I’ve also used it for spinning flax

Last week was my birthday, and I took the day off and spent it sewing, having a long bath with chamomile, and reading under piles of blankets. I put back pockets on P’s brown wool pants, reinforced the corners on the front side pockets, and patched a rip in his twill pants.

Over the weekend I made myself a new leather thimble, sewed a snap onto a cloth pad that had lost one, and made another batch of lentils and wild rice. At the farmers market we picked up a case of cider, and she threw in a bag of fresh marsh mallow roots. I sliced them up and put them in the dehydrator. If you’ve never had them before, they’re mucilagenous like okra, and smell gently of horseradish and turnips… which is why marshmallows (the confection) were invented, since you couldn’t get kids to eat them unless you drowned out the flavor with sugar. Marsh mallow is good for dry coughs, sore throats, and urinary issues, just be sure not to take within three hours of any prescription meds, since the mucilage coats your GI tract and can interfere with drug absorption. Some sources also say not to mix with diabetes meds, but I couldn’t find one that explained why. Otherwise marsh mallow is very safe, even during pregnancy. You can also use it topically as part of a poultice, since the mucilage dries into a flexible but supportive air barrier: instant bandage! As always, don’t sub herbal medicine for seeing a doctor, and always let your doc know what you’re using.