​I know that I often start my newsletters by talking about the weather, and that it is a true British trait to mention the forecast at every opportunity. This time is no exception as it has been so incredibly wet here that half our garden is underwater and the local birds think we are creating a new pond for their pleasure! Squelching up and down the garden on my frequent to and fros from the house to the my studio I am hopeful that some drier weather is not far away and that the optimistic crocuses, daffodils and tulips will not drown before they get a chance to show off their lovely flowers.
 
On the crochet front I have been busy woking on a new CAL design and am really enjoying playing about with shapes and patterns - I am trying to keep things relatively easy so that it will be a good project for beginners, but still rewarding for those of you who are crochet experts! It is nice to be back designing a large project and I am already excited about revealing it to you in the autumn - so long as all goes to plan!
 
So far February has been slow and steady, with no stand out moments really other than that Knit For Peace are now inviting enquiries about our planned workshop trip to India in 2027. You can find more information about this and all our other news in the email below. 

I find playing around with crochet motifs incredibly rewarding and it is just lovely when things work out pretty quickly, however it can be really frustrating when things don't come up quite how I had imagined they would. Sometimes it is the simplest of pieces that become the most challenging to design, but as I said already, I have been enjoying playing about with new block designs for my next CAL this week.
 
I am still putting the edging onto my blanket version of the Majorelle cushion cover design. I have to admit that I am struggling with the repetitive nature of the border and the constant stitch counting for the pattern writing, so it is a job I keep putting off! I am so close to finishing that I really must get on with it this weekend. 

With all this seemingly never ending dull and wet weather I have been dreaming of warmer days and brighter light, leading me to go back through images taken on trips to India in particular. I last went there in 2023 and the pull to go back is now getting quite strong, so I was really excited to be invited by Knit For Peace to tutor my fifth residential workshop at the Green Hotel in Mysore next year. 
 
More information about the trip will be available soon, but if you want to be among the first to register your interest in joining me, you can do so by contacting the charity via this link. The holiday will run from 22nd January through to February 4th/5th 2027. You can find more images taken on previous trips to Mysore with Knit For Peace on the Janie Crow Lifestyle instagram feed. 

Last weekend I spent a fabulous couple of days with a group of amazing women, surrounded by good food, wine and lots of yarn! We had the best time and it was such a pleasure to be part of this fabulous group of inspirational women. Whilst away it was particularly exciting to be gifted a copy of Jeanette Sloan's amazing new book Beaded Colourwork. It truly is the most beautiful book featuring lots of amazing projects that showcase just how fantastic and effective beads can be when added to knitting.
 
You can find the book, published by Laine and featuring the most beautiful model and glorious photography, available on a back order basis on Jeanette's website here. Don't be put off that the webpage says the book is out of stock, you can still order it and Jeanette will send it to you once she receives more stock soon.

I designed the Majorelle cushion and project pouch for last year's workshop trip to Morocco with Stitchtopia. The design was inspired by the giant cacti found in the exotic Jardins Majorelle, which once belonged to Yves Saint Laurent and are now an essential visit when in Marrakesh.
 
My project uses the fabulous little 25g balls of Rico Ricorumi 100% cotton yarn, which is just perfect for smaller projects. I have used ten shades of yarn and some fabulously colourful beads from the Debbie Abrahams range to add a decorative touch to the designs.
 
Unfortunately we have hit a series of delays with the delivery of yarn for the Majorelle kits that we have sold through on a pre order basis. Rico have promised us that it will arrive with us early next week, and we now have the beads in stock too, so we should be able to get pre-ordered kits out to you very soon. We are so sorry not to have got these posted sooner and not to have had more stock. Sadly it looks like it could be at least six weeks before we can put our next batch of kits up for sale. 
 
I have already seen quite a few versions of the project made by people using yarns from their stash and you can source the yarn and beads individually from other retailers, so if you fancy having a go at making Majorelle you can find the patterns in UK and US terms as paper copies via our shop and as downloads via Etsy and Ravelry. 

We currently only have a couple of kits that are out of stock and Andy tells me that most other kits have good stock levels. The Marrakesh version of Persian Tiles (shown above) is back in stock and we also have a good stock level of the original and light blue versions.
 
The ever popular Eastern Jewels colourway of Persian Tiles, created by Lucia Dunn, is currently out of stock, but if you like Lucia's eye for colour then you might want to consider the Fiori version of my Fields of Gold blanket, which is shown below. This is one of my favourites and I am really excited to be working with Lucia on a couple of new recolouring projects over the next few months.

My Frida's Flowers crochet along design is a decade old this spring. It is amazing how fast that time has gone, especially as I still think of it as a relatively new design! Working with Stylecraft means I can release free to download crochet along projects every few years and it is fabulous that they keep these patterns in place for the benefit of future crochet enthusiasts. You can find the free patterns for Frida's Flowers by following this link to the Stylecraft website and clicking on your chosen language. 
 
I remember quite vividly that we first showcased the CAL at the Unravel Festival in Farnham in 2016. We have loved exhibiting at the show in the past, and it is always fabulous to interact with lots of yarn lovers! Unravel is on this weekend if you fancy a visit. Tickets are sold out for today, but you can still get them for Saturday and Sunday - you can find more information by following this link.

The Stitch Festival will take place at London's Business Design Centre in March. We have secured a discount code that will enable you to get £2 off the price of standard admission tickets on each day of the show except Saturday. The offer code is JANIECROW26 and it is valid until 8th March. We won't be exhibiting at the show this year, but Sarah and I are going to visit on Saturday 21st. If you want to find more information about the show click here. 
 
We will be exhibiting at Wonderwool Wales at the end of April. We have been doing this show for many years now and love it! We are really looking forward to the event this year as the show is celebrating its twentieth birthday so it should be extra special.
 
Helen Ingram of Woolly Chic will be hosting her Summer Craft Party evening event at Hitchin Lavender in June. I have wanted to go to this for the last couple of years as it looks like such a fun event, so I am really excited that my lovely friend Juliet has secured a couple of tickets. If you want to go too, you can find more information here or on Helen's Instagram account here.

We are aware that today is Friday the 13th, but we don't believe in unlucky dates here at Janie Crow, and actually it is clearly very lucky for some as I have been told it is the cheapest and quietest day of the year to fly! We are also not big fans of the saints day that begins with the letter V that happens tomorrow and so, instead of celebrating that, Emma has decided that we should all embrace the concept of Galentines instead. If you haven't heard of this concept before, let Emma enlighten you: 
 
‘Glalentines was the construct of the brilliant Leslie Knope from the sitcom Parks and Recreation in 2010. Leslie (played by Amy Poehler) was a glorious character and her enthusiasm and tenacity was inspiring. She had great affection, and admiration, for the women in her life and so she celebrated them on the 13th of February with ’Galentines'….'
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To celebrate our female friends and family, Emma is inviting you to tag them over on our Instagram feed and tell us why you love them! We will pick some winners at random and you and your named ‘Galentine’ will receive a PDF copy of both of the projects featured in the post – Sunshine & Showers and Indigo Dreams.
 
Emma has also started to write more posts on the Janie Crow blog. In the newest one she reflects on the month of January and all the positive things it brought to her. Yes, I know that the word January doesn't often go with the word positivity, but she has managed to find quite a few good things to mention, so do take a look! 

Over the last few months, especially over Christmas, Andy and I have both put on a few kilos, and so, as my jeans are feeling more than a little snug around the waistline and Andy says he is feeling a little wider around the middle too, we have embarked on a four week shred in an effort to shift those pounds before the spring. It is so easy to start eating a little more and moving less at this time of year when the lure of the settee with a glass of wine and a bowl of peanuts is hard to resist, so it is not surprising that many of us get a little heavier. 
 
Over the last couple of weeks we have been having lots of meals with extra vegetables and have been trying to find seasonal recipes that use native British grown veg rather than things that have been flown half way across the world. I am a big fan of green and leafy things like spinach and kale and there are so many recipes that feature cauliflower these days, that adding more of these vegetables to our meals hasn't felt like a hardship. We have a book by Riverford, that has some great winter vegetable recipes, so we have been using it a lot. You can find the book by following this link or by clicking on the image above.
 
Leeks are also really good at the moment. They go fabulously well with white beans, so you can make really yummy soup and casserole type meals with them. I recently made this creamy sausage, leek and bean stew by Sophie Ward and it was delicious.

After a really busy week, the prospect of a duvet day feels incredibly inviting. Instagram must have read my mind yesterday evening as this cute little video by India Rose Crawford popped into my feed. It is just so lovely and definitely made me hanker after a lazy day in bed!
 
It's set to get quite a bit colder here over the next few days with a snow and ice warning in the forecast, so it looks like it will be a weekend of hunkering down with my crochet and a few movies. I hope that whatever you get up to that you stay safe, well and warm….

Hands up who was happy to see the back of January? It was a long one, wasn’t it?  It always is – we are all so ready to move on!
 
In December, the lights and sparkle and excitement manage to put aside the gloominess of the weather for a little while but moving into January, with that long month stretching away far, FAR beyond the end of the pay packet, we are brought back to reality with a soggy plop.  Squelching through the dankness of the days it’s no surprise we start looking way ahead and yearning for Spring.
 
Looking back seems like the right thing to do when we’re at the end of the year but at the beginning?  Surely not.  However, that’s exactly what I’m going to do here – I want to look back at the vast swathes of January to see what it has given to us collectively, and to me personally.
 
On a global level, January gave us lightbulbs and Mr Darcy.  Yes, I know, I wasn’t expecting that curve ball either and I’m writing this. Allow me to explain:  I have been very much enjoying this book…

​Every night, the last thing I do, rather than read my phone (although, full disclosure, I’m probably doing that right up to the point where I pick this book up) I read the fact for the day – aloud actually, to my partner.  It is lovely!  Do we get read to very much as adults?  I love being read to and mostly I indulge this with audio books.  Anyway, I digress: I learnt from this lovely book that in January 1880 Thomas Edison patented the lightbulb and we’ve never looked back have we really?  Whilst that is impressive, imagine if you will, a world without Colin Firth, dripping and furious (or brooding I suppose) after emerging from that lake.  Thankfully, this is not our reality because in January 1813 Pride and Prejudice was published and Jane Austen set in motion the wheels that would ultimately bear Colin Firth to us in his blouson shirts.   
 
January – thank you VERY much for that.

​On a personal note, I was not so rigid as to impose dry January on myself – goodness knows it’s a dreary enough month as it is – but I have tried to start gently introducing healthier habits for my body and mind.  Drinking less – a lot less really, how easy it was to fall into a glass of wine (or two) almost daily, walking more.  I also have now started to “go to work” with my friend. Working one day a week from her home while she too works from home.  I work from home and I do love it but working alongside someone has, bizarrely, made me more productive. I am also enjoying a lunch time walk and talk and sneaky coffee.  I think that’s so good for my mental health, it can be a little insular and easy to hibernate a little too much without the discipline of having to get up and OUT for work so this is a good compromise for me.

I, like many, had to adopt a strict “no unnecessary expdenditure” regime in January but, like many, wanted to start a new project.  In an attempt to scratch that itch, I rummaged through the many (so very many) places I have squished and squashed works in progress, and pulled out some of the very oldest ones I have!  There has been sufficient distance time-wise now for them to feel new and with absolutely zero outlay.
 
I’m working again on the lovely Primavera project which was a recolouring of Jane’s Frida’s Flowers by the brilliant Lucia Dunn of Lucia’s fig tree.  Sadly, this one isn’t around anymore due to lots of the yarn being discontinued BUT the patterns are still free to download, and I know so many of you are so brilliant at colour palettes that it might be something you could colour yourself. 

I have looked back through my social media and the last time I posted about this one was in June 2022.  I had, quite by accident, got matching nails!  What I’ve noticed this time is the distinct change in my tension.  I wonder why?  Could it be that I’m more relaxed these days?  I remember some pretty tricky times around the time I first started this project so it’s nice to be able to reclaim it during calmer, happier days.  I also wonder whether it has anything to do with the fact that I’ve now been working for Janie for a long time and have moved closer to her tension – this comes from checking patterns and what not.  I don’t know.  I’ve yet to decide whether to rework any of the blocks or just be, uhm, ‘rigorous’ with their blocking.  I’ll report back.

I think it’s fair to say that I’ve neglected my personal crochet (and knitting) for a while and it’s definitely a comfort to go back to.  January gave me that.  The need for something solid, dependable, soothing and FREE!  As I’ve been working the, I have planned what to do with it. I am going to gift it to my lovely neighbour.  I moved into my little home 2 years ago, by myself, after the end of a long marriage and it was scary.  I was -and am - incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by the best of people.  Neighbours who recognised hurt and, yes, a bit of loneliness, and who helped to gently move me on to a place where I feel welcome, happy and safe.   I think this is the right place for my blanket to go.

Most recently with Janie Crow we’ve seen the release of the glorious Majorelle which has also begun its long long journey to completion among the many works in progress here.  I have loved this project for a long time, having been fortunate to have seen it come to life – I do love working for Janie as I get to see what’s coming many months in advance, sometimes I get to make it in advance, sometimes not.   This one I am making 100% for me because I love it with all my heart!

​So, January you were endless, but you gifted some lovely things, and you played your part in reminding us to pause, breathe, think about things in a different way, maybe with more patience than some of us (ie. Me) generally employ and appreciate that the seasons will change, at the right pace, regardless of how much we wish the time away.

You can download the Frida's Flowers patterns HERE
You can find lots more free patterns HERE
You can find an excellent blog post ranking the various Mr Darcys HERE

Hurrah! We have very nearly made it through January and to celebrate here we are with a little bit of Janie Crow chat!
 
I have been feeling very motivated to crochet lately (which is a bit of a relief if I am honest) and have been dipping in and out of a few projects. With deadlines still a way off on a couple of projects I am finding that this is a nice time to be working a little ‘under the radar’. I like January for that reason - it always feels like most people are not quite on top of their game after the Christmas holidays and that big deadlines tend to be best left for February, or even March!  
 
Gemma has been busy collating some lovely images of Temperature Blankets, which you can find in today's email and she has also found a couple of other great things to mention, including crocheted oysters and a yummy recipe (don't get the two muddled up!), so I hope you can spare a few minutes to catch up with all things Janie Crow!

Thank you for the fabulous response to my new design Majorelle, which we launched last week. The kits sold out in a very short space of time, so we are hoping to sort some more very soon. Unfortunately we are currently unable to get enough beads as the Indigo shade is sold out, but as soon as they are back in stock with Debbie we will be sure to get kit building. For those of you who pre-paid for a kit, we are hoping to get these posted out mid February. ​

I love seeing alternative colour ways of my designs, so perhaps our lack of kit stock will mean that more of you are tempted to create your own versions of this design. You can find the paper patterns in UK and US terms here and download versions on Etsy and Ravelry.
 
I am currently working on a blanket version of this project using an alternative colour palette, so I am looking forward to being able to show you that soon! 

​This time of year is when many of us start to think about holidays. The thought or warmer weather and a bit of a break really kicks in by the end of January when it is so dull and dismal here in the UK. 
 
I am really looking forward to all the workshop trips I have in my diary for this year, but as they are all fully booked I have already started to discuss trips for 2027. It seems a bit crazy to be planning so far ahead, but with time flying by so incredibly fast, I am sure it will feel like the next year will pass as quickly as all the others! 
 
With lots of ideas for new designs and my wish to continue teaching a few residential workshops I am trying not to over think the speed at which time goes past, but it is always good to have things to look forward to in the future. I read a book once called ‘Live Life in Crescendo’ and it was all about how positive it is to always be making new plans, so here we go:
 
I will be returning to Mysore, India with Knit For Peace, this time next year (mid to late January 2027), to tutor a knit and crochet workshop based at the amazing Green Hotel. Dates and prices are not fixed yet and further information is not available, but if you have ever fancied a workshop trip to India and like the idea of supporting a great charity at the same time, then you might want to keep this in mind. I will give you more info as soon as I have it.

I will also be tutoring on a Northern Lights yarn cruise with Sitchtopia in December 2027. This trip is now live and ready to book on their website. You can find more information by following this link. 
 
There are quite a few dates to choose from on this trip, including a knit holiday with Aleks Byrd in 2027, which I am sure will be fabulous! There are also still spaces on the trips that go this year, one is tutored by Lucy of Attic 24 and another by Julie Dubreux. If you want to come on the crochet one with me, the departure date is December 12th 2027!

Over the last year, we have been working with the lovely team at Wool Warehouse to produce yarn kits using some of their fabulous Yarnsmiths yarn. Creating projects using their Superwash DK has been a joy for me as their colour palettes are so huge and I am able to perfectly match colours used in my original designs. 
 
The latest addition to the collaboration between us here at Janie Crow and Yarnsmiths is the original Persian Tile blanket in navy, orange and red. You can find the kits by clicking on the image above or here.

This month we are focusing on the Temperature Blanket project. It's very hard to believe that it was over a year ago that we embarked on something slightly new and unusual for Janie Crow. 
 
Twelve months later and we have been so happy to see some beautiful finished temperature blankets appearing on social media. Gemma is currently hiding as she hasn't got around to sewing her ends in yet and therefore hasn't started work on the border, despite finishing and joining all her squares. Gemma says she is hoping to turn her mind to it in February and promises to keep you posted!
 
In the photos below, from top to bottom you can see blankets made by:
Scarlett Reynolds
Fiona Dobson
Melinda Hall
Terri Hayes (Kansas, USA)
Ruth French (Scottish Highlands)
 
We know there are more out there, so thank you to everyone who has been sharing photos of their completed blankets. We will put together a blog post with more of your photos in the coming weeks. 

Have you ever considered adopting an oyster? No, us neither, but now that we have seen these crochet versions, produced to support the Wild Oysters Project, we think we need to have a couple!  
 
The North East & Cumbria branch of the UK charity, Groundwork, are asking people to adopt a crocheted oyster as a way of supporting the Wild Oysters Project, which is aiming to restore native oysters to the north-east England coastline. 
 
There has been a decline of more than 95% in native oyster numbers across the UK since the 1800s and it is important that we don't loose them completely as they are a valuable inhabitant of our coastlines. Oysters are natural water filters, and can clean up to 200 litres of water a day - that's equivalent to a bathtub full! An abundance of oysters will not only clean the water and prevent algal blooms, but their reefs also provide a home in which other marine life can thrive.

​You can join the waiting list to be in with a chance of having one of the four thousand oysters currently being crocheted by the nation's fabulous volunteers by following this link, where you will also find more information about the project.

​Since the start of the new year, Gemma has been making a concerted effort to add a bit more variety to her diet. She believes that it's very easy to get stuck in a rut of eating the same half-dozen favourite dishes time and again, and I agree, so for this month's recipe Gemma is recommending something she hasn't made before - Kimchi Bubble & Squeak Cakes, served with fried eggs. 
 
In case you don't know already, Kimchi is a Korean fermented vegetable dish, most commonly made with cabbage in the West. It does have quite a kick, as it is full of garlic and chilli, so it really livens up the bubble & squeak and, as it is also a fermented food, it is really good for your tummy! So it's a win win! You can find a recipe on the Olive website here. 

​We are heading to Hove to visit some friends today and I am really looking forward to seeing the sea, despite the weather forecast for endless rain! There is something about the pull of the ocean isn't there? I think we all feel it. Of course I am really looking forward to spending time with friends too, especially as we all go way back to our secondary school days, but they have mentioned the idea of having a dip in the sea while we are there - something I am definitely planning to avoid despite my love for it! 
 
As I said in my introduction, I have been doing a lot of crochet this week so I am going to give my hands a bit of a rest, so will resist the allure of my hook for a few days over the weekend. I find I can only crochet for a couple of hours a day otherwise my hands get incredibly sore and clunky. Thankfully there are always lots of other jobs to do besides crochet! 
 
As we take our first steps into February in a couple of days time, I hope this email has found you healthy, happy, safe and warm. 
 
Until next time….

Happy New Year to you all. I think I'm allowed to say it as we are still in January! For this month's book review I have chosen a lovely book, hot off the press, called 'A Crochet Year' by ​Zoë Curtis (Quadrille, January 2026, ISBN9781837834129). Zoë is an independent crochet designer from Cornwall and having grown up in a remote coastal landscape it's not surprising that she draws much of her inspiration from the natural world and the coastline in particular. 

The book is split into four main sections, one for each of the seasons, and each of these sections begins with a description of the season, from both a nature perspective and from a human perspective. As an example, in the section for Spring, there is a description of how blossom starts appearing and the landscape begins its change from brown to green, from barren to lush and we start to want to spend more time outdoors. It also considers the concept of the 'Spring Clean' and how we can use natural materials to make items for the home that are both practical and biodegradable. In other words they can be used until they are thoroughly worn out and can then be returned to the earth as the materials they are made from biodegrade. With this in mind the Spring section contains projects for a linen tea towel, a laundry bag and raffia place mats among others. 

The book doesn't just contain patterns for household items, there are garments and accessories too. From a delicate cotton filet crochet wrap in Summer to a simple granny square vest designed to be worn over a jumper, in the Winter section. I particularly like the simple patchwork wrap made from a mixture of plain and striped blocks of simple double crochet stitches. Sometimes complicated patterns can feel like too much and the idea of gradually working on and accumulating a set of simple squares to assemble into a wrap really appeals. I think it could also be a great way of using small amounts of yarn, that would never be enough for a full project, but could make one or two squares as part of a bigger item. 

As you can possibly tell, I like this book very much. It's so very calming to leaf through, with the gorgeous seascapes and natural, understated colours. The projects are thoughtful and useful and Zoë's perspective on nature and crafting strikes a deep chord with me. 

The book also contains a comprehensive information section, covering tools, techniques, abbreviations and symbols and, usefully for me but becoming more unusual, the book uses UK terminology throughout. 

I highly recommend this book if you are a mindful crocheter, happy to take time over your projects and keen to embrace aspects of the natural world as you work. Or perhaps this is the year that you are able to slow down, take a breath and try to bring a greater sense of calm to the creative side of your life.

Although the official publication date for this book isn't until January 31st, it is available now on the Search Press website here and if you are in the UK and enter the code DD88 at checkout you will receive a 20% discount and free delivery. 

I'll be back next month with another review. In the meantime keep safe and warm.

Well here we are in January - officially the longest month of the year by at least a fortnight - or so it always feels anyway! With the twinkly lights of Christmas packed away for another year it seems odd to think that only a fortnight or so ago we were still in the holiday spirit, welcoming in the first days of 2026.
 
I don't seem to have a lot to show for the last couple of weeks, other than a tidy desk and depleted stash thanks to a good old sort out over the festive period. There was, as always, a whole lot of lurgy going on in our house for what seemed like weeks on end, so at least it is good to be over that and hopefully fighting fit for all that January has in store! 
 
I hope that you were all able to take a bit of time to rest over the holidays and that you got to spend some time working on a knit or crochet project. At busy times, it is just so good to take a break and get some stitching done.
 
I have a few things to tell you about today, including news of a new project that will be released next week and an exciting new collaboration with Inside Crochet Magazine, which will also make it's debut next week! I hope you have a few spare minutes to catch up with all things Janie Crow!

I designed the Majorelle cushion and project pouch for last year's workshop trip to Morocco with Stitchtopia. The design was inspired by the giant cacti found in the exotic Jardins Majorelle, which once belonged to Yves Saint Laurent and are now an essential visit when in Marrakesh.
 
My project uses the fabulous little 25g balls of Rico Ricorumi 100% cotton yarn, which is just perfect for smaller projects. I have used ten shades of yarn and some fabulously colourful beads from the Debbie Abrahams range to add a decorative touch to the designs.
 
Patterns will available in UK and US terms as paper copies via our store and as downloads via Etsy and Ravelry at a price of £6.95 from next Friday 23rd January. We will be releasing kits on a pre-sale basis on that day too. 
 
I have been working on a blanket version of this design using yarns from the Stylecraft range in a different colour palette. More information on this will come over the next few months, once I have finalised the border.

I like the turn of the year and find it is good time to reflect on what has been achieved and plan for the new year ahead, however I am not sure it is a good time to put new habits into practice. Starting a gym habit for example, is more likely to fall by the wayside at the first hint of a bad weather forecast and lets face it, eating healthier is so much easier in the summer when lighter meals and salads are more appealing.
 
January is a great month to hunker down and be kind to yourself and I often feel like it is a good time to re-set and look forward. We have lots of plans here at Janie Crow, including a couple of new events and a CAL project which will start this time next year. I have also made a few personal resolutions, but not a long, unrealistic list full and I won't be starting on any of them until February, when hopefully things will start to look brighter weather wise.
 
One of our exciting new projects is my Seasonal Journal, which will be published monthly in Inside Crochet Magazine. The first of these four page spreads, where I give ideas for projects, colour ways, recipes and a few technique tips, alongside other things, will feature in magazine 168 which is out on Thursday 22nd January. You can find more information and subscription details for the magazine by following this link.

We have kits for Mexican Diamonds in the pink and red palette, which is gorgeously different to the original version (shown above). We also have kits for the Summer Palace Blanket in the original colour way (shown below) and for the Royal Garden Blanket in the Stylecraft Special DK version. We have a few Mystical Lanterns kits in the Beatrix colour way, which you can find here. This kit is also made using Stylecraft Special DK.
 
You can find all our kits and yarn packs by following this link and all our paper patterns here. If you would prefer download copies then check out our Etsy and Ravelry stores.

Due to a cancellation there is one spot available on my trip to France with Stitchtopia in June. The trip is via Eurostar to Paris and from there we will visit Rouen for a couple of days before we travel to Claude Monet's garden at Giverny. We will then head to Paris for a guided tour and a river cruise and the holiday will also include three workshops with me and a trip to the Palace of Versailles.
 
You can find more information by following this link. You need to set your search to 1 person to find this holiday as the default is to search for 2. 

As I said already, we have some exciting things in store for the year, including workshops, events and new designs. Here are a few dates for your diary if you want to catch up with us:
 
Our first residential workshop of the year will be at Nunsmere Hall in April. This is currently sold out, but if we have any cancellations I will let you know. The workshop is organised by Inspired Minds, which is a partnership company made up of myself and Andy, plus talented hand knit designer Debbie Abrahams and her assistant Sue. We host a couple of workshops a year and they are always very well received. 
 
If you want to join the mailing list to find out about any new residential workshops (there are a few coming soon!) then head over to the site by following this link to sign up to the newsletter. There are still a couple of spaces on Debbie's workshop at Seaview Hydro Spa Hotel in Scotland in June. You can find more information by following this link.

The Stitch Festival will take place at London's Business Design Centre in March. We are hoping to be able to give you a discount code for tickets within the next couple of weeks over on our social media platforms and you can find more info here. We won't be exhibiting this year, but I like the idea of a wander around - it is a great show!
 
We will once again be exhibiting at Wonderwool Wales at the end of April. We have been doing this show for many years now and love it! We are really looking forward to the event this year as the show is celebrating its twentieth birthday!
 
In early June I will be leading the workshop trip to Northern France, which I have told you about already, and then towards the end of the month we will be hosting a new and very exciting Janie Crow event. We are working on the arrangements for this at the moment and hope to give you more information in early February

We are often asked about the practicalities of hanging crochet blankets as an artwork on the wall. We often hang my blankets at shows, but are sure to turn them often so that they don't stretch. We use poster clips to hold some of them and hooks for others and I have one blanket (Bohemian Blooms) that I have sewn a backing onto so that a curtain pole can be threaded through.
 
I was recently shown this fabulous version of Spirit of Flora made by Naomi Guy, which has been attached to a wooden panel backing. Isn't it fabulous! I am so grateful to Naomi for allowing me to share the images here. You can find more information within the Spirit of Flora group on Facebook here.

The Janie Crow team were all a bit obsessed by the Baileys laden slow cooker fruit cake recipe I shared before Christmas - we all loved it and will definitely be adding it to our festive favourites for next year. If you had a go at making it too then I would love to hear what you thought of it.
 
Andy made his usual delicious Vegetarian Wellington for Christmas Day. I have shared the recipe for this quite a few times, but in case you missed it previously you can find it here. It is a bit labour intensive, especially if (like Andy) you also want to make the pastry, but it is yummy.
 
In the funny period between Christmas and New Year, I fancied making something hearty and warming so I followed this recipe for a mushroom galette by Dom in the Kitchen. The pie filling was good, but it was the pastry that made me add it to my winter recipe collection as it was simply delicious! Not the best pic above, but the light wasn't great and the galette didn't hang around long enough for me to capture it in day light! The tiny bit we had left for the next day was yummy cold, so I think this would make a good thing to enjoy with a side salad in the summertime too.
 
I adore aubergines and have made this recipe for black bean parmigiana a couple of times now. It is super easy and really yummy, so I recommend you give it a go. I followed the recipe from the Bold Beans cookbook, but you can also find it here. 

With more time than usual to faff about making breakfasts over the festive season, I finally managed to perfect making poached eggs, and, after a five year hiatus (thanks to covid and the death of my previous starter), this week I have finally returned to making sourdough bread.
 
I was really amazed by how well my first loaf turned out as I honestly didn't believe that the simplicity of the technique I found on Instagram would work. The only down side was that we ate more than half a loaf at one sitting, so my bread making will definitely have to only be a once a week event! You can find the recipe and video tutorial that I followed, by Toast with Hope, by clicking here. 

Andy and I are off to a curry night with some friends this evening, but have very few weekend plans other than to make some more bread! What we end up doing will be based on the weather forecast as Andy is keen to get outside in the garden. He has big plans for extending the patio down by the studio so will no doubt he will be busy digging out some foundations! It's the sunniest spot in the summer so it would be good to make room for a larger table and more chairs.
 
Waltham Abbey Wool Show will take place on Sunday if you fancy getting out and about. I have bought a ticket as it is a great show and it would be great to catch up with some yarny friends. You can find tickets still for sale here and there are also some workshop places still available.
 
I am looking forward to getting properly back to work next week after a slightly faltered start. I have created a Pinterest board for my new CAL and have started to pick out some shades so I am excited about the idea of launching into something new. I also have quite a few workshop projects to design, so there definitely isn't a lack of things for me to do! 
 
I hope that whatever you have planned for the weekend and the next week or so, that you have a great time and that you are keeping safe and well. Big yarny hugs as always….

Welcome back to our regular book review feature. I'm scraping into December by the skin of my teeth. It's always easy to underestimate just how busy life becomes around Christmas/school holiday times. 

This month I've been looking at another book by the fabulous Anna Nikipirowicz, following hot on the heels of 'Crochet Socks that Rock' comes 'The Crochet Stitch Companion for Blankets & Afghans' (Search Press 2025 ISBN: 978-1-80092-293-8).

As the title of the book suggests this is a stitch directory, but not your average stitch directory. It is divided into five sections: Stitches, Motifs, Edges, Blankets and a comprehensive techniques section. 

The Stitches section includes both written instructions and charts, stitch multiples and a rating  of easy, moderate or challenging to help you choose according to your skill level, although with such comprehensive instructions I think anyone could have a try of any of the stitch patterns. The Motifs section divides the motifs by shape. covering hexagons, squares and diamond shapes and there are ten patterns in the Edges section, several of them really quite unusual, such as the Fair Isle and Overlay Mosaic stitch patterns. They also include stitch multiples so they can be adapted to work with your own blanket designs. 

The layout of the book is clear and concise, with the text set in lots of white space so the pages aren't cluttered. US terms are used throughout.

There are four suggested blanket patterns so that you can have a go at testing several of the stitch patterns, motifs and edge stitches without needing to incorporate them into a design of your own. The blankets are colourful and look fun to make, with a variety of stitches/motifs to try out. You can see the Teignmouth Blanket in the photo below.

As today is the 31st December and I have just finished the squares for my JC temperature blanket my first job for this book will be to help me choose the edging! Emma would have me launching straight into a picot edging but I'm just not sure! 

If you like the look of Anna's book and fancy getting hold of a copy for yourself you can find it on the Search Press website here. If you are in the UK you can get a 20% discount and free delivery by entering the code DD88 at checkout. 

I'll be back next month but I haven't chosen a book yet so if you have any suggestions do let me know in the comments. Happy New Year! 

Have you made your list and checked it twice? Have you managed to get the tree up and at least started a bit of gift preparation? I can only say yes to one of these questions, but with less than a fortnight to go before the big day I hope that you guys are getting into the swing of the festivities! 
 
We have continued to be so busy here at Janie Crow and my list of work related jobs seems to be growing, rather than dwindling as we head towards the Christmas break, but as things generally start to slow down over the next week or so, I am confident of having my to do list whittled down to very little in preparation for new and exciting things in 2026.
 
I have a few things to tell you about this week, so I hope you have a bit of spare time to catch up with my news….

I have really been impressed by how far the competitors on The Game of Wool have come in terms of their design and technique skills since the first programme only five weeks ago. Seeing their progression and experimentation with crochet has been particularly great and I can't wait to see what challenges they will face next.
 
During filming of the third episode, when I was lucky enough to be a guest judge, Tom Daley and I grabbed the chance to have a quick catch-up over a spot of freeform crochet and you can find the resulting video on YouTube by following this link. 

If you have seen The Game of Wool shows already, then you might fancy listening to the Craft Talkin podcasts, which are recorded straight after the show is aired on Sunday evenings. Alongside hosts Merion and Jamie, you will find guests such as Emma Varnam and Anna Nikopirowicz discussing the projects and competitors featured in the weekly episodes.

We still have a really healthy stock of kits and patterns, so if you are looking for a project to work on over the holidays, or want to get one as a gift you should be able to find what you want in our shop.
 
Please note that we will not be able to guarantee the dispatch of items after the 18th December because many of our suppliers will close on Friday 19th for the festive break. This means there is less than a week left if you want to purchase anything from us and get it in time for Christmas. 
 
We will also be taking a break over the holiday period and so, even though you will be able to purchase items from our store throughout the holiday period, we will not be processing any orders until week beginning 5th January.

We are continuing to see a spike in sales of kits for projects that were shown on The Game of Wool a few weeks ago, including the Climbing Rose Wrap (shown above) and the Mystical Lanterns blanket. The Marrakesh version of Persian Tiles is also proving particularly popular and we have lots of stock of the Eastern Jewels colour way too.
 
You can find all our kits and yarn packs by following this link and all our paper patterns here. If you would prefer download copies then check out our Etsy and Ravelry stores.

It's no secret that I adore a bit of bling and love adding beads to my projects. You can find my beading masterclass pull out brochure in this month's copy of Inside Crochet Magazine, which you can find by following this link. 
 
I have also updated the Halley Pouch project (shown below) to make a shawl version (also shown below) in the same edition of the magazine. Yarn and bead packs for this project are available exclusively via Wool Warehouse by following this link.

Emma has been busy planning our traditional Twelve Days of Christmas 
posts for social media, which will run from Christmas Day through to Twelfth Night the 5th January. We have some really lovely posts planned and may well have a few offers in the mix, so do make sure to check out our Instagram and Facebook feeds to get involved.

At the weekend I made the viral three ingredient slow cooker fruit cake which is doing the rounds on social media at the moment. It is a tad boozy, which is not surprising given the ingredients, but it is super yummy and our cake certainly didn't hang around for very long! 
 
All you need is a bottle of Baileys. Not the huge one, I used around 700ml I guess. Between 800g and a kilo of dried fruit and 300g Self Raising Flour. 
 
I soaked the fruit in the Baileys for a couple of days in the fridge, then mixed in the flour. I lined the slow cooker with baking paper and set it to cook on low. The recipe says to cook it for about 4 hours, but it took mine 5 hours to firm up a bit after testing it with a skewer after 3. 
 
The cake is really good, but is definitely better if you leave it a few days before eating. Ours evened out and improved a lot by day three, but we had eaten most of it by then!

I'm usually all over the festive season like a rash and can't wait to head out to see the lights and get on with my holiday planning, but this year I have really struggled to get in the swing of things. I think it might be because we have been so busy at Janie Crow and October was taken up with shows and workshops. I was also unwell for about five weeks, right into the middle of November, so I guess that has made me feel like I am playing catch up with everything.
 
Andy and I are heading into town today to spend time with the lovely Sarah and Paul Hazell (the other half of our show team if you've ever met them at Yarndale or Wonderwool) and I am really excited about seeing the lights and store windows and catching up with them. I am sure that their company and being in London will have its usual effect on me and have me super excited and feeling festive in no time.

I have pretty much finished decorating the spare bedroom and have really enjoyed adding a few finishing touches over the last couple of days - moving all my ornaments and nicknacks around the house to choose which bits look good in the newly decorated room. Having a freshly painted space has made me realise just how in need of a spruce up the rest of the bungalow is, so hopefully there will be some time in the new year to add a few more DIY jobs to the ever growing list of things to do.  
 
We have a super busy weekend planned with a catch up with old school friends to see a local band on Saturday evening and we are hosting a Christmas get together with another group of friends on Sunday, so I guess we better make some time to put up the Christmas tree and get all the decorations out at some point too! 
 
I have seen a load of reels about making your own wreath this year, and I particularly liked this one on Instagram, so I am hoping to have a go at that tomorrow. I found a second hand wicker basket on Vinted and have collected some bay, rosemary and olive branches from my Mum and Dad's garden in preparation. We also have plenty of ivy and yew in our garden that I can cut, so I am sure I can cobble something together! If it is any good I will post a pic on the Janie Crow Lifestyle Instagram feed. 

I recently posted a blog where I talk about my Christmas traditions - you can find it by following this link. From the general sound of this email I think I probably need to remind myself of it too! I trust you will forgive me for being a little bah humbug - I promise to rid myself of the Grinchy feeling by the time I press send on this email!
 
I leave you this week with a link to this video taken by my daughter of our fabulous grandpup, Sto, having a bit of quality time with their festive decorations. Not sure how long their tree is going to withstand so much attention! 

It's been an eventful couple of weeks here at Janie Crow with our festive workshop at Bournemouth and an incredibly busy website in the mix! Time seems to be rushing by at such a rate and it's hard to believe that Christmas is now less than three weeks away. I don't feel at all festive yet, but hopefully that will change this weekend when we are hoping to put up our decorations. On our street the seasonal lights and decorations are going up earlier every year, with some appearing at the end of November, so we are definitely the late comers round here! 
 
Over the last fortnight we have seen an incredible number of new followers on our social media accounts, which we are guessing is as a result of The Game of Wool. If you are new to this newsletter - welcome! I hope you will all enjoy catching up with my news.

​We have a really healthy stock of kits and patterns at the moment, so if you are looking for a project to work on over the holidays, or want to get one as a gift you should be able to find what you want in our shop.
 
Please note that we will not be able to guarantee the dispatch of items after the 18th December because many of our suppliers will close on Friday 19th for the festive break. This means there is really only a fortnight left if you want to purchase anything from us and get it in time for Christmas.

We have seen a bit of a run on kits for projects that were shown on The Game of Wool a few weeks ago, including the Climbing Rose Wrap and the Mystical Lanterns blanket. The Marrakesh version of Persian Tiles is also proving particularly popular and we have lots of stock of the Eastern Jewels colour way too. 
 
You can find all our kits and yarn packs by following this link and all our paper patterns here. If you would prefer download copies then check out our Etsy and Ravelry stores.

If you're struggling to choose a project then how about a gift card? They are available in lots of monetary values from £10 to £250. You can find them by following this link.
 
If you fancy getting some accessories, rather than a kit or pattern, don't forget about our Emma Ball items, which includes things like stitch markers, project bags and storage tins. You can find the range here.

It's hard to believe that we are rapidly approaching the end of our temperature blanket project, with the final month now here. Gemma has struggled at times to keep up, but has made a start on the November squares and, with the Christmas holidays fast approaching, she is hoping to get back up to speed and be ready to start putting a border on as we see the New Year in. In the picture below you can see the simple moss stitch border that Gemma added to our sample blanket - we are really looking forward to seeing your ideas for finishing off. 
 
We have now set up a temperature blanket page on the website so, if you didn't join in this year but fancy having a go in 2026, you can find all the information you need in one place. 
 
In the second photo below you can see an absolutely gorgeous version we found over on Instagram by crafts_r_for_us. Those pinks and peaches are beautiful aren't they! 

Over on Instagram Emma shared that her pre-Christmas crochet project this year is a Mystical Lanterns pelmet. Those of you who have been following us for some time may remember that this pelmet was originally made by Jane's friend Rosemary and incorporates tiny mirrors and bells into the design. You can read all about it in a blog post here. You can see Rosemary's pelmet in the first picture below. We can't wait to see how this progresses. Keep us posted Emma! ​

The blues and golds on the decorations below by Louise Haigh are just stunning. Thank you both for sharing your photos with us. ​

It has all been about The Game of Wool out in the online yarny world over the last few weeks and, love it or hate it, you can't deny it has got people talking about knitting and crochet, which can only be a good thing! We're looking forward to what weird and wonderful projects are still to come over the remaining episodes of the series. 
 
Tom Daley and I managed to grab a bit of crochet time in between filming and had a good chat about our yarny passions - you can find a video of our catch up over on Youtube by following this link.

This month Gemma took a closer look at the recently published ‘Crochet Socks that Rock’ by Anna Nikipriowicz (David & Charles 2025 ISBN-13:9781446314517). 
 
Was this dedicated sock knitter converted to the crochet variety? You'll have to head on over to the blog to find out!

Andy and I have been vegetarian since 2020 so this year will be our fifth veggie Christmas. Andy tends to make this vegetarian wellington and I also make a celeriac and spinach bake. I only make it at Christmas and love the smell of nutmeg and gruyere when it is cooking in the oven. I can't find the recipe online - I think it was originally published in a Sainsburys magazine. This recipe is similar but without the spinach.
 
Gemma has been assigned the task of cooking a vegetarian main course for this year's family Christmas dinner too, so she has been browsing for inspiration. In the lead at the moment is this parsnip, feta and butterbean pie, over on the Good Food website, but she is considering swapping the parsnips out for sweet potato as sometimes the flavour of parsnip can be a little overpowering. She's going to have a practice run any day now, so we'll keep you posted. If you have any tried and tested recipes that you could recommend do let us know and we will pass them on. 

​Inside Crochet Magazine recently asked me about my festive traditions and they printed a summary of the interview in their most up to date magazine. You can find the full piece, with lots of questions about me and my work, as well as my Christmas wish list, on the blog here.
 
I have been doing a little bit of decorating this week and am looking forward to the weekend when I hope to get it finished. Our little bungalow is in need of quite a lot of TLC having been pretty neglected since lockdown, so I am hoping that this most recent spate of DIY will continue long enough for me to knock a few other rooms back into shape. I really love the planning side of decorating but am not keen on the reality of the endless prep and brush washing! In fact my favourite part of any project is making the Pinterest board! You can find the board I made for our little spare bedroom by following this link if you are interested!
 
We will be puppy sitting for a few days from tomorrow and I am really looking forward to having our little grandpup around over the weekend. He is such a little love and thankfully is finally calming down a bit! 
 
I will be back in your inbox next Friday, rather than in a fortnight's time, with the December newsletter so do look out for my next email.
 
Big yarny hugs….

​Inside Crochet Magazine recently asked me about my festive traditions and they published a short summary in the most recent magazine. Here is the interview in full for those of you who want to find out a bit more about me and my Christmas!

​Tell us a bit about yourself – where do you live, with family/pets?
 
I live in suburban North London with my husband Andy (who is also my business partner) and our grown-up son Charlie. Our daughter, Summer, left home more than five years ago now. She has a fabulous husband and a puppy who is now coming up to a year old, so we get to have doggy snuggles most weeks!
 
I love living in London and can’t imagine being anywhere else. We are just a seven-minute walk from a tube station, but, as we live on the edge of the green belt, it is quite rural here too, with a cricket pitch and a large country park at the top of our road. We are lucky to be able to go for long walks in the woods, but also pop into the centre of London very quickly and easily, so we feel it is the best of both worlds. 
 
Andy and I have never moved more than about five miles away from where we were brought up and we are very lucky to have our extended family very close by so no one needs to travel too far for Christmas festivities!

Could you tell us a bit about what you do/make, and how long you’ve been crocheting for?
 
I studied textiles to degree level and specialized in machine knitting, later becoming a hand knitter and working as a design consultant, helping people with their hand knit projects, doing demos and teaching workshops. In 2005 I started to get to grips with crochet and really enjoyed the portability and 3D nature of what I could create. I find crochet much more organic in terms of designing compared to hand knitting and love mixing techniques and colours – somehow my brain seems to work better in crochet than it does in knitting.
 
I design items for the home mostly. Blankets, throws, cushions and such like. I also make accessories such as shawls, scarves and bags. I think of my designs as works of art and can only really envisage flat things when I design – a bit like paintings in frames! I cant seem to get my head around designing garments. I have been trying that over the last year or so, but I haven’t been very productive at it yet!  

What inspires your designs, and how would you describe your style?
 
As part of my textiles degree, I studied the History of Art, and I always enjoyed learning about individual artists and movements. My mum was very proactive at taking me to exhibitions when I was younger, so I have always been surrounded by art. When I was doing my degree, we always had to back up our design work with proof of where our ideas came from and this is something I still do today, and I often use the work of artists as the inspiration for my designs.
 
I love surface pattern and tessellations and often look at existing textiles, wallpaper and carpets as inspiration too. I would say my work is quite decorative and I like pretty little touches and clever stitch combinations. I spend a huge amount of time playing with colours – choosing a palette for a project might be my favourite bit.

​How do you like to celebrate Christmas – can you share some of your favourite family traditions? 
 
I really enjoy the lead up to Christmas and all the planning involved in it. We tend to host a few gatherings of friends in the weeks before the big day and always travel into London a couple of times to see the Christmas lights and look in the shop windows. We like to see a show at this time of year too, often choosing a musical or circus (not animals). 
 
We start the food prep a few weeks before the big day. Andy makes a cracking vegetarian wellington from scratch– even the flaky pastry, which can be frozen a few weeks before. 
 
Our Christmas traditions have changed a little now that my children are grown up and Summer doesn’t live at home. Charlie often works on the days either side of Christmas, so we don’t travel and tend to stick close to home. I like to batten down the hatches al little during Christmas week and we get out the board games and jigsaws.
 
We don’t watch TV on Christmas Day and don’t do gift giving until after lunch. We do always watch the Gavin and Stacey Christmas episodes over the holiday period and can often be found quoting Smiffy’s version of ‘Do they Know its Christmas’. Our main aim is being together as a family regardless of what day it is, so we have been known to have our official Christmas celebrations on Christmas Eve or Boxing Day, depending on who is working or needs to be somewhere else on Christmas Day.

What do you most look forward to doing during the festive season?
 
We lead a really busy life with lots of commitments, both work and personal, so Christmas is traditionally a time when we opt out a little and look forward to some serious R&R. (Of course, that tends to mean that we get poorly!)
 
We usually do the food shopping so that we don’t have to touch a supermarket for about ten days other than to nip in for some fresh fruit and vegetables.
 
I love spending time with all the family, but I also really enjoy not having any arrangements and we tend to go for lots of walks and watch movies. I usually cast on a new knit project on Boxing Day or make it my mission to finish some WIPs before the New Year.

​How do you like to decorate your home for the festivities – what’s the look you go for, and has this evolved over the years?
 
I never really have a plan, and I don’t really agree with the whole consumerism side of having a fresh look, with new decorations and themes year after year, so I guess my look is not curated!
 
There is always something that has got broken in the loft in the eleven months between packing the decorations away and getting them out again, so the last few years I have been trying to source things that are more environmentally friendly, such as wooden, tin or felted versions.
 
I also try to source items we can use again. Last year I bought a couple of (real) small trees that sat either side of my mantel piece. They have been out in the garden all summer in new pots and are thriving, so I don’t think they will fit there this year! I tend to cut foliage from the garden and buy a real fir wreath to hang over the fireplace. It all gives off that lovely piney smell and makes up for the fact that we don’t have a real tree. 
 
We have an artificial ‘snow’ covered tree that we have had for about 20 years. It is a little less snowy every year and the house gets covered in white powder when we put it up, but I still love it and think it will probably ‘see us out!’ We have some heirloom baubles and tree decorations that have been passed down a few generations and I still have some that the kids made at school when they were little, so our tree tends to be a real mish mash of things with no real theme. Andy recently referred to it as a tree full of memories, which I think is lovely! 

​I do have a bit of a thing for Christmas bedding. The brushed cotton duvet covers are my favourite and we tend to put them on at the beginning of December, alternating the sets throughout the holidays. 
 
I love seeing the house all twinkly and festive in the lead up to Christmas, but I admit that I take the tree and decs down before New Year if I can. It just doesn’t feel the same when the festivities are over and I like to go into the New Year with everything tidy and sorted. A fresh start I suppose.

​You are well known for your beading, sparkle and rich colourways – can you share some tips for capturing the Jane Crowfoot Christmas look in our own homes this year?
 
Traditional palettes, like green, red and white are not so fashionable anymore and I really like the vintage 50's feel that is popular again. I like a bit of kitsch too and have some lovely old decorations that belonged to Andy’s Grandmother that come out every year. I believe she collected coupons from boxes of Fairy washing powder to save up enough to get them! 
 
I often look for things that would look great in the house in the charity shops in the lead up to Christmas. Last year I found a fabulous candelabra which I decorated with cuttings from the garden and there are always serving platters and festive tableware that can be picked up at little expense. Vintage cut glass vases and bowls, with baubles and fairy lights in, look lovely placed around the house for a quick and easy festive feel.
 
If you fancy making some crochet decorations, then adding beads will give you an instant sparkle. It’s a good idea to add a contrast bead rather than a close match to your yarn as this will create more on an impact. I don’t believe that there are colours that don’t go together – I think it is all a case of quantity and impact. When I am designing, I tend to go with the ‘suck it and see’ method of choosing a colour palette. I sample a yarn shade by adding it in - if I like it, then it stays, if I don’t like it, I rip back and try another. 
 
Cosy crochet blankets look great stacked up ready for those evenings by the TV. Andy and I have our favourites that are always in the living room, but at Christmas time I tend to dig out a few more so that we can all snuggle down and get comfy!

Do you have any Christmas designs and if so, which are your most popular patterns?
 
Handknit Designer Debbie Abrahams and myself run a festive workshop every year in Bournemouth and we both design a project for it. I tend to release these as patterns so there are quite a few now. There are also the designs that I have created for Inside Crochet Magazine over the years – the beaded decorations that featured in a supplement in 2020 and the Glitzy Stocking that I designed last year.

​Tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the patterns you’ve created for Inside Crochet for this Christmas issue?
 
I had the idea of making an artwork with the decorations and decided that I wanted them to create the shape of a Christmas tree, so I worked on shapes and sizes that would all go together and allow me mount them as a cohesive piece as well as looking good on their own. When making the decorations this year I realized that the designs echoed those that I have made previously, which must mean that I have a standard way of doing things and that when it comes to Christmas my brain thinks of flowers and stars! 
 
I really love playing around with beads to get new effects. Making beaded loops and hooking them up later on in the design is so exciting and is a technique I have used in the decorations and the Halley wrap. 

​Do you like to make handmade gifts for friends and family? Which makes have been the most well-received as gifts? Do you have any reliable patterns (of your own, or others) that always work well as a last-minute gift, for example?
 
Every autumn, I think ‘this will be the year that I make some Christmas gifts’ and every year I fail dismally! I think that because creating crochet pieces is my job it means that when it comes to my downtime, crochet is often the last thing I want to do. I also worry about giving a handmade item that isn’t appreciated, but I do know that there are certain people who understand the amount of work that goes into things.
 
I love to cook, so I spend quite a lot of time making tasty things for people – cookies and brownies make great gifts and there are not many people I know who would refuse a home cooked lasagna either, so this might well be the path I will take this year.
 
Last year Andy prepared lots of bulbs to give as gifts. He planted narcissi bulbs in gravel placed in glass jars and timed their growth perfectly so that they burst into flower in time for festive gift giving. I always plant up some hyacinths too as they fill the house with such a lovely smell and add a great pop of colour in the dreary months of the new year.

​What are you hoping to find in your stocking from Father Christmas this year? 
 
It’s a funny thing as you get older – the whole ‘wanting stuff’ goes out the window and you realise that sharing good times with friends and family makes the perfect gift, so I don’t tend to have a list. That said, Andy and I have been discussing getting an infrared sauna! Decadent I know, but Andy has suffered with arthritis since his mid 20s and finds the cold months of winter quite difficult, so the idea of a sauna is very appealing, and they are not as expensive as I first thought. 
 
We live in a bungalow and don’t have spare space, so the sauna would need to go in the summer house where my studio is currently. We would need to do a bit of shifting things around to find a space and maybe our son would need to move out (hint hint), but it would be nice to think that having one might be a reality as we head into 2026.

​If you could make a Christmas wish, what would it be?
 
Of course I have to say that I wish for peace and goodwill across the globe and that winning the lottery wouldn’t go amiss, but I would also like life to slow down a little as it races past the older you get. A couple of extra hours in a day, an extra day in the week and another one added at the weekend would suit me fine – all with not getting any older at the same time please! 

​What are your new year resolutions for 2026 – or just your plans/dreams for things you’d like to do – both in crochet and in life generally? 
 
In 2025 we gave ourselves too much to do and didn’t have enough down time, so for 2026 I am hoping that life will slow down a little. I like to create a vision board as we go into the New Year but always overfill it so this year I am going to be a little more realistic! I would like to create more crochet art pieces. Some one-offs would be great and I like the idea of revisiting some of my Spirit of Flora designs to see how they would work in finer yarns and new palettes.
 
I decided to get physically strong and upped my fitness this year, so I hope to build on that and keep up with the gym sessions. I have found it really helps my concentration and has been a great asset as I get older. Crochet is going from strength to strength too, so seeing more beginners come through and encouraging more people on their crochet journeys would be an amazing thing to do in 2026! 

It seems like only yesterday that Emma and I were thrashing out the finer detail of how we were going to launch the Janie Crow Temperature Blanket project. We were on the phone comparing our Stylecraft stashes, trying to come up with a colour palette from what we had. Emma sent balls to me and I sent balls to her so that we had a complete set of colours each. I have struggled at times to keep up to date with my blanket, and indeed I didn't manage to stick for long to my routine of adding a round each night. I'm running approximately 1 month behind still. Last month when I checked in I had just started my October squares and this month I have just started November, so at least I have made progress! 

October and November have very definitely brought all the green shades back in to play as the temperatures have cooled. Lime, Meadow and Apple Green have been my most frequently used colours. We did have some crazy temperature variations in November, with the highest temperature at 17 degrees and the lowest at 3 (hello Mint)!

So, here we are at the final month. I hope those of you that have joined in have enjoyed the project. I'm contemplating another temperature project for 2026 but probably a smaller item like a wrap or scarf and probably knitted. I must stop leaping ahead though and probably should consider finishing some of the many projects I have on the go already! 

Here is the December temperature recording chart for you to download:

December chart

I can't wait to see your blankets and how you have decided to join them. I will be back at the end of the month to wrap up this project so I'm determined to get back on track! 

Bye for now