In the Fall of 2019, while attending the annual Ottawa Valley Weavers and Spinners Guild Exhibition and Sale, we came across an exhibitor that  wove cloth using linen fibers.  That’s how we discovered that linen threads come from the flax plant. We researched all about flax/linen during the first part of 2020 when COVID had us all cooped up. And we kept in touch through texts and the occasional walk through the Grove in the winter months. At that point, it was just a glimmer of a dream of producing our own linen to weave. 

In the fall of 2020, we started to get serious on making our dream become a reality.  We prepared a 12ft X 12ft backyard garden. Then we sourced out some flax seeds for early spring planting. During the winter months, we researched more about the process of making linen from flax. Surprisingly there are a lot of people/groups who are growing flax and processing it by hand as it was done in the early 1800’s.  Though most of people/groups are in the US or UK, there is a growing (pun intended) interest in Canada.  Through the OVWSG we discovered that a group of women from the Guild conducted a flax to linen project in the Merrickville area, the year before. Their project became our inspiration. 

We wanted to hand process our flax to linen every step of the way, just like it was done in the 1800’s, so we talked about the hand tools we would need. Getting antique ones proved to be difficult so we found plans on line (from The Woolgatherers Ltd in Wisconsin US.). Next was the problem of finding someone to build our tools for us. We contacted Darrel O’Shaughnessy from the local Men's Shed  and provided him with the plans to see if someone would be interested in building our tools. The tools involved are a ripple, a flax brake, a scutching board and knife, and a set of three hackles. Keith, John and Darrel, started the process of reading the plans, researching their use, and sourcing out the materials. 

Early in 2021  we decided our garden needed a name.  So we chose a combination of our birth last names; CAVA from Cavanagh and DELO from Delorme.  And Cavadelo Flax Garden was born.

On April 24, 2021we planted our first flax seeds; it was so exciting! .   Then on August 25, 2021 after 123 days of growth, we harvested our flax. After drying, rippling, retting and drying again, we were ready to process our flax into fiber.

The Men's Shed had our tools ready later in the fall of 2021.  Then we processed our first flax fiber. How exciting is that!