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Sadie Kate Kennedy recently participated and won big at the 2016 Mississippi 4H State Congress (Club Congress) held June 1-3 at Mississippi State University. Sadie Kate won the First Place award in Consumer Education Visual Presentation for her Wool Dryer Ball Project. According to Simpson County FCS/4H County Coordinator Amanda Blakeney, Sadie Kate’s award is the first time in 9 years that Simpson County has brought home a first place award from Club Congress. This was also the first year Sadie Kate was age eligible to participate in Club Congress.Sadie Kate chose to research wool dryer balls when she was showing sheep for the Simpson County 4H Livestock Program. After shearing her sheep for show, there was always a lot of beautiful, clean wool left on the ground. This wool was too short to spin into yarn & was normally tossed in the trash. Sadie Kate began to wonder what she could do with the leftover short wool. She instigated a research on the web and found out about Wool Dryer Balls. Sadie Kate & her mother started making the wool dryer balls to use at home & to give as gifts. She decided to use her research & this project for Club Congress for one simple fact: they work!
Wool Dryer Balls are easy to make and they are super easy to use. You begin with freshly shorn, clean & dry wool. Any length of wool can be used. Gather the wool into a ball about the size of a grapefruit. Stuff this ball into a pair of pantyhose. Tie a knot to secure the ball. Continue to stuff wool balls into the pantyhose & secure them with a knot until you have used all your wool. Next, agitate the balls in VERY HOT, soapy water in the washing machine. This makes the wool start to felt together. Your next step is to toss the balls that are still wrapped in the pantyhose into the dryer. Dry the balls in the dryer on HIGH HEAT. Using high heat finishes the felting process. When the dryer balls are completely dry, cut them out of the pantyhose. You will now have freshly formed tennis-ball sized Wool Dryer Balls!
Wool Dryer Balls are cost efficient because of how they work. The 100% felted wool pulls moisture out of the clothes very quickly. Depending on your dryer and using 4-6 wool dryer balls in a large load of clothes can reduce drying time 30%-50%, thus decreasing your electricity bill over time. You can also add essential oils to the wool dryer balls if your desire a scent to your clothing.
As a MS State 4H Congress first place winner, Sadie Kate received an all-expenses paid invitation to attend the 4H Cooperative Business Leadership Conference, July 18-21, at Mississippi State University, which she has chosen to attend. Sadie Kate is very excited and flattered that her hard work paid off at Club Congress, and she is honored to represent Simpson County in this capacity.
Sadie Kate is the outstanding 15 year old daughter of Brian C. & Audra Kennedy. Sadie Kate is a homeschool student alongside her younger brother, Carter. She is the younger sister of recent homeschool graduate, Brayden. Sadie Kate is the granddaughter of Shelby & Barbara Colson; and Bobbie Kennedy & the late Jim Kennedy, all of Magee, MS.
Sadie Kate’s entire family is immensely proud of her achievements in all areas of her life.
