Dyeing to Weave

We were so excited to have Emma Robinson from Woolly Mammoth Fibres at our club this week.  Emma dyes wool using natural dyes which she has foraged for and then spins the dyed wool.  She demonstrated dyeing some wool using red onion skins.  We were all very surprised to see that the wool turned out a yellow/green colour, rather than a pinky red!  

While the wool was bubbling away on the stove, Emma showed us wool from different breeds of sheep and even an alpaca.  The alpaca wool was a bit smelly!  She then talked about how she spins wool, using a spinning wheel.  Some of us were able to have a go at spinning.  It was a lot of fun, and Emma was really interesting to listen to!