Welcome to the 2nd Grade Wool Project!

1/20/2010
I did a presentation for the 2nd grade classes at Lucas’ school about wool, knitting, spinning, and dyeing. They watched me knit, I showed them some knitted items, and I did a spinning demo with a spindle and my spinning wheel. I also showed them some locks of wool, fresh from a sheep, unwashed, then another piece that was washed, and then a few more pieces showing the steps that bring the wool to clean and ready for dyeing and/or spinning.

After the presentation, we did a class project of dyeing 2+lbs of roving! So Much FUN! These kids are brilliant. They were given red, orange, yellow, and two blues, but they created so many more colors on their own. It was incredible to watch their collaborate creative process! I used kool-aid for the red and orange, and Wilton’s icing gels for the yellow and blues. They are all safe for them to handle, whereas traditional wool dyes need other chemicals for mordents. I also gave them spoons and eye-droppers for applying the dye. Anyway, as you can see, the colors turned out great!

These photos chronicle this amazing project, so there are LOTS of them!

I decided to knit Frankie Brown’s Ten Stitch Twist. It is a perfect symbol for this school and group of kids. They did a family heritage project at the beginning of the year, part of which was making a family quilt. Since all of the 2nd graders dyed this wool together, as a family, I thought a circle would be perfect. And a spiral, even better, since they are building on what each other has done. I added 40 points to the outer edge, one for each student, and then fringe so the yarn is more visible. There’s nothing like handspun yarn!

I spent about 5 days spinning, spinning, spinning, and then about a week knitting. For the kids that didn’t get to dye, I had them help me tie on some of the fringe pieces.

2/14/10 - It is ALL DONE! I cannot WAIT to show it to the kids and teachers, and everyone else. I’m really proud of this project and completely blown away with the colors these kids created. Magical!

2/18/10 - I presented it to the kids today and they all loved it! They were so proud to have been a part of making something so special and beautiful, and that they all did it together. Then, I presented it at a school meeting tonight for the parents, complete with the photos up on the giant screen. I got to talk about the project and show everything. It was a HUGE hit! The only thing left to do is have it framed and hang it somewhere special at the school.

Thank yous to -
Lindsay and Michele for teaching me everything I know about dyeing!
ideachica for inspiring me with her beautiful Ten Stitch Twist blanket that has scalloped edges, too.
Paradise Fibers for the FANTASTIC fiber.