I intend to invite PEACE into my thoughts and interactions. I'm grateful for a warm fire, a busy and contented husband, and the ability to continue creating in these times. It seems to me that if I can continue to use natural ingredients to create, I will be able to keep clear of some of the world's current difficulties. I wish for you a measure of this freedom of self-sufficiency, a space in your heart for gratitude, and PEACE.
It's planting season! I was pleased with germination rates of most of my dye plant and herb seeds, and my back has held out long enough to plant them out into the garden. Now the wonder of nature continues, and I anticipate good crops, happy dye days, and aromatic evenings making hydrosols long into the coming winter months.
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I intend to show LOVE this monthI intend to show LOVE this month. Social media. If you've read my previous blog posts, you'll know I’ve been trying to find the good in it. Important revelations, tips for a better life, improved relationships....truly, I know I won't find them there. I've come to the conclusion that the reason I'm doing it is only that I don’t want to be left behind. The world has stopped. The wheel of life has nearly come to a standstill. The rat race has all but halted. Isn’t it nice?
I intend to bring ZEST to my activities each day.Last month, I set out to open up on social media in order to find the good it might do for me as a person. I can honestly say that I've tried, but have come hopelessly short of my goal. Learning has never been this difficult. I have dedicated every morning to it. looking outside on my sunny greening lawn and warming gardens, while not getting anywhere. And then the rest of the languishing country wakes up and my rural internet connection fades. That's when I take a deep breath and head outside.... ....the squirrels have left me some acorns and they're exactly what I need right now! My friend Nancy at Oasis Boutique returned some unsold Sanctuary Innerwear sets. Among these were two in which the colour had faded: indigo and woad.
I have a hard time trusting people I don't know. and that includes everyone on social media. ...Everyone except people I know or who I've met. Is this a problem? No. ...Except that I expect everyone on social media to trust me. Here I'm making a hydrosol. I'm cooking herbs in water and gathering the condensation. the ice on the pot lid cools it, so that steam becomes water. This water is full of the goodness from the plants which gave up their water-soluble constituents through the simmering process.
I intend to show virtue in my interaction with others.
The phenomenon of facebook has caused me to think. It's different for others. Not everyone has the same weather on any given day. Obviously. But before I was able to see what was growing in people's gardens while snow lay on the ground outside my window, I didn't fully appreciate this. Religion might be the same. Morality certainly. Do we share an understanding of "virtue"? Is there one idea of "virtue" that we can agree on? Can we do right in our interaction with others even though we may not always agree on "right"? Is there a universal virtue? Lately I have been suffering from what I believe could be a hernia. It causes me to stop and rest when I exert too much effort. I often exert a lot of effort. The discomfort emanates from my solar plexus, I believe. In the pit of my stomach where the fight or flight response is produced. It's called "solar" because it's at the centre of the body where many nerves meet (www.healthline.com/search). Like the sun, it is the energy centre of the body, giving us power and momentum (chakras.infolexus-chakra/). With the symbol of fire, the manipura chakra just under the navel is characterized by "the expression of will, personal power and mental abilities" and helps us "realize personal desires and intentions in the world" (ibid). Interestingly, as I write this I am waiting to hear from partners in a new venture. I want to form a non-profit Co-op which engages hand-makers, producers and providers in the Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes/Haliburton areas who use natural materials and processes. I think we could support and promote one another other for the benefit of conscientious consumers. A month ago, I was contemplating goals much smaller. But lately this idea has given me a new direction and I have surprised myself with the actions I have been able to take to reach it. I go skiing to pass the time. Grandfather and grandmother fir trees, archetypal and powerful, extend their welcome. Undisturbed, the quiet lake allows me to walk on it, an honour. I need to rest. I lie down. The universe opens the curtain, the sun its light and energy source. In his book "Sacred Plant Medicine" (2006), Stephen Harrod Buhner states that according to the Teton Sioux, the sun is only able to provide life with the help of the earth. Without the rain-giving, cooling action of the clouds and plants, and the humans who feed co2 into the cycle, the sun would dry up the earth. We humans are needed in this life dance, despite the harm we do. There, with my face to the sky, I notice the other dancers in the universe: the animal and plant kingdoms, the rocks and the unseen spirit that holds everything together. I sit among these in a circle, re-establishing right relations. Then I get up from my council meeting in the middle of the lake and return to my work asserting myself in the world.
Let's all take a moment to sit among the circles of our inner and outer councils, establishing virtuous relations, before we go about our interactions with others.  I intend to practice purity of thought......
This blog in meant to be a source, a source of information for conscious consumers of clothing. I mean to practice purity of thought when writing it. Let it be the stream that fills the lake with fresh water, spilling out into an ocean of salt and spoil. I won't dwell on the ocean. Much is known about the offenses of the fashion industry. I will bring awareness to little known alternatives and long forgotten practices, that I might calm minds eager to live purely. And I will invite others to contribute their stream of honestly-found knowledge: Unto the pure all things are pure. " The visionary Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) believed that "vita integra" came from faith and the use of plants. She taught her nuns to pray, heal, garden, sing and celebrate their own beauty. She was not educated, but spent her days making discoveries by working with plants, all the while interpreting what she found through the religious lens common at the time. Her textbook of medicine, Causae et Curae was discovered 100 years ago in the Royal Library of Copenhagen. In all her written works, she links spirituality, health and plants. For this innovative and bold woman, a life filled with sorrow, worry, fear, chronic stress and hurry was risky and dangerous. Those who had the best health were those who lived by inward strength and joy and communion with the natural world. (Hildegard of Bingen's Medicine, Strehlow & Hertzka, M.D., Folk Wisdom Series, Bear and Company Books, 1988)
Their habits, wimples and undergarments were no doubt made from hand-harvested and spun linen (a cellulose fibre) and hand-carded wool (a protein fibre), since no other fabrics were available in medieval Europe. How far we've come in 1000 years! The garment manufacturing industry is third in size to only electronics and cars, with a supply chain that circles the world! Thankfully, we haven't forgotten about those pure fabrics. And yes, they must still be considered pure despite calls against wool because of the treatment of sheep not well cared for. To these pure fabrics we've added hemp (the "true environmentally friendly" material) and ramie (both cellulosics) and Lenzing Tencel™. I would not add any others to this list. Tencel is the brand name of a lyocell fabric made by Lenzing AG, Austria, and developed in the 1980's. It is made from FSC® and PEFC™ certified farmed and renewable eucalyptus trees, a rapidly renewable resource which grows to maturity in 7-10 years (Woodings, Courtaulds, UK). Eucalyptus trees yield 10 times the amount of cotton per square metre, and the land which is needed for eucalyptus is not suitable for agriculture. More efficient use of land is coupled with the fact that no irrigation, no pesticides and no herbicides are used to produce a low impact raw material. Lyocell is a carbon-neutral fibre, where the same amount of carbon is released into the atmosphere naturally during the tree's life cyle as is used in its harvesting (ibid).  To produce the fibres, Lenzing uses a closed loop fibre production system and NMMO, an aqueous, biodegradable, organic amine oxide (a solvent) to break down the bark and produce a pulp. The pulp is then extruded through tiny spinnerets to produce the fibre. The solvent is then recovered at a rate of 99.5%, all of which is recycled back into the main process. The solvent is non-toxic, non corrosive and all effluent is non-hazardous (ibid). Water is also recycled, producing very low emissions to the environment and reducing the dangers of water scarcity common with cotton growing by 10-20 times! This manufacturing process has been awarded the "European Award for the Environment" by the European Union. (Lenzing promotional materials, 2008/E) and takes about 2 hours from start to finish.  Lenzing AG Compared with other viscose (rayon) fibres, Lenzing Tencel shows “substantially better” performance according to the Higg Material Sustainability Index (MSI) and it is Zero Discharge compliant (Annex 6) of OEKO-TEX® Standard 100, a certification which identifies textile materials that are harmless to health and have skin friendly pH. At the end of its long life, Lenzing Tencel is biodegradable in an aerated compost in just eight days, a factor of great importance when considering the harmful effects of mountains of textile waste in our world. More absorbent than cotton, softer than silk and cooler than linen, this fabric is beautiful. Lenzing Tencel™. has the strongest tenacity profile of all cellulosic fibres, is naturally moth-free and is 2000 times less likely to grow bacteria than synthetic fibres such as polyester (Lenzing Marketing Communication EN/11-2014). Lenzing Tencel has the best skin sensory properties of softness and drape. and it's breathable. Sanctuary Innerwear bears the label of Lenzing Tencel. That's because I have certification that Lenzing's fibres are what make up 92% of my fabric. (The other 8% is Spandex, which is not biodegradable and is produced using oil byproducts). Look for this logo (or the newer Lenzing Ecovero on the right) when you shop for clothes:
It is no accident that a balance has evolved between the plant and animal kingdoms over a few billion years of evolution. Cellulose, the natural polyumer which makes up the living cells of all vegetation, the material at the centre of the carbon cycle, is the most abundant and renewable biopolymer on the planet. A little known alternative. Made with sustainability in mind, and part of the slow fashion movement. I imagine Hildegard's nuns wore Sanctuary Innerwear under their frocks, or out in the open within the cloistered walls. I imagine they were beautiful, healthy creatures, full of purity. PURITY Chemise & Short Set
CA$130.00
Purity Chemise & Short Set:
Here is Your Guarantee. TRUST Nightie & Pantie Set
CA$150.00
Trust Nightie & Pantie Set:
Here is Your Guarantee. VIRTUE Gown
CA$160.00 - CA$190.00
“The nightgown is beautifully sewn with amazing detail with pin tucks, yokes on the sleeves and beautiful flower buttons. It is pretty enough to be worn as a dress. It is truly a work of art. It is very comfortable and it makes you feel pampered to go to sleep in such a beautiful nightgown.” –Aggie A superbly handcrafted gown. True VIRTUE is rare indeed.
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AUTHOR:
I'm the designer and creator of Sanctuary Innerwear, a line of hand made clothing worn next to the skin which imparts goodness from plants through the hand-dyed and infused fabric.
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