What's milk got to do with it?

Janie's Friday Feature

​Welcome to this week's Friday Feature Newsletter - the Janie Crow equivalent of a Sunday supplement magazine....

Because of the bank holiday Monday here in the UK this week I have spent the last few days thinking it is a day earlier than it actually is. Today feels like it should be Thursday, but of course it is Friday and here I am again with a newsletter.
 
We spent the bank holiday weekend in the garden and doing family things. We have an elderly neighbour to one side of our front garden who is unable to cut his trees down, so we spent a couple of days pruning those and got so carried away that we gave the pear tree in the back garden a much needed chop too! Cutting the branches made all the lovely blossom fall off though, which was a shame, but I am hoping that the tree, which hasn’t given us much fruit the last few years, will find a new vigor and give us some lovely juicy pears in the late summer time.

It was so lovely to have a full four days at home over the Easter break and I have to admit that it has made this week at the studio feel like harder work than usual, but on the whole it has been a positive few days with a couple of really exciting things cropping up that I am looking forward to telling you all about in the future.

You may have noticed that I have been taking a little bit of a break from social media. With my last phone update came a new feature that is a notification that tells me how much time I am averagely spending on my phone a day and I have to say, I was totally horrified by the results I kept being given, so I have been making an effort to put my phone down - something I am always telling my kids to do!
  here to edit.

On the few occaisions that I did venture into social media platforms over the Easter weekend and especially on Monday I saw a lot of chatter about Earth Day and so I felt that this week's newsletter would be a good opportunity to revisit some of the things I have talked about in the past in regards to the yarn industry, us as knitters and crocheters and what impact our hobby has on the world around us. I would really love to hear your feedback on this peice if you have time to respond.
 
As I told you last week, the JANIE CROW web shop is finally up and running and you can find a link to the shop here.

The shop features paper pattern brochures for my designs, download patterns and my books and I have also added some lovely shawl pins, clasps and closures made by a company called Jul, who create beautiful accessories, bags and housewares in leather and metal. I will be adding to this range over the next month or so, so do keep an eye on it.

All that is left for me to say in this introduction is that I hope you will enjoy this week's Friday Feature Newsletter and that, as always, if you have anything you want to say, please hit reply!

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'We have forgotten how to be good guests, how to walk lightly on the earth as it's other creatures do.'
- Barbara Ward -

What's Milk Got to do with it?

Over the last year or so I have been thinking a lot about the ethical use of yarn. It is a subject that I talked about a few times when I first started writing the Friday Feature newsletter and it is something that I find my mind returns to over and over and yet I still don’t know quite where I stand on this subject or what I can do within my role as a designer in the yarn industry to have a positive effect on the world around me.
 
In this week's piece I want to try and explain my dilemas and share with you my thoughts on making good yarn choices.
 
There is no denying that we should all be looking at making better choices in regards to pretty much everything in order to be kinder to our planet. Over the last couple of years I have been making some changes to the way I do things, but with many of the new choices I have made, I have then worried that the new decisions are like a drop in the ocean compared to what I could be doing and might not in fact be as positive for the environment as I think they might be.

I am going to use milk as my example of how my ‘ethical’ choices present me with new dilemmas: I know it sounds a bit strange to use milk as the example, but I am hopeful that it will illustrate my point perfectly……
 
A few years ago we started having the milk delivered so that we are not constantly throwing away plastic cartons. I found the left over 4 pint milk cartons from supermarket bought milk so obviously wasteful, so it seemed logical to make the switch to bottled milk. I made the choice and I have to say, having the milkman (and it is a man) deliver fresh milk to the door in glass bottles that I then wash and return to him, makes me feel happy and I hope that it is a good, environmentally friendly decision.
 
But then I worry…..
 
Is our carbon footprint in relation to our milk use now higher than it was originally because it is being delivered directly to our door? Are the milkmen being paid enough? Are the dairy farmers getting a bad deal? Are the cows being looked after properly? Should I seek an alternative to my milk delivery? Should I revert to buying supermarket milk and accept that the plastic cartons are sent to be recycled? Should I choose soya milk or almond milk instead, despite the implications that their crops use huge amounts of water and that the milk itself is massively processed and STILL comes in plastic lined cartons? Is milk ethical in the first place?
 
So, as you can see, with just one decision there appears to be so many other things to consider and probably each of you would be able to provide a strong argument for and against my milk choice.
 
For now we will continue to have the milk delivered and I think (as I have already said) that, in the end, I am happy with my choice. Cows milk uses a lot of water to produce but has the added benefit of by products such as meat and leather. We don’t have to recycle plastic waste cartons and my milk delivery, when added to all the others in my area, creates a job for someone. I think this sits well with my conscience and I am happy with my milk choice.... for now any way.

Making a change to the way we get our milk has been one of the small changes we have made, along with reverting back to using bars of soap instead of plastic containers filled with shower gels and hand wash and purchasing recycled loo roll wrapped in paper rather than plastic bags to name a few. These are all small changes that I hope will add up over the years,

But then I worry.....

At the same time as making these changes within my personal and home life, what am I doing, as a designer, to help the environment and what is my industry doing too?

On Monday (Earth Day) I saw quite a lot of posts by Indie yarn dyers in particular about the benefits of wool or natural fibres over man made alternatives, with posts suggesting that crafters using acrylic, for example, need to be more careful about their yarn choices. The conversation really got me thinking about the number of dilemas that come to surface when blanket statements like 'buy less acrylic' and 'choose natural fibres' are aired - and here is a list of the reasons why....

Fibre Content: Acrylic yarns are hugely processed and are basically made from plastic. It has been proven that acrylic fibres shed tiny filaments into the water system when washed and worn. Many 'natural' yarns, such as Bamboo, also undergo an intensive method of production. Cotton is the thirstiest crop on the planet and much of it is produced in very poor countries where workers rights are incredibly bad. And, how exactly should we feel about things like silk?

Production Process: Many wool yarns on the market are in fact sprayed with a plastic solution to prevent them from pilling. If something says 'Superwash' then the chances are that it has been sprayed within the processing method.

And then there is the dying process - another whole bunch of dilemas!

Big companies have to adhere to stringent rules in regards to the way they use and dispose of dyes and fixing agents. Are these 'rules' adhered to by Indie dyers who are busy creating beautiful colourways of yarns from home? Are these dyers all careful about how they deal with their waste water and dye? Are they using large amounts of cling film and microwave energy to fix the dye in their skeins?

Where are yarns coming from? The current trend for British Wool, for example, has led to lots of it being bought by yarn producers in other parts of the world who process it and resell it as a British product despite it's high carbon footprint and the fact that much of the processing has taken place in another country. Man made fibres are often made in Turkey and the Far East so have an equally poor carbon footprint.

Trends: Fashion plays a key role in what we all, as consumers, are made to feel we need. Indie dyed yarns are currently really popular, but come in at a high price point compared to main stream yarns. Man made fibres are cheaper and more commonly available. They are more consistent and more easily replaceable should we run out or need to make any changes to what we are working on. I guess this point also leads onto materialism, something I am going to touch on a little further down this post.

Is there a snobbery linked to yarn use? Or is that a whole other conversation?

OK, so LOADS of dilemas for all of us and I hope that some of the things I have said might help you to make your yarn choices a little more consciously, but increasingly I feel that as a designer, I have an obligation to look at these points a little deeper...

As a crochet designer I do not produce an actual commodity. I am not a yarn producer, but I am supported by quite a few; some of them are mainstrem and some of them are smaller Indie dyers. Whilst I do not create an actual item I do, via my crochet and hand knit patterns, create a reason for people to want to purchase yarn. Does my design choice in my patterns therefore mean that I am responsible for creating a ‘want’ in more people for acrylic yarns, or are people making their own choices based on my yarn suggestions? Are crocheters substituting man made mixes for wool or other natural yarns or are they sticking to my suggestions and therefore are my designs creating a desire for more and more plastic?

This is a huge dilema for me, but I can see that going forwards I have to really think about my yarn choices, and therefore the choice of anyone else who uses my patterns.

I totally understand the backlash against man made fibres, but, if people are making things to last and which they will have for a long time, does that make it ok to use them?

I find the ‘don’t buy acrylic’ comments a little difficult to digest too. We all have a budget, some have a bigger one than others and as crochet is particularly yarn hungry a big project can get expensive. The speed of crochet is a factor as well as projects take less time to complete. This is a topic that came up quite a few times in the conversation we had on my Instagram feed a few weeks ago and is another whole kettle of fish!

So, what is the answer?

To be totally honest, as usual I am undecided. In regards to my design, I fluctuate between only ever wanting to use high end natural yarns, to falling in love with a new yarn with man made fibre content! So I guess that for me, like with my decision to get the milk delivered, I am going to go for the slow and steady approach and make a few small changes over a longer period of time rather than make drastic changes that will present me with more and more dilemas.

I have considered creating generic patterns that do not favour a particular yarn, but simply state the yarn weight and give a general idea of colour. Do you think this is a good idea, or would I simply spend my life emailing people the list of yarns I used in my crocheted sample?

If you are also thinking you might want to make a few changes, then here are a couple of suggestions that might help:

If you are used to doing speedy repeated stitch blankets, for example, then you might want to consider doing something a little more complicated that will take more time and therefore use less yarn in the long run, while also pushing your skill level.

I am not going to say don’t buy acrylic, but I will suggest that you buy less of it. Actually, I am going to say buy less of EVERYTHING! We are constantly being told we need stuff when we don't, so try not to be tempted by the pressure to have more and more. The word 'stash" in regards to yarn is a new concept and is one that our Grandparents generation certainly didn't use. I am pretty sure my Grandparents never had a stash of anything in their whole lives, instead things were reused and everything was thought about before it was thrown away.
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Do a bit of real stash busting! (Mystical Lanterns is the perfect choice for this!) Try to really think about your yarn stash and ask whether or not you actually need to be buying more. Look through your stash before you go out to a show or a store and use up part balls and left overs within new projects.

It might also be a good idea to mix your projects up a bit. Maybe, if you are on a tight budget you could choose to work on an acrylic project, but, while you are working on that one you could be putting some pennies away over a few weeks in order to save up for a project that will use higher end yarns next time round?

Going forwards I am definitely going to be more careful about my yarn choices, but I think that we should all be wary of feeling guilty in regards to the choices we have made, or will make again in the future. One of the reasons I have chosen to work with lots of yarn companies over the years is that I feel each project is suitable to a different yarn and I don't see why your choices as consumers should be any different.

This has been a long main piece this week and I am sure that in places I have repeated myself and waffled a little, but if any of it strikes a chord, or you want to discuss a particular part, please get in touch.

* Just a quick word in relation to the images I have used in this piece. I chose the images of yarns from various on line stores purely becuse I think they are lovely images and not for any deeper reason. If you click on the images you will be taken to the linked web store. I chose the image of the Milkman towards the top of the piece because it reminded me of my Grandad - who was a milkman!
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​Instagram of the Week

​I found Lindell and Co on Instagram this week. Their images are so divine that I couldn't choose just one!

​Colour Palette of the Week

Like my Instagram favourite I struggled to decide between palettes this week and so have posted 2 below. Both images come from a store called Ian Snow.

If anyone fancies getting me the settee (or indeed any of the other items of brightly coloured furniture this store has in stock) then I would be a very grateful recipient!!!!

Tip of the Week

I realise I have been a bit lax in regards to tips and had completely forgotten that my aim had been to include a tip a week in the newsletter. I think I deleted the boxes one week when I didn’t have a tip and completely forgot to put it back in!
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So this week I have a very quick tip for you in regards to the way you choose to work through a pattern.

Patterns are usually written in a certain order. Knitting patterns for garments, for example, start with the body, progress to the sleeves and finish with the making up instructions. My patterns tend to have the main motifs first, followed by the filler or half motifs.

Just because a pattern is written this way doesnt mean that you always have to follow the order of making.

Analyse a pattern before you start and work out which parts of it are suitable for different times. For example sleeves and easy bits of crochet would be perfect for journeys or for working on in front of the TV, whereas harder bits may need a little more concentration and therefore might be better off made at a time when you know you will not be disturbed.

I also always suggest that garments are put together as you go along, rather than all the making up happening at the end of the project. It is also a good idea to make repeated motifs for large projects like blankets in a production line fashion rather than one at a time. this way you are more likely to memorise the pattern and end up with all your motifs the same size.
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It's nearly the weekend!

This afternoon we are at Bulith Wells in Wales setting up for the Wonderwool yarn show that starts tomorrow. I will be teaching a Masterclass crochet beading workshop each day and it tends to be a really busy show anyway, so I am guessing we have a lot to do. I really like Wonderwool, it has a great atmosphere and I always get to see some lovely people, so I have been really looking forward to it despite the rainy weather forecast. Thank fully all the stands are inside so there is no need for anyone to get soggy, but if you are coming it is a good idea to put some nice warm clothes and shoes on as the cold has a tendency to come up through the concrete floor!
 
Over the last few weeks we have had our son Charlie working with us while he has been waiting to start his new job. It has been really great having him around the studio and I am so grateful to him for helping me get the web site up and running properly and for helping with all the little quirky jobs that the rest of us don’t particularly like doing - like winding yarn off for workshop kits and manipulating spreadsheets. Charlie starts his new ‘proper’ job on Monday and so, although we are all going to miss having him around at Janie Crow, we wish him loads of luck on his new adventure.

I hope that whatever you are doing you have a fabulous weekend and I look forward to seeing you here again next Friday...

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