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

Hello! Here I am at last with a Friday Feature newsletter. It is two weeks since I sent the last one, but it feels like an age! As usual we have been silly busy - this time mostly because of the Edinburgh Yarn Festival, which took place last weekend. We had an amazing time and it was so great to see so many of you on the stand.

It is so nice to be back to the calm surroundings of the studio after a week away. Sue has taken 4 days off to visit her Mum (and probably also to get over the fact that she was left all alone in the office last week while we went to Scotland) and so it has been pretty quiet round here - which definitely makes a change!

I love this time of year when the weather is starting to get brighter, the days are longer and there is a promise of Spring around the corner. The blossom is in full bloom in the garden and the surrounding streets and some lovely sweet smells are filling the air. I always feel really inspired to design at this time of year and have already started work on a CAL project that will be released in collaboration with a magazine later on in the summer - I will be able to talk more about that in June and can't wait to show you....
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I found the image above on Instagram this week. It was linked with the hashtag #janiecrow and shows a beautiful version of Persian Tiles in a colour way close to that chosen by Lucia Dunn for her Eastern Jewels version. The blanket and the image are from @nelebe54 who has some other really lovely images on her feed, so do take a look.

I am hoping to be able to dedicate the next month to getting the new web site up and running properly. It was never our intention to have it unfinished for so long, but circumstances have meant that many items still have not made it on to the site. Thank you so much for your patience with this! We know that the web site is seeing a lot of traffic, so we really will make this our mission over the next few weeks.

This week's newsletter has the usual features such as the Colour Palette of the week and my Instagram favourite. My main feature was not pre planned, but has come from an on going discussion on social media this week - the subject is linked to the recent diversity debate in relation to the yarn community, but is focused more on the reputation that crochet has within the fibre world. I am hoping to start a discussion thread on this subject on my social media platforms over the weekend and would love to hear what you have to say, but if you would rather respond directly to this email then please do so by clicking on reply. I hope you will enjoy the piece and I look forward to hearing from you...
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When we exhibit as Janie Crow at yarn shows we tend to get a mixed bag of reactions as people come onto the stand. There are those who come striding on to the stand, confident that their skills are up to scratch and keen to chat all things crochet. These are the die hard crocheters who have already discovered the joy of the craft and who have already made it one of their favourite pass times. We also meet the relatively new crocheters - those who want to move on to the next steps and learn new techniques to push themselves creatively. I love seeing these people on the stand - we share a common joy in our craft and it is easy to chat and share our passion.
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I also really enjoy meeting another group of crafters - the knitters who never imagined that 'crochet could look that good'. We get comments like '...at first I thought it was knitted, but then realised it was crochet....', comments like these are often followed by reminiscant stories of Grandmothers crocheting blankets by the fire, or dabbling with making Granny Squares as a 'phase' back in the 70s! I love the fact that seeing my crochet designs has sparked a reaction in these people and I am always extra happy when they say they have been inspired to go home and pick up a hook again.

And then, there is another group......

Those who walk past the stand and say, 'Ew! it's crochet!' or that say (after close inspection of one of my crochet designs)  'oh yes I can see how she's done that' and carry on walking, noses slightly turned into the air.

I used to get really offended and defensive of my craft and I have always disliked the fact that as a crocheter my skills appear to be considered inferior to those of a knitter, but more recently I think the reactions have actually made me a more resilient designer and more determined to show people what a creative and beautiful craft it could be. That aside, I cannot tell you how chuffed I was to see that someone finally voiced the apparent division between the kudos of being a knitter vs a crocheter - her name is Gaye Gillespie and she is my hero!
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Gaye (aka GGmadeit) has been at the very centre of the recent important discussions on the subject of diversity within the fibre community and if you haven't come across her before then I urge you to take a look at her podcasts on Youtube and follow her on Instagram.

Last weekend GG posted a piece on Instagram that has sparked the conversation of how crocheters feel within the yarn world. Many crocheters told her that they felt that yarn store owners and vendors at shows made assumptions about spending power, yarn choices ('they only use acrylic') and skill levels when faced with a crocheting potential customer. GG made a point about there rarely being crochet samples on display to show how yarn looks when worked in different stitches and talked about how yarn labels rarely indicate hook size or tension for crocheters.

Take a look at GG's video here to listen to Gaye's thoughts and make sure you also watch her other videos about diversity.

Here is Gaye's Instagram post from the weekend:

'...Can we talk? Something has been on my heart for a while. You guys know I'm bistitchual right? Knit AND crochet. I knit more but you get my point. As we chip away at this inclusion/diversity ice are we leaving out those that don't knit? I have a large group of friends that only crochet and I often hear how they feel left out or ignored. I have heard horror stories about yarn shop visits or experiences with other knitters. Please check my stories today and join the conversation. We are a powerful community and we are making change, let's not leave anyone out.'

Gaye's comments got me thinking about WHY crochet might be viewed in the way it seems to be. I wondered if it was because a lot (and I mean A LOT) of design harks back to traditional projects - the granny square being the obvious one, and lacy doily type work being another. And then I wondered whether it was to do with the relative speed of producing large projects and the fact that crochet is yarn hungry....

I don't have any answers, but what I do think is that we have to make a point of challenging the preconceived idea that crocheting is less skillful than knitting and that we need to be really proactive in challenging the negativity that surrounds our craft.

My recent inclusion on the Fruity Knitting podcast has been really interesting in terms of people's reaction to me. At Edinburgh Yarn show last weekend it was particularly clear that people had been surprised by the historical part crochet has played (within the UK anyway) and that by me also talking about the mathematical side of the craft many knitters had a new found admiration for crochet. Of course I am not saying that one appearance on a podcast can change the way crochet is viewed worldwide, but I am so pleased to have seen these comments aired in many open forums over the last week.

The issue of diversity in terms of race and colour within the fibre community is something that we all need to be up to speed on and it's importance should in no way be hijacked by a discussion about crochet, BUT if a second (but massively less important) sub discussion is that the importance of crochet within the fibre world is also recognised then how cool is that?
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​I am a really big fan of West Yorkshire Spinners - not only are they a lovely bunch of people, but they are also continuously busy creating products that I really love - one of which is the new Colour Lab DK yarn, a beautifully bouncy 100% British Wool made in Yorkshire. The yarn comes in a fabulous range of shades and as soon as I saw them I knew I wanted to make something using the range - how fortuitous then that they asked me to contribute some new crochet designs to their brand new range of patterns!
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I have wanted to design a 'proper' garment for a while and have carried the idea of a swing jacket around in my mind for ages. The design brief from WYS gave me the perfect opportunity to test my design and I am really really pleased with the way this project - Audrey - turned out. I think it would look really lovely worn over an evening gown or summer dress on a chilly evening - the yoke has a beaded detail to give an extra bit of sparkle.
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The Janis shawl, shown above, is an example of me once again playing with tessellating shapes and I love how the motifs combine to make different patterns when joined. The design uses 4 shades, but I think it would look amazing multicoloured too!

I know that Just Knots have stock of the yarn and the patterns, but I am sure many other stockists have them too!
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I have a few this week - all related to the discussions about the reputation of crochet within the fibre world....
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The second is the very talented crochet designer Linda Skuja @elevenhandmade, who not only designs the most beautiful and wearable crochet garments, but is also a great authority on yarns and techniques. Linda has been at the forefront of discussions about crochet this week, so I urge you to take a look at her lovely IG account.
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And finally, my third choice is Louisa Sheward of @thefibrelounge - make sure to look at her feed and her podcasts. She is little yarn shop owner with a BIG crochet passion - another strong voice in the discussions about crochet.
 

Fancy a bit of TLC and a cheeky little bit of me time in the company of crocheters and Alpacas? Sounds amazing doesn't it! Sarah Lally sent me the information on what sounds like a really lovely little break in rural France:
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Relax and crochet, enjoy the pool and Jacuzzi, drink wine (or tea) and enjoy the peace and quiet from June 3rd to 7th at the Alpaca bed and breakfast near Limoges, France.
 

I am so excited by the prospect of a weekend at home. I worked out that over the last 6 weeks I have only had 5 days off, so I am really feeling in need of a bit if me time! I also appear to be on the edge of the post Edinburgh Yarn Festival lurgy, so I think a couple of good lay ins will do me the world of good!!!

We will be doing all things mumsy on Sunday and will have my Mum, my Mother in Law and my Sister in law, plus significant others all coming over for lunch, so I have my fingers crossed for good weather - the sun is shining beautifully outside at the moment, so I am hoping it will stay that way! If you are sharing Sunday with your mum too, then I hope you have a lovely day. I know that Mother's day can be hard for lots of people too, so if you are one of them, please be sure to take care of yourself and maybe make your own special arrangements for the day....

I hope that wherever you are and whatever you are doing you stay happy, well and warm - if you want to let us know what you are up to then please hit reply and let us know - we do love hearing from you!

Sending crochet love and yarny kisses.

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As we will be away in Edinburgh next week, there will be no Friday Feature newsletter, but I hope to have one for you the following week, so do look out for it. If you are coming to EYF, please drop by the stand to say hello - our stand is next to the fabulous Eden Cottage Yarns, so hopefully you won't be able to miss us!
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The symbol for a slip-stitch (which is almost always worked after a series of chain at the beginning of a motif worked in the round) is a little filled in circle like a full stop (period).
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So, if we look at the Leilani Flower chart above, or visualise patterns worked in the round, we can see that at the centre of the circular motif there are symbols for chain stitches and one symbol for a slip stitch, so this tells us to work a series of chain stitches followed by a slip-stitch to join.
 
OK – hopefully you are with me so far.
 
I am going to deviate from the Leilani chart for a bit here and leave the explanation of the shorter stitches until a little later on in the piece, because I want to talk about treble (US double) crochet first, as it is the stitch which I think best illustrates how logical chart symbols are in relation to the physical make up of the stitch.
 
I am sure you realise that all stitches (apart from slip-stitch) create height to our crochet. If we look at our stitches we can see that all stitches are made up of a (vertical) post of the stitch, which creates this height, and a (horizontal) chain that runs along the top.
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The symbol for a treble (US double) crochet is a vertical line with a horizontal line across the top, like a T, but it also has a line part way down, which is sometimes shown straight and other times at a slight angle.
 
The vertical line represents the post of your stitch.
 
The horizontal line at the top of the vertical line represents the chain that runs along the top of your stitch
 
The slanted or straight line part way down represents the number of times the yarn is wrapped around the hook at the very beginning of the stitch – in this case once.
 
Now, if you also look at your physical treble (US double) crochet stitches in relation to this chart symbol you will see that a treble (US double) crochet stitch has a vertical post, a horizontal chain that run along the top AND a slightly angled yarn that has wrapped itself across the front of the vertical post.
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The physical crochet stitch has a post, which creates height – so the symbol has a vertical line.
 
The stitch has a horizontal chain at the top – so the symbol has a horizontal line at the top.
 
To make the stitch we wrap the yarn around the hook twice at the very beginning and the physical stitch has 2 slightly angled yarns that have wrapped themselves across the front of the vertical post – so the symbol has 2 angled strikes across the vertical line.
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Welcome to this week's Friday Feature Newsletter - the Janie Crow equivalent of a Sunday supplement magazine....

I hope this email finds you well. There has been a flurry of new sign ups to the mailing list this week, so I would like to extend a warm welcome to all those of you who have not been here before. I hope you will enjoy this week's newsletter and that you will join me here again over the forthcoming weeks and months.

It has, as always been another busy week here at Janie Crow. I am continuing to add new items to the web site in a rather slow and methodical way! This week sees the addition of the Sunshine and Showers PDF patterns, which I mention in more detail further down this email and I have also added a stockist list.

We have been having really slow internet connection here this week, so I have been crocheting alternative colour way motifs for the Delft competition while I patiently (!) wait for pages to load on the web site as I build them. There will be more news on the competition finalists soon and I will be sending out emails to inform the 5 finalists that they have been shortlisted early next week - so if you have sent in an entry, make sure you check your in box!

This week's newsletter focusses on the humble cushion! I love cushions, maybe not quite as much as I love blankets, but they are still one of my favourite things within the house. I love the decorative effect they have and of course the fact that they envoke comfort, but I also really like designing them as they are small and neat and can have lots of design elements squeezed into them. I have a new cushion design coming very soon, hopefully in time for the Edinburgh Yarn Festival. As soon as it is ready I will let you know.

It is a pretty dull and dismal afternoon here in North London, despite a promising bright start this morning. If it is similar weather where you are, then it might just be the perfect time to settle down with a cuppa and a cheeky biscuit, while you read this week's newsletter. Why not make yourself extra comfy and grab a cushion or two?

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These headrests were used to support the heads of the dead. The Egyptians considered the head of a human to be the essence of life and therefore sacred, so it was important to them that bodies, and especially heads, were well cared for within the process of burial. This may explain why the Latin word for pillow or cushion 'Pulvinis' shares its origin with the word pulpit, meaning a platform or raised structure.

In ancient Europe the Greek and Roman civilisations also used cushions and, once again, they were considered as works of art that reflected the taste and wealth of the owner. In China, however, the tradition of hard platform style 'pillows' continued. These possibly had some form of fabric cover and padding, but we cannot be sure this is the case.
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Floor cushions and mattresses as we know them today seem to have originated in Japan and by the mid 19th Century the Industrial Revolution meant that many things, previously unobtainable by the majority of people, became more affordable and thus more common place.
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Over the years I have designed lots of cushion covers and you will find both hand knitted and crocheted versions in my books Kaleidoscope and Homespun Vintage. I am hoping to get these onto the web site next week along with my brochure pattern for the Norwegian Wood cushion, which is a hand knit pattern, shown above. It is taking me longer than expected to get the new web site up to speed, but as I said in my introduction this week, I am getting there slowly. I also have a new cushion design on the cards, so do look out for more info soon.
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We were really lucky to have some 'homegrown' help on our stand at VKLive New York back in January in the shape of the lovely Robin Schogol. I first met Robin last summer when she popped into the studio while she was visiting the UK and it was a lovely surprise when she offered to come and help up on the stand.

Robin has been going through a really big house move (from the US to the UK) and so we have been talking via email about the stress of moving and I was really touched to hear about Robin's method of relaxing in relation to my Mystical Lanterns design and I thought it you might like to hear about it this week. Robin says:

'When I have trouble sleeping in the middle of the night, or if I feel stress during the day, I just imagine some of the lanterns from the pattern, and the shapes and colours soothe me and I calm down. If it's in the night, I can fall back asleep!'

I taught a Mystical Lanterns workshop at the Unravel show a fortnight ago and this week one of the participants, Sonia, sent me an image of her completed shawl (just 9 days later!). I know that Sonia is a light sleeper and often crochets during the night, so (with her permission) I have shared the image of her shawl as it ties in with Robin's meditation tip. Sonia's lovely shawl - shown above - was made using Jamieson's Spindrift, Noro and Kauni yarns.

Many Janie Crow stockists carry yarn packs for my original Mystical Lanterns designs, which includes a blanket, a shawl and a scarf. You can find the stockist list on the web site.
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​This week I have added the PDF patterns for the Sunshine and Showers Crochet Along project to the web site. Patterns for the project are available for free on my archived blog, which you can find by following this link, but the PDF patterns can be purchased for 95p each by following this link.
 

The Sunshine and Showers CAL was first published in Crochet Now magazine over the course of a year in 2016/17. The inspiration for the design was the great British weather (!) and each month saw a different theme, for example, in July and August the design was based on sunny skies and pretty flowers, whereas in January the focus was grey snowy weather, represented by a series of puff stitches. There are a total of 12 patterns.

Like all my crochet along projects I tried to design this one in a way that made it progressively harder so that crocheters could build up their skills. All patterns include step-by-step images and detailed written instructions throughout. The patterns are written in UK terminology.
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Someone shared this cute video by Pixar Sparkshorts on a Facebook group that I belong to this week. I thought you might like it too! The video is called Purl and there are some great yarny puns throughout the clip. My favourite:

Question: Why do Spider's weave webs?

Answer: Because they don't know how to crochet!'
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I think there is something really appealing about velvet cushions. I am not sure if my love for them is down to my 1970s childhood or whether it is to do with the luxurious nature of the cloth that just makes the colours seem so appealing. Either way I am smitten with this lovely palette.
 

You don't have to know me all that well to realise that I am a real sucker for puppies! Actually, not just puppies - I am a total canine freak! I follow lots of dog related feeds on Instagram and my daughter and I regularly exchange images and short videos of our four legged friends - I swear there isn't a day goes by when I don't receive or send a dog or puppy related alert. And so, can you imagine my sheer delight when Emma Boyles from The Little Grey Sheep shared the fact that her shepherdess Susie Parish has a pair of new sheep dog puppies....
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I have been smitten by these two all week! They are called Bruce and Wren and if you want to get to know them a little better, along with Susie's other dazzling dogs, then take a look at her Instagram feed by following this link.

If you're not a dog fan, don't be put off of following Susie - there are lots of other really interesting posts on her feed, most of which surround her love of the countryside, animals and (of course) wool!
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I will be teaching a crochet design workshop at Missenden School of Creative Arts this weekend. I am really looking forward to it as I love the excitement and creativity of design based classes. I will do my best to get some images onto social media so you can see what the group come up with.

It is continuing to scare me just how fast the weeks are going by and I never feel like I quite do the Friday Feature newsletter justice as it always seems like a bit of a rush to cram it into the schedule, so if you have anything you would like to contribute then please do get in touch. Whether you have a neat knitting or crochet tip, or even if you want to write something more in depth or show case your own work, then I would love to hear from you.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend whatever it is that you have planned and I look forward to welcoming you to another newsletter next Friday when I hope to include a piece about the legacy of the famous Ballet Russes. Until then I send crochet love and yarny kisses

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