magic circles now available to download

Janie's Quick Update

I hope this email finds you well and that you are looking forward to the weekend....

Today's email was supposed to be my big January Newsletter, but as usual I have been chasing my tail big time! I have been trying to get myself sorted for the Knit For Peace trip to India and have also had a problem with Mailchimp - the host of our newsletters, as the site stopped working on my laptop, from where I usually do my newsletters. As a result I have had to commandeer one of the bigger PCs in the office. Poor Sue has also been off sick for a couple of days, so we have had to fill her shoes in the packing department!!

Magic Circles Scarf

Anyway, as time is ticking away for me I thought I would just let you know that my Magic Circles Wrap /Scarf pattern is now available to download via Ravelry. We will put paper copies on both the Janie Crow and the Just Knots web site in a few weeks time when we are back from India.
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I love looking at how shapes fit together and had wanted to create a tessellating circle design for some time. Circular motifs can be tricky to fit together and it is common to find the circular shape becomes slightly distorted when motifs are pieced together, so rather than create motifs that are square or octagonal, I designed cross-shaped infill pieces that protect the shape of the large circles.
This pattern was originally written for a blanket, but when I saw the beautiful range of shades available in Eden Cottage Milburn DK range I knew I had to make a scarf version.

Just Knots have had the kits on sale since November. If you fancy making the project in the suggested yarn, then the kits on the Just Knots site work out as good value - the pattern is included for free. You can find the kits by following this link. 

When making the small infill circles you are asked to make a magic loop to start. You can find a technique download that explains how to do this on the Janie Crow website
We have had a flurry of new subscribers to the Janie Crow newsletter, so I have left the information I put in the newsletter 2 weeks ago in this week's one - I know that a lot of people want to know more about the CAL in particular - more info on this will be available soon.
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We head out to Mysore for the Knit For Peace knitting and crochet holiday today, so I have been busy working on the projects for the group. I have prepared a knit project and a crochet one, so have had quite a lot to do! I am really happy with both projects and will be releasing them as patterns in the future. The projects are based on an indigo, cream and red block printed patchwork throw I found on my last trip to India. I have added lots of stitching and embellishments, so there are lots of techniques included. I will show you some images of the project and of the trip in my February newsletter.

I will be launching a new crochet along (CAL) with Stylecraft in the spring. The pattern will be relased in 8 parts for free from late April/early May through to the end of July and I really hope you are going to like it! I have already made my prototype blanket and the patterns are being checked, but we have now decided to make a second version using Stylecraft's new natural yarn range, which will make an appearance via yarn stockists soon. I am really excited that another natural yarn is set to join Classique Cotton DK in the Stylecraft range and think that you are going to love the fabulously subtle range of chalky colours in this new yarn palette - I am already madly in love with it! Look out for more information about the CAL and the new yarn in forthcoming newsletters.

The trip to Mysore and the CAL are both on my imminent forward radar, but there will be some more (what I think are) really exciting projects coming through this year, some of which are reworkings of older designs and some that will be brand new. If you are interested in my back catalogue of designs you might be pleased to hear that the patterns for many of these are being added as download options to my Ravelry store. As I have said already you can now find the Magic Circles Blanket pattern to download here and the Summer Palace Wrap here.

Paper brochure copies of my patterns are all still available via the Janie Crow web site. ​
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When I was thinking about what I was going to tell you about in the newsletter I happened across a great 'woolly' story on the BBC app. It is about seaweed eating sheep on Orkney. You can find it by following this link or clicking on the image above.
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It's Nearly the Weekend!
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It is really strange to think that by the time you are reading this newsletter I will (hopefully) be travelling to India - I always find it surreal that we can be in one place one day and in another place a very long way away in a relatively short space of time.....

I am hoping to post images from my trip to Mysore on my Instagram account. I know from experience that the internet connection whilst we are at the Green Hotel can be a little patchy, but if you do follow me on social media platforms then you might well see some lovely colourful images of wonderful India! 

Whatever you have planned I hope you have a good time. I will be back in your inbox in early February with a bigger more info packed email, until then, please stay safe and happy....