HOPE YOU'RE HAVING A GOOD FRIDAY

Janie's Quick Update
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​I hope this email finds you all safe and well...
 
I am just popping in quickly to wish you all a very happy and healthy Easter weekend. I think it is set to be an Easter celebration that none of us are likely to forget! 

We continue to live and work in our own little 'Jane & Andy' bubble. The Janie Crow and Just Knots web sites are still open for business and we have pretty much caught up with all the orders, so are really looking forward to a couple of days off over the weekend. We are hoping to find the time to make a little film to accompany the release of the 'Getting Ready' download for the Fruit Garden CAL, which goes live via the Stylecraft web site on Tuesday and have our fingers crossed that we will get some time in the sunshine in the garden too.
 

Fruit Garden CAL
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If you are thinking of getting involved with the new Fruit Garden CAL it's still not too late to order a kit in time for the start of the crochet along on the 28th April. The kits have now sold out 3 times over on both web sites, but we are confident that by the end of next week we should be up to speed with getting the kits into the post. 

As it stands at the moment we have the Parchment and Caramel Life DK and Batik kits on sale on a back order basis and we are hoping to be able to have the Naturals - Cotton + Bamboo kits back in stock within the next couple of weeks.
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I know many of you are really looking forward to having a crochet along project to get stuck into come the end of April, but I also know that many of you are worried about getting yarn packs in time. We have been inundated with requests to release the patterns and the yarn packs early, especially from those of you outside of the UK, but for now the scheduled dates all remain in place. A huge amount of work has gone into the design stage, the pattern writing, the promotion and of course the preparation of the yarn packs, so making changes now is not an option. I still have the final read through of the patterns to do and all the video tutorials to film. Add to that the fact that many people are still waiting for their yarn packs to arrive and you can immediately see that there is definitely no chance of having the CAL sooner than originally planned, so please be patient!

The 'Getting Ready' download, which comes out on Tuesday, will include information on yarn usage, tension and a few tips to help you achieve a really heirloom worthy crochet blanket. I can't believe that we are now only 17 days away from the release of the first pattern on April 28th....
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It's nearly the Weekend

I think there may well be a lot of small scale Easter barbecues going on over the next couple of days here in North London as the weather is set to be good. It is especially tempting to make plans outside of the house when the sun is shining, but I urge you to stay home despite how lovely you think the local park, beach or countryside might be.

Over the last few days I have seen lots of social media posts by people busy volunteering to make sew scrubs for doctors and medical staff. My friend Teresa has been especially busy this week making fresh new scrubs that really help the NHS keep on top of things at this time of need. This is the piece on the BBC web site that inspired Teresa to get involved, so I hope you will take a look, especially if you are a keen dress maker! There are loads of other initiatives that will really help too. This week I have seen patterns for masks and laundry bags and have been told that it is a good idea to look on line to find out what your local area is in need of. 

If you want to let me know about any of your home based plans or things that you are doing to help fight the challenges that the world is currently facing please hit reply.

I want to leave you with a positive story though, so take a look at this fabulous article about how sea turtles are thriving now that people are not encroaching on their beaches!

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, stay safe and I will see you back here again next Friday.

PS: The nomination stage of the Let’s Knit Awards for 2020 is now open and of course I would really love it if you could take a few minutes to take a look at the web page. By submitting your nominations you can be entered into the prize draw and win some fabulous yarny goodies, so do take a look!

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A Reminder about Postage
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At Janie Crow and Just Knots Yarns we use Royal Mail as our postal service provider. Royal Mail continues to operate most worldwide postal services and we have not yet been hugely affected by issues with the post. Things can change quickly, so if you are wondering about the mail service to your country, you can check up via the Royal Mail ‘Personal Help’ page here.
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