Wednesday

On Wednesday we learned how pioneers made yarn. We saw a spinning wheel, learned how to card the wool (brush it), and began weaving on a cardboard loom. 

We also learned how the pioneers dyed their yarn. We talked a lot about indigo and cochineal. To dye things with indigo, you have to put the dye in a pot of stale urine. Cochineal is a bug that lives on prickly pear cactuses. It is used to dye things red and pink. It is used in our food and makeup today (red dye 40)