You are all yarny superheroes!

Janie's Quick Update
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I hope this email finds you well and that you are looking forward to the weekend. 

Just popping in to your in box to say a huge thank you to all of you fabulous crocheters and knitters for your incredible support recently. It is because of you guys that I am over the moon to tell you that I was voted the UK’s Craft Influencer of the Year in the British Craft Awards.
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Within the craft world there is little recognition of the true value of the craft of crochet and of those who practice it. I feel that designer makers such as myself should do whatever we can to raise the profile of this rarely appreciated craft field in order to challenge the often derogatory and ageist image of those (mostly women) who choose to design and craft with yarn and also encourage a new breed of crocheters to preserve the practice for future generations.
 
I am so pleased that the craft of crochet has been recognised as a stage for creativity and hope that my award will show a wide audience the versatility and integrity of the craft, perhaps managing within that framework to also highlight the differences between home made and hand made and therefore validate the skills of so many.
 
The popularity of our beloved craft has been growing steadily over the last decade with many designers managing to shed the ‘Granny Square’ image and push the boundaries of the craft. The crochet community are artistic, creative, diverse and supportive. They are also more and more representative of the BIPOC community of makers and designers so I am beyond proud to be a part of it.
 
Thank you! x x
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Imogen Blanket

The design for the Imogen blanket was based on my 2012 crochet club, which in turn was based on traditional Victorian crochet design. I first released this pattern in 2014, but when some of the shades were discontinued from the Rowan Yarns range we chose to withdraw the pattern.
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More recently Rowan have added shades back into the Cotton Glace yarn range that are incredibly similar to those we used originally, so we decided to update the pattern and list these shades. We have also included clearer crochet charts and re-worded the edging rounds to make the pattern easier to follow. I am really grateful to a couple of my expert crocheters Mary and Miranda for their help with this project and to Luise and Sarah for sorting out the new pattern.
 
For the next few weeks this design will be available as a paper pattern and yarn kits via the Just Knots web site exclusively. The design will be available via the Janie Crow web site as a paper pattern and yarn kits within the next few weeks. I will also be putting the pattern onto Ravelry as a PDF download soon. 
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Picasso Time Laps
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I was sent an email by the Royal Academy today and it featured this great video of Picasso painting – thought you might like to see it too!
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It's Nearly the Weekend!
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We are off to visit the Unravel Yarn Show in Farnham on Saturday and are also hoping to squeeze in the craft show at Farnborough on the same day. We decided not to exhibit at Unravel this year and will be doing just three shows in 2020 - we are feeling a bit left out now though, so we thought we would go along and support other exhibitors and take advantage of a spot of (yarny related) retail therapy!

I am heading up to Edinburgh with Sarah for a few days next week so I will not be back in the studio until Thursday. We are going on a research trip and despite the rotten weather forecast are really looking forward to a few days away together in Scotland. I hope that wherever you are you are safe, warm and happy.