​It has been a totally bonkers week with the release of the first four patterns for Spirit of Flora on Wednesday and lots of preparation for the Wonder Wool Wales show, where we will be exhibiting at this weekend, with set up today!

In case you missed it - here is a recap of the Spirit of Flora pattern release:

The first four patterns are now available. They can be purchased separately at a price of £3.95 each, or in a bundle of four patterns for £10.95, which means you save £4.85 compared to purchasing them all separately. The reason we have split the patterns up like this is so that you can cherry pick individual motifs if you want to. I think the possibilities for the layout of the motifs is pretty much endless and I am already thinking about what projects would look like made from just one block, or a couple. I was laying in bed last night thinking about what a beautiful blanket repeated blocks of the Tudor Rose motif would make! ​

You can find an introductory video on our YouTube Channel where I show the groups of motifs and explain which parts of the design can be found for free on the website. You can find more information on the website by following this link.

When we released the patterns on Wednesday we initially had an issue with the listing on Ravelry as their moderators said our patterns were an infringement on those that appeared in the magazine. Obviously the patterns aren't, but it seems you cannot have repeated patterns for the same project listed on the site. Gemma has now been able to list the patterns on the main Spirit of Flora page , which you can find here. The patterns are listed at the top and you can follow the links to find them.

If you need a little guidance when working through the patterns, don't forget that there is a dedicated Facebook group, which you can find here and Emma has been incredibly busy making accompanying video support for YouTube, which you can find by following this link.

Thank you for all your incredible feedback on this project - your support means so much to us here at Janie Crow! ​

On our Facebook page it has been all about Spirit of Flora over the last couple of weeks as we counted down to release day this week, but we also shared a link to the Creativity Found Podcast on which I was a special guest recently. A couple of our followers shared with us that this was the very first podcast they had ever listened to and how much they enjoyed it, so do have a listen. ​

My next aim was to have completed at least one Harmony motif and I'm pleased to report that I managed that as well! I thoroughly enjoyed crocheting this motif. It was nice to be working in the round rather than rows and I've always liked the way rounds are layered to create texture and that gorgeous 3D effect in motifs like this. The final round adds surface crochet (the round in blue that you can see in the image below) and it was interesting to see how that pop of contrasting colour totally lifted the motif. ​

Spring is really taking its time to warm up here in North London, with some particularly chilly days this week, so a warming bowl of soup at lunchtime always goes down a treat. This interesting recipe/article in The Guardian newspaper discusses the many possible variations and is well worth the read.  ​

​Today sees the release of the newest version of my Persian Tiles Blanket design in the shape of 'Peppercorn', a blanket inspired by the colours used in the Sandalwood version, but made using natural yarns from the fabulous West Yorkshire Spinners range. 

You can find a free yarn substitution document for this colourway here and you can find more information by following this link.

The first four patterns, Leaf Trellis, Moffatt Flower, Merton Abbey Flower and Tudor Rose, will be published in less than a fortnight's time on 24th April and you will be able to purchase single patterns or a bundle of all four, either as download or printed copies in UK or US terms. We will release four further patterns in June and the final four in August. The patterns for plainer crochet squares and the three edging patterns will be available for free on the website over the next few months, alongside a download document designed to guide you through the making up and finishing process. ​

My lovely friend and fellow Stylecraft Yarns Blogstar Emma Varnam has written a great piece about art inspiring crochet design in the current issue of Inside Crochet Magazine. 

Emma talks about her love of Brambly Hedge and how the work of Swedish artists Carl and Karin Larsson has influenced her work. She has been kind enough to also include some of my work, along with a few of my words on the subject of how art inspires my crochet design. 

I’d love to know what paintings or pieces of artwork have inspired you. Do you have a favourite painting or painter? Is there a textile or fashion designer you love? Let us know how the work of artists makes you feel and whether or not you can see a link between the work of other designers and the world of art. ​

We have some fabulous new additions to the Emma Ball range of accessories in stock now. You can find them by following this link to our store.

You can find our fabulous range of project pouches and bags here and the tin collection here. I am so pleased with all the new items that feature the Spirit of Flora design. They are just so colourful and cheeryl! ​

The second print run of my new book The Complete Crochet Handbook should be in stock by the end of April, which is a little earlier than we expected. We have the book for sale on a pre-sale basis on the website and you can find it here. ​

We have these fabulous Magnetic page markers (shown above), which are a really clever way of keeping track of where you are in your book and we also have new lens cloths to accompany our expanding range of glasses cases. 

Stitchtopia have released information about two workshop trips that I will be tutoring next year. I will be going to Zurich for week long trip, which will include a visit to the Switzerland Yarn Festival with a group of knitters in April 2025 and I will also be tutoring a repeat of the West Yorkshire Knitting Retreat in June. You can find information about the trip to Switzerland here and the trip to Yorkshire here. ​

On both Instagram and Facebook we shared the recreated version of the Oscars photo where Justin Bieber rocked up wearing a Persian Tiles blanket, with Jane and Andy taking the starring roles this time. Andy definitely won the vote this time around and with the fabulous backdrop of the Marrakesh version of the blanket, we couldn't agree more! ​

We also shared with our followers the first image of a new version of Persian Tiles, named Peppercorn. This was originally intended to be a natural fibre version of the Sandalwood colourway, but we weren't able to match some of the colours in the lovely West Yorkshire Spinners range and so Peppercorn, Sandalwood's almost identical twin, was born! ​

We know that many of you are eagerly awaiting the arrival of this one, so keep it in mind that we will be releasing the free yarn substitution download document within the next couple of weeks and we hope to have kits in stock soon too. ​

It has been another busy month, with not as much progress made on my motifs for Bohemian Blooms as I had hoped, but I'm not going to be hard on myself and am determined to just enjoy the journey as it evolves. In last month's diary I was working on a production line of Omega motifs, the small squares that form the corners of the inner and outer sections. I'm pleased to report that they are all finished, including ends being sewn in. I've also made a start on the second of the Bloomsbury strips. This time I am pre-cutting the lengths of yarn as Jane suggests in the book and I'm also sewing the ends in on each repeat to keep that manageable too. ​

Having not done it for a while, I was really looking forward to having another go at adding beads to crochet and the Gordon motif gave me that opportunity. I had an interesting start to Gordon, as despite my dc tension piece working to exactly the same tension as Jane's, a quick check after the first few rows showed that the motif was going to be a lot wider than expected! So, I undid those rows and had another go at the chain, being much more disciplined about making my stitches neat and consistent and was able to achieve the width needed. I must have been very relaxed first time round!

I so enjoyed making this piece. The details, such as a row of dc worked around the back posts of the previous row to create a ridge, the bobbles at the narrowest points of the wave section, and of course the beads, all made this a really interesting piece to crochet. With the Easter holidays now upon us I'm itching to get on with the other three! ​

​Here's the dough in its cosy bed for the night

The finished loaf, ready for eating with lashings of butter! ​

Earlier this month the annual World Book Day took place. The aim of the day is to encourage more children to read, and here in the UK it usually involves children (and the grown ups!) dressing up as favourite book characters for the day. There's always room for interpretation though and Debbie Williamson in Forest Town, Nottinghamshire and Margaret Upton in Ticknall, South Derbyshire decided to get involved too, and made the most amazing post box toppers for the occasion. We particularly like the Very Hungry Caterpillar's selection of snacks! ​

Janie x

​I am incredibly proud to be awarded Best Independent Pattern Designer in the 2023 Yarn Industry Awards hosted by Craftworld. It means a huge amount to have won this category, especially as I was listed among some super talented fellow designers at the voting stage. The award is not only recognition for the work I have put in over the years, but it is also a testament to the dedication of my fabulous little team who continue to support me in so many ways.
 
Crochet has been proven to be a mindful pastime, beneficial to body and soul. It can help people combat physical and mental illnesses and I love that the craft creates a physical representation of our time spent. I cannot imagine my life without crochet and hope that it will continue to be a big part of my future. 

A century or so ago people knitted garments to save money and keep warm - simple as that - however, as we headed into the mid part of the 20th Century things started to change. At a time when major World Wars were over and the average family income was growing, knitters were open to purchasing more yarn and making more sweaters. As a result, companies got busy creating yarn in extra colours and plys and providing patterns in increasing styles, shapes and sizes to accompany its sale. By the 1950s, the yarn industry had become less about necessity and more about consumerism, with many yarn companies employing designers to create patterns that would inevitably sell more and more yarn.
 
Fast forward to modern day and you will see that things have changed somewhat. Whilst the yarn companies still work in a similar way to sell their yarns, we have also witnessed the rise of the independent knit and crochet designer – a person who has chosen to put themselves out there and present the world with a pattern – usually thanks to download platforms such as Ravelry and Etsy where patterns are available at the click of a mouse!
 
The independent designer may have an affiliation with a yarn company and could have received a design fee in return for creating a project that uses a particular yarn. They might be paid a retainer fee so that they don’t design for another yarn brand, or they might be a paid employee, although this is relatively rare for ‘named’ designers these days.
 
The independent designer might be creating patterns as a hobby or as a small job on the side of a main career. The financial recompense might not a huge consideration, or they may be in need of wage; either a visible one where their patterns have a retail price or a more unseen one where they have decided to provide ‘free’ patterns and make their living from the profit on the sale of associated yarn packs, payments for YouTube views, or advertising via social media channels.

For many years I had two main channels of income as an independent designer – one was the money I made tutoring day and residential workshops, and the other was the profit made via my website by selling yarn kits associated with my designs. When we were put into lockdown in 2020 my pattern sales started to grow, but at the same time the expectation of what a pattern should include shifted, with knitters and crocheters looking for more than accompanying step-by-step images and layout diagrams, and asking for free additional content such as YouTube videos, crochet charts and translations.
 
For me, the design itself can take weeks to perfect, then there is the pattern writing process, technical editing, chart making, diagram design and the crochet test – all things that can take a good couple of months to get right. Once these aspects are complete, there is the hire of shoot locations, photography, styling and graphic design costs and then, right at the very end of the process, there are printing costs, download fees and social media promotion. 
 
Working with magazines and yarn companies on a freelance basis provides me with a way of designing with a little less financial pressure. I have been able to release free crochet along projects in association with Stylecraft Yarns because they have paid me a design fee, which was topped up by the income from yarn pack sales. Working with magazines, such as the wonderful team at Inside Crochet, means that many of the costs I would incur by self-publishing are covered. In short, working with a third party such as a yarn company or a magazine, provides me with a safety net, means that I need to cover less bases by myself, and in turn means that my work is seen by a wider audience. 

The yarn trade is globally renowned for low wages and poor profits, whilst other industries are respected for having high price affiliation. For example, we would expect to pay more for a Gucci handbag than for one from Primark and we probably wouldn’t expect the quality of the less expensive bag to be equivalent to the expensive one. We would also expect a solicitor, accountant, or lawyer to charge a high price for their expertise, but for some reason we tend not to hold other professionals, such as nurses, teachers and public service workers, to such high esteem, especially in terms of the amount that society is prepared to pay them, despite their high level of knowledge and training.

​I feel extremely lucky to have been able to carve myself a rewarding career within a field I love, but it can be incredibly hard when negativity creeps in thanks to spiteful comments and conversations where words like unfair, greedy and selfish are used in relation to the way I decide to price my work. Thankfully the incredible support of the majority outweighs the destructive effect that ill thought words can cause, and I am so incredibly grateful for all the positive feedback that is sent our way day after day. 
 
As we now live in a society where it can seem harder to find the money for the things we want, it is easy to feel that prices are high or to think that things are not fair, so here at Janie Crow we have made it one of our main aims to provide good value for money within our pattern range and also create lots of free ‘added extras’ in the form of technique downloads, video tutorials and social media content. We believe in the importance of supporting our audience and try to offer as much assistance as we can. I am hoping to release another free crochet along with Stylecraft in the future and will continue to work with Inside Crochet Magazine when I feel the project is right for that market. I am also hopeful that more stand-alone project patterns will be released in the autumn.

​​Huge thanks to all those of you who took the time to vote in the Industry awards – it truly is an honour to receive this award.

I made a version from the One Pot, Pan, Planet cookery book by Anna Jones, but as the recipe is only available in the book I am linking to a similar recipe by Dishing Out Health, which includes blobs of greek yogurt and is served with some tasty looking pitta bread. 

The recipe I used made quite a lot of stew, so we had left-overs which tasted even better the following day after a night in the fridge. This is a really easy recipe, especially if you use roasted peppers from a jar! Definitely a dish I will be making again and again. ​

​Yesterday was the official publication date for my new book 'The Complete Crochet Handbook' before it was moved to the 18th of February due to overwhelming demand. It feels a bit strange to be celebrating the release of a book which is now pretty much sold out, but I am certainly not complaining!

Skimming Stones

Magic Circles Wrap

This new version of the blanket echoes the colours I used in the scarf and the palette reminds me of early morning walks on the beach, pretty, wet pebbles underfoot, pinky hues of clouds in the sky and fleeting reflections across the water.

You can click on the images to be taken to the free yarn substitution download documents and you can find yarn packs for all three colourways of the blanket for sale on the website. ​

Supernova

Yarn Etc is a fabulous independent (and award winning) yarn store in Harrogate in the North of England and it's run by Fiona, who made a big career move from horticulture to yarn back in 2016. Fiona recently decided to launch her own yarn brand for the store and The Harrogate Yarn Company Mercer DK was born! ​

You can find out more about the yarn over on the Yarn Etc website here. The shades have the most wonderful names, such as Agatha's Claret and Cold Bath! It's a versatile yarn suitable for all kinds of projects and customers of the shop have used it for garments, hats, cowls, scarves, blankets and more. ​

Over on the dedicated Spirit of Flora Facebook Group this month Julia Hill laid down a challenge for makers to photograph their completed Spirit of Flora blankets in public places and post those photographs on social media using the hashtag #spiritoffloraphotochallenge. Just take a look at these! ​

The next motif in the book is the Omega motif and there are eight of these to make. These form the outer corners of the blanket (before the border is added) and the corners of the inner square, as part of the 'frame' around the nine central motifs. I decided to use the production line method to make these. It can feel a bit like hard work using this method, but the satisfaction at the end, when you have all the motifs made, is well worth it! ​

The Longest Yarn are a non-profit association of crafters from all age groups and walks of life, based in France. They are knitting and crocheting an exhibition called The Longest Day in time for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings on June 6th 2024. 

Created with guidance from historians, in order to be historically accurate, each of the 80 handmade scenes has been selected by the creator to depict the story of this day in history, each scene unique and made with care. You can see some images of the scenes below and find out more on the group's website here. ​

Woolly Hugs regularly run craft sales through their Facebook page and the Spring/Easter Craft Sale and Auction is due to begin on Tuesday 5th March to raise money for their work. The sales always have a wonderful array of items made by crafters up and down the country and it's a great way to shop for handmade gifts, so do take a look by following this link. ​

We will be celebrating the book publication with a meal out and a glass or two of wine this evening - nothing too raucous though as I have been invited to attend the Debbie Bliss knitting workshop at The William Morris Gallery tomorrow. It is incredibly kind of Debbie to have offered me the chance to attend and I am really looking forward to it. If you fancy coming along you can find more information over on Debbie's Instagram page and tickets can be purchased via Eventbrite here. ​

We were delighted to share the exciting news that our lovely Emma was busy working on a collection of videos to support anyone working on the Persian Tiles project. As we might have mentioned once or twice, this continues to be our most popular pattern and we know that many of you find videos a really useful tool to help you when working through a project. Over on Instagram Emma shared a photo of her workspace in preparation for filming one of the videos and who doesn't dream of a desk like that! ​

You can find the Persian Tiles playlist over on our YouTube channel here. 

Still on the subject of Persian Tiles, the news of the release of our first all natural yarn kit for this project, using beautiful British West Yorkshire Spinners yarns, was well received on both Facebook and Instagram. Given that natural fibres come in at a higher price, we are testing the waters on this front. We know that some people do prefer to work with non-synthetics and the fact that our first stock has now sold out shows there is a demand for alternatives. ​

A lot of love was shown when we posted about Jane's nomination in not one, but two categories in the Yarn Industry Awards 2023. She is up against some true giants of the yarn world in the 'Best Independent Designer' and 'Best Online Personality' categories. We understand that voting is open for those resident on the UK Mainland only, but you can find all the info on the awards by clicking here or on the image below. ​

Janie x