Quick Catch Up with Janie Crow

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

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

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

There will be two further pattern releases over the next few months. The second set of four patterns will be released on June 19th and then the final set of four will be released on the 21st August, with the pricing per set in line with the first release - £10.95 for four patterns or £3.95 each.

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

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

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

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

On Instagram last week followers were invited to share images of their Janie Crow projects using #myfavouritejaniecrow in order to be in with a chance to win the fabulous Emma Ball, Spirit of Flora goodies shown below.

Congratulations to Hilary who won the first prize and runner up JaViDaCrochet. We hope they enjoy their prizes. Do take a look at their amazing work on their Instagram profiles. We have featured a couple of their images below to give you an idea of how lovely their feeds are!

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

I've made good progress with my Bohemian Blooms project since I was here last month. My aim was to have all four Gordon motifs completed and that has very nearly happened, with two completely finished and the other two just needing their pesky ends sewing in and their slip stitches added to the sides. 'Ends' I hear you say, surely she should be sewing those in as she goes along? You are absolutely correct, I confess to a total lack of self-discipline with ends, but in my defence I was enjoying the crochet so much I didn't want to stop and sew in, I just wanted to keep hooking! Here's the first fully completed Gordon in all its splendour:

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

So, what's the plan for the coming month? Well, I'm aiming to have the full set of Gordon motifs completely finished, ends and all, as well as the second Bloomsbury strip completed. I'm a quarter of the way through the repeats on that one. Then there will be three more Harmony motifs to make and I'd like to have at least one of the next part made too. That is Fitzroy, another block worked in rows, similar to Gordon, also with a row of beaded crochet (can't wait!). Quite an ambitious task list but I'm hoping the motivation of seeing the little piles of completed blocks growing will be the incentive to spur me on! 

See you next month. Gemma x

This week's recipe suggestion from Gemma is for a lovely carrot and coriander soup.

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

A few weeks ago on both Facebook and Instagram we tackled the thorny subject of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the world of design and talked about the increasing number of images that are appearing on social media of so called 'crocheted' works. This is now starting to feed through to selling sites such as Etsy, with AI generated images being used to sell crochet patterns. You can read more here or click on the image below:

We regularly do a web search to find interesting crochet postbox toppers and have shared some fantastic versions with you in our newsletters, but we have to say that this is one of our favourites so far! It was made by Amanda McNath in Rottingdean last summer.

If you've ever been to an English seaside resort, you may well have experienced the slightly unnerving (or perhaps very terrifying) phenomenon of having your lunch stolen by a hungry seagull! In Venice a few years ago we saw one steal a whole large pizza from a poor boy's freshly opened take away box. It flew off across the water and guzzled down the whole pizza in just a couple of gulps mid air - How greedy!

Hopefully by the time you are reading this Quick Catch Up email, Andy and I will be well on our way to completing set up for Wonder Wool Wales. As we don't do anywhere near as many shows and events as we used to, we are really looking forward to being on our stand all weekend and have packed lots of warm clothes to help us keep cosy!

Our fabulous friends Sarah and Paul will be joining us on the stand for the weekend and we will have lots of goodies on display, including all our sample blankets, cushions and wraps. We will also have lots of the wonderful Emma Ball stock (including items from the new Spirit of Flora range) and the Della Q crafters bags, so if you are coming to the show, please pop along to our stand to say hello!

Next Tuesday will be Andy's birthday, but as things are so busy at the moment we won't be heading out to celebrate until next Friday when he has requested a family meal at his favourite Indian restaurant. Cheers Andy and Happy Birthday! 

Now that the first set of patterns for Spirit of Flora have been released I am hoping that the next couple of weeks will prove a little calmer and that I will be able to continue with some new design work. I have started a new piece of crochet, which I am really enjoying and so it has been a little frustrating not being able to find much time to dedicate to it. I have a couple of workshop projects to sort out too, so there isn't really spare time to procrastinate! I hope that whatever you have planned over the next couple of weeks goes to plan and that you are able to find time to settle down with your hook and favourite project for a restorative yarn fix too! I will be back in your in-box in a fortnight's time with the May newsletter....