July News

Hello fellow yarn lovers, I hope this email finds you well. I am writing this whilst cooling down in an air-conditioned hotel room in Granada, Spain, after the most amazing visit to the incredible Alhambra this morning. Andy and I have been away on our summer holidays for a little over a week so far and have visited Paris, Barcelona, Seville and Cordoba, all of which have been fabulous and have provided me with lots of design inspiration. We have been travelling on the train as much as possible, so I have even managed to keep up with my crochet projects and jot down some ideas in my sketch book! I am feeling incredibly lucky and full of ideas for new designs!
 
While we have been away, Emma and Gemma have been expertly holding the fort at Janie Crow and between us, we have some things to tell you about this month. We even have a healthy stock of kits at last, so there may be something of interest within this email for you.

A few weeks ago I had a fabulous time with a lovely group of knitters on a Stitchtopia holiday in West Yorkshire. During the trip we had the pleasure of visiting the amazing collection at the Knitting and Crochet Guild in Slaithwaite. 
 
They have a huge collection of knit and crochet related things - including wooden knitter’s sheaths for holding needles - something I had never seen before! They provide an incredible resource and their collection means that items that could have been lost over the years will be saved for future generations. You can see some of the items in the collection in the image below. Isn't that tiger sweater just fabulous?
 
The guild has members all over the UK and membership gives you access to their archive and regional groups. Check out @kcguild for more information. ❤️ 🧶

We certainly haven't been short of sunshine over the last few weeks here in North London and the project this time of year always makes me think of is the Sunshine & Showers blanket. ​

​Sunshine & Showers was a crochet along project released in parts in a magazine back in 2017. Since then it has been through a pattern refresh and a whole set of supporting videos have been uploaded to our YouTube channel. 
 
This would make a great next-step project after completing our Zero to Granny video course as it was designed with beginners in mind. The patterns include step by step images and the project gets more difficult as you go along so it's a great learning tool. You can read more about it and find yarn packs for sale over on the website (click on the images above and below). It's a great stash-busting project too though! 

I'm so excited to share the news that Stylecraft Yarns have chosen the Love is Enough Fruit Garden blanket as their Summer Make Along project! The MAL begins on 29th July and all patterns are available to download free of charge from the Stylecraft Yarns website here. You will need the original Fruit Garden patterns together with the Love is Enough yarn substitution documents for the project. 
 
The Fruit Garden pattern, including the details of Love is Enough, is also available as a book here. The book includes crochet charts, clear step-by-step images, testimonials and more background information about my inspiration and design process as well as an additional colour way of the blanket project, called ‘Red House’.
 
All the supporting videos for the remain available over on our YouTube channel too!

If you fancy joining in with the make along you can find yarn packs on our website here or speak to your local Stylecraft Yarns stockist. ​

I will look forward to seeing your progress popping up on the Stylecraft Make Along Group over on Facebook. If you aren't already a member of the group you can find it here.
 
This time of year can bring gluts of fruit and vegetables and for Gemma that means a visit from a neighbour with marrows and large courgettes. The courgettes have been turned into soup and the marrow duly stuffed. If you have any suggestions for tasty marrow or courgette recipes do let us know! 

​It's just under a month until Granny Square Day is here. The date for your diary is 15th August so keep your eyes peeled for lots of colour and inspiration appearing on social media. The day is being hosted by Simply Crochet Magazine and I'm so proud to have been invited to be an Ambassador for the event this year! 
 
You can read more about what the team at Simply Crochet have in store here and to get you in the mood for making squares you can find a pattern I designed for Granny Square Day 2022 here, called a Flower for Alice. 

Gemma will be teaching a one day workshop on making a crochet hexi cardigan at Community Learning Partnership in South Oxhey (near Watford) on the 14th August and there are still a few places left. If you're local to Watford and fancy spending a day among like-minded companions, click on the image below for booking information. You'd be sure of a very warm welcome! ​

Working on a large project at this time of year can be a bit too warm so here are some of our suggestions for summertime projects. Click on the images for more information. ​

​With Granny Square day on the horizon and lots of ideas inspired by our trip to Spain, I am hopeful that the next few months will be full of crochet for me. I have been thinking a lot about creating more simplified crochet designs, so that my work can be accessible to beginners, and I have also been trying to think of smaller projects, so that not everything I create is blanket size! I get told a lot that crocheters don’t know what to do with all the blankets they make, so if you have an idea for smaller projects, do let us know.
 
During the summer months, when the garden is pretty and the light is good, I am better at posting on the Janie Crow Lifestyle Instagram account. I have been posting quite a bit while we have been away, (mostly food if I am honest!), so if you want to catch up with things other than crochet or are interested to see some of the places we have visited while away, you can find the account by following this link.
 
I hope that wherever you are, and whatever you have planned for the weekend, you have a lovely time, and I look forward to landing back in your inbox in a couple of weeks' time.