As I have said many times before I love the fact that crochet along (CAL) style projects give home crafters the opportunity to collectively join in with a project. I adore the fact that crocheters can contribute to on-line chat forums, seek out videos and groups to help them and create strong friendships with others regardless of background, circumstances or location in the world whilst working through the project. CALs give distance learners the chance to create wonderful pieces of crochet that they can present to their friends and families as a testament to their own talents and crochet skills. They can look back on the process of making as a rewarding and positive experience.
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Rather than being the ‘poor cousin’ to the first publication, I see this second release as the fabulous ‘after party’ to the main event. By joining the CAL the second time around you can make the most of tips and hints from those who have already completed the project. You can also get ideas for alternative colour ways or layouts and you will have a wonderful project completed in time for the spring. I also feel that a second release will help support those who may have fallen by the wayside first time round – sometimes leaving a project and returning to it at another time can be a really good learning process and having more support going forwards is bound to lead to less disappointment and more completed projects.
When trying to decide on the colour palette for the new version of the blanket I looked at the photos I took whilst visiting the May Morris ‘Art & Life’ exhibition at the Dovecot Studios back in February. Whilst inspecting the detail of the images it became clear to me that May often used a palette of peach and apricot shades along with sage greens, olive and duck egg blues in her fine embroidery work and so these images soon formed the basis for my new palette.

I wanted to create a blanket that was a little less traditional in colour choice than the original two versions and I decided that the palette should come away from May’s work a little to create something a little more vibrant and contemporary. I am totally in love with orange (possibly as a result of my 70s childhood where everything seemed to include either orange, avocado green or purple!) and so, as one of the catalysts for the original design was the idea of ripe clementines in a fruit garden, I knew that I wanted this shade to play a more vital role within the design. I built my new palette around the orange shade, adding in a few pinks, a gorgeous vintage peach and subtle creamy yellow to make the colours sing. I kept some lovely greens from the original Recipe 1 colour palette, adding a rich mustard yellow and then surrounding the motifs with Duck Egg and Mint shades. I think this palette works really nicely and
I love the fact that it puts a modern day spin on one of May’s favourite colour combinations.

Yarn kits are £53.50 and include 16 x 100g balls Stylecraft yarn, a JANIE CROW sew in label and an information leaflet.

Over the last few weeks it has been really great to see images of Fruit Garden cushions popping up on social media. The pattern for the Kelmscott and Melsetter cushion covers are live on my web site and you can find it by following this link. The patterns for the two cushion covers I have designed to match the Fruit Garden blanket are the Kelmscott cover, which matches Recipe 1 (Caramel and Parchment) and Melsetter, which matches colour way 2 (Night & Dusk). 
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Both cushion covers feature in the same 12 page pattern and we have now put the metal dome buttons that I used on my cushion covers into stock. You can find them here.
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You can choose from a download version or a paper copy of the pattern. The download version is free with an option to make a donation via PayPal if you want to. The paper pattern is priced slightly lower than my other 12 page patterns at £3.95 and will incur a fee for postage and packing.

I designed the cushions so that you can use up some of the left over yarns from your CAL projects, but you will need some extra balls of some shades to complete it (you can find the yarn use listed here). Or maybe you fancy making one in the new Love Is Enough colour palette?
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​I hope you all have a good week and stay safe and keep well...
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How are you all doing this week? I have to admit that I have not been feeling quite up to par. I am not totally sure why, but I think it is probably the combination of a few things all at the same time that have led my inner grouch to be around a bit more than it should! The silver lining to my dreary mood (and there always is one) is that I have some fabulous friends who have allowed me to rant a little and off load. They have helped me to put things in perspective and have encouraged me to pick up my big girl pants and get on with it.....
 
Like everyone around the world we have really struggled to see many of our friends and family over the last 6 months, but I have been so thankful for all the little virtual conversations I have been able to be a part of. I try to avoid social media when I am working at the studio during the day (because of the squirrels!) but I love it when my phone starts pinging the alerts to messages in Whatsapp Groups or in Messenger.
 
I belong to 2 fabulous groups on WhatsApp made up of knitters and crocheters. There is the amazing Magellan group, (which was formed by the participants on the cruise of Great Britain and the Faroes that I tutored with Arena Travel in 2018) and the Mysore chat group that was formed in January this year after our trip to India with Knit For Peace. The groups interact with each other every day, offering help and support, or sharing jokes and news stories they have found and I love to be a part of a chatter thread where everyone understands yarn and crafting. I think interaction with 'yarny' people is one of the things I have missed the most, especially now as we are coming into a time that would traditionally be 'show season' through to Christmas.

I am thankful too for the fortnightly Zoom calls with my lovely school friends Nat (in New Zealand) and Sally (here in Blighty). We have shared more laughter than tears since we started catching up for our virtual chats in April and seeing them (Sal and I in our PJs with a cuppa at 7.30 in the morning and Nat with her evening glass of wine in Auckland) really brightens my day! Then there are the family quiz nights on Fridays and Sundays and the Zoom meetings with Sarah and Gemma that are also much needed at a time when social interaction is so limited. 

So this week I am grateful for my (virtual) friends for helping me put my personal monster (think Oscar from Sesame Street but with sharper teeth) in the trash can. Huge thanks too to the awesome Christina, who treated me to a lovely slice of (non virtual) normality by taking me out for a scrummy lunch| You are all fabulous, strong women and I love you!

And so, with all the negativity put well and truly to one side, here I am, happy and non grouchy, as we head into the weekend with a very speedy catch up of all things Janie Crow.....
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We should have been in a big white van full of yarn trundling up the A1 on our way to set up our stand at Yarndale today, but instead we are at the studio with another weekend at home ahead of us!

To make up for the fact that the show will not take place this year, the wonderful team at Yarndale have put together a list of virtual events that include talks and online workshops. You can find the full list by following this link through to the Yarndale web site. ​
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I have recorded a short 'neat tips video' that will be available on Saturday afternoon and we are offering a 10% discount on all sales via Janie Crow and Just Knots for the weekend. You can use the code from now through to Sunday and all you need to do is enter the code YARNDALE10 at checkout. ​

​The weather has definitely taken a turn towards autumn here in North London - we even had a downpour of hail yesterday, so it is a good time to start thinking about working on projects that will keep you cosy on the settee as the evenings draw in. Blankets are always a great choice and we still have a few kits in stock for various projects.

The Royal Garden blanket kits are the result of my collaboration with Dutch Yarn company Scheepjes.
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​There is the choice of 2 yarn packs - one is made using Scheepjes Colour Crafter DK (shown above) and the other uses Stone Washed and River Washed DK.
 

Inspired by the intricate and vibrant terracotta tiles decorating the floor combined with the patchwork layout of the main garden of the Green Hotel, the Royal Garden Blanket is an ode to the marvellous former palace in Mysore, India. To transform my fond memories of my trips there into a tangible project, I incorporated the tile motif and the blooming flowerbeds of the garden into this geometric design, resulting in a striking blanket that will be a centrepiece in any living space.
 

The image above shows the flat layout of the project. This blanket was made using a slightly more subdued colour way that is no longer available as a yarn pack. 

Please note that because of the weight of the kit (over 2kg) postage to the US and some other countries cannot be tracked or signed and the parcels will be sent standard airmail.

If you want the pattern only you can find it here on Ravelry
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​The most recent copy of Inside Crochet Magazine arrived with us this week and I have to say it is a really fabulous magazine, with about 6 things that I want to make! 
 

​The magazine is issue 128 'The Utility Issue' and we have just 10 copies in stock over on Just Knots. I have already been through my stash to find some yarn to make the 'Purposeful Jacket' by Jacinta Bowie, shown on the stunning model above - isn't it fabulous!
 

​Over the last week or so it has been really great to see images of Fruit Garden cushions popping up on social media. The pattern for the Kelmscott and Melsetter cushion covers are live on my web site and you can find it by following this link. The patterns for the two cushion covers I have designed to match the Fruit Garden blanket are the Kelmscott cover, which matches Recipe 1 (Caramel and Parchment) and Melsetter, which matches colour way 2 (Night & Dusk). 
 

​Both cushion covers feature in the same 12 page pattern and we have now put the metal dome buttons that I used on my cushion covers into stock. You can find them here.
 

​I designed the cushions so that you can use up some of the left over yarns from your CAL projects but you will need some extra balls of some shades to complete it (you can find the yarn use listed here). 

You can choose from a download version or a paper copy of the pattern. The download version is free with an option to make a donation via PayPal if you want to. The paper pattern is priced slightly lower than my other 12 page patterns at £3.95 and will incur a fee for postage and packing.

If you missed last week's bumper newsletter then you might not have seen that I have posted a technique video as a response to your questions from last month. The video focusses on crochet techniques for joining blocks as this was the most popular question. In the video I talk about my preferred joining technique and also cover a few other common joins. You can find the video here.
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I have just completed work on a magazine commission so I am hoping that next week I might finally get to spend some time on some new design ideas. I love the early stages of a design when I am selecting yarn shades and playing with my crochet, so the thought of that is making me feel buoyant. I have also been planning what shades to pick to make the Stephen West MKAL20 which starts in 2 weeks time on the 8th October. I haven't totally decided yet, so I will be doing some sampling over the weekend to check that I achieve the right tension and like my colour choices. 

Next week we will be putting the kits for the 'Love is Enough' colour way of the Fruit Garden CAL on the web sites. These are likely to go live on Tuesday and we expect to sell out fast as we only have a limited number of kits. We will not be taking pre orders on these, but I will send out an email on Tuesday so that you know as soon as they are in stock.
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​The weather forecast for the next few days is pretty dull, so I think it will be a weekend of knit, crochet and comfort food for me, but if you have something more exciting planned, or if you have any questions you would like answered as part of next month's Q&A, you can get in touch by emailing mail@janiecrow.co.uk or by replying to this email.

And finally, thank you to all those of you kind enough to have made donations to help me continue to do what I do. I know we are all in unprecedented times and that finding extra money can be tough, so I am very grateful for your generosity. 

Stay safe and keep well...

Welcome to this month's bumper newsletter. We have quite a lot to tell you about this month - if you want to see my quick video that summarises the theme of the newsletter then click here or on the image below. 
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I have also recorded a technique video as a response to your questions from last month. The video focusses on crochet techniques for joining blocks, as this was the most popular question. In the video I talk about my preferred joining technique and also cover a few other common joins. You can find the video here.
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We have received a lot of requests for me to show other techniques, but are open to more suggestions, so if there is something you want to know about please get in touch and we will add it to the list of things to be featured in the future. You can ask a crochet related question or something more relevant to me and my design work (although you may find an answer to one of these type of questions has already been covered in my key note speech). You might want to ask me something more personal, like what is my favourite chocolate bar (Double Decker) or how old my children are (25 &22) for example. It is up to you!

A few of you have asked about how I select my yarn shades to use in projects. Sometimes I have a clear idea of a palette before I start and other times I just swatch and swatch until I am happy with my choices. You can find more information about how I choose a palette lower down this email as it ties in brilliantly with the theme for this months newsletter which is the 2020/21 Autumn/Winter trend forecast, but before Gemma, Sarah and myself launch into that I just want to update you on a few other things, so please stay tuned....

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You may remember that last week I told you I had recorded a key note speech for the UK Knitting & Crochet Guild. The video is now live on the Guild's YouTube channel and you can find it by following this link alongside loads of other really interesting videos by designers and Guild members. Within the video I talk briefly about how popular crochet was during the Victorian era with Queen Victoria herself advocating the craft. As much of the history of crochet is unclear it is difficult to know exactly where Victoria's fondness for the craft came from, so I was intrigued to hear from guild member jinnybee_crochet that the Queen may have been influenced by her German governess Leisel (Louise Lehzen) and then later on in her life by her embroiderer Frances Lambert, who also wrote about knitting and crochet. You can find a free to access online version of her book 'My Crochet Sampler' by following this link or by clicking on the image below.
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                                                                            One of Queen Victoria's Dolls 
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I love the fact that some of Queen Victoria's dolls from her childhood have parts of their outfits that are crocheted, like the one in the image above, but there is still a lot of mystery surrounding the origin of the craft other than that it seems to have derived from an embroidery technique called Tambour. If any of you are more in the know than I am and would like to share your knowledge of the history of the craft within this newsletter, then please get in touch. Perhaps some of you have some pieces of ancient crochet that have been passed down through the generations or perhaps some of you remember your grandparents talking about items they may have made - I would love to hear from you!

The pattern for the Kelmscott and Melsetter cushion covers are live on my web site and you can find it by following this link. The patterns for the two cushion covers I have designed to match the Fruit Garden blanket are the Kelmscott cover, which matches Recipe 1 and Melsetter, which matches colour way 2. 
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I designed the cushions so that you can use up some of the left over yarns from your CAL projects but you will need some extra balls of some shades to complete it (you can find the yarn use listed here). I am aware that it is still tough to find yarn for the projects. If you are looking for Life DK, there is still some in stock over on Andy's Just Knots web site here. If you want to make the covers using the Naturals - Bamboo + Cotton yarn then you are in for a short wait as that is due to be back in stock within the next couple of weeks.

If you can't find the shades you want, then you could make a couple of substitutions: For example I suggest Special DK Parchment or Life DK Oatmeal in place of Life DK Parchment as this is one of the shades proving difficult to source.

William and May Morris were famous for mixing many of their designs together. In their interior designed rooms they would place tapestry cushions on printed fabrics and feature layers of wallpapers, friezes and borders on the wall, all with different patterns and colour palettes. I love to mix my patterns and colours too and think that the cushions would look fabulous made in alternative palettes to the blankets. I put a few examples of some ideas for alternative palettes using some of May's wallpaper and fabric designs and have also found a couple of lovely suggested palettes on line that may inspire you:
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The first time I met Lucia Dunn of Lucia's Fig Tree I knew we were going to get along! Lucia embraces life in vivid technicolour and is an expert at devising her own vibrant colour ways for crochet projects.
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​The first project we collaborated on was Lucia's version of my Frida's Flowers blanket and so I was really pleased that she and Stylecraft later collaborated to recolour my Persian Tiles blanket - a design that remains my best selling pattern to date.
 
Lucia's version of Persian Tiles is called Eastern Jewels and for the last few years the yarn substitution document that you need to refer to in order to make the blanket has only been available within the yarn kit, but now I am so pleased that you can get it as a download version directly from Lucia's web site here.

​Please note that to make the project you will also need a copy of my original Persian Tiles blanket pattern. You can purchase it as a download either via Ravelry or Etsy, or as a paper brochure copy here.
 

When Jane, Gemma and I talked about contributions to the September newsletter a few weeks ago it was damp, grey and chilly. As I sit writing this morning, it is currently 23 degess and set to rise to 27 in sunny Brum this afternoon. I love it when we get a last burst of warm weather before autumn really sets in. It’s like those days when schools were closed because of snow – stolen pleasure!

However, sooner or later, the mornings will get crisper and the days will get shorter and we will all start to want to get cosy again. I think this year, more than ever, there is a real emphasis on comfort, well-being and trying to create a sense of ease. 

The world of fashion and textiles has responded to this in several ways. September is always exciting in the yarn industry as we see the first launch of new yarns. Autumn/Winter 2020/2021 will see a lot of chunkier yarns being used for long and oversized cardigans. The great thing about many of these chunky yarns is that they are much lighter than traditional yarns as the manufacturing methods are now more advanced and allow more air to be added to the twist and plying process making them so much easier to wear without feeling overwhelmed. This in turn makes for less stress on elbows and shoulders while knitting or crocheting with them.

Garments themselves are being designed to encourage us to embrace our time at home. There is a huge trend for knitted leisurewear like joggers, sweatshirts and even shorts – yes, really! I was in town recently and saw lots of examples! The high street is full of what the young people call ‘co-ords’ – knitted tops and bottoms that are less about exercise and more about looking chic while you settle in for your evening of Netflix! 

Another trend I noticed was lacy knits with oversized, decorative collars. Those in the know are referring to them as Pilgrim collars as a reference to The Pilgrim Fathers – who knew that the Puritan look from the 17th Century could be so in vogue! 
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So, if you fancy having a go at upcycling your wardrobe this is a great way to update an existing knit or even sweatshirt with a knitted or crocheted collar. According to Chanel this is going to be the single most important trend for 2020.

If you fancy having a go at creating a crochet version, how about making one of Jane's beaded collars or the Floral Garland Capelet shown below?
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Beanies still seem to be popular, but I didn’t see one bobble hat while I was out. However, the coolest micro-trend at the moment is for the bucket hat.
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Who would have thought that Vera would have been the biggest influencer on the young and hip?,  but those little gems from the 70s are back and they mean business – whether in patent, boucle, wool or faux fur, they are a wardrobe essential going into the cooler, wetter days ahead. Snoods and big furry hats are going to be uber cool as it get colder....

However, the star of the show for the upcoming season is the return of the sweater vest. They are literally everywhere and being worn by everyone from Harry Styles to your next door neighbour!
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Gucci, Prada and Christian Dior have all featured the sweater vest and they come in all shapes and sizes.
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Fashion writers are putting the popularity of this trend down to the effects of the recent lockdown, explaining that the sweater vest adds a certain gravitas to the rather casual attire we may have been wearing to our Zoom meetings! For those of us who remember tank tops, fear not, there are lots of stylish ways to wear your sweater vest. One of the most popular looks at the moment is to pop your vest over a puff sleeve blouse or T-shirt. They also look great worn over a crisp white shirt, over dresses or, for the ultimate cool look, on their own!
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Roll on to 2001 and Rowan featured Nightfall by Kim Hargreaves as part of their Night Life Collection (Magazine 30). You will see lots of lurex yarns this season making this design as relevant today as it was nearly 20 years ago. I am sure many of you may have knitted or are familiar with the classic Fyne Slipover (Magazine 42) by Marie Wallin back in 2007.
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​The image that really leapt out at me while I was researching for this piece was Electra by Louisa Harding from the Urban Trends story (Magazine 38) shown below. Classic design, using a variety of yarns and worn in a contemporary way against a nostalgic backdrop– nothing nerdy or old-fashioned about this!
 

I hope you have enjoyed my round up of the key trends as much as I enjoyed researching them - Janie is going to talk to you about the colour trends next:
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As a bit of a colour fanatic I really enjoyed the trend forecast that Sarah has put together and discovering, through looking through images online, that this autumn is going to be all about colour! We often see hints of bright shades coming through in the winter, but as a general rule the bright colours tend to be a summer time thing. Perhaps the trend for these fabulous brights, like the one for leisure wear that Sarah has mentioned, stems from our periods of lockdown and will serve us well once the colder and darker days set in and we find ourselves at home more than we have been - especially if new lockdown measures come into force.

When I look at the trends I always focus on knitwear and less so on evening wear or anything really smart - working at the studio means there is little need for posh frocks or smart suits and so I tend to spend my time in casual stuff anyway. I have to say though, over the last few months especially, my idea of smart-casual has veered more and more on the side of casual than smart, so I have made a decision to clean up my act a little and head into next week with the new trends firmly in mind....especially as they are going to be so beautifully bright!
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                                                                                     JEWEL COLOURS

​Colour blocking is a huge trend with the most predominant colour mix being a palette of purple, hot pink, bright orange and red. Yum!
                                                                                  CREAM, GREY & CAMEL

Knitted ponchos, sweater dresses and blanket style wraps are a key trend especially when made in soft camel shades, grey or cream, but be warned that you might not look quite as hot as the models in the images if you pair your poncho with your PJs!
 
                                                                                                COSY KNITS
 

You will be pleased to hear that top down knitted fair isle sweaters remain absolutely on trend, especially when made using grey, brown, orange and soft teal shades. Knitted snoods are also set to make a big comeback, which is no surprise as they act as scarf, hat and face mask all in one!!
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                                                            Pantone Colours from London Fashion Week:

With the emphasis of fashion being more and more about up-cycling and breathing new life into existing items in your wardrobe, why not take a look through what you already have rather than buying anything new? There could also be the perfect shade of yarn sat at the bottom of your stash just waiting to put you bang on trend this season. I have already dug out my Jamiesons waistcoat that has been in my wardrobe for the last few years in preparation and I am definitely going in search of something bright pink in my existing yarn haul...
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I am asked about how I pick yarn shades a lot and so I thought I would give you an insight in this newsletter. Here is a question, sent to me by Kim Wilhelm, which summarises brilliantly the questions I am often asked:

'On both the Frida's Flowers and Persian Tiles, I've gone off on my own colorwise. I'm really not a kit person, because I think picking the colors is the best part of any project! Color inspires and excites me, as I'm sure it does you - that's clear from your lovely patterns! But in the various Facebook groups I belong to -both for your designs and others - there are so many people who struggle with color selection.
So my question for you is this - how do you approach color?
Do you have a process for selecting the color palettes for your projects?
I know that the palettes for the ongoing Fruit Garden CAL were inspired by May Morris designs as shown in your most recent newsletter, but all three kit palettes are very different. How did you narrow down your final selections?
Also, I'm not sure you get much time to crochet for fun, but when you do--does your color selection process for personal projects differ from your process for selecting kit colors? Are there any colors you don't like, and does that enter into your selections?' 
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When I was young my Mum was really proactive when it came to making me aware of all the artistic things going on around me. My brother and I were lucky enough to be brought up in London – a city full of exciting ‘arty’ stuff and a wealth of historical artifacts and places to visit. We were taken to museums and exhibitions, treated to trips to the theatre and encouraged to read. When I was about 12 years old I remember being taken to an exhibition that focused on the influences of Picasso and Matisse. Many of the paintings were from the true ‘impressionist’ era, but towards the end of the exhibition a few of Matisse’s huge paper cuts were displayed. I remember being bowled over, not just by the size of these pieces, but also by the amazing use of colour – bright blue and green, acid yellow and fuchsia pink screamed from the walls. The fact that Matisse made many of these pieces from the confines of his sick bed in the last few years of his life proved to me that the guy was a total genius and from that day forward I was not only totally in love with him as an artist (there is not a single Matisse painting that I do not like) but I was also totally smitten with colour.
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​It is my experience that when workshop participants are asked to choose a colour palette from an array of yarns they will invariably choose a tonal palette – pink and purple shades are a common choice, as is a mix of brown, yellow and orange. Rarely people add an accent colour or make a surprise judgement, such as adding bright aqua blue or pea green in with their tonal choices. This is not a criticism, it is what feels like the right thing to do. We are shown examples of tonal colour ALL the time, so it is totally logical to choose colours in this way. If you are in the UK and you were to walk outside your front door now, I bet the predominant colours that you will see are green, grey, beige, brown and dull red, possibly against a blue sky if you’re lucky or a little bit of blue sea is you’re even luckier! Tonal colours are what we see the majority of the time and (as colour gets diluted in light and space) it is rare that we actually take on board just how bright a colour can be or what a mixture of colours are all around us.
 
If you live in the UK or Northern Europe, whether you live in a city or not, your surroundings will have a similar tonal value, be it green fields or grey office blocks. In contrast, think about what your view would be if you were on a tropical island, surrounded by bright blue sea, butter yellow sand, luscious green palm trees and pinky red tropical flowers. Think about what colour choices you might make if this was your every day view. Hawaiian shirts and Bermuda shorts illustrate my point beautifully – colour choices of designers are made more often than not as a reaction to their surroundings. The artist William Turner spent years looking at how colour changed depending on where he was in world and you can find a great essay entitled 'How to spin the colour wheel, by Turner, Malevich and more', which looks at colour theory and how some of the world's greatest artists put it into practice on the Tate web site here.
 
The craft of crochet gives us a the ideal medium to play with colour and I think it is only since I have been crocheting that I have become more confident with colour. Crochet allows me the chance to ‘design’ with very little planning. I can start with just a few stitches and end up with a couple of hundred, playing with colour after colour row after row. With knitting or sewing you have to make some big decisions before you even start, but with crochet you can just ‘go with the flow’.

Try starting with a ring of about 5 or 6 chain and then, working in rounds of double or treble crochet, start building your crochet piece round by round. Surround yourself with lots of yarn – regardless of weight or texture. You could even choose some ribbons, buttons and beads to add accents of amazing colour and just set to crocheting, adding in random yarn shades, snipping away the old one, or carrying it along for use later on, until you start to see colour combinations that you really like.
 

Many people find it hard to work in such a freeform way and like to do a bit more planning before launching into something. Why not have a walk around your home and search for something that has a surprising colour palette? It might be a plate (or a group of plates) or one of your favorite scarves. Try to analyze which colours are within the piece and in what kind of ratio they are used. Work out which colour is the darkest and which is the lightest – see if you can decide what the accent colour(s) may be and then look for the tonal shades. See if you can match these colours to yarns in your stash and then try making your own crochet piece using your plate or scarf as your design source.
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Choosing a colour palette step by step:
 
I usually start by choosing 2 or 3 mid tone shades in similar colours. In the instance below I have chosen 2 shades of pink::
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I have chosen 2 pink shades that are more yellow than blue in value - a blue pink would look more like the image below and would veer towards purple/lilac (a very trendy colour for Autumn/Winter 2020).
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​When looking at colours I try to analyse whether they are heading towards warmth (yellow) or cool (blue). Then I add in a dark shade and a light shade such as the two below, so that I can create a good contrast:

​I also add in a couple of accent shades. I love a brightish green and a light mustard yellow like the 2 below:
 

Finally I add in a surprise shade (or 2) - this is the one that will be used in tiny amounts. I often go for aqua blue or really bright green, but at the moment I am in love with orange and teal. I usually aim for a palette of no more than 12 shades and no fewer than 8.
 ​

​The shades above would form the basis of my first palette test, but usually once I have a rough idea of a palette, or have found a colour combo that particularly appeals to me, I will start searching for images online that sum up my choices. I will start sampling and add in and take away shades as I work through my crochet.
 

​In direct reply to Kim's question - there are no colours that I don't like. There are those I use more than others, but there are none that I dislike. When working on personal projects at home I tend to work on knitted items to wear and these tend to be pretty plain. I love charcoal greys as I said before and because I am working with colour a lot of the time, in my downtime I like to work on projects where no colour choices need to be made! 

I would love to know what colours you love and what palettes you are drawn to. If you have always been a bit timid about colour or scared of making the wrong choices (which is impossible as there is no such thing btw!) then I hope this piece may have encouraged you to think a bit more 'outside of the box' as far as your choices are concerned.
 

Just over a year ago I completed a 10-week dressmaking course and whilst I’ve yet to adorn my body with the linen tunic top I made on the course (possibly due to the fact it needs a good iron and the iron and I aren’t particularly well acquainted), I seem to have caught the bug for making my own clothes.
 
I have never been a happy clothes shopper. It has always felt like a peculiar form of torture, with nothing fitting quite right. Fits on the hips but gapes at the waist. Tops never long enough once they have accommodated the generous chest I’ve been blessed with by my mother’s side of the family (honestly you’d know we were all related if there was ever a photo of us all in a room together)!
 
So, after putting my linen top away in a drawer, but having purchased a few sewing magazines that came with free patterns as well as some pretty floral cotton fabric in a sale, I decided if I wasn’t to forget everything I had learnt on that course a few months earlier, I needed to get on and make another garment.    I was also truly fortunate around that time to inherit a very special sewing machine from an elderly relative (thank you Aunty Mary) and it seemed the stars were aligning!
 ​

​One of the most useful things we learnt on the dressmaking course was how to read a pattern and this was an important factor as this gave me the confidence to tackle a garment from scratch on my own.  Dressmaking patterns are a bit scary! They are usually on enormous sheets of very delicate tissue paper, with cryptic markings all over them, like a secret code you can only read if you have been initiated into an exclusive club. Having studied a pattern carefully on the course I was able to put a lid on the panic and settle down to working out what I needed to do.  
 
One day later I had a three-quarter length sleeve summer top to add to my wardrobe and I was extremely proud of myself! Up to that point I had made myself crochet garments which had taken months to complete and so the joy of having a completed project just a day later was a real motivation to carry on. The top was followed by a jersey hoodie, a pair of PJ shorts, a short sleeve version of the summer top plus a few bits and bobs for my daughters. Lockdown did not allow much in the way of sewing other than face masks, but when the girls returned to school last week, I finally managed to sew a pair of pyjamas that had been cut out months ago. 
 

The thought of going clothes shopping now does not appeal at all. I would much rather decide on the garment I need, spend time browsing in a lovely fabric shop choosing a fabric I really like, and then spending the time planning, preparing, and finally sewing. It is not a cheap option, but if you choose your fabric carefully you can make a garment that fits you well and that you will want to wear again and again, without breaking the bank. It sits a whole lot more comfortably with me too, knowing that I am not wearing something that has been produced for pennies in poor factory conditions thousands of miles away.   
 
Oh, and yes, I am a self-confessed addict of The Great British Sewing Bee now too!
 ​

A couple of weeks ago I came across this great feed and I am now totally addicted to it. If you love fashion and costume then make sure you check out Ladysapientia. Not only does Carly post fabulous images, but she does great background research and posts really interesting stories and facts to accompany the images, like the fact that actress Glenn Close has a clause in her contracts that mean all the costumes she wears on set end up belonging to her once filming is over and that Milena Canonero not only won an Oscar for her costume design for one of my most favourite films 'The Grand Budapest Hotel', but also won them for her costume designs for 'The Shining', 'Chariots of Fire' and 'Marie Antoinette'.
 ​

​The link to this feed on Instagram has just made me think about how films can be a brilliant inspiration for colour palettes too.
 

​If you have seen Grand Budapest Hotel then you must have noticed the dusky pink, red and purple theme that runs through the whole film. Another of my favourites is the first Nanny McPhee film, which has a really bright, almost neon theme running through it, which creates a great contrast with the traditional Victorian style costumes - oh and there are even some neon dyed pink and yellow lambs!!
 

​As usual we do not have big plans for the weekend. We have had some bags of hardcore delivered so that we can do a bit more work on the front garden (it is a glamorous life!) and we are hoping to get to see Summer and her partner Chris tomorrow afternoon when we plan to join them on a dog walk with Rocky their lovely (slightly bonkers) German Shepherd...

Next week looks set to be busy again, but I am sad that we won't be heading up north to be exhibiting at Yarndale next weekend. The team behind the show have put together a great virtual plan and will be hosting their Yarndale@Home event between 10am and 4.30pm next Saturday and Sunday. The schedule of events is due to be posted on their web site very soon, so you might want to check it out here from time to time so that you can be kept up to date.

Don't forget that if you have any questions you would like answered as part of next month's Q&A you can get in touch by emailing mail@janiecrow.co.uk.

We send lots of love to you all as we head into the weekend. Stay safe and keep well...

​Fruit Garden Cushion day has arrived at last! The pattern for the Kelmscott and Melsetter cushion covers are live on my web site and you can find it by following this link.

You can choose from a download version or a paper copy of the pattern. The download version is free with an option to make a donation via PayPal if you want to. The paper pattern is priced slightly lower than my other 12 page patterns at £3.95 and will incur a fee for postage and packing.
 

​The patterns for the two cushion covers I have designed to match the Fruit Garden blanket are the Kelmscott cover, which matches Recipe 1 and Melsetter, which matches colour way 2. 

I designed the cushions so that you can use up some of the left over yarns from your CAL projects. The yarn listings below show what you will need:

Kelmscott Cushion Cover (Caramel & Parchment - shown to the left in the image above)
 
Stylecraft Life DK
75% Premium Acrylic, 25% Wool, 298m (326yds) per 100g ball
 
2 balls (123g used) x Parchment (2445)          
2 balls (116g used) x Caramel (2446)                        
1 ball (22g used) x Blue Haze (2346)                                                                   
1 ball (5g used) x Cranberry Mixtures (2319)                                                     
1 ball (12g used) x Denim (2322)
1 ball (18g used) x Fern (2311)                                       
1 ball (13g used) x Rose (2301)                                                                
 
Stylecraft Batik
80% Premium Acrylic, 20% Wool, 138m (151yds) per 50g ball
                  
1 ball (17g used) x Graphite (1915)                            
1 ball (9g used) x Heather (1906)                                                      
1 ball (10g used) x Mint (1918)                                              
1 ball (6g used) x Rose (1916) 

Equipment:
3.5mm (US E/4), 4mm (US G/6) and 4.5mm (US 7) crochet hooks
Stitch markers
Knitters sewing needle
 
Other:
50cm x 50cm (19¾in x 19¾in) square cushion pad
7 x 15mm (½in) buttons (I used metal dome buttons, which will be available from the Janie Crow web site)

Measurement:
Made to fit 50cm x 50cm (19¾in x 19¾in) square cushion pad.
 
***
 
Melsetter Cushion Cover (Night & Dusk - shown to the right in the image above)
 
Stylecraft Naturals – Bamboo + Cotton
60% Bamboo, 40% Cotton, 250m (273yds) per 100g ball
 
3 balls (233g used) x Night (7160)
1 ball (17g used) x Canyon (7157)                      
1 ball (17g used) x Celery (7155)                            
1 ball (12g used) x Dusk (7159)                                                                  
1 ball (29g used) x Peach (7131)                           
1 ball (16g used) x Pumice (7154)                             
1 ball (30g used) x Raisin (7158)                               
1 ball (18g used) x Rose (7165)                     
1 ball (1g used) x Seafoam (7143)                                 
1 ball (27g used) x Thyme (7156) 
1 ball (21g used) x Umber (7161) 
  
Equipment:
3mm (US C-D/2-3) 3.5mm (US E/4) & 4mm (US G/6) crochet hooks
Stitch markers
Knitters sewing needle
 
Other:
45cm x 45cm (17¾in x 17¾in) square cushion pad
6 x 15mm (½in) buttons (I used metal dome buttons, which will be available from the Janie Crow web site)

Measurement:
Made to fit 45cm x 45cm (17¾in x 17¾in) square cushion pad.
 

Both cushion covers feature in the same 12 page pattern. Please note that paper brochure patterns will be dispatched from tomorrow 16th September.

I am aware that it is still tough to find yarn for the projects. If you are looking for Life DK, there is still some in stock over on Andy's Just Knots web site here. If you want to make the covers using the Naturals - Bamboo + Cotton yarn then you are in for a short wait as that is due to be back in stock within the next couple of weeks.

If you can't find the shades you want, then you could make a couple of substitutions: For example I suggest Special DK Parchment or Life DK Oatmeal in place of Life DK Parchment as this is one of the shades proving difficult to source.

William and May Morris were famous for mixing many of their designs together. In their interior designed rooms they would place tapestry cushions on printed fabrics and feature layers of wallpapers, friezes and borders on the wall, all with different patterns and colour palettes. I love to mix my patterns and colours too and think that the cushions would look fabulous made in alternative palettes to the blankets.

I have put a few examples together below, using some of May's wallpaper and fabric designs and have also found a couple of lovely suggested palettes on line:
 ​

The 2 cushion covers will be the focus of Stylecraft's September 'Make Along' and you can find the dedicated Facebook Group by following this link. The Make Along Facebook Group has been created by Stylecraft to provide a forum for knitters and crocheters to receive help and have a general chat about projects designed by the Stylecraft Blogstars. There are already nearly 10,000 members in the group and it is a hive of positive activity, so why not take a look?
 ​

As one of the Patrons of the UK Knitting & Crochet Guild I am really proud to have been involved in their online event, which, for obvious reasons, takes the place of their annual convention this year. The Guild members have done an amazing job co-ordinating a whole week of virtual events, which started on Wednesday last week and will run through to today.
 ​

As I told you on Friday I have recorded a 'key note speech' where I give a brief history of the craft of crochet and talk about my own career, focussing on my design process at times, but also attempting to convey what I feel is the huge importance of passing on our skills to future generations. You can find the video here. You can also find a beaded flower workshop video here.

I also took over the Guild's Instagram account yesterday and will do so again today. I would love it if you would pop over there and give me and the Guild your support.
 
 

It has been a funny old week here at Janie Crow - you know those days when every little job that you do opens up a much bigger one and you have that whole 'can of worms' vibe going on.... well that just about sums up this week, so I am looking forward to the next few days even more than usual today!

Before I head off for my weekend I have a few things to tell you about, so I hope you have time for a quick catch up....
 ​

As one of the Patrons of the UK Knitting & Crochet Guild I am really proud to have been involved in their online event, which, for obvious reasons, takes the place of their annual convention this year. The Guild members have done an amazing job co-ordinating a whole week of virtual events, which started on Wednesday this week and will run through to Tuesday of next week.
 ​

I have recorded my 'key note speech' where I give a brief history of the craft of crochet and talk about my own career, focussing on my design process at times, but also attempting to convey what I feel is the huge importance of passing on our skills to future generations. The video will be available to view via the Guild YouTube channel on Monday 14th September. I will be taking over the Guild's Instagram account on Sunday and Monday and a beaded crochet workshop video will be available on Monday too. You can find a full list of the planned events by following this link.

On each day of the event a key note speech by one of the Guild's patrons will be posted on Youtube. Yesterday saw Debbie Abrahams chat about the design process of her mystery blanket projects and Kaffe Fassett has also filmed a video where he talks about his lockdown projects. Today the awesome designer Lorna Hamilton Brown has taken centre stage to talk about 'Why Black Knitters and Crocheters Matter'. I sat and watched Lorna's video earlier on today and it is awesome, so please head over to Youtube and take a look. Lorna is a really important voice (and an MBE by the way!), so if you do not already follow and support her on social media I urge you to do so. Here is a link to her Instagram feed or you can click on the image below:
 ​

The Knitting and Crochet Guild have a huge collection that you can go and visit from time to time and they organise a lot of events across the country. It doesn't cost much to join and as part of your annual membership fee you receive their quarterly 'Slipknot' magazine and can join a local branch for meetings and events. You can also download patterns from their huge collection and make use of other resources the Guild has to offer. You can find out about the benefits of being a member here and can find more information about how to join via the Guild web site here.

You do not need to be a member to watch all the events on the Guild's YouTube Channel - there have already been in the region of 25 new videos posted on there over the last 3 days, so you could quite literally spend all weekend watching fantastic yarn related videos if you want to!
 ​

The new issue (no 10) is all about colour and it really is a lovely book, jam packed with patterns and features. This is what Scheepjes have to say about it:

'We celebrate colour in this special edition 10th issue of YARN Bookazine, where we look back on 165 years of our brand’s history, delve deeper into the theme of colour and celebrate our 10th issue by creating a literal paperback rainbow as you flick through the pages, positively bursting with an endless array of colour.

Featuring 16 breathtakingly beautiful Autumn/Winter designs spanning the entire spectrum to fill your hands, hooks (or needles) and homes with. Add a splash of colour to your autumn wardrobe by wearing the Frozen Rose Shawl, or relax underneath the Winter Sun Blanket while your little ones are having fun wearing the Red Panda socks – you’ll find much to inspire you in this wonderful bookazine.'

I have contributed a design for a beaded corsage/brooch called Verdigris and you can find more infromation about it here or by clicking on the images below.
​

The project is a great stash buster and uses very little yarn. I have made it in fine yarns on a small hook, but I think it would look great in thicker yarns too. I used the Scheepjes Toho beads that Andy stocks on the Just Knots web site - if you scroll to the bottom of this page you can see more clearly all the lovely shades he has in stock.

Andy has some of the first copies of the Bookazine in stock over on the Just Knots web site and you can find them by following this link.
 ​

​The patterns for the two cushion covers I have designed to match in with the Fruit Garden blanket will be published on my web site on Tuesday next week. The Kelmscott cover matches Recipe 1 and Melsetter matches colour way 2. 

You can choose from a download version or a paper copy of the pattern. The download version will be free with an option to make a donation via PayPal if you want to. The paper pattern will be priced slightly lower than my other 12 page patterns at £3.95 and will incur a fee for postage and packing.

I designed the cushions so that you can use up some of the left over yarns from your CAL projects. The yarn listings below show what you will need:

Kelmscott Cushion Cover (Caramel & Parchment - shown to the left in the image above)
 
Stylecraft Life DK
75% Premium Acrylic, 25% Wool, 298m (326yds) per 100g ball
 
2 balls (123g used) x Parchment (2445)          
2 balls (116g used) x Caramel (2446)                        
1 ball (22g used) x Blue Haze (2346)                                                                   
1 ball (5g used) x Cranberry Mixtures (2319)                                                     
1 ball (12g used) x Denim (2322)
1 ball (18g used) x Fern (2311)                                       
1 ball (13g used) x Rose (2301)                                                                
 
Stylecraft Batik
80% Premium Acrylic, 20% Wool, 138m (151yds) per 50g ball
                  
1 ball (17g used) x Graphite (1915)                            
1 ball (9g used) x Heather (1906)                                                      
1 ball (10g used) x Mint (1918)                                              
1 ball (6g used) x Rose (1916) 

Equipment:
3.5mm (US E/4), 4mm (US G/6) and 4.5mm (US 7) crochet hooks
Stitch markers
Knitters sewing needle
 
Other:
50cm x 50cm (19¾in x 19¾in) square cushion pad
7 x 15mm (½in) buttons (I used metal dome buttons, which will be available from the Janie Crow web site)

Measurement:
Made to fit 50cm x 50cm (19¾in x 19¾in) square cushion pad.
 
***
 
Melsetter Cushion Cover (Night & Dusk - shown to the right in the image above)
 
Stylecraft Naturals – Bamboo + Cotton
60% Bamboo, 40% Cotton, 250m (273yds) per 100g ball
 
3 balls (233g used) x Night (7160)
1 ball (17g used) x Canyon (7157)                      
1 ball (17g used) x Celery (7155)                            
1 ball (12g used) x Dusk (7159)                                                                  
1 ball (29g used) x Peach (7131)                           
1 ball (16g used) x Pumice (7154)                             
1 ball (30g used) x Raisin (7158)                               
1 ball (18g used) x Rose (7165)                     
1 ball (1g used) x Seafoam (7143)                                 
1 ball (27g used) x Thyme (7156) 
1 ball (21g used) x Umber (7161) 
  
Equipment:
3mm (US C-D/2-3) 3.5mm (US E/4) & 4mm (US G/6) crochet hooks
Stitch markers
Knitters sewing needle
 
Other:
45cm x 45cm (17¾in x 17¾in) square cushion pad
6 x 15mm (½in) buttons (I used metal dome buttons, which will be available from the Janie Crow web site)

Measurement:
Made to fit 45cm x 45cm (17¾in x 17¾in) square cushion pad.
 
***
To help you judge if you have enough yarn in your stash, or within your leftovers from the Fruit Garden CAL, to use to make the cushion cover I have made a note of how much yarn of each shade is used. 
 
It is a good idea to overestimate yarn usage in case you achieve a slightly different tension to me or leave longer tail ends. For example, where I say I have used 18g of the shade Rose in the list for the Melsetter cover above, you would be wise to ensure you have at least 20g. 
 
If you want to see the new colour way for the Fruit Garden blanket and the 2 cushion covers you can find a sneaky peek in a Youtube video I made a few weeks ago. I will send an email on Tuesday once the patterns go live.
 
The 2 cushion covers will be the focus of Stylecraft's September 'Make Along' and you can find the dedicated Facebook Group by following this link. The Make Along Facebook Group has been created by Stylecraft to provide a forum for knitters and crocheters to receive help and have a general chat about projects designed by the Stylecraft Blogstars. There are already nearly 10,000 members in the group and it is a hive of positive activity, so why not take a look?
 

​We do not have huge plans for the weekend, so are looking forward to a couple of quiet days. The temperature is set to rise here, so we are hoping to dig out the short trousers once again and spend some time in the garden and maybe do a spot of baking?

I have a new book I want to get reading - A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth - it has been sat on the settee for the last week since I bought it as I am feeling a bit daunted by the size of it, but I am assured by many that it is a great read....

Next week I will be filming a short video that will be published over Yarndale weekend. The video will focus on 3 or 4 neat tips and I will also be sorting out the Q&A technique video to go into next week's September Newsletter where Gemma, Sarah and I will be focussing on the autumn trends. I will be back in your inbox on Tuesday when the cushion patterns are released and hope that in the mean time you continue to keep safe and well...
​

​Support and Solidarity - Remembering this day 2001
​

I'm back from my short 'staycation' with a few things to tell you about this week, but I start with an apology that the Q&A video has not yet been posted on my Youtube page. Because of the bank holiday on Monday I was already short of time this week to shoot the video and then we decided that we could really do with a new memory card for the camera to crisp up the quality of the films, so that has delayed things a little further. The new card should arrive with us on Monday, so I have crossed through the whole of next week to dedicate to making videos - the first one will focus on joining motifs as this was a topic requested by quite a few of you...
 ​

As one of the Patrons of the UK Knitting & Crochet Guild I have also agreed to do a couple of videos for their 'Unconvention' event, which kicks off next Wednesday the 9th September. I will be filming a 'key note speech' where I will focus on my design process. This will be available to view via the Guild YouTube channel on Monday 14th September, when I will also be taking over the Guild's Instagram account. A beaded crochet workshop video will also be available on the same day. You can find a full list of the planned events by following this link.

As well as the videos for the Guild and for the Janie Crow YouTube channel, I have been putting together a technique workshop video that will be posted as part of the Yarndale virtual yarn show over the last weekend in September - as soon as I know what day and time this will be posted I will let you know. I am really sad not to be heading up to Skipton for the show this year, but am pleased to see how well the organisers have stepped up to present a fun online show. To be kept up to date with all the Yarndale news you can join their newsletter via the show website homepage by following this link.

This week I have an update on the 'Love Is Enough' version of the Fruit Garden CAL for you and more information about the 2 accompanying cushion cover designs I have created - if you have 5 minutes to spare, put your feet up and grab a cuppa and get up to speed with all things Janie Crow....
 ​

You may have already seen on the Stylecraft social media platforms that we have made the decision to move the start date of the publication of the colour substitution documents for the Love Is Enough colour way of the Fruit Garden CAL. The CAL will now start on Tuesday 3rd November. The delay is due to a global shortfall in yarn supply and the knock on effects of closures and supply chain distribution due to the pandemic.

We feel that moving the date by 2 weeks gives even more of you enough time to join the CAL and will ensure that yarn parcels have plenty of time to arrive at their destinations as some mail deliveries are still a little slow. Yarn packs should go on sale for this colour way week commencing the 28th September.

I hope that you will support this decision and that you won't be too upset at the prospect of having to wait a couple more weeks before you can get started on the CAL.

We still have some yarn packs in stock for the original 2 colour ways of the Fruit Garden CAL and you can find them by following this link to the Janie Crow site - we have just 3 packs of Recipe 1 (Caramel and Parchment) and 2 packs of Recipe 2 (Night & Dusk). Once these have gone we will not have stock again until later in the autumn. You might find some kits in stock on Andy's site Just Knots Yarn, but I think you will need to be quick as stock levels are really low.
 ​

While you are waiting for the CAL to launch you could always make the two cushion covers I have designed to match in with the 2 existing Fruit Garden colour ways. The Kelmscott cover matches Recipe 1 and Melsetter matches colour way 2. 

The patterns for the cushions will be available via the Janie Crow web site the week after next. You can choose from a download version or a paper copy. The download version will be free with an option to make a donation via PayPal if you want to. The paper pattern will be priced in line with my other patterns and will incur a fee for postage and packing.

I designed the cushions so that you can use up some of the left over yarns from your CAL projects. The yarn listings below show what you will need:

Kelmscott Cushion Cover (Caramel & Parchment - shown to the left in the image above)
 
Stylecraft Life DK
75% Premium Acrylic, 25% Wool, 298m (326yds) per 100g ball
 
2 balls (123g used) x Parchment (2445)          
2 balls (116g used) x Caramel (2446)                        
1 ball (22g used) x Blue Haze (2346)                                                                   
1 ball (5g used) x Cranberry Mixtures (2319)                                                     
1 ball (12g used) x Denim (2322)
1 ball (18g used) x Fern (2311)                                       
1 ball (13g used) x Rose (2301)                                                                
 
Stylecraft Batik
80% Premium Acrylic, 20% Wool, 138m (151yds) per 50g ball
                  
1 ball (17g used) x Graphite (1915)                            
1 ball (9g used) x Heather (1906)                                                      
1 ball (10g used) x Mint (1918)                                              
1 ball (6g used) x Rose (1916) 

Equipment:
3.5mm (US E/4), 4mm (US G/6) and 4.5mm (US 7) crochet hooks
Stitch markers
Knitters sewing needle
 
Other:
50cm x 50cm (19¾in x 19¾in) square cushion pad
7 x 15mm (½in) buttons (I used metal dome buttons, which will be available from the Janie Crow web site)

Measurement:
Made to fit 50cm x 50cm (19¾in x 19¾in) square cushion pad.
 
***
 
Melsetter Cushion Cover (Night & Dusk - shown to the right in the image above)
 
Stylecraft Naturals – Bamboo + Cotton
60% Bamboo, 40% Cotton, 250m (273yds) per 100g ball
 
3 balls (233g used) x Night (7160)
1 ball (17g used) x Canyon (7157)                      
1 ball (17g used) x Celery (7155)                            
1 ball (12g used) x Dusk (7159)                                                                  
1 ball (29g used) x Peach (7131)                           
1 ball (16g used) x Pumice (7154)                             
1 ball (30g used) x Raisin (7158)                               
1 ball (18g used) x Rose (7165)                     
1 ball (1g used) x Seafoam (7143)                                 
1 ball (27g used) x Thyme (7156) 
1 ball (21g used) x Umber (7161) 
  
Equipment:
3mm (US C-D/2-3) 3.5mm (US E/4) & 4mm (US G/6) crochet hooks
Stitch markers
Knitters sewing needle
 
Other:
45cm x 45cm (17¾in x 17¾in) square cushion pad
6 x 15mm (½in) buttons (I used metal dome buttons, which will be available from the Janie Crow web site)

Measurement:
Made to fit 45cm x 45cm (17¾in x 17¾in) square cushion pad.
 
***
To help you judge if you have enough yarn in your stash, or within your leftovers from the Fruit Garden CAL, to use to make the cushion cover I have made a note of how much yarn of each shade is used. 
 
It is a good idea to overestimate yarn usage in case you achieve a slightly different tension to me or leave longer tail ends. For example, where I say I have used 18g of the shade Rose in the list for the Melsetter cover above, you would be wise to ensure you have at least 20g. 
 
If you want to see the new colour way for the Fruit Garden blanket and the 2 cushion covers you can find a sneaky peek in a Youtube video I made a few weeks ago. 

The 2 cushion covers will be the focus of Stylecraft's September 'Make Along' and you can find the dedicated Facebook Group by following this link. The August Make Along project was Julia Marsh's lovely knitted blankets shown in the image below:
 

The Make Along Facebook Group has been created by Stylecraft to provide a forum for knitters and crocheters to receive help and have a general chat about projects designed by the Stylecraft Blogstars. There are already nearly 10,000 members in the group and it is a hive of positive activity, so why not take a look?
​

Thank you again for the amazing response to the new Janie Crow catalogue. As I said last time, we have had some of the new catalogues printed and have added these to the web site as a free item. If you are on the site and have other items in your cart you can add a catalogue to your existing order free of charge. If you simply want to be sent the brochure then you can add it to your cart for free, but you will need to pay a small amount to cover postage and packing.
​

You can find the free download version of the catalogue here or by clicking on the images above. You can find the paper brochure here. The 40 page A5 catalogue features colourful images and a written description of all my designs from the last 5 years shown in lovely home settings. 
 ​

Because Monday was a Bank Holiday here in England it has been a speedy week - I keep thinking it is Thursday today so I am not totally in the Friday mood just yet, but it seems that our son Charlie is getting in full swing ready for the weekend now that he is back at work at Pret HQ! He has been perfecting his beer bottle opening skills this week and sent us a video yesterday to showcase his new trick.... you can see it on my Instagram Story. I am not totally happy about him kicking beer bottles in my newly painted kitchen, but I am quite impressed by his skill and at least he is not opening the bottles with his teeth!

The kitchen is at last finished, except for the fact that I need to put the door handles back on the doors. This is a pic of my favourite part of the room - so far we have even managed to keep it tidy!
​

We are now planning which part of our poor neglected home to tackle next, but I think this weekend will be used for pottering about in the garden and getting things sorted for the Autumn. We have been working on the driveway at the front of the house sporadically over the summer, but really need to get that finished too, so I guess we will be out there over the next couple of days. As usual I also hope to get a bit of crochet done too!

My friend Sonia sent me the image below of these fabulous crochet chairs that she has created during lockdown. She even won a prize for them and her image reminded me of the recent trend for patchwork chairs - something that I have always thought would be a great project to tackle. Quite a few years ago Erika Knight featured a knitted tub chair cover in one of her books and I always thought it was really cool! I have found a couple of images of the kind of thing I really like - you can click on the images below to find more information about them.
 ​

​Perhaps I will be spending this weekend sourcing a good chair to cover? I hope that wherever you are and whatever you have planned for the weekend you stay safe and keep well...
​

Janie here with a quick email to remind you to send in any ideas you have in regards to my new Question & Answer Newsletter Feature. We had a great response to last week's newsletter and to the quick video introduction that I filmed to accompany it, so this is definitely something I will continue to do. I know that a few of you were concerned that the videos may become a replacement for the written blog, but I can assure you that I am not planning to stop doing the newsletters via email as I know that a lot of you dip in and out of reading them and that some of you save them up to look at when you have time. The video is merely an introduction and an easier way for me to engage with those of you who do not have much time, but still want a quick update.

I am planning to film the Q&A video during the first week of September and post it on Friday 4th. So, as I said already, if you do have anything you would like included please let me know so that Sarah can add it to the list of questions that she is compiling for me. You can ask anything! You might want to know about a specific crochet technique, you might want to know about the types of crochet hooks and accessories available, or you might want to know something more relevant to me and my design for example. If you want to get in touch please email your question to: mail@janiecrow.co.uk
 ​

On Tuesday this week I sent out a quick email to let you know that I had revealed the new colour way for the Fruit Garden blanket and shown a sneaky peek of the 2 cushion covers I have designed to accompany the CAL project in a Youtube video. The response to the reveal of the new 'Love Is Enough' blanket and the cushions was incredible and I would like to thank all of those who made the time to get in touch - I have to say that quite a few of your responses reduced both myself and Sarah to tears, with so many of you sharing your experiences of lockdown and talking about the importance of your crochet during these times. Sarah said that the emails were 'life affirming' and I couldn't agree with her more...

I know that many of you missed out on working through the project the first-time round. In some cases this was because of not being able to source yarns, whilst for other ‘front line’ and essential workers it was a question of finding the time and not the yarn that was the challenge. The last thing we wanted was for anyone to feel disappointed to have missed or not kept up with the CAL, so we decided that we should do the whole thing all over again. I am so excited to have the chance to present you with the brand new ‘Love is Enough’ version of the project.
​

I have also made two new cushion covers using the motifs from the CAL. These designs, which I have named Melsetter and Kelmscott after the houses that meant a lot to May Morris, are shown in the video and the patterns for these will be available in September.
 

Thank you all for your incredible support over the last few months - the Fruit Garden CAL has been an amazing journey and I am so excited to see all your completed projects popping up on social media. I hope that you might be inspired to come long on another crochet along trip with me in the autumn!
​

We have had some of the new catalogues printed and have added these to the web site as a free item. If you are on the site and have other items in your cart you can add a catalogue to your existing order free of charge. If you simply want to be sent the brochure then you can add it to your cart for free, but you will need to pay a small amount to cover postage and packing.
 ​

​We had a few requests for the link to the heart motif Granny Square pattern that Gemma included in last week's newsletter. It has been designed by Daisy Cottage Designs and you can find it by following this link or by clicking on image below. The pattern is written in US terms, so watch out for that if you are used to following UK terminology.
 

​We are having a few days off next week, so I am looking forward to another little 'staycation'! We have some plans, which include more decorating and some work in the garden, plus a few nights away in the beautiful surroundings of The New Forest. I have my fingers crossed that the weather will be kind, although sometimes a rainy day can provide the best excuse to settle down on the sofa with my crochet!
 
I hope that wherever you are and whatever you have planned for today you stay safe and keep well...
​

I am just popping by very quickly to tell you that my Youtube video that will give you a sneaky peek of the new version of my Fruit Garden CAL design is now live. You can find it by following this link.
​

​I know that many of you missed out on working through the project the first-time round. In some cases this was because of not being able to source yarns, whilst for other ‘front line’ and essential workers it was a question of finding the time and not the yarn that was the challenge. The last thing we wanted was for anyone to feel disappointed to have missed or not kept up with the CAL, so we decided that we should do the whole thing all over again. I am so excited to have the chance to present you with the brand new ‘Love is Enough’ version of the project.
 

I have also made two new cushion covers using the motifs from the CAL. These designs, which I have named Melsetter and Kelmscott after the houses that meant a lot to May Morris, are shown in the video and the patterns for these will be available in September.

​Thank you all for your incredible support over the last few months - the Fruit Garden CAL has been an incredible journey and I am so excited to see all your completed projects popping up on social media. I hope that you might be inspired to come long on another crochet along trip with me in the autumn!

If you are looking for something to do over the next month, why not take a look at the pattern for my Climbing Rose Wrap, which is now available as a paper brochure version via the Janie Crow web site, or as a download version via Ravelry and Etsy*.
 ​

​The project has previously been published as a crochet along (CAL) in Inside Crochet Magazine and you can find a very busy and inspirational dedicated Facebook Group for the project by following this link or by clicking on the image above.
​

As you know, I have always been a fan of the work of the Arts and Crafts Movement and, having worked in a home decorating store part time as a student, I am very familiar with William Morris’s wallpaper designs in particular. I started off thinking that my design inspiration would be Morris’s very well known design ‘The Strawberry Thief’, which is one of my favourites, but I was concerned about how I could produce the idea of strawberries and birds in crochet and so I was relieved and inspired further when I came across another design based on those of William Morris called 'Molly Blue', which not only had the floral elements I was looking for, but also totally summed up the colour palette I wanted to use.
 ​

​Some of my designs have taken me months to design and make, whilst others, have been quite quick. The design for the Climbing Rose Wrap was a really speedy one once I set to crocheting and I really enjoyed interpreting elements of Morris’s fabric design in my crochet. The flowers within the original design are not easy to identify exactly, so I looked at traditional Victorian garden flowers and used these as the basis for my motifs, hence the fact that they are called Day Lily, Rambling Rose and Anemone.

You can find yarn kits for the project on Janie Crow or Just Knots. The yarn kits on Janie Crow are £44.50 and include the pattern. On Just Knots there are kits available either with or without the pattern in case you already have the magazines. Kits without the patterns are £39.50.

Unfortunately we have already had to substitute one of the shades used in the original project as kit is out of stock at Stylecraft. Any kits ordered before yesterday will include a 50g ball of Batik Rose, as in the original pattern, but newer packs will include a 100g ball of Life DK Rose instead. We feel the colour substitution is incredibly close and the price of the kit will remain the same.
 
Images with thanks to Inside Crochet Magazine & Leanne Dixon.

* Please note that patterns on Etsy are subject to VAT, so the price is higher than on Ravelry. We have alerted Etsy to the fact that UK downloads should no longer be subject to VAT, but have not yet heard back from them.
I hope that wherever you are and whatever you have planned for today you stay safe and keep well...
​

We have added something new to this month's newsletter in the form of a quick introduction video that I filmed at the studio this morning. It is so much easier to get information across in a video rather than a newsletter and I do love a good chat, so I thought I would do a quick film for you today. You can find the video on my Youtube channel here or by clicking on the image below.
 ​

If you like to idea of the video, or if you think it is a bit naff, do let me know so that I can gauge whether or not to keep doing them. We are planning a Q&A style video for the end of the month, so you can find more information about that in this film too.

When Gemma, Sarah and I sat down to discuss a theme for this months' newsletter we decided that we wanted to reflect on the events of the last few months and focus on how people have continued to enjoy their craft projects whilst isolated at home. We wanted to focus on the positive aspects that many of you have told us you have taken away from this experience. We know that there have been many negatives and some awful stories over the last few months and we are not looking to ignore these, but we felt the need to look at some of the really inspiring stories of friendship and support, of families coming together and of people going out of their way to help others.

Gemma has contributed a piece about an organisation dear to her heart as well as a really scrummy sounding recipe, which I have featured lower down this email and Sarah has donated a piece about her recent experiments with Indigo dying, something that she and her lovely husband Paul have been having a go at recently.

I had a message from my friend Jan the other night asking if I had been reading the comments within the Fruit Garden CAL Facebook group. To my shame I had to fess up to Jan the fact that I tend not to belong to groups, even those dedicated to my designs, so I had not been in and taken a look around any of the groups.

The reason I don't belong to a lot of the groups is partly because of time restrictions. I am a recovering social media addict and find the temptation to scroll and scroll and scroll really strong! I can loose hours being taken down a route I had not anticipated when I first went on line to look up just one thing! I tend to refer to this as being led away by squirrels and even have Post It note on the wall above my PC warning me of the perils of 'squirrelling'!

​

It isn't to say that I am not appreciative of all the chat that goes on in these groups in regards to my work. I love the fact that so many people have taken the time to write their stories of the CAL journey and if you have a bit of spare time, perhaps you would like to pop over to FB and read a few for yourself. You can find some great posts on my Facebook Page here, or take a look at the official Stylecraft CAL group here.

When thinking about what my contribution to this month's newsletter should be I started to think about how fitting it was that a crochet along project inspired by May Morris, and in turn her father William, really was at this time of lockdown. William founded the Arts and Crafts movement primarily as a reaction against the mass produced items that flooded the market at as result of the Industrial Revolution. William's idea was that there should be more of an emphasis on hand made unique items and that the worth of craftspeople should be more revered.

Whilst I love the ethos of many of William's ideas, I do think they were often grounded within the constraints of a class system where the rich could afford the hand made and therefore high price tags and the poor had no choice but to opt for the mass produced. I think the same can be said for modern day in some respects, but thankfully we can now source quality yarns at reasonable prices and can hopefully all choose projects that suit our pockets and our ethics.
​

I learnt to crochet a few years ago at an evening class run by a small charity called Community Learning Partnership, based in South Oxhey (near Watford). Headed up by the exuberant director Eliz Borg, who has a close relationship with all things yarny, CLP specializes in community learning. They run arts & crafts courses for adults including knitting, crochet, Scandi embroidery, beginners sewing and dressmaking as well as family art sessions where children and their families spend quality time together having fun and being creative.  
 

​When lockdown began back in March I had been working for CLP as a teaching assistant on an advanced crochet course. We had completed 8 weeks of a 10 week course and it was a real shame that things came to such an abrupt close when it became frighteningly clear that COVID-19 was about to have a huge impact on the everyday life of the country. I was also enrolled on a Social Media for Business Course with CLP at the time. 
 
From their own homes, Eliz and her team immediately set to work together on a plan of action to ensure that the courses in progress could be completed in one form or another and that they could continue to support their learners throughout this challenging time. For many learners CLP becomes a second family and long after courses are complete, they continue to attend informal sessions at St Martins, the church where the charity is based, chatting and laughing with friends they have made, over a coffee (and cake of course), while they crochet, knit or sew.
​

After discussions with their funders, including HAFLS (The Hertfordshire Adult and Family Learning Service), CLP were able to ensure that courses in progress could be completed by moving to an online format. I am sure by now many of us have experienced the joys of Zoom and other such video meeting platforms, so as you can imagine, it was not all plain sailing! One particular Friday morning, when attending my Social Media course, it seemed like by the time all the technical issues had been resolved and all the attendees appeared to be in the right place, it was almost time to finish! For many learners it was difficult to juggle having children at home with keeping up on their learning and hanging on in there until the end of the course. For older learners encouragement was needed to give them the confidence to move online. 
 
Pre lockdown, CLP ran a Tuesday morning session called Coffee and Crafts at St Martins and this was an important get together for many people. It was a chance to relax with friends and have an hour or two of ‘me’ time to spend crocheting or knitting. It was also a chance to purchase yarn at the small but wonderfully well stocked shop in the Heavenly Arts & Crafts Café, run by CLP at St Martins. Eliz managed to secure funding from HAFLS to run a series of crochet workshops on Zoom on Tuesday mornings, which meant that there was still that chance to get together, albeit in a new virtual form. The workshops were designed to expand learning and covered different patterns and stitches and included bunting, face scrubbies, and filet crochet to name but a few. You can see some of the lovely achievements in the photos below. They are a clever bunch, the Heavenly Hookers!
 ​

Once these workshops came to an end the community were about to support CLP by purchasing yarn packs for a Crochetalong project, which they continue to get together on a Tuesday morning via Zoom to support each other with. There are many new courses due to start in September; all will be run online but that has not put people off booking on, with one course receiving double the number of anticipated participants during the first couple of days. 
 
One of my abiding memories of lockdown will be attending a couple of virtual sewing café sessions hosted by Laura Martin, one of the team at CLP. Let’s just say very little sewing was done in most cases but just having the opportunity to see the faces of our friends, checking in on each other’s wellbeing, kept us all going when we were all facing our own personal challenges at home.  
 
Yes, the warm, close knit community that is the CLP family have been looking after each other well this year.  Of course, we are all desperate for the time when we can get together in person again, after all no video meeting can compare to a warm hug, homemade cake, laughter and the joy of comparing projects, oohing and aahing over beautiful things made by our very own hands. When that time does come it will mean so much more to all of us than we ever knew it could. 
 
You can find CLP Arts & Craft courses on Facebook here
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I am sure that I am not the only person for whom it has taken a lockdown to galvanise themselves into making or doing something that for one reason or another has kept getting put off!

A couple of years ago, my husband Paul and I were on holiday in the south west of England and whilst there we came across a book in a garden centre café. The book was called Indigo by Kerstin Neumuller and Douglas Luhanko and it was so lovely to look at that by the time lunch was over we were planning how we would have a go at some indigo dyeing ourselves. Needless to say, we returned from our holiday, ordered and read the book, bought some indigo dye and a few of the other bits needed and then promptly did nothing about it!

(By the way, if you are in that area, Potager Garden Centre near Falmouth is well worth a visit!)
 
However, along came Covid 19. Extra time at home and lots of good weather meant that we had the time and space to experiment. Dyeing with indigo involves a lot of preparation, so we bought a little kit to get us started. The patterns that we associate with indigo dyed textiles mainly involve using resist-dyeing techniques.

Paul really liked the look of 'Itajame' and I wanted to explore some simple Shibori ideas. The Itajame technique involves folding pieces of fabric and pressing them between two shapes. You will see in the photos below how Paul used clamps to secure his shapes. I used stitches to make patterns and shapes. It is incredible how a few running stitches pulled up tightly can produce such a wealth of patterns. 

Here are a few photo highlights from our day!
 ​

​Before - One of Paul’s Itajame pieces straight out of the dye bath.

After - The same piece rinsed in cold water.
​

Here I am snipping out my running stitches before the cold rinse.
​

Now what are they up to?
​

​The fruits of our labours drying in the sun after a hot wash and absolutely no residue in the washing machine – phew!
We plan to make a few things with our fabrics and so I hope to pop back in a few weeks with a little update for you all! Take care! Sarah x
 

In response to your suggestion that I might like to send you something about our City & Guilds Machine Embroidery class and our online exhibition I have written a little about our group and achievements during such difficult times. I think it highlights how supportive crafters/artists can be to each other during challenging times. My fellow students and tutor are happy for me to send this to you and are looking forward to getting a mention in your newsletter if you feel that can be done....
Personally it was very important for me to complete the course and to feel that I had achieved something during these challenging times, but I really don't think I could have done it without the support of my fellow students and our tutor who I think went "above and beyond” in what was a new experience for all of us. Having more time did not necessarily mean that it was easier, I think many people seem to have experienced periods where their "get up and go" has gone. Alongside the course I have pretty well managed to keep up to date with the CAL and am now on the final border, it's beautiful and I’m looking forward to seeing my own finished blanket. I have a pack for the other (first) colourway but plan to keep that as an autumn/winter project, if I can resist the 3rd option in the meantime.
9th August, 2020
I thought that you might like to hear about us and maybe include us in your newsletter to show what we have achieved during the Covid 19 pandemic - I would venture to say that the friendship and support has been as important (maybe moreso) as completing the course. 
Ros Grey & I (Chris Bourne) are two members of the Official Stylecraft Yarns CAL group who are currently participating in your wonderful May Morris inspired “Fruit Garden” CAL. 
We are also two of six students who have just completed the City & Guilds Machine Embroidery Level 2 course at Malvern College of Art, not an easy feat during lockdown but achieved thanks to great support from each other and our tutor, Caroline Park. 
“Lockdown” came during the spring term, the College closed down and we were unsure if the course could continue. Thankfully we were able to continue with a weekly online class through Google Classroom and this, together with our Whats App group helped and encouraged us to carry on. Whilst it was no substitute for being in class together, whenever anybody had a problem or query a post on Whats App would bring a speedy response, with answers to questions, constructive criticism, encouragement and offers of practical help which was invaluable at a time when many of us were isolating and unable to access materials.  
​

                                                                   Chris's Mary Quant Inspired Piece

We finished the course at the beginning of July and had a “socially distanced” meeting to hand in our work for assessment, this was the first time that we had met since before lockdown and the first time we seen each others work (other than online), so it was quite an experience.   
In “normal” times the College holds an end of year exhibition, as this was not an option this year we looked into our options and the result was this online exhibition, which features each of our final assignments - you will see that Ros has created a piece inspired by May Morris. 
You will see that we have put a considerable amount of thought and effort lot into our work and we hope that you and readers of your newsletter will enjoy our online exhibition that can be found by following this link.  

Sadly a few of our fellow students were unable to continue with the course but remained active members of the Whats App group and hope to continue with the course in the future. 
As we try to regain some sense of normality in our lives we are now looking forward to being part of a new and exciting group which will be starting in September and led by our tutor. So look out for the “Elmslie Embroidery Group”.

Andy came across 'The Fabulous' a few weeks ago after a recommendation by a friend and I have to say it has been a total game changer for me. Before I tell you too more about it, here are the 3 main bullet points from The Fabulous website:

Reset Your Habits
Increase your energy levels, enjoy vibrant health, lose weight and sleep better by installing healthy habits and routines into your life.

Transform Your Life
Use Behavioural Economics to identify where you're stuck and follow a step-by-step programme to unlock your full potential.

Rewire Your Brain
Re-programme your brain and automate the important rituals in your life so you have more time for what really matters.

Sounds good doesn't it? Well actually, I thought it all sounded a lot like all the other 'be good to yourself' style mantras that lots of other sites churn out! How many times have I read articles about the importance of meditation, the health benefits of drinking gallons of water and getting more sleep? These messages are around us all the time. We take some of them on board and others we ignore - well, at least I do!

I try to eat well. I go to the gym. I walk quite a lot and I thought I made time for myself to relax, but the brilliance of using The Fabulous app for the last couple of weeks is that it has encouraged me to take a really good look at what I do and where I could do with 'cleaning up my act' (think squirrels and social media!) and by taking small baby steps, a few at a time, it has helped me to create some really great routines, which in turn really have made a difference to my life.
​

The Fabulous is basically an app for your phone, that will send you push notifications to remind you to keep up healthy habits, like taking time to sit and read, or simply to drink more water!

You can download the app for free, but if you want to upgrade to add in more features you can pay a yearly subscription of around £30. Why not take a look? You could download the app and build some new routines into the weekend ahead, just don't be disheartened if it starts slow - I was a bit disappointed with it at first as I thought it wasn't giving me enough actions, but stick with it and you might find it as helpful as I have and the first week is free! ​

Blackberry vinegar is not difficult to make and only needs three ingredients: 

Blackberries
Vinegar
Sugar

I like to use a raw organic cider vinegar (such as that produced by Aspalls) but any cider vinegar or wine vinegar will do just as well.  
 
Quantities are not an exact science here but as a rough guide for a pound (453g) of blackberries will need about a pint (568ml) of vinegar. 

The first step in the process is to put your blackberries in a dish or bowl. I use a pyrex bowl as it won’t be affected by the acidity of the vinegar. Pour on the vinegar to cover the blackberries, cover the bowl and then leave them to rest for 7 to 10 days, stirring occasionally. The longer you leave the berries to steep in the vinegar the stronger the final flavour will be.   
 
After the steeping time is up, strain the mixture through a sieve into a jug or bowl so that you end up with just the liquid. Press the berries on the sieve as you strain them so that every last drop of juice and flavour is squeezed out. 

Measure the liquid you end up with before pouring it into a saucepan and add a pound (453g) of sugar for every pint (568ml) of liquid you have. I prefer to use unrefined sugar, simply because it less processed.  

Bring the liquid and sugar to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved and simmer for around 15 minutes. If you get a scum forming on the top just skim it off using a metal spoon. Once simmered, pour the liquid into sterilized bottles. I use the bottles from the vinegar used in the recipe. You just need to remove the little plastic insert in the neck in order to fill them, before popping it back in and putting the lid on.  
 ​

​Allow to mature for a few months before starting to enjoy your blackberry vinegar. Believe me, it makes all those scratches on your hands from picking the berries worth every ouch! Yum!

There is still time to vote for your favourite designers, yarn stores and publications nominated within this year's British Knitting & Crochet awards. You can vote any time between now and the 26th August and the winners will be revealed in the November 2020 issue of Let's Knit magazine.
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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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​So here we are with the weekend only a matter of hours away and I have to say that I am on a bit of a high as we head into Friday evening. There are 2 main reasons for this, the first is that I have spent this morning sorting out the reveal video for the new colour way of the Fruit Garden CAL, which will launch again in the Autumn. My video shows the 3rd version of the blanket, plus the 2 cushions I have designed to accompany the original versions. These are all brand new and have not been seen outside the walls of Janie Crow and Stylecraft yet, so I am beyond excited about you seeing them next week! The video will be loaded onto my Youtube channel on Tuesday 18th August, so do look out for it.

The other reason I am excited is because we are celebrating the fact that my lovely Charlie boy got a call from Pret this week asking if he would like to go back to his job! How flipping amazing is that! He starts on the 24th and we are beyond happy, especially as our gorgeous daughter Summer, also started a new job a few weeks ago. I am a proud Mumma! 

We do not have big plans for the weekend, perhaps we will have a take away tonight (we all seem to have a craving for delicious Thai food) and I might finally manage to make some headway with the redecoration of the kitchen, which has been poorly neglected while it has been so hot.

If you have a few minutes you might like to head over to the Scheepjes Instagram feed to check out the live video they recorded of myself and Audrey chatting about the Royal Garden blanket last week.

That is it from me for today - I hope that wherever you are and whatever you have planned you have a great weekend and don't forget to send in any questions you may want to ask as part of my new monthly Q&A session, which I mention in the introduction video.

Stay safe and keep well...

Boy is it hot here in North London! Not that I am complaining as I love it warm, but the heat does make it a bit tough when you've got stuff to do. Andy and I have been busy building kits this morning, which is a body warming task at the best of times, but today we are very thankful to be able to head home for a shower and some time in the shade of garden later on! I hope that wherever you are you are managing to keep safe and well and that, for those of you in the UK anyway, you are able to keep cool too!

I was chatting on the phone last night to the wonderful Dedri from Look At What I Made and she was telling me that she and her boys have been enjoying the delights of a large paddling pool in the garden and it made me think about getting one. We have a toy shop on the local High Street, so I am tempted to pop in and see what they have - its has been many years since we had a paddling pool in the garden, so that could be fun! 

Dedri was also telling me about the recent competition she ran to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of her iconic Sophie's Universe blanket design. You can find more information about it on Dedri's blog here and by clicking on the images below.
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The competition has now finished, but you can find some great ideas on how to decorate and embellish the special Tote Bags on Dedri's site and by using this hashtag on Instagram.

I have a couple of other things to tell you about this week, so if you have 5 minutes to spare, why not put your feet up and take a read though my quick catch up.....
 

The pattern for my Climbing Rose Wrap is now available as a paper brochure version via the Janie Crow web site, or as a download version via Ravelry and Etsy*.
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​As you know, I have always been a fan of the work of the Arts and Crafts Movement and, having worked in a home decorating store part time as a student, I am very familiar with William Morris’s wallpaper designs in particular. I started off thinking that my design inspiration would be Morris’s very well known design ‘The Strawberry Thief’, which is one of my favourites, but I was concerned about how I could produce the idea of strawberries and birds in crochet and so I was relieved and inspired further when I came across another design based on those of William Morris called 'Molly Blue', which not only had the floral elements I was looking for, but also totally summed up the colour palette I wanted to use.
 

​Some of my designs have taken me months to design and make, whilst others, have been quite quick. T
the design for the Climbing Rose Wrap was a really speedy one once I set to crocheting and I really enjoyed interpreting elements of Morris’s fabric design in my crochet. The flowers within the original design are not easy to identify exactly, so I looked at traditional Victorian garden flowers and used these as the basis for my motifs, hence the fact that they are called Day Lily, Rambling Rose and Anemone.

You can find yarn kits for the project on Janie Crow or Just Knots. The yarn kits on Janie Crow are £44.50 and include the pattern. On Just Knots there are kits available either with or without the pattern in case you already have the magazines. Kits without the patterns are £39.50.

The information in my last email in regards to the price of the kits was incorrect - please note that the patterns will not be included within yarn kits for free. 

Unfortunately we have already had to substitute one of the shades used in the original project as kit is out of stock at Stylecraft. Any kits ordered before yesterday will include a 50g ball of Batik Rose, as in the original pattern, but newer packs will include a 100g ball of Life DK Rose instead. We feel the colour substitution is incredibly close and the price of the kit will remain the same.
 
Images with thanks to Inside Crochet Magazine & Leanne Dixon.

* Please note that patterns on Etsy are subject to VAT, so the price is higher than on Ravelry. We have alerted Etsy to the fact that UK downloads should no longer be subject to VAT, but have not yet heard back from them.

​I am finding it hard to believe that this week has seen the publication of the last set of patterns for The Fruit Garden CAL. It has been an amazing journey over the last few months and, at a time when we have all struggled with the adverse effects that lockdown has had on our lives, it has been fabulous for me to have a project that provides a purpose. Doing the fortnightly videos and newsletters has kept me (pretty much) this side of same and I know that many of you have felt the same way about picking up your crochet and working through the project.

As the weather is warm it is not ideal timing to be sitting with a big blanket on your lap adding the final border, but I have seen lots of completed blankets popping up on social media this week, so I know that many of you have been busy finishing the blanket despite the heat! 

As you may already know, we are going to be launching the project again in the Autumn. This decision was made because many people struggled to get yarn kits in time for the first launch back in April. We had previously thought that the re-release of the project would happen in September, but with the world experiencing a global shortage of yarn due to restrictions on production and a huge surge in sales, we now think we will launch again in October. This means there is plenty of time to get ready and I am really looking forward to showing you the new colour way of the blanket project very soon. 

I have designed 2 cushion cover projects to accompany the new release too. The covers feature motifs from the project and will be a good stash busting project, so keep your eyes peeled for more information about these.

You can find the patterns for Set 8 of the Fruit Garden CAL by following this link and my accompanying YouTube video is here.
 

​We have a quiet-ish weekend ahead and I am hoping to find some time to sit and crochet as I have bit of a deadline looming within the next couple of weeks. 
 

​​I hope that wherever you are and whatever you have planned for today you stay safe and keep well...