​You can choose from Bobby Bunny, Poppy Piglet, Gertie Goose, Pat Puppy and the classic Sam Lamb, all in single pattern form either as a digital download or printed copy.
The 5 splendid baby animal designs combine DK yarn with the softest baby yarn fibres. Each pattern has hints and tips to take you through the making process. Each design uses Emma’s signature techniques of combining the limbs and placing the ears into the crochet to ensure that your animal is not only cute but also robust. Each project is beautifully photographed and includes clear patterns and guidance.

Single pattern downloads are available via Etsy and Love Crafts. Limited Edition Kits are available via Emma’s Shop and Emma is offering a 10% discount on all downloadable patterns until 14th August. Simply type in the code JCROW1 (all upper case) at checkout.
Inspired by the imagination of children, Emma Varnam likes to make items that bring a smile.
​

She has designed for many pattern houses including Debbie Bliss, West Yorkshire Spinners and Stylecraft Yarns. She enjoys designing and working for many UK Knitting and Crochet Magazines.
She has written a number of popular crochet books, including Cute Crocheted Wild Animals, Crocheted Succulents, Granny Squares Home, Crocheted Keyrings & Charms, Cute Crocheted Animals and How to Crochet, all published by GMC Publications. Emma lives in Greater Manchester, UK. You can find Emma and all of her gorgeous crochet pals on Instagram by following this link.
​

​The word 'excited' is a bit of an understatement in regards to how I feel about the launch of this brand new catalogue. I am so in love with it and so grateful to all the amazingly talented people who made it possible and, of course, I hope that you will like it too!

You can download the catalogue by following this link or by clicking on the image below and then following the link to the download from the website home page.
 ​

We did the photo shoot for many of the images within the catalogue at an amazing house location in South London back in March - in fact we did it exactly a week before the UK was officially locked down, so memories of the day are very special. 

The images were styled by talented crochet designer Claire Montgomerie and shot by the lovely Leanne Jade. You can find a full list of all the other talented people involved with the project on the back cover of the brochure.
 ​

The catalogue acts as a look book for you to get an idea of how my projects look in home settings, but within it I also tell you the stories behind the inspiration of the designs and give you an insight into my design process. I am beyond proud of how this project turned out and I hope to make this a bench mark for all projects going forwards. I hope you will love it as much as I do.
 ​

​
​As I have told you over the last few weeks, I have collaborated with Dutch Yarn company Scheepjes on some new yarn packs for my Royal Garden Blanket Design, which are now ready to dispatch.
 

There is the choice of 2 yarn packs - one is made using Scheepjes Colour Crafter DK (shown above) and the other uses Stone Washed and River Washed DK.
 ​

​Inspired by the intricate and vibrant terracotta tiles decorating the floor combined with the patchwork layout of the main garden of the Green Hotel, the Royal Garden Blanket is an ode to the marvellous former palace in Mysore, India. To transform my fond memories of my trips there into a tangible project, I incorporated the tile motif and the blooming flowerbeds of the garden into this geometric design, resulting in a striking blanket that will be a centrepiece in any living space.
 

The image above shows the flat layout of the project. This blanket was made using a slightly more subdued colour way that is no longer available as a yarn pack. 

Please note that because of the weight of the kit (over 2kg) postage to the US and some other countries cannot be tracked or signed and the parcels will be sent standard airmail.

If you want the pattern only you can find it here on Ravelry
​

​It is really warm here in North London today and it is set to be a scorching weekend too, so (hopefully) we will be spending time in the garden and lounging around at home over the next couple of days.... 

We have a lunch reservation on Saturday as another little treat to celebrate our Silver Wedding anniversary, which was on Tuesday. I am really looking forward to our lunch date and we have also invited a few friends over to spend some (socially distanced) time in the garden with us on Sunday, so we have quite a lot going on. It still feels odd to have plans and I really have no idea what I can wear for a posh lunch as my wardrobe for the last 6 months has been nothing but jeans, shorts and tea shirts!!!

Thank you all so much for all the lovely messages you have sent this week in honour of our wedding anniversary - it made the day feel very special.

I hope that wherever you are and whatever you have planned you have a great weekend.

Stay safe and keep well...

​It is an exciting day here at Janie Crow as I finally get to show you a couple of brand new things, but it has definitely also been a case of less haste more speed for me as I have made a few silly mistakes in my hurry to get all my new 'stuff' on line and ready for you! 

This morning Andy and I sent an email from Just Knots Yarns to say that the brand new Sheepjes Yarn kits for my Royal Garden Blanket Kit are now in stock. Unfortunately, in my excitement, I had listed the price of the kit as far higher than it actually is, so I (thought I had) corrected the price and resent the email, however the price was still incorrect!!! Ugh!

If any of you got that email this morning, please be assured that the price on the web site is correct and the one in the newsletter is not! You can find more information about the Scheepjes kits lower down this email and on the Just Knots web site, but first I want to tell you about the brand new Janie Crow catalogue, which is now live on the web site....
​

​The word 'excited' is a bit of an understatement in regards to how I feel about the launch of this brand new catalogue. I am so in love with it and so grateful to all the amazingly talented people who made it possible and, of course, I hope that you will like it too!

You can download the catalogue by following this link or clicking on the image below and we are planning to have paper copies for workshops and events when they resume next year.
​

​We did the photo shoot for many of the images within the catalogue at an amazing house location in South London back in March - in fact we did it exactly a week before the UK was officially locked down, so memories of the day are very special. 

The images were styled by talented crochet designer Claire Montgomerie and shot by the lovely Leanne Jade. You can find a full list of all the other talented people involved with the project on the back cover of the brochure.

​The catalogue acts as a look book for you to get an idea of how my projects look in home settings, but within it I also tell you the stories behind the inspiration of the designs and give you an insight into my design process. I am beyond proud of how this project turned out and I hope to make this a bench mark for all projects going forwards. I hope you will love it as much as I do.

​I have collaborated with Dutch Yarn company Scheepjes on some new yarn packs for my Royal Garden Blanket Design, which are now ready to dispatch.
 ​

The image above shows the flat layout of the project. This blanket was made using a slightly more subdued colour way that is no longer available as a yarn pack. 

Please note that because of the weight of the kit (over 2kg) postage to the US and some other countries cannot be tracked or signed and the parcels will be sent standard airmail.

If you want the pattern only you can find it here on Ravelry
 ​

​I featured the email conversation between myself and Deborah Green in my newsletter last week. A few of you have emailed to say that the link to Deborah's lovely holiday cottages, set within the breath taking scenery of The Scottish Borders, did not work for you, so I have left the information in this week's email too - the links are now correct.
 
***
Over the Covid pandemic I have been chatting via email with a lovely lady called Deborah who has been busy renovating some cottages in the Scottish borders. Deborah has kept me up to date with her life's journey over the last few months, like so many of you have, and I feel that within her words Deborah has managed to encapsulate lots of the ups and downs that we have all been going through.

Deborah is happy for me to share the emails here:

27th March 2020....

Janie, thank you (for the newsletter) - A little bit of normality in a crazy world. Please keep going as long as you can so nimble fingered crafters can fill their days.

The unwanted break from my own small business, 3 lovely holiday cottages we've put all our time into doing up over the last three years, has me on the edge of serious worry. All holidays we had booked until the end of May were wiped away overnight on Sunday. It's hard watching your business disappear...

So when it's bad, usually in the middle of the night, I tiptoe downstairs and work my way through joining my circles on your beautiful blanket. It's keeping me this side of sane.....

26th June 2020....

Hello again Janie 

I meant to email you back and thank you for your kind words. It's been a hell of a ride over the last few months but amazingly, almost from nowhere, the First Minister announced this week that holiday cottages can re open on July 3rd. Amazing news!

And we've held on. I'm seeing the time as a profit and loss ledger. The loss side is obvious...No money... all the upkeep. but the profit far outweighs it as by sheer good chance both my boys got back here safe from university and we've had the sheer pleasure of our little family back together again for spring and early summer. I don't know how you quantify that... no money would touch it.
 

We live in the most amazing area, the Scottish borders and have had the priceless treat of walking the landscape every day with our gorgeous failed guide dog, chasing and never catching the wildlife. Sounds cheesy, but we watched salmon jump in the Tweed thanks to the lack of noise and people. Believe me I know how lucky we are.

We've learnt new values and to appreciate what we have now. No money could have given us that. And to value our health. We're so lucky that this vile virus stayed away.

So the profits outweighed the losses. And I finished the blanket. I love it and all it represents.

I'm touched by your offer to feature the cottages in your newsletter. My genius boy has designed a website over the lockdown and you can see the cottages here:
​

​It's still a work in progress, but you'll get the general idea.

2nd July 2020....

I've been a bit weepy over the last couple of days now I can finally see the end of this awful lockdown. Then your email arrived and I got weepier... I'm a delight to live with just now! 

Of course you can share my email! I'd have thought the ramblings of my middle aged brain would have a limited appeal, but feel free...

I'm pleased you see the appeal of the Scottish Borders. My grandparents came from here so moving up here four years ago was a bit like coming home. So many people say they've driven through on their way somewhere else and never stopped. It's crazy.

I always think that where we live is like Brigadoon- it appeared from the mist when we needed it most. We lived stressed out busy lives before, a lifestyle that took its toll on us. A mad moment saw us throw caution to the wind, sell up and move. We've honestly never looked back. We can walk to the Tweed in ten minutes, hares hide under my car in the evenings, we have neighbours that care and a landscape that never fails to take your breath away. There's not a lot not to like

And I love my crochet, a skill learned whilst stressing over my old life. Your blankets are divine. I've no idea how you design them, but I'm jolly pleased you do.

I'm debating on what to do next, but filling the time with crocheting a Labrador from the wonderful Edward's Menagerie Dogs. Supposed to be for my sister but my dog keeps eyeing it up!

Thank you again for the interest in the cottages and for keeping my little brain busy with your lovely designs.

Deborah Green
 

​So here we are again on the verge of another weekend and as usual we are beginning to get that lovely Friday feeling - is it just me, or are the weeks passing at an unbelievably fast pace? 
 ​

My fabulous nephew Dan found this little knitted duck when he was out on one of his adventures last weekend. The duck had a label attached that links to The Little Yellow Duck Project - a global initiative highlighting the life-saving random acts of kindness of blood, bone marrow, and organ and tissue donation. Whilst every random act of kindness has the ability to brighten someone’s day, these donations have the ability to literally save or transform someone’s entire life. See the web site here for more information. 

We will probably head out for a couple of walks over the next few days and Andy is very excited by the prospect of a swim at the local leisure centre tomorrow afternoon. It is our Silver Wedding Anniversary next week, so we have arranged for (a socially distanced) lunch together with a very small group of our family on Sunday.
 ​

​Not the big party we had originally planned for, but at least we can celebrate in some way and crack open a bottle of bubbly to honour the fact that 35 years after we first met Andy and I actually still quite like each-other!!!

I hope that wherever you are and whatever you have planned you have a great weekend.

Stay safe and keep well...
​

As I told you last week Andy and I have been looking forward to this week for a while as we have been home having a North London based staycation - our first bit of proper time off, other than weekends and bank holidays, since January. Typically though, our week has not gone totally to plan as I managed to break my tooth on a hidden olive stone (in a supposedly pitted olive) on Monday, so we have spent the rest of the week waiting on an emergency dental appointment. Thankfully my lovely dentist was able to put a temporary filling into my poorly tooth yesterday and things have brightened up immensely ever since! We now have a few days of 'nice' things planned before we head back to the studio on Monday.

This month's newsletter includes (what I hope) are lots of interesting things that Sarah, Gemma and myself have lined up to tell you about. Sarah has written a piece about the William Morris Society and Gemma has put together a piece that focuses on fabulous crochet designer Helda Panagarry. Gemma has also been busy sorting out our Etsy store. I have a few things to tell you about too, including the release of some brand new collaborative yarn packs that I have been working on with Dutch yarn company Scheepjes.

I hope you can find a spare 5 minutes to catch up with all things Janie Crow....
 ​

​It is now July and so I look back on that day at the beginning of the year as the beginning of my reconnecting with my love of William Morris’s designs and philosophy 40 years after visiting the V&A museum in London and marvelling at some of his original work. How perfect that Jane’s CAL for 2020, The Fruit Garden, came along, influenced and inspired by May Morris, William’s younger daughter.

Both Jane and I had become fascinated by the life and work of May as preparations for the CAL progressed and so at the end of February we travelled to Edinburgh to visit the exhibition entitled 'May Morris: Art and Life' at the Dovecot Studios. This exhibition was the largest of its kind and documented how May, at the young age of 23, took over the management of the embroidery department at Morris and Co and went on to become responsible for some of the company’s most recognisable textiles and wall paper designs. I can honestly say that it was one of the most significant exhibitions I have ever visited.
​

Then came Covid 19 and four weeks later we were all in lockdown and facing a situation that none of us could ever have thought possible. However one of the things that struck me over the past months is how people have welcomed what they perceive as a return to the ‘old’ ways of doing things. It has been an opportunity to imagine a post-industrial landscape where ecology and more sustainable ways of living and working are considered.

You can only binge on Netflix for so long and one of the most uplifting aspects of the lockdown has been the resurgence of people working with their hands. We find ourselves planting, digging, sowing, tending, weeding, stitching, knitting, quilting and obviously crocheting! There is actually a fundamental need within us to work with our hands, not least for our wellbeing.

If this is something that interests you, then I can highly recommend the books Making a Life by Melanie Fallick or Wheesht by Kate Davies.

It was a culmination of all these events that led me to join the William Morris Society recently. I have become so aware of not only his historical significance, but also the relevance of Morris's ideas in a world that now seems like one of the sci-fi or fantasy fictions that he imagined alongside H.G.Wells. The Society is focussed on not only preserving what we know of Morris, but on exploring how his ideas will help us to find truth and beauty in how we continue to live.
 ​

​Helda’s name is one you may have seen in Inside Crochet Magazine, where her patterns are regularly featured, and she is also a Scheepjes friend. The colours she chooses are often more muted than bright, but this only seems to enhance the overall impression of joy that her designs evoke.
 

Helda is involved in the BIPOC in Fiber campaign, which works to improve the representation of black, indigenous and people of colour in the fibre community. She is currently donating profits to buy books that properly represent cultures and diversity for her granddaughter’s school and nursery. Helda says:

“I need to up my game and read more. This work isn’t just for white people, bipoc people need to learn too. We need to relearn so much of our rich bipoc histories that have been missing from the school curriculum.”
 
You can follow Helda’s writings about crochet, cooking and much more on her blog here.
​

Helda’s Instagram gallery is not only a riot of colour in yarn, but for those foodies among us she also shares a love of good home cooked food and regularly shares recipes and delectable images too! Why not head over and take a look to see....
 ​

Helda's Blistered Padron Peppers
 
'Pimientos de Padrón are small, bright green peppers that come from the municipality of Padrón in Galicia, Spain. They’re usually mild in flavour, with low levels of capsaicin. Every once in a while, however, you’ll bite into one that’s hot. Delicious! It's one of the easiest things to prepare.'
 
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
150g/5½oz padron peppers
flaky sea salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.

Method:
Heat the olive oil in a large (preferably cast iron) frying pan over a high heat.

Cook the peppers on one side for 1 minute, or until the skins start to blacken and blister, then turn.

Cook for a further minute then continue to cook, shaking the pan regularly, for another 2–3 minutes, or until the peppers are blistered all over but have softened to the point that they are just tender.

Remove from the pan and drizzle over the extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle over a generous pinch of flaky sea salt.

'Sometimes I dust with a little Spanish smoked pimenton (smoked paprika). Sometimes I serve on good toasted bread that I rub a bit if garlic on and a drizzle with olive oil then I add the peppers. Recipe serves 2 - share if you must!!!'

* All images are included with the kind permission of Helda.
 ​

​
​Over the Covid pandemic I have been chatting via email with a lovely lady called Deborah who has been busy renovating some cottages in the Scottish borders. Deborah has kept me up to date with her life's journey over the last few months, like so many of you have, and I feel that within her words Deborah has managed to encapsulate lots of the ups and downs that we have all been going through.

Deborah is happy for me to share the emails here:

27th March 2020....

Janie, thank you (for the newsletter) - A little bit of normality in a crazy world. Please keep going as long as you can so nimble fingered crafters can fill their days.

The unwanted break from my own small business, 3 lovely holiday cottages we've put all our time into doing up over the last three years, has me on the edge of serious worry. All holidays we had booked until the end of May were wiped away overnight on Sunday. It's hard watching your business disappear...

So when it's bad, usually in the middle of the night, I tiptoe downstairs and work my way through joining my circles on your beautiful blanket. It's keeping me this side of sane.....

26th June 2020....

Hello again Janie 

I meant to email you back and thank you for your kind words. It's been a hell of a ride over the last few months but amazingly, almost from nowhere, the First Minister announced this week that holiday cottages can re open on July 3rd. Amazing news!

And we've held on. I'm seeing the time as a profit and loss ledger. The loss side is obvious...No money... all the upkeep. but the profit far outweighs it as by sheer good chance both my boys got back here safe from university and we've had the sheer pleasure of our little family back together again for spring and early summer. I don't know how you quantify that... no money would touch it.

​We live in the most amazing area, the Scottish borders and have had the priceless treat of walking the landscape every day with our gorgeous failed guide dog, chasing and never catching the wildlife. Sounds cheesy, but we watched salmon jump in the Tweed thanks to the lack of noise and people. Believe me I know how lucky we are.

We've learnt new values and to appreciate what we have now. No money could have given us that. And to value our health. We're so lucky that this vile virus stayed away.

So the profits outweighed the losses. And I finished the blanket. I love it and all it represents.

I'm touched by your offer to feature the cottages in your newsletter. My genius boy has designed a website over the lockdown and you can see the cottages here:
 

It's still a work in progress, but you'll get the general idea.

2nd July 2020....

I've been a bit weepy over the last couple of days now I can finally see the end of this awful lockdown. Then your email arrived and I got weepier... I'm a delight to live with just now! 

Of course you can share my email! I'd have thought the ramblings of my middle aged brain would have a limited appeal, but feel free...

I'm pleased you see the appeal of the Scottish Borders. My grandparents came from here so moving up here four years ago was a bit like coming home. So many people say they've driven through on their way somewhere else and never stopped. It's crazy.

I always think that where we live is like Brigadoon- it appeared from the mist when we needed it most. We lived stressed out busy lives before, a lifestyle that took its toll on us. A mad moment saw us throw caution to the wind, sell up and move. We've honestly never looked back. We can walk to the Tweed in ten minutes, hares hide under my car in the evenings, we have neighbours that care and a landscape that never fails to take your breath away. There's not a lot not to like

And I love my crochet, a skill learned whilst stressing over my old life. Your blankets are divine. I've no idea how you design them, but I'm jolly pleased you do.

I'm debating on what to do next, but filling the time with crocheting a Labrador from the wonderful Edward's Menagerie Dogs. Supposed to be for my sister but my dog keeps eyeing it up!

Thank you again for the interest in the cottages and for keeping my little brain busy with your lovely designs.

Deborah Green
​

​
​Scheepjes and I have been working on a collaborative project for a while now and we had hoped to reveal it sooner, but the current situation put paid to a spring time release. I am happy to finally tell you that next week we will be releasing specially designed project packs that contain all the yarn you need to make my Royal Garden blanket.
​

​The design was inspired by the lovely gardens at the Green Hotel in Mysore, India and I adore the way the tessellation means you see different patterns depending on the layout you choose and how you squint your eyes to look at it!

Purchasing the yarn in the new pack means you get the a slightly reduced price compared to buying all the yarn and the pattern separately, but if you have a stash of Scheepjes yarn at home already and would like to have just the pattern, you can find a download version of it via my Ravelry store by following this link.
 

​Next week sees the publication of Part 7 of the Fruit Garden CAL - Can you believe that we are almost at the end of the project already?

We hope to have some more yarn kits in stock next week after quite a while without any, so do keep an eye on the web sites if you are still waiting for a kit. You will find them on Janie Crow here and on Just Knots here just as soon as we have had a chance to make them up and list them.
 ​

​If you are planning to work through the project later on in the Autumn when we will be working through the CAL all over again, you might be interested to hear that I am hoping to be able to reveal the new colour way of the project very soon. Keep your eyes peeled!

You can find all the patterns so far by following this link.
​

​In typical British fashion I always find myself giving you a weather update when talking about the forth coming weekend, so why would I make this week any different?

It has been a bit dismal all week and we have reverted to the thicker duvet at night, but thankfully it looks like we are set for a few warmer days now, so we are going to spend some time in the garden and take a few walks.

At the beginning of the week (before the dreaded tooth incident) I managed to get a lot of decorating work done in the kitchen, so it would be good to get a few more coats of paint up on my grubby kitchen walls. I am so pleased with how the updated room looks and will try to include a few images of our 'new' kitchen in next week's newsletter once we have the shelves up and are back to tidy!

While we have been away from the studio our fabulous colleague Sue has been bravely holding the fort for us and we are incredibly grateful to her for all her support. I am sure she is looking forward to next week when Andy and I will be heading back to work.

I hope that wherever you are and whatever you have planned you have a great weekend.

Stay safe and keep well...

RAVELRY: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-rustle-park-sunhat
ETSY:https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/829769487/the-rustle-park-sunhat-crochet-pdf?ref=shop_home_active_1

​If you are in the US and had considered purchasing a tea towel or two (people appear to be buying them in bulk!) then why not pop over to Janie Crow and take a look at the new (far lower) postage costs. Of course those of you elsewhere in the world are welcome to take a look too!!!

That is it from me this week - I am sorry it is such a short update. I will have more to tell you about next week!

In the days ahead I hope you keep safe and well and don't forget that Tuesday next week see's the publication of Part 6 of the Fruit Garden CAL.
 
Sending yarny love!