Cloth Roads

Spinning Week Tales

Doña Sebastiana, Mid-Week, Huancarani

The 7th Annual Semana de las Phuskadoras (Week of the Women Who Spin with Drop Spindles) began the first Monday in October The median age of the team Warmis Phuskadoras (Women Who Spin with Drop Spindles) is 57, and they all live in the rural community of Huancarani. Their spinning and weaving rivalries date back to pre-adolescence and have not mellowed with the years. Few have smart phones and the mountainous region makes for poor cell phone service so they can’t check in on each other virtually.

Gathering Mid-Week, East Side of Huancarani

In 2014, the first year of Spinning Week the spinners asked that a meeting be organized mid-week so that they could check each other’s progress. That mid-week check evolved from meeting at the church to a morning gathering on the west side of Huancarani, and an afternoon gathering on the east side. Spinners living on the west side with no shepherding responsibilities pile into the truck contracted by PAZA to head to the east side for a communal lunch and social afternoon before walking and spinning their way back home.

After the week of spinning, the measuring began in Huancarani. Doña Maxima, coordinated the logistics and contracted her husband to do the driving. Her daughter Vilma and Vilma’s 3 daughters rode along as well. Vilma was paid to work all day measuring and her 2 oldest girls who in past years were in school helped with the measuring and took turns tending their new baby sister. Maribel who is the youngest spinner and weaver in Huancarani was also paid to help out. Besides the 16 members of the Warmis Phuskadoras, there were 5 Huancarani spinners on the competing team, the Phuskadoras Alegres (Happy Women Who Spin with a Drop Spindle). The total of 21 spinners spun 49,148 meters (39”), but because the yarn was doubled, the measuring teams only had to measure half that amount. The measuring is done 1 meter at a time along 2 sides of the measuring table, or between marks on a wall or any available piece of furniture. It´s an all-day activity, but fun so those who can arrive early and stay until the end.

Doña Rufina, Right, 1st Place, Sanipaya

The following day the truck was again loaded up in Independencia with the measuring paraphernalia including the table and chairs plus beef to be cooked for lunch. There is no refrigeration in the rural communities, so the beef delivery was a treat for the 6 spinners in Sanipaya. Doña Beatris splits her time between her farm and her home in Independencia where her son lives to attend school. In 2014, when the Cloth Roads sponsored Spinzilla team Warmis Phuskadoras was formed, not enough spinners registered to fill the 25-member team.

Doña Casimira, Right, 2nd Place, Huancarani

Doña Beatris who´s a member of the Club de Artesanas said she had friends in Sanipaya who wanted to join the team. She has organized that group through the years; and hosts the measuring team at her home. The 2 newest members of the Club de Artesanas live in Independencia but have spent much of the COVID quarantine on their family farms in Sanipaya. They were there for measuring day, so by day´s end all of the Spinning Week yarn had been measured.

The results for each spinner were tallied on a notebook page, with a tally mark made for every 5 yards measured. Doña Maxima photographed each page with her cell phone and sent the photos to Dorinda in the U.S. to calculate the results. A photo of the results was returned.

Tally Sheet, 1 Mark for 5 Yards, 1 Square Equals 25 Yards

The team Phuskadoras Alegres won by spinning 42,748 meters (close to a yard). In 2018, the measuring was changed from yards as required by Spinzilla to the metric system used in Bolivia. Doña Rufina, from Sanipaya who is Doña Beatris´s mother came in first place for the 2nd year in a row by spinning 4,900 meters. The team Warmis Phuskadoras spun a total of 37,562 meters. Doña Casimira took 1st place on that team by spinning 4,541 meters. She has won 3 out of 7 competitions and her best year was 2017 when she spun the-all-time high of 5,072 yards. She admitted to taking a day off from spinning this year.

Measuring Day, Huancarani

Spinning Week will wrap up in December when all the Huancarani spinners receive their prizes after the annual Centro de Artesania, Huancarani meeting and feast. Between now and then the Club de Artesanas members are busy making the prizes which are polleras (skirts) for all members of the 1st place team and knitted sleeveless tops for the 2nd place team members.

Thank you Lyn Lucas for your ongoing support of the Bolivian weavers. The PAZA activities continue monthly and that comes at a cost. Please consider using the “Donate” button on the blog to support the activities that encourage the weavers to continue to spin and weave maintaining their textile heritage. Thank you, Dorinda Dutcher, November 14, 2020

Abuelitas Prepare Your Drop Spindles!

Spinning Week in the Andes

This month is the official kick-off of “La Semana de las Phuskadoras” (“The Week of Women Who Spin with Drop Spindles”) in Independencia, Bolivia. Registration opened on July 7th and will close at the end of the month. Spinning Week will be November 4th through the 10th, and for the first time 2 local teams of 16 will compete against each other.

History

Between 2014 and 2017, the ClothRoads Spinzilla team “Warmis Phuskadoras” were the only Latin American representatives. The Andean spinners consistently placed in the upper 40%, competing against

Mid-Week Check-In

spinners and spinning wheels from around the world. The Spinzilla founders organized the spinning competition as a way to raise awareness of the joys of spinning and to encourage a global connection of spinners. Thanks to the personal notes and financial support from spinners on other Spinzilla teams and PAZA supporters the Bolivian spinners learned of the existence of the big fiber world outside of their isolated mountain communities.

This year, the spirit of competition that goes back to childhood is going to reach new heights as the 2 local teams square off against each other. Their spinning and weaving skills are an integral part of the farmer subsistence lifestyle and are the core of their self-identity. It will be a competition where the “abuelitas” (little grandmothers) rule.

Annual Prize Awarding of Petticoats in 2017

Whether Spinning Week is international or local the spinners are adamant that the event be held annually. To help them recognize their merit in a tangible sense each team member is awarded the same prize. They vote on the prize each year and it is always their choice, personal, and something they rarely have the ability to buy for themselves. The prizes chosen this year are petticoats for the first place team and cardigans for the second place team.

Logistics

Spinning Week Encouraged Maribel to Learn to Spin and Weave

The “Semana de las Phuskadoras” is estimated to cost $1,200 which will cover the prizes, local wages, logistics, and transportation for the visits to the 2 rural communities involved. Trips to the communities are made for the mid-week Spinning Week check-in, measuring the results, and the prize awarding and annual feast. Any funds raised over the cost of Spinning Week will help meet the challenge of raising the monthly operating expenses of $175/month.

Doña Casimira Always Places in the Top 3

The two “Semana de las Phuskadoras” team captains will be Doña Maxima Cortez who is the PAZA Coordinator and manages the Club de Artesanas in Independencia and Doña Justina Vargas who does an excellent job of managing the Spinning Week logistics in the rural community of Huancarani.

Dorinda Dutcher began PAZA as a Peace Corps project in 2007 when she began working with the spinners at their request. She moved back to the U.S. in 2018, but maintains a home in Independencia and will be on hand to provide oversight of this year’s event.

Support

Doña Maxima Preparing Roving for Spinning Week

You can help to make the Spinning Week competition a success and support the Bolivian spinners in two ways:

  1. Donate by clicking on the “Donate” button above. Any amount is most welcome.
  1. Purchase a weaving which will provide cash flow to the spinners as well as building their sense of self- esteem in knowing that their skills will allow them to care for their families. Inquiries may be made by contacting Dorinda Dutcher, dkdutcher@hotmail.com. Information about the weavings: https://pazaboliviablog.com/2019/04/13/bolivian-weavings-have-arrived/

Spinning Week Provides the Women a Rare Opportunity to Socialize

Updates on the “Semana de las Phuskadoras” and the spinners and weavers will be posted regularly to this blog. Dorinda will personally respond to all forms of support as well as inquiries for further information or weaving orders. We thank you in advance for your help in keeping this global connection intact and look forward to November’s Spinning Week. Finally, thank you to the BritSpin spinners for encouraging the Bolivian team to register – maybe next year! Dorinda Dutcher, July 20, 2019, dkdutcher@hotmail.com

Spinzillita Spinning Week Results

Spinning Week in the Andes

The unofficial Spinzillita Spinning Week in Independencia, Bolivia went off without a hitch. It is the 5th year the rural weavers have spent the first week in October spinning and eyeballing each other’s progress. For lack of a TNNA Spinzilla sponsor they could not officially compete.

Sisters Spinning Together, Doñas Maxima & Narciza

Mid-week Doña Maxima contracted a vehicle for the ride winding up the mountain west of Independencia, along the ridge top, and halfway down another mountain into Huancarani. Doña Justina had the 19 participants in that community organized for a photo shoot and evaluation of the yarn spun thus far. Being dry season, the rough track that serves as a road to farmsteads to the west was passable. A stop was made near the farmstead of Doña Narciza, Doña Maxima´s only sibling still residing in Huancarani, who was out and about with her goat herd. Backtracking to the central part of Huancarani, a large group of spinners were waiting at the soccer field. Spinning and chatting the group headed uphill together in search of Doña Toribia who was in a large meadow, and perfect picnic spot, spinning and watching over her flock of sheep.

Doña Toribia and Her Flock

On Monday, the day following the end of Spinning Week, Doña Maxima, Doña Antonia, and Vilma made the trip to Huancarani to measure the yarn spun. PAZA paid a wage to the latter 2 because help was needed for measuring. In the past, PAZA volunteers were on hand to help with the wearisome task of measuring out yard after yard of 2 ply yarn between 2 marks on a wooden table. Although the enthusiasm for Spinning Week has grown, the results were the lowest in 5 years.

Doña Antonia Measures While Vilma Tallies

In 2017, the Cloth Roads team Warmi Phuskadoras last official participation in Spinzilla resulted in 70,390 yards spun on drop spindles placing them in 27th place out of 70 teams. This year the yarn spun dropped to 54,524 yards, which would have placed them in the 24th place out of Spinzilla´s 38 official teams. Doña Maxima´s norm was well below past years because of travel days. She was probably exhausted as well because Spinning Week began the day after her daughter´s 3 day wedding and celebration in Cochabamba. She was 100% in charge during Wednesday´s all day trip to Huancarani which meant more work for her and less time to spin. This is the first blog posting where she is credited with the photos.

Mother & Daughter, Doñas Eulogia & Cirilia Upped Their Yardage Spun This Year

Doña Casimira had her 3rd win by spinning 3,852 yards. There were 3 first time competitors, all young! Maribel, who was spinning in her second competition, beat Doña Maxima. When it comes to hand spinning, it is the elder women who place highest. Their skill will be recognized and celebrated at their December 19th meeting and feast. The prize this year is a mesh shopping bag.

Maribel Spun 352 More Yards Than Last Year

By strict adherence to the Spinzilla rules, the event has offered the women opportunity to learn to problem solve and to work together as a team. This year 4 unregistered spinners did spin during Spinning Week. During a Skype call with PAZA, Doña Maxima asked 3 different ways if it was possible to get around the registration deadline to be able to give the unregistered spinners a prize. One of the spinners is her mother-in-law, who she prefers not to upset. Registration closed the end of July, the rules can’t be changed, and the PAZA budget is fixed. The PAZA suggestion was to ask the registered spinners to take up a collection to purchase mesh bags for the 4 extra participants, especially since they paid no participation fee as in years past.

This Year’s Winner, Doña Casimira Who Spun 3,852 Yards

The spinners say they are accustomed to Spinning Week and would be disappointed if it is cancelled. PAZA has not found a 2019 TNNA sponsor, and with the decline in participation in Spinzilla this year, its future seems uncertain. However, PAZA hopes to find a way to help the spinners carry on the Spinning Week tradition and celebration of their spinning skill. The key word is “tradition” these women are the last generations to live the ancient farmer subsistence lifestyle that intertwines spinning and weaving with self-identity.

Thank you Sue Brady, Patty Tompkins, Jenny Heard, and Rob Nash, the team’s Spinzillita supporters and friends for your generosity. PAZA is still raising funds to cover expenses for December’s annual meeting of the Centro de Artesanía, Huancarani and Spinzillita Celebration and the ongoing expenses of the Club de Artesanas in Independencia. Dorinda Dutcher, October 29, 2018

Annual Meeting & Spinzilla Celebration

Hauling Meat Tray to the Oven

The annual Centro de Artesanía, Huancarani (CAH) meeting and Spinzilla Celebration were held outside under brooding clouds. Once again, Doña Toribia donated her wood burning oven and it was fired up before the contingent from Independencia arrived with the 49 pounds of beef cutlets, a first time veggie option, tomatoes, oil, condiments, and sodas for the feast.  Weavers arrived singly or in pairs dragging branches for firewood or with an aguayo filled with just harvested potatoes or onions. Doña Toribia donated iceberg lettuce for the salad which is rarely seen and never for sale in the Independencia market. All set about prepping the food and laying it in metal trays. Branches of the

Mudding the Wood Burning Oven Closed

th’ola shrub were cut and tied to a branch to sweep the oven´s brick bottom clear of ash. Potatoes were tossed inside, the trays were set on top of them, and the oven cover which had been fashioned from the end of a metal 55 gallon drum was sealed shut with mud.

The women settled on the ground for the annual CAH meeting with one eye on the rain falling in the mountains to the south. A new Board of Directors was elected, Doña Justina stepped down as President after 4 years of doing an excellent job of coordinating with PAZA for workshops, meetings, and Spinzilla activities. Twenty year old Maribel took over as Secretary, because she can read and write she will set an example for the future of that Board position. Two new members joined CAH and both are younger than the median age of 60 for the members.

2018 Annual CAH Meeting, Huancarani

The weavers voted to establish an “honorable member” category to waive the annual membership fee for elderly women who no longer spin or weave but enjoy the social occasions the CAH offers. Doña Teodora, who hasn´t woven in decades because of a poorly healed broken shoulder, was CAH´s first honorary member.The new CAH banner was unveiled and all declared it to be beautiful. The intent was to have it made in time to take to the Tinkuy, but the 2 piece pole was so long that it was impractical for travel. It will be marched around the soccer field in Huancarani in the civic day parades.

Doña Teodora with her Photogenic Smile

The vote was unanimous to continue competing in Spinzilla Spinning Week. They asked, “Why wouldn´t we? We spin almost every day anyway and we like winning a prize”. They voted to raise their registration fee 5 Bs. from $1.44 to $2.16 per participant.

The New CAH Banner

Time was spent discussing whether or not to raise the price of the weavings and a vote for a small increase was passed. Thanks to Laverne Waddington the fajas (4-1/2” x 71” bands) are gaining popularity with U.S. weavers who purchase them to design and cut up for their own projects. The 2018 price was raised from $35 to $38. The price for a kilo of handspun yarn went from $10 to $11.50.

Viewing the Tinkuy Photos

Doña Máxima and Doña Justina spoke about their Tinkuy experiences and photos were passed around. The women were able to put a face with the name they hear many times during Spinzilla and that person is Marilyn Murphy of Cloth Roads who has sponsored the Bolivian team for 4 years. There were also photos of Doña Máxima and Doña Justina presenting thank you weavings to longtime supporters Lyn Lucas and Dorothy Thursby. The photo of Karen Sprenger at the exhibition table with Doña Justina and Doña Maxima was appropriate because she´s been instrumental in helping with sales of the inventory stored in Kansas.

Doña Narciza Receives Her Shawl and Spinzilla Photo

The meeting adjourned and the moment all had been waiting for arrived with the handing out of the shawls, the 2017 Spinzilla prize for all participants. Doña Máxima and her daughter Zoraida had selected and purchased the cloth in Cochabamba. The material was divided between Zoraida and the CdA members so they could earn a wage by crocheting the borders and adding fringe, thus personalizing each shawl. Unfortunately, a group photo was not taken because the wind picked up and the clouds had darkened.

The 1 hour and 40 minute meeting coincided with the exact time needed for all to be pulled out of the oven cooked to perfection. Many of the women bagged up their meal and headed home hoping to stay ahead of the rain. The meal was a hurried affair as the rain rolled implacably towards the group. In the end all scurried to clean up and head home. Doña Narciza commented a few weeks later that the new shawls came in handy as a warm layer against the cold rain for her and her neighbors who had a long trek home. Thanks again to everyone who supported the Bolivian Spinzilla team! Dorinda Dutcher, January 8th, 2018

Spinzilla Spinning Week in Huancarani

Doñas Maxima, Justina, & Vilma Spinning with the 1st Group Visited

Since 2014, the Wednesday of Spinzilla Spinning Week is spent taking photos in Huancarani and checking in with the majority of the Cloth Roads team Warmis Phuskadoras who live in that rural community. Each year it is more fun, probably because the spinners have come to realize that Spinning Week offers social opportunities just for them without added responsibilities or work. Fiestas and civic day celebrations involve cooking for a big crowd and then cleaning up.

Maribel Spinning at Home, Daniel Eating la Cayote Squash

A small pickup truck was contracted and driven by Don Julio, Doña Máxima´s husband. Besides driving he provided the community service of collecting signatures for paperwork that will be submitted to the national government for disaster relief from crop damage due to hail and wind last March. Doña Justina was waiting by the turn onto the new “road” leading to the north side of the community. Somehow she managed to effortlessly spin with her phuska (drop spindle) packed into the backseat with Vilma, Dorinda, bags, and stuffed aguayos. Don Julio parked on a grassy flat that offered a spectacular mountain view. Spinners were spotted walking and spinning from 4 different directions, except for Doña Julia who carried her phuska in one hand and a bowl of potatoes, eggs, noodles, and lettuce to offer the visitors. The spinners spun, and some of their husbands arrived to meet with Don Julio.

The 2nd Group Visited

Doña Andrea, who is competing for the first time since 2014, is the mother-in-law of Maribel, the youngest Huancarani weaver. Maribel is waitlisted for Spinning Week so although her name was not submitted to Spinzilla she is competing for the first time as a team member locally. Doña Andrea is Don Julio´s sister and she invited the visitors to their home a few steps away. It is rare that an opportunity arises to visit one of the rural farmsteads. The visitors were treated to a bowl of la cayote, a huge squash, that is normally undercooked and lacking in flavor. Doña Andrea had simmered the squash over a low fire all day the day before releasing the sugar which gave it a sweet delicate flavor with a hint of cinnamon. Yum!

The Hen Leading the Sheep, Goats, Dogs, & Spinners

The visitors headed back to the main Huancarani road and stopped half a mile above the community center of school, church, soccer field, and an irregularly staffed health post. Doña Ines with her youngest, Doña Casimira, and Doña Verna were sitting in a picturesque field chatting and spinning. As soon as the visitors made their way to the group Doña Toribia and Doña Eulogia came up behind them herding Doña Toribia´s mixed flock of goats and sheep. The odd thing was that a plump red hen of Doña Eulogia´s was leading the parade apparently unconcerned about the large mammals following close behind. Doña Eulogia´s daughter Doña Cirila arrived, she recently returned to Huancarani after years in the city and is competing for the first time. Don Julio took over keeping the flock from scattering so the women could chat and spin.

Following Doña Justina to Meet the 3rd Group

All too soon it was time to move on. Doña Máxima and Vilma wanted to walk to the next and last stop so they could spin. Doña Verna enjoying the opportunity to socialize joined the group for the walk. Doña Justina led the way down the mountainside past farmsteads, fields waiting to be sown, and a flowering field of potatoes. Unfortunately, yodeling is unknown in the Andes because it would have served well in the search for the third group of spinners. Doña Justina spotted a bit of color and the group headed left down a path where they found Doña Eulogia sitting peacefully on a large boulder spinning but keeping an eye on her goats who ranged down a wooded draw and up the other side. Doña Francisca arrived, it was her birthday and she was in high form with

Where is the 3rd Group?

jokes that kept all laughing. Doña Dionicia arrived with 2 plates of food to share with the visitors, which was the signal for all to plop to the ground, put down their phuskas, take the aguayos off their backs, and pull out plates of boiled corn and cheese or boiled potatoes, noodles, and fried egg for a communal lunch. The visitors had brought soft drinks, juice, and water that were served at each stop and much appreciated on this hot sunny day.

Last to arrive were Doña Antonia Calcina and Doña Julia with their flocks of sheep. Doña Julia is spinning on the waitlist this year because she couldn´t decide whether she had the energy to compete or not. They spun with the group and chatted for a bit then headed further afield with their flocks. It was a perfect day!

The 3rd Group Chatting and Joking

Spinzilla is more fun every year while offering learning and problem solving experiences for the women as individuals and as a group. A one-time experience would not be enough to make any impact on their lives, so with that in mind thank you to those who have supported the team and PAZA for multiple years! Thank you Kris Fister, Dorothy Thursby, Patty Tompkins, Margaret Tyler, and Linda Switzer for your continued support! We have reached our goal to meet the Spinzilla expenses.

Now, a true confession…. I could not do justice to the incredible photo opportunities to document the disappearing lifestyle of the Huancarani spinners. We have not had a social media volunteer the past 2 years and it is obvious when comparing the quality and content of the 4 years of Spinzilla photos. We have also not made a short Spinzilla documentary since 2015. It would be wonderful for all involved to have a fiber artist volunteer with photography skills join us next year! Dorinda Dutcher, October 5, 2017

Spinzilla Prep & a Magical Dye Pot

Loading Up the Molle Leaves & Passengers

September was a month of preparation for Spinzilla Spinning Week and for November’s Tinkuy International Weaving conference in Cusco, Peru. Doña Máxima made a trip to Cochabamba to order the banner for the Centro de Artesanía, Huancarani (CAH) that will debut at the Tinkuy’s Inauguration parade. She and her daughter Zoraida also shopped for 2 shawl samples so that the Spinzilla participants will have some choice in this year´s “All Win 1st Prize”. They learned that the shawl vendors will have little or no inventory until next June when winter rolls around again. Spinzilla always offers a number of problem solving opportunities for the team, and one solution is to buy material and have the Club de Artesanas (CdA) members crochet the borders and add the fringe for a per shawl wage.

Dye Day #1 Results

In the midst of all the preparations for future activities the Club members started an amazing dye pot that just kept on giving. It began with a quick excursion to a lower altitude to collect the leaves of molle trees. Doña Máxima´s husband drives a student transport truck and because it sits idle between the early morning pickup of kids from a rural community and their midafternoon drop-off back home he was agreeable to driving the Club members for 50 Bs. ($7.20). There had been a few days of brief but intense rains that had washed the landscape free of the gritty tan dust that swirls and coats everything during the dry season. Time for bright yellow skeins was running out because the leaves do not yield dye during the rainy season will begin soon. It was a cloudless day so rather than begin the dye pot that afternoon the leaves were put to soak so the afternoon could be spent at the river washing and drying fleece in preparation for Spinzilla Spinning Week

2 Techniques for Washing Sheep Skins

Two days later the Club women fired up the dye pot and the molle leaves simmered scenting the air with a heavenly fragrance. The yellow resulting from the 1st dye bath met expectations but the possibility of a 2nd dye bath looked grim. Doña Antonia saved the day by offering to return from lunch with some dried turmeric root. A relative living in a tropical area of Bolivia had gifted fresh roots to her and she had dried them after the Club used them for numerous dye pots in 2013. The simmering turmeric added its exotic spicy scent to the air and the resulting color was a burnished golden yellow. For a 3rd bath a bit of cochineal was added and the results were a burnt orange. Dyeing continued over 3 more days due to the need to spin more yarn to dye. Glorious vivid reds and red oranges emerged from dye baths 4 through 8 with the addition of a few more grams of cochineal, cream of tartar, alum and citric acid. In 10 years of dyeing such a magical dye pot has never before been experienced, appreciated, and so enjoyed.

Child Labor? Mom and Grandmum Observing Emily’s Washing Technique

The rains that washed the molle leaves also flushed the river which had almost slowed to a stagnation. Fleece and sheepskins were scoured at home in hot water. After lunch following the molle excursion the Club members headed to the river. Doña Maxima and Vilma took turns pushing their wheelbarrow that held 2 sheepskins, a black fleece, and a gray fleece. Doña Antonia was carrying white fleece in a bag of woven plastic in her aguayo on her back. Doña Rufina had a mixed black and white sheepskin and some laundry in her wheelbarrow. With some effort the wheelbarrows were rolled to a pool above the ford where teen boys were lovingly washing their motor scooters.

Navigating Heavy Load of Wet Wool Up to Road

Doña Antonia wet the fleece she´d brought and then laid it over a large boulder and pounded it with a stick. Doña Máxima, Vilma, and her 8 year old daughter Emily submerged their sheep skins and fleece one at a time to work through them with their hands to remove debris. The rinsed fleece and sheepskins were draped to dry over sun warmed boulders. Wheelbarrows were washed out, loaded up, and with a sense of accomplishment the group headed merrily homeward.

Mission Accomplished, Leisurely Walk Home

The following week, and last week prior to Spinzilla Spinning Week, the Club members began preparing coils of roving. Doña Antonia watched Doña Máxima shearing fleece off a sheepskin and decided she was unhappy with the fleece that she had washed. It had dried hard instead of drying soft like the fleece Doña Máxima was cutting away from the sheepskin. Doña Antonia decided that she needed to start over using a sheepskin instead of beginning the washing process with sheared fleece. Doña Beatris, who is in charge of the 6 Spinzilla spinners from her community of Sanipaya, happened to be in town. She was spending the Club day doing her son´s “home economics” project of making a table cloth by pulling threads in a length of cloth and weaving in a bright green ribbon. She said she had 2 sheepskins and offered to sell one to Doña Antonia after washing them the following day. Unfortunately, a neighborhood dog snatched one of the washed sheepskins from where they were drying outdoors, so Doña Antonia was once again in search a sheepskin.

Doña Máxima Shears While Doña Antonia Looks On

The preparation for Spinzilla Spinning Week is a lot of work for the spinners, but it is work they’d be doing anyway. As an event, it recognizes their life long honed skills as spinners and weavers. It has created many learning opportunities for the 25 women, most of who attended few if any years of schooling. These 4 years of empowering experiences would have been impossible without your support.

Thank you Rob Nash for reconnecting in such a supportive way from our carefree youth! The generous support of a former Bolivian Peace Corps volunteer must be acknowledged with gratitude and a hug. The well wishes as well as financial support from other Spinzilla participants goes a long ways in communicating a bigger world’s recognition of the rural womens’ ancient fiber arts techniques and skills. Thank you Sarah Linder and Elizabeth White for once again supporting the Bolivian team. Thank you Taevia Miller. Dorinda Dutcher, September 28, 2017, dkdutcher@hotmail.com

2017 Spinzilla Update

Spinzilla Spinning Week 2016

July is sign-up month for the Spinzilla Cloth Roads team Warmis Phuskadoras. Registration has grown over the years from scrambling to fill the 25 member team in 2014 to having a wait list of 5 spinners this year. Last year the invitation was extended for a foreign spinner to join the team, but there were no takers. It appears it was a one-time offer as now a foreigner would be on the waiting list.

Adviana Looking on While Doña Maxima and Vilma Prepare Fleece, 2016

Those on the waiting list will pay the required 15 Bs. ($2.16) participant fee to sign up and will receive the same prize as the official participants. This year the prize is a store bought shawl, nobody opted for the offer of yarn to crochet a shawl of their own design. The waiting list was added so that everybody who was interested would be encouraged to participate. Adviana, a long time Club de Artesanas (CdA) member, wanted to sign up last year, but didn’t make her wishes known until after the registration deadline. Although her lifestyle in town does not lend itself to pasturing and spinning, she does weave to sell through PAZA. During the Club dye season she is always short of skeins to dye, so space had to be made for her to spin during Spinning Week. Maribel, the youngest member of the Centro de Artesanía, Huancarani (CAH) is also on the waitlist. It is worth recording how much and how well the 20-somethings spin this year to be able to measure their improvement over time.

Florinda in Front with Younger Sister, 1st Ride on Luisa

Another new spinner on the wait list this year is Florinda, who is about 17 years old and is physically handicapped for which there are no services in rural Bolivia. In 2009, it was brought to PAZA’s attention that a young girl in Huancarani who loved school was not going to be able to continue because she was getting too heavy for her parents to carry her from their home up the mountainside to the school. There were 2 visitors from Bozeman who met Florinda in Huancarani and bought the family a burro named Luisa. The family still has Luisa and Florinda continued her education repeating 5th grade not wanting school to end, but it did.

Communal Lunch, Measuring Day, 2016

Florinda cannot stand or walk so is confined to the family home and grounds where she helps her family by throwing rocks to keep the birds out of the crops. At the weavers’ meeting in Huancarani in early July, Florinda’s mother, who participates in Spinzilla, said that her daughter is the better spinner and wanted to join the Spinzilla team. Florinda was signed up, and PAZA paid her registration fee. She is back on the PAZA radar, and the Club de Artesanas will make an outreach effort by offering her patterns and supplies for crochet and knitting projects. Did the founders of Spinzilla have any idea of how far reaching the competition would be?

Maribel Helping with Yardage Tally, 2015

Doña Francisca is on the official Spinzilla roster for her first year competing. She has spent her life spinning and weaving, but for years has gone round and round with Doña Máxima for lack of attention to quality standards with her weavings. Last week, she finally presented a faja that met the quality standards, although she did not follow the color specifications of the order. PAZA bought the faja with the caution that the next time a weaving does not meet the order’s specs it cannot be purchased and will go into the store inventory. She smiled, nodded her assent, and was obviously happy to join the ranks of the weavers filling orders and participating in Spinning Week. She said she was already getting ready for the competition and had traded corn for a sheepskin of long white fleece to spin.

Doñas Toribia, Narciza, and Maxima, Spinning Week, 2016

It is time for the annual Spinzilla fundraiser which needs to be fully funded so that the ongoing PAZA activities are not impacted. Expenses not yet covered are estimated at $730. If you donate and are a Spinzilla spinner please include a note with the name of your team.  All comments and words of encouragement that accompany donations are passed on to the Bolivian team members. Thank you Lyn Lucas, Dorothy Thursby, and Myra Gilliam for kickstarting this year’s fundraising effort! Hugs!

Thank you Marilyn Murphy and Cloth Roads for sponsoring the team Warmis Phuskadoras for their 4th year! Dorinda Dutcher, August 2, 2017

Winter and Weaving

Doña Beatriz Teaching Herself new Figures

During June, the women of the Club de Artesanas (CdA) focused on weaving. Dorinda had returned from the U.S. with 3 orders for weavings from Laverne Waddington’s spring workshop students. The CdA members signed up to fill the orders and warped during Club days working in pairs. The weaving will be done during odd hours at home. Doñas Máxima, Antonia, and Beatris take turns using PAZA´s short demo loom to teach themselves new figures from Laverne´s book “More Adventures with Warp Faced Pick-Up Patterns”. When not involved in weaving activities the women of the Club keep their hands busy with crochet projects. Adviana´s working on a bedspread and a shawl. Doña Máxima put the finishing touches on a pink blouse that incorporated crochet stitches she learned from two-time volunteer Selina Petschek. Vilma and Doña Antonia are crocheting squares for shawls. All 6 women had sewn blouses and wanted to get the photo session over with so they could take possession and begin wearing them.

Doña Rufina Working on Her First Weaving with Figures

Doña Rufina the newest Club member has spent the past few months weaving narrow straps to learn a variety of figures from Doña Máxima. She has woven blankets for her family so has a rustic loom at home, but had never learned to weave figures. The two warped a yoga mat strap which Doña Rufina took home but brought back the next Club day not ready to weave on her own. Doña Máxima attached a stick crosswise to 2 limbs of a peach tree to serve as a support for PAZA´s 12’ leaning frame loom (2 notched poles). The other Club members who are all competent weavers keep an eye on Doña Rufina´s progress offering help if they spot her going awry. Sunny Club days are spent outside so everyone can soak up the warmth. The adobe and cement construction of the homes holds in the winter´s chill temperatures in rooms that don´t receive any solar heat.

Doña Máxima Giving a Weaving Class to Her Granddaughters and Veronica

The teens in the CdA spent the Saturdays in June organizing the huge bag of jewelry making supplies, drawing, learning how to use the microscope, and baking. Veronica was the only chica who did not spend the July vacation working on the family farm in a rural community. She was able to take CdA weaving classes with Doña Máxima and warped her first yoga mat strap, which PAZA will buy to encourage her to continue learning.

Veronica´s 1st Experience Weaving on a Leaning Frame Loom

The yoga mat straps have not proven to be the hoped for “hot” seller. PAZA continues to order them from new weavers to encourage them to learn a variety of motifs and improve their skills. The standard is high for the weavings to fill the orders of Laverne´s students because the buyers are weavers. This has forced the Huancarani weavers who have woven all of their lives with not a lot of attention to detail to improve their skills.

Doñas Maxima and Adviana Wrapping Up after Warping 2 Fajas

The registration for the 2017 Spinzilla spinning competition opened on Sunday July 2nd, and 11 of the Huancarani weavers were in town to sign up. There are 6 spots reserved for the spinners of the rural community of Sanipaya who were invited to join in 2014, the first year the Cloth Roads team Warmis Phuskadoras participated. There was a bit of grumbling from the Huancarani women that their community should have all 25 spots. Spinning week has become an annual highlight for the Spinzilla participants in Sanipaya as it has to the Huancarani spinners, so eliminating any former participants is not an option. Adviana, a CdA member, and Maribel who lives in Huancarani and began weaving to sell earlier this year are in their early 20´s and are anxious to spin during Spinzilla Spinning Week. How will they fare on a team composed of spinners who have whirled their drop spindles for a lifetime while pasturing their flocks?

New Blouse Photo Session

What can be done to include everyone and keep the young women motivated? If the young aren´t encouraged to learn the ancient textile techniques how can the weaving traditions be preserved? The decision was made to create a waiting list for 5 extra spinners whose names will not appear on any Spinzilla form, but who will win the annual prize along with the 25 official entrants. The annual prize this year is a factory made shawl. The option of yarn for anyone wishing to crochet their own didn’t have any takers.

A huge thank you to Cloth Roads for the sponsorship and help with registration fees for the Spinzilla team Warmis Phuskadoras. Thank you Dorothy Thursby for your ongoing support so that the Club activities continue without interruption. Fundraising is not one of PAZA´s favorite activities, but a necessity none the less especially with the projected Spinzilla expenses of $820 not too far into the future. Hint, hint…. Dorinda Dutcher, July 5, 2017

Much Ado About Handspun Yarn

Fleece Buying Frenzy, 2009

The importance of the fleece selected to wash, spin, wind into skeins, dye, wind into a ball, and ply for weaving was first discussed at a natural dye workshop in 2009.  Don Jorge, the trainer, spoke about fiber and its role as the basis for the quality of a weaving. At his 2nd workshop a few months later a participant from another municipality started a shopping frenzy when she laid out long fibered fleece from her highland herd. Now, due to their 3 years of experience in preparing for Spinzilla Spinning Week and the weaving orders with specifications the Independencia weavers understand that they need to spend the time to seek out quality fleece to purchase.

Doña Maxima Shears Sheepskin for Spinzilla 2016

In 2014, under the sponsorship of Cloth Roads, the first Warmis Phuskadoras Spinzilla team was formed and that first competition taught the spinners the need to stock up on fleece prior to Spinning Week. Discussion on how to spin more yarn during the 2015 Spinzilla Spinning week led to most of the participants preparing their roving in advance.

Vilma & Doña Maxima Preparing Roving, Spinzilla 2016

Prior to Spinning Week 2016, the Club de Artesanas (CdA) members of the team purchased fleece in ample time to wash, shear, and prepare roving. Four months later several scheduled dye days had to be cancelled due to lack of skeins for the dye pots. Doña Máxima bemoaned the dark strands running through the white fleece she had purchased from a butcher. She spoke covetously of the white sheepskins Doña Paulina had purchased during a trip to the Oruro market which at an elevation of 12,159´ explains the long fiber of the fleece. Doña Antonia had spun gray fleece to be used au natural, although she already had plenty. Vilma was discontented with her Spinzilla spun yarn for the dye pot, but was spinning and gloating a bit as the proud owner of 2 bags of white fleece her husband had purchased post-Spinzilla in his rural community of Sanipaya.

Natural and Natural Dyed Yarn Use in Doña Máxima´s Weaving, 2012

Team registration for Spinzilla 2017 will take place during July. Thanks to the ongoing orders the weavers are receiving from Laverne Waddington´s weaving workshops they know that they need to have a wide color palette of spun yarn. Doña Máxima plans to encourage the Spinzilla spinners to inventory their yarn supply and make their fleece purchases based on need. White fleece is used for dyeing and for weaving the figures. Black fleece has become difficult to find locally and is used as the background for the woven motifs. Natural gray and tan fleece is spun to use au natural in the weavings. Longer fiber will speed up the spinning during Spinning Week.

Doña Toribia´s Herd in Background, Spinzilla Spinning Week 2014

In past years, CdA members were able to supplement their handspun yarn by purchasing skeins from PAZA. The demand is increasing and the supply decreasing through competition for purchasing the handspun yarn from a dwindling number of the elderly spinners in Huancarani. This year PAZA was able to purchase just enough to dye one skein per CdA dye pot. Those skeins are purchased at cost by the Huancarani weavers who don´t do their own dyeing. The CdA members were cautioned that PAZA was not going to have spun yarn for sale, but it took the cancelled dye days to stimulate discussion on how to take advantage of Spinzilla Spinning Week to be better prepared for the 2018 rainy season dye days.

Vilma Beating The Debris from a Sheep Skin

Many of the Huancarani spinners buy fleece because their forests are home to thistles and spiny trees and shrubs which denude their flocks. Other spinners buy fleece because they herd goats. During a March dye day Doña Máxima examined dyed skeins that had all come out of the same dye pot but with varied results and commented on the quality of the fleece from sheared live sheep vs. a sheepskin from the butcher and plans to buy the former in the future.

A huge thank you to the Warmis Phuskadoras Spinzilla’s TNNA sponsor Cloth Roads who has generously donated the sponsor fee and the participant fee this year!

Wool Scouring Results, Joanna’s Demo

A hug and thank you to Karen Sprenger, friend, WARP member, Tinkuy participant, and backstrap weaver, who organized 3 fiber events for Dorinda in the Kansas City area this spring. Besides sales from the vendor table at the Missouri Spin-In, Dorinda was richly rewarded in the responses to her queries to other vendors on a myriad of fiber related topics. The wool scouring demonstration presented by Joanna Mohn of Wildflower Acres clarified numerous online investigations that had resulted in a hazy understanding.

Karen & Marcia, Arrow Rock Handweaver’s Guild President, Leaving Meeting

Karen and Dorinda gave joint presentations on backstrap weaving and Andean natural dyeing at the Fiber Guild of Greater Kansas City and the Arrow Rock Handweaver´s Guild. Thank you to all the participants who made the events so enjoyable and for your interest and support of the Bolivian weavers.

Nelva’s Card & Bracelet, She Loves Art Projects

Over the past 2 months, the women of the Club de Artesanas (CdA) have sewn blouses, practiced new figures from Laverne Waddington´s weaving book, worked on their crochet projects, and hopefully figured out what to do with the 2 gunny sacks of alpaca fiber. Thanks to an alpaca breeder at the Missouri Spin-In, Dorinda did learn how to wash alpaca fiber (one gunny sack is a spinner´s nightmare because it was washed the same way that fleece is washed).

Inspiration For Nelva’s Drawing, Jonathan McCarthy Photo, Spinzilla 2014

On June 9th CdA members, kids, and a dog or two will greet Dorinda at the Independencia bus station dancing in anticipation of what is in the heavy bags to be hauled uphill. The books, puzzles, sketch pads and markers, quilting material, and the treasure trove of jewels from thrift stores will be used for projects that one day might generate income for a CdA member. Long and short term CdA projects are possible thanks to the ongoing support of Dorothy Thursby, Lyn Lucas, and Susan Weltman. The weavers will also be happy to hear of the generous support from Teasel Hill Angoras, Sheryl Shreve, and the Arizona weavers who received their order of Independencia weavings last month. Thank you!   Dorinda Dutcher, May 29, 2017

2016 Annual Weavers´ Meeting, Huancarani

Tarp For Shade Already Engaged

Tarp For Shade Already Engaged

Overcast skies did not give way to rain during the annual meeting for the Centro de Artesanía, Huancarani (CAH) members on December 26th. The weavers had chosen to meet at the site of Doña Toribia´s old house. A fire was roaring in the beehive shaped wood burning oven when the truck load of participants from Independencia arrived at 10:30am. The oven was the only structure at the site with a roof so rain or sun would have made for an uncomfortable day. The tarp used for shelter in 2015 was in use for drying sprouting corn that will be made into chicha, the sacred beverage of the Incas, for Carnaval.

Prepping Beef for the Oven on a Foggy Morning

Prepping Beef for the Oven on a Foggy Morning

The day´s scheduled events included the Spinzilla celebratory feast and prize awarding along with the annual CAH meeting. The first order of business was preparing the meat and potatoes for the oven. Doña Máxima had made arrangements with a butcher in Independencia to pick up 18 kilos (about 40 lbs. at $2.45/lb.) of beef. Beef is a treat, since cattle are usually trucked to Independencia to be sold and butchered because there is no refrigeration in the rural communities.

All Contributed Potatoes

All Contributed Potatoes

A new water spigot had been installed since last year´s meeting, unfortunately, due to the drought there were long pauses between spurts of water. Doña Máxima and Doña Antonia went to work washing and salting the meat. Doña Toribia took tomatoes, garlic, oil, and dried chilies to her home next door to pound them into a paste for a meat rub. All the weavers brought potatoes which were washed, rubbed with oil, and laid out in long wide tin pans. The oven was filled with the trays of meat and potatoes and the round door cut from a 55 gallon drum was secured to the oven with mud.

Collecting the Annual CAH Dues

Collecting the Annual CAH Dues

Everyone settled comfortably on the ground for the annual CAH meeting. Twenty-one of the 28 members were present when Doña Maxima, the secretary, took roll. Doña Toribia, Treasurer, counted the cash in the tin can of dues. All wanted to be up to date with their 72 cent annual dues so time was taken for the collection. The two main topics were the setting of the weaving prices for the year and Spinzilla. The weavers love Spinzilla Spinning Week and voted unanimously to continue. Cloth Roads has once again generously offered to be the team´s TNNA sponsor.

Doña Justina Receiving Her Prize & Certificate from Dorinda & Doña Máxima

Doña Justina Receiving Her Prize & Certificate from Dorinda & Doña Máxima

The weavers cheered when they heard that the $5,017 in payments for their weavings was the highest year of sales since they began working with PAZA in 2007. What was wonderful about 2016 was that many of the purchases were by foreign weavers who appreciate the skill and culture heritage behind each piece. After years of trying to sell at Bolivian craft fairs and attempting to design and transform the weavings into saleable products for a trendy foreign market it seems possible that the door has finally opened to a niche market that appreciates the evanescent weavings.

Happy Spinzilla Spinners with New Petticoats and Certificates

Happy Spinzilla Spinners with New Petticoats and Certificates

The last meeting topic was the announcement that PAZA has invited 3 weavers to participate in the 2017 Center of Traditional Textiles Tinkuy International Weaving Conference to be held November 8/11 in Cusco Peru. The 3 were chosen based on their contributions to the joint objectives of the weavers and PAZA. Doña Máxima wears the hats of PAZA Coordinator, CdA trainer, and Captain of the Spinzilla Cloth Roads Team Warmis Phuskadoras. This will be her 3rd Tinkuy, and she will make a short presentation as a panelist, which is an honor for all the Independencia weavers! Her daughter, Zoraida, was invited because she is a member of the PAZA sales team. Doña Justina Vargas, the President of the CdA since 2014, has done an excellent job in organizing CAH events in Huancarani was the 3rd invitee.

A Fun Social Day for the Rural Weavers

A Fun Social Day for the Rural Weavers

After a leisurely meal many hands made quick work of the clean-up. The final event for the day was the awarding of the Spinzilla prizes. All Spinzilla participants win first prize and they had chosen a new petticoat as the 2016 prize. Constance Hall, Spinzilla Team Captain Organizer, had printed participation certificates and sent Spinzilla buttons providing tangible evidence that the competition is truly bigger than just their team. The petticoats were sewn by Doña Maxima´s daughter, Zoraida, who requested the work to earn the money to be able to purchase medicine for herself so she would not be dependent on her husband for it.

2017 is looking to be an exciting year for the weavers, although a bit frightening for PAZA due to the additional responsibility of raising the estimated $4,200 in funds for the Tinkuy expenses. Dorinda Dutcher, December 28, 2016