Fruit Garden Cushions on the horizon

4/9/2020

Quick Update

I'm back from my short 'staycation' with a few things to tell you about this week, but I start with an apology that the Q&A video has not yet been posted on my Youtube page. Because of the bank holiday on Monday I was already short of time this week to shoot the video and then we decided that we could really do with a new memory card for the camera to crisp up the quality of the films, so that has delayed things a little further. The new card should arrive with us on Monday, so I have crossed through the whole of next week to dedicate to making videos - the first one will focus on joining motifs as this was a topic requested by quite a few of you...

As one of the Patrons of the UK Knitting & Crochet Guild I have also agreed to do a couple of videos for their 'Unconvention' event, which kicks off next Wednesday the 9th September. I will be filming a 'key note speech' where I will focus on my design process. This will be available to view via the Guild YouTube channel on Monday 14th September, when I will also be taking over the Guild's Instagram account. A beaded crochet workshop video will also be available on the same day. You can find a full list of the planned events by following this link.

As well as the videos for the Guild and for the Janie Crow YouTube channel, I have been putting together a technique workshop video that will be posted as part of the Yarndale virtual yarn show over the last weekend in September - as soon as I know what day and time this will be posted I will let you know. I am really sad not to be heading up to Skipton for the show this year, but am pleased to see how well the organisers have stepped up to present a fun online show. To be kept up to date with all the Yarndale news you can join their newsletter via the show website homepage by following this link.

This week I have an update on the 'Love Is Enough' version of the Fruit Garden CAL for you and more information about the 2 accompanying cushion cover designs I have created - if you have 5 minutes to spare, put your feet up and grab a cuppa and get up to speed with all things Janie Crow....

Love Is Enough

You may have already seen on the Stylecraft social media platforms that we have made the decision to move the start date of the publication of the colour substitution documents for the Love Is Enough colour way of the Fruit Garden CAL. The CAL will now start on Tuesday 3rd November. The delay is due to a global shortfall in yarn supply and the knock on effects of closures and supply chain distribution due to the pandemic.

We feel that moving the date by 2 weeks gives even more of you enough time to join the CAL and will ensure that yarn parcels have plenty of time to arrive at their destinations as some mail deliveries are still a little slow. Yarn packs should go on sale for this colour way week commencing the 28th September.

I hope that you will support this decision and that you won't be too upset at the prospect of having to wait a couple more weeks before you can get started on the CAL.

We still have some yarn packs in stock for the original 2 colour ways of the Fruit Garden CAL and you can find them by following this link to the Janie Crow site - we have just 3 packs of Recipe 1 (Caramel and Parchment) and 2 packs of Recipe 2 (Night & Dusk). Once these have gone we will not have stock again until later in the autumn. You might find some kits in stock on Andy's site Just Knots Yarn, but I think you will need to be quick as stock levels are really low.

Kelmscott & Melsetter Cushion Covers

While you are waiting for the CAL to launch you could always make the two cushion covers I have designed to match in with the 2 existing Fruit Garden colour ways. The Kelmscott cover matches Recipe 1 and Melsetter matches colour way 2.

The patterns for the cushions will be available via the Janie Crow web site the week after next. You can choose from a download version or a paper copy. The download version will be free with an option to make a donation via PayPal if you want to. The paper pattern will be priced in line with my other patterns and will incur a fee for postage and packing.

I designed the cushions so that you can use up some of the left over yarns from your CAL projects. The yarn listings below show what you will need:

Kelmscott Cushion Cover (Caramel & Parchment - shown to the left in the image above)

Stylecraft Life DK
75% Premium Acrylic, 25% Wool, 298m (326yds) per 100g ball

2 balls (123g used) x Parchment (2445)
2 balls (116g used) x Caramel (2446)
1 ball (22g used) x Blue Haze (2346)
1 ball (5g used) x Cranberry Mixtures (2319)
1 ball (12g used) x Denim (2322)
1 ball (18g used) x Fern (2311)
1 ball (13g used) x Rose (2301)

Stylecraft Batik
80% Premium Acrylic, 20% Wool, 138m (151yds) per 50g ball

1 ball (17g used) x Graphite (1915)
1 ball (9g used) x Heather (1906)
1 ball (10g used) x Mint (1918)
1 ball (6g used) x Rose (1916)

Equipment:
3.5mm (US E/4), 4mm (US G/6) and 4.5mm (US 7) crochet hooks
Stitch markers
Knitters sewing needle

Other:
50cm x 50cm (19¾in x 19¾in) square cushion pad
7 x 15mm (½in) buttons (I used metal dome buttons, which will be available from the Janie Crow web site)

Measurement:
Made to fit 50cm x 50cm (19¾in x 19¾in) square cushion pad.

***

Melsetter Cushion Cover (Night & Dusk - shown to the right in the image above)

Stylecraft Naturals – Bamboo + Cotton
60% Bamboo, 40% Cotton, 250m (273yds) per 100g ball

3 balls (233g used) x Night (7160)
1 ball (17g used) x Canyon (7157)
1 ball (17g used) x Celery (7155)
1 ball (12g used) x Dusk (7159)
1 ball (29g used) x Peach (7131)
1 ball (16g used) x Pumice (7154)
1 ball (30g used) x Raisin (7158)
1 ball (18g used) x Rose (7165)
1 ball (1g used) x Seafoam (7143)
1 ball (27g used) x Thyme (7156)
1 ball (21g used) x Umber (7161)

Equipment:
3mm (US C-D/2-3) 3.5mm (US E/4) & 4mm (US G/6) crochet hooks
Stitch markers
Knitters sewing needle

Other:
45cm x 45cm (17¾in x 17¾in) square cushion pad
6 x 15mm (½in) buttons (I used metal dome buttons, which will be available from the Janie Crow web site)

Measurement:
Made to fit 45cm x 45cm (17¾in x 17¾in) square cushion pad.

***
To help you judge if you have enough yarn in your stash, or within your leftovers from the Fruit Garden CAL, to use to make the cushion cover I have made a note of how much yarn of each shade is used.

It is a good idea to overestimate yarn usage in case you achieve a slightly different tension to me or leave longer tail ends. For example, where I say I have used 18g of the shade Rose in the list for the Melsetter cover above, you would be wise to ensure you have at least 20g.

If you want to see the new colour way for the Fruit Garden blanket and the 2 cushion covers you can find a sneaky peek in a Youtube video I made a few weeks ago.

The 2 cushion covers will be the focus of Stylecraft's September 'Make Along' and you can find the dedicated Facebook Group by following this link. The August Make Along project was Julia Marsh's lovely knitted blankets shown in the image below:

The Make Along Facebook Group has been created by Stylecraft to provide a forum for knitters and crocheters to receive help and have a general chat about projects designed by the Stylecraft Blogstars. There are already nearly 10,000 members in the group and it is a hive of positive activity, so why not take a look?

Janie Crow Catalogue

Thank you again for the amazing response to the new Janie Crow catalogue. As I said last time, we have had some of the new catalogues printed and have added these to the web site as a free item. If you are on the site and have other items in your cart you can add a catalogue to your existing order free of charge. If you simply want to be sent the brochure then you can add it to your cart for free, but you will need to pay a small amount to cover postage and packing.

You can find the free download version of the catalogue here or by clicking on the images above. You can find the paper brochure here. The 40 page A5 catalogue features colourful images and a written description of all my designs from the last 5 years shown in lovely home settings.

It's Nearly The Weekend!

Because Monday was a Bank Holiday here in England it has been a speedy week - I keep thinking it is Thursday today so I am not totally in the Friday mood just yet, but it seems that our son Charlie is getting in full swing ready for the weekend now that he is back at work at Pret HQ! He has been perfecting his beer bottle opening skills this week and sent us a video yesterday to showcase his new trick.... you can see it on my Instagram Story. I am not totally happy about him kicking beer bottles in my newly painted kitchen, but I am quite impressed by his skill and at least he is not opening the bottles with his teeth!

The kitchen is at last finished, except for the fact that I need to put the door handles back on the doors. This is a pic of my favourite part of the room - so far we have even managed to keep it tidy!

We are now planning which part of our poor neglected home to tackle next, but I think this weekend will be used for pottering about in the garden and getting things sorted for the Autumn. We have been working on the driveway at the front of the house sporadically over the summer, but really need to get that finished too, so I guess we will be out there over the next couple of days. As usual I also hope to get a bit of crochet done too!

My friend Sonia sent me the image below of these fabulous crochet chairs that she has created during lockdown. She even won a prize for them and her image reminded me of the recent trend for patchwork chairs - something that I have always thought would be a great project to tackle. Quite a few years ago Erika Knight featured a knitted tub chair cover in one of her books and I always thought it was really cool! I have found a couple of images of the kind of thing I really like - you can click on the images below to find more information about them.

Perhaps I will be spending this weekend sourcing a good chair to cover? I hope that wherever you are and whatever you have planned for the weekend you stay safe and keep well...