Tuesday, August 9, 2011

harvest: lavender wand

seriously? I'd always wanted one of these as a preteen/teen. I pined for these at the farmer's market, but never had the money to buy one. This year? I bought a length of amber-coloured silk ribbon and made my own, courtesy of a sweet neighbour who gave me some of her grosso lavender (the preferred lavender for sachets and perfume oil). I only used 11 strands for this slim wand, and isn't it pretty? Dharma Trading has the directions here - in fact, it's probably not too late: if your lavender hasn't faded yet, go ahead and cut a few strands and weave one for yourself! The blossoms are tucked inside the bulbous end of the "wand," with the stems pulled down over them as you weave the ribbon over and under, so they are trapped and won't shed little lavender buds everywhere - so while it's probably preferable to use lavender that is just beginning to bloom, you could definitely use lavender that is already in full bloom; those blossoms are still going to be trapped. However, remember that the sun is going to evaporate some of those essential oils off during the day, so cutting and weaving early in the morning will give you the best result!

I'm using mine as a sachet, but being careful that the sharp stalk ends don't snag my lingerie. It smells absolutely divine. Somewhere, a younger me is thrilled (what can I say? I had simple dreams).

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