I decided that I didn't have the patience to give this a try right now. It might work, but sounded like more work than I am up to at the moment! I'm just having way too much fun chasing fairies around the house instead! I've vacuumed 10 times today too, and I'm making a dent!
The seeds are sort of lined up in the pod, but it is very hard to grab only the fluff when removing them from the pod. I am doing this very carefully, and having a little success. I'm sure with time, I can get the hang of it. Part of the problem is that I had to make an emergency trip out of state, and most of the pods had opened widely when I picked them. Many of the seeds were spilling out and flying away by that time. This is the mess that I had to deal with...
I tried rubbing them between my hands, and that didn't really work. I've tried staring at them, and that doesn't work either. I've learned to hold my breath for a very long time though, so that is a plus! Shaking them in a bag may be the way to go, but I'll end up with a sprained arm before I get enough separated to trade. I did have a little bit of success with that method, but not enough that I really want to try again.
I'm picking the fluff off by hand in the meantime, and I'm really hoping that Jonna will know of a magical way to do this!