Life giving linen

[Cleopatra7]

7 hours ago, keen23 said:

We've talked about this lady before, a couple years ago:

 

"Chucking College" sounds like a bad teen raunch movie from the 1990s.

[Terrie]

8 hours ago, Buzzard said:

I know the pain of snuggling your comforter on a cold night, finding a great comfy, warm position, and ending up with a mouthful of dog hair. 

In my case, it's still attached to the dog, who likes when my breathing ruffles her fur, so keeps trying to curl up against my face.

[Grimalkin]

5 hours ago, Handmaiden of Dog said:

I'm going to pretend to myself that this is a smart cookie who looked around for an entrepreneurial niche and when all the good ones were taken, just made one up.  The combination of organic-Mother Earth-granola wooo with Christianity seems like a good bet because if you have enough faith to believe in heaven and hell and God and Satan then you probably have enough to believe in life giving linen.

 

That said, I love linen. I have several shirts in my closet right now that are near rags from being worn so much but I save them for gardening.  Nothing like a well worn linen shirt.  I am mightily tempted by those linen pillow cases and while I would never use a family cloth, her stack of single ply linen squares might be just the thing to replace my rapidly disappearing hankie pile.  Hankies are much, much nicer than kleenex for wiping away the seat on your face in summer and they don't dissolve in the washing machine when you accidentally leave them in your pocket.

I don't even know where to buy hankies anymore! I used to iron my dad's. I have been moving toward lessening my use of paper/single use disposable items. I have hoards of rags and pretty much only use paper towels to clean my toilette and any pet messes. Switched to cloth napkins a few months ago, I am considering cloth feminine napkins, I don't know why cleaning snot laden cloth hankies seems grosser to me than menstrual pads. No cloth butt wipes either.

[FrumperSeamstress]

I love linen as much as the next gal, but wtf. I am thinking of making myself some cloth pads tho. I hate to use disposable things when I don't have to

[PennySycamore]

@Grimalkin, maybe it's because you don't know whose snot it is, but you can make a pretty good guess as to whose menstrual pad you're cleaning.  The snot around here, though, would probably be my dachshund's snot.  She has some really spectacular sneezes and a long snout too.  Nope, antihistamines do not help.  I must admit that Viva paper towels clean up doxie snot really well -off hardwood floors, carpets and upholstery.  

My doxie's butt is regularly in my face when she dives under the blanket.

[church_of_dog]

9 hours ago, mirele said:

For those of you who are curious (like me, I worked for a medical device manufacturer back in the 1990s), yes it really is true that cloth menstrual pads are medical devices.  Here's Luna Pads talking about how they got their FDA registration.  (OMG--the cost is $4,000/year).

http://lunapads.com/blog/2014/12/fda-compliance-cost-business/

That said, "Lifegiving Linen" needs to change her verbiage because if you scroll down her page, it's obvious the pads are not for poodles. The FDA will shut her down and it will cost her a lot of money.

Thanks for clearing that up!  When I read that restriction, I immediately googled GladRags and thought "Hmm, they seem to still be in business..."

I used cloth pads for my last few years before my hysterectomy, along with tampons, but I found myself preferring the pads more and more, whereas when I was a teen I hated them (early disposables) and went to tampons as soon as I could.

Nowadays (TMI, sorry) I actually use terry cotton washcloths as TP for #1 -- I live where it's very arid so they dry fast which means not much odor.  That makes the regular disposable TP last so much longer.  It also means I can wait a few pees between flushes without accumulating too much TP in the bowl.

I also use hankies instead of tissues -- I had several bandanas originally that I used, then after my dad died I found he had a dozen or more old cloth hankies and I've added many of those to my collection.

All that said, I'm much more of a "life-giving wool" person than linen -- my pillow stuffing is wool, I use wool blankets, wear wool socks year-round.  I don't think I own an iron anymore, so I better pass on the linen.

 

ETA:  re the FDA, those regulations and certifications that only the bigger companies can afford to get, sounds to me like the disposables industry lobby trying to make sure people don't start thinking they could solve their own problems at home without involving a purchase from Procter & Gamble or Johnson &  Johnson...

[mirele]

1 minute ago, church_of_dog said:

ETA:  re the FDA, those regulations and certifications that only the bigger companies can afford to get, sounds to me like the disposables industry lobby trying to make sure people don't start thinking they could solve their own problems at home without involving a purchase from Procter & Gamble or Johnson &  Johnson...

I think you're right on that. I just know that before I entered menopause I was a super tampon and a super absorbent at the same time person. (Shark week got especially messy the years prior to menopause.) I couldn't see buying something I'd have to wash out every month, which, by the way, is what my mother, growing up in the 1950s, had to do when she stayed with her grandma out on the farm. Grandma was not buying new-fangled Kotex, no way, no how.

[Iokaste]

While I seriously doubt that linen can actually heal anything, it can definitely aid in a healing process and help to prevent such things as allergic reactions and as it has the best air circulation of any fiber, it is beneficial when dealing with inflammatory conditions, fever and some neurological issues (like "restless leg syndrome").
Also because it is so incredible durable (I inherited perfectly good linen sheets from my grand mother!), in the long run it is very healing to those suffering from a case of bad oeconomia.... 

[BigTushieLady]

Here's a website from a woman who sews "set apart garments of righteousness" made of linen. She goes on about linen's health-giving qualities too. Apparently linen is effective against radiation!

http://www.zipporahsthimble.com/shop/

She calls herself "Torah observant;" is that another way of saying Messianic?

[Anonymousguest]

1 hour ago, BigTushieLady said:

Here's a website from a woman who sews "set apart garments of righteousness" made of linen. She goes on about linen's health-giving qualities too. Apparently linen is effective against radiation!

http://www.zipporahsthimble.com/shop/

She calls herself "Torah observant;" is that another way of saying Messianic?

Not in my mind. A messianic Jew is a someone who is a Jew by birth, but believes in Jesus as their saviour. A Torah observant Jew is a Christian who has added the old testament law to their Christianity. 

[Anonymousguest]

It appeared all the life giving linen believers I found online are Torah observant Jews. Not sure why, unless it's just the few verses in the OT?

[2xx1xy1JD]

So, a "Torah Observant Jew" is a Faux Jewish Christian?  Sounds a lot like Messianics.

[foreign fundie]

Apart from this fascinating discussion on fabrics, what I found most interesting was how she sees her activities as 'redeeming my time' until prince charming comes along. WTH? As if you need an excuse to exist as an unmarried woman?

[Buzzard]

1 hour ago, foreign fundie said:

Apart from this fascinating discussion on fabrics, what I found most interesting was how she sees her activities as 'redeeming my time' until prince charming comes along. WTH? As if you need an excuse to exist as an unmarried woman?

Yes, her sole purpose is to serve as an incubator and blessing wrangler.  Every egg that is wasted is spitting in god's face! 

[Iamhispurity]

11 hours ago, Anonymousguest said:

Not in my mind. A messianic Jew is a someone who is a Jew by birth, but believes in Jesus as their saviour. A Torah observant Jew is a Christian who has added the old testament law to their Christianity. 

There are quite a number of messianic Jews that are not Jewish by birth, though. They try to convert Jews that way. There has been quite some hassle about this in some churches. Personally I find those conversion attempts distasteful.

 

 

 

 

[PennySycamore]

3 minutes ago, Iamhispurity said:

There are quite a number of messianic Jews that are not Jewish by birth, though. They try to convert Jews that way. There has been quite some hassle about this in some churches. Personally I find those conversion attempts distasteful.

 

 

 

 

To add to that, if you accept Christianity and believe that Jesus is the Messiah, then you are no longer Jewish.  Yes, you may have been born a Jew, but that's it.  Most, if not all, Jewish authorities would consider that you have renounced your Judaism.

The thing with Messianic Christians has muddied the waters when people who were Christians try to convert.  Jewish organizations want to make sure that you're not a stealth Christian.

I like to read Kveller, a Jewish blog about families.  Some of the comments on there are from the Faux Jewish faction.  Ditto, Youtube videos.

[Jingerbread]

On 2/18/2016 at 8:12 PM, SusanAtTheLastBattle said:

Did you see the section on linen menstrual pads?

http://www.lifegivinglinen.com/pleasant-pads.html

Apparently an FDA ruling interferes with selling DIY pads:

No federal agency would catch on to that dodge... 

I really think that the FDA rule on period products is a load of bullshit.  It's like they WANT to FORCE us to buy disposable products so we can regularly pay luxury taxes on them.

I buy cloth pads from a seller on Etsy, and love them, and fuck the feds if they want to have a  problem with me choosing to use cotton flannel and PUL with a snap.

On 2/18/2016 at 10:55 AM, browncoatslytherin said:

there are cloth menstrual pads you can buy out there that go through what the fda requires them to go through in order to be sold as such. i think they may be labeled as such because of the blood that gets on them and also where on the body they're used? probably has to have certain specifications in manufacturing i would think. not just linen cloths thrown together with no semblance of sanitation and such during said process.

Cloth toilet paper is used on the same part of the body. If I cut myself in the kitchen, I grab a tea towel.  Being used near my vagina or getting blood on it hasn't made other items "medical" items.  This is just the government finding a way to make money on something they know most women have to deal with every month.

[SilverBeach]

On 2/18/2016 at 0:05 PM, Four is Enough said:

MY mother told me about fabric menstrual pads... she and her grandmother (who raised her) used exactly that, fabric RAGS, when they were, um, on the rag. Washed 'em out, bleached 'em, hung 'em on the line inside pillowcases so nobody would know.

If babies can have cloth diapers, why can't women (who'd want them, I say?) have cloth pads for menstruation? Medical device my patootie.

ITA, that's where the phrase on the rag came from. What medical condition would a menstrual cloth be addressing? Menstruation is perfectly normal. Could they damage the external genetalia?(I doubt it). I'd be more concerned about those vagina balls which are being marketed as having health benefits. FDA should clamp down on that ish right away!

[Granwych]

I bought a bagful of microfiber washcloths to use as baby wipes for the grandbabies.  I prefer to use disposables for the really poopy diapers, but the washcloths do fine. 

[Anonymousguest]

6 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

To add to that, if you accept Christianity and believe that Jesus is the Messiah, then you are no longer Jewish.  Yes, you may have been born a Jew, but that's it.  Most, if not all, Jewish authorities would consider that you have renounced your Judaism.

The thing with Messianic Christians has muddied the waters when people who were Christians try to convert.  Jewish organizations want to make sure that you're not a stealth Christian.

I like to read Kveller, a Jewish blog about families.  Some of the comments on there are from the Faux Jewish faction.  Ditto, Youtube videos.

I guess the distinction is fine, but I think of the cultural Jewish Christians to at least know the cultural and traditional practices, often speak the language, have an affinity and connection to Israel, etc. While Jewish authorities may not consider them Jewish, they certainly are, and that colors their belief system.

Those who decide later to add the Torah to their Christianity don't have the cultural background, know the language, etc. It's just...fake. 

[PennySycamore]

Jews, in general, don't consider people  who were born Jewish and then become Christian as Jewish.  You can be Jewish or you can be Christian but not both.

[Kittikatz]

I can't see why cloth pads would be regulated as medical devices except by a government that sees menstrating women as somehow suffering from a medical condition..  Yet I can't imagine too many disability claims being granted for women suffering a bad shark week. Sounds like a bullshit, pro-corporate, misogynist policy. 

I'm allergic/sensitive to pretty much everything - including many of the adhesives, plastic, and chemicals in the materials used to make a lot of the conventional pads. I prefer tampons, and am thankful there are a few brands that I can use, but my cycle is such that I need backup protection. So, I've got a collection of surprisingly comfortable cotton pads that orriginated when I was caught during a surprise (so not yay) shark attack when I was touristing Sweden. I got to the store, and all the disposable brands were different from what I was used to seeing at home, which left me with no clue as to which of the boxes I could safely use. Thankfully the clerk suggested a brand of cloth that they stocked. The cloth pads aren't too bad to wash (as long as you have your own laundry facilities), offer adjustable absorbancy, are a lot softer, cooler and are actually slightly less goopy than the disposables. Main benefit for me is the lack of rash on my nether regions, but cloth pads can be a useful product for some women, and it annoys me to see how the feminine hygene industry has done such a thorough job selling the idea that disposables are inherently superior. 

That said, this life giving linen sctick sounds like a whole lot of a craycray, so I think I'll stick with plain old Scandinavian cotton

[FloraKitty35]

"Life Giving Linen" sounds like a line of table linens that are being shilled by a drag queen.  "Make that everyone will gag on the eleganza at your next dinner party with Life Giving Linens."

[THERetroGamerNY]

I hate myself for actually looking this up, but at any rate: The FDA regulates the pads due to biological health concerns, such as Toxic Shock Syndrome.

http://www.fda.gov/medicaldevices/deviceregulationandguidance/guidancedocuments/ucm071781.htm

[PennySycamore]

@THERetroGamerNY, thank you for that.  I was wondering about it.

@Kittikatz, I hear what you are saying, but disposable pads and tampons would have seemed like a godsend when laundry was more of a chore.