Dancing with the Universe

I was looking into flax again (I do still want to experiment with growing it, the area between the garden and the creek would be ideal if I can get the weeds under control), and I also received a package of roving mill ends that had a little packet of "rose fiber", and that got me thinking. Once I collect the tools for processing bast fibers like flax, how many fibers could I seek out at Three Creeks?

- Nettles are a classic, and we have a great many, though they don't grow densely. Collecting them over the course of a few years would probably make sense.
- Pacific blackberry, that living barbed wire, which grows to lengths of twenty or thirty feet.
- Himalayan blackberry, though its fibers may be coarser... might as well use it anyway!
- Scotch broom is not on the property, but it's easy enough to find down the hill.
- Bamboo... I am not willing to introduce it except possibly in an old bathtub or similar, but there may be some in the valley I can experiment with.
- Cattail? Usually the leaves are used for cordage and baskets, but they might yield good fiber. Also the stalks.
- Milkweed can offer both bast fibers and down.
- Knotweed! Hopefully the Japanese knotweed is on its way out by the edge of the lawn, but the giant knotweed (Polygonum sachalinense) is still beyond the fence, and with a height of 10-12 feet, it should have no shortage of long fibers.
--- I should also consider freezing the leaves as a spinach alternative (if I don't want to dedicate garden space to spinach), and the dead dry stalks can be used for fuel, or at least kindling.
- Maybe Canada thistle? It grows as tall as flax when left to itself, and doesn't branch much at all. And heaven knows it's wiry enough.
- I should check out tansy ragwort, which grows in profusion in the valley, though it may branch too much.
- Moth mullein, now that I know how tall it can grow in the right conditions. It is reportedly insecticidal as well.
- Bamboo grass certainly cuts the hands of the unwary, might be worth it for cordage or twine if not finer goods.
- Sunflowers or Jerusalem artichokes... small varieties might be best.
- Fern fronds? I should take one apart to see how the fibers are.

One note: thick-stemmed plants (knotweed, sunflower, maybe even Himalayan blackberry, nettle, and cattail stem) can require long retting times, so splitting/peeling them first might be wise.

Apparently flax tow can be used for paper, and someone on a forum suggested making it with knotweed, so I suspect most of these could also be used. It's one good use for the tow, along with spinning it for twine, candle wicks, and coarse cloth/canvas/burlap.

Huh... Milkweed fluff might be carded and spun like cotton or tow. Or this:
"If you really want to "test the primitive waters" I would suggest harvesting a basket full of milkweed seed pods while they are still green. One at a time split them open and begin rolling the white filament between your thumb and index finger discarding the seed. Keep adding to the "thread" to increase the length. Milkweed sap is very much like glue that will help stick the white filaments together. One pod will make a thread of extreme length. With practice it is possible to produce a fairly heavy thread. Milkweed "twine" is extremely strong. Native Americans used this thread for sewing hides to make clothing and footwear. The heavier thread was also used to bind flint knife blades to handles and flint points to arrows etc."

Since plant fibers can be stored dry for years, either retted or not, it may be worth collecting and experimenting over time.

I made a dorodango.

It's not mirror-smooth, which may be due to my inexpert technique, the soil (Concord heavy clay makes it tricky to handle and causes things to go rather differently than either set of instructions), or both. It's getting pretty darn shiny despite the little pits and bumps, though, and as it gets more dry it may surprise me.

I plan to make two more, so far: one from Davis near the Student Farm, where they have limestone just under the soil which should make it quite pale, and one from the sandstone hills of Pleasant Hill. I expect that sandier soil will be easier to work with, as it sets harder and the fine particles make a better polish. Clay tends to stay wet longer, deform or scratch easily, and slough off under indelicate treatment.

Greg thinks I'm crazy. That's fine. I like my dorodango. :)

It's been years since I've used a Dixon-Ticonderoga #1. Just sharpening it was an experience... I sharpen my colored pencils with an exactoknife, but I wanted a real point on this, so I used a little plastic pencil-sharpener my mom has. I didn't break the point, which says I still remember how...

About the sketchbook: Oh. It's that sketchbook. It pays sometimes to flip through the pages -- this is the one that has (among other things) the pencil sketches and color tests for the Changeling game buttons, including the Celtic knotwork border; the rose-briar ankh which was pilfered for use in a local Vampire LARP I wasn't even in; the sketches for animatronic full-size wings I've never had the money to build; the original Monarch butterfly pencil-and-ink which was scanned and put on my website; and notes on origami figures to include in the collection I still haven't finished making. It's half-used and has things that are almost a decade old. Talk about your time warps.

I'm glad I found the ankh, though. That's something I really don't want to lose -- it's probably one of my finest simple pieces.

So I picked up the knitting needles, because a long-neglected scarf was in my knitting basket, and I had to move the basket to get to something else in the closet. I was curious as to whether I remembered how to knit, and the answer is yes, I do... well enough to make a 10" row every 45 seconds or so if I'm not hurrying. The tension is good, too, which is one of the hardest things for me. I need shorter needles than my full-size aluminum behemoths, though...

I prefer crochet, certainly, but it's nice to know both. Now I'm looking at making something I've needed for some time, and thinking, ( yikes! )

On another front entirely, I had the usual quiet New Year's Eve gathering, which was even smaller than anticipated... This year it was just me, Dave, my brother Alex, and Nick. Dave has a couple of consoles, but no Tomb Raider (the second half of the now-traditional Martinelli's and Lara festival) so instead we hauled Stilgar out from under Nick's desk, grabbed the monitor that I'm using until my laptop screen gets fixed, and headed over for a ( LAN party. )

Yep, I'm definitely hooked. Sigh.