Tejer

We had such a wonderful belated honeymoon in Peru.... and I'm finally getting around to sharing my fiber adventures there...

We spent three days and two nights on the Amazon at the lovely Muyuna Lodge. Of course, I got some knitting in while cruising on the Amazon.

We visited some giant lily pads... I had to take a quick snapshot of my knitting floating serenely on top for a demonstration of scale.

In Cusco, we visited the Center for Traditional Textiles where there were ongoing demonstrations of tradional weaving techniques. I learned how to say "yarn," "wool," and "to knit" in Spanish. Dana bought me a beautiful handwoven shawl and two slipcovers for pillows for our future, grown-up furniture.

Of course I got some knitting in while overlooking the view of Machu Picchu.

These llamas would just hang out and graze on the terraces of the ruins.

We randomly chose a place to stay in the village of Machu Picchu (also known as Agua Caliente.) The guide book said that it had plenty of home touches. We when got back from hours of wandering around the ruins, I found the owner of the inn sitting on the couch knitting! She was making a baby sweater in acrylic (of all fibers to be knitting with in Peru!) I joined her on the couch and we pieced together a conversation. At one point, she grabbed my socks and started knitting away in the 4x4 ribbing. Knitting is one of those universal languages... The only reason I'm including this heinous picture of me is because it's the only snapshot we got of my impromptu Peruvian Stitch and Bitch. Notice... my Clapotis (the original.)

At Pisac market in the Sacred Valley, Dana tried his hand at the drop spindle. He did better than I did! We bought several drop spindles (and I'll be sending you one in the mail as soon as I can get it together...)

Here is an example of some naturally died wool and the plant that the dyestock came from. We were unable to communicate what the types of plants were with some of the people that we met at Pisac market. We got the gist of it, though.

A whole heap of naturally died wools!

The highlight of Pisac market for me was finding the exquisite natural dyes. These are all derived from insects, minerals, or plants. I bought several samples of each color. Dana was thinking we should try to frame the dyes with a tuft of died roving. It would be gorgeous! I am considering a natural dyeing class at SAFF this year... And I want to plan a dye garden for next spring.