July Newsletter

July newsletter

As I told you last week Andy and I have been looking forward to this week for a while as we have been home having a North London based staycation - our first bit of proper time off, other than weekends and bank holidays, since January. Typically though, our week has not gone totally to plan as I managed to break my tooth on a hidden olive stone (in a supposedly pitted olive) on Monday, so we have spent the rest of the week waiting on an emergency dental appointment. Thankfully my lovely dentist was able to put a temporary filling into my poorly tooth yesterday and things have brightened up immensely ever since! We now have a few days of 'nice' things planned before we head back to the studio on Monday.

This month's newsletter includes (what I hope) are lots of interesting things that Sarah, Gemma and myself have lined up to tell you about. Sarah has written a piece about the William Morris Society and Gemma has put together a piece that focuses on fabulous crochet designer Helda Panagarry. Gemma has also been busy sorting out our Etsy store. I have a few things to tell you about too, including the release of some brand new collaborative yarn packs that I have been working on with Dutch yarn company Scheepjes.

I hope you can find a spare 5 minutes to catch up with all things Janie Crow....
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'The secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.'  
- WilLiam Morris -

The William Morris Society
Sarah Hazell

Have you ever felt compelled to do something significant on New Year’s Day? I think many of us often feel obliged to pop Christmas back into its box for another year and try to redefine where our focus might be.

Living in Birmingham is not all industrial gloom - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery houses some of the most significant Pre-Raphaelite paintings, drawings, prints and decorative artefacts in the world. However, this year we fancied going a little further afield and decided that Wightwick Manor near Wolverhampton would be our destination. The house is a fantastic example of Arts and Crafts style building and interior design and there are lots of original Morris wallpapers and fabrics in use throughout.

​It is now July and so I look back on that day at the beginning of the year as the beginning of my reconnecting with my love of William Morris’s designs and philosophy 40 years after visiting the V&A museum in London and marvelling at some of his original work. How perfect that Jane’s CAL for 2020, The Fruit Garden, came along, influenced and inspired by May Morris, William’s younger daughter.

Both Jane and I had become fascinated by the life and work of May as preparations for the CAL progressed and so at the end of February we travelled to Edinburgh to visit the exhibition entitled 'May Morris: Art and Life' at the Dovecot Studios. This exhibition was the largest of its kind and documented how May, at the young age of 23, took over the management of the embroidery department at Morris and Co and went on to become responsible for some of the company’s most recognisable textiles and wall paper designs. I can honestly say that it was one of the most significant exhibitions I have ever visited.
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Then came Covid 19 and four weeks later we were all in lockdown and facing a situation that none of us could ever have thought possible. However one of the things that struck me over the past months is how people have welcomed what they perceive as a return to the ‘old’ ways of doing things. It has been an opportunity to imagine a post-industrial landscape where ecology and more sustainable ways of living and working are considered.

You can only binge on Netflix for so long and one of the most uplifting aspects of the lockdown has been the resurgence of people working with their hands. We find ourselves planting, digging, sowing, tending, weeding, stitching, knitting, quilting and obviously crocheting! There is actually a fundamental need within us to work with our hands, not least for our wellbeing.

If this is something that interests you, then I can highly recommend the books Making a Life by Melanie Fallick or Wheesht by Kate Davies.

It was a culmination of all these events that led me to join the William Morris Society recently. I have become so aware of not only his historical significance, but also the relevance of Morris's ideas in a world that now seems like one of the sci-fi or fantasy fictions that he imagined alongside H.G.Wells. The Society is focussed on not only preserving what we know of Morris, but on exploring how his ideas will help us to find truth and beauty in how we continue to live.
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For details of how to join, upcoming lectures and events, click on the image above or head over to the society web site here.
 

Designer Focus - Helda Panagary 
Gemma Biggs

​Helda Panagary is a crochet designer living in London who, by her own admission, sometimes works in an unusual way, crocheting with thick winter wool in summer and playing with cottons and linen in winter!  

​Helda’s name is one you may have seen in Inside Crochet Magazine, where her patterns are regularly featured, and she is also a Scheepjes friend. The colours she chooses are often more muted than bright, but this only seems to enhance the overall impression of joy that her designs evoke.
 

Helda is involved in the BIPOC in Fiber campaign, which works to improve the representation of black, indigenous and people of colour in the fibre community. She is currently donating profits to buy books that properly represent cultures and diversity for her granddaughter’s school and nursery. Helda says:

“I need to up my game and read more. This work isn’t just for white people, bipoc people need to learn too. We need to relearn so much of our rich bipoc histories that have been missing from the school curriculum.”
 
You can follow Helda’s writings about crochet, cooking and much more on her blog here.
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Helda’s Instagram gallery is not only a riot of colour in yarn, but for those foodies among us she also shares a love of good home cooked food and regularly shares recipes and delectable images too! Why not head over and take a look to see....
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One of Helda's tasty recipes

Here’s Helda’s recipe for Padron Peppers, which sometimes make an appearance in Riverford’s seasonal veg boxes, but can also be found in supermarkets such as Sainsbury's. If you are an adventurous cook, having a weekly veg box is a great way of expanding your cooking repertoire as you find yourself planning meals around the contents.
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Helda's Blistered Padron Peppers
 
'Pimientos de Padrón are small, bright green peppers that come from the municipality of Padrón in Galicia, Spain. They’re usually mild in flavour, with low levels of capsaicin. Every once in a while, however, you’ll bite into one that’s hot. Delicious! It's one of the easiest things to prepare.'
 
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
150g/5½oz padron peppers
flaky sea salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.

Method:
Heat the olive oil in a large (preferably cast iron) frying pan over a high heat.

Cook the peppers on one side for 1 minute, or until the skins start to blacken and blister, then turn.

Cook for a further minute then continue to cook, shaking the pan regularly, for another 2–3 minutes, or until the peppers are blistered all over but have softened to the point that they are just tender.

Remove from the pan and drizzle over the extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle over a generous pinch of flaky sea salt.

'Sometimes I dust with a little Spanish smoked pimenton (smoked paprika). Sometimes I serve on good toasted bread that I rub a bit if garlic on and a drizzle with olive oil then I add the peppers. Recipe serves 2 - share if you must!!!'

* All images are included with the kind permission of Helda.
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Covid Conversations and a lovely spot for a holiday!

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​Over the Covid pandemic I have been chatting via email with a lovely lady called Deborah who has been busy renovating some cottages in the Scottish borders. Deborah has kept me up to date with her life's journey over the last few months, like so many of you have, and I feel that within her words Deborah has managed to encapsulate lots of the ups and downs that we have all been going through.

Deborah is happy for me to share the emails here:

27th March 2020....

Janie, thank you (for the newsletter) - A little bit of normality in a crazy world. Please keep going as long as you can so nimble fingered crafters can fill their days.

The unwanted break from my own small business, 3 lovely holiday cottages we've put all our time into doing up over the last three years, has me on the edge of serious worry. All holidays we had booked until the end of May were wiped away overnight on Sunday. It's hard watching your business disappear...

So when it's bad, usually in the middle of the night, I tiptoe downstairs and work my way through joining my circles on your beautiful blanket. It's keeping me this side of sane.....

26th June 2020....

Hello again Janie 

I meant to email you back and thank you for your kind words. It's been a hell of a ride over the last few months but amazingly, almost from nowhere, the First Minister announced this week that holiday cottages can re open on July 3rd. Amazing news!

And we've held on. I'm seeing the time as a profit and loss ledger. The loss side is obvious...No money... all the upkeep. but the profit far outweighs it as by sheer good chance both my boys got back here safe from university and we've had the sheer pleasure of our little family back together again for spring and early summer. I don't know how you quantify that... no money would touch it.

​We live in the most amazing area, the Scottish borders and have had the priceless treat of walking the landscape every day with our gorgeous failed guide dog, chasing and never catching the wildlife. Sounds cheesy, but we watched salmon jump in the Tweed thanks to the lack of noise and people. Believe me I know how lucky we are.

We've learnt new values and to appreciate what we have now. No money could have given us that. And to value our health. We're so lucky that this vile virus stayed away.

So the profits outweighed the losses. And I finished the blanket. I love it and all it represents.

I'm touched by your offer to feature the cottages in your newsletter. My genius boy has designed a website over the lockdown and you can see the cottages here:
 

It's still a work in progress, but you'll get the general idea.

2nd July 2020....

I've been a bit weepy over the last couple of days now I can finally see the end of this awful lockdown. Then your email arrived and I got weepier... I'm a delight to live with just now! 

Of course you can share my email! I'd have thought the ramblings of my middle aged brain would have a limited appeal, but feel free...

I'm pleased you see the appeal of the Scottish Borders. My grandparents came from here so moving up here four years ago was a bit like coming home. So many people say they've driven through on their way somewhere else and never stopped. It's crazy.

I always think that where we live is like Brigadoon- it appeared from the mist when we needed it most. We lived stressed out busy lives before, a lifestyle that took its toll on us. A mad moment saw us throw caution to the wind, sell up and move. We've honestly never looked back. We can walk to the Tweed in ten minutes, hares hide under my car in the evenings, we have neighbours that care and a landscape that never fails to take your breath away. There's not a lot not to like

And I love my crochet, a skill learned whilst stressing over my old life. Your blankets are divine. I've no idea how you design them, but I'm jolly pleased you do.

I'm debating on what to do next, but filling the time with crocheting a Labrador from the wonderful Edward's Menagerie Dogs. Supposed to be for my sister but my dog keeps eyeing it up!

Thank you again for the interest in the cottages and for keeping my little brain busy with your lovely designs.

Deborah Green
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Royal Garden Project Packs

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​Scheepjes and I have been working on a collaborative project for a while now and we had hoped to reveal it sooner, but the current situation put paid to a spring time release. I am happy to finally tell you that next week we will be releasing specially designed project packs that contain all the yarn you need to make my Royal Garden blanket.
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There is the choice of 2 packs - one blanket is made using Colour Crafter and the other has been made using Stonewashed and Riverwashed DK. The pack contains all the yarn you need plus the pattern which is available in UK terms or Dutch Language.

The packs officially launch on Tuesday next week (22nd July), so do look out for them for sale on the web sites.

​The design was inspired by the lovely gardens at the Green Hotel in Mysore, India and I adore the way the tessellation means you see different patterns depending on the layout you choose and how you squint your eyes to look at it!

Purchasing the yarn in the new pack means you get the a slightly reduced price compared to buying all the yarn and the pattern separately, but if you have a stash of Scheepjes yarn at home already and would like to have just the pattern, you can find a download version of it via my Ravelry store by following this link.
 

Our New (but not so new) Etsy Store

​So, we set up a shop on Etsy five years ago but did not get around to stocking it, but thanks to the suggestion by quite a few of you, Gemma has been busy sorting out a Janie Crow Etsy store where we have listed patterns for sale as downloads.

Gemma says:

Our shop name is JanieCrowLtd (Etsy do not allow spaces in shop names) and we currently have a small selection of patterns available to purchase as downloads. You will find Persian Tiles, Mystical Lanterns, Delft and Fields of Gold, among others. More patterns will be added over the coming weeks.
 
The PDFs are available in the download section of your account once the checkout process has been completed and a download link is sent via e-mail as well. However, just one word of caution, you cannot download patterns using the Etsy app. You would need to access your account through a web browser to download any purchases you may make.
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We feel that having Etsy as a selling platform for downloads will be beneficial to those of you who do not have a Ravelry account and will showcase Janie Crow patterns to a wider craft based audience.

You can find the store by following this link or by clicking on the image above.

The Fruit Garden CAL

​Next week sees the publication of Part 7 of the Fruit Garden CAL - Can you believe that we are almost at the end of the project already?

We hope to have some more yarn kits in stock next week after quite a while without any, so do keep an eye on the web sites if you are still waiting for a kit. You will find them on Janie Crow here and on Just Knots here just as soon as we have had a chance to make them up and list them.
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​If you are planning to work through the project later on in the Autumn when we will be working through the CAL all over again, you might be interested to hear that I am hoping to be able to reveal the new colour way of the project very soon. Keep your eyes peeled!

You can find all the patterns so far by following this link.
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British Knitting & Crochet Awards

​Let's Knit Magazine are delighted to reveal the shortlist for their reader voted categories for this year's British Knitting and Crochet Awards. Magazine readers have been busy nominating their favourites over the last few months and the chosen short list has now been revealed.

To win one of the awards is a great honour as they are voted for entirely by the public. The British Knitting and Crochet Awards provide the platform for knitting and the crochet community to voice their preferences and recognise those who have helped and influenced them. 

You can vote for your favourites any time between now and the 26th August and the winners will be revealed in the November 2020 issue of the magazine.
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​Thousands of nominations were received and the top five or six names in each category have been compiled into this final shortlist. There are 22 categories in total ranging from Star Baby Yarn Brand and Best Sock Yarn Brand to Most Loved Knitting Designer and Social Media Star.

Every voter will be in with a chance of winning a terrific bundle featuring 1800g of yarn, subscriptions to top titles My Weekly and People’s Friend Magazines and knitting and crochet books - a total prize value of over £200!

For more information and to place your votes please follow this link.
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It's nearly the Weekend!

​In typical British fashion I always find myself giving you a weather update when talking about the forth coming weekend, so why would I make this week any different?

It has been a bit dismal all week and we have reverted to the thicker duvet at night, but thankfully it looks like we are set for a few warmer days now, so we are going to spend some time in the garden and take a few walks.

At the beginning of the week (before the dreaded tooth incident) I managed to get a lot of decorating work done in the kitchen, so it would be good to get a few more coats of paint up on my grubby kitchen walls. I am so pleased with how the updated room looks and will try to include a few images of our 'new' kitchen in next week's newsletter once we have the shelves up and are back to tidy!

While we have been away from the studio our fabulous colleague Sue has been bravely holding the fort for us and we are incredibly grateful to her for all her support. I am sure she is looking forward to next week when Andy and I will be heading back to work.

I hope that wherever you are and whatever you have planned you have a great weekend.

Stay safe and keep well...

PS: I want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who emailed to send hugs to our Charlie who found out he has lost his job thanks to the pandemic. He is one of thousands who now find themselves in the same situation, but it was so good for him (and us) to see your support.

PPS: Some of you may have noticed that in last week's newsletter I referred to Matt Baker as Matt Smith - if I upset any Dr Who or a Country File fans in my haste I apologise!
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