 After a very busy few weeks with birthdays and family events I have finally managed to spend some time at my desk this week working on projects for my forthcoming workshop trips. I have selected my yarns for the trip to West Yorkshire in June and have pretty much decided on the design of the small project the participants will work on while we are away. For the Peru project I have selected my yarn palette and have decided on the design - just a little more sampling to go on both the projects before I can finalise them and get the patterns written. It has been really nice to spend some time knitting and crocheting this week.  The weather is still a bit unpredictable here in North London with some quite chilly days still on the cards. I am sat in a sweater and jeans whilst writing this, but had shorts and a T short on Wednesday! I got all my summer clothes out this week and washed them ready for sunshine, so I am really hoping it isn't far away, although the cooler weather does mean that my knitting and crochet projects are more likely to get done! I have a few things to tell you about this week and hope you have time to catch up with all things Janie Crow.   There's not long to wait now until the release of the second set of Spirit of Flora patterns on June 19th. With the final set of four to be released on the 21st August. The pricing per set will be in line with the first release - £10.95 for four patterns or £3.95 each.   You can find an introductory video on our YouTube Channel where I show the groups of motifs and explain which parts of the design can be found for free on the website. You can find more information by following this link. If you need a little guidance when working through the patterns, don't forget that there is a dedicated Facebook group, which you can find here and Emma has been incredibly busy making accompanying video support for YouTube, which you can find by following this link. Thank you for all your incredible feedback on this project - your support means so much to us here at Janie Crow!  Over on Instagram we celebrated some of the incredibly talented crafters who bring Janie Crow designs to life by making them and sharing their photos and videos. Just look at this beautiful Fields of Gold Blanket by Sarah (@crochet_in_the_glen), photographed in such a stunning setting.  Below is Maria (@hooked_by_maria), a self-confessed crochet addict, modelling her version of the Climbing Rose Wrap, made in a lovely palette of purples and pinks. You look fabulous Maria!  These are just a couple of the amazing projects we featured so if you'd like to see the complete reel of images Emma put together you can find it over on Instagram here.  Last month I set myself a very ambitious target of completing all four Gordon motifs and all four Harmony motifs, together with a second Bloomsbury strip and at least one Fitzroy motif. So, how do you think I did? I'm pleased to report that all of the above was achieved. We won't talk about how my poor hands are feeling after the marathon crochet sessions, together with some sample making for my teaching and some sweater knitting on the side too!  One of the features of Fitzroy that I like the most is the raised wavy line, created in a very simple way by working back post stitches around the previous row. It's such an effective way of adding texture without a complicated technique needed. Of course, there is another row of beaded crochet, this time beaded half-treble stitches (half double in US terms), which got me thoroughly confused to begin with because they are worked with right side facing unlike the beaded dc (sc US terms) which are worked with WS facing. Once I had read the instructions properly I got things back together and only had to undo two rows! Sometimes being an experienced crocheter works against you because you 'think' you know what you are doing, haha!  I've never been fond of sewing ends in but I've had a bit of an enlightenment this month in that I've realised it can actually provide some recovery time for when hands are feeling a bit overworked. On that basis I've approached ends with far less grumbling and more enthusiasm, seeing it as just another part of the pattern in a way.  So, I've set next month's targets: I have the rest of the Fitzroy motifs to finish and I'd like to make at least one of the next pattern, which is the very pretty Legacy. This motif begins in the same way as the Harmony motif with a central flower, but in this motif it is surrounded by buds and leaves with beaded stems, all set within a lacy framework. I'm looking forward to working in the round again.  For those of you working on this project too, I just want to remind you that there are some support videos over on the Janie Crow YouTube channel here. Click on Playlists and you'll find a set of videos for Bohemian Blooms. Have a lovely month and I'll see you in June's Quick Catch Up. Gemma x  Do you ever have one of those days when you open the fridge and can't for the life of you work out what you're going to cook for dinner? Gemma had one of those days recently and managed to find this Lentil Loaf recipe which was comprised of just a small handful of ingredients, all of which she happened to have in stock. Apparently it was well received!   We came across a very interesting source of information about fibres on the website of the University of the Arts London. Although other sections are not yet complete, the piece that focusses on natural fibres makes for an informative read. We'd recommend it for anyone who is interested in learning about what is involved in the production of fibres such as cotton, alpaca, silk or wool. You can find the page here or click on the image below:    It has been wonderful having the peonies suddenly burst into bloom over the last fortnight. Most of ours are planted in the front garden so we don't really see them from the house. I have been cutting them and arranging them in vases so we can have them inside - something I don't usually do, but with the threat of constant rain, cutting them means they don't get broken.    It was my birthday yesterday and I was lucky to receive some fabulous flowers including white peonies from the lovely Emma and coral from our gorgeous niece Abby and her partner Charlie - aren't they just the best!  We were really lucky with the weather a couple of weeks ago when we celebrated my Dad's 90th Birthday. We had a fabulous time, with a few surprises for Dad on the day and we all have some wonderful memories to cherish as a result. I love this pic of my Dad, Roy (right) and my fantastic father in law, Mick, warming themselves towards the end of the day with a glass of cognac under my blankets! It was my birthday yesterday so we are heading out to celebrate this evening with a meal in town. I have wanted to go to an Ottolenghi restaurant for a long time so, as a very special treat, we have booked a table at ROVI, which has loads of veggie options on the menu. We have a weekend at home ahead, with Andy heading off on a charity walk for our local hospice on Sunday so we have hoping it stays dry. I hope that whatever you have planned that you have a great couple of days.    It really has been a crazy busy couple of months and ever since we went to the H+H trade fair in Cologne at the end of March I feel like it has been weeks since I was properly able to focus on my workload. With yarn shows, the new print run of my new book, Easter, bank holidays and family events in the mix it is not surprising that I feel a bit out of control work wise. It has been amazing seeing you all up and running with the rerelease of the Spirit of Flora patterns. There are so many fabulous versions of the design cropping up on our social media platforms and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those of you who have been in touch to say how much you are enjoying the project. One of the reasons I chose to split the design up into bite size pieces so that each pattern will be available separately is so that crocheters can cherry pick the parts they like. This week I have seen a blanket made using the Tudor Rose motif with Gillow and it is incredibly effective. Seeing crocheters create alternative layouts for the design is also really exciting and I received some fabulous pics from Gera in The Netherlands who has made a fabulous blanket using her own colour palette and layout.  We have been working on the second set of patterns for the Spirit of Flora design and these will be available from the 19th June. The next set will include patterns for 4 more motifs and we are going to release the border patterns as a free download on the website to coincide with this set. If you haven't got involved with the project already, but fancy dipping in, you can find more information on the website here.  The Complete Crochet Handbook is back in stock following its reprint. We have signed or unsigned copies for sale on the website now as we have sent out all the copies ordered on a presale basis over the last six weeks - you can find them here. We only have a limited amount of stock as we had to compete against the likes of Amazon who didn't mange to fulfil their orders after the last print run sold out. We have another set of copies coming next week, so if the copies we have in stock sell out over the weekend we will make the book available on a presale basis once again ready for dispatch from the middle of next week. In theory we should have a smoother flow of stock from the beginning of June once the third print run comes into stock. It's been a bit bonkers if I am honest and Andy has been working incredibly hard to get the book orders out to everyone, but I am so proud of the way it has been received since the first edition back in February. The book is written in UK terms and the copy written in US terms is called The Perfect Crochet Finish. You can find it for sale on Mary Maxim by following this link. We sold a lot of kits at the Wonderwool yarn show recently so Andy has been busy making sure that our stocks are topped up again. We still have kits for the newest version of my Persian Tiles Blanket design 'Peppercorn' which was inspired by the colours used in the Sandalwood version, but made using natural yarns from the fabulous West Yorkshire Spinners range. You can find a free yarn substitution document for this colourway here and you can find more information by following this link.  If you would like to make the original navy and orange colourway of the Persian Tiles blanket using natural yarns, then check out our West Yorkshire Spinners version.  Last week I appeared on John Scott's morning show on Sewing Street TV to chat about The Complete Crochet Handbook and items from the Emma Ball range. I had prepared lots of demos, but only actually managed to show one - adding a neat border to the edge of a crochet piece. We had a great time though and you can find the show by following this link - the show starts at about the half way mark and you can find the next hour long part here.  If you haven't already listened to the interview recorded by the lovely Claire Waite Brown on Creativity Found, you can listen by following this link, or by clicking on the image above. Claire and I had a really interesting chat about creativity in general and my crochet career and it brought up a few things I haven't talked about for many years!  Due to a cancellation there is one space available on my workshop trip to West Yorkshire next month. The trip was originally sold out and next year's trip is also full, so this could be a good chance to come along if you fancy it. You can find more information by following this link - you can see the information if you change the number of passengers to 1 as the default is 2.  There are still places on the trip to Peru in July. Peru has the longest continuous history of textile production in the world, going back almost 10,000 years. Invented long before pottery and just as humans started agriculture, Peruvian fibre manipulation began with simple spun fibres but by 500 AD this rudimentary craft had developed into complex techniques. On our travels we’ll explore the processes involved in the production of textiles, including the most characteristic garment, the chullo, a knitted hat with an earflap and a calendar waistband that depicts the annual cycles of ritual and agricultural life, and we'll meet local artisans whose traditions have been passed down through the centuries. Switzerland - April 2025 Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland, lies at the north end of Lake Zurich. During our stay here, you'll enjoy two full-day workshops with me, spend a day exploring Old Town Zurich with a local guide, and sail on Lake Zurich to the home of Lindt chocolate. The Swiss Yarn Festival is the event for all wool and yarn enthusiasts! Knitting, crocheting, spinning and weaving are all represented, and you’ll enjoy a full day here.  The latest copy of Inside Crochet Magazine includes a really lovely article about why so many crochet designers are drawn to creating floral designs. The piece has been written by Lindsey Harrad and I really enjoyed reading it and finding out how other designers feel about adding flowers to their work.  I am particularly happy that the peonies in the front garden are absolutely loaded with buds this year and can't wait to see them burst into flower within the next couple of days. I think this time of year is probably my favourite in the garden, with foxgloves, allium, irises and peonies taking centre stage before the heat of the summer gives way to the plants that can cope with less water and more sunshine.  I am forever taking images on my phone of the garden, but also spent some time this weekend saving some tear sheets of flower images from the spring interior magazines. I appear to have saved quite a few images of auriculas and just love the colours of them, so maybe these will inspire something floral to appear on my hook over the next few weeks.....   Lizzie Hooper sent me her recommendation for a good book. It is called 'Four Thousand Weeks' and is written by Oliver Burke. Lizzie says: 'The synopsis is a time management book, but it's so much more than that. I raced through it and felt a renewed optimism for life after reading it. I even coppied out relevant lines from it to refer back to as it was that good! I think you'd really enjoy it as it's in easy to read sections and is more factual than fiction based.' I also have two books recommended by the Janie Crow team: Sarah recommends Rural Hours - The Country lives of Virgina Woolf, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Rosamond Lehmann by Harriet Barker and Gemma recommends the novel The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings. The review for this book taken from the Good Reads website is as follows: 'Reminiscent of the works of Margaret Atwood, Shirley Jackson, and Octavia Butler, a biting social commentary from the acclaimed author of Lakewood that speaks to our times--a piercing dystopian novel about the unbreakable bond between a young woman and her mysterious mother, set in a world in which witches are real and single women are closely monitored.'  Andy and I have not been big meat eaters for the the last 30 years, partly because Andy has followed an arthritis diet since his diagnosis in the mid 90s. We have been fully vegetarian for 4 years now, eversince lockdown when we decided to follow our son Charlie's lead. To begin with I really missed fish and seafood in particular and every now and again I get a craving for salami or cured meat. Preparing vegetarian food from scratch is much more time consuming than a meat diet thanks to all the chopping, but it has lead us to discover some really great recipes. As Charlie is not a fan of cauliflower we tend to save it for meals when he is away, so a few weeks ago we were excited to have one of our favourites - Creamy Cauliflower Korma by the Happy Foodie. You can find the recipe here.   To coincide with the Korma making, I decided it was time to clear out my baking cupboard. As a general rule this is one of those kitchen cupboards that I open, quickly pick something out, then wedge shut before anything else falls out. To use up some flour (I found 3 opened bags of both self raising and plain) I decided to make naan bread using just three ingredients - flour, Greek yogurt (we use the Pure Nature one as it comes in a glass jar, not plastic) and salt. I used this recipe by Arman Lieu, but didn't brush them with butter. They were incredibly quick and easy to make and they tasted delicious - the perfect accompaniment to the Korma!    Last week we had a lovely time celebrating the Diamond Wedding Anniversary of my lovely Mum and Dad, with the highlights of the day being posh afternoon tea and a card from the King! We also had a fabulous evening last Saturday at the hen and stag party held in honour of our niece Abby and her lovely partner Charlie who are getting married in July. The event had a Wild West theme and I had a lot of fun with colouring pens and glue making myself a cardboard sheriff badge, pistol and cowboy boots to wear as part of my costume!   We were incredibly lucky to see the northern lights from our garden last Friday night. I honestly didn't believe Charlie and his girlfriend Ellie when they said the lights were predicted and was incredibly sceptical when they first said they could see them, but with the help of the phone cameras we got to see a really fabulous (probably once in a lifetime) display here in North London.   Today is our daughter Summer's 26th Birthday and my Dad's 90th! We will be celebrating with a joint birthday lunch today and a big party for Dad tomorrow. We are so proud and thankful to have such a fantastic close knit family and fabulously supportive friends who are bound to make the day so special.
I hope that whatever you have planned for the next few days that you will be able to nab a little bit of hooky time! The new series of Bridgerton started on Thursday evening, so I am hopeful that I will be able to catch up with it at some point over the next couple of days - a perfect background to a bit of restorative crochet! Janie x |
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