The first week of the quarter was an odd one. I wouldn’t be on campus much anyways since I’m doing independent work, but I would still be spending time in the library. It’s strange needing to phone the circulation desk when I need to pick ups books, meeting someone in front of the library building, and never going in or even seeing other people. It’s going to be interesting looking back on this time in few years, to say the least.
Anyways, I spent pretty much all of my time combing wool. I bought a fleece during the summer and washed it before the quarter started; I wanted to take advantage of the summer sun and heat and dry the fleece outside. The apartment I share with my fiance isn’t terribly small, but as it’s filled with books there isn’t much room to leave the fleece to dry where it wouldn’t get in the way (or be put it in danger of being nibbled on by my rabbits).
Combing wool is deceptively hard work. My body aches in ways I was not expecting. My arms hurt from holding the combs and passing the wool between them. My back hurts from sitting and supporting my arms. I’ve made myself bleed a few times, as the tools I’m using are quite sharp. This is not easy work. Yet people used to do this all the time in order to have wool for clothing. Preparing wool for spinning was necessary work.
I’m torn between needing to read and research and needing to work on the fiber side of things. I have a fear that I won’t finish the textile work by the end of the quarter. On the other hand, I can’t just work with fiber the entire time. I need to and want to do research. I suppose my challenge for this quarter will be time management.