Quick Catch Up with Janie Crow

​I have really been enjoying playing around with my crochet hook and some yarn this week and already feel like I have the basis of some new design work just over a week after the final patterns for the Spirit of Flora project were released. Despite my love for the collection it has been so nice to move away from it and start to look at new stuff!

I find it easier to work on a few projects at the same time, so I have been playing with some beads for the festive workshop in November and have also been sampling a new floral design, which I hope will end up becoming a blanket at some point. I am also hoping that I can also squeeze in some time to work on a more geometric design inspired by a tiled floor in a bar we visited in Cologne in March and haven't really had the chance to look at since April! 

The weather has been really good this week, with warm afternoons and evenings, so we have been making the most of it by getting out and about for walks and pottering around the garden. With the forecasters predicting some more nice weather over the next week I am continuing to feel inspired by florals and am hopeful that the colours of summer will continue for a while longer. ​

Our trip to Peru feels like a bit of a dream now and I have to keep reminding myself that only a month or so ago we were there. We had such a great time and I am really hoping to get there again one day! If you missed any of the images from our trip you can see them over on Instagram by clicking on the image of Andy and I below and if you want to read my blog post about the trip you can find it here.

The team at Stitchtopia have been busy promoting my trips for next year on their social media platforms and I know that places are beginning to get booked, so if you are one of those ultra organised people who like to plan well ahead and are looking for an exciting textile orientated holiday for next year then do take a look by following this link.

During the summer months we tend to see a bit of a dip in social media posts and newsfeeds that focus on the crafts of knitting, crochet or anything yarny and there are very few events going on while the kids are away from school and people are heading off on their holibobs. I have asked the team not to mention the A word, BTS, the H word and definitely not the C word until we are sure the summer is over, which I am hoping won't be until early October and they have done a fabulous job coming up with posts that skirt around all of these subjects*. Emma works hard to keep the Janie Crow Instagram feed looking lovely and Gemma is a, well, gem, keeping the conversations going over on our Facebook page.

* Autumn, Back To School, Halloween and Christmas - shh!

It feels like ages since I was here last, updating you with my progress on the Bohemian Blooms blanket. We are just coming to the end of the school summer holidays and that, together with an unfortunate fall that left my elderly Mum with a very badly broken ankle, means I haven't been able to dedicate as much time to working on the blanket as I would have liked. The new academic year is approaching rapidly too, which means I have to spend time making samples and writing lesson plans for the upcoming term. It's busy, busy, busy here! 

Despite all the odds I have managed to make two new motifs, the very beautiful Virginia and Vanessa. 

This motif is named after Virginia Woolf and I learnt a very interesting fact from the book, that Virginia's first name was in fact Adeline, with Virginia being her middle name! Virginia is known to have suffered constant anxiety over the quality of her writing skills and she was haunted by the chance of her work being slated and ridiculed. ​

I think Virginia is my favourite motif so far, I really like the beading along the petals of the flower and how bright the overall effect is.

Vanessa Bell was particularly keen on painting flowers and she painted wonderful still life paintings which often featured painted ceramics and sumptuous fabrics alongside the flowers cut from her garden. The name Vanessa is of Greek origin and means butterfly so it was only fitting that the motif named after her should feature a butterfly! ​

This motif was fun to make too and a new technique for me was the sewn stitches used to create the spots on the lower wings. It took several attempts to get them looking reasonable and I have to say I couldn't have managed them without the help of the YouTube video, so thank you to our lovely Sarah for demonstrating it so well! If you are working on the project don't forget there is a playlist of videos to support the project over on our YouTube channel here.

​Four attempts at the bullion stitch later...

Gemma x

Faced with a mountain of swede (not her favourite vegetable!) from a bargain veg bag recently, Gemma tried out a recipe with the most interesting name: Rumbledethumps.

Gemma says it's a bit like bubble & squeak and definitely a dish for cooler weather rather than a hot summer's day, but nonetheless it went down well with her family and it used lots of swede in one go, which was a bonus! You can find the recipe by clicking on the image above. ​

As vegetarians we are always looking for quick and easy recipes that don't involve too much vegetable chopping and advance preparation. I (Jane) found this recipe by Dominthekitchen on Instagram and Andy cooked it (a great trade don't you think!) a couple of weeks ago. It was really delicious and the recipe will definitely be added it to the dinner planning going forwards. If you like Greek spinach and feta pie then you are going to love this as much as we did. The recipe made enough for at least six large pieces and it was brilliant accompanied by a tomato salad and some tasty olives.  ​

The Secret Society of Hertford Crafters (who we have featured here in the past) have been working hard again on their post box toppers, this time for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. You can read all about them here. We're particularly impressed with the knitted racing wheelchair!

Have you heard about the new TV series that has been commissioned for More4? The competitive knitting series will be called 'The Game of Wool' and there will be eight episodes, each one an hour long. Set in the Scottish countryside, ten contestants will take on complex challenges over the series and there will be a 'Big Knit' and 'Wee Knit' challenge each week. You can read more about it in the press release here. We can't wait! ​

We will be away on annual leave until Tuesday 17th September, so our website will therefore not be dispatching some orders placed after 10am Monday 2nd September. You can continue to place orders during this two week period, but items such as patterns and accessories will not be dispatched until our return. We hope to be able to dispatch kits a couple of times a week. The Janie Crow pattern download sales via Etsy and Ravelry are not affected and will work as usual.

I am really looking forward to a holiday, especially as we will be a group of family and friends and we will get to paddle in the sea and sit on the beach! I have been planning the crochet projects I will be taking with me and I will be packing a few work related things and plenty of books to read. Emma is planning a 'holiday makes' post for Instagram next week to find out what kind of things you like to take away with you. I tend to opt for easy, repeated stitch projects that are not too taxing and easy to rip back. I also think about the amount of yarn I take as I have been guilty of packing far too much yarn for holidays in the past. This time I am going to restrict myself to a few hundred grams rather than a couple of kilos of the stuff!!

We have a quiet weekend planned as we prepare for our holiday. There will be quite a lot of washing to do and housework will be on the cards as well as a few family visits. We have had a pretty busy time the last couple of weeks with my lovely father in law's birthday party last Saturday (in the pouring rain!) and a fun fancy dress birthday party the week before. The theme was Hollywood film characters. Can you guess from the image above who Andy and I went as? Please note the cigarettes are made from paper straws and we danced the 'Twist' quite a lot! Thankfully no one needed a shot of adrenalin to the heart!

I am hoping to sort out a newsletter while I am away as the September one is due to be in your inbox on Friday 13th, but if my internet connection is unstable or we are quite simply having too much fun while we are away, the email might be moved to the following week.

Sending big yarny hugs.