So here we are, finally at the end of February and very much looking forward to what March has in store, especially as, in theory anyway, that should be longer days and a little more sunshine. I have to admit that the last week or so, where we have been tantalised with some higher temperatures, has made me long for the spring even more than before.
 
It has been a busy couple of weeks here at Janie Crow as usual and I have been working on the new CAL design as well as getting projects ready for some of this year's workshops - something that always takes far longer than I expect it to! 
 
I hope you have a few spare minutes to catch up with our news…

We have a healthy stock of kits at the moment such as the King Cole version of my Climbing Rose Wrap project that uses some natural fibres instead of pure acrylic. You can see in the images above how closely I have managed to match the yarn shades and I love the little nepp in the light pink King Cole yarns and the haze around the green. It really gives the project a luxury feel.
 
When reworking the project using yarns from the King Cole range, we also made a version using Yarnsmiths from Wool Warehouse. You can find that kit, as well as other projects that we have made using their Superwash Wool DK, by following this link.

I designed the Majorelle cushion and project pouch for last year's workshop trip to Morocco with Stitchtopia. The design was inspired by the giant cacti found in the exotic Jardins Majorelle, which once belonged to Yves Saint Laurent and are now an essential visit when in Marrakesh.
 
My project uses the fabulous little 25g balls of Rico Ricorumi 100% cotton yarn, which is just perfect for smaller projects. I have used ten shades of yarn and some fabulously colourful beads from the Debbie Abrahams range to add a decorative touch to the designs.
 
Thankfully, after a short delay caused by a series of unfortunate events, we have now been able to dispatch all the kits that were pre-ordered when we released this design back in January. Those of you who have not received your kits yet should get notification of dispatch today as all pre-ordered kits have now left us - finally! 
 
We have put another order in for yarn for the kits with Rico, but still have an issue with the stock of one or two shades, so we have decided to hold off releasing the kits again until we are one hundred percent sure that the order will arrive with us intact! We are so sorry for the wait that some of you have had and wish we could have better news in regard to new kits, but there we go, in the whole scheme of things it's not the end of the world and we would rather be in control of the situation than have stock waiting around for just one shade again.
 
We have already seen quite a few versions of the project made by people using yarns from their stash (you can find some of these lower down this email) and you can source the yarn and beads individually from other retailers, so if you fancy having a go at making Majorelle you can find the patterns in UK and US terms as paper copies via our shop and as downloads via Etsy and Ravelry. 

I am really excited to have been invited back to The Green Hotel in Mysore, India to tutor my fifth residential workshop with Knit For Peace.
 
The holiday will run from 22nd January through to February 4th/5th 2027. More information about the trip will be available soon, but if you want to be among the first to register your interest in joining me, you can do so by contacting the charity via this link. 
 
You can find more images taken on previous trips to Mysore with Knit For Peace on the Janie Crow Lifestyle instagram feed. 

The Stitch Festival will take place at London's Business Design Centre in March. We have secured a discount code that will enable you to get £2 off the price of standard admission tickets on each day of the show except Saturday. The offer code is JANIECROW26 and it is valid until 8th March. We won't be exhibiting at the show this year, but Sarah and I are going to visit on Saturday 21st. If you want to find more information about the show click here. 
 
My amazing friend and fellow designer, Jeanette Sloan will be exhibiting at the show and we just can't wait to see all of her fabulous beaded knitted projects from her new book in the flesh. 
 
You can find the book, Beaded Colourwork, published by Laine and featuring the most beautiful model and glorious photography, available to purchase on Jeanette's website here. If you are planning to go to the Stitch Festival then you can order the book through Jeanette's website and pick it up at the show if you wish.

There are now only two spaces left on my Northern Lights Yarn Cruise in December 2027. I know it is an age away, but it is always good to have something in the diary to look forward to, so if you want to nab one of the last places, head over the Stitchtopia site here for more information. 
 
There are four holidays to choose from, each with a different tutor, including Lucy of Attic 24 and Aleks Byrd. If you want to come on the trip with me the departure date is 12th December 2027.

​In the next instalment of my seasonal journal, in the upcoming issue 187 of Inside Crochet magazine, I share tips on different ways of adding new yarn or changing colour as well as my thoughts on why ‘blanket stack’ images are so appealing. 
 
If you haven't had a look at the Inside Crochet website recently I recommend you do so as it has had a lovely revamp. As well as general information about the magazine and subscription options, there is also a great pattern search facility for each issue of the magazine so that you can see the designs that feature in each publication, whether it is a current one or a back copy.

We have been thrilled to see some of your Majorelle projects popping up over on Facebook. Here are some images that have been shared in the Janie Crow Crochet Help Group. Thank you, from top to bottom, to Di Hinton, Catherine Moores, Karen Langdon and Ellen Preston, for sharing their fabulous work. 

Andy came across a short on YouTube called ‘Crochet (The Musical)’ by Wilma Westernberg and it will strike a chord with anyone who, while minding their own business crocheting, has been asked ‘What are you knitting? ​

Wilma is a blogger and crochet designer from the Netherlands, who has been crocheting since 2014 (and hasn't put the hook down since apparently!) There are more fun songs on her YouTube channel, several of them crochet and craft related, so if you feel in need of some light entertainment do take a look! ​

Do you find that February is the month when you start to long for the brighter, warmer days of spring and struggle a little more with the cold? It's definitely a month for comfort food and we think a delicious veggie lasagne fits that bill perfectly! With a side salad or some lovely bright green veg it's a meal that always goes down well. 
 
Gemma says that she thinks Lasagna is a bit like a food stash-buster in that the selection of veg can be altered depending on what you have in your fridge and you can always bulk it out with lentils if vegetable stocks are running low! This recipe on the BBC Food website is a great starting point if you haven't made a vegetable lasagne before and Jane recommends this one from Cook if you fancy something a bit more fancy! You can always roast the vegetables in advance when you have something else in the oven to save time and money! 

I have to admit that I have found it hard to feel motivated the last couple of days, especially on the crochet front and have wasted quite a lot of time faffing around, which in turn has made me feel even more fed up! It's been a silly cycle of negativity that I am putting down to the need for a break and a little too much over thinking in relation to some of the things that have happened lately. It's natural that we all hit a bit of a bump from time to time and I am determined to get myself out of it by the time we head into the weekend, especially as Sunday will herald the start of another new month! 
 
We are looking forward to dinner with an old friend tonight and are heading into Covent Garden to eat at Sagar, one of our favourite places. If you're a fan of dosas and true Indian cuisine then I really recommend this chain of small restaurants. You can find them here.
 
We are hoping for a dry weekend as we want to get into the garden. Andy has already started a new building project in the shape of an extension to the patio by the summer house. The spot that gets the most sun in the summer time has been a large plant bed up until now, but we decided it would be a great place to sit in the evenings to catch the last rays, so it is getting a revamp this year. It has been incredibly muddy, but the uprights for the gazebo that will sit over the patio are in place, so there is now more digging to do to get the footings of the walls in. If I think of it I will post some images on the Janie Crow Lifestyle Instagram page.
 
I recently had a bit of a clear up on Instagram in the hope of seeing accounts that I really like rather than having endless rubbish coming up on my feed. Going through the accounts I follow and giving them a few new likes has already made it a nicer platform to look at and I have been less prone to doom scrolling - which has to be a good thing. 
 
I have resisted clicking through to adverts and sponsored posts, but I did see one that took me to a really cool designer who makes items out of old knitting needles. I particularly like the customisable cuffs and thought you might like this store too - so take a look here if you fancy the sound of it! 
 
I think that is it from us for now - we will be back with more news in a fortnight's time with the March Newsletter. As usual, big thanks to Gemma for compiling many of the features in the week's Quick Catch Up and to you for reading it to the end and signing up in the first place! I hope that wherever you are and whatever you have planned for the next few days, that you are doing ok! 

​I know that I often start my newsletters by talking about the weather, and that it is a true British trait to mention the forecast at every opportunity. This time is no exception as it has been so incredibly wet here that half our garden is underwater and the local birds think we are creating a new pond for their pleasure! Squelching up and down the garden on my frequent to and fros from the house to the my studio I am hopeful that some drier weather is not far away and that the optimistic crocuses, daffodils and tulips will not drown before they get a chance to show off their lovely flowers.
 
On the crochet front I have been busy woking on a new CAL design and am really enjoying playing about with shapes and patterns - I am trying to keep things relatively easy so that it will be a good project for beginners, but still rewarding for those of you who are crochet experts! It is nice to be back designing a large project and I am already excited about revealing it to you in the autumn - so long as all goes to plan!
 
So far February has been slow and steady, with no stand out moments really other than that Knit For Peace are now inviting enquiries about our planned workshop trip to India in 2027. You can find more information about this and all our other news in the email below. 

I find playing around with crochet motifs incredibly rewarding and it is just lovely when things work out pretty quickly, however it can be really frustrating when things don't come up quite how I had imagined they would. Sometimes it is the simplest of pieces that become the most challenging to design, but as I said already, I have been enjoying playing about with new block designs for my next CAL this week.
 
I am still putting the edging onto my blanket version of the Majorelle cushion cover design. I have to admit that I am struggling with the repetitive nature of the border and the constant stitch counting for the pattern writing, so it is a job I keep putting off! I am so close to finishing that I really must get on with it this weekend. 

With all this seemingly never ending dull and wet weather I have been dreaming of warmer days and brighter light, leading me to go back through images taken on trips to India in particular. I last went there in 2023 and the pull to go back is now getting quite strong, so I was really excited to be invited by Knit For Peace to tutor my fifth residential workshop at the Green Hotel in Mysore next year. 
 
More information about the trip will be available soon, but if you want to be among the first to register your interest in joining me, you can do so by contacting the charity via this link. The holiday will run from 22nd January through to February 4th/5th 2027. You can find more images taken on previous trips to Mysore with Knit For Peace on the Janie Crow Lifestyle instagram feed. 

Last weekend I spent a fabulous couple of days with a group of amazing women, surrounded by good food, wine and lots of yarn! We had the best time and it was such a pleasure to be part of this fabulous group of inspirational women. Whilst away it was particularly exciting to be gifted a copy of Jeanette Sloan's amazing new book Beaded Colourwork. It truly is the most beautiful book featuring lots of amazing projects that showcase just how fantastic and effective beads can be when added to knitting.
 
You can find the book, published by Laine and featuring the most beautiful model and glorious photography, available on a back order basis on Jeanette's website here. Don't be put off that the webpage says the book is out of stock, you can still order it and Jeanette will send it to you once she receives more stock soon.

I designed the Majorelle cushion and project pouch for last year's workshop trip to Morocco with Stitchtopia. The design was inspired by the giant cacti found in the exotic Jardins Majorelle, which once belonged to Yves Saint Laurent and are now an essential visit when in Marrakesh.
 
My project uses the fabulous little 25g balls of Rico Ricorumi 100% cotton yarn, which is just perfect for smaller projects. I have used ten shades of yarn and some fabulously colourful beads from the Debbie Abrahams range to add a decorative touch to the designs.
 
Unfortunately we have hit a series of delays with the delivery of yarn for the Majorelle kits that we have sold through on a pre order basis. Rico have promised us that it will arrive with us early next week, and we now have the beads in stock too, so we should be able to get pre-ordered kits out to you very soon. We are so sorry not to have got these posted sooner and not to have had more stock. Sadly it looks like it could be at least six weeks before we can put our next batch of kits up for sale. 
 
I have already seen quite a few versions of the project made by people using yarns from their stash and you can source the yarn and beads individually from other retailers, so if you fancy having a go at making Majorelle you can find the patterns in UK and US terms as paper copies via our shop and as downloads via Etsy and Ravelry. 

We currently only have a couple of kits that are out of stock and Andy tells me that most other kits have good stock levels. The Marrakesh version of Persian Tiles (shown above) is back in stock and we also have a good stock level of the original and light blue versions.
 
The ever popular Eastern Jewels colourway of Persian Tiles, created by Lucia Dunn, is currently out of stock, but if you like Lucia's eye for colour then you might want to consider the Fiori version of my Fields of Gold blanket, which is shown below. This is one of my favourites and I am really excited to be working with Lucia on a couple of new recolouring projects over the next few months.

My Frida's Flowers crochet along design is a decade old this spring. It is amazing how fast that time has gone, especially as I still think of it as a relatively new design! Working with Stylecraft means I can release free to download crochet along projects every few years and it is fabulous that they keep these patterns in place for the benefit of future crochet enthusiasts. You can find the free patterns for Frida's Flowers by following this link to the Stylecraft website and clicking on your chosen language. 
 
I remember quite vividly that we first showcased the CAL at the Unravel Festival in Farnham in 2016. We have loved exhibiting at the show in the past, and it is always fabulous to interact with lots of yarn lovers! Unravel is on this weekend if you fancy a visit. Tickets are sold out for today, but you can still get them for Saturday and Sunday - you can find more information by following this link.

The Stitch Festival will take place at London's Business Design Centre in March. We have secured a discount code that will enable you to get £2 off the price of standard admission tickets on each day of the show except Saturday. The offer code is JANIECROW26 and it is valid until 8th March. We won't be exhibiting at the show this year, but Sarah and I are going to visit on Saturday 21st. If you want to find more information about the show click here. 
 
We will be exhibiting at Wonderwool Wales at the end of April. We have been doing this show for many years now and love it! We are really looking forward to the event this year as the show is celebrating its twentieth birthday so it should be extra special.
 
Helen Ingram of Woolly Chic will be hosting her Summer Craft Party evening event at Hitchin Lavender in June. I have wanted to go to this for the last couple of years as it looks like such a fun event, so I am really excited that my lovely friend Juliet has secured a couple of tickets. If you want to go too, you can find more information here or on Helen's Instagram account here.

We are aware that today is Friday the 13th, but we don't believe in unlucky dates here at Janie Crow, and actually it is clearly very lucky for some as I have been told it is the cheapest and quietest day of the year to fly! We are also not big fans of the saints day that begins with the letter V that happens tomorrow and so, instead of celebrating that, Emma has decided that we should all embrace the concept of Galentines instead. If you haven't heard of this concept before, let Emma enlighten you: 
 
‘Glalentines was the construct of the brilliant Leslie Knope from the sitcom Parks and Recreation in 2010. Leslie (played by Amy Poehler) was a glorious character and her enthusiasm and tenacity was inspiring. She had great affection, and admiration, for the women in her life and so she celebrated them on the 13th of February with ’Galentines'….'
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To celebrate our female friends and family, Emma is inviting you to tag them over on our Instagram feed and tell us why you love them! We will pick some winners at random and you and your named ‘Galentine’ will receive a PDF copy of both of the projects featured in the post – Sunshine & Showers and Indigo Dreams.
 
Emma has also started to write more posts on the Janie Crow blog. In the newest one she reflects on the month of January and all the positive things it brought to her. Yes, I know that the word January doesn't often go with the word positivity, but she has managed to find quite a few good things to mention, so do take a look! 

Over the last few months, especially over Christmas, Andy and I have both put on a few kilos, and so, as my jeans are feeling more than a little snug around the waistline and Andy says he is feeling a little wider around the middle too, we have embarked on a four week shred in an effort to shift those pounds before the spring. It is so easy to start eating a little more and moving less at this time of year when the lure of the settee with a glass of wine and a bowl of peanuts is hard to resist, so it is not surprising that many of us get a little heavier. 
 
Over the last couple of weeks we have been having lots of meals with extra vegetables and have been trying to find seasonal recipes that use native British grown veg rather than things that have been flown half way across the world. I am a big fan of green and leafy things like spinach and kale and there are so many recipes that feature cauliflower these days, that adding more of these vegetables to our meals hasn't felt like a hardship. We have a book by Riverford, that has some great winter vegetable recipes, so we have been using it a lot. You can find the book by following this link or by clicking on the image above.
 
Leeks are also really good at the moment. They go fabulously well with white beans, so you can make really yummy soup and casserole type meals with them. I recently made this creamy sausage, leek and bean stew by Sophie Ward and it was delicious.

After a really busy week, the prospect of a duvet day feels incredibly inviting. Instagram must have read my mind yesterday evening as this cute little video by India Rose Crawford popped into my feed. It is just so lovely and definitely made me hanker after a lazy day in bed!
 
It's set to get quite a bit colder here over the next few days with a snow and ice warning in the forecast, so it looks like it will be a weekend of hunkering down with my crochet and a few movies. I hope that whatever you get up to that you stay safe, well and warm….

Hands up who was happy to see the back of January? It was a long one, wasn’t it?  It always is – we are all so ready to move on!
 
In December, the lights and sparkle and excitement manage to put aside the gloominess of the weather for a little while but moving into January, with that long month stretching away far, FAR beyond the end of the pay packet, we are brought back to reality with a soggy plop.  Squelching through the dankness of the days it’s no surprise we start looking way ahead and yearning for Spring.
 
Looking back seems like the right thing to do when we’re at the end of the year but at the beginning?  Surely not.  However, that’s exactly what I’m going to do here – I want to look back at the vast swathes of January to see what it has given to us collectively, and to me personally.
 
On a global level, January gave us lightbulbs and Mr Darcy.  Yes, I know, I wasn’t expecting that curve ball either and I’m writing this. Allow me to explain:  I have been very much enjoying this book…

​Every night, the last thing I do, rather than read my phone (although, full disclosure, I’m probably doing that right up to the point where I pick this book up) I read the fact for the day – aloud actually, to my partner.  It is lovely!  Do we get read to very much as adults?  I love being read to and mostly I indulge this with audio books.  Anyway, I digress: I learnt from this lovely book that in January 1880 Thomas Edison patented the lightbulb and we’ve never looked back have we really?  Whilst that is impressive, imagine if you will, a world without Colin Firth, dripping and furious (or brooding I suppose) after emerging from that lake.  Thankfully, this is not our reality because in January 1813 Pride and Prejudice was published and Jane Austen set in motion the wheels that would ultimately bear Colin Firth to us in his blouson shirts.   
 
January – thank you VERY much for that.

​On a personal note, I was not so rigid as to impose dry January on myself – goodness knows it’s a dreary enough month as it is – but I have tried to start gently introducing healthier habits for my body and mind.  Drinking less – a lot less really, how easy it was to fall into a glass of wine (or two) almost daily, walking more.  I also have now started to “go to work” with my friend. Working one day a week from her home while she too works from home.  I work from home and I do love it but working alongside someone has, bizarrely, made me more productive. I am also enjoying a lunch time walk and talk and sneaky coffee.  I think that’s so good for my mental health, it can be a little insular and easy to hibernate a little too much without the discipline of having to get up and OUT for work so this is a good compromise for me.

I, like many, had to adopt a strict “no unnecessary expdenditure” regime in January but, like many, wanted to start a new project.  In an attempt to scratch that itch, I rummaged through the many (so very many) places I have squished and squashed works in progress, and pulled out some of the very oldest ones I have!  There has been sufficient distance time-wise now for them to feel new and with absolutely zero outlay.
 
I’m working again on the lovely Primavera project which was a recolouring of Jane’s Frida’s Flowers by the brilliant Lucia Dunn of Lucia’s fig tree.  Sadly, this one isn’t around anymore due to lots of the yarn being discontinued BUT the patterns are still free to download, and I know so many of you are so brilliant at colour palettes that it might be something you could colour yourself. 

I have looked back through my social media and the last time I posted about this one was in June 2022.  I had, quite by accident, got matching nails!  What I’ve noticed this time is the distinct change in my tension.  I wonder why?  Could it be that I’m more relaxed these days?  I remember some pretty tricky times around the time I first started this project so it’s nice to be able to reclaim it during calmer, happier days.  I also wonder whether it has anything to do with the fact that I’ve now been working for Janie for a long time and have moved closer to her tension – this comes from checking patterns and what not.  I don’t know.  I’ve yet to decide whether to rework any of the blocks or just be, uhm, ‘rigorous’ with their blocking.  I’ll report back.

I think it’s fair to say that I’ve neglected my personal crochet (and knitting) for a while and it’s definitely a comfort to go back to.  January gave me that.  The need for something solid, dependable, soothing and FREE!  As I’ve been working the, I have planned what to do with it. I am going to gift it to my lovely neighbour.  I moved into my little home 2 years ago, by myself, after the end of a long marriage and it was scary.  I was -and am - incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by the best of people.  Neighbours who recognised hurt and, yes, a bit of loneliness, and who helped to gently move me on to a place where I feel welcome, happy and safe.   I think this is the right place for my blanket to go.

Most recently with Janie Crow we’ve seen the release of the glorious Majorelle which has also begun its long long journey to completion among the many works in progress here.  I have loved this project for a long time, having been fortunate to have seen it come to life – I do love working for Janie as I get to see what’s coming many months in advance, sometimes I get to make it in advance, sometimes not.   This one I am making 100% for me because I love it with all my heart!

​So, January you were endless, but you gifted some lovely things, and you played your part in reminding us to pause, breathe, think about things in a different way, maybe with more patience than some of us (ie. Me) generally employ and appreciate that the seasons will change, at the right pace, regardless of how much we wish the time away.

You can download the Frida's Flowers patterns HERE
You can find lots more free patterns HERE
You can find an excellent blog post ranking the various Mr Darcys HERE