Weaver, spinner Charlene Quinilty to show her craft

When the first Acadians arrived in Louisiana, they quickly changed from spinning and weaving wool to spinning and weaving cotton.
“Cajuns made clothes and blankets this way,” said Charlene Quinilty, a spinner and weaver from Chataignier. “When they were in Nova Scotia, they wore clothes made of wool. They switched to cotton when arrived in Louisiana because of the weather.”
Quinilty has been spinning and weaving cotton for 25 years as well as teaching others the craft. She was even featured in the documentary “Acadian Brown Cotton.” Quinilty will demonstrate her craft at the Experience Louisiana Festival Oct. 17 and 18 at the LSU- Eunice campus.
“I learned mostly on my own, and I knew several others who spun and weaved and showed me, too,” she said. “I’ve also attended workshops and watched DVDs. I learned a little here and a little there.”
In the nearly three decades she has practiced her craft, Quinilty has made towels, bookmarks, shawls and scarves using her small loom.
At the Experience Louisiana Festival, Quinilty will demonstrate how to spin cotton and use a loom.
“I’m always excited to show people how it used to be,” she said. “I am always amazed at how many people don’t know about this, about how we get cloth.”