gifts for elderly

Guatemala's exquisite textile artistry lets you shine with a style adapted to new times. The Cajolá Weavers use traditional techniques to create this 100% cotton scarf, whose striped pattern reunites ivory, amethyst and onyx hues. Fringes complete the design with playful charm.

Celinda Jaco selects a cozy blend of Andean alpaca for this handsome men's scarf. Classic in style, it features fine stripes of white and gunmetal grey woven through the midnight-black textile. Hand-tied fringe completes a distinguished design.

Thick yarns add rich texture to this fascinating kente cloth shawl by Gobah Tengey-Seddoh. Strips of black, white and Delft blue make a dramatic and handsome color combination. Designed and woven of coarse local cotton in the 12th century, the lokpo pattern means "heavy or thick in texture."

Each strip requires considerable effort, and the looms are worked with both hands and feet. Strips are generally three to four inches wide and seven to ten feet long, and the length of time it takes to complete one strip varies by the complexity of the chosen pattern. The simplest use mostly vertical, or warp patterns, and an experienced weaver can make several of those in one day. However patterns with nearly all weft (horizontal thread) patterns where the warp design is hardly visible can take up to four days to complete an individual strip. Each color has its own meanings in Asante culture. Green is fertility and new harvest, gold is royalty, black is strength, aging and spirituality, while white is purity. The patterns themselves are carefully chosen symbols, which a master weaver develops and names, often to honor people, historical events, or proverbs.

Woven by hand, this beautiful scarf features diamond motifs. They are a symbol of designs by Miguel Hernandez and his family. He alternates bands of royal blue with open spaces that feature the black warp threads so the scarf drapes beautifully. He names it for Totonicapan, a Guatemalan village renowned for its weaving arts.