Stripy Crochet Cowl

I am totally in love with our exclusive range of Triskelion yarn and in particular the gorgeous Gofannon 4 ply, which is 100% Peruvian Baby Alpaca and is hand dyed in Wales by the very talented Caerthan Wrack.

I am so in love with this yarn that I struggle to stop myself from winding off yet another skein in order to start a new project. I have just started work on the Happenstance shawl by Romi Hill having seen my friend Miranda wearing her own really beautiful version at the Unravel show in Farnham recently and have chosen 3 of the Gofannon shades to make this striking shawl - pictured below. The project is from the Kate Davies Book of Haps which features patterns for 13 shawls and a fascinating insight into the history of Shetland Haps along with gorgeous photography and brilliantly written pattern instructions. there are at least 5 projects I want to make from this book!

© Romi Hill

It took me more than 2 years to make my last knitted shawl (Leftie by Martina Behm) so hopefully this one will be quicker!

Anyway - the reason for this post is really to share with you a free pattern I have written for a stripy crochet cowl I completed just before we whisked off to Edinburgh Yarn Festival. To make the cowl you will need 2 shades of 4ply (approximately 400m of each yarn) although of course you could use as many shades as you like. I used Gofannon 4ply of course!

I would love to see some pics if anyone chooses to make the project. You can send them to mail@janiecrow.co.uk

Janie x

© Janie Crow

Stripy Crochet Cowl

Yarn used: Triskelion Gofannon 4ply

100% Peruvian Baby Alpaca 100g - 400m (437yds) x 2 skeins

Equipment:

3.5mm (US E/4) crochet hook (see tension notes)

Knitters sewing needle

Measurement:

Blocked Measurement: approx. 180cm round x 26cm deep (71 x 10¼in)

Pattern Notes:

This pattern is written using UK terminology.

All rounds are Right Side facing.

Tension: You need to check that your crochet is not coming up any bigger or a lot smaller than mine. A big difference in tension could mean that your project is different to mine in terms of shape, size and drape, and if you achieve a tension looser than me this could also mean that you may need more yarn.

If you think you tend to have a tight chain stitch, make the foundation ch on a size larger hook and change to the smaller hook for the rest of the project.

Blocked Tension: 20sts & 11.5 rows to 10cm measured over treble crochet.

(pre blocked tension will be a few stitches tighter)

Method

Unwind yarn from the skein into a ball. Draw yarn from the centre of the ball as you work.

Using 3.5mm hook and first yarn choice, make 349ch, ss to join

Foundation Round (RS): 3ch (counts as 1tr), 1tr into each ch to end, ss to join changing yarn shade to second yarn choice as you work the ss. (349sts)

Round 1: Using second yarn choice 3ch (counts as 1tr), 1tr into each st to end, ss to join changing yarn shade to first yarn choice as you work the ss. (349sts)

Round 2: work as Round 1.

The last 2 rows set the pattern – repeat until a total of 30 rows are complete or you have run out of yarn, ss to join at end of final round, fasten off

Sew in yarn ends.

Block and press.

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A very busy month.....

Phew! We are almost back into the swing of things after nearly a month of back to back shows which started with Unravel in Farnham mid February, followed by the Spring Knitting & Stitching show at Olympia in early March and finally ended with the incredibly amazing Edinburgh Yarn Festival last weekend, where we just about managed to take a photo or two of the stand (one of which is below) before we were mobbed by eager festival goers! We feel like our feet haven't touched the ground for a while and weirdly feel a little jet lagged despite not having been on an plane, but we have lots going on here as always with a few new projects very close to release and some new yarns and books in stock on the web site.

New workshops:

It's a while since our last newsletter which featured information about the next Knit For Peace workshop in Mysore. There are just a couple of spaces left on the trip now, as it has booked up incredibly fast. If you are thinking of coming along next January then it might be an idea to give the charity a call to register your interest - you can find their contact details on their web site by following this link. If you want to read Jane's blog posts from the last trip you will fins them on this blog. You will also find some lovely images on Sarah Hazell's Instagram feed - Sarah was the tutor on the most recent trip.

Many of you asked about the knitted cushion cover pattern which we used as the header image on the last email newsletter. The pattern was designed by Jane for Stylecraft and you can download it for free by following this link.

Knit For Peace will once again be running their day long workshops at their HQ in Hampstead, London. Workshops will run monthly from April through to November and they feature a really exciting mix of workshop subjects including brioche knitting, beginners sock knitting, mindfulness in knitting and crochet classes by Jane and (hopefully) Dedri from 'Look at What I Made'.

Below is a provisional list of dates and subjects - these could be subject to change and we have not yet got all the workshop information sorted, but as demand for places tends to be a bit manic we thought we ought to give you the heads up as soon as possible so that you can save the date(s). If you want to reserve a place on any of the workshops give Knit For Peace a call.

29th April - Sarah Hazell: Beginners/Next Step Knitting - wrist warmer project.

13th May - Nicki Merrill: Beginners Knitted Socks

10th June - Juliet Bernard: Double Knitting

8th July - Crochet (TBC)

5th August - Sarah Hazell: Mindfulness in Knitting

16th September - Dame Hilary + helpers: Knitted Felted Slippers and mats

21st October - Renee Callahan: Beginners Brioche Knitting

18th November - Jane Crowfoot: Crochet Bag project

West Yorkshire Spinners - Illustrious:

In February we attended the annual trade show at the NEC where many of the UK's yarn and craft suppliers exhibit. Wandering around the show we were drawn to the lovely yarns from West Yorkshire Spinners - a British yarn brand that specialises in blending and spinning exciting yarn and shade combinations.

We have just added their Illustrious DK yarn (70% Falkland Wool & 30% British Alpaca) to the web site and will be adding more yarn (their completely gorgeous lace weight yarn called Exquisite) in the next few days. Along with the yarn we have a dedicated pattern booklet in stock with 11 hand knit designs by Emma Wright.

New Books:

We have a couple of new books in stock:
The Crochet Block Bible, which features over 100 traditional and contemporary crochet block patterns, was jointly written by Luise Roberts and Heather Lodinsky. This lovely spiral bound book includes written patterns, charts and clear images of each of the blocks and we think it is a fabulous companion for every serious crocheter.

We also have Knit Me Dress Me Love Me by Sue Stratford - an enchanting book full of really cute knitted animals and accessories. We are hoping to find someone who fancies making us a couple of mascots for the studio from this lovely collection, although the animals in this book are so cute we can't imagine anyone wanting to part with them!

We are still a little shell shocked after Jane won the 'Motivational Designer of the Year' award in the British Craft awards, especially considering the talent of other nominees and the fact that Jane was nominated in a classification which included knitting. Jane has now collected her award and it is sitting in pride of place in the studio. We would like to thank you all for the many messages of congratulations we have received and we are so thrilled that so many of you have taken the time to get in touch.

On a similar note - the nomination process has now opened for the British Knitting & Crochet awards. You can find the link to the on line nomination form here and (if you do fill in the form) you could be in with a chance of winning a yarn bundle worth £200.

Open Studio:

We will be holding our next open studio event here at Janie Crow HQ on Saturday 25th March between 11am and 3pm.

Our open studio events give you a chance to see our showroom and Jane's studio and take a leisurely browse through our products and have a nice chat and a cup of tea or coffee surrounded by yarn, accessories, blankets and good company!

You do not need to let us know you are coming - simply turn up if and when you want to! Our office address is listed at the bottom of this email and you will find a map easily by typing Janie Crow into Google.

We have one or two places left on the Brioche Stitch Basics workshop with Renee Callahan on Sunday 2nd July and will be adding Autumn workshops to our web site within the next few months.

Oops! Nearly forgot - lovely Caerthan of Triskelion Yarns has been busy dying yet more of the beautiful Gofannon 4 ply for us. 4 shades sold out completely at Edinburgh, but there are still some lovely shades of yarn back in stock and each skein comes with a free crochet scarf/shawl pattern.
 

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