New Moon Greetings – October 10th, 2026 This month my granddaughter and I continued to explore the process of garden dyes. Magic happens when you watch the colors transform the fiber. This feels especially true when the colors are grown in your own backyard. For this round of dyeing we used calendula flowers and apple … Read more
New Moon Greetings – May 26, 2025 Discovery of Fiber Plants For the last few years I have been intrigued with spinning fibers into usable thread and imagining how our ancestors first pieced this skill together. This all began when I grew flax to process into linen. You can read about that experience here, but … Read more
New Moon Greetings – November 1, 2024 The Resilient Thread Let me start with this reminder – you are stronger and more resilient than you know. Even though the world feels a little out of control right now, I am here to tell you that whatever happens next, we can and will get through it. … Read more
New Moon Greetings – May 19, 2023 Garden Evolution Garden Experiments are about pushing the boundaries of what you ordinarily grow. When my children were young, I focused my garden efforts exclusively on edible plants and healing herbs. Feeding people and having plants to make my own teas, tinctures, and salves was the top priority. … Read more
Happy Full Moon – March 7, 2023 An Origin Story There is an old Norse tale of a farmer who was given the gift of flax by the goddess Holda. While chasing after his sheep, he discovered a secret doorway into a glacier. And upon entering the doorway, the farmer discovered a cave filled with dazzling … Read more
Flax Adventure In January I set a goal to grow and process flax for fiber – as in fiber for linen. I don’t think I could be any happier with how this project turned out. My last blog post brought you up to date with the adventure. I had just harvested, dried, and begun soaking … Read more
As many of you know, I have been growing flax this summer with a plan to turn it into fiber for spinning (or at least attempt to.) You can read the previous posts about my experiment here and here. Harvesting Because of COVID-19, I’ve been working from home and have been … Read more
Flax to Fiber Experiment As some of you know, I became intrigued by the whole process of turning flax into fiber after reading The Golden Thread. Of course, I had to try it myself. This is an update on the project that began in January. In the spring, I put in a new 8 foot by … Read more
Tiny Solstice Garden Tour My garden is lush and overflowing today but not anywhere near its peak, so it is hard to envision winter. And yet, we’ve reached the tipping point of light and darkness at summer solstice. The daylight hours will begin to fade now until yule. It will be almost imperceptible at … Read more
Flax to Fiber One of my many garden goals for the new year is attempting to create fiber from flax…fiber as in thread, string, or whatever I can manage. I was inspired to explore this idea after reading The Golden Thread, How Fabric Changed History by Clair St. Kasia Humans have been making fiber from flax … Read more
