October Newsletter

​We have had an amazing reaction to the patterns and kits for my Indigo and Crimson Dreams blanket, which originally featured as a crochet along project in Inside Crochet Magazine and I am so grateful to all of you who have shown so much positivity towards the design.

This week we have added a couple of helpful videos that Emma has shot to help with a couple of the more tricky bits of the design. You can find these over on our YouTube channel.

You can find kits for both colour ways, (Indigo and Crimson) by following this link and the 24 page paper pattern brochure by following this link. Download patterns are available via Etsy and Ravelry. You can find more information about this project and all links on the website page here.

I had a great time at The Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace here in North London last week. It was great to see so many of you and be out once again amongst fabulous yarny folk. Big thanks to the team at Stylecraft for allowing me to have a place on their stand. The show was the final one of the year for Janie Crow but we are looking forward to being at the show in Harrogate with Andy's hook, needle and accessory stock, so I hope to see some of you there too. ​

This week I have been putting the finishing touches to the block a month project which will feature in Inside Magazine from January next year. I am incredibly pleased with the way this design has turned out and hope that you will love it too!

We will be doing the photography shoot for the project at Emery Walker's House in Hammersmith next week. If you take a look at the location you will see it is another house with an amazing Arts and Crafts Movement interior, so it will be no surprise to hear that the CAL design is another one inspired by my love of William and May Morris's artistic companions of the time.

I can't wait to show you some of the motifs and explain exactly how we envisage this project working - I am so excited about it!

(c) Knitting Holidays in France

I will be doing my final spot of tutoring of the year during the last week of October when we will be in France with a group of lovely crocheters at Sue and Culli's 'Knitting Holidays in France' venue near Bordeaux. I haven't done a workshop for Sue for many years - this will be my first time back in France for more than 5 years, so I am really looking forward to the trip. Look out for images on my Instagram feed
while we are away. ​

We have a few new projects coming soon. My Twinkle Bunting pattern (shown above) will be released during the first week of November ready for the festive season and we will be releasing the information about our Advent CAL, The Tidings Wrap (shown below), which will take place over the first couple of weeks of December. The project is a great stash buster project and the result could make a fabulous gift too!

We have seen a bit of a run of sales for Christmassy things. We have quite a choice now including the Festive Decorations, Beaded Decorations and mini stockings - link on the images below for more information. All are great stash busters!

We will have yarn and bead packs for the original colour way of the beaded decorations in stock next week.

We are so grateful to all those of you who follow our feed on Instagram. We have reached more than 75k followers this week, which is just incredible. To celebrate reaching the number we have added a code for a 10% discount on all sales via the Janie Crow web site this weekend. Please follow us over on Instagram to find the code which will be in place until midnight Sunday.

I have been joining a large pile of crochet motifs into a big blanket this week. It has been the perfect project to keep me warm as it is definitely getting cooler by the day here in North London. I read a news article recently that said that sales of blankets has soared over the last few weeks and it made me feel very proud to think that my blanket designs might be keeping some of you warm this winter. We have a Sandalwood and Royal Garden blanket at the ready year round in the living room, but I am going to have a root around to pull out a few more so that we can all snuggle up and get cosy.

When designing a new project I tend to choose to use yarns that have a wool content as they not only give the yarn a good drape but they also make the blanket warmer. Stylecraft's Life DK has 25% wool content and the fabulous ReCreate DK, which is 100% recycled, has 40% wool. ​

I can't quite believe that I have been invited to tutor a knitting workshop with Stitchtopia in Peru! The workshop went live on the Arena Tours site a couple of weeks ago and there are now just 4 places left, so if you fancy joining me you can follow this link for more information.

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.

I am really excited by the prospect of this incredible trip to Peru, a country that has a rich history of intricate knitting traditions. When we think of Peru we imagine bright colours of lush vegetation, foliage and flowers and the incredible surface pattern of costumes, jewellery and artwork as well as the breathtaking scenery and archaeological sites. I am sure this will be a truly inspirational trip and I am really looking forward to all that we will see and experience on this journey of a lifetime.

The video that accompanies Part Six of my Sunshine and Showers blanket pattern will go live on our Youtube channel here over the next few days. ​

The videos for parts one through to six are available for free on my YouTube Channel already. The patterns for each part of the CAL, which are split into 12 pieces, are available for just 95p each with the 'Getting Ready' document available to download for free here. You can find more information about the project by following this link.

We managed to send out most of our Sandalwood kits last week, but have a small number left to put together. These will be added to the web site early next week all being well. We have sent another yarn order to Select Yarns in the US and expect another batch of yarn to arrive with us next week.

We will try to get the kits in stock next week before we go to the workshop in France, so if you are waiting for a kit please keep checking the website as they are likely to go quickly once they are added to our stock.

I love green, leafy vegetables! I think kale, spinach, chard and cabbage are up there in my lists of favourite foods alongside cheese and chocolate, so I was really excited to try this recipe that accompanied our veg box last week.

I made this for lunch and cooked it on the hob, but I reckon it would be just as good done in the slow cooker, so will give that a go next time - it really was delicious!

I am pleased to be home for the weekend with not many plans after quite a few hectic weeks. Summer has already arrived with her lovely dog, Rocky and we are planning a weekend where we will not be venturing far from home.

Tonight we are lining up an evening on the sofa after a rare take away treat from our local Thai restaurant. We will be scouring Netflix for a film perfect to accompany my knitting as I have set myself the challenge of completing a sweater in a month - the same amount of time that it will take participants to complete the Stephen West MKAL. I have started the Orchid Sweater by Georgia Farrell after seeing it on display at Black Sheep Wools a few weeks ago on our way to Blackpool. ​

I have a few crochet pieces to sort out ready for the shoot on Monday and will be scouring around the house for a few props to take along too. I really enjoy shoots and am so looking forward to seeing Emery Walker's House. Please send positive vibes for good weather so that we don't have too much trouble with the light!

Next week is a little calmer for me now that my big crochet project is close to being completed. I am looking forward to formulating some new plans ready for the projects I have in mind to work on when I return from France. I really enjoy the buds of new design ideas and adore the early stages of a new design so I am really looking forward to the next few months as we lead up to Christmas.

I hope that wherever you are and whatever you have planned, you are heading into a lovely few days over the weekend and into next week too. I will be back in your inbox in a couple of weeks time with a Quick Catch Up email. Sending yarny hugs..

Janie x