Quito, Ecuador Temple

Quito, Ecuador Temple
Here is where we will be working until Feb. 2023

Welcome

Dear Readers,

We hope as you read this blog of our mission to the Quito, Ecuador temple you will feel the joy and happiness we are experiencing by being in the service of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We hope you can experience some of what we feel. Christine and I met in Quito, Ecuador 51 years ago while serving as missionaries. We are going home.


John and Christine

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Sunday, July 29, 2018

July 23rd through July 29th



July 23rd through July 29th:  We spent a lot of our free time this week finishing all of the pillows we had fabric for.  
This is what we finished this last week.
A close up of the pano #1.
More of a close up of the pano #2.
More of a close up of the pano #3.
A table runner from two huipiles, one from San Martin Jilotepeque and one from Chichicastenango.
We have purchased huipiles and fabric for the past 2 years and 9 months.  We have now finished 130 pillows.  Some of the fabric or a huipil could make 1 to 4 pillows, so we have about 50 examples of the different types and areas where these designs come from.  This post is primarily focused on the textiles of Guatemala that we love so much.  I am going to include some information and a video of how the huipil is woven on a back strap loom.  We hope you enjoy learning a little about this beautiful art form.  It takes between 1 and 3 months to weave a huipil and they can be sold at market from $25.00 to a $250.00.  All of the huipiles that we have purchased have been worn and used for years.  Some are faded and others a little threadbare.  To us, the wear is just patina and makes them all the more interesting.  But the best part is they are less expensive. 



Click below to see a women weaving huipiles.








Two years ago we made a trip to Nebaj and purchased some huipiles.  This is in the northern highlands and is part of the Ixil triangle.  The people in this area speak the Ixil language and suffered terribly in a military led genocide in 1982-83. 

#1 The top right corner has a part circle which was 1/4 of the neck opening.  We just filled in the hole with a piece of leftover fabric.
#2 Figures represent people, birds and animals. 
#3This was made from pieces left over from a very old huipil that we made into a small rug.
This huipile was so thick and heavy, but worn almost threadbare in places.  It makes a delightful rug.
#4 Left-over pieces from #1 and #2.

#5 This one has a maroon background.  They also do huipiles with a black background and a dark green background.
 We have visited Quetzaltenango 3 times and have a lot of examples of designs from in and around Xela.  

#6 After weaving the 3 panels that make up this huipil, they embroidered the neck and added decorations on the shoulders.
#7 You can see some of the same patterns in this one and the one above.
#8 Similar but with different colors.
#9 Another design but with the same type of embroidery.
#10 You can see the neck of the middle panel and we cut the side panels for the edges of 3 other pillows.

#11 We think these next 2 are from a little north of Xela.
#12 This one almost feels like silk.

#13 From Totonicapan just east of Xela.
#14 This is a mixture of the one above and below.
# 15 This is machine made and we bought it in Totonicapan.  It is in the brocaded marcador style of  San Antonio Aguas Caliente, near Antigua.
We have visited many of the communities surrounding Guatemala City and love the variety of fabric and design.  
#16 The next group are from San Juan Sacatepequez.
#17 They use a lot of yellow and purple.
#18 The designs are very similar.
#19 But all have a strong yellow and purple design going on.
#20 Do you like the whole pillow from the huipil or do you like the patchwork?
#21 I like the patchwork.  I think they become more interesting.
#22 The next two are from San Pedro Sacatepequez.
#23 Purple is the dominant color from this town.
#24 This one is from Santiago Sacatepequez which is very close to San Pedro.
#25 From San Martin Jilotepeque.
#26 From San Martin Jilotepeque.
#27 From Comalapa, birds and turkeys.
We enjoy the area around Lake Atitlan.  
#28 From Santiago Atitlan.  
#29 The do a lot of embroidery of birds in Santiago.
#30 This was not a huipil just a panel mom bought.
#31 From Santiago Atitlan.
#32 Mom loves birds.
#33 And more birds.
#34 The next 3 are from San Lucas Toliman.
#35 San Lucas sits at the base of the Toliman Volcano.
#36 The weavings from San Lucas are filled with small figures of birds and animal figures.
#37 The colors and the stripes are from Santiago Atitlan, but the design is based on Mayan deities.
#38 The next 5 are from Chichicastenango just north east of Lake Atitlan.
#39 This looks more like a cross stitch than a weaving.
#40 Most of the huipil is black with four panels--front, back and the shoulders.
#41 This is one panel from the shoulder.
#42 This is the front and back sewn together.
#43 This is a floor pillow 30" x 30" and the huipil is from Patzun.
#44 From Nahuala' between Lake Atitlan and Xela.
We have made many trips to Coban and the Polochic.
#45 We bought this in the Polochic, but we think the design is from Coban.
#46 This is just the embroidery from around the neck of the huipil from Coban. The rest of the huipil was a white loosely woven fabric.  It just would not work for a pillow.

The next group of pillows are from pieces of fabric we purchased and not from huipiles.
#47 The fabrics are as varied as the huipiles.
#48 This design is called jaspe.  It is made with a dye-resistant method.
# 49 Almost looks southwestern.
#50 They love bright colors.
#51 Do you like the fabrics or the hand woven huipiles?
#52 We bought this in Salcaja which is famous for the sale of Mayan textiles.  It is machine made and copies older designs.
#53 This is machine made and was for a small child and we also bought it in Salcaja.


The last 2 we are not sure where they are from, but I think they are from Tatic by Coban.
#54 If anyone knows where these are from let me know.
#55 This one is almost like it was knitted.
Saturday I went over and sealed a young couple.  It is always such a honor to be asked to officiate in this sacred ordinance.  Sunday we spoke in our home ward and enjoyed being with so many of our good friends.  
Vista Hermosa ward.
If you would like to vote on your favorite pillow reply to the email you got or make a comment on this post.  I will tally the results and let you all know.  We maybe have 10% of all the different designs found in huipiles of Guatemala.  But we have enough to give wedding gifts for the next 10 years.