We are so pleased to have so many kits back in stock after long absences from the website and hope that there will be something that takes your fancy. We will be revisiting the Sunshine and Showers design from May onwards to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the design featuring in Crochet Now magazine as a year long CAL project. We will be focussing on the design each month from May this year through to April next year and Emma will be doing some technical videos to accompany the design. Patterns are just 95p each or £11.40 for the whole set via Ravelry.

I have created two pretty cushion designs for Inside Crochet Magazine - these will be revealed next week, on May 5th, so do look out for them. ​

We have Summer and Chris coming for the weekend and as I said already we will be celebrating Andy's Birthday, so I am sure it will be a lovely couple of days. I leave you with a pic of this amazing version of Mystical Lanterns made by Anna Wells with yarns from her stash. Isn't it amazing!
 
I hope you all have a fabulous weekend whatever you have planned and I look forward to popping back into your inbox in a couple of weeks time.

​Janie x

We have updated our stock of the beaded pastel decorations yet again! We have 13 kits in stock and will be making some more to take to Wonderwool with us next week. You can find them by following this link. ​

​Lucy Locket lost her pocket,
Kitty Fisher found it;
Not a penny was there in it,
Only ribbon round it.

As a family we still do a Zoom quiz on a Sunday afternoon. A couple of weeks ago my mum asked the question 'Who found Lucy Locket's pocket?', as in the rhyme above by James Orchard Halliwell, which was first recorded in 1842. I had no idea of the answer, but the question sparked a conversation about the fact that womens' pockets were not sewn into clothes until relatively recently. Instead, skirts or dresses of the time, as well as the petticoats worn underneath, had an opening at the waistline to allow access to the pocket which hung around the woman's waist tied by a ribbon or tape. ​

​Image with thanks to Karin Hellaby

I am really looking forward to my trip to Iceland with Arena Travel in a few weeks time, but over the last week I have been avidly following the progress of the Stitchtopia tour of Uzbekistan. It really does look amazing and I would really love to take a group of knitters and crocheters out on the same trip in the future. Uzbekistan is a Central Asian nation and former Soviet republic. It's known for its mosques, mausoleums and other sites linked to the Silk Road, the ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean. It is also famous for its amazing textile heritage. 

Take a look at the Stitchtopia Facebook page for images and videos of what looks like an incredible trip. Apparently the tour company have already had 3 stitch groups do this tour, but they say that knitters and crocheters aren't keen. I am sure there is so much to interest us yarn folk on this trip, so I would love to hear from you if you fancy this trip. If I get a good bit of interest then perhaps I can pitch it to Arena to try launching the trip again! ​

Last night I finally managed to settle down and watch the first episode of the second series of Bridgerton. After all the hype I was really looking forward to being immersed in the world of empire line dresses, fancy frocks and old fashioned etiquette. I think my favourite thing about the series is the costumes and settings - there really are some gorgeous details on some of those dresses! Watching the show reminded me that a few months ago I made a 'Jane Austin' inspired mood board on Pinterest using the film 'Emma' as my inspiration. Like in Bridgerton, there were some amazing costumes in this film too. You can find the board here - it is a secret board as I was using it for ideas for a design and might still do so in the future, so you will need to follow the link rather than find it on my Pinterest profile.
 
Well, that's it from me for another couple of weeks. I hope there has been something in this email that you found interesting and I hope you all have a fabulous bank holiday weekend and keep well.....

Gemma is always busy in the kitchen and serves her family some lovely home made meals. This week she has recommended this Parsnip Dal recipe from Riverford. It sounds delicious! ​

The last couple of weekends we had some amazing weather, so we spent quite a lot of time preparing the garden for veggie planting. Our little beetroots were delicious, so too were the over wintered fennel I used to make a scrummy pasta sauce. ​

Before I leave you I just want to ask a small favour. My good friend Emma has had her Instagram account blocked, which means she can no longer access it. Despite being a beautiful middle aged woman, the IG bots believe Emma to be underage for an account and, despite her providing all the required information to reinstate her account, she continues to be blocked. Over the years Emma had gained a really good following of more than 10,000 people on Instagram, but now she has had to start all over with a new account. So, my appeal is for you to take a look and follow her if you fancy - I guarantee you will not regret it as she is a lovely, funny human with a great big heart who will not fail to give you a giggle! 
 
I hope you all have a fabulous weekend whatever you have planned and I look forward to popping back into your inbox in a couple of weeks time. Thank you all again for your incredible support of our Ukraine appeal - you're all amazing! 

It has been amazing to see some completed Indigo Dreams projects popping up on social media. I have really enjoyed the CAL and hope that it has brought those of you who followed it some joy too. I have been working on a new colourway of the project which will be released in the autumn when the pattern reverts to me. ​

If you fancy making some crochet flowers to brighten up your home and make it feel lovely and springy then you could use this pattern, which you can download via the Knit For Peace web site - obviously I would love it if you would also make a donation to the charity while you are there! ​

I have a few exciting events on the horizon that you might fancy joining me for. You can find information about an afternoon tea event and  a couple of workshops that I am doing at Black Sheep Wools lower down this email, but I have a few other things I want to tell you about.

We are really looking forward to exhibiting at Wonderwool Wales next month. The show has not happened since 2019, so we are particularly excited about returning. You can find more information by following this link.

I will be tutoring two workshops for Arena Travel as part of their Stitchtopia programme. I will be accompanying a group on a cruise to Iceland in May and then will be going on a tour of Finland in June. You can find more information about the trips by following this link. 

I have been invited back to Yarn Lane TV on May 2nd. I hope you can join me. ​

s a thank you to Andy for his amazing attentiveness I gave him a copy of the first ever book from Dishoom called From Bombay with Love. It really is a gorgeous book, full of really tasty recipes. This is what the authors say about the book:

'Dishoom: From Bombay with Love, is an eccentric and charming cookery book, with over 100 recipes for the Bombay comfort food and drink that we love. Through the course of the pages, you will be taken on a day-long tour of south Bombay. Starting at breakfast, through to lunch, dinner and nightcaps, we share recipes for beloved dishes such as Masala Chai, the Bacon Naan Roll and House Black Daal.'

The book is a really lovely read, with lots of stories, anecdotes and information about the origins of some of the recipes therein. The images are so incredibly enticing. I visited Mumbai in 2015, but this book is really making me want to go back again!  ​

I am hoping to get into town next week to do a bit of design research. It is ages since I have been to the V&A or an exhibition or even to some of the larger stores like Anthropologie, which I always find so inspiring. A bit of window shopping sounds like a great plan! 

I recently came across this amazing cardigan by The Peruvian Connection, which reminded me a little of my Frida design - isn't it amazing? It has a price point far beyond my pocket, but the work involved in it is really intricate and I love the style. You can find a few more gorgeous crochet garments on the site such as the Saltillo and Millefiore tops below.  ​

I have always designed items for the home as I am not sure my skills are up to creating garments, but seeing these on the Peruvian Connection web site have me inspired. I would love to know how you guys feel about crochet garments - should I stick to blankets and cushions?

We have had a real mixture of weather this week - we had torrential dirty rain on Wednesday, which left the windows and cars covered in a fine red dust thanks to a Saharan dust cloud that travelled up to us through Spain over the last week or so. A bit frustrating that we now need to give everything a good clean, but the sun is shining and we are set for a lovely weekend weather wise so we can't stay cross for long!
 
I actually made it back to the gym this week for the first time in a while, so after months of ignoring my membership I am hoping to make it back there over the next few days and will also get a bit of a workout by cutting the grass - my life is so rock and roll!
 
I hope you all have a fabulous weekend whatever you have planned and I look forward to popping back into your inbox in a couple of weeks time.

Janie x

The team at Love Crafts have suggested making crochet or knitted hearts using the blue and yellow shades of the Ukrainian flag. You can find a free pattern by Annemarie Bentham by following this link or by clicking on the image above. ​

As we head into the weekend I am praying that we start to see some calmer times. Hopefully by the time I am sending my usual style newsletter next Friday we may have seen a de-escalation of aggression, but in the mean time I hope that your knit and crochet is bringing you some peace and that you can find solace in knowing that you have helped in some way.

I hope you all understand the reason for my break away from a usual Janie Crow news heavy email and that you will understand that my motive is humanitarian and not political.

Stay safe ​

Within the 'Thought for Today' feature on the radio this morning the speaker talked about the importance of women vocalising their success and it got me thinking about how we measure the achievements of ourselves and other women. I follow inspirational speaker Kubi Springer on Instagram and have read one of her books about building a strong brand. I like the way she writes and enjoy listening to her motivational speeches, but it always bugs me that her benchmark for whether or not you are successful (in business anyway) is what car you drive and how big your house is.

It seems to me that when evaluating the worth of anyone these days (not just women) society has a tendency to base calculations on the amount of money we earn, the area we live in and how many holidays we can afford rather than the actual level of success we have achieved.

On ​International Women's Day, we often hear about women who are championed because they have broken the mould and made a pathway into male dominated areas. We see praise for female engineers and mathematicians for example. Women who work in areas traditionally dominated by men. I am not saying this is a bad thing - my daughter is a Design Engineer and I am so incredibly proud of her, especially given all the discrimination and misogeny she has come across over the course of her working life, but shouldn't we be championing ALL women regardless of their chosen careers?

For me, converting another crocheter to the benefits of our craft is a win. Hearing how crochet has changed someone's life is  another win. Seeing how women support each other in the craft world - win win win! None of these achievements has a monetary value and no price tags can be placed on the joy people experience making projects either. To me, the worth of a hand made gift is immeasurable - the ultimate love token!

Over the course of my career I have met some of the most amazing women, many of whom have totally changed my life. My little Janie Crow team is predominantly made up of incredible, strong, loving and funny trail blazing women who have supported me in so many ways, both on a work and personal level, but I have also found that in broader society women can be their own worst critics, especially on social media, where we are often reminded to be kind and thoughtful.

​We lost Andy's amazing sister to bowel cancer recently. At her funeral everyone spoke of her amazing personality. Of the love she had for her family and her incredible courage in the face of her illness. Julie worked as a teaching assistant and always put the joy of children to the forefront of her life. She was a loving wife, a doting mother to three incredible children and an amazing daughter, sister and friend. Her worth is not measured on the basis of the career she chose, what car she drove or how much money she made in her lifetime, it is based on her incredible gift for loving and looking after people - her own in-built magnificence. Our lives will never be the same without her.

In 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' Steve Covey talks about how we should all live our lives with 'the end in mind'. In other words, by continuously thinking about how we want to be remembered and on what we want our achievements to be based. For International Women's Day 2022, in a world where social media tells us we should 'have, have, have', I am reminding myself today of the importance of championing and supporting ALL women regardless of how traditional society measures worth.

I am so thrilled that The William Morris Society have included an interview with me in their latest magazine. The Society were a huge support to me while I was working on The Fruit Garden Blanket Book and I feel so honoured that they felt my work was worthy of an article in their magazine. You can find the society's website here. While you are there, be sure to check out their shop as they have recently added some really fantastic Morris inspired items. I am currently coveting the Orange Tree tote bag, which I think would make a perfect storage bag for my Fruit Garden blanket! ​

I have written a blog about the project, which includes some images of the blankets made in fabulous alternative colourways. You can find it by following this link. Images with thanks to Lita Johnathans.

Rose emailed with an image of her Mystical Lanterns blanket which she gave to a friend as a gift. Isn't it lovely - I really like the way Rose has added another dimension to this blanket by blocking colours together.​

I am often blown away by versions of Persian Tiles when they pop up on social media, but the version above, sent in by Marg McRae, made me gasp in delight when I opened the image. Marg says:

'Hi Janie, I am Marg McRae from Albury NSW Australian. My husband and I have been ex farmers for 30 years, I am his carer as he has a disability. I am writing to you to say I love all of your crocheted blanket patterns, also enjoy reading your newsletters.
In our 1st lockdown last year, I got my crocheting hooks out and did your Persian Tile rug pattern. I chose 4ply pure Australian merino wool. I wanted to share a photo of my blanket, I love it. It has been 30 so years since I have done any crocheting, didn’t want to put my hook down.
I do lots of quilting all by hand, which I find very relaxing also...Marg'

Needless to say, we really love getting emails like Marg's one and all adore seeing your images. You can share them on our Facebook page by following the link. ​

The weather has been really bright and sunny here today so I am hoping to squeeze in a few nice walks this weekend. Our local countryside is coming to life, with lots of daffodil bulbs and crocuses about to bloom. At home, we are on amaryllis watch as the bulb I planted in January is about to burst into glorious flower!  
 
I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and that you have some lovely plans to look forward to. Sending yarny love....

Janie x

As I have already said in the introduction above, we are very pleased to have a new project to tempt you with this week. The Frida's Flowers CAL was launched in 2016 and it has been fabulous seeing it made by people all over the world ever since. The original blanket, which features bright flowers on a black background, was inspired by the iconic costumes and personal style of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and it was made using Stylecraft Classique Cotton. As this yarn is now discontinued I decided it would be a good idea to update the yarn listing for the new Organic Cotton DK. You can find the newly updated yarn list here should you like the idea of making this original colour way. You can find more information about the CAL and yarn packs for this version by following this link.
 ​

A few years after the release of the original Frida blanket I asked Lucia if she would create a new colour way of the project and was really excited when she produced her version, which she named Primavera. Until now, the kit for this blanket has only been available as an exclusive kit from the Janie Crow web site, but now, to coincide with the release of the CAL project as the featured make along project for February, we have decided to give Primavera a wider release. Yarn kits should now be available via your local Stylecraft stockist and the yarn substitution document is available as a download. We have created some kits for the project, which include a printed yarn substitution document, by following this link. You can find more information by following this link. 
 ​

I have written a blog post about Frida and Frida Primavera, which includes lots of ideas for alternative colourways, by following this link. 
 ​

​It has been quite grey and gloomy here in North London and very chilly, so we sent out a plea on Facebook for followers to show us photos of their colourful crochet work to brighten the days. Here are just a few of the wonderful makes that were shared with us:
 
Below is Gay Horne's Sunshine & Showers blanket - nearly finished! 

Elizabeth Beswick-Watts has created a fantastic version of the Mystical Lanterns blanket, but says she regrets not sewing in her ends as she went along!  ​

Andrea Dahncke is working on her colourway of The Blue House Blanket. We haven't seen many of these out in the wild yet and think her choice of colours is really pretty. ​

Another design that we don't see so often is the Imogen Blanket. Michelle Withey has just finished hers.
Hasn't she made a fantastic job of it?  ​

Thank you to everyone who shared images with us over on Facebook. We do love seeing your work and in particular your exciting colourways of Janie Crow projects. Hopefully the images above will inspire you to root through your yarn stash to create a very personal piece of your own crochet.... ​

art 4 of the Indigo Dreams Crochet Along has now been published in Inside Crochet Issue 144 and we are loving seeing your progress over on the dedicated Facebook group, which now has almost four thousand members! In this month's instalment you will be making the Rosewood Motif and the Love Heart Granny Squares.
 ​

​Ever in search of quick and easy recipes to make at the end of a busy day, Gemma has recommended this recipe for really simple homemade falafels, which she found over on the BBC Good Food website.

If you're feeding the family for a main meal Gemma recommends doubling the recipe and if you prefer your food a little bit more fiery, you might want to tweak the spice content as they are quite mild. ​

The Challenge is to create (by knitting, crocheting or sewing) 1900 flags of bunting, which will decorate a replica section of Hadrian's Wall at the Roman Vindolandia, in Hexham, Northumberland, in an exhibition between 22nd-30th October 2022.

Crochet patterns for the bunting, designed by Lynne Barber, are available to download on the project website, which you can find by clicking on the image above or here. You can also find a knitted flag pattern here. It could be a good opportunity for some new year stash-busting too! ​

I have a couple of train journeys ahead of me this weekend and I am already looking forward to a few hours sat crocheting as I speed through the English countryside. I think the weather forecast is looking good too, so a spot of sunshine will be very welcome.

What do you have planned for this weekend? We always like to hear about what you have on your hook or your knitting needles and which projects you are getting excited about. Simply hit reply and let us know. ​

Janie x

The Frida's Flowers blanket was my crochet along project in 2016 and it has been such a joy to see versions of it out in the wild ever since! The design was inspired by the personal style and costumes of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo - it features bright flowers and leaves on a black background, typical of the kind of traditional embroidered textiles Frida favoured for her dresses and skirts.
​

The patterns for my blanket continue to be available as free downloads via the Stylecraft website. You can find them in UK & US terms and the Dutch and German languages by following this link.
​

One of the things I love about creating crochet blankets is seeing them made in alternative colour choices by other people. While many crocheters have made the blanket in my chosen shades over the last few years, many have posted images of their own blankets made in alternative yarns.

I think it is fabulous that this project really inspired people's imaginations and I was especially excited to see the images below of lots of different colourways made by a crochet group in Indonesia. Lita Johnathans - who originally posted these images on Instagram has given me permission to post them here. Aren't they amazing!

A few years ago I asked Lucia of Lucia's Fig Tree if she would consider recolouring the project and was over the moon when she created her version, which she called Primavera. With Lucia's permission we created yarn packs for this colour way, but when Stylecraft discontinued the Classique Cotton DK a little while ago we were unable to continue to make the kits.
​

When Stylecraft recently introduced a fabulous range of Organic Cotton DK to their collection I knew immediately that it was time to look again at Frida and Lucia's Primavera blanket again, so I am really excited that we are now able to sell the kits once again and that the yarn substitution document for Lucia's version is now available via her website and not just as part of a kit.

As I said already - it always makes me feel really proud when I see my designs out in the wild, so you can imagine how I felt when I spotted my flowers on a Dolce and Gabanna design. It was a bit of a shame that they didn't ask permission to use the design, or credit me as the initial designer, but it was still a wow moment to see my Frida on the catwalk!
​

Frida and Frida Primavera will be Stylecraft's make along project for February. You can join the dedicated Facebook Group and find out more by following this link. I am hopeful that this re-release of the project will tempt some of you to make the blanket and I am really looking forward to seeing more of them out in the wild over the next few months.
​