School: Sean-Chill

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1. Colouring Wool (continued)

   

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   hay-fork. They now took out the little bag that contained the logwood. They now added copperas and boiled for about an hour. The wool would then become jet black and when they throught it right black they took it out with a fork and put it into wicker baskets. The water used to drain away through the wicker. It was then taken to a running stream and washed. They used to place the basket in the running stream and keep squeezing the wool until all the black substance was cleared away in the stream. They used then take the wool home and spread it out on a clean patch to dry. When perfectly dry they used to put it into bags.
   The used to mix it with blue and white wool. The blue wool was got by dyeing with indigo. It was called ? in Irish. The white wool was got by washing the ordinary wool. The mixture used to be a pound of black wool a quarter pound of white wool and a couple of ounces of blue wool.
   This mixing was done by a pair of woollen cards drawn against each other. They used to place a tuft of black wool on the card with a little white and a very small amount of blue. They then carded the mixture to and fro. When well mixed they rolled it into little balls and laid it aside. They next placed it on the cards and made it into rolls about the size of a twopenny candle.
   It was now ready for spinning. It was spun into thread and sent to the weaver to be woven into freize. It was

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Language

   English

   Collector

   R. O' Connell

   Address

   Kilkerrin, Co. Galway

   Informant

   Thomas Brennan

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   72

   Occupation

   Smith

   Address

   Annaghbeg, Co. Galway