Sorry I am a bit late...

​Quick Catch Up
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Hello you lovely lot - I hope this email finds you all well. I am here with a very speedy update before we head into the weekend. The weather is dismal here, but I am back to my positive ways after last week's little blip. I have finally had a tiny bit of time working on some new design ideas and having my crochet hook in my hand always makes me happy whatever the weather, so all is looking a tad brighter in my world!

I am here with a short email highlighting some of the things that I have found interesting this week. I know I am a bit later than usual, but we have been struggling to keep up with your orders this week. I know that a lot of you are lining up your autumn projects - I have been busy doing the same thing - I spent a bit of time last weekend having a good clear out of my stash in preparation and over the course of the last week I have taken quite a few projects home to squirrel away behind the sofa for the next couple of months! 
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Love is Enough
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The kits for the new 'Love is Enough' colour way of my Fruit Garden CAL project went into stock on the Janie Crow web site on Tuesday and we sold out of of them in less than 2 hours! Over the course of the week we have managed to put together our remaining kits and have a few left in stock, so if you missed out earlier in the week and want to grab a kit, head over to the web site now! As I write this email there are just 7 in stock on Janie Crow and 18 on Just Knots.

You can find more information about yarn requirements and dates for your diary by following this link to the introduction document. ​

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

​Dreaming of a Holiday?

​Andy and I love to travel and think ourselves so lucky that we had the opportunity to go to India in January with Knit For Peace. The trip now feels like a golden time with all that has happened in 2020 and we often find ourselves thinking about what trips we might like to take next year.

I will be accompanying a knitting group to Finland with Arena Travel in May and we hope to have a holiday somewhere warm too, perhaps taking the train around Europe. Having a few plans in the diary has cheered us up, especially as the weather has taken a real turn for the worse here after our long hot summer. If you are also looking for a fabulous trip to look forward to, how about taking a look at Sarah's knitting trip to Uzbekistan in April - it looks flipping awesome! 
 

​Situated in the centre of Asia and on the Silk Road, one of the world’s most important historical trading routes linking China to the Mediterranean, Uzbekistan offers a huge variety of culture and colour. Perhaps better known for its textiles, Uzbekistan also has strong knitting traditions, no doubt in part due its cold winter climate. Lacey knitted shawls, socks knitted using the traditional Khorezm pattern and camel hair socks are just some of the knitted items to be seen on this tour. 

As the tour passes along the route of the Silk Road participants will visit the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Khiva, Bhukara and Samarkand and learn about their knitting traditions through visits and workshops with local experts.  As well as two days of workshops with Sarah, there’ll be plenty of opportunity for some retail therapy too and some spare time to enjoy the sights, sounds and aromas of the markets and bazaars throughout the journey.

You can find more information by following this link. 

​Helda's Giveaway

​​Awesome crochet designer Helda Panagary (who we featured as our Instagram Favourite a couple of months ago) has been asked by the team at Inside Crochet to contribute a monthly feature to the magazine. This is great news, made all the better by the fact that Helda has pledged to forgo payment for the column and instead donate children's storybooks that she can give away.

Helda says via her Instagram feed:

'Hello lovely people, thank you for all the lovely messages and support about my lovely new column. If I'm honest I still can't stop smiling. 

I asked Inside Crochet if they could be willing to waive my fee and instead pay me in books that I could giveaway. I wanted to share children storybooks that celebrate all sections of our communities, especially BAME characters.

If you do a bit of research its quite shocking to see the proportion of books in our schools that feature bame, never mind books that feature disabled characters as the lead.'
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Helda has 5 copies of 'It's Your World Now' by Barry Falls to give away and you can enter her prize draw via her Instagram feed, which you will find by following this link.
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​Crafting During Lockdown
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​As you know, I love getting your emails and am always so grateful when you take the time to get in touch, especially when you have positive stories about the impact of craft on your lives.

Christine Bournewas a participant on the fabulous trip to India in January and when she returned she took up a textiles course - you may remember her fabulous Mary Quant inspired piece that I featured a few weeks ago. Chris has been in touch again this week to let me know about an interesting piece of research being conducted by Bristol University in regards to crafting during lockdown. Here is what Chris had to say:

'(Have you) heard about the research project  "Crafting During Coronavirus” which is being carried out by Naomi Clarke of Bristol University? 

You have already referred to what many fellow crafters and the wider community have gone through during the Covid19 pandemic and I think we can see what amazing support we can all get from the crafting community on Whats App and Facebook. I’ve forgotten now how I first came across this research project but it seemed to me to be a potentially valuable piece of research, as an Occupational Therapist in my working days I continue to have a great interest in the importance of hobbies/occupation for wellbeing.

I understand that over 300 people are participating in this project, providing diaries of their crafting activities, feelings before, during and after crafting, how we share on social media and any other thoughts/reflections.

So needless to say, your Fruit Garden CAL has featured in many of my diaries since the start of the CAL and I would guess that there must be other of your CAL(s) crocheters who are also contributing. In addition to looking forward to seeing the outcome of Naomi’s research I feel that it has been a valuable experience for me to complete the diaries and at some point in the future I think that it will be interesting to look back on them and to reflect on my Covid crafting journey.' 
 

​If you are also interested in this research and want to find out more, then take a look at Naomi's dedicated web page here and thanks to Chris for letting us know about it.

It's Nearly the Weekend!
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As is the norm these days we do not have big plans for the weekend. We are hoping to spend a bit more time in the front garden, but the weather forecast is not looking very positive so it might well be a weekend spent in doors...(secretly hoping this means = settee, TV and crochet - yippee!)

Charlie and I have decided to join in with 'Stoptober', which is an NHS initiative to help people quit smoking. As neither of us smoke, but are making a conscious effort to improve our healthy habits, we have both decided to ditch the booze for the month and I have also added chocolate and crips to my list of things that I will avoid. One day in and I am feeling good about it, but it is the weekends when I tend to get side tracked by naughtiness, so I will be looking for other things to distract me over the weekend. If you are trying to give up anything there is a great app called 'Days Since' that might help you stay on target. I will let you know how Charlie and I get on....

Whatever you have planned for the next few days I hope you are safe and well. If you want to get in touch please hit reply - Sarah and I read all your mail and reply to those of you who need an answer. If you have sent an email but have not had one back from either of us, please take a look in your spam or junk folder in case it has gone there by mistake. 

Don't forget you can email us to let us know if you want any questions answered in next month's video Q&A. See you soon and take care....

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