The colour sub documents for the two new versions of my Bohemian Blooms Blanket are available to download for free from the Janie Crow web site. You can find them by following this link.

One of the new versions of the blanket that I have named 'Bloomsbury Gardens' has been designed in a simpler layout than the original and features the square flower and butterfly blocks as the focus. The blanket has been made using Stylecraft Life DK, Life Changes, Bellissima and Batik, all of which are DK weight yarns. Yarn packs for this version of the blanket went out of stock via most of the Janie Crow flagship stores when I mentioned this a few weeks ago. The packs are back in stock on the Just Knots web site.
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Yarn kits include the colour substitution documents, but, if you do not have the original Bohemian Blooms pattern book already you will need to purchase that too. Just Knots have the book at a slightly reduced rate if you buy a kit. If you want to make the blanket using alternative yarns from your stash, then you can order the book from Janie Crow and use the colour sub documents to help you choose a new palette.
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If you haven't already voted in the Craft Business Awards I would really love it if you could take a couple of minutes to do so. You can vote by following this link and you can skip questions you don't want to answer. I have been nominated in the Craft Influencer of the Year category.

It has been a really busy week here at Janie Crow with quite a few late nights, so I am really looking forward to a bit of quiet time over the weekend. Whatever you are doing, I hope you have a great weekend...

Welcome to October's bumper newsletter - the Janie Crow equivalent of a Sunday supplement magazine....

It has been a really busy month here with pretty much back to back yarn shows - Yarndale and The Knitting & Stitching Show. I love shows and it was really fabulous to see so many of you on the stands. Andy, Sarah and I had a great time chatting to you all and it was so good to see your positive reactions to my new work - both Bloomsbury Gardens and the Climbing Rose Wrap kits proved incredibly popular at both shows.

We are now back in the studio for 6 weeks before our next event, so I am looking forward to some catch up time. I have been designing a new CAL project for spring 2020 release and am into the final stages of this. I love seeing big designs come together and I can't wait to show you the project next year.

As we have no more shows until the new year we have put a few events into the Janie Crow diary - one is a workshop with designer Suraya Hossain of Mahliqa Wire and the other is our Winter Open Day here at the studio. You can find more information about these events and find out about other plans within the 'Dates for your Diary' feature of this month's newsletter.

If you have five minutes to spare, I hope you will be in a position to prepare a drink of choice, settle into a comfy chair and enjoy a catch up with all things Janie Crow....
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If you have a spare minute or two I would love it if you would vote for me. The link to the poll is here. You can skip any of the categories if you are unsure of your favourite choice within them. Thank you!!!
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I am really pleased that Suraya Hossain of Mahliqa is coming to the studio on Sunday 10th November to tutor a 'Knitting with Wire' workshop. You can find information about this class by following this link. There are just 8 places on this workshop, so you may need to sign up quickly if you want to come. We will be adding 2 new crochet workshops to the diary for 2020, so do look out for those in the future.
 

I get asked a lot to tutor both knit and crochet workshops and although I really love teaching I have decided that for 2020 at least I am going to step back a little and do fewer day long or weekend workshops. Teaching on longer workshops, like the trip to India with Knit For Peace and my recent trip to Ireland gives participants a chance to really get stuck into a project and hone their skills, so I am really pleased to be able to finally confirm that I will be teaching on a 10 day cruise to Iceland as part of Arena Travel's Stitchtopia workshop programme in late June/early July next year.
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Details of the trip have been published on the Arena web site today and I have been told by the company that 8 places have already been sold, so it looks like the trip is going to fill up fast! You can find more information on the web site here, but you will need to phone Arena to discuss your booking as the cabin configurations are quite complicated.

STOP PRESS! There is just one place left on the Knit For Peace workshop trip to Mysore in January 2020. Juliet Bernard will be joining me as my assistant and we are really looking forward to the trip. Book the last space now!!!
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I met Louise Drosdzol a few years ago. Louise is an expert crocheter who has made some of my display blankets whilst pattern checking my designs. As well as being an ace crocheter Louise is also an expert on hand dying yarn using natural dyes.

Louise has recently started running workshops at The Riverbarn Arts Centre in Walton-On-Thames and she has two forthcoming workshops for the autumn. You can find more information on Louise's web site by following this link.

Introduction to Natural Dyeing and Foraging
Sunday 10th November £35 11am - 3pm

In this workshop you will learn how you can forage and use seasonal and regionally relevant plants to create lasting and effective colours. Louise will cover her favourite local plants and what colours to expect. You will collect and forage along the beautiful Thames Path in Walton Upon Thames and then return to Riverhouse Barn to make magic!

An in depth 2 day course.
Sunday 1st December and Sunday 8th December 2019 £80

On this course we will discover how by using different natural mordents and colour modifiers we can make at least 20 different colours from one dye pot of Madder root dye. After this course you will be able to make the most of every natural dye bath you prepare, to achieve a variety of predictable colours.

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As you already know, I really love getting images of your projects. I really like seeing different colour ways and alternative layouts that you have come up with using my designs as a basis, but it is also really fabulous to hear how the projects have made you feel whilst crocheting and it is especially nice to hear how they have been included in special events, such as baby showers, weddings and big birthday celebrations.

Helen Miller recently got in touch to share an image of her Lotus Flower Shawl, which was worn by her new daughter in law during her wedding celebrations. Helen kindly gave me her permission to share the image below of her son and her gorgeous new daughter-in-law on their wedding day.
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Helen's email read as follows:

'I contacted you earlier this year with a picture of a beautiful pin I had bought for the Lotus Flower shawl I had made. I still have the pin but I will be reordering the shawl kit as I am delighted to say that my new daughter-in-law decided that the shawl was perfect for her wedding! I had promised to make her a shawl, but we could find neither yarn nor pattern that seemed just right when, by chance, she saw my Lotus Flower shawl and fell in love with it. She wore it on her wedding day and it was much admired. I have attached a picture for you.'
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Just in case you missed it last month....

BIPOC in Fiber is the new name for what began as the POC Designers & Crafters List started in 2018 by Jeanette Sloan. Originally posted on Jeanette’s blog, the list quickly proved both popular and useful. Highlighting the many people of colour who work with fibre, the list reveals an urgent community-wide demand to see and support those talents. This very real demand doesn’t just come from other POC, or just from knitters, but from people of all ethnicities and a wide variety of crafting disciplines. This has led to a change of name and given the project a clearer sense of purpose.
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I am a big fan of the work of hand knit and crochet designer Emma Varnam. Emma has a demanding high profile job away from her life as a knit and crochet designer and so it never ceases to amaze me how prolifically she designs new projects.

Emma is the author of lots of fabulous books, but I especially like her toy books, which feature the cutest of crocheted animals. You can find Emma's blog by following this link.
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Emma has recently talked about her process for making for the lovely crocheted cardigan above and about the perils of making a project that combines knit and crochet patches. If you have some time to spare over the weekend, why not check out her lovely blog.
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We are looking forward to Summer and Chris's engagement party on Saturday evening. I made a prototype engagement cake a couple of weeks ago and made the new cake last night. I don't know whether I had beginners luck with the first cake as it seemed like harder work yesterday - I had a few 'bake off' disaster moments where I thought the cake was going to go off skew, but I managed the crumb coat of buttercream and am looking forward to decorating it properly this afternoon. I never thought I would manage to make a cake like this, but with the help of YouTube tutorials by Cupcake Jemma I think I managed to make a pretty decent job of it! Below is an image of my first cake and I will (hopefully) show you the final cake next week so long as all goes to plan!

Whilst at The Knitting and Stitching Show last week I fell in love with a hand knit design by Erika Knight. The project is a slouchy cropped cardigan called Fettle (shown below). I haven't knitted anything for ages, but I am already really enjoying working on this project. I am using West Yorkshire Spinners Illustrious DK, which is knitting up really nicely. I am hoping to get some 'me time' on the sofa this weekend to work a little bit more of this project. I am nearly at the end of the rib on the back piece and am looking forward to some relaxing stocking stitch!
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Anyway, that is it from me for another week. I hope that things are good where you are and that you are looking forward to a lovely weekend, whatever you have planned. As always if you want to get in touch please hit reply...

Yarny love and crochet kisses..
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If you have a spare minute or two I would love it if you would vote for me. The link to the poll is here. You can skip any of the categories if you are unsure of your favourite choice within them.
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One of the new versions of the blanket that I have named 'Bloomsbury Gardens' has been designed in a simpler layout than the original and features the square flower and butterfly blocks as the focus. The blanket has been made using Stylecraft Life DK, Life Changes, Bellissima and Batik, all of which are DK weight yarns. Yarn packs for this version of the blanket are available via the Just Knots web site.
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We are looking forward to a weekend at home. I am hoping to have a practice run at making a cake for Summer and Chris's engagement party in a few weeks time. I have never iced a large cake before, so it remains to be seen how this is going to turn out. I will let you know!
 
Whatever you are doing, I hope you have a great weekend. As always, if you have anything you want to share with us please let us know.

Yarny love and crochet kisses...
 

Last week saw the release of the second motif from my Climbing Rose Wrap via Inside Crochet Magazine. This month's motif is called Anemone and the inspiration for it came from the kind of flowers that William Morris may have had in his own garden twinned with the styling of his famous fabric and wallpaper designs.

The project has been designed as a large comfy wrap, but because of it's size and weight you could also use it as a runner - I think it would sit beautifully on a bed or draped over a sofa.
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The Climbing Rose CAL Facebook group now has over 1500 members and you can find it by following this link, or clicking on the banner above. All images are courtesy of Inside Crochet Magazine and Leanne Dixon.

If you are still looking for a yarn kit to accompany the project you will find them on Just Knots, Wool Warehouse and Black Sheep Wools.
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This week Helen Prentice sent me an image of her 'Primavera' version of my Frida's Flowers CAL project.

A while ago Helen and I had a discussion about how she might be able to hang her blanket up on her wall. Helen says:

'I remember talking to you at Bournemouth last year about mounting my crochet and I’m delighted to say I’ve finally managed it and am very pleased with the result and thought you might like to see it. Richard, my husband, put batons on the wall at the top and bottom. I mounted the crochet on a piece of material and have used Velcro to attach it.'

I think Helen has done an amazing job, so I asked her if she would be happy for me to include her in this week's newsletter.
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I hope this email finds you well and that you are looking forward to the weekend....

It has been another speedy week here at Janie Crow especially as we had a very cheeky Monday away from the studio to travel back from our weekend trip up to see Andy's family in Cleethorpes. We had a really great weekend - the fish and chips totally lived up to expectations and the weather was surprisingly good. We managed to have some lovely walks on the sand dunes and some time playing on the beach. Of course we managed to squeeze in about a thousand ice creams and had great fun taking part in a family game of crazy golf on the seafront! Oh and doughnuts, there were lots of warm doughnuts........

So, it was back to reality with a thump on Tuesday when we returned to the studio. Thankfully the wonderful Sue had once again done an amazing job holding the fort at Janie Crow and Just Knots. She is a total star!
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Yesterday saw the release of the next motif from my Climbing Rose Wrap via Inside Crochet Magazine. This month's motif is called Anemone and the inspiration for it came from the kind of flowers that William Morris may have had in his own garden twinned with the styling of his famous fabric and wallpaper designs.

I am amazed at how quickly many of you are ploughing through the project and so grateful to all those of you who have been in contact to say how much you are enjoying it.
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Don't forget that there is a dedicated Facebook Group for the Climbing Rose CAL. The group now has over 1500 members and was created by my fabulous friend and talented crocheter Sue Macdonald. You can find the group by following this link, or clicking on the banner above. All images are courtesy of Inside Crochet Magazine and Leanne Dixon.

If you are still looking for a yarn kit to accompany the project you will find them on Just Knots, Wool Warehouse and Black Sheep Wools.
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This week we have submitted our yarn orders for kits to take to Yarndale next Friday. I cannot believe how fast the show is suddenly approaching and I am scared that it will be over within the blink of an eye - it is my favourite show, but it always comes and goes so quickly! We are planning to take lots of yarn kits and patterns, as well as hooks and needles, but if you are coming to the show and want to reserve anything in particular please let us know so that we can have it put to one side for you.
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My fellow Blogstar, Emma May, aka Pippin Poppycock, has designed a lovely slouchy crochet beret using Cosy Delights - a beautiful snuggly soft chunky weight yarn from Stylecraft.

The pattern uses just 1 ball of yarn and a 5.5mm hook.
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I have featured the beaded crochet technique a few times within my newsletters over the last couple of years, but as there are a lot of new members on the mailing list I thought it might be good to feature it again, especially as beaded crochet is becoming more and more popular.
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Do you already follow JANIE CROW on Facebook? If not, you can find the link to the page here. Gemma, the fabulous new addition to the team here at JC, has been busy curating some great posts, including a chance to share your project images with us on a Monday. Because of the way many social media platforms work these days, you might not always see our posts, even if you have previously clicked to follow us. If you have 'liked' the page in the past, but are not seeing our new posts, of which there are now 3 a week, please follow the link above to the page and click to like a few of the historical posts, hopefully that will mean we start to show up on your feed again....

If you are in London on the 25th September then it would be great to see you at Knit Night in London a fun event for knitters and crocheters organised by the fabulous team at Row House Yarns USA.

"We're coming back to London! Come join us for a Knit Night at the Thomas Cubitt gastropub near Victoria Station on September 25th from 6:30PM to 8:30PM.
All fiber artists are welcome, and we love beginner knitters! We'll have a knitting teacher available, and if you are a newbie, and need yarn and needles, please email us at info@rowhouseyarn.com to let us know. We'll have a few balls of yarn and needles available."
Get a ticket to reserve your spot now, as space is limited. Tickets are £20 and include drinks (beer and wine) and shared appetisers.

 

It has been a real treat watching your progress with the Climbing Rose CAL over the last few weeks. Many of you have been speeding through the Day Lily motifs and I have loved seeing your images of your crochet popping up on line.

It is hard to believe that the next set of patterns will be released next week! The first set of patterns asked you to make a lot of motifs, I think it was 16 main motifs and 16 half motifs, so there was a lot to do. If you are not quite finished working on these don't panic, the next set of patterns will ask you to make just 11 main motifs, so there is plenty of time to catch up!

Here are just a few of the images that have popped up on my social media feeds this week:
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The CAL will be published in Inside Crochet Magazine through until November. You can find more information by following this link.

Don't forget that there is a new dedicated Facebook Group for the Climbing Rose CAL. The group has been created by my fabulous friend and talented crocheter Sue Macdonald and you can find it by following this link. All images are courtesy of Inside Crochet Magazine and Leanne Dixon.

If you are still looking for a yarn kit to accompany the project you will find them on Just Knots, Wool Warehouse and Black Sheep Wools.
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'Bloomsbury Gardens', my new version of the Bohemian Blooms CAL style blanket that has been made using Stylecraft Life DK, Life Changes and Batik DK will be revealed at Yarndale in a little over two weeks time and the free downloadable yarn substitution document will be on the web site thereafter. We will also be revealing another version of the blanket called 'Sussex Gardens' that has been made using Stylecraft Special DK by Blogstar Pippin Poppycock. Below and above are a couple of teaser images and I am looking forward to showing you more very soon.....
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Just Knots and Janie Crow have taken a stand at this year's Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace here in North London. We will be on stand TGQ5 in the Textile Gallery. The show runs from Thursday 10th October through to Sunday 13th. You can find information about the show by following this link.
This year the show has a really big workshop and demonstration schedule and you can find more information by following this link. You can find a full schedule of the workshops here.
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My great friend and fabulous crochet designer Jo Smith will be teaching a Learn To Crochet workshop on Thursday 10th October. This is currently sold out, but you can join a waiting list. Jo will also be teaching Tapestry Crochet on Friday 11th at 3pm and how to 'Crochet a Mandala' on Saturday at 10am.
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On the Thursday at 3pm the very talented Luise Roberts will be showing how to make lovely knitted beaded button covers (as in the image above). Luise is a very patient and talented tutor - she is also my fabulous Graphic Designer and the brain child behind lots of the things that go on here at Janie Crow. Luise will also be showing how to knit a Fairisle Egg Cosy on Saturday at 11.45 and how to work cross stitch and beading onto a crochet fabric on the same day at 3.30pm - this looks like a really fabulous workshop judging by Luise's example image above.
 

Crochet tutor Diana Bensted is also doing a range of workshops at the show, including 'Crochet Mini Monsters' on Thursday 10th at 3.30pm and Broomstick Lace Crochet on Friday 11th at 10am. If you are an early riser then you can join Diana at 8.30am on Saturday 12th to learn how to make Tunisian Finger Mitts and Diana will be rounding off her classes with how to make a 'Tunisian Crochet Coaster' on Sunday at 10am.

BIPOC in Fiber is creating an interactive directory and resource portal highlighting the work of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour working in the fiber community across any discipline; from knit, crochet and weaving, to yarn bloggers, indie dyers, writers, tech editors and everything in between.

This week has seen the launch of a Crowdfunder page with the aim of raising money to support this fabulous project. Here at Janie Crow (and Just Knots) we are proud to support this fabulous initiative and I hope that you will visit the page, read all the info and support the project too. The link is here.
The introduction to the campaign, which aims to raise £20,000 to support the vital and exciting work is as follows.....

'Since January 2019 there's been a vital conversation on social media about racism, representation, inclusion and diversity within the online crafting community.

The urgent need for change has been revealed through this discussion - change that must be led by BIPOC makers.

BIPOC in Fiber is a website and resource portal. It's mission is to amplify and celebrate the work of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour working in the fibre industry.'

Note from Jane: For some reason my version of Mailchimp (the host we use for newsletters) does not do autocorrect on my spelling and I know that checking through my words is not my strongest talent! I also know that quite a few of you love to tell me when I have spelt things wrong and so I thought I should point out that I have used the words fiber and fibre in this piece on purpose and not because I have left my spelling unchecked!

Fibre is the UK spelling and Fiber is the US spelling.
Jeanette and her team have chosen to use the US version within their name and logo.
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When I first started this feature I thought it would be easy to recommend things that I have found over the last month that might cut down on the amount of plastic, general waste or pollution we are all causing, but one of the decisions I made a few months ago was to stop on line shopping binging. I have stopped following links to web stores on social media platforms and have not been aimlessly wandering around shops and so, as a result, I have not come across many 'eco' things that have appealed to me other than 'homey' things like shampoo, soaps and cleaning agents, which I am sure you have already made your own decisions about anyway. I do, however, have a few things to say about getting ready for the autumn that might sit well within this feature....

As it has got colder here over the last week or so we have been resisting popping the heating on at home and at the studio. Our daughter Summer is becoming a bit of an eco warrior and she keeps telling us to put on another jumper or to add a pair of thicker socks if our toes are chilly, rather than putting the heating on. It makes me laugh because I have spent the last 20 years saying the same things to her! I am so glad that she finally gets it.....
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And while we are talking about beds, another recommendation I have is in regards to duvets and toppers. Check out Baavet on Facebook, they make fabulous bedding from wool that will keep you cool in the summer and really cosy in the winter.
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The images of the palettes I have featured this month are from Sarah Renae Clarks and I think her capsule palette, shown above, could be a really handy tool when choosing yarn shades. I am smitten by Fruit Dove, Biking Red and Galaxy Blue!! Dark Cheddar is just making me hungry!

​We featured my Mystical Lanterns pattern on Facebook this week and asked followers to post images of their own projects. It was so nice to see so many lovely versions pop up on the feed and it led me to discover Tominashandknits on Instagram, who appears to have made the Mystical Lanterns shawl many times in lots of different fabulous colour combos, so I thought I would share a few with you thin week. All of the images below are from her feed.

You can find the patterns for the blanket, shawl and scarf by following the links.
 

We are hoping to head up the motorway to Cleethorpes later on today to spend a bit of time with members of Andy's extended family. Andy's Grandfather was born in Grimsby and so we try to get at least a weekend away up there most years. When the kids were little it was a real treat to spend a week in a caravan taking walks on the long sandy beaches and visiting some of the attractions that the Humberside area has to offer.

I know Cleethorpes doesn't sound like everyone's ideal location for a holiday, but I have always loved the 'kiss me quick' seafront of amusement arcades, deep fried doughnuts and of course, the very best fish and chips in the whole wide world, so I am really looking forward to jumping in the car and heading off for a few days....

As I said at the beginning of this email it has been a bit of a strange week for us here at Janie Crow and I have just realised that it is Friday the 13th and I heard on the news this morning that there is going to be a rare Harvest Moon tonight too, so perhaps this explains why things have taken a bit of an odd turn!

Anyway, I hope that things are good where you are and that you are looking forward to a lovely weekend, whatever you have planned. As always if you want to get in touch please hit reply...

Yarny love and crochet kisses...
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Don't forget that there is a new dedicated Facebook Group for the Climbing Rose CAL. The group has been created by my fabulous friend and talented crocheter Sue Macdonald and you can find it by following this link, or clicking on the banner above. All images are courtesy of Inside Crochet Magazine and Leanne Dixon.

If you are still looking for a yarn kit to accompany the project you will find them on Just Knots, Wool Warehouse, Deramores and Black Sheep Wools.

It is hard to believe that one of our favourite shows Yarndale is now just 3 weeks away. I have been keeping a track of the weekly countdown on the show's Instagram feed and am now excited by the prospect of getting stuck into the show preparations. I love Yarndale and adore the fact that a cattle market is transformed into a yarny heaven for a couple of days every autumn! We will have some new things on display, including a new version of my Bohemian Blooms design, which has been made using a collection of Stylecraft Yarns and we will also have all the new versions of the Delft Blanket on show.

We have also taken a stand at this year's Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace. The show takes place in North London between the 10th and 13th October and is one of the biggest textile fairs in the UK so we are really looking forward to exhibiting here again.

My 'Maker of the Week' goes to Taina Tellervo who has posted some lovely images of her versions of my Frida's Flowers Blanket on her Instagram feed. I really love both these colourful versions of the blanket and I really enjoy seeing other people's ideas for colour palettes. I think Taina's grey, yellow and pink colour combo is particularly beautiful.
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The four months we now have left in the lead up to 2020 are bound to speed by, especially with the Knit For Peace workshop trip to Mysore creeping up on me in January, but I am looking forward to sharing some exciting new things with you over the next few months including some reworked versions of existing designs and some new accessories that will go in my shop. Towards the end of the year I am hoping that I will have news of a brand new JANIE CROW venture, so I hope you will all continue to check in with me on a Friday afternoon.....

We are looking forward to a weekend at home. After 10 days away it will most likely involve lots of washing and sorting out before we head back into the studio on Monday. Of course it is a lovely treat to have a family holiday, but I have to admit I always enjoy going back to the studio and returning to the routine at Janie Crow once all the sun hats and swimming costumes have been put away for another year.

As always, I hope you are looking forward to a lovely relaxing weekend and that you are healthy and happy wherever you are....
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I hope this newsletter finds you well and that you are looking forward to the weekend....

It has been a fabulous week here at Janie Crow as I have finally been able to reveal a complete image of the Climbing Rose Wrap. The first set of patterns for this brand new CAL project featured in Inside Crochet Magazine issue 117 which was available to purchase from yesterday.
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I am REALLY proud of this design, especially in regards to the inspiration I chose to work from. I have always been a huge fan of William Morris and it has been a long term ambition of mine to produce a design in homage to his work. Having worked in a home decorating store part time as a student, I am very familiar with William Morris’s wallpaper designs in particular and so I started off thinking that my design inspiration for this project would be Morris’s very well known design ‘The Strawberry Thief’, which is one of my favourites, but I was concerned about how I could produce the idea of strawberries and birds in crochet! I was relieved and inspired further when I came across another design called Molly Blue by Fryetts, which in turn was inspired by Morris's work. This lovely design not only had the floral elements I was looking for, but also totally summed up the colour palette I wanted to use.
   

Some of my CAL designs have taken me months to design and make, whilst others, have been quite quick. The design process for the Climbing Rose Wrap was really speedy once I set to crocheting and I really enjoyed interpreting elements of Morris’s fabric design in my crochet. The flowers within the original design are not easy to identify exactly, so I looked at traditional Victorian garden flowers and used these as the basis for my motifs.

Working with Inside Crochet magazine on this project has been amazing. The whole team really got behind the project and I am hugely grateful for all the time and attention they gave me. I was absolutely bowled over that they managed to arrange to shoot the project at William Morris's Bexleyheath home The Red House and I had to keep pinching myself that we were there.
 
I have been totally bowled over by the response to this project and really hope that my design has inspired you to pick up your hooks........
 

There is a new dedicated Facebook Group for the Climbing Rose CAL. The group has been created by my fabulous friend and talented crocheter Sue Macdonald and you can find it by following this link, or clicking on the banner above. All images are courtesy of Inside Crochet magazine and Leanne Dixon.

If you are still looking for a yarn kit to accompany the project you will find them on Just Knots, Wool Warehouse and Black Sheep Wools.

My great buddy Jo Smith has revealed her brand new CAL project Sunstar, which she has released in conjunction with Stylecraft Yarns this week. Jo's design is fun and vibrant and I love her Sunshine inspired centre part in particular, which is made using the two colour method of crochet. You can find more information about Jo's CAL, which is available in 3 colour ways, by following this link or by clicking on the image of Jo's lovely blanket below.
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This week I have added 6 new necklaces made by the talented crochet designer Marina Kelly to the web site. The beautifully intricate necklaces are made with fine hand dyed linen threads and incorporate beads, ceramic buttons and tiny ornate crochet flowers. Take a look at Marina's beautiful designs in the shop by following this link.
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My 'Maker of the Week' goes to redheadeddoodlejumper on Instagram who has posted the most wonderful version of my Summer Palace Wrap. The colour palette includes a lovely splash of bright yellow (a colour I have to admit I still shy away from in favour of a bright green) and a dark edging. I think it is really stunning and am bowled over that this has been made my a complete beginner.....
   

We are looking forward to the bank holiday weekend. It will be a quiet one for us as the kids are both away for a couple of days. It will be nice to get some peace and quiet for a bit, but I know that within a short space of time I will be missing them...

As always, I hope you are looking forward to a lovely relaxing weekend and that you are healthy and happy wherever you are....
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Welcome to this week's Friday Feature Newsletter - the Janie Crow equivalent of a Sunday supplement magazine....

I have been teaching at Missenden Abbey School of Creative Arts for the last couple of days. Both my workshops have been hand knitting orientated - one on colour work yesterday and finishing techniques today - and I have to admit it has made a really nice change to be working on some knitting projects and I have noticed that it really got my brain working after such a long absence away from knit design. I am really looking forward to getting back to my crochet hook next week though.....

I am finding it hard to believe that I am writing the August newsletter already. The weeks seem to be flying past and, with the recent change in weather here in the UK anyway, I have to say it's beginning to feel a little autumnal round here. Fingers crossed some brighter and warmer weather might make me feel otherwise over the next month or so.....

I have a few new things to tell you about this month - so be sure to check out the 'What's New' feature lower down. I also have a colour palette suggestion, an Instagram favourite and a tip of the month, so I hope you are in a position to take a 5 minute break and catch up with the world of Janie Crow before the all important weekend gets underway....
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The most exciting news for me this month is that we have a new addition to the Janie Crow team in the shape of Gemma Biggs, who started working with us this week. I am so pleased to have Gemma on board after my call out for help a few weeks ago. Gemma and I have some great plans, including really getting to grips with the Janie Crow Ravelry pages, sorting out some 'proper' social media campaigns and giving Facebook some much needed TLC.

​"Hi! I am Gemma and this is me in a nutshell - After being made redundant in 2011 from a highly stressful job in the City I settled down to a quiet family life as mum to two brilliant daughters. Life is a bit complicated as they both have disabilities, but it's never boring! In 2017 I learnt to crochet with a local community charity and have not looked back (ok I've become a bit obsessed)!  As well as being great stress relief it has led me on to other crafts such as sewing, which I enjoy when I can. I'm thrilled to be joining the team at Janie Crow!"

The first pattern for the Climbing Rose CAL will be published in Inside Crochet magazine NEXT WEEK and so I have another teaser image to show you that I hope will get you in the mood for the project. The image below shows my initial mood board that I based on the autumn fashion trends as well as some photocopies of original William Morris designs.there are also some images of  fabric patterns inspired by his designs too, such as the Molly Blue design by Fryetts, which, alongside William Morris's famous design 'The Strawberry Thief' were the real catalyst for the CAL design.
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Yarn kits for this project are currently in stock at Just Knots, Deramores and Black Sheep Wools. The design uses Stylecraft Bellissima, Bambino and Batik, all of which are DK weight yarns. Images are courtesy of Inside Crochet Magazine and the muliti talented (photographer) Leanne Dixon.
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The winners of the Delft colouring competition were revealed in Simply Crochet magazine and on my web site a few weeks ago and the free downloadable colour substitution documents, beautifully designed by graphic designer Luise Roberts, are available as free downloads on my web site to coincide with the big reveal. The image above shows all 5 finalist blankets - I think they are all really lovely!
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If you think you might want to make one of the new versions of the Delft design you will need to purchase the original pattern, which is available in UK and US terminology and in the Dutch language. Flagship store Just Knots has yarn packs in stock for all 5 new colour ways.
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I really struggled to think of a new discovery this month as I have been keeping away from on line shopping and shops in general and have not been alerted to anything new and amazing (!) and then last night in bed I remembered the lovely gift that my fabulous friend crochet designer Jo Smith gave me earlier on this week......

Jo crocheted a lovely sun key ring for me and she had wrapped it in a homemade (recycled) paper bag. The key ring is stunning and I popped it straight on my handbag as a charm, but the exciting discovery was not the key ring, but the way in which Jo had made the gift bag.

Jo had used pages from Vogue magazine to make the little bag my key charm came in, but you can use any paper you have left over or specialist 'pretty' wrapping paper or craft paper. Jo perfected her bag design using the Flow Book for Paper Lovers.
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If you click on the image above you can link to a tutorial to make a simple bag like Jo's. If you want to make one with folded sides you can find a video here. Thank you Jo for the inspiration!
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​I visited the Weavers of the Clouds exhibition at the Fashion and Textile museum this week. The exhibition focuses on Peruvian Textiles and is well worth a visit.
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The traditional woven and knitted fabrics from Peru were stunning and had a common colour theme so I decided to use one example as the basis of this month's colour palette, although I now see that I have chosen almost the same browny red shade twice!
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Last week I discovered the hashtag for the Persian Tiles Blanket on Instagram - I told you about it in last week's newsletter and featured some images of amazing versions of the design - so I felt that the maker of the month for August had to relate to Persian Tiles.

I have chosen the blankets and cushions made by Cora (chingola_cgj on Instagram) as I love the fact that she has made the matching cushions in just one colour and that one blanket is a direct colour swap compared to the other.
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If you want to find the pattern for my original Persian Tiles design follow this link.

Cora also doubles up as my Instagram Favourite this week as I am totally smitten with her feed - it makes me want to run home, pack a suitcase, grab my passport and go off on my travels every time I look at it!
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Blocking and pressing is the term used to describe the process of laying out your crochet pieces and then either steaming or moistening them in order to make sure they look neater and more even before you begin the process of joining your pieces together.
 
I think the term ‘pressing’ is extremely misleading as it implies that you should put something heavy onto your crochet and smooth out your stitches, in the same way that you would iron a crease out of a cotton shirt. In my time as a consultant and tutor I have seen many examples of knitted and crochet pieces that have quite literally been pressed beyond recognition. If you are not careful, pressing a crochet piece with a hot iron will destroy the fibres within your yarn and make the stitches flat and your yarn shiny – in some cases (when dealing with man-made fibres) you could even melt or burn your yarn. Once the fibres within your yarn are flattened they will not recover, much in the same way as you can’t un-shrink something that you have washed too hot.
 
Working through your projects you will put a lot of time and effort into creating your crochet pieces in order to produce beautiful items that you can take pride in and others can admire. With this in mind I suggest that you take plenty of time to make sure that all your pieces are finished in the nicest way possible and so, once you have sewn in all your yarn ends, I suggest you use the following blocking steps:
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​Prepare a blocking board:
If you want to block your motifs as you go along you may need to make yourself a blocking board this can be as simple or as elaborate as you want it to be. You can buy special foam jigsaw blocking mats, or pick virtually the same things up in a toy store at a fraction of the cost. You can use the top of your ironing board or a bath towel. I use a folded towel and have a chequered tea towel, which I then lay over the top.
 
Pin out your pieces:
When blocking out a flat piece, such as a granny square for example, I lay the piece face down on the tea towel, however, because of the 3D nature of this project I suggest that you lay your pieces the right way up so that you can see all the flower petals and leaves.
 
If you have a clean chequered or striped piece of fabric or tea towel like mine, you can pin your crochet pieces out in line, ensuring they are straight. Use a tape measure to check you are blocking to the right size. If you have a plain background you can mark out the size with pins, or even sew in a tacked framework.
 
Use long, large headed pins to pin the crochet piece out. You should stretch the piece very slightly and put the pins in as flat as you can. I work from the centre out, marking the central point of each side first, then working towards each corner.
 
Using steam or a water spray:
If you have a steam iron that you know you can trust and that produces steam without spurting boiling water, you can steam your crochet pieces, but be sure to hold your iron a few inches above your crochet to ensure it doesn’t get too hot. You may want to cover the pieces with a light tea towel or muslin cloth to protect them from the heat and to avoid the absorption of too much water when steaming.
 
I like to use a cold-water spray and have a pump action plant spray bottle filled with clean, cold water. I then gently spray my crochet pieces until they are slightly damp, but not soaking. Once the yarn has taken in the water I leave the pieces to dry completely before removing the pins.
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Crochet pieces love to curl up so there is little point blocking each crochet motif as you complete it because by the time you come to put your pieces together they will have curled up again and will need re-blocking. however if you are making repeated blocks you could use one of the new style crochet blockers as the one made by the lovely Dedri of Look at What I Made and shown in the image below:
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Caring for your project:
After putting a huge amount of work into crocheting your project it is important that you care for it properly. I would recommend that crochet projects are washed as infrequently as possible and would advise hand washing rather than machine in order to avoid stretching, bobbling and colour run.
 
The tumble and spin actions on many modern day washing machines can be quite destructive to hand made products and, if you put your completed crochet project in with other wash items, you could find that you get snags and catches caused by things like Velcro fastenings or clasps. Many machines also leave the item sitting in water during the wash cycle – this is something that can encourage deterioration of the yarn fibres and can cause colour run between yarns and felting. Avoid getting the project wet if at all possible and do not hang in one position for too long as this can also cause stretching.
 
I suggest that you store your projects in a sealed plastic bags between use and that you are particularly vigilant in regards to the common clothes moth, a creature which can be incredibly destructive to woollen fabrics in particular. Moths are attracted to dirt and will target areas where there are spills or dirty patches so make sure you always treat affected areas quickly. You can use mothballs, lavender bags and pieces of cedar to discourage moths, but if you do find them they can be difficult to get rid of.
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I am heading home from Missenden later on today and am looking forward to spending some time at home over the weekend. We have some old school friends visiting on Saturday so as usual have our fingers crossed that the weather is going to behave! I think Sunday will be a lazy day - my favourite kind of day!

I am looking forward to some design time in the studio next week and am really looking forward to the launch of the first CAL patterns on Thursday so I will be back here next Friday with more information on that.
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I hope that whatever you have planned you have a great time over the weekend and I look forward to seeing you here again next week!
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I hope that this email finds you all well and that you are looking forward to the weekend!

We have been getting into gear for the autumn this week. It seems a little sad to be planning for the colder months while it is still relatively warm and sunny outside, but by mid August a lot of crafters are beginning to think about projects for the colder weather and, of course, we have to start planning for the show season again.

We will be heading up to exhibit at Yarndale in just 7 weeks time. I adore this show as it is the one that appears to focus more on crochet than on knitting - something that is still unusual in our business. The show has a fabulous vibe and I really do view it as our most important and enjoyable show of the year. As always I am really looking forward to the event, but we have much planning and sorting to do beforehand so really do need to start prepping already. We have some exciting new projects and shop items that will make their first appearance at the show, so I am getting excited about showing you these very soon....
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If you are beginning to plan your autumn show schedule then you might also be interested to hear that we will be taking a stand at The Knitting and Stitching Show, which takes place at Alexandra Palace in London in October.

This week I started following the Persian Tiles Blanket hashtag on Instagram. Not quite sure why it hasn't occurred to me to do so before, but now I am in total awe of all the AMAZING versions of my design that have been posted on there. There are over 3000 posts and new ones are added daily. Below are some images of a few of my favourites - aren't they amazing? You can click on the images to be taken to the crocheters feed.
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If you fancy having a go at making your own version of Persian Tiles you can find my original pattern by following this link. You can also find yarn packs for my original colourway by following this link and for Lucia's Eastern Jewelscolourway.

I am really excited that Wool Warehouse have now been added to the list of Janie Crow flagship stores. Wool Warehouse is a family run business and are one of the few big online retailers who focus much of their stock holding on crocheters as well as knitters. The lovely chaps at WW have been working hard to get my patterns and accompanying yarn kits added to their store. They have recently added yarn packs for my Climbing Rose CAL (shown lower down) and Summer Palace kits in the Original and Blue and Pink Colour way (also shown below) along with the brochure pattern and I hope that they will be able to offer a really comprehensive range of my designs very soon.
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Thank you for all your lovely well wishes in regards to Summer and Chris's recent engagement. It is really nice to have the idea of a wedding on the far horizon and we are looking forward to their official engagement party in October. I am, however, a little sad that I have been told there is no chance of a crocheted wedding dress! Hopefully there is plenty of time to work on this idea!

I will be at Missenden Abbey next week doing a knit workshop on Thursday and Friday. It is less than a week away, but I know there are still a couple of spaces left, so do contact the school if you fancy coming along.

I am looking forward to a weekend at home and hope that wherever you are you are safe, warm and happy too.....
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