Maria lives in Novasaratovka village in Gedebey. Novasaratovka was originally founded in the 1830s by Russians of the Doukhobor sect, one of several Old Believer villages in the area. Maria is one of only a handful of Russians left living in the area. She has learned Azerbaijani and her husband is Azerbaijani but has kept many of the traditions from her heritage, such as spinning wool.
She raises her own sheep and sheers them and does the entire process herself. This is a handmade spinning wheel - she doesn't know how old it is. She said there used to be master's who would make this kind of spinning wheels. She shows the spinning, and later the plying, then the combing of wool (the Russian way) which is easier to spin, she also shows the Azerbaijani way of combing wool (but she likes the Russian way better - it's safer). She shows the socks she is wearing is natural wool that she made and knit herself.
These videos were produced by Azerbaijani Socks. In September, 2021, Teresa Hamilin, founder of Azerbaijani Socks walked through the mountainous regions of Azerbaijan with the purpose of researching the history, traditions and designs of knitted socks. These videos were produced with the hope of preserving this valuable craft, to celebrate the talented women of Azerbaijan, and to encourage them to pass this tradition to the next generation.
For more information on our project, please visit our website at www.azerbaijanisocks.com.
To purchase socks, please buy online at
www.etsy.com/shop/azerbaijanisocks