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Homespun: Northern New Mexico Spinning and
Weaving Techniques
A free Home Lands demonstration in the Palace
Courtyard
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Santa Fe - Join members of the Española
Valley Fiber Arts Center as they
demonstrate Pueblo, Navajo and Spanish
weaving techniques in the Palace
Courtyard from 2-5 pm on Sunday, Aug. 7.
“Homespun: Northern New Mexico Spinning
and Weaving Techniques” is part of the
exhibit Home Lands: How Women Made the
West, through Sept. 11. The event is
free with museum admission. Sundays are
free to NM residents and children 16 and
under.
Weaving traditions in New Mexico reach
back as far as 800 AD, when Pueblo
peoples harvested cotton and other
natural fibers for what is now known as
the Rio Grande style. Spanish colonists
brought the churro sheep to New Mexico
and, besides including its wool in their
weavings, Native peoples adopted a
longer-than-wide blanket format. Today,
weavers of both traditional and
cutting-edge designs are united under
the Department of Cultural Affairs’ New
Mexico Fiber Arts Trail.
The Española weavers will demonstrate
both spinning and weaving - and give
visitors a chance to try their hand at
it. Transform churro wool roving into
yarn with master spinners using both a
drop spindle and an upright spinning
wheel. Examine a variety of loom types
(including backstrap, Navajo style, and
jack loom), and learn from master
weavers how to operate them yourself.
Then view some of the contemporary
weavings the members have produced. |
The Española Valley Fiber Arts Center, set in an
adobe storefront in the city’s historic
district, was founded in 1995 to preserve and
promote northern New Mexico’s rich textile
heritage. The center offers weaving supplies
along with classes.
Home Lands: How Women Made the West anchors the
History Museum's summer-long exploration of
women. Originally organized by the Autry
National Center in Los Angeles, it features
additional materials from the History Museum’s
collections.
Photo: Colcha blanket with ixtle (cactus fiber)
backing, 1750-1850. Purchase by Gold-Level
Members Acquisition Committee, Museum of the
American West, Autry National Center; 2005.31.
The New Mexico History Museum is the newest
addition to a campus that includes the Palace of
the Governors, the oldest continuously occupied
public building in the United States; Fray
Angélico Chávez History Library; Palace of the
Governors Photo Archives; the Press at the
Palace of the Governors; and the Native American
Artisans Program. Located at 113 Lincoln Ave.,
in Santa Fe, NM, it is a division of the
Department of Cultural Affairs.
Visit
www.nmhistorymuseum.org
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