I am a bit late in the day with this email, so apologies for not landing here in your in-box earlier on! I have just popped in to say that the first set of patterns for the Fruit Garden CAL are now ready and waiting for you to download via the Stylecraft web site here. The patterns for the Forget-Me-Not motif are free and you can choose from UK & US terminology and the Dutch Language.
 

 
I have posted a new video on my Youtube channel to accompany the first set of patterns and you can find it by following this link. It is quite a long video - subsequent videos will be shorter - but I hope I cover quite a few things that you will find useful going forwards.

Don't forget that we have now decided to run the The Fruit Garden CAL twice, so if you cannot join in this time, you might want to do so in the Autumn when we start all over again. You can follow the progress of the project within the dedicated Facebook group and I would look forward to seeing images of your work popping up on my social media. 

Things continue to be incredibly busy here at Just Knots and Janie Crow, but we are beginning to feel things are a little calmer and we have received a big yarn order from Stylecraft today, so all being well, we should find time to pack the Naturals Bamboo + Cotton kits over the next few days. As soon as we have kits we will put them into stock and I will be back with my newsletter on Friday with an update on what we have. 

Sending virtual yarny hugs...

​

At Janie Crow and Just Knots Yarns we use Royal Mail as our postal service provider. Royal Mail continues to operate most worldwide postal services and we have not yet been hugely affected by issues with the post. Things can change quickly, so if you are wondering about the mail service to your country, you can check up via the Royal Mail ‘Personal Help’ page here.
​

​
Another week into lockdown and I am back to say hello and check up on you!

When we were young -like in our late teens and early 20s we used to adore Friday nights as it meant party night! Living in London, we would head out to the pub for a few drinks then make the tube journey into town to dance the night away at the Astoria club, heading home at stupid o’clock the next morning on the night bus. Friday night was the highlight of the week and every Saturday we would start planning the logistics for the following week. When I think of it now I am amazed that we had the energy, especially as we used to go to a club in town on Sunday nights too and occaisionally on a week night! Friday nights were always the best though - some of the nights that we will remember for the rest of our lives. 
 
Andy has always been a party animal and he still loves going to clubs and to see bands, so lockdown has been pretty tough on him as he has missed his friends and his live music. These days I am a bit of a hermit anyway - the idea of heaven for me is time spent in my PJs on the settee with a crochet hook, but at the moment it seems that Andy and I are on the exact same page as we are both finding that we are noticing that Friday Feeling creeping in more than ever! Perhaps it is because the Monday to Friday bit (in our own Jane & Andy bubble) is beyond hectic and because I am not sure we have ever had to work so hard and attempt to keep jolly in each others company for so long! Whatever the reason, when it gets to 5pm on a Friday (around about now) we are definitely up for a party….
 
Except we have nowhere to go!!!
 
So here I am with a slightly late email to welcome you to this Friday evening. I hope that you are all keeping safe and well and that you have 5 minutes to spare so that I can bring you up to date with all things Janie Crow!
​

​Did you see my Special Statement about the new Fruit Garden CAL on Tuesday? In case you missed it you can find it by following this link to the Janie Crow blog. The response to the statement has been so incredibly positive and I am really glad that the majority of you saw the CAL repeat as a positive thing. Out of all the emails received this week, we only had one negative response, so I think that definitely counts as a win!
​

We had hoped to have a good stock level of the Life DK & Batik (Recipe 1) kits by now, however there has been a bit of a hiccup at Stylecraft HQ, so we have ended up with only about a 3rd of the stockholding we should have had. If you are quick you can grab one of the last remaining Recipe 1 kits as we have about 5 left in stock on the Janie Crow site. The good news is that we are expecting to receive the yarn to make up the Naturals Bamboo + Cotton kits next week. These will go into stock as fast as we can pack them.
 
Don’t forget that the first patterns for the Fruit Garden CAL will be ready to download from the Stylecraft web site on Tuesday! I have filmed an accompanying video to help guide you through this first motif and will be posting that on my YouTube channel on the same day.
​

​We had lots of emails in response to last week’s newsletter. Thank you for taking the time to get in touch. ‘Wendy from Oz’ sent the following recipe – it sounds really yummy:
 
Good morning, have just loved your newsy email with all you have been up to. I have a nice quick and easy recipe for you this week and it is good hot or cold on sandwiches or with a salad.
 
Aberdeen Sausage Loaf.
 
Ingredients:
 
1 kg thick sausages skinned
2 Carrots  (from your garden! )grated
2 Granny Smith apples peeled cored and grated
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 eggs beaten
 
Method:
 
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
 
Shape into a couple of loaf shapes and coat in flour. Place on lined baking tray into a 180 degree oven for about 1 hour.  Drain on paper towel. Serve with lovely creamy mash and some greens.
 
Have cold the next day on Sandwiches or with a salad. Yum!
I find this makes 3-4 loaves and you can freeze any spares for a later date.
 
Thank you for sending this recipe Wendy!
​

​I did manage to make the roasted carrot burgers I told you about last week. They were good (image above), but I am not sure they were worth all the work. I am a ‘quick results’ cook, so the multiple stages of this recipe possibly made my expectations a little high. I think the Pret Sweet Potato Falafel that Charlie made the previous week were tastier and easier to make.
​

​If you like quick results like me then you might be interested in my (cheat’s) lime pickle houmous recipe. I know it sounds a little odd – but we love it and it takes less than 5 minutes to make.
 
You will need:
 
1 slightly heaped desert spoon of Indian Lime Pickle – I use Pataks.
A jar or tin of chick peas
1 tbsp Tahini
Salt & Pepper
Juice of 1 or 2 limes depending on how sharp you like it (lemon will do if you don’t have it)
1 clove of garlic
Glug of olive oil
Water if needed.
 
Grate the garlic clove then add all ingredients except the water to a basin and blend with a hand blender. If it looks a bit thick add some water. Add salt and pepper to taste and add more lime juice or lemon juice if you think it needs it. Transfer to an airtight jar and leave in the fridge for a day before you eat it – it is much nicer if you let all the flavours combine over night, although we often can't wait that long!
 
If you are not a fan of lime pickle you could try adding other things to your houmous – roasted red peppers are great (we use a couple from a jar) or a good spoonful of pesto. If you want a chunkier houmous you could always add a few mashed chickpeas at the end. Don’t worry if you do not have tahini – you could add some sesame oil or even a good dollop of peanut butter!
 
I hope that once you have a go at making houmous you will not want to buy it in plastic pots from the supermarket. It is super easy, super tasty and super good for you!!!
​

​
​Summer and Chris sat down during the week and made theirs and I have had quite a few of my friends make one too. I love the image of the one made by my friend Gwyn (what a lovely front door you have Gwyn) and the one made by Janet Collins from the UK Hand Knitting and Crochet Guild.
​

​If you want to make a donation to the NHS Charities together appeal you can do so by following this link.
​

Today sees the publication of the Introduction to the Fruit Garden CAL, as well as this special announcement:
​

I love the fact that crochet along (CAL) style projects give home crafters the opportunity to collectively join in with a project. I adore the fact that crocheters can contribute to on-line chat forums, seek out videos and groups to help them and create strong friendships with others regardless of background, circumstances or location in the world whilst working through the project. CALs give distance learners the chance to create wonderful pieces of crochet that they can present to their friends and families as a testament to their own talents and crochet skills and who can look back on the process of making as a rewarding and positive experience.
​

​I am hugely excited about the launch of my new CAL project The Fruit Garden, but, at a time of worldwide uncertainty, I also recognise that many of you may be in a position where you cannot join in with the timeline of the project as it stands at the moment. So, after discussion with the wonderful team at Stylecraft, we have decided that my new CAL will now have 2 official launch dates, so that all those who want to can reap the full benefits of working through a project in an organised and supported timescale.
 
The first set of patterns for the CAL will go live as planned on Tuesday 28th April. This release will be followed by 7 more fortnightly pattern downloads, which means that the final set of patterns will be published on the 4th August.

On 8th September we will start the CAL pattern release process all over again so that anyone who missed taking part, or lost track along the way first time round can join in.
 
Rather than being the ‘poor cousin’ to the first publication, I see the second release as the fabulous ‘after party’ to the main event; If you choose to join in with the CAL the second time around you can make the most of tips and hints from those who have already completed the project. You can also get ideas for alternative colour ways or layouts and you will have a wonderful project completed in time for Christmas. I also feel that a second release will help support those who may have fallen by the wayside first time round - sometimes leaving a project and returning to it at another time can be a really good learning process and having more support going forwards is bound to lead to less disappointment and more completed projects.
 
Over the forthcoming weeks I am going to work on a new version of the CAL so that a third choice of project (to accompany the 2 existing colourways) can be added to the pattern options for the second release in September. The colour palette and format for this additional project is top secret for now, but as soon as I have anything solid to show you I will do so. Having another project option in the mix means that you will have even more free designs to choose from and could even mean that some of you decide to create even more Fruit Garden projects than you had originally planned.
 
I hope that you will all understand why these decisions have been made and will see them as a positive addition to the CAL process.
 
Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, stay safe and I will see you back here again on Friday.

With less than 2 weeks to go before the first set of patterns for the new Fruit Garden CAL are published Stylecraft have uploaded my ‘Getting Ready’ document to their web site. The document includes information about the yarn and equipment required for the project and other crochet related advice like how to achieve the correct tension and how to work neatly.
 
Over the Easter weekend I managed to film a short video to accompany the document. In the film I have covered the basic crochet stitches you will need to produce the project and I have also included a few little tips – like working your turning chain before you turn your work and changing your hook size on stitches with longer posts. You can find the video on my YouTube channel here. Take a look and let me know if you can hear the thunder storm that happened half way through!!!
 ​

It has been pretty lonely for us all over the last few weeks and I have been thinking especially about those of you who are on your own. I am so grateful to have Charlie still at home with Andy and I, but have been missing Summer dreadfully. Like so many others we have been trying to schedule in weekly catch ups with the family via Zoom and Facetime and it has been so good to see everyone even if it is in a virtual way.

Lots of people are joining in on-line tests and having family group quizzes. I am looking forward to a group catch up this evening where each household has set 10 questions and have a few other Zoom based chats lined up over the weekend.
 
The UKHK (UK Handknitting) have been holding virtual knit (crochet) and natter groups over the last few weeks and you can find more information on their Instagram feed here. I think they meet every Thursday evening at 7pm.

Yesterday evening I was part of a Zoom group chat with my girlfriends and we were talking about what special thing we can do to celebrate birthdays during lock down. We are all so used to going out to celebrate or having a party at home, so the prospect of a lockdown Birthday or Anniversary is disappointing to say the least! It was Charlie’s Birthday just as we headed into isolation at the end of March, so being at home was a bit of a novelty then, but as the weeks pass by it is harder and harder to think of ways to mark an occasion. My friends were talking about having on line ‘dance offs’ or dressing up, but if you have any great ideas you would like to share I would love to include them in a newsletter!
 ​

 
Rhonda says the process of crocheting has helped her to relieve stress, feel calmer and keep her mind active and I am so proud of her and the lovely blanket she has created.

It has been so busy with the web site orders over the last few weeks that I have been unable to get going on a new crochet project. I completed a new version of Persian Tiles about 4 weeks ago (which I hope I will be able to show you soon) and have been itching to pick up my hook and start a new design, but packing so many orders has been making my arthritic fingers hurt a little (especially as I am avoiding Ibuprofen), so making the pom-poms was a great way to play with some yarn!

I have rooted through my WIP bag at home and pulled out the cardigan I started knitting in the Autumn, so I am also hoping to make some progress on that now that things are calmer. Heading into next week I have my fingers crossed that I can start to think about some new design work and have a few ideas for inspiration – as usual I would love to know what you are all working on.
​

​We managed to get 2 days at home over the Easter break – we spent our time walking in the countryside around our home, tidying up the garden, cooking and eating! We are hoping to spend this weekend doing similar (after all there is not a lot more that we can do), but I am also hoping to add in some crochet time and have a bit of a clear up in our summer house at the bottom of the garden as it has become a little bit of a dumping ground for things we cannot find a place for in our little house. In this brighter weather I am also very aware that the house is badly in need of a spring clean, so it may well be that some dusting and cobweb hunting is on the cards!
 
With the focus on daily life being so much more food and cooking orientated than ever we have already planned our meals for the next few days and I am looking forward to making a veggie burger recipe I found on-line. We have an abundance of left over carrots, so I have found a recipe that should use these up. Life is just so full of excitement these days!!!
 
I would love to know what you guys are up to and don’t forget that if you have any ideas for ways to mark a special occasion I would love to know them – we are in the lead up to Andy’s birthday and he has been working so hard that it would be lovely to come up with a way to give him a special day - although Summer has already set the bar pretty high by sending him a tin of her handmade rum and raisin fudge!

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, stay safe and I will see you back here again next Friday.
​

​I hope this email finds you all safe and well...
 
I am just popping in quickly to wish you all a very happy and healthy Easter weekend. I think it is set to be an Easter celebration that none of us are likely to forget! 

We continue to live and work in our own little 'Jane & Andy' bubble. The Janie Crow and Just Knots web sites are still open for business and we have pretty much caught up with all the orders, so are really looking forward to a couple of days off over the weekend. We are hoping to find the time to make a little film to accompany the release of the 'Getting Ready' download for the Fruit Garden CAL, which goes live via the Stylecraft web site on Tuesday and have our fingers crossed that we will get some time in the sunshine in the garden too.
 

 
If you are thinking of getting involved with the new Fruit Garden CAL it's still not too late to order a kit in time for the start of the crochet along on the 28th April. The kits have now sold out 3 times over on both web sites, but we are confident that by the end of next week we should be up to speed with getting the kits into the post. 

As it stands at the moment we have the Parchment and Caramel Life DK and Batik kits on sale on a back order basis and we are hoping to be able to have the Naturals - Cotton + Bamboo kits back in stock within the next couple of weeks.
 ​

 
I know many of you are really looking forward to having a crochet along project to get stuck into come the end of April, but I also know that many of you are worried about getting yarn packs in time. We have been inundated with requests to release the patterns and the yarn packs early, especially from those of you outside of the UK, but for now the scheduled dates all remain in place. A huge amount of work has gone into the design stage, the pattern writing, the promotion and of course the preparation of the yarn packs, so making changes now is not an option. I still have the final read through of the patterns to do and all the video tutorials to film. Add to that the fact that many people are still waiting for their yarn packs to arrive and you can immediately see that there is definitely no chance of having the CAL sooner than originally planned, so please be patient!

I think there may well be a lot of small scale Easter barbecues going on over the next couple of days here in North London as the weather is set to be good. It is especially tempting to make plans outside of the house when the sun is shining, but I urge you to stay home despite how lovely you think the local park, beach or countryside might be.

Over the last few days I have seen lots of social media posts by people busy volunteering to make sew scrubs for doctors and medical staff. My friend Teresa has been especially busy this week making fresh new scrubs that really help the NHS keep on top of things at this time of need. This is the piece on the BBC web site that inspired Teresa to get involved, so I hope you will take a look, especially if you are a keen dress maker! There are loads of other initiatives that will really help too. This week I have seen patterns for masks and laundry bags and have been told that it is a good idea to look on line to find out what your local area is in need of. 

If you want to let me know about any of your home based plans or things that you are doing to help fight the challenges that the world is currently facing please hit reply.

I want to leave you with a positive story though, so take a look at this fabulous article about how sea turtles are thriving now that people are not encroaching on their beaches!

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, stay safe and I will see you back here again next Friday.

PS: The nomination stage of the Let’s Knit Awards for 2020 is now open and of course I would really love it if you could take a few minutes to take a look at the web page. By submitting your nominations you can be entered into the prize draw and win some fabulous yarny goodies, so do take a look!

​

I have been thinking about you all so much this week and hope that this email finds you all safe and well...
 
It has (of course) been another strange week here at Janie Crow. As I told you last week, we are still able to work from the studio as internet business is allowed to continue for now anyway. With more and more people at home we have seen the traffic to the Janie Crow and Just Knots web sites soar, which has presented a bit of a challenge in these unusual circumstances as it is just the 2 of us here now.

We continue to live and work in our own little 'Jane & Andy' bubble and I am amazed that we have not yet had a major fall out! I was reading an article about how people who are self isolating together can avoid confrontational situations by giving each other plenty of physical and emotional space and that they should try to spend time away from each other to make being together more special – not sure how those of us who live and work in very close proximity can make this work, but it made me very glad that the two us can at least escape the house and continue to enjoy keeping our business afloat, especially as so many others are not as fortunate. I have been thinking a lot about those of you who are on your own or working in key worker professions. As I said already, we have been working in our own little weird bubble and this is scary enough, so I cannot imagine what it must be like for all the NHS staff, the council employees, teachers and shop workers (etc) who are busy helping us all on the 'front line'.
 

 
On Monday we added the yarn kits for the new Fruit Garden CAL to our web sites. The kits sold out in a stupidly bonkers short amount of time so we immediately got on the phone and asked Stylecraft to send us more stock. As it stands at the moment we have the Parchment and Caramel Life DK and Batik kits on sale on a back order basis, but we were unable to order more of the cotton + bamboo version as the shades for this are now out of stock at Stylecraft too. With all that is going on the supply chain for all our stock is far slower than usual, so we are hoping to be able to receive, pack and dispatch the next batch of kits early next week, then another batch the week beginning 13th April. As soon as we get word from Stylecraft that the cotton + bamboo kits are back in stock we will add these to the web site.
 ​

 
I know many of you are really looking forward to having a crochet along project to get stuck into come the end of April, but I also know that many of you are worried about getting yarn packs in time. We have been inundated with requests to release the patterns and the yarn packs early, especially from those of you outside of the UK, but for now the scheduled dates all remain in place. A huge amount of work has gone into the design stage, the pattern writing, the promotion and of course the preparation of the yarn packs, so making changes now is not an option. I still have the final read through of the patterns to do and all the video tutorials to film. Add to that the fact that many people are still waiting for their yarn packs to arrive and you can immediately see that there is definitely no chance of having the CAL sooner than originally planned, so please be patient!

The 'Getting Ready' document will be released in just over a week on the 14th April and I hope to get a little video filmed to coincide with this. As soon as this is ready I will let you know.
 ​

 
To get our daily exercise we have been walking into work. The weather has been dry, so walking has been really nice, especially as being out and about early in the morning means we get to spot more wildlife than usual. Have you seen the videos of the Mountain Sheep heading into towns in Wales and the clear canals in Venice?  What a wonderful bonus at such a difficult time to think that the birds and animals are thriving!

Lots of people have been putting pictures and messages in their windows and it has been lovely to see all the rainbow paintings in particular on our walks. On Instagram I have been tagged quite a few times over the last week by people sharing images of crochet rainbows they have made to display. Many of those who have tagged me have used the half circle motifs that feature in my Magic Circles blanket or scarf pattern.
 ​

 
Looking at social media and stories popping up over the last week it has been amazing to see how many knitters and crocheters are rallying around and helping each other. There have been loads of people on Zoom and Skype based chats and lots of groups have been getting together in a virtual way to knit and crochet. It is at times like these that knit-along and crochet-along type projects can be a really good way to feel like you belong to a crafting community. Of course the Fruit Garden CAL doesn’t start for a few more weeks, but you will find an abundance of free projects you can get involved in before it begins. Scheepjes Blogger Esther from ‘It’s all in a Nutshell’ has launched her 'Grannies for Grannies' project, which you can find here and, if you are looking a little further forward in time and fancy the idea of getting involved in a lovely hand knit project for the autumn, then why not take a look at Debbie Abrahams ‘Mystery Cushion Club’.

Debbie’s next club starts in June and Debbie says of the club:
 
‘The Mystery Cushion Club is a unique one-off ‘knit-along’ project that is split across 5 months (15th June – 15th October 2020). Members receive monthly patterns and one parcel containing the necessary yarn and embellishments to knit and assemble a cushion-cover. The mystery is that you won’t be told the theme of the project, so part of the fun is to discover this while you are knitting it up!'

This year Debbie is using Rowan Baby Cashsoft Merino DK yarn for the project (although it is not a baby themed project), in a vibrant mix of colours including jade, fuchsia, tangerine and lime. The kit also includes Debbie Abrahams Beads and is enhanced with sparkling rhinestone studs.
 ​

I happened to catch a few minutes of Steve Wright in the afternoon on the BBC Radio 2 yesterday afternoon. He was asking people to text in if they have been using this time at home to learn a new skill. This is a feature he has been doing for the last couple of weeks and it is great to hear that lots of people are taking up some traditional crafts such as knitting, crochet and sewing. A lot of people have also been saying that they have been using the time to learn how to cook.

I have always loved cooking and have been making my own sourdough bread for a couple of years now (although getting scarily low on bread flour now) and love making cakes and savoury meals, so I wouldn’t say we have been using this time as an opportunity to learn to cook, but we have certainly been doing much more home cooking rather than eating out or grabbing something quick from the Supermarket on the way home from work.

We have also had a couple of vegetable boxes delivered from the companies who work out of Covent Garden Market as they have been struggling to make a living from their usual wholesale trade. Having a selection of vegetables delivered has forced us to look for new recipes and we have really enjoyed getting home to cook in the evening.
 ​

On our search for new recipes we have become avid followers of the Pret (a Manger) feed on Instagram. We have always loved a Pret sandwich and now that we eat very little meat we really like their new veggie products in particular, so it has been great to discover some tasty easy recipes on their feed. The chocolate chip cookie recipe that was posted yesterday looks really tasty and you can also find a lovely selection of recipes on the Pret web site here.

'College friends Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham were sick of processed food and impersonal service so they opened the very first Pret A Manger in 75B Victoria Street, London. It promised simple, delicious food served by friendly, motivated staff.'The founders set up the charity 'Pret Foundation' in 1995. The Foundation’s aim is the alleviation of poverty, hunger and homelessness and it is usually funded by donations made from the sale of some products, plus generous contributions to the collection boxes in shops. While the Pret stores are currently closed the foundation continues to operate their charity runs and have been incredibly busy dropping off food and drinks to those in need both on the streets and working within homeless charities. They have also been providing meals, snacks and drinks for front line workers including those in the NHS. If you want to make a donation to the Pret Foundation you can do so by following this link.

​

In case you have lost track of what day it is - yes it is Saturday and not Friday afternoon. I am not trying to mess with your head by dropping into your emails a day late, it is just that I ran out of time to get the newsletter out yesterday!

Despite the fact that it is Saturday we are here at the studio packing orders ready to leave here on Monday, but we are looking forward to getting home this evening to celebrate the fact that it is the weekend. Last Saturday we got dressed up for dinner and organised a Zoom catch up with the family beforehand so that we could enjoy virtual 'drinks on the terrace' together. It was good fun, but not like seeing everyone in the flesh. I am really beginning to miss my family and friends as I am sure we all are.

We haven't yet decided what we are going to do tonight, but thought we might have a theme just to make today a little different to all the others..... I would love to know what you guys might be doing to mix things up a little. Have you seen the trend in Australia where people are dressing up to take their bins out? Not sure we will go quite that far! 

I hope you all have a good weekend, or what is left of it anyway. I urge all of you to stay home if you can (that means no trips to the beach or national parks!!) even tough the weather is set to be good here in the UK and I hope that wherever you are you are safe, well and happy.

If you want to let me know about any of your home based plans you might have over the next week, please hit reply....

PS: The nomination stage of the Let’s Knit Awards for 2020 is now open and of course I would really love it if you could take a few minutes to take a look at the web page. By submitting your nominations you can be entered into the prize draw and win some fabulous yarny goodies, so do take a look!

​