All I can say is thank goodness for your obsession, with textiles and especially with hemp, and your love of writing so that we get to read your fascinating insights and share in your knowledge. And I'm glad your home is coming on and that you feel settled.
I should do that! I could do it here. I tried once to post pictures of things I have kept and will not sell on Instagram but despite being very clear that I wouldn't be selling them I had so many messages asking how much they were and numerous people literally hassle me - one woman wrote to me several times over a period of months saying 'have you decided to sell that thing yet', and in the end I decided to just not share any more because people were being really weird. Maybe the weirdos don't have the patience for newsletters!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge both by posting and by curation. I’m struck personally by the tension between exquisite, no longer practiced techniques we need to preserve and archive, and allowing objects to fulfil their purpose. I really hate the idea of “for best” that never gets out of the box. So there are pieces that I use and repair, some less so “for high days and holy days” and the “just for looking” things. But they sometimes jump category without permission!
I think with textiles especially there is a certain ephemeral quality that we have to accept - they are not going to live forever, they are probably not going to live beyond three or four hundred years, at the most. But in that there is also respect for the object and the maker and the skill, which is why I am continuously harping on about people not cutting up or dyeing the older, handwoven pieces. Some pieces i keep because they are unique, some because they speak to me, but insomuch as they get regularly taken out and studied, they are not boxed in!
Thank you as always for taking the time Johanna....I'm still waiting for your book of knowledge! Glad the insulation is going in...it must be three years since you were here - I am SO, SO happy you are now settled. Mxx
I feel I may have found my tribe! I discovered hand woven French linen and hemp textiles relatively recently but have very quickly become someone who feels they need to “rescue” any piece they come across that looks unloved and unvalued. I am always aware how much labour each piece represents and how much sense it makes to put these vintage sheets on our beds (and sofas) and enjoy using them rather than buying new, mass produced cotton. I have as much as I can use in one lifetime so now I tell myself I am buying for my kids and niblings.
Because I am an annoying pedant, I'd just like to throw into the mix:
Nettle.
From memory (probably in an old SpinOff magazine) it produces a very fine white fabric.
I don't know if nettle was spun in Western Europe - it may be more of an Eastern Europe thing - but apparently it, too, needs a microscope to distinguish it from flax. In case anyone is worried, retting it removes the sting, and no, I'm not planning on spinning it! I've already achieved SABLE (Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy).
Nettle's colour is exactly the same as other fibres, it depends on species, place, time, weather, and technique. The examples of nettle (or ramie as it is referred to when it is Asian) I have from Nepal and China vary between a deep honey colour to a pale creamed honey. The French nettle I have is a very deep brown, I have seen examples from Ukraine that are almost mahogany. Like all bast fibres, nettle too can be bleached by continuous washing and sun exposure, which is how white linen was originally made. I like your acronym and I have also achieved this hence putting up a lot of it for sale!
All I can say is thank goodness for your obsession, with textiles and especially with hemp, and your love of writing so that we get to read your fascinating insights and share in your knowledge. And I'm glad your home is coming on and that you feel settled.
I simply love your newsletters and your no-compromise views on Palestine. I have learned so much from you about textiles. Thank you! Glynis
You are so welcome!
I hope you will post pictures of your mariner's vest and the old greek blouses some time! Thank you for another fascinating post.
I should do that! I could do it here. I tried once to post pictures of things I have kept and will not sell on Instagram but despite being very clear that I wouldn't be selling them I had so many messages asking how much they were and numerous people literally hassle me - one woman wrote to me several times over a period of months saying 'have you decided to sell that thing yet', and in the end I decided to just not share any more because people were being really weird. Maybe the weirdos don't have the patience for newsletters!
Sadly, there are some people who believe that, for the right price, absolutely anything is available for sale.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge both by posting and by curation. I’m struck personally by the tension between exquisite, no longer practiced techniques we need to preserve and archive, and allowing objects to fulfil their purpose. I really hate the idea of “for best” that never gets out of the box. So there are pieces that I use and repair, some less so “for high days and holy days” and the “just for looking” things. But they sometimes jump category without permission!
I think with textiles especially there is a certain ephemeral quality that we have to accept - they are not going to live forever, they are probably not going to live beyond three or four hundred years, at the most. But in that there is also respect for the object and the maker and the skill, which is why I am continuously harping on about people not cutting up or dyeing the older, handwoven pieces. Some pieces i keep because they are unique, some because they speak to me, but insomuch as they get regularly taken out and studied, they are not boxed in!
Thank you as always for taking the time Johanna....I'm still waiting for your book of knowledge! Glad the insulation is going in...it must be three years since you were here - I am SO, SO happy you are now settled. Mxx
Thank you, as always a fascinating read.
My parcel arrived today, only 10 days to arrive. Exciting, many thanks Hanna.
I’m planning to wear it out for my birthday next week!
As usual, absolutely fascinating. Thank you
I feel I may have found my tribe! I discovered hand woven French linen and hemp textiles relatively recently but have very quickly become someone who feels they need to “rescue” any piece they come across that looks unloved and unvalued. I am always aware how much labour each piece represents and how much sense it makes to put these vintage sheets on our beds (and sofas) and enjoy using them rather than buying new, mass produced cotton. I have as much as I can use in one lifetime so now I tell myself I am buying for my kids and niblings.
Because I am an annoying pedant, I'd just like to throw into the mix:
Nettle.
From memory (probably in an old SpinOff magazine) it produces a very fine white fabric.
I don't know if nettle was spun in Western Europe - it may be more of an Eastern Europe thing - but apparently it, too, needs a microscope to distinguish it from flax. In case anyone is worried, retting it removes the sting, and no, I'm not planning on spinning it! I've already achieved SABLE (Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy).
Nettle's colour is exactly the same as other fibres, it depends on species, place, time, weather, and technique. The examples of nettle (or ramie as it is referred to when it is Asian) I have from Nepal and China vary between a deep honey colour to a pale creamed honey. The French nettle I have is a very deep brown, I have seen examples from Ukraine that are almost mahogany. Like all bast fibres, nettle too can be bleached by continuous washing and sun exposure, which is how white linen was originally made. I like your acronym and I have also achieved this hence putting up a lot of it for sale!
I await your next request to assist Abdalla. I am hating the vicious barbarism inflicted on his people now