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Greetings, fellow fiber artists. We are finally making the move SOB and I am packing up my weaving and spinning supplies. What should I bring that isn't easily acquired in Mexico?

It seems silly to spend thousands of dollars to move fiber/yarn that is worth only pennies if it can be found locally.

Should I bring my cotton cones, rayon slub, or wool? How easy is it to purchase raw fiber for spinning?  I make trips to Oaxaca every now and then....I was told by the weaving curator in the museum there that the cotton I was buying from them is actually coming from Puebla.  Anyway, can I buy cotton locally, or do I make a run into Guadalajara?  How about dyeing supplies? 

Much appreciated.

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in Mexico you can buy local meesh or mix(?) cotton.. of uneven quality and with some of it bleeding when washed. The good brand is omega and it is Mexican. Not sure where it comes from  but Puebla would be a good guess.

Wool is expensive and comes from the criollo sheep so bring your wool.

It is cheaper to go to Chiapas than Oaxaca to buy supply,, Tuxtla is a 2 hour flight from Guadalajara, it is direct via vivaaerobus and cheap is you plan ahead. The wool comes from Mexico state and Tlaxcala and you ca also find local wool in Chiapas and Oaxaca. Most of the wool used in Oaxaca  i bought from itinerant salespeople from Mexico but of course you can find local wool at higher prices. In Chiapas it is sold mostly by people from Chamula and it is not cheap .

I do not know what you can find Lakeside ..

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I am a tapestry weaver...mostly wool rugs.  I have not found good cotton warp here so I bring it from the States.  We also bring  lanaset dyes.   Have had varying success with finding wool..the best has come from Oaxaca via friends travelling there, or occasionally from a Mexican weaver who sells rugs in the plaza.   There's really nothing at Lakeside, or even Guadalajara, except small skeins for knitters.  My advice would be to bring  as much yarn as you can.  I was sorry I didn't bring more when we moved here 10 years ago.

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Perhaps Telares Los Reyes on 16 of Septiembre has or knows about supplies? They are a weaving shop that has been around forever; a friend worked there many years ago. Although the products I've seen are definitely not the soft wool you might be looking for. (This video mistakenly assumes it is a new shop:

 

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A lot of their weaving is made with acrylic yarn. 

Most of the wool from Oaxaca is from Mexico including the ones from the weavers o the plaza..no matter what they tell you. The wool from Oaxaca is more expensive than the one from Oaxaca or Chiapas for that matter.

The soft wool is from Merino sheep and other animals  and most of it is imported.

 

 

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42 minutes ago, ComputerGuy said:

Perhaps Telares Los Reyes on 16 of Septiembre has or knows about supplies? They are a weaving shop that has been around forever; a friend worked there many years ago. Although the products I've seen are definitely not the soft wool you might be looking for. (This video mistakenly assumes it is a new shop:

 

All acrylic.

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2 hours ago, kimanjome said:

Greetings, fellow fiber artists. We are finally making the move SOB and I am packing up my weaving and spinning supplies. What should I bring that isn't easily acquired in Mexico?

It seems silly to spend thousands of dollars to move fiber/yarn that is worth only pennies if it can be found locally.

Should I bring my cotton cones, rayon slub, or wool? How easy is it to purchase raw fiber for spinning?  I make trips to Oaxaca every now and then....I was told by the weaving curator in the museum there that the cotton I was buying from them is actually coming from Puebla.  Anyway, can I buy cotton locally, or do I make a run into Guadalajara?  How about dyeing supplies? 

Much appreciated.

Weaver, spinner and natural dyer for 30 years, 5 in Chapala.  Bring everything you have.   There`s no "cotton cones, rayon slub", no weaving yarns at all except nice 100% wool yarns from Oaxaca, no raw fiber at all, everything must come from the States.  Small balls of cotton string in various colors can be had in Guad in Centro and in a shop just off the plaza in Ajijic, nothing else.  All dyes come from Oaxaca through weavers you meet there or here consisting of Antonietta in the plaza.  She will have wool yarns or natural dyes -  cochineal, indigo, pericon (a strong yellow, actually a marigold) - sent from her husband, the weaver, in Oaxaca.  I bought 4 kilos of yarn a while ago from her for 1200 pesos. So, 8 and a half pounds for $60 USD.  I had her wash it a second time then mordant it.  It was in my hands 2-4 weeks, I don`t remember.

There is someone in Jocotepec (or was, 4 years ago) who sells all the weavings made there (2 or 3 left out of a hundred 50 years ago) and also sells wool warp (nice and strong) and wool/acrylic weft and natural brown wool weft (all of which I have samples of).  I`ve forgotten his name, not too far from the plaza (not much help!).  He used to sell the rugs in the plaza every Sunday but I haven`t seen him for some time.

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10 minutes ago, bmh said:

I am glad you confirm it because I have never seen cotton there

None at all.

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You can get dyes from Oaxaca from the eavers in Ajijic or you can always take a trip to Oaxaca for that too.. Bring all your supplies and then you can look for what you need in Mexico-

There is a coop that specializes in natural dyes on wool in Hueyapan  (in the sierra not far from Cuetzalan ) in Puebla  but I know they get the indigo and cochinilla from Oaxaca  , you can get there faster than in Hueyapan.

For other dyes I cannot help you but there are several weavers in Ajijic using them so you can ask once you get there.

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44 minutes ago, bmh said:

You can get dyes from Oaxaca from the eavers in Ajijic or you can always take a trip to Oaxaca for that too.. Bring all your supplies and then you can look for what you need in Mexico-

There is a coop that specializes in natural dyes on wool in Hueyapan  (in the sierra not far from Cuetzalan ) in Puebla  but I know they get the indigo and cochinilla from Oaxaca  , you can get there faster than in Hueyapan.

For other dyes I cannot help you but there are several weavers in Ajijic using them so you can ask once you get there.

All cochineal and indigo comes from Oaxaca, having it sent from Oaxaca through Antonietta (not a weaver, she sells the rugs her husband makes in Oaxaca) in the plaza much cheaper than going to Puebla.  One can also acquire these dyes from Francisco who also weaves with naturally-dyed yarns in Oaxaca then transports and sells his rugs here.  He has the Oaxacan shop on Colon in Ajijic and also hangs his rugs on the carretera next to Revolution.  As far as I know, I`m the only weaver who uses natural dyes lakeside.  

For yellow, you can collect the native marigold flowers here in October -  December.  A gentle brown can be had from the seed hulls of the local pecan, several trees at Lake Chapala Society.  Eucalyptus is here.  Not too much else of much interest here, dye-wise.

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You can get a nice yellow from calendula flowers.  I buy mine at Monte Bello naturopath on the Avenida (Madero, west side) in Chapala.  Mordant with alum.

Soft, buttery yellow.  If you leave the calyxes in, you get a soft yellow-green.

No llama or alpaca to be found lakeside...  Bring all you can and all your tools.

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