Quick Catch Up with Janie Crow

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

Huge thanks to all those of you who took the time to vote in the Industry awards – it truly is an honour to receive this award. I have written a short blog post about my life as an independent designer - if you want to take a look you can find it here.

Last week we released the free Getting Ready download document for Spirit of Flora on our website, alongside another one that will guide you on your layout choices. The first four patterns will launch in less than 4 weeks time on the 24th April and I am really looking forward to seeing how you will interpret my crochet motifs if you are planning to work through the project. Don't forget you can find lots of information on the dedicated Spirit of Flora Facebook Group and if you want to purchase a kit you can find them on our website by following this link. Patterns will be £3.95 each and will be available as downloads or paper copies either singularly or as part of a bundle of 4.

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

If you have been patiently waiting for the US crochet terms version of the book to come into stock, then you might be pleased to know that we have partnered with our friends Mary Maxim, where you can find the book, which is called the Perfect Crochet Finish, for sale. Follow this link for more information.

Mary Maxim also now have kits in stock for the Marrakesh version of Persian Tiles, which you can find here.

We have some fabulous new items in stock from the EMMA BALL range, including some really lovely new project bags, pouches and bucket bags that feature the Mystical Lanterns design and Spirit of Flora. You can find all the fabric bags here. We also have some new tins - they are super cute and include Fruit Garden, Spirit of Flora and Fields of Gold designs. You can find tins by following this link. 

Our range of Emma Ball stitch markers has grown to include some that feature the Fruit Garden and Spirit of Flora designs too. I think these would make fabulous charms for bracelets and they can also be worn as earrings or a brooch. You can find stitch markers here.

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

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

Andy and I had a great few days in Cologne when we visited the H+H trade show last weekend. There was so much fabulous yarn on show that we hardly knew where to start squishing! Seeing the show rammed with yarn producers and craft suppliers was a total joy and it was wonderful to catch up with lots of old friends and make some new ones. Of course we also made the most of the copious number of brew houses, great food spots and the tourist sites, which include the majestic cathedral. We headed home on the train feeling inspired, happy and at least a kilo heavier!

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

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

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

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

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

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

By the time I write again next month I am hoping to have completed the full set of Gordon motifs and also made at least one of the next pattern, Harmony. This is the first flower motif and it features surface crochet to add detail. The flower sits within a lace frame and forms the centre point of each side in the outer section of the blanket. 

Gemma x

Today's recipe suggestion comes from our lovely Emma, who says this 'no-knead' bread recipe works every time without fail. We all love a loaf of homemade bread here at Janie Crow, so no doubt the rest of us will be scurrying off to the kitchen to give this a go. Emma has even provided us with step-by-step photos and you can find the recipe here or by clicking on the images below.

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

Ready to go in the oven

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

We love reading stories about crochet being used for good causes and so we loved seeing this amazing Easter Egg that has been created in the village of Hurst, Berkshire, to raise money for Bowel Cancer UK in memory of a fellow villager. The Hurst Hookers made 260 granny squares, which were then attached to an egg shaped wire frame and finished off with a rabbit on top! 

Bowel Cancer UK is a charity that is close to our hearts and so we wish the Hurst Hookers lots of luck with their fundraising efforts. If you want to support them by making a donation, you can find their Just Giving Fundraising page by following this link.

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

As it's a long bank holiday weekend in honour of Easter, we thought you might like to make use of a discount code we have put in place for the next couple of days. You can get 20% off the price of our download patterns via Ravelry and Etsy and 10% off anything in our web store by using the code BUNNYHOP (all one word and uppercase) at checkout. The offer ends at 9pm (GMT) on Monday April 1st.

We are heading up to Humberside for a few days to visit Andy's family over the weekend and I am really looking forward to seeing some sandy beaches and the sea and spending time with the family. The weather forecast is not looking totally dreadful, just a tad chilly and windy, so hopefully we will get to take some nice walks in an effort to counterbalance the chips and ice cream! 

I hope that you have a great weekend, whatever you have planned and that you manage to find a bit of calm and tranquility with your favourite yarny project. 

Janie x