I FOUND YARN and THE JOURNEY BEGAN!!

I was an educator for 20 years. Life changed, as it does, and I found myself delving into my creative spirit. I began knitting and loving every moment of it. I love the textures, the colors and the making beautiful things out of string. I especially like making my fingerless mitts. They are practical and FUN!

Fibers now inspire my journey. In November of 2015 I traveled to Peru for the first time, in search of women who are experts in spinning, knitting and weaving. As it turns out, textiles, the process of spinning, dyeing fibers, knitting and weaving are an integral component to the Quechua culture (the indigenous people of Peru).

I was very fortunate to have been introduced to Washington Gibaja Tapia (Washi) from Ollentaytambo, located in the Sacred Valley of Peru. During my travels to Peru in November 2015, Washi introduced me to one of the communities in the Andes above his birthplace of Ollentaytambo, the community is Rumira Sandor Mayo, at 13,000 ft, above the town of Ollantaytambo. He also introduced me to a community that maintains its traditional Quechua ways, the community on the Island of Taquile located on the highest lake in the world, Lake Titicaca. Both communities are trying to maintain their traditions and yet survive in an increasingly modern world.

In the the Sacred Valley community of Rumira Sandor Mayo (RSM) the women of the community want to sell their wears, because textiles is what they know and they are masters of the tradition. But for RSM, their remoteness and the altitude are major obstacles, they are WAY OFF the tourist beaten path in Peru.

So, we have developed a relationship in which I visit the community of RSM a few times a year, purchase their beautiful textiles and then sell the textiles. Our relationship continues to grow.

We thank you for your support.

Have a sparkly day!
Paulette