The milkweed is growing out of control! Mark your calendars, next week, Wednesday, October 8th, the UMD Landlab will be hosting a milkweed harvesting event that is open to everyone! That includes you! The event will run from 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM. The address is 3568 Riley Rd, Duluth, MN, 55803!

From our very own Dr. Twu, some lessons on flax fibers and processing. These fibers will play a critical role in the crafting of the Book of The North. Using medieval techniques, flax and many other natural materials will be used in to create this symbol of Minnesotan culture and ecology.

Last Friday, volunteers and members of the Book of The North team took to the wetlands in northern Minnesota to harvest nettles for the project! These nettles will play an important part in creating the ink. #minnesota #minnesotan #uofm #umd #umdcahss #education #nature #flaxseed #umdbulldogs

Developed in the early 12th century, Textura Quadrata packs letters and words closely together so that they look like woven cloth. “Textura” means “woven” in Latin, and we get the word “textile” from it. www.linkedin.com/posts/krista...

When you think of Book of The North, obviously you think of…geometry? Yesterday, Dr. Twu visited some geometry classes at Duluth East High School for a special lesson on the geometry of medieval books!

Last Monday, the students of Dr. Twu’s Nature Writing course gathered in Ordean Court here at UMD to strip Milkweed! Specially, these are late fallen stalks of Milkweed, which grows naturally here in Minnesota.

Alcuin of York, advisor to Charlemagne and master of the palace school, developed the font Caroline minuscule to promote Latin language literacy across the Carolingian empire. The second of five blog posts on writing and fonts for Book of The North is out now! www.linkedin.com/posts/krista...

How often do you think about writing? Ink marking paper, typing fingers summoning words to a screen through a technical combination of hardware and software. We perform these actions so often, questions of their origins rarely cross our minds. www.linkedin.com/posts/krista...

From our flax harvesting last Wednesday, a bit about the process of flax harvesting and processing from Louise Young, our flax expert and ecologist! #minnesota #minnesotan #uofm #umd #umdcahss #education #nature #flax #flaxseed #umdbulldogs #umn #umnduluth #umnproud #bulldogs

Did you know? Recycling is far from a modern concept. Many of the centuries-old books we see have pages made from people’s used clothes. Dr. Twu brought some old books to the flax harvesting event, some that are older than America! #minnesota #uofm #umd #umdcahss #education #nature #flax #umn

Another wonderful spotlight, this time from the New Chaucer Studies: Pedagogy and Profession newsletter! Learn more about the project and Dr. Krista Twu in this article! ncspedagogyandprofession.org/2025/08/30/k... #minnesota #minnesotan #uofm #umd #umdcahss #education #nature #flax #flaxseed

One of our fantastic Guild members, Krista Sue-Lo Twu, often joins our sessions to spin flax! Her team at @bookofthenorth.bsky.social recently harvested their flax (very fitting for this evening's Making Space Session, whose optional theme was 'harvest'!)

Some local spotlight, thank you so much Fox 21! Check our story or Fox 21’s website to see the full video and article! www.fox21online.com/2025/09/03/u... #minnesota #minnesotan #uofm #umd #umdcahss #education #nature #flax #flaxseed #umdbulldogs #umn #umnduluth #umnproud #bulldogs

To everyone who made the trip out to harvest flax with us today, thank you so much! You’ve become a part of a project encompassing all of Minnesota, and every single contribution makes this work possible. Here’s some highlights from the day!

From all of us on the Book of The North team, we'd like to wish everyone a happy and relaxing Labor Day! #minnesota #minnesotan #uofm #umd #umdcahss #education #nature #flax #flaxseed #umdbulldogs #umn #umnduluth #umnproud #bulldogs

After flax has been retted, it's put through a flax brake. This tool breaks away the outer and inner layers of the flax, freeing the fiber within. To learn more and contribute, join us next Wednesday, September 3rd, at the Landlab for a flax event!

Community Event Announcement! Next Wednesday, September 3rd, from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM, members of the community are invited to the Landlab to both learn and aid in the process of harvesting, rippling, and retting Flax for the Book of The North!

Hi All! We’d like to welcome all of you to (or back to) our wonderful campus. Though you may be just starting the school year, the passionate faculty, researchers, and artisans at UMD have been working tirelessly this summer to begin the project we call The Book of The North.

This is the Book of The North, funded by the University of Minnesota Imagine Fund for Arts, Humanities, and Design. Planned for exhibition in the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Tweed Museum in Spring of 2027.