The Green Bean

Share this post

February, Frogs and Unravelling

katiegreenbean.substack.com

Discover more from The Green Bean

Scatterbrained creativity and nature walks from the Bannau Brycheiniog. Queer like lichen.
Over 2,000 subscribers
Continue reading
Sign in

February, Frogs and Unravelling

Katie Green
Feb 17, 2023
27
Share this post

February, Frogs and Unravelling

katiegreenbean.substack.com
4
Share

Greetings from Wales! It feels a little late for a ‘happy new year’, but I wish you one anyhow :)

Katie the human and Jack the dog stand gazing from the top of a hill, over to the mountain on the other side of the valley. The sky is blue with some low clouds, and the ground is bare and brown. Both human and dog are wrapped up in handknits.
Katie gazes lovingly at the mountain. Jack gazes lovingly at the treat bag.

Spring is starting to spring, though I am only just starting feel like I have arrived in 2023. I have re-opened my shop after my winter break, and had a fresh delivery of goodies including my British Sheep Breeds cushion covers, which had been out of stock for a while last year - I love these, and I’m so glad to be able to offer them again.

These cushions are made in the UK, with my illustrations screen printed on unbleached cotton and fitted with an invisible zip. The sheep are arranged in alphabetical order by breed, from Balwen to Kerry Hill on one cushion, and Leicester Longwool to Zwartbles on the other.

Two cushions sit side by side on a grassy bank at the foot of a tree. The cushions are cream with black piping, and black illustrations of sheep arranged in alphabetical order by breed.
A-Z British Sheep Breeds cushion covers, illustrated by me!

Creatively, I’ve been a bit all over the place, starting umpteen new projects in both my illustration work and my crafts. My desk is an ever growing pile, which includes - at quick glance - gouache painting, scratchboard, ink drawing, knitting, spinning and cross stitch. In the past I might have said some mean things to myself about not being able to focus on any one thing, but the more space I allow for my scatterbrained approach to just happen, the more I realise that all my creative endeavours inform and spill into one another, in a way I would not want to change.

A paint palette and some tubes of gouache lie beside a painting in progress, which has a green background and what appears to be a jaunty green frog marching along the mossy ground beneath some trees.
Gouache painting-in-progress
A small embroidery hoop containing black aida fabric and a cross stitched green frog wearing a red spotted mushroom for a cap. The frog is surrounded by bees and flowers.
Cross stitch by me. Pattern: Amonita Froggie by Mama Witch X Stitch.

This is perhaps extremely obvious in my most recent video, which I was able to centre around an emergent theme of frogs. I started by knitting a frog (pictured below), then a frog jumper (not pictured, because it doesn’t exist yet), then I was cross stitching frogs, then the next thing I knew there was a frog was on my painting table too. It goes without saying that none of these projects were' ‘on my list’, but that’s usually when my best work happens!

Title card for Episode 56 of The Green Bean. A white human hand hols up a tiny adorable knitted frog, against a background of mountain, hedgerow and blue sky. The tites of the episode is overlaid in white writing.

In more practical news, I will be venturing back to England for a show this month: Unravel, at Farnham Maltings in Surrey from February 24th - 26th. I’ll be there all weekend with my stand of illustrated goodies, knitwear samples and a first for this time, yarn kits for my Fairy Ring designs. I’m very excited to have teamed up with my friends at John Arbon Textiles and Daughter of a Shepherd to be able to offer these. If you’re at the show, please do come and say hi, I would love to meet you.

Sometimes people tell me they are nervous to come and say hello at a show. I understand - and I promise that however I might come across, I am nervous and socially awkward too. If in doubt, you can always just ask me about Jack, tell me about your dog, or come and show me the gorgeous yarn you’ve discovered - I could chat about any of those subjects all day long!

An illustration of six crafters dancing around a large blue piece of knitting, with several of them holding projects or balls of yarn. The text reads "we're exhibiting at...unravel. Friday 24, Saturday 25 Sunday 26 February 2023. Tickets: farnhammaltings.com

As always in these newsletters, I love to include some recent photos which you may not have seen on instagram - either because you don’t use it, or because the algorithm works in mysterious ways, or simply (usually) because I’ve fogotten to post them.

The weird holiday feeling of being in Wales is starting to fade, and it is almost beginning to feel real that this is where I live. And wow. I’m slowly falling in love with this new landscape, and the rocks and rivers and trees and lichens who are my new neighbours (the human neighbours are alright too). I’m pleased to say that Jack is also settling in really well, and has even climbed a couple of mountains recently!

Jack the cruffy black and tan terrier sits on the mountainsidegazing off mysteriously into the distance.
Jack the scruffy terrier is standing in the snow, wearing his neon green jacket. The sun is setting behind him, silhouetting the bare winter trees but casting a beautiful light across the snow covered footpath

I hope whatever creative projects you’re working on, they are bringing you some solace and joy. And if you’re in the greater London area, perhaps I’ll see you at Unravel next weekend? Thanks for reading, taking interest in and supporting my work!

Katie (and Jack)

Jack the scruffy terrier stands on a rock, high above the valley and with a mountain view in the background. He's wearing a black and grey handknitted jumper and looking uncannily handsome.
Jack modelling his new jumper. Pattern: Walkies by Sue Stratford Knits. Yarn: Ram Jam from Daughter of a Shepherd.
27
Share this post

February, Frogs and Unravelling

katiegreenbean.substack.com
4
Share
4 Comments
Share this discussion

February, Frogs and Unravelling

katiegreenbean.substack.com
Aurélie D.
Feb 17

Happy New Year Katie ! :) May this new year be stimulating and joyful for you. One thing is sure, your new projects promise us a lot of joy! (your frogs are adorable!)

Aurélie

Expand full comment
Reply
Share
Hilda Gertze
Writes The Blackheath Chronicles
Feb 20

Thank you for the lovely update Katie. Like you I have many projects on the go at the same time and have learnt to just embrace my bizarre creativity

Expand full comment
Reply
Share
2 more comments...
Top
New
Community

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 Katie Green
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing