growing nettles specifically for fiber is wild to me as someone who lives in the UK, you can literally just walk for 5 minutes anywhere and find loads XD
I live in Southern Indiana and have to battle stinging nettle constantly in my yard and pathways. (It has many many benefits, so I do let it thrive away from the house.) I hope your first try at linen production has you excited to have another go at it next season!
i remember watching a true crime video from the UK where the cops were beating down nettles in order to get into the area where they were without getting stung so they could look for a missing girl!
Got to keep in mind our fetish for "grass". Americans have this thing about "weeds" and nettles are "weeds" of the first sort. I've had some nettles in my gardens for years for edible/teas purposes. Just this year I've upped their numbers thanks to your Sally Pointer and her neolithic skills. I now have 2 patches. SOme fine day I may actually get enough to do something with.
And I get that you feel awkward considering the circumstances. As a Floridian who goes through this hurricane thing fairly frequently, I can tell you that even though we had a lot of damage, we also know the areas north of us had no infrastructure to handle this kind of storm and our hearts and souls are with them and supporting them. However, we all do what we can and then we pick up the pieces. Those pieces include the comfort of a sense of normalcy from those who were fortunate to not have gone through it. Thank you for acknowledging it and we see your heart - you are appreciated.
Nothing embarrassing about getting emotional from harvesting your flax! There is something incredibly beautiful and rewarding in growing a plant from a seed, tending it, and harvesting it, knowing that this will keep on giving beauty and usefulness in your life. Whether that be the plants we spin into cloth, the ones we use to dye that cloth, or the plants we use to create a nourishing meal. It is a beautiful practice!
As someone who went through a bad cyclone a few years ago (and some "once in 2,000 year floods" more recently and a not-so-bad cyclone more recently still) I can promise you that nice, normal things like this video are very welcome relief after a disaster. We lost the power for several days after the really bad cyclone but, in accordance with the official instructions, I had a battery operated radio. I was able to use this to listen to a broadcast of a Beethoven string quartet. You cannot begin to imagine how much hope that brought me.
1:37 As soon as I heard you say "I have flax in my pocket" I started singing alarm Alanis Morisette "Because I got flax seed in my pocket I'm gonna spin some yarn".
You are planting European annual flax used commercially. Various native flaxes grow all over the US. I have perennial flax native to my high desert taking over my hill adjacent to my driveway. I look forward to processing it!
I really enjoy watching your videos. Not only are you an amazing fiber artist, but your kindness and thoughtfulness always shine through. Thank you for sharing your work and beautiful self with everyone!!
I'm so excited to see your growing, processing and spinning! It isn't the easiest, but I can't wait to see a pro spinner and fiber artist tackle it! I also get so emotional when harvesting fiber and dye plants. Like I'm reaching back through thousands of years of human history when I'm pulling the flax plants out of the earth and sharing a moment with all the fiber artists who came before. Can't wait for the next one!
I’m watching this sitting in a hotel because I still don’t have power in my apartment because of Helene. Thank you for your kind words and in general to everyone who has sent support. I’m thankful that I am safe but so many are not. ❤
I'm so excited for you, it is my dream to grow and spin my own flax! I made some nettle cordage this year from some road-side nettles. I too was quite overwhelmed by how connected I felt to nature and my craft, and I didn't get the benefit of watching it grow from seed; if I did I may well have been in tears myself! It's so wonderful to find other people out there who feel the same :)
Dogbane is something else you could try for cordage. It’s often found roadside. Ditto for milkweed. Common milkweed can grow quite tall and have a thick stem . I’ve gotten fibre from both and processing is same for all of them.
@@magdalenas8713 Thanks, I am in the UK and unfortunately those plants don't grow here. However I think I have heard that fireweed can be used as well, and that's in the UK and North America :)
Never be embarrassed when moved to emotion, regardless of the reasoning. I was crying also, because I know the love and beauty and spirit that comes with working with natural fibers and I've had very little experience. I plan to grow fields of flax one day, and I know I'll be bawling at every step
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I died laughing with Mark's voiceovers at the beginning!!! The difficulties of growing flax for the first time could be alleviated by trying again. For you see, Mark might start to understand how very... ReFLAXING it could be! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
That was a great video! Thank you for remembering the victims of Helene. We live in western NC where it hit hard, though we have not suffered much compared to others. A tree fell on our roof, another on our cars. We are just grateful to be alive.
I also grew flax for the first time this year and harvested it later when the seeds were already ripe. After drying and dew-roasting, I broke it and then combed it. I received a nice linen, but it was darker than the linen I bought. I will harvest more quickly next year. But the positive thing is that I have plenty of seeds for next year, over 500 grams. Greetings from Germany
Hi Evie, my husband and I've been growing flax. This is our 5th year. I enjoyed your video. I have learned a lot in our efforts. With a small plot , about 7feet square, there are things I do that you can't do with a field. It was good that you explained harvesting green to beginning yellow to brown seeds. I harvest when the lower 4-6 inches are yellow and leaves falling off. We dry them on tables in garage or outside. The seeds continue to develop so when dry we ripple an use seeds for next year. It is often hard to find them and I like to select for taller stems. What variety did you plant? I have been planting Nathalia, but I have some avian for next year. Oh, and we use metal folding fences to protect them from wind. Striving for less coarseness is ongoing. I'll be curious to learn how yours comes out. I envy your black soil. We are from IL but live in MD. In fact we are going to visit IL and Wis very soon.
love your flax experiment, hopefully you will have better luck next year with the nettles and P. S. you haven't done it wrong if you learn from it something that will make the next crop easier
Your husband being like "can we create a superflax by planting all the seeds in one spot?" cracked me up. You two make a good pair, since you're both silly and supportive and kind to each other. He seems genuinely interested in what you're doing, which is every fiber person's dream lmao. Anyways, gonna watch the rest of the video now.
You’re such a beautiful, kind, caring, positive person. Thank you for always making videos that bring a smile to my face despite the hard times we live in 💖💖💖
I love that you left in that emotional bit! You've talked about how spinning has tied you to your grandmother (or great grandmother?) and our ancestors in general. To learn about and harvest flax feels like a tie to them and bringing a piece of them back into our lives. A beautiful video as always Evie❤❤
Love this, and your sensitivity to others. It is always amazing to me to see how people historically found ways to use various plants in such interesting ways. Would I look at a random wild plant and think "I should figure out how to make that into fiber!"? Probably not. Necessity makes people innovative and interesting.
The idea that someone would have nettles seeds in a proper seed packet! I was laughing so hard. If I'm not vigilant my entire allotment would be filled with nettle in a season or two.
I like that you left in that wonderful moment at around 16:30, because it's an example of why I enjoy your work so much; you always seem to embody that very intimate joy that we fiber friends experience. It's why we do what we do, that sense of connection with our material and with our ancestors, and with one another. You bring that out in people.
It looks like such a tricky but engrossing project. I can understand why it might make you emotional - you’re connecting with a process done by many generations of dedicated and skilled artisans. I often wonder how the process came to be pinned down so prescriptively! It must have been so much trial and error by people passing on what they learned and working out how to get the most out of their efforts. It’s so fantastic to think about.
I love how you're always so thoughtful and mindful with your videos and your words. This is a lovely video, and I'm hoping we can see more of the journey and process! You always connect your craft to history, traditional, not idealizing the time but understanding there is a depth of knowledge and experience that, through these crafts, we can momentarily experience beyond words. Amazing video as always
Eve, never be embarrassed about your emotions! Your enlightenment was very touching and brought tears of joy to my eyes, too. When you watch this video again I hope you will be proud of it with mistakes or not. Watching you getting connected to God's creations was beautiful! Thank you for your videos and channel.
I know the master spinner thing was frustrating and sad, but your videos since have been so different from the ones before. They were always good, but now they have so much more depth and you seem to be taking more risks and they are amazing!
Jillian Eve we are fiber spirit sisters! I love watching your videos, seeing your process of experimentation. I learned to spin 51 years ago when information was difficult to come by and oh so precious. (No Internet) One had to sleuth and connect the dots in learning how to spin each type of fiber. I developed an interest in Eastern European and Russian Textile traditions and technical skills. I believe these skills were a form of wealth in women's rural lives. I am planning to grow flax and nettle in Bellevue, WA this spring. I'm looking forward to following your progress with your bast fibers. Nettle too, is so good for you, and the seeds too, as medicine and food
despite the tragedy lingering in the background... and all the struggles growing ... this was a lovely peaceful journey to follow this morning and helped bring my day up in a much-needed way. hopefully next year's crop fairs better for a larger yield. i can't wait to continue to follow the journey of this fiber
I absolutely love this video! Well all of your videos but I’ve always wanted to grow and process flax. I am way behind you on spinning and weaving skills but working toward it. Being a part of the natural fabric process is my goal and your channel has been so fun and informative. I would love to see how you processed the flax when it was dried enough and all through to see what you make with it. You always explain things in such an easy way to understand and your love of learning is contagious. Wish I lived closer and could be your apprentice. I’m down in Florida currently. Thank you for being you and also crying while harvesting really touched me because I can understand what you are feeling at that moment. I am glad you kept that in the video.
I am from Peoria Illinois. We were on vacation in Florida when that storm hit. I watched it happen from there. I knew it was bad. And yes we had a few limbs down. A great neighbor had picked them up by the time we were home. Enjoyed your video.
I was very happy to see a new video from you 😊 you’re a kind, considerate person and I enjoy watching you and your content. This was something new and really cool!
If you weren't so far away from me here in Minnesota, I would say you should come to my farm place to collect nettles. It grows wild here and is considered a noxious weed by many around me. There is a large patch of it in our grove. It is known locally as Itch Weed. I have looked into harvesting nettles for spinning and yes, leaves are quite good cooked. It's not exactly spines but more like hairs on the leaves that make people itch. Once cooked, the hairs are gone. I am intrigued by the appearance of flax. The flowers are lovely. It would look lovely in a flower bed. May need to add it to my garden beds!
I empathize with your bunny & squirrel issues! My pots get overturned with walnuts and acorns. My husband was frustrated with the buns (then the deer), so he put up a fence around our raised beds. Kudos on attempting ANYTHING via your gardens, since Nature can never be predicted. ❤
You have such a genuine heart in all you do. ❤What an experience growing flax and attempting nettles. I actually knew nothing about stinging nettles. Always learning something from you, so thank you 🙂
Thank you for scratching my itch. Absolutely get Rabbit Scram -all natural, great fertilizer, too. I spread it at the beginning on the month from April.
Am down in Danville IL where lots of vacant lots city owned and erratically mowed. Have wanted t plant whole lots in flax follow with winter squash or beans to keep ground covered.when exactly did you pull flax? I had envisioned using inverted tomato cage to dry bundles. I tried playing with some volunteer nettles, didn't work but discovered are very hard to eradicate.
Hi 👋 Evei! 😢 I tried to see if I could try this in Idaho, and it didn't grow that well. We must be to dry of climate. I wish you and your family a safe rest of this year.
This was such a beautiful video in so many ways!! 🥰 I tried growing cotton this year and had some flowers until the heatwave came and decimated my plant. I left it outside in frustration after, and it just started growing new leaves!
I've been watching you for years I still haven't spinned a lick of yarn but your channel is so refreshing. I think it's cool that you grew your own flax
I love this video. This year I had a small garden of marigolds for dyeing and loved it. Since you posted. The first video of planting the flax I’ve wanted to do this too. But I recently moved to 8,000 feet above sea level in the CO Rockies and gardening is so much different here. But I’ve seen flax growing here, so pretty. I’m anxiously awaiting your video on processing the stems. 😊 I hope there will be one.
My heart and good thoughts go out to all whom are affected by nature negatively. I hope you are safe and your losses are minimal at most.💖 Nature is amazing in the good it can do also. It definitely is awe-inspiring in its strength. We have been lucky on the mid East Coast so far this year. 🤞🏻 I want to plant flax so bad, but my health won't let me. I'm hoping to make my own linen and natural dyes at some point. I would love to share it with my local living museum which is Pennsbury Manor. It's William Penn's summer home. William Penn settled the land many, many decades pre Revolutionary War. He actually worked with the local natives and there is still a lot of local Native names and culture in our area. It's a very special place.
truly insane to me that anyone would bother growing nettles, but i suppose you dont have them growing wild in the us? you seem like you're havin great fun though
This was a great video, Eve! I think it’s okay to be concerned about abnormal weather hitting our areas, even in light of devastation elsewhere in the country. Side note, be glad your dog doesn’t chase the rabbits away. I have a dog that not only chases the rabbits, but tries to catch them. I always know when she caught a rabbit because I find a partially eaten rabbit in my yard.
Wow! I'm just in the middle of processing my first ever flax harvest now. I got 80% of it broken and combed, ready to spin. I did mess up some aspects, so it's not an amazing quality of fibre, but I learned so much! I cannot wait for spring to try again with seeds I gathered (I alloweed it to mature, I'm ok with coarse fibre)
Sprinkle black pepper every few days and especially after rain - squirrels sniff it and get burning no sand leave the areas alone. I have had to advance to cayenne pepper as well - but I used the lower burn ones and then went to a medium - doesn’t cause any damage to teh squirrel but they think twice about digging in the bed! Worked for me!
It was definitely a crazy weather summer this year.. we had the most number of Tornados across NYS as well this year that we've ever had... Still sending prayers to NC, GA and FL for their hurricane damage.. 😞 I once had a run in with stinging nettle in the woods.. learned my lesson on that one.. Ugh!
Oh I didn't know you were in Chicagoland too. We had to put a cage around all of our plants, the rabbits have been such a menace! I can't wait to see the next part!
Good dog. Meanwhile my dog... Once when my sister was little she came running in "Dogs eating a frog!" Mom went out to check and doggy was finishing off some back bunny feet. "Yep, was a frog" Didn't tell her otherwise until years later. 😂
I went down a rabbit hole researching this topic earlier this year. It now a dream of mine to own enough land to grow my own flax, spin it into yarn, and weave my own textile to make a single garment. Perhaps a bandana, scarf, or even, if I'm fortunate to have enough, a whole shirt! So cool to see someone else also pursuing this dream!
We discovered the best way to keep the squirrels out of the walnut tree was to have a hawk nest across the street. 😂 My dad's been at war with the squirrels for years.
I think if you plant on a larger scale the damage done by wildlife will be smaller because you will have so much more to harvest from. they seem to be doing alot of damage because your grow area is so small. Your also getting alot of shade it seems. You may get more harvest when planted in full sun. Maybe you can borrow a friends plot of land to grow on thats sunny and larger. Barter for the land use and improve their soil. Ive been growing cotton for several years now in California, picked up a damaged castle wheel for $25 from the 1970's i had to repair, hope to learn spinning on it with my cotton fiber. Saw your channel when researching the wheel before i bought it and became a fiber friend. I wouldn't worry about saving seeds from previous harvest, pull the flax when its green for the best fiber. The only reason to save seed is if you want to acclimate the plant to your climate. Thankyou for sharing your farming experience. I share your grief about squirrels.
I found out relatively recently that we have wild flax growing here in Utah, but I don't know where. I know where to get rabbit brush for dyeing (everywhere) as well as nettle (again, everywhere), but I have no idea where the flax is.
I’m in middle Georgia, thankfully the worst my family experienced was losing power for two days. I relate to your trying to grow something and have wildlife and a storm wipe it out. My granddaughter’s pumpkin patch was a loss. But, there’s always next year.
I love it when people start growing the thing they craft with, and then realize How. Much. Work. It. Took. to get the harvest. I suppose on the scale of "field" vs "bed", there was enough planted to offset critter consumption. That emotional moment when you harvested your flax? That was you reaching back into ancient history and realizing your modern self could do it, too, IF YOU WANTED TO, BUT YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO. The invention of string is greater than the invention of the wheel. I saw one Sally Pointer video about hand twisting and made about 8' of cordage from the dead spider plant leaves. I came back with a "done it, don't have to do it again" sense of accomplishment... and that cordage has weathered two winters already and still holds up the grape vine at the side of my house (the grape refuses to grab onto the actual trellis I bought for it, for some reason).
I'm doing a flax plot this spring (south eastern Australia). I'd be planted already, but we have a hotter and drier season predicted, so I'm still getting the irrigation laid. Any of the last 3 seasons would have been perfect, but I didn't have the extra prepared ground space. I don't have the ground dwelling wildlife, but I'll need to net the plot against bird attack. I hope this is a series that will continue and take us through retting, mechanical processing and spinning. That would be wonderful to watch while my own plot is growing.
Thanks for sharing about CERF+ - going to look into them right now! I’m also curious if you’ll be trying nettle again? Or if it’s not worth the bunny battle.
Lovely video as always💕 too bad the rabbits got you’re nettle but you’re linen turned out so nice🥰 you are making me want to try growing my own fiber plants😁
I totally get what you mean about feeling emotional when doing fibrecraft things based on historical methods. It really feels like you're connected to a long long line of (mostly) forgotten women, keeping their memories alive somehow.
"Everyone's yard could be flax 😂"
This was a great video!
growing nettles specifically for fiber is wild to me as someone who lives in the UK, you can literally just walk for 5 minutes anywhere and find loads XD
I live in Southern Indiana and have to battle stinging nettle constantly in my yard and pathways. (It has many many benefits, so I do let it thrive away from the house.)
I hope your first try at linen production has you excited to have another go at it next season!
Same in Germany. Loads of those all year around, except dead of winter.
i remember watching a true crime video from the UK where the cops were beating down nettles in order to get into the area where they were without getting stung so they could look for a missing girl!
Got to keep in mind our fetish for "grass". Americans have this thing about "weeds" and nettles are "weeds" of the first sort. I've had some nettles in my gardens for years for edible/teas purposes. Just this year I've upped their numbers thanks to your Sally Pointer and her neolithic skills. I now have 2 patches. SOme fine day I may actually get enough to do something with.
I'd say lucky you, I have to grow nettles if I want nettle twine.
And I get that you feel awkward considering the circumstances. As a Floridian who goes through this hurricane thing fairly frequently, I can tell you that even though we had a lot of damage, we also know the areas north of us had no infrastructure to handle this kind of storm and our hearts and souls are with them and supporting them. However, we all do what we can and then we pick up the pieces. Those pieces include the comfort of a sense of normalcy from those who were fortunate to not have gone through it. Thank you for acknowledging it and we see your heart - you are appreciated.
Nothing embarrassing about getting emotional from harvesting your flax! There is something incredibly beautiful and rewarding in growing a plant from a seed, tending it, and harvesting it, knowing that this will keep on giving beauty and usefulness in your life. Whether that be the plants we spin into cloth, the ones we use to dye that cloth, or the plants we use to create a nourishing meal. It is a beautiful practice!
As someone who went through a bad cyclone a few years ago (and some "once in 2,000 year floods" more recently and a not-so-bad cyclone more recently still) I can promise you that nice, normal things like this video are very welcome relief after a disaster.
We lost the power for several days after the really bad cyclone but, in accordance with the official instructions, I had a battery operated radio. I was able to use this to listen to a broadcast of a Beethoven string quartet. You cannot begin to imagine how much hope that brought me.
1:37 As soon as I heard you say "I have flax in my pocket" I started singing alarm Alanis Morisette "Because I got flax seed in my pocket I'm gonna spin some yarn".
You are planting European annual flax used commercially. Various native flaxes grow all over the US. I have perennial flax native to my high desert taking over my hill adjacent to my driveway. I look forward to processing it!
Thanks for sharing! I'll look into more wild flax.
This is exciting to hear! I too will look into US native wild flax.
Are you going to show us please what you did to get the dry plants ready for spinning?
Absolutely!
@@JillianEveThe processing into fibre is what I’m most looking forward to. Can’t wait!
@@Eiffelkiwi Me too!
I really enjoy watching your videos. Not only are you an amazing fiber artist, but your kindness and thoughtfulness always shine through. Thank you for sharing your work and beautiful self with everyone!!
I'm so excited to see your growing, processing and spinning! It isn't the easiest, but I can't wait to see a pro spinner and fiber artist tackle it! I also get so emotional when harvesting fiber and dye plants. Like I'm reaching back through thousands of years of human history when I'm pulling the flax plants out of the earth and sharing a moment with all the fiber artists who came before. Can't wait for the next one!
Thank you so much! Your flax project was also so fun to see. 😊💜🌱
I’m watching this sitting in a hotel because I still don’t have power in my apartment because of Helene. Thank you for your kind words and in general to everyone who has sent support. I’m thankful that I am safe but so many are not. ❤
I'm so excited for you, it is my dream to grow and spin my own flax! I made some nettle cordage this year from some road-side nettles. I too was quite overwhelmed by how connected I felt to nature and my craft, and I didn't get the benefit of watching it grow from seed; if I did I may well have been in tears myself! It's so wonderful to find other people out there who feel the same :)
Dogbane is something else you could try for cordage. It’s often found roadside. Ditto for milkweed. Common milkweed can grow quite tall and have a thick stem . I’ve gotten fibre from both and processing is same for all of them.
@@magdalenas8713 Thanks, I am in the UK and unfortunately those plants don't grow here. However I think I have heard that fireweed can be used as well, and that's in the UK and North America :)
❤ That was a very thoughtful inserted comment in your video about Helene.
Never be embarrassed when moved to emotion, regardless of the reasoning. I was crying also, because I know the love and beauty and spirit that comes with working with natural fibers and I've had very little experience. I plan to grow fields of flax one day, and I know I'll be bawling at every step
"Behold, my sheaths are stooked" I legitimately cackled 😂 This whole video was heckin' adorable!
You'e SO COOL, such an inspiration to a new generation of fiber artists and scholars!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I died laughing with Mark's voiceovers at the beginning!!! The difficulties of growing flax for the first time could be alleviated by trying again. For you see, Mark might start to understand how very... ReFLAXING it could be! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
That was a great video! Thank you for remembering the victims of Helene. We live in western NC where it hit hard, though we have not suffered much compared to others. A tree fell on our roof, another on our cars. We are just grateful to be alive.
I also grew flax for the first time this year and harvested it later when the seeds were already ripe. After drying and dew-roasting, I broke it and then combed it. I received a nice linen, but it was darker than the linen I bought. I will harvest more quickly next year. But the positive thing is that I have plenty of seeds for next year, over 500 grams. Greetings from Germany
Congratulations on your harvest!
Flax in bloom is so beautiful! 🥰
Hi Evie, my husband and I've been growing flax. This is our 5th year. I enjoyed your video. I have learned a lot in our efforts. With a small plot , about 7feet square, there are things I do that you can't do with a field. It was good that you explained harvesting green to beginning yellow to brown seeds. I harvest when the lower 4-6 inches are yellow and leaves falling off. We dry them on tables in garage or outside. The seeds continue to develop so when dry we ripple an use seeds for next year. It is often hard to find them and I like to select for taller stems. What variety did you plant? I have been planting Nathalia, but I have some avian for next year. Oh, and we use metal folding fences to protect them from wind. Striving for less coarseness is ongoing. I'll be curious to learn how yours comes out. I envy your black soil. We are from IL but live in MD. In fact we are going to visit IL and Wis very soon.
At one point Evie had a close-up of the seed packet and it said "Avian" on it. So I think that's the variety she used.
Yep!
There are fields of flax grown near me and the sea of blue flowers are so beautiful. Loved this video!
love your flax experiment, hopefully you will have better luck next year with the nettles and P. S. you haven't done it wrong if you learn from it something that will make the next crop easier
Your husband being like "can we create a superflax by planting all the seeds in one spot?" cracked me up. You two make a good pair, since you're both silly and supportive and kind to each other. He seems genuinely interested in what you're doing, which is every fiber person's dream lmao.
Anyways, gonna watch the rest of the video now.
You’re such a beautiful, kind, caring, positive person. Thank you for always making videos that bring a smile to my face despite the hard times we live in 💖💖💖
Eeeeeee! This is so exciting!!! I cannot wait to see the next installments on this adventure ❤
I love that you left in that emotional bit! You've talked about how spinning has tied you to your grandmother (or great grandmother?) and our ancestors in general. To learn about and harvest flax feels like a tie to them and bringing a piece of them back into our lives. A beautiful video as always Evie❤❤
Love this, and your sensitivity to others. It is always amazing to me to see how people historically found ways to use various plants in such interesting ways. Would I look at a random wild plant and think "I should figure out how to make that into fiber!"? Probably not. Necessity makes people innovative and interesting.
From the UK perspective I was giggling away at you planting nettles, a very irritating and highly invasive plant!
Your content brings me so much joy
The idea that someone would have nettles seeds in a proper seed packet! I was laughing so hard. If I'm not vigilant my entire allotment would be filled with nettle in a season or two.
Technically not invasive in the UK! It's as native as grass and oak, we just have a lot of it
I like that you left in that wonderful moment at around 16:30, because it's an example of why I enjoy your work so much; you always seem to embody that very intimate joy that we fiber friends experience. It's why we do what we do, that sense of connection with our material and with our ancestors, and with one another. You bring that out in people.
It looks like such a tricky but engrossing project. I can understand why it might make you emotional - you’re connecting with a process done by many generations of dedicated and skilled artisans.
I often wonder how the process came to be pinned down so prescriptively! It must have been so much trial and error by people passing on what they learned and working out how to get the most out of their efforts. It’s so fantastic to think about.
Hi Evie! Thanks for scratching this intellectual itch…I was so curious to grow flax and well… I’m okay watching you do it for now 😂
I love how you're always so thoughtful and mindful with your videos and your words. This is a lovely video, and I'm hoping we can see more of the journey and process! You always connect your craft to history, traditional, not idealizing the time but understanding there is a depth of knowledge and experience that, through these crafts, we can momentarily experience beyond words.
Amazing video as always
Eve, never be embarrassed about your emotions!
Your enlightenment was very touching and brought tears of joy to my eyes, too.
When you watch this video again I hope you will be proud of it with mistakes or not.
Watching you getting connected to God's creations was beautiful!
Thank you for your videos and channel.
Thanks Evie. I love how you investigate and try things.
Good day dear Evie! And Mark as well.
I know the master spinner thing was frustrating and sad, but your videos since have been so different from the ones before. They were always good, but now they have so much more depth and you seem to be taking more risks and they are amazing!
You live near me, how cool, I just found your videos today
Jillian Eve we are fiber spirit sisters! I love watching your videos, seeing your process of experimentation. I learned to spin 51 years ago when information was difficult to come by and oh so precious. (No Internet) One had to sleuth and connect the dots in learning how to spin each type of fiber. I developed an interest in Eastern European and Russian Textile traditions and technical skills. I believe these skills were a form of wealth in women's rural lives. I am planning to grow flax and nettle in Bellevue, WA this spring. I'm looking forward to following your
progress with your bast fibers. Nettle too, is so good for you, and the seeds too, as medicine and food
I feel as passionate as you do about ancient fibers. Thank you for your videos. I love it!
Kudos to you, Evie! on growing it, harvesting it, and photographing all the beautiful garden!! paula
despite the tragedy lingering in the background... and all the struggles growing ... this was a lovely peaceful journey to follow this morning and helped bring my day up in a much-needed way.
hopefully next year's crop fairs better for a larger yield. i can't wait to continue to follow the journey of this fiber
I absolutely love this video! Well all of your videos but I’ve always wanted to grow and process flax. I am way behind you on spinning and weaving skills but working toward it. Being a part of the natural fabric process is my goal and your channel has been so fun and informative. I would love to see how you processed the flax when it was dried enough and all through to see what you make with it. You always explain things in such an easy way to understand and your love of learning is contagious. Wish I lived closer and could be your apprentice. I’m down in Florida currently. Thank you for being you and also crying while harvesting really touched me because I can understand what you are feeling at that moment. I am glad you kept that in the video.
I am from Peoria Illinois. We were on vacation in Florida when that storm hit. I watched it happen from there. I knew it was bad. And yes we had a few limbs down. A great neighbor had picked them up by the time we were home. Enjoyed your video.
That’s really cool! Thanks for sharing! ❤️
Ahh so fun!! My flax didn't really go to seed and I let mine go for a long time!! But I'm in Wyoming so short growing season 😢
Your love of your craft is so wholesome. It's beautiful
I tried growing Japanese Indigo in pots. They did so well...until they didn't. Still not sure what happened to them. But there's always next year! 😃
just like in minecfrat :'D :'D brilliant!!
this video is so wholesome and informative! thank you Evie!
I was very happy to see a new video from you 😊 you’re a kind, considerate person and I enjoy watching you and your content. This was something new and really cool!
This is a beautiful video. Thank you for so gently taking us with you on the journey.
If you weren't so far away from me here in Minnesota, I would say you should come to my farm place to collect nettles. It grows wild here and is considered a noxious weed by many around me. There is a large patch of it in our grove. It is known locally as Itch Weed. I have looked into harvesting nettles for spinning and yes, leaves are quite good cooked. It's not exactly spines but more like hairs on the leaves that make people itch. Once cooked, the hairs are gone. I am intrigued by the appearance of flax. The flowers are lovely. It would look lovely in a flower bed. May need to add it to my garden beds!
I empathize with your bunny & squirrel issues! My pots get overturned with walnuts and acorns. My husband was frustrated with the buns (then the deer), so he put up a fence around our raised beds. Kudos on attempting ANYTHING via your gardens, since Nature can never be predicted. ❤
Love the video good luck in your Alex's growing. 😊😊😊❤❤❤❤
You have such a genuine heart in all you do. ❤What an experience growing flax and attempting nettles. I actually knew nothing about stinging nettles. Always learning something from you, so thank you 🙂
Looking forward to the processing!
Thank you for scratching my itch. Absolutely get Rabbit Scram -all natural, great fertilizer, too. I spread it at the beginning on the month from April.
love this episode so much. ❤
gosh the flax looks so prettyyyy
Someday I'd love to grow my own flax ❤
I also grew fiber flax for the first time this year. (Cotton too.) It really is a full experience to see it go from tiny seed to workable fiber.
The mystery came right through for me... What a treat to watch on a Saturday morning!
So interesting and fun! Will you be sharing how to process the flax to get the fiber? I would love to see that! 😊
Yes of course!
Am down in Danville IL where lots of vacant lots city owned and erratically mowed. Have wanted t plant whole lots in flax follow with winter squash or beans to keep ground covered.when exactly did you pull flax? I had envisioned using inverted tomato cage to dry bundles. I tried playing with some volunteer nettles, didn't work but discovered are very hard to eradicate.
Hi 👋 Evei! 😢 I tried to see if I could try this in Idaho, and it didn't grow that well. We must be to dry of climate. I wish you and your family a safe rest of this year.
Thank you.
"Is it going to be one really big flower?" 😂😂💖💖💖
This was such a beautiful video in so many ways!! 🥰 I tried growing cotton this year and had some flowers until the heatwave came and decimated my plant. I left it outside in frustration after, and it just started growing new leaves!
Beautifully filmed as well as educational. Well done guys and my thoughts with all in the path of the storms from Bonnie Scotland🏴
wow look forward to seeing what you do next
I've been watching you for years I still haven't spinned a lick of yarn but your channel is so refreshing. I think it's cool that you grew your own flax
I love this video. This year I had a small garden of marigolds for dyeing and loved it. Since you posted. The first video of planting the flax I’ve wanted to do this too. But I recently moved to 8,000 feet above sea level in the CO Rockies and gardening is so much different here. But I’ve seen flax growing here, so pretty. I’m anxiously awaiting your video on processing the stems. 😊 I hope there will be one.
I’m so here for the wildlife footage honestly ❤
Don't tell the squirrel! He's going to demand payment and he already has all my walnuts!
@@JillianEve he’s going straight to the SAG (Squirrel Actors Guild)
My heart and good thoughts go out to all whom are affected by nature negatively. I hope you are safe and your losses are minimal at most.💖 Nature is amazing in the good it can do also. It definitely is awe-inspiring in its strength. We have been lucky on the mid East Coast so far this year. 🤞🏻 I want to plant flax so bad, but my health won't let me. I'm hoping to make my own linen and natural dyes at some point. I would love to share it with my local living museum which is Pennsbury Manor. It's William Penn's summer home. William Penn settled the land many, many decades pre Revolutionary War. He actually worked with the local natives and there is still a lot of local Native names and culture in our area. It's a very special place.
truly insane to me that anyone would bother growing nettles, but i suppose you dont have them growing wild in the us? you seem like you're havin great fun though
They grow wild, but our trespassing laws are scary and I don't want to get pew pewed. 😬 I haven't found anyone with land I can forage yet. 😭
That was my thought too! Wvie is welcome and pick nettles at my place where we are overrun with them
This was a great video, Eve! I think it’s okay to be concerned about abnormal weather hitting our areas, even in light of devastation elsewhere in the country.
Side note, be glad your dog doesn’t chase the rabbits away. I have a dog that not only chases the rabbits, but tries to catch them. I always know when she caught a rabbit because I find a partially eaten rabbit in my yard.
Excellent. Thank you
Wow! I'm just in the middle of processing my first ever flax harvest now. I got 80% of it broken and combed, ready to spin. I did mess up some aspects, so it's not an amazing quality of fibre, but I learned so much! I cannot wait for spring to try again with seeds I gathered (I alloweed it to mature, I'm ok with coarse fibre)
Love what you are doing! 🎉
Sprinkle black pepper every few days and especially after rain - squirrels sniff it and get burning no sand leave the areas alone. I have had to advance to cayenne pepper as well - but I used the lower burn ones and then went to a medium - doesn’t cause any damage to teh squirrel but they think twice about digging in the bed! Worked for me!
It was definitely a crazy weather summer this year.. we had the most number of Tornados across NYS as well this year that we've ever had... Still sending prayers to NC, GA and FL for their hurricane damage.. 😞 I once had a run in with stinging nettle in the woods.. learned my lesson on that one.. Ugh!
Grrrr rabbits and squirrels. The cutest thieves.
Oh I didn't know you were in Chicagoland too. We had to put a cage around all of our plants, the rabbits have been such a menace! I can't wait to see the next part!
Mark is a sarcastic skeptic. I like him, even when he's wrong. lol
Loved your video Jullian Eve.💗
Good dog. Meanwhile my dog... Once when my sister was little she came running in "Dogs eating a frog!"
Mom went out to check and doggy was finishing off some back bunny feet. "Yep, was a frog" Didn't tell her otherwise until years later. 😂
I went down a rabbit hole researching this topic earlier this year. It now a dream of mine to own enough land to grow my own flax, spin it into yarn, and weave my own textile to make a single garment. Perhaps a bandana, scarf, or even, if I'm fortunate to have enough, a whole shirt! So cool to see someone else also pursuing this dream!
Fascinating! Loved it! 💕
We discovered the best way to keep the squirrels out of the walnut tree was to have a hawk nest across the street. 😂 My dad's been at war with the squirrels for years.
🦅🫣
I think if you plant on a larger scale the damage done by wildlife will be smaller because you will have so much more to harvest from. they seem to be doing alot of damage because your grow area is so small. Your also getting alot of shade it seems. You may get more harvest when planted in full sun. Maybe you can borrow a friends plot of land to grow on thats sunny and larger. Barter for the land use and improve their soil. Ive been growing cotton for several years now in California, picked up a damaged castle wheel for $25 from the 1970's i had to repair, hope to learn spinning on it with my cotton fiber. Saw your channel when researching the wheel before i bought it and became a fiber friend. I wouldn't worry about saving seeds from previous harvest, pull the flax when its green for the best fiber. The only reason to save seed is if you want to acclimate the plant to your climate. Thankyou for sharing your farming experience. I share your grief about squirrels.
You'll want to watch the soil you plant in. Ancient lore says they rotated flax fields on a seven year basis.
I found out relatively recently that we have wild flax growing here in Utah, but I don't know where. I know where to get rabbit brush for dyeing (everywhere) as well as nettle (again, everywhere), but I have no idea where the flax is.
this was so lovely!! i’ve been wanting to process flax!!
I’m in middle Georgia, thankfully the worst my family experienced was losing power for two days. I relate to your trying to grow something and have wildlife and a storm wipe it out. My granddaughter’s pumpkin patch was a loss. But, there’s always next year.
I love it when people start growing the thing they craft with, and then realize How. Much. Work. It. Took. to get the harvest. I suppose on the scale of "field" vs "bed", there was enough planted to offset critter consumption. That emotional moment when you harvested your flax? That was you reaching back into ancient history and realizing your modern self could do it, too, IF YOU WANTED TO, BUT YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO. The invention of string is greater than the invention of the wheel. I saw one Sally Pointer video about hand twisting and made about 8' of cordage from the dead spider plant leaves. I came back with a "done it, don't have to do it again" sense of accomplishment... and that cordage has weathered two winters already and still holds up the grape vine at the side of my house (the grape refuses to grab onto the actual trellis I bought for it, for some reason).
I'm doing a flax plot this spring (south eastern Australia). I'd be planted already, but we have a hotter and drier season predicted, so I'm still getting the irrigation laid. Any of the last 3 seasons would have been perfect, but I didn't have the extra prepared ground space. I don't have the ground dwelling wildlife, but I'll need to net the plot against bird attack. I hope this is a series that will continue and take us through retting, mechanical processing and spinning. That would be wonderful to watch while my own plot is growing.
Where are you and where did you get your seed. I am in Sydney and very keen to get some.
Thanks for sharing about CERF+ - going to look into them right now!
I’m also curious if you’ll be trying nettle again? Or if it’s not worth the bunny battle.
Nettle is coming soon... 😁
Great work!
Lovely video as always💕 too bad the rabbits got you’re nettle but you’re linen turned out so nice🥰 you are making me want to try growing my own fiber plants😁
I totally get what you mean about feeling emotional when doing fibrecraft things based on historical methods. It really feels like you're connected to a long long line of (mostly) forgotten women, keeping their memories alive somehow.
Next video- please continue the flax story¡