Homegrown Linen: transforming flaxseed into fibre - KICKSTARTER

I got the first pledge!  and love the rewards....I have a grand daughter and a friend in mind for the second and third book.

The system wouldn't let me pledge what was listed as the minimum canadian though...and that is no problem for me as around fifty american was what I had intended.  For that pledge it says at least a 55 canadian pledge and it wouldn't let me do less than 70 canadian which came out to 54 american.  Once I pledged the 70 though everything went quick and easy

The page looks great and reads wonderfully!

Great

Looks like the shipping cost gets added automatically. At the $55 pledge, you have to add $15 shipping to get the books. Seemed odd to me at first, too!

It looks like it adds the shipping to the pledge when you make it.  Because the shipping is different to different countries, it doesn't show it until you make the pledge.

Thank you, everyone, for your pledges so far.  I pressed launch, sent off a few links then cooked pasta for dinner.  Come back here and we already have backers!  Wow.  

I wonder if the same techniques used to process flax into cloth could be used to process hemp as well?

Thanks everyone, for your generous pledges. I'm so excited to see this book in print!

You're the best!

I am SO excited about this kickstarter!!! I am so excited that I will henceforth and forevermore spell fiber as "fibre" in honor of Raven!

I had the honor (honour!) and privilege of getting to read one of Raven's rough drafts, and her writing is fantastic! Even though before I read her book, I honestly knew little about flax and linen--nor that much desire to learn about it--her book changed all of that! Her writing makes growing, breeding, harvesting and processing flax to not only sound do-able, but also fun and rewarding.

Often, with non-fiction, educational-type stuff, I have a hard time really focusing unless I'm reading a physical book and jotting notes in the margin with a pencil. My mind usually gets tired and gives up and goes and does other things for a while. Raven's book is written very well so as not to overwhelm my brain, while distributing the information in a way I can almost picture. Even when I was reading it as a sleep-deprived mother nursing a baby at midnight, Raven's writing kept me awake, interested, and learning. That's no small feat! Reading her book, I felt like I could almost touch the flax seed or see everyone trying to scythe the flax or watch the chaff float away when processing the seed.

This book is great. Really. It's wonderful just for people who are curious about flax and linen from a historical point of view. Did you know "linens" isn't just a word for napkins and table cloths, but it's actually a marvelous fibre that keeps one cool and dry on a hot, humid day? Not only that, it is smooth and soft! I read a bit of fantasy and historical fiction, and always figured that people stopped using linen underclothing because cotton must have been "so much better." Not so! It appears that linen is a superior fibre in many aspects, and it's one that we can grow at home!

You'll not only learn about the history of linen and flax, and how it was processed over time and around the world, you'll also learn the pros and cons and hows and whys of various processing techniques. Raven gives you the information you need to figure out how to process your own linen in a way that works best for you, and she does so in a very well written, witty, and wonderful way!

Buy her book! Support our awesome moderator who does SO MUCH behind the scenes to keep permies running, and does so without any pay. We love Raven! You'll love her book! Go ahead and buy it! And, if you hurry, you might even be able to get one of her fantastic towels. One must never be bereft of a towel, or Raven's book!

Placed my order this morning.  Good luck Raven.  I am looking forward to reading your book.

S Thornton wrote:Looks like the shipping cost gets added automatically. At the $55 pledge, you have to add $15 shipping to get the books. Seemed odd to me at first, too!

thanks! I don't know why my brain didn't connect that...I knew what the shipping would be and expected it, just not at that moment.

raven ranson wrote:It looks like it adds the shipping to the pledge when you make it.  Because the shipping is different to different countries, it doesn't show it until you make the pledge.

Thank you, everyone, for your pledges so far.  I pressed launch, sent off a few links then cooked pasta for dinner.  Come back here and we already have backers!  Wow.  

I was only on the computer when you launched because of Pearl's 'what is it' thread...browsing spoons.

So excited to see the first of the series...at least that's how I'm thinking of it, can't wait!

Are you OK with us sharing on facebook?

I'm excited about this, I hope you get funded because I want the book!

Judith Browning wrote:Are you OK with us sharing on facebook?

That would be great!

Tracy made a facebook page about it, but I don't know how facebook works.  She said to share the link with everyone: https://www.facebook.com/crowinghenbooks/

I added some FAQs.

Do you have any questions that might be good to add to the list?

I went and shared your facebook post on permies facebook page. Hopefully I'm not usurping Jocelyn/Paul's announcement of it. I stuck my name on the announcement, so HOPEFULLY I'm okay in sharing it *crosses fingers.*

Saw someone else had already posted it, so I put what I wrote and added it as a comment and deleted my own post. Juggling facebook announcement is FUN!

Raven,

I suggest that you check this page every day.  A powerful tool!

Wow!

Already 20% funded!!! Way to go, Raven and Tracy!!!

raven ranson wrote:I added some FAQs.

Do you have any questions that might be good to add to the list?

An idea: How can I help spread the word about this Kickstarter?

Nicole, than you for your beautiful words about the book.  

Today's plan was to dig up every email contact I have and send them a link to the kickstarter.  Instead, I get to go to work and play with spinning wheels and yarn.  It's not such a hard life.

I just checked in on my lunch break and it's amazing.  We're already 20% there and the kickstarter hasn't been live for 24 hours!  Wonderful!

Thank you everyone!

After I posted this on fb, my friend in Ireland  shared the link and said this

West Clare was known for its flax fields an linen production in the 1700s. It would be great to see a few farmers return to this so that Irish linen could be Irish again!

https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.cox.5/posts/1972642776125148?notif_id=1537900231864303¬if_t=notify_me
She is a weaver and knows other fibre folks there so hopefully they will jump in too.

I've been sharing it far and wide, too! Is anyone on any survivalist/prepper/homesteading forums or facebook pages? I think this would be a really valuable resource for those people!!!

It is so much fun to watch the numbers rise! Thank you, everyone, for helping us get the word out. I am grateful.

Can you put some seeds in with my towel?  LOL!  Those flowers are incredibly beautiful - I'd like to grow it just for those.

I've worn a lot of linen, but know nothing about how it goes from plant to tunic, so this should be exciting

Best wishes!

PS. That lamb was the cutest thing - I kept playing that part over and over, haha.

We couldn't resist putting lamb in the video. I mean, who doesn't love a lamb?! And that's a particularly cute one.

Thanks for your support.

Just posted your campaign on Vancouver Island Fibreshed's page. I hope that drives some support your way. I am assuming you know about the small batch linen processors that Tap Root Fibre Lab are producing. It would be so good to get one here within the fibreshed. There may be money for that. Love to connect with you when you are not crazy busy with your campaign. info@vancouverislandfibreshed.ca Oh and our website will be live within a week! We can help to promote your book there too. All the best with your campaign. Lynda

Lynda Drury wrote:Just posted your campaign on Vancouver Island Fibreshed's page. I hope that drives some support your way. I am assuming you know about the small batch linen processors that Tap Root Fibre Lab are producing. It would be so good to get one here within the fibreshed. There may be money for that. Love to connect with you when you are not crazy busy with your campaign. info@vancouverislandfibreshed.ca Oh and our website will be live within a week! We can help to promote your book there too. All the best with your campaign. Lynda

That's brilliant!

Thank you so much Lynda!

I love the work that Tap Roots does.  For those of you who don't know them, tap roots fibre lab builds processing equipment for transforming flax into linen yarn.  It's a bit bigger than a hobby or production artist and would be perfect as a small business or community level machinery. I was blessed with the chance to talk with their representative last year and I am so impressed with what they have accomplished.  What they are building removes the need for centralised processing facilities.  Each community can have their own local mill, just like it used to be.  Having one on the west coast would be amazing!  

Half the towels are already gone!

Wowzers!

A big shout out to the woman of wovenwares who invited me to their home to play with their massive warping mill.  We wound 20 yards of warp for these towels in a marathon 5 hours session.  

Cool! I'm signed up for a towel, myself.

Do you have enough seed for them to figure in some sort of stretch goal?  I'd love to get some seed, but I went for the towel containing reward.

Today the focus is on stretch goals and more importantly stretch rewards.

To get the book under 100 pages, we had to take or gloss over a lot of things.  I think it would be a much better book if we could get another 40 pages in there, but that costs more money to print.  But looking at what we cut out, I think it would be wonderful to add these back in.  It would make the book more accessible and interesting for everyone!

We've had requests for more rewards with seeds and more rewards featuring Tracy's amazing art.  We have a few ideas of our own we want to add.

Anything else you would like to see?

I need a towel too! I have a few handwoven by my sister, but she didn't grow or process the flax

I'd love another 20-40 pages! I'm especially interested in the book being more accessible for people. More interesting is always good too. It sounds like a lot of it is at least somewhat written already so that would make it a bit easier to fulfill.

Looking forward to seeing the other ideas.

50% Funded!!!

That's an excellent lamb!  So cute!

There are only three towels left.

his is the $75 reward a book AND towel?  or towel without book?  thanks!

Peter Chan wrote:his is the $75 reward a book AND towel?  or towel without book?  thanks!

It's the CA$75 reward which includes:

Handwoven Linen Towel (CA$60 value)

Physical copy of the book (CA$24 value)

Novelty thanks featuring your most creative name

access to a private forum about growing yarn and future books

Of course, given the exchange rate, it's only $57.75 US for a book and a handwoven linen towel.

thanks.  the picture of your towel has a fairly tight weave.  what do you think the finished towels will be like regarding the tightness of the weave?  my fav linen fabric i've found for dishtowel thus far is https://organiccottonplus.com/products/linen-57-taupe-100-hemp.  it could do with a slightly tighter weave for sure, but its the best i could find that was still pliable enough as a towel.

raven ranson wrote:Today the focus is on stretch goals and more importantly stretch rewards.

To get the book under 100 pages, we had to take or gloss over a lot of things.  I think it would be a much better book if we could get another 40 pages in there, but that costs more money to print.  But looking at what we cut out, I think it would be wonderful to add these back in.  It would make the book more accessible and interesting for everyone!

We've had requests for more rewards with seeds and more rewards featuring Tracy's amazing art.  We have a few ideas of our own we want to add.

Anything else you would like to see?

wow! seeing where the kickstarter is now better have several stretch goals

I love the idea of more book...are you thinking of an additional booklet for those forty pages or actually binding more pages for those who do the stretch goal?

all of those ideas are great, I love your towels and the illustrations...but for me to justify more spending, more information and pages to the book sound perfect...

Exciting news everyone!

Homegrown Linen is on the Popular list.  Feels so good.

Now, how can we push that further?  What if lots of people left comments on the campaign?  Do you think that would help improve visibility?  Are you up for an experiment?  

I'm also seeking more goodies to add to the FAQ.

YIPPY!!  This is so much fun. And I am blown away with the support we are getting for this project. I'm excited to bust out the Stretch Goals!!