It’s Friday again and we meet for the second time to learn more about natural fibres and their transformation.
After a short repetition of what we’ve learnt last week we talked about the local situation of shepherds. In our region there are many sheep that came with their owners from Sardegna many years ago. Nowadays its nearly impossible for them to sell the wool, instead they have to pay for the disposal because it’s seen as special waste. Many of them hide the wool or collect it in their farm to not pay for it.
When the children hear this, one girl shouts: WE WILL USE THE WOOOL!
Then we watched a short documentary about how farmers from Tuscany shear the sheep, the children remain surprised that they bond the legs of the sheep to keep it still.
Afterwards the children ask to see a video how the silk worm is creating a threat of silk. We were all impressed and wondered if the folder is still in the cocoon when they cook it. Poor folders!!!
In the end we watched a short film about the cultivation of cotton in Sicily that restarted a few years ago.
After some theory we continue to practice to spin more wool and talk about what we’d like to create with the wool once it’s a bigger amount. Maybe a small little rug? In different shades of grey, white, black and brown. The children love the new wool that arrived from north Italy. It’s so sooooft! The enthusiasm is big about finding different ways to spin alone and helping each other. Then the idea came up to make an extra long threat down the wall. One stays up preparing the wool while the other is spinning the spindle down. The longest thread of Gradoli!!!
To close the session we decided what we’d like to learn the next times. Natural colors, weaving bands!