Name: Cecilia Pisano
Location: Barony of Havre des Glaces, Quebec City
Category: Fiber Arts
I had the somewhat daring dream of producing local flax from Havre des Glaces, because the climatic conditions here are ideal. Moreover, the region where the barony is located has a long tradition of flax cultivation, which is unfortunately forgotten today. I sowed this small plot of Linum usitatissimum flax at the end of May 2024, in Quebec City (Z4), Canada.
I harvested the stems at the end of August. While retting, my stalks went slightly moldy, due to the lack of space between them; the air wasn’t circulating enough. This resulted in very dark gray stems instead of a beautiful silvery gray. Drying and breaking stems and then, hackling fibers. Fortunately, even if the color is darker, the fibers have not been damaged by mold.
As my fibers were a little too dark for my taste, I simmered them for half an hour in an ash lye, which gave them a paler, golden appearance. I first used my drop spindle to spin the long fiber to master the technique and then my spinning wheel for more efficiency. Finally, the weaving, which I have yet to refine, gives me a rustic, slightly chaotic result which I don’t like because I made the mistake of weaving it too loosely and then machine-washing and drying it… But there’s still plenty of material left for me to experiment with. I’m already looking forward to doing it again next year, and I promise myself I’ll be more careful with the retting to avoid unfortunate mishaps!
Very interesting to understand the process from seed to cloth. Congratulations.
Thank you!