February Newsletter

Thank you to everyone who purchased a copy of one of the Mystical Lanterns patterns last weekend. We were totally overwhelmed by the response to our effort to raise funds for the people of Turkey and Syria, so massively affected by the recent earthquake.

We have totted up and donated all profit from the sales of both paper and download patterns and I am so pleased to say that we were able to make the most incredible donation of £3750 to the Disasters Emergency Committee.

We are totally blown away by how much we managed to raise and are so grateful to all of you who bought a pattern. Thank you so much. ​

I have started to think about a new CAL design and have picked out some yarn shades from a few of the Stylecraft ranges and will begin to whittle down the palette as I start the design process over the next couple of weeks. I have also made a new mood board on Pinterest, one of the aspects of starting a new design that I really love!

It is at this stage that I can get a bit daunted by the task ahead of me. Designing a CAL is a huge process for me, so I am trying to think of it in bitesize pieces so that I don't get overwhelmed and then feel stagnated by seeing the end project in my head too soon. I like to have a rough idea of what the project is going to look like, but it is never set in stone at this stage. It is aways exciting to be on the brink of something new - especially in the stage before all the maths and calculations take over! ​

We have a 'new' pattern release next week in the shape of the Glad Tidings wrap, which was previously released as a download only crochet along project on the lead up to Christmas. The pattern will be available in full (rather than split up in parts as it was for the CAL) from Tuesday next week. You will be able to choose from a download version via Etsy or Ravelry or a paper copy. The wrap is made using 4ply and is another great way of using up bits and bobs of left over yarns from your stash. You can find lots of lovely versions using the hashtags #gladtidingswrap on Instagram.

image @insidecrochetmagazine

Another couple of patterns to look forward to over the forthcoming months are the Gertrude and Muriel cushion covers, which were previously published in Inside Crochet Magazine. Emma is currently working on the step-by-step images and the final word check of the patterns, so we hope they will be out in the wild in the spring.

Emma has been busy filming the last few videos to accompany the Sunshine and Showers crochet project. The video for Part 10 is now available to view on our YouTube channel which you can find here.

Emma has come across these lovely Yarn Tags from Laurette Crafts. How lovely they look all wound with the yarn colours from Emma’s Mystical Lanterns project. They are such a good idea and the little ring means you can take them off, reorder them, reuse them and all sorts. Emma says they are Just gorgeous!

Emma was waxing lyrical about them this week and then spotted them on another wonderful post on Instagram from @nanaseamakes too!  Do have a look at their website as there are all sorts of lovely useful things on there which we definitely need and you might too!

Today (Friday 17th February) is world 'Random Acts of Kindness Day' and it is just so so easy to get involved! Being kind and helping someone else - or even just being really nice to yourself is one of the best ways to feed your soul and make you feel great. Head over to The Random Acts of Kindness website for a load of ideas for what you could do to make someone's day!

It has been fabulous seeing the most recent motif from my Spirit of Flora CAL, Merton Abbey, being made out in the wild. We have seen some really lovely versions of it on social media and over in the dedicated Facebook Group, which now has almost more than 4500 members. You can find it by following this link.

The official images of the CAL were photographed at Emery Walker's House in Hammersmith, London. The house is a wonderful example of decor from the era of the Arts and Crafts Movement and it was a joy to visit.

The house features quite a few exclusive wallpaper designs by William Morris, which we fell in love with when we were there, so we were really excited discover that some of the wallpapers are now being reproduced in collaboration with Morris & Co. Take a look at Emma's lovely Instagram post from today for more information. ​

Some fabulous new items have been added to the Emma Ball & Janie Crow Collection over the last couple of weeks including notebooks, yarn cards (which I am totally smitten by), chopping boards, fridge magnets and even jigsaws.

We have stitch markers, note pads and small note-lets as well as the tin items for you to choose from. More items from the collection, such as tote bags, project pouches and mugs (shown in the image below) will come into stock in the early spring.

You can check out our YouTube video where Emma and I talk about the collection here and I have also posted our live chat from a few months ago on our Instagram Feed. ​

We will be exhibiting at the Yorkshire Yarn Festival in a fortnight's time and I hope that you might be able to come along to the show too! Tickets are still available for the 4th & 5th of March and you can purchase them in advance by following this link.

If you would like to come to the show we have 6 pairs of free tickets to giveaway. To be in with a chance of winning them, all you need to do is reply to this email and tell me why you deserve the tickets for you and a friend. If you are successful in your application, we will send you the details of how to claim your tickets. Please only email if you are able to go to the show, which will be held at Sandburn Hall.

The show organiser, Sophie from Botanical Yarns, has lined up some really fabulous fellow exhibitors and I will feature as the guest at the Saturday evening craft night event where I will be doing a short presentation and Q&A session. Tickets for workshops are also still available and you can find more information by following this link and clicking on the menu.

We have been featuring short biographies of members of the Janie Crow team on Instagram over the last few weeks. I kicked things off with a quick post about me and that has since been followed by one about Andy and another one about Emma. Sarah and Gemma's biogs will be posted over the next couple of weeks.

If you have ever wondered what the members of my fabulous team do for Janie Crow, or simply want to put a face to a name, then do head over to our Instagram feed to take a look! ​

I have had quite a lot of time away from my desk this week and have been making the most of the brighter weather by getting out and about a little more. On Tuesday I visited the Cezanne exhibition at Tate Modern and yesterday I went into town to have a mooch around the Battersea Power Station development. With various other trips this week I will have travelled into London on 4 occasions, which is really unusual for me, despite living on the outskirts of the city. Travelling into town has been a really good way of feeding my soul and I feel blessed to have been able to get out and about.

This weekend will be a busy one because we will be heading up to Birmingham tomorrow as I will be on the Stylecraft stand at the Stitches trade show at the NEC on Sunday and Monday. We are going to combine the trip with a lovely catch up with our fabulous JC team member Sarah and her husband Paul, so I am really looking forward to the next couple of days.

Next week is looking busy and I am also looking forward to a photoshoot at a location on the Columbia Road on Thursday. I will try to post a few images from that on social media so you can see what we are up to and maybe give you a few sneaky peeks of some Spirit of Flora pieces.

I hope that you are also looking forward to your weekend. Don't forget that you can get in touch by hitting reply (especially if you want to win those pairs of free tickets for the Yorkshire Yarn Festival) and you can catch up with us via our Instagram and Facebook platforms. If you want to share your 'out in the wild' project images, please use the hashtags #janiecrow or #janiecrowpattern so that we can see what you are up to.

Yarny hugs!

Janie x