I think all these blankets have been made using 4ply yarn rather than DK. When I spotted the blanket below I was blown away by the fact that there are 200 motifs in it.
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You can find more Persian Tiles Inspiration by following the hashtag #persiantilesblanket. There are some truly amazing blankets on there. 
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 am really pleased to have been nominated within the 'Most Iconic Crochet Designer' category in this year's British Knitting & Crochet awards. If you want to head over to the awards website to vote for all your favourite yarn brands, stores, designers and products then you can find the link here. The Crochet Designer award is listed under 'Miscellaneous'. 
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As I have said already, we have been busy sorting out the studio ready to move in September. We have lots of new plans associated with our move. One of them is to stop stocking quite so much yarn, so we have decided to sell off the majority of our huge yarn stash.

We had thought that we would have an open day in order to do this, but I am aware that it is still not safe to have quite a lot of people in enclosed spaces. If we did decide to invite people to a physical studio sale we would have to create specific time slots for people to visit, so, with this in mind, we have decided to start selling off our stock via Andy's 'Just Knots' web site for now.

It might still be that we manage to have a sale here at the studio in August, but I think we are being prudent to see how things go once we officially come out of lockdown here in England from Monday.
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This week Andy has added our stock of Rowan Summerlite DK to his site. The yarn should retail at £4.50 a ball, but we have reduced it to £2.75. We also have the 4ply on offer at £2.50 a ball reduced from £3.95. 

Rowan Summerlite yarns are really beautiful premium cotton and both the DK and 4ply have really good meterage per ball. I used the DK weight to make my Bohemian Blooms blanket and the 4ply to make my Wiremu shawl, which you can find more information about lower down this email.
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I really enjoy planning which projects to take away with me on holiday and tend to opt for those that are easily transportable. I think crochet is especially good for holiday makes as the projects are usually pretty compact with just a hook and a yarn cutter to pop in your handbag together with a few balls of yarn to go in your main luggage.

If you are lucky enough to be off on holiday within the next few weeks then why not take a look at my Mystical Lanterns scarf kits. We have a few left over in some lovely new colourways. You can find them here and don't forget that you can find instructions for making straight sided motifs and corner motifs for the Mystical Lanterns project over on my blog.
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Last year we managed to spend some time at home rather than go away on a holiday. It was really nice to potter around in the garden and do a little bit of work on the house. I finally managed to give the kitchen a much needed coat of paint and enjoyed sourcing some new cabinets. I am hopeful that we might get some time at home this year too, so have been looking at quite a few interior feeds lately in the hope that I will feel more inspired to dig out the decorating gear!

I have been following Nathalie Lete for quite a long time and already have quite a few of her painted plates from Anthoplogie, so I really enjoyed following her progress as she decorated her home last year. I have to say that seeing her amazing hand painted murals put my efforts in the kitchen to shame so I am thinking it would be nice to do something a little more creative this year. Click on the images below to be taken to Nathalie's web site and Instagram feed.
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If you are a knitter looking for a holiday project then how about checking out the Southwold Wrap by the fabulous Helen Kurtz. The project features as the Make Along project on the Stylecraft MAL Facebook group and you can find more information about this lovely project on Helen's blog.
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We have just four kits left for my Wiremu Shawl. We have two in the original colour way and two in a darker grey combination. The kits are for sale on the Just Knots website at a discounted price of £34.95 each.
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If you follow Lucy at Attic 24 then you may have seen her collection of painted peg people made by the super talented Lyn of Silvery Paws, who is also a skilled crocheter. I have recently been following Lyn's progress as she has worked through my Mystical Lanterns blanket and have really enjoyed seeing her beautiful colour way coming together. Lyn used the new half motif pattern, which I posted on my blog a few months ago, to achieve straight sides and she has cleverly also come up with a couple of quarter motifs to achieve really neat corners.
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I am not sure why it hadn't occurred to me that a quarter motif was needed, but seeing Lyn's project and her fabulous right angled motifs has prompted me to finally get around to writing out the instructions to make a quarter motif - you can find the free pattern on my blog by following this link.
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If you fancy having a go at making one of my Mystical Lanterns projects, you can find the patterns in the Janie Crow web store or you can find download versions via Ravelry and Etsy. Andy has been busy putting some kits together for the scarf version of the design. He has created some really nice colourways using Coop Knits Socks Yeah! which you can find by following this link. These will be the last kits that we have for this project for quite a while (if ever!) and as we only have 21 kits in total you may need to be quick! All yarn kits are £43.50.
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I have always been a lover of blue and cream pottery such as Devon Blueware, Delftware and the Willow Pattern, so back in 2016 I designed a blanket with a pottery theme in mind. I am so pleased with the outcome of my Delft Blanket project and I still love the way the octagon shaped crochet motifs echo the idea of tessellating decorated plates.
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When I was a child we would often visit my elderly Auntie Kit for afternoon tea and so I was used to seeing the Willow Pattern on sandwich plates and teacups. The pattern features an elaborate chinoiserie pattern that was popular towards the end of the 18th Century. Despite having an oriental style of design, pottery featuring the Willow Pattern originally came from Stoke-On-Trent in the UK, but a lot of pottery featuring the design also came from China via the East India Company. You can find a great video here that tells the story behind the pattern.
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Back in 2019 we ran a colouring competition in collaboration with Stylecraft Yarns and Simply Crochet Magazine and three new versions of Delft were born! Debbie Gould, Katie Mulliner and Jackie Walker designed the Fiore, Rose Garden in Bloom and Bejewelled colourways respectively.
 

Over on Facebook we recently asked a question about your crocheting habits. Are you strictly a one project person or do you have lots of works in progress like me?  
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As you can see from the image above, the results were pretty clear. Over 550 of you voted and almost three quarters of you have at least 2 projects on the go at any one time. It was interesting to read all the comments that were made on the post. Some of you have a variety of projects on the go, varying in complexity, that you might pick up at different times. This could be, for example, a simpler project that you can work on while watching the TV or a smaller project like socks, alongside a larger one such as a blanket.

Some of you simply cannot resist the temptation when a new pattern or crochet along is released so you have projects waiting in the wings! One thing that a lot of you seemed to agree on is that there simply aren't enough hours in the day! 
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Gemma decided to cook up a curry feast for Father's Day on the 20th June and one of the dishes she made was this yummy fried cabbage dish. Gemma says this was definitely not the recipe to undertake on a relaxing day as she says was almost too exhausted to eat by the time it was all finished! Thankfully this recipe was oh so tasty despite all the chopping and shredding involved!
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We always love reading about celebrities and prominent people who enjoy a bit of crochet on the side and so this article in the Washington Post about the American Vice President Kamala Harris was good to see. She visited a yarn store called Fibre Space much to the delight of the owner, Danielle Romanetti. We particularly like the amigurumi doll of the Vice President, pictured in the article. Click on the image below to read more (you need to click on the 'read for free' tab).
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There's an interesting article on CNN Style about the rise of knitting and crochet on social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. Click here or on the image below to read about 'The trend making the internet wholesome again'! 
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I love looking at interior trends and have always been a bit of a DIY fan, so I follow quite a few home decorating themed feeds on social media. One of my favourites is Greg at manwithahammer who is busy renovating a huge ex-naval Georgian property in Devon. 

Greg has recently become really interested in textiles and has a new penchant for really huge bed headboards like the examples below via Kit Kemp designs.
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If you are not a subscriber to the magazine and want to see a catalogue, which is full of beautiful colour images of my projects, you can find it as a free download via the homepage. A printed copy can be added to your basket at no extra cost if you are ordering from the website or for a small postage contribution without any other purchase.  
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With just 3 weeks until our daughter Summer hopefully gets married we have a weekend of wedding related plans, which includes a hair trial for the bride to be and suit fittings for the boys! It is really exciting to think that all the plans might come to fruition soon, so long as current restrictions are lifted. We have our fingers very tightly crossed....

With the wedding potentially on the horizon we are battening down the hatches over the next couple of weeks just to be sure that we all stay healthy, so I have lined up quite a few projects to finish off, including a design which will be the advent project for Jimmy Beans in the US and another new version of my Delft pattern.
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I leave you with this sweet story about orphaned sheep in Australia that I came across via the BBC. My cousin Bev lived on a farm when we were children and I remember her nurturing poorly lambs back to good health every spring. At the time I thought it was really cute and lovely and I wished I could have a lamb too, but my uncle Pete would always remind me that Bev had in effect saved the lambs for a dinner plate in the future in his matter of fact, no nonsense farmer way! These days, (especially as I am now a vegetarian) I prefer to think that these lovely little animals are simply busy growing beautiful wool for us to use!

Whatever your plans for the next few days I hope you have a great weekend. We always enjoy hearing from you, so if you want to get in touch simply hit reply and let us know what is on your mind.
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A few months ago I posted the instructions for how to make a half motif for my Mystical Lanterns design in order to achieve straight vertical sides. You can find the post here on the blog. What I didn't think about at the time is the fact that you may also want to create right angled corner motifs, so today I finally got around to sorting this out!

You will need to make 2 different corner motifs - I have referred to these as left and right throughout the following instructions:

Using your first colour choice, start by making 4ch and join with a ss to form a ring.

Left Motif Foundation Round: 4ch (counts as 1tr & 1ch), 3tr into ring, 3ch, 2tr into ring, fasten off. (6sts & 2 ch-sps)

Right Motif Foundation Round: 3ch (counts as 1tr) 1tr into ring, 3ch, 3tr into ring, 1ch, 1tr into ring, fasten off (6sts & 2 ch-sps)

Using next colour choice:

Left Motif Round 1: join yarn into ch-sp at beginning of last round by working 1ch + 2ch (counts as 1tr), 2tr into same ch-sp, 1ch, [3tr, 3ch, 3tr] into next ch-sp, 1ch, skip next tr, 1tr into final st, fasten off. (10sts & 2 ch-sps)

Right Motif Round 1: join yarn into 3rd ch made at beginning of last round by working 1ch + 3ch (counts as 1tr & 1ch), [3tr, 3ch, 3tr] into next ch-sp, 1ch, 3tr into next ch-sp, fasten off. (10sts & 2 ch-sps)

Using next colour choice: 

Left Motif Round 3: join yarn into skipped ch at motif tip by working 1ch (does not count as a st) 2dc into same skipped ch, 1dc into each next 10sts, 2dc into next st, 1dc not each next 3sts, 2dc into final st, fasten off. (19sts)

Right Motif Round 3: join yarn into top of dtr2tog made  at beginning of last round by working 1ch (does not count as a st), 2dc into same st, 1dc into each next 3sts, 2dc into next st, 1dc into each next 10sts, 2dc into skipped ch at motif tip, fasten off. (19sts)

Because of the curly nature of crochet my quarter motifs do not look brilliantly right angled, but when added into a project alongside the other motifs they will pull into shape and create a great corner. Don't forget that you will need to make 2 of each.

I love seeing my projects worked in other colour ways and really enjoy following the progress of your projects on social media. Big thanks go to Lyn of Silvery Paws who brought it to my attention that I had not posted instructions for a quarter motif. Lyn created her own corner pieces for her recent Mystical Lanterns project and made a brilliant job of it!

If you fancy having a go at making this project you can find my original pattern here. I have published 3 versions - one is for a blanket, another is for a shawl and the third is for a scarf. All patterns are also available as downloads via my Ravelry & Etsy stores.

I am still waiting for confirmation of when my new CAL design 'Indigo Dreams' will be published in Inside Crochet magazine. I think the current plan is for it to be released early in the autumn. As soon as I have any more news I will let you know.

I usually try to plan my designs so that I am working about a year ahead of the release date of a new project, but the lockdown restrictions over the last year and the knock on effects of having to deal with a different workload has meant that my planning has gone out of the window! With the delay of the most recent CAL project I am a bit concerned that my project releases may end up being a bit like London buses - none for ages and then a steady stream! At least we have been a bit luckier with the yarns that are arriving at the studio over the last couple of weeks and have finally been able to make up some kits. We have Magic Circles blanket kits in Life DK in stock on Andy's Just Knots website. You can find them here.
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Lots of versions of the Magic Circles design have been cropping up on Instagram lately and I just love the two images below via Lizzie Montgomery and Karolyn Smalls. Click on them to be taken to the Instagram feeds.
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I have been sent a few fabulous 'out in the wild' images that I want to show you this month. Below you can see a gorgeous version of my Bohemian Blooms design, which has been made by Gera Zuydeweg using the shades from the Love Is Enough version of the Fruit Garden blanket. I think Gera has made an amazing job of this project and I love the way the orange and mustard yellow give it such a great colour pop!
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Cheri Meeker sent me a couple of shots of some runners she has made using the Climbing Rose Wrap pattern and The Blue House design.
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Cheri has made the Climbing Rose runner one motif narrower than my original design and I think she has done a great job combining pretty shades of teal and peach/coral when making her Blue House runner. 
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I have been testing out some cupcake recipes lately and came across this fabulous one from Shannon Michelle. The recipe is vegan so has no eggs and uses vegan butter, something I have to admit I was pretty sceptical about, having spent years baking with butter and dairy based fats.
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I am not sure that our garden has ever had as much attention as it has had this year and it certainly shows, as there are buds and blooms bursting into life everywhere and the veg patch is decidedly rampant! It has been so good to give the garden and our little house some much needed attention this year, especially as we have been shamefully neglectful for quite a while! Below is the first progress shot of the new lean-to that Andy is adding onto the summer house at the end of the garden. Rain has stopped play for a while, but hopefully I will pop some more images in the next newsletter.
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I have been looking at the interior design forecasts going into 2021 and it is no surprise that the biophilic story continues to be the biggest trend. According to Wikipedia, Biophilic design is ‘a concept used within the building industry to increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment through the use of direct nature, indirect nature, and space and place conditions’. There is a blog post on the Homes and Gardens web site here that explains this in more detail, but it basically means that the interior designers are continuing to 'bring the outside in' with the emphasis on greenery and plants.

Whilst I love my garden, I am not great with house plants and tend to stick to a vase of cut flowers every couple of weeks and some orchids, but as I think I am going to really miss the garden come the autumn I am considering investing in a few leafy houseplants.

I came across this 'Glasshouse' when doing a bit of research. The potted plant prices seem high, but when you read their 'about' statement on their website you will understand why. It sounds like a great initiative and there is more information on their blog, and anyway it seems to me that house plants are far more pricy than they used to be, so I might well invest a bit of my pocket money! 
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Have any of you been watching the series 'Halston' starring Ewan McGregor? We have lined it up on our watch list as I have heard it is really good and that the sets and costumes are great. Apparently McGregor was taught to pin, sew and drape fabric by costume designer Jeriana San Juan, who was moved to tears when the actor presented her with a pair of perfectly stitched trousers he had made. You can find more about Ewan's stitching journey by following this link or clicking on the image below.
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A couple of weeks ago I rewatched the amazing McQueen documentary. I am a massive fan of Lee Alexander McQueen's work and of the collections produced by Sarah Burton, creative director at the fashion house, since his death a decade ago. The film always reminds me of being an art student and takes me back to my younger days when I produced my degree collection. McQueen studied at St Martins and I came across an article about the most recent graduate student fashion show on the Vogue blog last week. You can see it by following this link. 

Carrying on the fashion theme, you may have seen in the news this week that a recent report revealed that a really high percentage of clothes are still being made from new plastics. You can find the report via the BBC by following this link. I haven't bought any new clothes for months, but Summer and I have made a plan to hit the shops tomorrow, so this report has certainly reminded me that I should look at the labels in any garments we might try on! 

Andy has headed off to a test music festival this weekend, so Charlie and I are home alone! I had hoped that I might get to visit The Living Arts & Crafts Show at Hatfield House either this afternoon or on Sunday, but the rain seems set for the next few days, so I might have a rethink! Of course there is the comfort of the settee, the lure of the TV and a lovely little crochet project on the hook to use up some of my time, so as usual I am looking forward to the weekend, despite being a tad sad that the rain has knocked all the heads off of my glorious peonies in the garden!
 
I hope that wherever you are in the world and that whatever you have planned for the next few days, you have a good time and stay safe.
 
Janie x
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If you follow my newsletters then you probably already know that we have been having trouble getting all the yarn shades in Life DK to make up the range of Janie Crow kits. Life DK has a percentage of wool, which creates a lovely drape when crocheted, so it has been a little frustrating not being able to put kits together. As stock of Special DK, which is 100% Premium Acrylic, remains healthy at Stylecraft we decided to make up some limited edition kits using this yarn instead. The shade swaps are almost identical and the yarn usage is pretty much the same too.

We have kits for The Blue House Blanket and we've also put together many other kits using Special DK including Persian Tiles, Fields of Gold, Mystical Lanterns and Delft. We've also restocked Sunshine & Showers, Lily Pond Cherry Blossom and Sussex Gardens. You can find all these kits for sale over on Andy's web site at Just Knots.
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It continues to be a challenge to source yarn for kits at the moment as the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are still impacting on the supply chain. There's an interesting article further along in this quick update, which helps to explain some of the worldwide issues. 

Looking on the bright side though, what a great opportunity we now have to do some stash diving! I think it is really exciting to discover that you have just the right yarn in your stash for a pattern you've just come across in a magazine or on the web. If you have crafty friends you could always compare stashes and maybe even have a swapping session!  
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As I just said, now is possibly one of the best times for knitters and crocheters to focus on stashbusting projects and Mystical Lanterns is perfect for using up yarn where you have just one ball, or many oddments of lots of different shades. The pattern is available in different versions, to make a blanket, scarf or shawl. You can find the downloadable patterns in the Janie Crow Ravelry and Etsy stores or the printed booklets by following this link.

As I mentioned in my last couple of newsletters I recently designed a vertical half motif for this pattern. I have posted this on my blog so that those of you who want to make a project with straight vertical side edges can do so. The blog post includes step-by-step images and instructions, but you will need the original pattern to make the main Mystical Lanterns motifs and the horizontal half motifs. 
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Despite promoting our own online business we do recognise the importance of bricks and mortar yarn stockists and want to support our local yarn shops, especially now that non-essential retail has been allowed to open again.
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So, if you need craft supplies and you have a local retailer, do consider supporting them if you can. If you're not sure if there is a yarn shop local to you there is a great look up tool at ukhandknitting.com. 
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Last month Gemma ran a poll over on the Janie Crow Facebook page to find out people's preferred yarn when it comes to crocheting blankets. 535 people voted and 59% stated they prefer using natural fibres such as cotton, bamboo or wool. 
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Gemma has been experimenting in the kitchen again this week and she has suggested this recipe for Roasted Cauliflower Tagine as a really quick and easy midweek make.
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We also came across this article from The Crochet Society on why mindful crochet is so good for you. We don't really need any convincing though, do we?  
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Stepping away from anything yarny, if you fancy a bit of fun this weekend, why not have a play at the Blob Opera. It's strangely addictive! 
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The Janie Crow Catalogue, full of beautiful colour images of my projects, is available as a download from the homepage. A printed copy can be added to your basket at no extra cost if you are ordering from the website or for a small postage contribution without any other purchase.  
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My Bohemian Blooms Blanket is a CAL project in a book! The design of the blanket was inspired by English country gardens and London’s garden squares, but the main catalyst for the design was the paintings and iconic interior designs of artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. In particular their home ‘Charleston Farmhouse’ in Sussex and their fabulous painted murals at the nearby Berwick Village Church.
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Rather than release the crochet along style project in the usual way - where the design is issued in pieces monthly or fortnightly – I decided to release the project in book form giving crocheters the chance to work through the blanket at their own speed. The book is laid out in a logical order so that the crochet patterns get progressively more challenging and can be worked through in a CAL type way or in a more random sequence depending on the preference of the crocheter. The patterns include step-by-step images throughout.

I have spotted quite a few Bohemian Blooms projects out in the wild over the last few months. They show how easy it is to use some of the motifs in the pattern book to create alternative projects. Click on the images below to be taken to the Instagram feeds.
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It has been a bit of an odd time at Janie Crow these last few weeks. It is still difficult to get yarn for kits and the web sites are calming down as people head back to a more 'normal' way of life, so it feels like a bit of a change is going on. This month should have been a time when we would have been busy preparing kits for the new CAL. With its release delayed slightly, I feel a little undecided about what to next so I have been enjoying a little bit of calm after the madness of the last year.

I always love the anticipation of forming new design ideas so I have been using this little bit of down time to put some mood boards together on Pinterest and flick through my books and magazines for ideas. I have become a bit obsessed with embroidery and patchwork designs and keep finding myself drawn back to them, so I think these are things that I will continue to research at over the next few months.

I have been looking at the interior trends too, which has made me want to entirely redecorate our little house! There is a great list of trends here on the Living etc web site, which includes a load of great interior pics, pretty much all of which got me itching to do something at home. One of the trends references the Bloomsbury Group's eclectic style, so it looks like even 4 years since the release of my Bohemian Blooms CAL the Charleston Farmhouse vibe is still very much on trend!
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​As I have said before, 2021 is our 10th Birthday year here at Janie Crow and we had hoped to host some celebration events, but with everything still a bit up in the air as far as social gatherings are concerned we have not made any definite plans, especially as we will be moving out of the studio in September. With lockdown restrictions set to change further over the next few months I would be really interested to hear what kind of things you guys might like to do. We currently have Yarndale in the diary for the end of September and The Knitting & Stitching show early October, so it would be nice to get something else added into our sparsely filled diaries!
 
​Hit the reply button and let me know whether you would be interested in workshops or talks and demos and if so, whether you like the idea of day or weekend long events. We have a lovely luxury hotel very near here that we think would make a great venue for an event, but the delegate day rate starts at around £60/£70 a head before we consider any other costs, so it would be good to know what your ideal price point might be too.

If you missed the newsletter last month you might not know that I have designed a vertical half motif for my Mystical Lanterns pattern. The pattern instructions and images are on my blog so that those of you who want to make a project with straight vertical side edges can do so.

The blog post includes step-by-step images and instructions, but you will need the original pattern to make the main Mystical Lanterns motifs and the horizontal half motifs. I hope this will help those of you who have been asking for this half motif for the last few years!
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Here at Janie Crow we have been trying to make greener choices for the last couple of years. To begin with this has been in regards to our packaging, our waste and our recycling, but we are also looking more and more at the products we choose to stock. We have started to put together a more thoughtful plan for our business going forward and are attempting to take small, slow steps towards change, whilst also trying to keep in mind what you guys actually want us to sell and promote.
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A few years ago I came across the Cherokee story of The Two Wolves. It is a tale I remind myself of often, especially at times of doubt or worry, in order to get myself back on the right path.
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My fellow Stylecraft Blogstar Phil, of The Twisted Yarn, is the author of a great blog, which you can find here.
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Marina Kelly is one of my prized test crocheters, but she is also a very talented crochet jewellery designer and I am very lucky that she has given me permission to add five necklaces from her new collection to the web site. 
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If you have been lucky enough to meet my wonderful friend and assistant Sarah Hazell, then you will know what a kind and lovely person she is. Sarah, and her daughter Phoebe, got their beautiful looks and fabulous personalities from Sarah's gorgeous mum, who sadly passed away on Wednesday evening.

We are all holding Sarah and her family in our thoughts and I am sure that many of you will want to join me in sending them the very best wishes at this difficult time. 
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Thank you all for the great response to The Blue House blanket, which I show cased here last month. It has been a real frustration for us to not be able to put yarn kits together for this project as we are still waiting for lots of shades of Life DK to come back into stock, but it has been so good to see many of you doing a bit of stash diving and creating your own colour ways of the design. You can find more information about the design lower down this email.

Last week I designed a vertical half motif for my Mystical Lanterns pattern. I have posted this on my blog so that those of you who want to make a project with straight vertical side edges can do so. The blog post includes step-by-step images and instructions, but you will need the original pattern to make the main Mystical Lanterns motifs and the horizontal half motifs. I hope this will help those of you who have been asking for this half motif for the last few years!
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Yesterday evening textile designer Lizzie Montgomery shared the image below of her version of my Magic Circles blanket on Instagram. Isn't it just a beauty? I love Lizzie's colour choices and so seeing this one as I headed off to bed really made my day!
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I adore the fun ‘fiesta’ feeling of this blanket and am really pleased with the outcome of it, but I also love seeing how motifs can be used to make alternative projects, so I asked ace crocheters Marina Kelly, Gemma Biggs and Sue Macdonald if they would like to come up with a couple of ideas for how to use the motifs in another project. Within this pattern we have included some images of the fabulous cushion project made by Marina and the vibrant handy bag project made by Gemma as well as the fun, stash busting mandala that Sue created. I love seeing my designs ‘out in the wild’ and I think the way Marina, Gemma and Sue have interpreted the pattern is fantastic. Hopefully you will be inspired too!
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I love seeing my designs made in alternative shades. The blanket versions shown above have been made by Lex Priestly (above top right) and Chris Bourne (above bottom right).
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I have been doing a bit of spring cleaning as the change in light has highlighted my need to do a little bit more housework! I am not a big fan of weekly cleaning chores, but I actually enjoy a good spring clean and love seeing the results of a good declutter!
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Marina Kelly is one of my prized test crocheters, but she is also a very talented crochet jewellery designer and I am very lucky that she has given me permission to add five necklaces from her new collection to the web site. 
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Andy has been busy seeking out exciting new products for his Just Knots web site. He has found some really fabulous things, including the range of project bags, needle cases and hook wraps from Della Q.
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The canvas makers bags have proved particularly popular and we have struggled to keep them in stock, but parcels are arriving weekly and we are updating the stock as often as we can.

All the bags in the Della Q range have lots of great pockets and some include a pouch with a clear side so that you can refer to your pattern without spoiling it on a journey. They also have integrated yarn guides and stitch markers and other features perfect for crafters on the move.
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Hopefully you didn't miss the fact that yesterday was World Earth Day. I found quite a few emails in my inbox asking me to sign petitions and take some action. If you want to do something too then you might want to take a look at a couple of the links I have included here.
 
‘This is not a one time thing. This is our entire future'. Greta Thunberg. 
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The weather has been much brighter over the last 10 days and thankfully it looks like the threat of snow has gone, although I think the north of the country could still get a bit more as the temperature is not rising very quickly and we are still having quite cold mornings. We are hoping it will stay relatively nice as we are planning a family get together in the garden tomorrow afternoon. Despite the cool temperatures it has been so nice to spend time together outside.
 
I am planning to do some step-by-step photography for the new CAL project next week and so I was silly excited to have been able to secure an appointment to have my nails done earlier today. It feels very indulgent after more than a year with terribly neglected nails. I don’t have a hair appointment until the 1st May, so another week to wait for that - I never thought I would be so excited by the prospect of having my hair and nails done!

The garden plans are coming on nicely. Andy has built the footings for the new shed, which will link through from the summer house and we have dug over a new vegetable patch. The seedlings are all thriving in the sunshine in the conservatory, but as we are still having light frosts overnight very little has made it out into the garden except the potato tubers, which were planted last weekend.

It is Andy's birthday next week so I am thinking of doing a bit of baking on Sunday, although he has yet to decide what type of cake he would like. A couple of weeks ago I made an 8 strand plaited loaf from a Paul Hollywood recipe. I tested the plaiting out with string first as I know it's something all the contestants on The Great British Bake Off struggle with!
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I designed the Mystical Lanterns motif in 2016 in between working on my first two CAL projects for Stylecraft (Lily Pond and Frida's Flowers blankets). It has always been a really popular design and it is a real joy to see the project motifs being made in lots of fabulous colour combinations.

The first version of the pattern I realised was for a triangular shawl, so I designed a horizontal half motif to ensure that the shawl had one straight edge at the top. The Ogee shape of the motif gave the shawl a really nice sloped edge so I was more than happy with the outcome of the design. The horizontal half motif was also used in a blanket version a little later on so that it had two straight edges.

I am often asked if I have plans to add a vertical half motif to the design as some of you would like to create projects with straight edges on all sides of a project. I love the wavy edges on the blanket, but I know this is not to everyones taste, so I have finally got around to making an alternative vertical half motif and you can find the instructions below.

The step by step instructions for how too make this half motif are only available here on the blog - they do not feature in the download or printed pattern.

​If you want to find the original patterns for this motif you can find the blanket pattern by following this link. The shawl pattern by following this link and the scarf pattern by following this link.

I have made my sample using a 4mm hook and DK weight yarn in 4 shades.

INSTRUCTIONS (UK terms)

Note: All rows are RS facing - do not turn.

Using your first shade of yarn make 7ch, join with a ss to form a ring.
Foundation Row: 4ch (counts as 1tr & 1ch), [3tr into ring, 3ch] twice, 3tr into ring, 1ch, 1tr into ring, fasten off. (11sts & 4 ch-sps)

Row 1: Join your next shade of yarn into 1ch-sp made at beginning of last round by working 1ch + 2ch (counts as 1tr), 3tr into same ch-sp, 1ch, * [3tr, 3ch, 3tr] into next ch-sp, 1ch; repeat from * 4tr into next ch-sp, fasten off. (20sts & 5 ch-sps)

Row 2: Join your next shade of yarn into top of first tr made at beginning of last row by working 1ch + 5ch (counts as 6ch), working back along 6ch just made skip next ch, 1dc into each next 2ch, 3tr into (same) st at base of 6ch, 3tr into next ch-sp, [3tr, 3dtr] into next ch-sp, dtr3tog into next ch-sp, [3dtr, 3tr] into next ch-sp, 3tr into next ch-sp, skip 3sts, 3tr into next st (this is the final st made on the last row), 3ch, working back along 3ch just made skip next ch, 1dc into each next 2ch, ss into (same) st at base of 3ch, fasten off. 

Row 3: Join your next shade of yarn into the skipped ch at motif 'tip' by working 1ch, 1dc into same ch, 1dc into each next 10sts, 2dc into next st, 1dc into each next 3sts, 3dc into next st (this is the st that sits just before the top of the dtr3tog made on previous row), 1dc into each next 3sts, 2dc into next st, 1dc into each next 10sts, 1dc into skipped ch at end of row, fasten off. (35sts)

You should find that these motifs join in with your main motifs nicely and that the addition of a border along the side of the motifs will help straighten the 'raw' edge out a little and prevent it from looking quite so wonky! I estimate that you need to work 23sts along the side edge of each half motif when adding a border. I would probably work as follows, but I haven't tried it so you may need to do a bit of jiggling about to make it work:

1st into side of dc made on Row 3
2sts to correspond with next 2dc made at tip on Row 2
2sts along side of next tr made on same row (Row 2)
3sts along side of tr made on Row 2
3sts into next ch-sp made on Foundation Row
1st  into ring
3sts into next ch-sp made on Foundation Row
3sts along side of tr made on Row 2
2sts along side of next tr made on Row 2
2sts to correspond with next 2dc made at tip on same row (Row 2)
1st into side of final dc made on Row 3

I hope this goes some way to help those of you who are fans of straight edges! I do plan to revisit the Mystical Lanterns design at some point and will probably add in this vertical half motif to my project too. I am notoriously slow though, so don't hold your breath in the hope of seeing my completed project before you do yours!

Janie x

Fast forward a few years and here we are with the updated pattern, which now also includes the instructions for a matching half motif. The colours for this project were inspired by the décor of Frida & Diego’s fabulous kitchen within their home in Mexico City ‘The Blue House’, which is now a museum. The kitchen surfaces feature bright yellow and blue ceramic tiles and the painted table and chairs that sit at the centre of the room have green and red hand painted details. The large terracotta bowls and cooking pots that are placed around the room are decorated with flashes of orange and pink - all colours that feature in the palette I have chosen for this project.

I adore the fun ‘fiesta’ feeling of this blanket and am really pleased with the outcome of it, but I also love seeing how motifs can be used to make alternative projects, so I asked ace crocheters Marina Kelly, Gemma Biggs and Sue Macdonald if they would like to come up with a couple of ideas for how to use the motifs in another project. Within this pattern we have included some images of the fabulous cushion project made by Marina and the vibrant handy bag project made by Gemma as well as the fun, stash busting mandala that Sue created. I love seeing my designs ‘out in the wild’ and I think the way Marina, Gemma and Sue have interpreted the pattern is fantastic. Hopefully you will be inspired too!
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I love seeing my designs made in alternative shades. The blanket versions shown above have been made by Lex Priestly (above top right) and Chris Bourne (above bottom right).
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You can find my Pinterest Board, which shows more images from Frida's house and some of Diego's amazing art work, which inspired the colours of The Blue House blanket by following this link or by clicking on the image above.
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​I found the images of the motif made in lots of lovely colour variations on Instagram - click on the images above to be taken to the feeds.
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I have been doing a lot of pattern checking and writing over the last month and not so much crochet. I have not had a chance to update my blog either, other than to write a post about copyright, which you can find by following this link.

A few weeks ago we had a bit of a run of copyright infringements and I had a lot of you contact me about things you had found online that appeared to be copies of my work. So many of you are amazing at calling out people who think it is ok to share work that doesn’t belong to them and I am so grateful that you are willing to fight my corner. We had a few of you asking for clarification on copyright so I put a short blog post together that I hope helps to explain why my patterns have copyright statements. 
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I am really looking forward to tutoring workshops again next year and have already popped quite a few dates in my diary for 2022. I will be heading off to a couple of exciting destinations and am particularly pleased to have the opportunity to return to teach in France. Places on my workshop in the Charente-Maritime region with 'Knitting Holidays in France' are now sold out, but you can find the details of other workshops and retreats on offer by following this link.

There are still a few spaces left on the weekend knit and yoga retreat I am tutoring for Stitchtopia in November. In the lead up to Christmas I am sure this trip will provide a great opportunity to slow down for a few days and award yourself a bit of TLC. I would love it if you are able to join me. Just to be clear, I am teaching the knitting, not the yoga!  
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The 'join as you go' method of putting crochet motifs together is easier than it looks and makes the finishing process of a big project far quicker than if you have to crochet pieces together once they are complete.

The 'join as you go' method is used in my Fields of Gold blanket design. You can find a downloadable document that explains how to work this great technique here. It also includes a link to a Youtube video by Bella Coco that shows how to work a flat braid join. 
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The hook wraps feature intricately hand stitched embroidery as well as some machine stitching and are fastened with a ribbon tie. The wraps will hold up to 15 hooks and we have also included some larger pockets for hooks with big handles or to hold some scissors or other accessories. The wraps come in a protective cotton bag within a sturdy cardboard box, so make the ideal gift for any serious crafter. Hook wraps are made from woven wool fabric and are lined with cotton fabric with a vibrant floral design. 
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So, as is the norm these days, we have a pretty standard weekend plan that will include some time in the garden and a spot of baking. 
 
Last summer Andy and I focussed our weekend efforts on sorting out the front garden so that we could use it as a driveway. For years we have left it as a rather neglected lawn so we decided to add a raised bed and dig up the grass to make room to park. We worked on the garden over the course of a few months and moved somewhere in the region of 14 tons of top soil and hardcore between us. It was hard work but it was a great way of keeping fit and we got to meet lots of our neighbours!
 
This year we have plans for the back garden. Andy has already built a retaining wall for one of the flower beds where the original wooden railway sleepers have rotted away. We have extended the bed to include a small vegetable patch too, which is exciting. We are also hoping to build a new shed that will link through from the summer house, along with a gazebo type structure so that there is a little bit of shelter if we want to sit outside over the summer. We are planning to do all the work ourselves again as we do not have the budget to pay anyone else to do it, but having this time to spend on the garden still feels like a real luxury, so I am really looking forward to it.

This week we had a day of remembrance in the UK to mark the first anniversary of lockdown. It was a chance to reflect on the past 12 months and to think about all those who have died or who have had their lives altered because of COVID. It does seem amazing to think that we went into this thinking it would be a short change to our everyday lives, but here we are a year on still dealing with the effects of the pandemic. 
 
‘It's hard when you miss people, but you know if you miss them, that means you were lucky. It means you had someone special in your life. Someone worth missing .’ Nikki Schiefelbein.
 
From Monday we are hopefully going to be able to meet up to 6 people (from 2 households) outside, so we are hoping for better weather next week. The forecast is looking really nice for the early part of the week here in North London, but a bit miserable by the time the Easter weekend comes around, which is kind of typical! The cafe's and restaurants on our local High Street are gearing up to open with tables and chairs out on the pavements. There was a hive of activity up there this morning when we did our grocery shop and it was really good to see things changing a little and businesses getting ready to open again.

So, as we head into the weekend, and hopefully into a slightly less restricted way of life next week, I hope you are all staying safe and well. My friend Teresa sent me this link to a video of Stephen West demonstrating the technique of Navajo plying. It is amazing! Take a look here - I promise it will make your Friday even better than it is already!

Sending yarn love....
 
Janie x

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen a ‘story’ that I posted yesterday where I asked if some of you would link through to an Instagram feed that had posted an image and link to a version of my Mystical Lanterns design that was in breach of my copyright because the linked web site showed a free crochet chart for the design. Thank you so much if you were one of the many people who followed the link and commented on the post. I reported the post to Instagram and it was deleted along with my story!
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I once saw a comment on social media that said (in relation to the D&G copyright infringement):
 
‘I don’t know why everyone is getting so upset about it. It is only crochet after all!’
 
At the time I was really cross about this statement, but actually, when I find myself getting upset or militant about yet another copycat design or unauthorised share of an image or chart, I remind myself of it and try to take a step back from my personal involvement in what has happened. It is kind of a self-preservation thing (think Love Actually)! So if you spot copycat designs, videos or images you can help me out by sending us a link via email or via our social media channels. If you feel brave enough, it is really helpful to us if you leave a message on the site where you have found the problem – as a general rule the more comments you all make, the more likely it is that people will remove stuff.

Although it cannot be said to be true of everyone (that means you Dolce and Gabbana) I like to believe that on the whole people are honest and that many of them are so totally consumed by their need to spread the joy of the craft of crochet, that they don’t always do the best research before diving in! In all instances we need to try to be kind and keep in mind that it is only crochet after all!

Have good day!

​Janie x