there's no reason this job isn't done

completely stripped and seed fiber separated.

(that milkweed again)

the whole pile should be this

but i have been otherwise occupied.

i've bruised my forearms on the beater at zone 4

after a long disentangling with pliers and my aforementioned arms

and fingers that escaped in rather good shape.

hemp sliver

beautiful stuff, it was hard to cut,

so i cut it into too long bits

and they ground around beautifully until

they

didn't anymore.

it may have taken me an hour to unscrew the keeper plates,

pull out a ton of hemp

haul out more,

and using pliers, haul out the rest

bruising up those forearms meanwhile.

solace was available

and some experiments are happening at home with the woven books

and a simply lovely large and flat sketchbook

sometimes things go the right way.

students are busy, finishing up three projects.

one of our students is making a felted vovelle for her interpretive book.

she told me she knits (evidence: her scarf), crochets, sews, and felts,

so i suggested she might be interested in fiberarts and she said,

and i love this,

"oh, (pause) i didn't know that was a thing".

our students are loving learning, exploring and strengthening hand skills

as they make beautiful books and enclosures.

~~~

i'm off to toronto tomorrow morning and back on sunday

(as long as my car issues keep working themselves out)

then it's thanksgiving week.

i won't see the class for almost 2 weeks. one of them said yesterday

this class needs to be another semester long.

so many of them love what we're doing!