Greetings from new york

Welcome to this week's Friday Feature Newsletter - the Janie Crow equivalent of a Sunday supplement magazine....

Greetings from The Big Apple!

After months of waiting we have finally arrived in New York for The Vogue Knitting Live Show, which starts this evening at 5pm. We are VERY excited! I will tell you all about the show and share some images in next week's newsletter.

At last we have some positive news about the new web sites, which you can find lower down this email in the 'What's New?' section. I have also included some information about a lovely Italian knitting holiday that Sarah will be tutoring in May and I have left in the information about the colouring competition, which I know many of you have already been getting involved in.

The first feature of the newsletter relates to my admiration for the Austrian artists Egon Shiele and Gustav Klimt and my colour palette of the week also relates to this topic. I hope you will enjoy it.
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I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.
- Lucille Ball -

Vienna Artists - Klimt and Shiele

When I was at art school back in the 1990s I based my final show on the work of Gustav Klimt. For my textile degree I specialised in machine knitting and for my show I produced fabrics that had a see through rayon knitted back fabric with swirls, circles and squares added on by wrapping yarns around the needles at the front of the fabric to create an extra, almost 3D layer - the effect was almost like a devore fabric and (of course) I added beads and vintage mother of pearl buttons for added sparkly effect.

As part of our course we had to produce art work as inspiration or in support of our knitted designs and so I made accompanying pieces using a collage technique to echo many of Klimt's paintings. My Mum and Dad still have many of these pieces of artwork hanging in their home, although some are now looking a bit sorry for themselves as the pieces of foil, magazine cuttings, buttons, beads and yarn I stuck on almost 30 years ago are beginning to fade and fall off!
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Around a decade ago there was a surge in popularity of Klimt's paintings and many stores made the most of the trend by selling large reproduction canvasses of paintings like The Kiss and The Three Ages of Woman so I am sure that many of you are aware of Klimt's work, especially his gold period.

I didn't really get to grips with crochet until about ten years ago, so it wasn't something that I added into my degree work, although we did have to include one hand knitted sample within our final collection. When I first started my crochet journey I remember stumbling across images of crochet inspired by Klimt paintings and I still love the idea of doing something similar. I have posted some images of some fabulous projects with links to the crocheters who have made them below.
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Babette by Kathy Merrick

If you like the look of the image above then you might alos like to look at the blog of French designer 'Clothogancho'.
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Image from Flickr - Vicx Paper Village

What do you think of these pieces? I think they are fabulous and that there is such a wealth of Klimt paintings that could still inspire fabulous crochet design. Perhaps one day I will return to this idea, maybe once I have managed to visit the famous Albetina Museum and the Beethoven Secession Building in Vienna - two places that are more or less at the top of my bucket list, sitting just under my desire to visit Frida Kahlo's Blue House in Mexico.

A few weeks before Christmas my friend Luise and I went to the Royal Academy of Arts here in London to see the Klimt/Shiele exhibition Drawings from the Albertina Museum - Vienna. We were also lucky enough to attend a talk by the curator of the show prior to walking around the galleries. I am a huge fan of both Klimt and Sheile's work and this exhibition compounded my admiration for the incredible drawing skills of both artists.
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'1918 was a seismic year in Vienna. As the Austro-Hungarian Empire crumbled, an intense period of creative vitality drew to an end with the deaths of two of its foremost artists. One was the preeminent and strikingly modern painter of fin-de-siècle Vienna, Gustav Klimt; the other the young, scandalous and prodigiously talented Egon Schiele. Both revelled in the immediacy of drawing, an ideal medium for exploring new ideas of modernity, subjectivity and the erotic.'

Whilst I heartily recommend the show to you, especially if you are a fan of life drawing, if you are not aware of Sheile's drawings in particular then I suggest that you take a look at some of them before you book tickets or make a journey into town to see the show, as, even 100 years after they were drawn, many of them are still pretty shocking for their erotic content.
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 Tip of the week
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My good friend Dedri from Look at What I Made showed me how to use a running stitch marker a couple of years ago and it is a technique that I find invaluable when working in the round and is one that I cannot believe I lived without knowing for so long!
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Using a running stitch marker is really simple and makes working in the round so much easier. It is also a great way of helping you understand the way crochet stitches work in the round as the running thread shows you how the round end moves over by one stitch on each row.

Dedri's images above show the first 2 steps of the technique. You will find the full tutorial by taking a look at Dedri's web site, where she has posted a great blog piece about working in the round. Dedri uses US terminology.
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What's New?

Those of you who have been reading the newsletters over the last 6 weeks or so will know that we have been promising you that 2 new web sites would be launched very soon. Our original plan was to launch in November, but after a load of technical issues we had no choice but to delay this.

Last week our original Janie Crow web site crashed beyond repair, probably as a result of all the migration of products and images to the new site. This sudden failure of the site has meant that we have had to make the new 'Just Knots' site live a little sooner than we had intended and means that it is still under construction. If you have seen the site I hope you will feel that it looks and works better than the original site anyway, but you may find some glitches, so please bear with us while we work through these.
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You can find the new Just Knots web site, which has all the stock items from the original site, by following this link.

All the original Janie Crow links will be directed to the new site automatically and the colouring competition can also be accessed via this site by typing www.janiecrow/delftcompetition into your browser.

The new Janie Crow brand site, which will be the new home of my blog, technique downloads and design information is almost ready and I am really looking forward to showing it to you within the next few weeks.

Colour Palette of the Week

I have taken this week's colour palette from Gustav Klimt's painting Water Serpents 11. Klimt created many pieces using mermaids and serpents as inspiration, but this one has always been one of my favourites and there is my own collage version of this painting within my degree portfolio.
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I am currently going through a love affair with the colour orange, so I thought this would make a perfect palette to sit in this week's newsletter and carries on nicely from last week's palette where I also looked at coral and terracotta shades.
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Italy in the springtime with Sarah

Sarah here! Most of what I know about Professional Finishing and how to alter a garment so that it fits your size and body shape I learnt from Jane and now I also love teaching workshops that help others get a really good finish on their knitted projects. In May I will be returning to the Watermill in Posara, Tuscany to tutor a series of workshops based on one of my most successful designs – The Phoebe Poncho.
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I have taught workshops for many years and one of the things that I have become aware of is that knitters want to understand how they can alter a pattern to get a better fit, so, this year’s project focuses on creating a simple garment tailor-made to your requirements. I will be demonstrating how a simple folded poncho can be altered for different heights, body shape, arm length and necklines.

All participants will receive enough yarn, in a denim shade of their choice, as well as notes and instructions on how to record measurements, make alterations to sleeve and body length and work on a successful neckline. There will be opportunities to swatch different stitch patterns as well as discuss the best ways to finish your project.
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The location of this week long workshop in northern Italy is total bliss and the food, wine and hosting by Bill and Lois is second to none. There are a couple of places left on this wonderful holiday, which runs from the 4th to 11th May. It would be fabulous if you could join me!

For more information on the holiday follow this link.
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Colouring Competition
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Don't forget that the colouring competition I launched here last week is open until 15th February 2019. You can enter as many times as you like, so why not unleash your creativity and enjoy some mindful colouring in?
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Simply colour in the motif chart to create your own version of my Delft blanket design, then pop it in the post to us along with your written entry form to be in with a chance of winning a great prize. You can find the downloadable information pack and competition guidelines here and the competition entry form here.
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The original Janie Crow Delft Crochet Blanket was inspired by the blue and white Delftware from the Netherlands. It is made up of a single motif, plus a half motif, worked in three colour ways: Dark, Medium and Light. Only one colour is worked in each round, and each colour way uses all the yarns – they just appear in different rounds and amounts.

Using all the yarns in each motif is a foolproof way of ensuring a harmonious overall blanket design, but it is not the only way. Those of you that follow my blog or receive my newsletters know that I find inspiration for my colour palettes wherever I go. When I have an idea, I surround myself with the yarns that evoke the same feelings and start to design. I am fortunate in that I have an abundance of yarn in my studio, but you can do the same using felt tip pens, coloured pencils and paper.

I find it fascinating how recolouring a design can completely change the way it looks and I love to see other crocheters versions of my designs, especially those that have used an alternative colour palette. With this in mind Luise and I thought it would be really fun to invite you to colour in a chart representation of one of my Delft design to see what wonderful ideas you can come up with. Don't worry - this isn’t a design competition! You do not need to know how to design, or even how to crochet, all you need to do is colour in a chart and pop it in the post!

The idea is that the entries will be judged and a selection of finalists will be chosen after a public vote. Winners will be given prizes and the yarn colour packs for the new colour ways, which will include the winner’s name and inspiration, will subsequently be available via Stylecraft stockists. The colour substitution documents for each new colour way will also be available as free downloads via this web site and will feature in an updated version of the Delft Blanket crochet pattern later on this year.
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The competition is being launched in support of the release of a newly worked version of my Delft blanket pattern, which uses Stylecraft Life DK. The patterns for the blue and cream colour way, which was inspired by my love of Delftware and The Willow Pattern china, are available now via Stylecraft stockists. You can follow this link to find out more about the design and purchase the 12 page brochure pattern (£4.95) or the Stylecraft Life DK kit, which contains 15 x 100g balls of yarn, the pattern and a sew in label for £44.95. The pattern is available in UK & US terminology and Dutch language.
No purchase necessary to enter the competition.

​I really hope that you like the thought of entering the competition. Don't forget that it closes on the 15th of February. You can find more information in this month's copy of Simply Crochet Magazine and via Stylecraft's social media platforms.
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Sign up or miss out!

Next week's newsletter (1st February) will be the final one to be sent from this mailing list. This list belongs to our original web site, which has now been renamed as Just Knots. Because of new laws introduced last year we have to make a clear definition between the mailing lists for our 2 new web sites and so, in order to continue to receive this email on a Friday afternoon, you must sign up to a new mailing list. Follow this link to sign up.
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It's nearly the weekend!

I told you last week about a situation where I felt my work had been copied by fashion house Dolce and Gabbana. I know that many of you are continuing to send messages to the company and are making your voices heard on social media, so I want to thank you again for all your support. Stylecraft have also been incredibly supportive and we hope that between us we will get some kind of response from D&G. I will let you know if I hear anything. If you missed last week's newsletter you can find it by following this link.

We had a fabulous time at Waltham Abbey Wool Show last Sunday - as always it was a great day with lots of visitors and a fantastic array of vendors. The show is held every 3rd Sunday of January, so you might want to put the date in your diary for next year!

Once we are home from the US our next show will be Unravel in Farnham from the 22nd to the 24th February. I will be teaching a Mystical Lanterns workshop at the show and you can find tickets by following this link. I always feel like this show marks the change from winter to early spring, although last year we had snow in March, so fingers crossed that the same won't happen this year!

We are looking forward to exhibiting at Edinburgh Yarn Festival in March. I think advance tickets may have sold out, but you can get tickets on the door and you can find more information by following this link.

We will be at the show here in New York right through to Sunday afternoon when it closes at 4pm. I am going to try and remember to take plenty of images so that I can show them you next week and I will also be putting some on Instagram, so do take a look.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend.
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