Colcha Embroidery Bazaar and Holiday Market is Dec. 2

Photo by Diane Drekmann Colcha embroidery will be featured during a Bazaar and Holiday Market on Dec. 2 in San Luis.

SAN LUIS — The holiday season is starting in San Luis with the Colcha Embroidery Bazaar and Holiday Market from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Dec. 2.

The San Luis Colcha Embroidery group, after a long absence, is holding the event in the part of the cultural center that houses the organizations of Adelante and Costilla County Economic Development Center.

Marcella Pacheco, a member of the San Luis Colcha Embroidery group, said the group began in 2017, when a group of ladies from Albuquerque and Taos, N.M., gave a workshop on colcha embroidery.

Colcha embroidery is a northern New Mexico tradition using the yarn of a particular sheep, called Churro sheep. New Mexico and Southern Colorado knitters use one simple repetitive stitch. A woman came from Peru several years ago and showed different stitches using a 3-ply yarn, and colcha pieces are made that way also.

Since 2017, many members have passed away. The remaining members are meeting again and hope to revive colcha embroidery by having a Holiday Market and Bazaar showcasing and selling colcha pieces, as well as other items.

Pacheco said meeting with the San Luis Colcha Embroidery group is a way "to form friendships, exchange ideas and colors. Concentrating on colors and embroidering brings meditation and relaxation."

There is a strong interest in colcha embroidery in Saguache, and after a four-week event there this past June, there has been a collaboration between both groups.

San Luis gets its yarn now from Saguache instead of Denver. Samples of colcha embroidery from Saguache will be at the Holiday Market and Bazaar in San Luis on Dec. 2.

Carlos Atencio does woodworking and will have rosaries for sale. Matthew Sandoval sells miniature Catholic crosses. Maria Barela will have colcha collectibles and other knick knacks. Pacheco will have colcha embroidery, as well as honey and blank greeting cards. These are a few of the homemade items available at the Colcha Embroidery Bazaar and Holiday Market on Dec. 2 in San Luis.