Most folks who spin yarn back into it from knitting, but I got into it through my interest in history and gardening. And by history, I do not mean what general got killed in what battle, I am more interested in how people used to live and what were the forces that shaped their lives. In colonial America, rural people had sheep to produce the wool for their winter wear and grew flax--and lots of it--to produce linen for their summer wear. Linen is wonderful stuff. It is fast drying, conducts heat away from the body, and is naturally anti-bacterial. I have made myself linen towels and they can go for months without being washed--they are the ideal travel towel.
Long ago and far away (CA in the '80's) I grew flax in a teaching and research garden--producing your own clothes can be a part of how one approaches sustainability. Besides the fibers, flax is also grown for its seed--I use flax seed meal in just about everything I bake--and is also the source of linseed oil. And it makes a great cut flower. It has a long firm stem, and while it mostly comes in gorgeus blues--when I was a commercial flower grower I learned to try and include blue in every arrangement--other colors have been developed in strains developed specifically for its flowers. When growing for fiber, you would plant it very densely to promote long, straight stems, but for flowers, I would guess something more like a foot apart would work. I will once again be growing them this year and will let you know how it goes. [gardenerspath.com] One of its big advantages for cut flowers is that you can still plant it in the summer for fall flowers. [sowtrueseed.com]. So I urge everyone to think about flax, whether you want (as I do) to learn to spin and weave with it, or want some for you morning muffins, or for your flower arrangements--or just to have a good story to tell when folks admire it in your garden.