Nettles

On the June bank holiday, after a couple of days in delirium I was admitted to the Mercy hospital with cellulitis from nettle stings and pond water, my lower leg was twice it’s normal girth, I could barely see my toes. Working with nettle fibres was a way of getting the connection back after this hiatus.

Nettles and Time

I have begun again with the task of extracting the fibres from the nettle.

Rumplestiltskin comes to mind…(whispers) …say my name…

First one softens the stalk, pounding gently with stone or other blunt object

Then one splits open the stalk

The nettle yields and separates into a few long strands, often four sections

Pull a strand away

Next one extracts the pith, the woody hull from inside, nettle-flesh, spongiform

You bend back the bark and crack the pith then you can remove it in inch long segments, the pithy bits, discarded in the making of cordage

Then you have long strips of green bark, the bark is fibrous but tough, harsh to the touch

On the inside of the bark are the fine nettle fibres, they are white or palest of green

Best to dry the fibres now to allow for shrinkage, a couple of hours will do

Then soak, for a while, short or long, if longer than a day change water every once in a while (we are not making soup)

I am not sure what comes out in the water – it is strong stuff, and ….

I find, venomous,

like a bee sting or that of an ant.

The formic acid in nettles becomes an ally in textiles, neutralising pH, and being both antibacterial and preserving, so best not to over-soak

Soaking swells up the inner fibres, it renders them easier to see, and easier to pull away from the bark, still, it’s a long process

I am outdoors in the late summer sun and so I lay the fibres out on the bare skin of my thigh, they stick to the skin, nettle juice holding them in place in the breeze till they dry and want to fly away

A rhythm builds this way.

Some fibres still have bark attached, the good ones are fine as grandmother’s hair

I twist the fibres

I twist them again

This Stops Time

The rate of production is too slow to be significant on any grand scale

Making strands

Making twine

twist and twist again

I will not be adding much to the things of the world in this way

Time expands internally, takes on another dimension

Stills the world outside