greenolive

a sneak peek

playing with type

An initial design, not quite right (not enough different letters) but you get the idea.

As a trained graphic designer, type always featured heavily in my work. I'm no longer working as a designer, but the love of typography continues.  I have a collection of old wooden type blocks – all letters and numbers and quite a few other characters. 

Ever since I bought them I have been itching to develop a textile design from them. And here's my first iteration. Each block has been inked up, printed, scanned and manipulated into a design of interlocking characters.

It's not quite right, I have had to duplicate characters because we didn't print all the letters – that's a job for this weekend.

So what do you think? Would you buy it? What colours would you like? And, what do you think I should call it?

At the moment it's called Alphabet Soup!

Let me know what you think.

laying a foundation

slowly but surely

A complex and perfectly-formed spider's web photographed in the late afternoon sun last weekend.

If you are anything like me (you know, an impatient Taurean!), then you want things to happen, and you want them to happen now. None of this waiting around. I don't have time for waiting around. Once I've decided a course of action, I want the conclusion, results, outcome to follow tout de suite!

I'm charting a new course, a new direction for greenolive. A direction I feel very confident about and comfortable with, but a change in direction none the less. And now I've decided to take this different path I want it to happen now.

It will happen soon enough, in approx six weeks it will be a reality, but that's not soon enough for me. I should be grateful that I have the time I need (I hope!) to do all the things I need to, to ensure this new direction is as successful as it can be. The best things about this change is that revisits my designer past and will mean mr greenolive can be a more active partner in the greenolive adventure.

So while I'm being impatient, I'm laying the foundations. Slowly, surely. Knowing that the time, energy and effort I put into the planning and preparation will yield results.

I know this is all a bit mysterious, but until things are a bit more sorted I can tell you much more. But I will need your input and feedback so make sure you pop back in the next six weeks. I might even try and bribe you with a giveaway.

And if you really can't wait... have a look at this...

the yarn impulse

difficult to resist

 

A photo of the completed crochet scarf with all its textural textures.

Do you buy yarn because of your reaction to the colour or texture?

This is what happens...You are standing in the yarn store falling in love with a particular yarn. You have no real idea of what to do with it, no project queued in Ravelry just waiting for such a yarn, but  still you have to have it.

I'm like that. I suspect anyone of you with a decent sized stash is like that.

And this is exactly how I ended up with this yarn. I was drawn to the colour and texture, but they only had 3 balls. That didn't matter, I can make a scarf out of only just one ball! So I bought it and added it to the stash.

Fast forward about 12 months. On one of my usually-quarterly stash discovery sessions (you know the ones, you are bored and you want to play with all the yummy yarns you have bought and stashed) I found it and pulled it out, putting it in the knit-soon project box. I also found a plain yarn in the same colour and thought I could do something interesting with the leftovers...

So, yarn selected. Now we get to the part where I agonise over the perfect stitch and yarn combination. I've done it before and have written numerous blog posts about it. (I just can't find them to link to them right now!) And I'll keep doing it in the future too.

Attempt #1: the basic garter stitch - too lumpy and you couldn't really appreciate the ribbon running through the yarn.

Attempt #2: try a crochet Anne - not enough substance in the yarn to hold the stitch definition.

Attempt #3: a long crochet chain with a treble, chain repeating stitch pattern - we have a winner folks! The resulting scarf is simple and textural and the longer stitch lengths and gaps show of the yarn and ribbon beautifully. 

Finally its finished. I might even keep it for myself, perfect for those late summer or early spring days when you just need a little something to keep your neck company.

go natural

The international year of natural fibres

An example of a handspun natural fibre, this one being a 100% bamboo fibre that I spun into a two-ply yarn.

2009 is the International Year of Natural Fibers, and today 22 January is the official launch at the Food an Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

The FAO hopes that this international year will raise consumer awareness (I'm doing my bit!) and stimulate demand for natural fibres.

To find out more check out the official website. And if you want to look at lovely pictures of natural fibres and handspun check out my flickr photostream sets here and here.

how many spinning wheels make an obsession?

just wondering...

Yep, its another Sheridan Scandinavian Spinning Wheel. Rescued by mr greenolive and me last weekend.

So, just how many spinning wheels make an obsession? Five? Three? Surely not two?

Not two? 

Good! So now I can safely tell you about my recent spinning wheel purchase. Actually it was more of a rescue mission than a purchase. We had no choice, we had to buy it. Let me explain...

Last weekend, while visiting our local op shop (thrift shop) mr greenolive spied a spinning wheel. We instantly gravitated towards it – me being such a spinning wiz and all. It looked suspiciously like Leggs, my first spinning wheel. A quick scan for a gold plate, and it was confirmed. It was indeed  the same model, a long lost cousin perhaps, but one who had fallen on hard times.

Her drive band was broken, the tension string had gone, the flyer-bit (technical term you know) was a bit worse for wear, she was covered in dust and dirt, some hinges were unhinged and she had the wrong bobbin – BUT – apart from all that she was in good shape. Had good bones as they say in the real estate game, and just need some TLC.

I hesitated for a minute. I mean I wasn't really sure. Do I really need a second spinning wheel? 

But mr greenolive was insistent. Come on, you got to buy it. We can fix it up. By we he meant him. (And the purchase of the wheel was more about him doing the fixing than it was about me doing more spinning.)

But, it seemed a win-win-win–win situation. Nobody could lose. He got to fix something – him, wood, moving parts – he's like a pig in mud. I got another wheel. And the MS Op Shop got some money. And the old spinning wheel got to spin another day.

So the wheel was ours. Within 24 hours of purchase she had been given an overhaul by mr greenolive. With 30 hours she had spun her first single. And she spun like a dream.

I know that like mothers, spinners can't have favourites, but can I let you in on a secret? I think she spins better than Leggs.

a dash of orange

I'm really attracted to orange now. I've been buying orange yarns lately.

Why?

Orange is an aunty shabby colour – this gorgeous orange crochet scarf was made for her birthday last year. If either of us are out shopping without the other, it's a safe bet to buy her anything in orange, and me anything in green. After all, my name is greenolive, not orangeolive.

So why the orange? And why now?

I did a bit of research on the colour orange, what it means and what it represents. And now I think I understand why I'm being attracted to it subconsciously.

Orange...

• is a power colour, a healing colour

• stimulates enthusiasm and creativity

• is the colour of lady luck – if you need to bring about a change burn an orange candle for seven nights

• represents curiousity

• can balance emotions in times of stress and shock

• is associated with the second chakra.

So, it seems we could all do with a bit or orange in our life!

gone off knitting

strange but true

Some very nice organic cotton and rosewood needles waiting patiently.

I think I may have gone off knitting. Is that really possible? For a woman with a yarn stash that will most certainly outlast the term of her natural life?

Some of you may attribute this to the recent 37 degree days Melbourne has sweltered through. But that's not it. For the last four nights I haven't picked up the needles, held a hook, listed a item, uploaded a photo, drafted a post, or even replied to an email.

I just don't feel like it. Not sure why. Just don't feel like doing anything once I get home from work. Except perhaps eat dinner and collapse on the couch and watch repeats on Foxtel. And this just isn't me.

I'm the girl who can't sit still and do nothing. I can't even drink a cup of tea and gaze out a window. I'm always doing something, or more likely somethings. (I'm not fibbing about the gazing tea drinking - my counsellor wants me to sit outside and drink a cup of tea and just do nothing. I said I'd try, but so far I haven't. A case of old dog, new tricks).

What do you do when you lose your knitting or crochet or sewing or quilting or crafty mojo?

I hope my mojo comes back soon - I have a market stall to stock.

exhausted!

a tale of one market

One of the silk selvedge scarves that sold at the market. The lady who bought it came back later that day after thinking about it and bought it with her petrol money!

We didn't get to bed til 11pm the night before and we woke at 4.30am, but regardless of the lack of sleep we both survived the market.

Actually enjoyed is a better description. So much so that we are looking forward to the Red Hill market on Saturday 7 February.

The drive was easy, pleasant and very quick. Hardly surprising given the early hour.

The market stall location was perfect. We had grass (grass! not a dust bowl!), we were shaded by a big old tree, had the distinct advantage of being sited near the bitumen road and not the dust road, and were located very close to the toilets and ATM (for all those big spenders!)

The new market tent went up in record time and was just as easy to dismantle seven hours later.

The stall layout caused a few "discussions" as we both decided what should go where. The photo above shows the final layout. That's me at the back.

The market people sussed us out - it was our first time with them - and the stall and the product got the thumbs up.

The stall was set up by 8.30am, and the next 5 and a half hours went very quickly punctuated by toilet and food breaks, chats to lovely people (including a lot of English people which kept mr greenolive happy and a tad homesick! And Bianca and Marcel!), and purchases of silk selvedge scarves, card packs, note books and flower brooches.

We had no idea how many sales to expect, but we were happy with the sales we made. And the feedback we got. By far the biggest seller and conversation piece was the silk selvedge scarves. I sold five of them. The only problem now is I need to source more silk before the Red Hill market!

By the time we got home at 4.30pm we were both exhausted. I couldn't even manage dinner and was in bed by 7.30pm. I think next time we'd better get to bed before 11pm!

tent, stock, float...

check, check, check

The greenolive banner as a WIP - designed to attract the attention of the hundreds, no make that thousands of markets goers.

This is what is running through my mind at the moment, as I, we, busily prepare for greenolive's first "proper' market.

I say proper because I don't think the two Mt D markets really count as proper markets. And besides, the Mornington market this Sunday is run by Crafts Market Australia - the original market people. So its a "proper" market, complete with hundreds of stalls (254 to be exact judging by the market layout) and thousands of people with money to burn.

We really don't know what to expect, so my planning skills are in full swing. My list looks something like this:
1. erect tent and test display of greenolive goodies
2. sew greenolive bunting to attract attention of thousands of market goers (see above)
3. finish the display info about the card packs
4. get as many $5 notes as I can for the cash float
5. work out how to get there and how long the drive is
6. decide if I need to bind more journals, and if so hurry up and order more binders by Friday
7. finalise prices - too low and I'll sell out, or a bit higher and make maybe less sales
8. finish the totes I have cut out - yes, not just scarves anymore
9. finish the table runners I have half-sewn
10. decide if cushions will make their debut
11. whip up a fabulous blurb on greenolive that people can take/read/pass on to their friends
12. get through the rest of the week at work.

And no 13 - pack the car the night before, don't forget the picnic basket and get to bed early!

I'll let you know how I go, and don't forget, Mornington Racecourse market, 9am to 2pm, this Sunday, 11 January.

Be there or miss out!

delayed gratification

why can't I finish something?

The 95% complete pink bamboo singlet that was started January 2008 – last year! 

I probably should have called this post procrastination, but delayed gratification sounds sexier. And that's all procrastination is really, isn't it? Putting something off til later.

Delayed gratification is a major theme issue problem for me. I put so many things off. I have no trouble conceiving, planning, and starting things, I just have real trouble finishing them. I have piles of unfinished stuff all around me. And they usually stay unfinished until I need them to be finished.

The pink bamboo singlet – knitting finished, but not sewn up. 

The pincushions – sewn and stuffed, justing waiting for the opening to be sewn and buttons added.
The silk selvedge scarves – ten completed, but three last ones pinned and ready to sew. 

The tax returns – receipts kinda sorted, just need to process them and make appointment with tax agent. 

The paperwork one accumulates in daily life – sorted piles piled, just need to make three hours to process and file the piles. 

The multiple knitting WIPs – just need to decide which one to finish first.

My boss went to a Creativity seminar presented by John Cleese in December last year and she shared some of the insights with our team. One included research into the traits of creative people, to see what these were and if they could be learned. In this case the creatives were architects. 

One trait was their sense of play. No surprise there. And their ability to look at things differently. Another was the ability to sit with/tolerate a sense of discomfort and stress with things not being resolved until they absolutely had to be finished. Of allowing themselves the time to explore options, possibilities, unresolved solutions in their minds right up until the point they HAD to finish things. 

As a designer I related to all of these. And the last trait is something I lived with daily. Exploring design options right up til the absolute last minute and then resolving the design problem just before the deadline. While this might sound a bit reckless and irresponsible, it was based on my years of experience, the knowledge that I would make the deadline, and that this approach worked. In the last few days, hours, minutes there is a sense of clarity and a surge of energy that is hard to explain. I called it being in the zone. Things just flowed. Things were easy. And it felt great.

So I think all I need to do is give myself deadlines for things. Real deadlines. I've told you before how well I respond to deadlines. And now I'm on my last day of holidays, push has come to shove.

I think I'll start with the pile of paperwork. Deadline = today. Then the pink singlet. Deadline = ready to wear on Wednesday. And then the tax returns...maybe by next weekend?


Footnote: the paperwork was completed by deadline AND the pink bamboo singlet was finished and is on my body as we speak - and its only Tuesday!! See, deadlines do work!