December News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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