traffic at the moment, but we hope to have this glitch fixed soon. We are planning for the other new web site to go live on Monday - this is also under construction so please bear with us while the new sites are being worked on.

This week sees the return of the lovely Sarah to the Friday Feature newsletter. Sarah has written a piece on interior colour trends and has also very kindly agreed to share one of her favourite vegetarian recipes, should you fancy doing a bit of cooking over the weekend.

I hope you will enjoy this week's newsletter - it is quite a long one, so grab a drink and a couple of custard creams and spend a bit of time catching up with all things Janie Crow!

It is never too late to be what you might have been.
- Adelaide Anne Procter -

Colouring Competition

I am so excited to introduce you to a fun colouring in competition that I have devised in collaboration with graphic designer Luise Roberts, Simply Crochet Magazine and Stylecraft Yarns. The competition is open until 15th February 2019 and you can enter as many times as you like, so why not unleash your creativity and enjoy some mindful colouring in?

The competition is being launched in support of the release of a newly worked version of my Delft blanket pattern, which uses Stylecraft Life DK. The patterns for the blue and cream colour way, which was inspired by my love of Delftware and The Willow Pattern china, are available now via Stylecraft stockists. You can follow this link to find out more about the design and purchase the 12 page brochure pattern (£4.95) or the Stylecraft Life DK kit, which contains 15 x 100g bals of yarn, the pattern and a sew in label for £44.95. The pattern is available in UK & US terminology and Dutch language.
No purchase neccessary to enter the competition.

I really hope that you like the thought of entering the competition. Don't forget that it closes on the 15th of February. You can find more information in this month's copy of Simply Crochet Magazine and via Stylecraft's social media platforms.

Interior Trends - The Colour Story

Sarah here! It’s great to be back and contributing to Jane’s Friday Feature!

Jane started talking to me towards the end of last year about some of the additional subjects and ideas she wanted us to explore in 2019 and I am really excited to be playing a part in this! Right now, it is still January, (which always goes on FOREVER in my opinion!), light levels are low and the weather is unpredictable, her in the UK anyway, so it’s a great time to start thinking about any changes you want to make to your home during the spring. I am always fascinated to see how it is often the simplest of changes that have the most impact on the way we live in our homes.

There are two really strong colour stories for 2019. The first is Pantone’s 16 – 1546 (Living Coral), a mouthwatering vibrant coral - shown above.

Pantone declared that Living Coral would be the 2019 Colour of the Year, not least because of its life affirming tone, but also because of the symbolism it shares with the natural world.

'Just as coral reefs are a source of sustenance and shelter to sea life, vibrant yet mellow PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral embraces us with warmth and nourishment to provide comfort and buoyancy in our continually shifting environment.

In reaction to the onslaught of digital technology and social media increasingly embedding into daily life, we are seeking authentic and immersive experiences that enable connection and intimacy. Sociable and spirited, the engaging nature of PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral welcomes and encourages lighthearted activity. Symbolizing our innate need for optimism and joyful pursuits, Pantone 16-1546 Living Coral embodies our desire for playful expression.'

Another key colour for 2019 is the more demure, but no less dramatic 'Night Watch' (Pantone Ref PPG1145-7)

The inspiration for advocating this luxurious green is its association with nature once again. Take one look at Night Watch and we think of luscious vegetation and the calming atmosphere of walking through a forest. The image below is typical of the way that Night Watch is being used as a feature wall to provide a flawless backdrop to those elements used in the soft furnishings and accessories like brass, glass, wood and woven textiles and proves to be the perfect foil to those coral coloured tulips taking centre stage.

Here at Janie Crow we had a great response to the Colour Palette of the Week feature in last Friday's newsletter, with some readers suggesting that they would be interested in buying packs of yarn based on an inspiring palette - this is something that Jane and I are going to look into.

I came across this gorgeous image that I think really sums up the potential of these two 2019 trend colours.

I decided to put some yarn wraps together showing the kind of palettes that you might like to use as inspiration for your own interior projects, such as cushions or throws.

Revitalising an interior does not always have to cost the earth either. You may find that you have all sorts of fabric, yarn or buttons that you could get creative with and allow these shades of natural optimism to brighten the last few dreary weeks of winter.

Tip of the week

This tip is not knitting or crochet related, but it is such a good one that I had to make it one of the first non craft tips to be featured. This is a tip that was sent in by Jane Dearie and is a great one that we have been using at home for the past couple of years. I think this tip originally came from Martha Stewart so I have added an image and a link to a YouTube video via the image below:

Folding duvet covers into pillow cases:

'I have a life tip I picked up a few years ago which I find particularly
helpful.

I store my bedding sets inside one of the pillowcases. The folded
sheet(s), duvet cover and other pillowcase all fit perfectly inside and
I'm not having to hunt through the airing cupboard to find all the
different bits of linen.

I swear it's saved me days, never mind hours!'

- Jane Dearie -

Credit where credit is due?

If you follow me on Instagram then you may well have seen that I shared an image taken at the Dolce and Gabbana Spring Catwalk show in September, The image is of a skirt and a sun top that I think bears a striking resemblance to my Frida's Flowers CAL project that I launched in collaboration with Stylecraft back in 2016.

My good friend and fellow designer Lucia Dunn was the first to flag this image to me and over the course of last Friday evening we received messages and emails from many crocheters asking whether D&G had collaborated with me on this design.

Copying goes on in many businesses and the hand knit and crochet world is no different. Having a design or an idea copied is pretty common. For example, I know a lady who swears blindly that Mystical Lanterns is her design and that it is simply fate that we have achieved exactly the same stitch count on every round and even given our design motifs the same name!

When I first saw this image I was totally stunned. To me it looks like there are elements of both Frida and Lily Pond in the skirt (which would set you back a whopping £12,850). I can see at least 2 squares from Lily Pond, with the 3D lily shown above being the most obvious one and I can see lots of elements from Frida reproduced as squares rather than hexagons as in the image below. What do you think?

As a small independent designer in a world of much bigger fish there is probably very little I can do about (what I feel is) blatant copying. Sadly, crochet patterns are like recipes - you only need to make a few changes to the ingredients in order to call it your own and a law suit related to this would end up expensive and exhausting. Add to this the fact that I don't want my love for my work and my belief in the power of the positive effects of crochet to be affected by what would no doubt turn into a bitter and costly affair, however I do feel that this is a case of awarding credit where it is due.

As I have said already, the response to the posts I have published on Facebook and Instagram over last week have been incredible and I am so grateful for everyone's amazing support. Many people have left comments on the D&G facebook page and have shared lots of related posts on Instagram, Twitter and on their own Facebook pages. If you would like to do the same then I would love to have your support. If you copy Dolce & Gabanna into your Instagram posts and hashtag #fridasflowerscal #lilypondcal2015 and me #janiecrow and #stylecraft that would be brilliant. Many people are also using the hastag #creditwherecreditisdue and copying in @dietprada - an Instagram account that exposes copying in the fashion industry.

T H A N K - YOU

Instagram Favourites

This week my Instagram recommendation is a couple of hashtags rather than a person or company. The hashtags in question are #delftware and #delftblue. Both feeds have very similar images as most people use both hashtags when posting, but if, like me, you are a fan of anything Delft related then it is worth following them both.

As this week's newsletter focuses on all things home I thought it would be interesting to see if any interior paint manufacturers produce an emulsion called Delft Blue. I found a few examples of paints that contain the word Delft in their name - my favourite was Designers Guild shade called Delft Tile, which you can see by following this link.

Colour Palette of the Week

If you fancy entering the brand new colouring in competition that I have mentioned further up this email, then you might want to take a look around the internet for some palette ideas. Pinterest is a great place to find a colour palette and I often look at interior images to find unusual colour mixtures. I also look back through all the pictures I have taken on my mobile phone.

When thinking about the palette idea for this week I wanted to tie it in with Sarah's piece, which mentions Pantone's colours of the year. The Pantone colours are used in regards to both fashion and interiors and it is always interesting to see just how much these two areas over lap each other, invariably without us realising, with a popular interior shade often featuring on the catwalk too.

I had a lady at a show once tell me that she would never purchase a yarn kit that featured a coral pink, as she HATED that colour! Sometimes people's dislike of a colour is linked to a negative experience - or because it seems old fashioned and I have to admit that until recently I found 'shimpy' coral kind of colours quite a challenge to use in my design work. Now though I am a total convert, especially when I look at these kinds of shades in relation to inky dark green, blues and bright turquoise and petrol shades as in Sarah's interior image.

So, this week I have chosen an image that I took whilst on holiday in Athens last summer. At this time of year it is good to be reminded of warmer days and, with the current trend for all things foliage related in regards to home interiors, I thought it would make a suitable picture for this week.

Nuts About January - Sarah's Speedy Veggie Loaf

Mr H and I decided to try a meat free January almost by accident! We both know several vegans, but happily tucked into turkey, gammon and all the trimmings over the festive season. During the lull between Christmas and New Year we caught up with friends who we haven't seen for ages and discovered that they had become vegan. Paul and I were both vegetarian during our student days, but for one reason or another eventually went back to eating meat.

So, we've been giving 'Veganuary' or at least a meat-free January a go!

We are not trying to change our eating habits overnight, but we have really enjoyed sourcing, cooking and eating a different set of ingredients. It doesn't have to be expensive either. Many of you probably have nuts left over after Christmas, so why not try a nut roast - it really is tastier than you might imagine!

There are no hard and fast rules with a nut roast, but I would recommend combining equal amounts of nuts to other ingredients like pulses /cheese/ breadcrumbs. An egg can help bind ingredients together, but if you want the full vegan experience you can use a food processor to blitz all the ingredients together along with a couple of softened, chopped onions.

Here's an oldie but a goody from my student days and it serves 6 people:

Ingredients:

1 large onion , chopped
50g butter/vegan alternative
1tsp mixed herbs
1 tbsp plain (gluten-free) flour
150ml milk or vegan alternative
225g ground nuts - this can be a single nut type or a blend
50g fresh breadcrumbs/gf breadcrumbs
juice and rind of half a lemon
1 egg - optional
sea salt
ground black pepper

Stuffing:

225g chopped mushrooms
50g butter/vegan alternative
teasp yeast extract or similar
175g fresh breadcrumbs/gf breadcrumbs
1 egg yolk - optional
sea salt
ground black pepper

Heat oven to 180C or Gas 4.
Fry onions and herbs in the butter until soft. Add flour, milk and stir until thickened. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine well. Season to taste.

Make the stuffing by frying the mushrooms in the butter until slightly softened. Add remaining ingredients, stir and season to taste.

Line a 450g loaf tin. Add half the nut mixture and then layer with the mushroom stuffing and top with a final layer of the nut mixture.

Cover with foil and bake for 60 mins. Remove foil and allow to stand for 5 mins before turning out and slicing!

So far we are really enjoying a meat free diet, but I will let you know how we continue to fare over the next few months...

Sign up or miss out!

If you want to continue to receive the Friday Feature newsletters and any other information relevant to me and my designs, then you need to sign up to a new mailing list. You can do this by following this link. We will add this link to this newsletter for the next couple of weeks.

It's nearly the weekend!

We will be at the Waltham Abbey Wool Show this Sunday and would love you to come and say hello if you are going to be there too!

I think Saturday is going to be a quiet day after all the madness of the last week. We have an invitation to join my Mum for her birthday celebrations in the afternoon, so it will be nice to have some family time, especially as we are going to be away next week.

I have already prepared most of next week's newsletter ahead of our trip to New York for Vogue Knitting Live. We are back the following week and so on Friday 1st of February the Friday Feature newsletter will focus on our US adventure. This will be the final newsletter sent via this mailing list, so, If you haven't done so already, please make sure you j oin the new mailing list by following the link.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Back Home and raring to go!

Happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.
- Roy M. Goodman -

Vogue Knitting Live - New York 2019

Tip of the week

What's New?

Colour Palette of the Week

Colouring Competition

Instagram Favourite

Sign up or miss out!

It's nearly the weekend!

Greetings from new york

I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.
- Lucille Ball -

Vienna Artists - Klimt and Shiele

Tip of the week

What's New?

Colour Palette of the Week

Italy in the springtime with Sarah

Colouring Competition

Sign up or miss out!

It's nearly the weekend!

GET YOUR PENS AND PENCILS OUT

Janie's Friday Feature

It is never too late to be what you might have been.
- Adelaide Anne Procter -

Colouring Competition

Interior Trends - The Colour Story

Tip of the week

Credit where credit is due?

Instagram Favourites

Colour Palette of the Week

Nuts About January - Sarah's Speedy Veggie Loaf

Sign up or miss out!

It's nearly the weekend!

Author

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Back Home and raring to go!

​

Happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.- Roy M. Goodman -

Vogue Knitting Live - New York 2019

Tip of the week

What's New?

Colour Palette of the Week

Colouring Competition

Instagram Favourite

Sign up or miss out!

​It's nearly the weekend!

Greetings from new york

I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.- Lucille Ball -

Vienna Artists - Klimt and Shiele

Tip of the week​

What's New?

Colour Palette of the Week

Italy in the springtime with Sarah

Colouring Competition​

Sign up or miss out!

It's nearly the weekend!

GET YOUR PENS AND PENCILS OUT

​Janie's Friday Feature

It is never too late to be what you might have been. - Adelaide Anne Procter -

Colouring Competition

Interior Trends - The Colour Story

Tip of the week

Credit where credit is due?

​Instagram Favourites

Colour Palette of the Week

Nuts About January - Sarah's Speedy Veggie Loaf

Sign up or miss out!

​It's nearly the weekend!​

Author

Archives

Categories

Services

Contact us

Support

Happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.
- Roy M. Goodman -

It's nearly the weekend!

I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.
- Lucille Ball -

Tip of the week

Colouring Competition

Janie's Friday Feature

It is never too late to be what you might have been.
- Adelaide Anne Procter -

Instagram Favourites

It's nearly the weekend!