Foxtail and Flax

Well to all the fans out there who have been waiting breathlessly for me to return to the Foxtail and Flax blog… you can finally breathe easier. While I might have spent nearly a year doing anything other than writing, I am back to let you know that the summer season was full of exciting, new and continued fiber adventures. Let’s start at the fiber New Year.

My personal fiber New Year always starts with the acquisition of two fleeces in April or May. In exchange for helping a friend load her market lambs into their farm truck for market, I get to pick out two of her ewes fleeces. My shepherdess friend has a small flock of Border Leicester/Tunis/Icelandic cross sheep, and in the three years that I’ve been asking for fleece in return for the helping hand, I’ve always chosen the same two ewes fleeces: Hope and Ruthie. Ruthie was the very first fleece I ever tried to wash and unfortunately it didn’t go well (I felted her…oops). She was also the very first fleece I ever sent off to a mill to process; and rather unfortunately, her fleece was lost in the return home and I never got her back. This year, I’m optimistic that the third time is the charm for her. I will be washing her fleece myself, now as a much more experienced fleece washer, and I will finally get to see her washed up properly and ready to spin. As for Hope… I’m obsessed with her fiber. The soft gray color, the feel of her locks as I card her up into batts. The final look of her spun yarn and fabric. She’s a wonderful combination of sturdy and soft and is a joy to work with. I also love her so much because her fleece was my very first wool washing success and the first fiber that I have processed with the intention of a project in mind. Check out that project here, and stay tuned for future updates!

In May, I turned to processing my flax seeds and prepping the bed for planting. This year, in an exciting turn of events, rather than simply planting flax because it’s interesting, I actually had a goal for it. I am on the board of a newly forming fibershed (Northern Pines fibershed) group in my area, and late in 2024 we began making plans to host a Flax Harvest Day in cooperation with the Marathon County Chapter of Wisconsin Farmers Union and Midwest Linen Revival. The event was planned to take place in early August and while I usually plant my seeds in mid-April to be ready for harvest in mid-July I calculated that the later start would be just right for the planned later harvest.

In early May, I pulled out some saved dry flax and rippled, crushed and winnowed the amount of seeds needed for the bed. I planted the seeds before a forecasted rain event which is important for germination. Unfortunately, the said forecasted rain turned out to be a massive storm with a torrential, pounding rain that lasted for about an hour and a half, and had me and my dog huddling in the farm packshed along with the farm owner’s family and their dog. My poor seed bed got the snot beat out of it, although luckily the seeds didn’t wash out. What the pounding rain did do, however, was wash extra soil over the top of the seeds and harden the surface of the soil into a packed, almost concrete surface. My seeds had to move mountains to push themselves through the soil. I’ve never seen it before but it was an inspiring thing to witness. Yes rain is important but I would prefer it if it was the right kind of rain!

The flax flowers bloomed in July. It’s one of my favorite times of the year now, watching the flax bloom and the bumble bees fly from one flower to the next bending the stalks with their weight. The flowers only last a day so the result is beautiful purple blue confetti littering the ground below and fresh flowers above.

The Flax Harvest Event took place in early August and it was quite the success. We had about 40 people show up to my farm to learn about regional fiber systems with flax as the case study of the day. Northern Pines fibershed (that brand new fibershed I am helping to shepherd into existence) partnered with Midwest Linen Revival and Marathon County Farmers Union to make the event the ultimate success it was. There was tour of the farm lead by my generous employers, a general overview of how I plant and handle my flax stands, and an overview of processing equipment and the processing procedure. We took a break for a provided lunch where we learned from Leslie Schreoder about natural fibers and the work she is doing to build Midwest Linen Revival. Then after lunch we went back out to the flax stand and did the fiber harvest. It was a wonderful day of fiber fun, connecting with people and thinking about the big picture.

After that successful mile marker of the season, I turned my thoughts toward my wool stores. I had a few raw fleeces still waiting for their turn in the wash buckets. Luckily (but sadly) I didn’t go to any of this year’s nearby wool festivals, so other than Ruthie and Hope at the beginning of the year, I didn’t add to my raw fleece stash. Living in a small space as I do, I thought this year would be a good opportunity to get through the stash and empty the shelves. I washed a beautiful Corriedale lamb fleece named Maeve. You’ll be hearing more about her in an upcoming post so I won’t give away too much. I finished washing the Babydoll Southdown fleeces from last winter that I borrowed to practice on (yes, that project was looooong past due but luckily the owner of the fleeces barely remembered I had them…). I rewashed a ram’s fleece that was still very tacky with grease; he came out much nicer this second go round. And I started washing the 2025 fleece from Hope. I’m planning on continuing the wool washing through December and January so it can be totally finished by 2026 wool festival season.

And that is about all the fiber fun I was able to accomplish this summer. It was a personally busy summer as well as a professionally busy, with the flax event to plan and chickens to care for and a whole new system at the farm thanks to a great, big, new packshed finished rather later in the Spring than we were hoping for. But long stretches of quiet time await me in the coming months and I have plans….

Leave a comment down below about your favorite fiber related event you attended or project you worked on this Summer!