Comment from my Dad

My dad sent me an e-mail about yesterday's and last November's post, which fills in some missing pieces:

The top piece in the 11/07 posting was taken in their basement (I think). I doubt that he would have taken his stool to a show. But you could be right. He certainly did do demonstrations at shows. That piece is my favorite piece of his and it was meant to become a carrying bag. The slide of it laying on the lawn (08/2008 posting) is a better representation of the colors.

The gold and brown piece (in the 11/2007 post) is another one of Dad's. It is with one of the sisters/aunts. This may be the double sided rug. That is, there is a completely different pattern on the back. Very cool. I can ask one of the sisters. If not maybe they could provide a picture of the double sided rug.

The bottom piece in the 08/2008 posting is the last piece he worked on and almost finished. He worked on it the day before he died. The picture is upside down. You start weaving from the bottom and weave to an inch or two from the top, then you work down from the top. He would use umbrella stays for the last several rows. It is amazing to me how people doing this kind of weaving can make patterns match where the last few rows of weft go in. I have never been able to see the seam in any of his pieces.

Additional comment from Penny:

I think very little of Mom's work was photographed. It's too bad too as she did some outstanding pieces. Dad's work was so different for the time that it was given a lot more attention. They both were good weavers, but Dad's eye for color and design was outstanding.

I have one of the double-faced rugs. He started it on the back patio of the little house on Fillmore* and I have a few pictures of him working on it there. When it was time for them to head north to Montana, like a good Navajo-style weaver, he rolled it up, wrapped it in plastic and tied it to the top of the jeep. I also have that last piece -- still unfinished and yet the most treasured.

*In Scottsdale, AZ, where Penny lived for many years.