The Green Bean Podcast Episode 15

[Music] hello and welcome to my studio for the 16th episode of the green bean podcast my name is Katy green and this is Jack we're both really really glad that you're here actually Jack's just busy eating flies but that's okay I'm glad you're here whether this is your first visit or you've been here many times before welcome and I'm looking forward to sharing some creative projects with you so in this episode I have got some drawing to share with you I've got news about the new issue of the green bean zine I'm about to start working on I have some crochet instead of knitting and I have a little bit of sewing to share with you and then I guess it's sewing as well actually I recently went on a workshop where I made my own pair of shoes and I took some video of that so I'm really looking forward to sharing that process with you as well so settle in with whatever project you're working on and I hope you enjoy seeing what we've been up to you [Music] you today is the day when I'm gonna be starting work on the new green bean if you're not sure the green bean is zine that I publish when I first started working freelance about ten years ago I published it once a month and then when I realized that was crazy once every two months and then when I realized that it was still crazy I published it when I feel and when I felt like it and then I had to stop because of various health issues and working full-time on my graphic novel lighter than my shadow but in the last year I've bought the green bean back and I published the first new issue if you like in March this year and it's been so well received I can't believe really the love that there has been for me and I really love creating it the main reason that I create the green bean is it's to give a space to the kind of things that I like to draw the kind of things that I like to think about in terms of my creative interests my my work is quite diverse I like reading and researching I like sketching but I also like designing knitting patterns and sewing patterns and the green bean kind of provides a roof for all of those things to live under that still feels like me rather than trying to figure out how they fit together so the green mean is something it's very close to my heart and I'm really excited about starting the next issue there's a bit of a clue here as to what the theme is gonna be I have chosen lichens and I've been obsessed with lichens for a very long time they're just fascinating I don't want to call them creatures they're not creatures they're not plants they're there are symbiosis between fungi and algae and the way that those two different beings interact with each other and produce these organisms that are beautiful and various and yeah I'm really enjoying learning about them I've just like reading this book and I'm gonna be devoting the whole issue of the green bean to lichens so what I'm gonna be working on today is the front cover and I was always told when I was at school and when I was at college that designing the front cover is the last job to do once the main project is finished but for me it's the other way around I really like doing the cover first because it sets the tone and the mood for the whole project so I've done a few rough sketches and I've picked a layout that I'm happy with so I'm gonna transfer that layout on to the scratch board and then start scratching away so what I'm doing first is ruling out some guidelines that are gonna shape where I place this image so I'm using a piece of scratch port that is larger than the size that the green beam will be printed the green beam is printed at a 5 so what I'm doing is scaling my illustration up but it needs to be in the same proportions as a 5 and scratchboard annoyingly doesn't come in standard a paper proportions so I've ruled off this little bit at the edge of the page to know that my illustration can't go that past that point and now I'm going to start sketching in where the image goes [Music] because the green bean is a personal project it's really nice like I don't have to worry about deadlines in fact the last issue that I released took me pretty much five years to put together and I'm very much hoping that this one won't take that long but because I took so long after that one I don't really have a realistic sense of how long this one's going to take I've two Danford about whether I was going to talk about this on the podcast but I've always said that I wanted to be honest about things so I don't think there's any harm in it so I struggle with a condition called PMDD which stands for premenstrual dysphoric disorder it's like very severe PMS any woman who's experienced any level of PMS will understand how stressful that can be and what I experienced is a very exaggerated form that can make me extremely physically unwell that also has very serious mental health symptoms and frankly I mistook it for a mental health problem for a long time so I've only really had this diagnosis for eighteen months or so and I'm still adjusting to it in terms of how I manage it but also in terms of how I manage my work so I'm really lucky in a sense that I'm freelance and self employed so I get to organize my work and decide which days I'm going to work and which hours I'm gonna work but it also means I have to be very mindful about my scheduling even though I take medication which they keeps things stable and manageable I still have to plan all of my calendar around my monthly hormonal cycle which is fine but it means that there needs to be a rhythm of things I can't expect the same level of energy and interests and passion and excitement for myself every single day it really fluctuates and I'm just learning to balance in mind and in the process of learning that I'm learning how long work takes me because I'm not trying to work myself into the ground like I've done in the past I'm really trying to keep things sustainable because I enjoy what I'm doing and I want to be able to continue doing it so yeah this green bean is going to be an experiment I'm hopeful this time I'm gonna stay well enough to keep working on it consistently whereas the last one I was very unwell and had to take long breaks across this five years so it wasn't five years of solid working on it by any stretch I also had a full time job during that time and various other things so this one it's gonna be my main project apart from work that I'm doing for clients at the moment so we'll see we'll see how long it takes I'm not even gonna say any kind of hope that I have for when it will be out I'm just going to play it by ear see how it goes and it will be ready when it's ready [Music] people often express concern when I show myself working with scratchboard that it might be really difficult for me to correct mistakes that it feels like a very permanent medium and I just thought I'd do a quick demonstration to show you that that is not the case so for example if I were to scratch off a little bit here and then decided actually that's wrong or I wanted that to be black I can use a black Bhaskar pen which is just a paint pen and scribble right over it and it's black again and once that's dry I'll show you that I'm able to scratch back into it just as though it was the original black board so it's really very forgiving I'm not sure that the camera will pick it up but this original surface of the board is shiny and the surface of the paint pen will be matte once it's dry so it can look quite different on the original artwork but I don't generally sell my original artwork so it doesn't really matter how it looks so long as once it scans and it flattens all of those blacks so they're the same tone then it works just fine for reproduction so I'm pretty happy with it let's see is it dry enough to scratch yet yeah I can just go straight back in there and scratch it white again the other thing that that means of course is you can get these posture pens and lots of different colors so you can use a baseboard of black and white but you can add different colors and then scratch into them as well it's not something I do very much off I am a huge fan of the black and white but it adds different depths and different possibilities to working with scratch board which is always exciting I reckon it's probably gonna take me a couple of weeks at least a couple of weeks here and there to finish working on this front cover so I've got the title that's going here I'm going to have a branch that comes over the top with some those lichens that hang from the trees that I see on Dartmoor quite a lot and then at the bottom I'm going to have some rocks with the Dartmoor landscape in the background so lots of detail lots of scratching yeah it's going to take me a good while to finish this piece [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music] I'm working on some crochet today and that's a change from my usual knitting content I am both a knitter and a crochet but I do knit more because I find that crochet is a little hard on my wrist as someone who draws for a living I have to take care of my right hand and crochet is a little bit more of a tricky movement for me so I have to be mindful about how much crochet I get up to you but when I saw this pattern I fell in love with it and I haven't done a crochet project yet this year so I thought this was the one I would choose it is the Drusilla shawl by Faye - Mahut she might know Faye from the crochet circle podcast she is also the very talented lady who manufactures my laser-cut chic brooches for me so there are lots of connections there this pattern was published in the John urban textiles annual the first issue that came out this year and it is I'm gonna hold it up and show you but even though this is the first time if Jonas on the podcast is actually of significant size because I've been working on it for a while so I'm not sure how much I will be able to show you on there on the screen because it's quite enormous so it's a crochet shawl in the pattern includes two options for a triangular shawl or a diamond-shaped shot so you begin crochet at this bottom point here and work outwards and then once you've reached the widest point you work back inwards to finish your diamond shape and the way that the pattern is written is you can use you can work the patterns and use up exactly the amount of yarn that you have and I chose to make a for skiing version which is why - so normos those four skeins of foreplay so it's that 1200 meters of crochet it's a lot and it's going to be an enormous cozy shawl that I can double over and really wrap myself up in which is perfect for the current season if you don't know I'm in the southwest of England and it's summer and the moment the temperatures are about 30 degrees Celsius it's it's pretty warm and the large shawl is not really necessary it's also got to that stage where actually it's like a blanket to be working on it you probably can't see on the camera but there was a small dog sitting on my lap currently wrapped in the show he doesn't seem to mind it too much it's quite cool indoors so he's not overheating but it's definitely not not a garment that I'm in a rush to finish because I need to wear so I'm just Leger Lee putting a row on it here and there the yarn that I'm using for this project is a John Auburn yarn it's actually something that I've had in my stash for a couple of years I bought it at their open day I think two years ago it's from their harvest hues range which is a blend of organic merino and spotless which is a Dutch when originally a Dutch breed but they are very common now in the UK and there are naturally dark brown blackish sheep so they use it to add a bit of depth to the color because the marina is white and something that John Auburn do that's particularly unique is they die they have dyed fiber and they blend the colors on there and on their combs so this has got an amazing depth of different greens and blues in it when you look at it really closely the the particular color that I'm using is called juniper but to be honest I could use any of the colors in the harvest Hughes range I do have a few more in my stash I obviously am especially partial to the greens but there's beautiful oranges gold Reds really really delicious tones in there it's a lovely yarn this is my first time working with it and it's got a nice combination of obviously merino is very soft but this Vogler's adds a little bit of character to it so it doesn't feel just like buttery soft merino I'm really really enjoying working with it and I think it's looking beautiful in this shawl it's amazing to me that I've been knitting shawls crocheting this is my first crocheted shawl but it's also my first green shawl which will surprise anybody who's been a long-term viewer of this podcast because I am I do tend to mostly make green things and certainly I tend to mostly buy green yarn so I'm quite surprised that this will be my first green shawl I'm gonna talk a bit about my crochet hook because I know that somebody is bound to ask so I have a wooden firls crochet hook it's a 3.5 millimeter and it's wonderful I love it so I don't like crochet hooks that are very thin I have to have something that has a little bit more from my hand to hold on to again because I get RSI and kind of weird muscular things going on with my hand so I find the larger handle is necessary I also really loved the feel of working with wooden tools I think I've talked about that with knitting needles before I use metal needles out of necessity when I need really small ones but given a choice I always prefer wood so I found out about these fellows crochet hooks via loop in London and I actually went into the shop when they were stocking them I'm not sure if they stock them anymore but I went in the shop when they were stocking them and they very graciously let me sit on the sofa upstairs in the shop and try it out I think every different poke that they had in stock to find the one that felt right because they all were slightly different they do different woods and the tips of them are slightly different so I ended up picking one that has quite a sharp point at the top which I really like and just one that felt nice in my hands it was not a cheap crochet hook it was a serious investment that I saved up for and it is really the only crochet hooks that I use so I very much either pick projects that are appropriate for this size hook or if I need to make something they are specific size I will work out I will regain the pattern so that I can work with this crochet hook because at the moment I can't afford another one and that's fine because I absolutely love this one it was definitely worth the expense but yes I can't see myself having a full collection of all the different sizes of grocery hook from fells it just doesn't make sense but I do love the one that I have [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music] I am so happy to be sharing a new sewing project with you today I think I possibly talked about this project in the last episode but the last episode was a while ago it might even have been the episode before certainly this is a project that's been in my mind for a long time and I kept putting it off and putting it off because I was busy and telling myself I didn't have the time and then just this weekend passed I thought I'm never gonna have the time I need to just make the time and the reason I was putting it off is because I wanted to do some embroidery and anyone who's ever done embroidery role know that it's not a quick process it's time-consuming it's detailed it's for nikah tea so I love it but it does take time there's no rushing it because you want a new dress so I've decided to both treat myself and challenge myself to just take it slowly I'm in no rush for a dress although like the green shawl I don't have a green dress either so this is very much a necessary addition to the wardrobe it hasn't escaped my notice that the two greens I'm working with will go very nicely together so I'm working my way towards a head-to-toe green outfit which makes me very happy but I'm trying to just appreciate the process of the embroidery and let it take as long as it takes rather than rush it because I want a green dress the other thing that's going to take a while is because this is a linen fabric but it's very fine and a little bit see-through when it catches the light I'm going to want to make a slip to wear underneath it so although I'm making yet another version of the thing dressed like make all the time it's gonna have a little modification I've never made a slip before so the skin be a new challenge and take a little bit of extra time our regular viewers are probably sick of hearing about it but just in case the dress that I make a dress I continue to make the dress that I'm wearing hears from a Japanese sewing book called formal and little black dress by Yoshi Co Securi I adapted the dress by what did I do I lowered the waistline so it had an empire line and I lowered it sit at my natural waist I also lengthened the skirt to hit below the knee and I added pockets and for various different incarnations I've made I've added different details so you can see this version has a little bit of lace on the sleeve I've also added a skirt lining to one version so I'd like to just add a little touch that's a bit different each time but honestly this is the dress that I reach for whenever I open my wardrobe it's the thing that I upon first as soon as it comes out of laundry and until I find a dress that I'm more excited to wear I'm not in any particular rush to make anything else I'm just happy making the same thing that's fine by me you might have noticed I don't have any markings on the fabric apart from the cutting lines so this is actually the back piece of the dress I've cut the sides and the bottom but I've left the top with a bit of length on it because I need that extra fabric to tuck into my broidery hoop so I've marked out where I'm gonna cut for the top of the shoulder and the neckline and I've marked the seam allowance and where the facing was so all of my embroidery will have like in this dress facing that lies against it on the inside so my the back of my work won't take on my neck but apart from that there are no marks which is to say that I've not planned my embroidery I'm freestyling it and I realized that that might terrify some people but to me it's utterly liberating I guess I think of embroidery like drawing with thread and it's yeah it's like not making any pencil marks before you start working with it sometimes it is terrifying I would never do that for a client because they always want to see what they're going to get but because this is a project just for me and it's about relaxing and it's kind of meditative actually I think it's an important part of it that it doesn't have a plan that I'm following and I can just take it intuitively and see what happens [Music] so a little bit more about the materials I'm using the fabric that I've chosen for the dress is a pure Japanese linen which I bought from race ditch I actually ordered it online rather than buying it in the shop but it was green so I was never going to not like it the color is called seaweed and it's this lovely pale seiji green when I first got it I was a little bit disappointed that it wasn't more olivey but now that I've been working with it I actually love the color I think it's going to be ideal for this summer dress that I'm making and the thread that I'm using I had actually intended to buy just a standard DMC or anchor embroidery thread the kind that you can buy in local haberdashery shops over here and I wanted to find one that was exactly the same color as the fabric so that the embroider was embroidery was a texture rather than being in your face if you'd like but I couldn't find one that was a color match and all the ones that were tonal were a little bit pale and look just I don't know it just was gonna be a little bit too much so it's really happy when I found this hand dyed embroidery thread in a literal knitting and needlework shop in Kansas City in America when I was there earlier this year I was so happy to find it because it picks up some of the exact colors of the fabric but it has some paler colors as well and that little bit of arrogation I think makes makes the embroidery really interesting without me having to think about changing colors so that's really nice it's a six strand embroidery throw off embroidery thread or floss like the ones that you buy in the craft shop but I'm using two strands at a time before I start each section of embroidery I'm pulling up just two threads from the six it had to be quite fine because the linen is very fine I think anything thicker than two threads and it would have made big holes in the fabric which wouldn't have looked very nice [Music] so the last thing I wanted to share before closing out this episode is my little adventure with making my own shoes I definitely think it's really important as a creative person to replenish yourself and fill the wealth from time to time and it's definitely something that I am guilty of forgetting the importance of I am tend to expect myself to keep going and going and going and going and never I remember the importance of putting something back in the system whether that is reading or watching a film or going to an exhibition or learning a new skill or going on holiday all of those things that allow your creative brain to rest and recuperate and give you the space to think about something different I can get very cooped up in this small studio spending a lot of time on my own so it's good to get out and meet people and do something different and with that in mind I did something very uncharacteristic bear with me because it's a bit of a story so I'd been looking for a while for a new pair of walking boots because my old hair or falling apart and I was really keen to find some that were all leather leather lining as well as leather outside rather than these synthetic ones that are made with goodness knows what plastics and things not only are they not very environmentally friendly but they also make my feet really sweaty and I just wanted some very traditional walking boots so I put a call out on Instagram to see if anyone had any recommendations because I was really struggling to find any and several people were recommended a place called green shoes which is actually in Devon where I live I was amazed that they were so local to me and I hadn't of them before but they're on the north side of Dartmoor about an hour's try from where I live so I thought I'd go and check them out and a few months ago I went and I ordered a new pair of walking boots you've possibly seen me wearing them in this episode they are fabulously green I wasn't going to pick any other color really but on the day night I went to pick up my new boots they happen to have a vacancy in their shoe making workshop that they were running that day and I didn't have any other plans it was a quiet Saturday so I thought I would give it a go and I had a fantastic time they very kindly let me record some video footage in the workshop of me making my own shoes I actually cannot believe that I made a pair of shoes and they're not like a weird-looking odd handmade looking pair of shoes they're like a serious pair of shoes I'm so pleased with myself and I just keep looking at them every time I wear them so I thought you'd enjoy seeing Puffs how they came together [Music] you [Music] you [Music] thank you so much for visiting us for another episode of the green bean podcast I hope you've enjoyed watching if you want to catch up with me between now and the next episodes the best place is Instagram where you'll find me as at Katy green bean I've also recently started an email newsletter which will be coming up monthly so if you would like to sign up to that and receive news about what I'm up to when new episodes are published and information about when my shop is updated and new products and so on and so forth the link is down below along with any other things that I've mentioned in the episode if you need a link it will be in the notes down below and finally if you want to support the podcast we are on patreon at patreon.com forward slash Katy green bean we offer various different bonuses and rewards for supporters of the podcast I do live streams and extra episodes and discounts in my online shop as well if you're not able to join us on patreon that's no problem you can also support the podcast by subscribing or sharing with us steady on you can also support the podcast by subscribing leaving us a nice comment we always enjoy reading and hearing from you even if I don't always get around to responding to everybody I really appreciate all of your feedback and support so thank you for watching and I will see you next time take care bye bye [Music] don't tell him I told you but this little dog on my lap has just done the smelliest part be grateful that this is not some elevation

Channel: Katie Green

Views: 12,344

Keywords: drawing, knitting, sewing, drawing podcast, knitting podcast, sewing podcast, craft podcast, crafting, illustration, illustrator, podcast, crochet, crochet podcast, katie green, katie green bean, katiegreenbean, shoe making, handmade wardrobe

Id: m5BXZO1UjRA

Length: 49min 40sec (2980 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 03 2019