Coat of Many Colors

I was thinking of the online people I keep track of and realized they are like a weaving. Bits n pieces of a life here a life story there each woven into a very complex and intricate pattern we call life. For instance this guy I follow on Blogspot is walking across America...something I had always wanted to do but didnt..YET anyways, who knows what tomorrow holds for us.

So through his blog I found another guy who is hitch hiking across the land, another who just got back from a camping out of a van trip cross country with his gf and yet another who was walking but has now joined the circus in Maryland...for a while. I follow the blogs of quilters, hikers, photographers, birders, writers, crafters, on variuos blog hosting sites from all over the web...and all sorts of people who make up the fabric of life.

It's made of wool, and it was lined but the lining had been removed...

Speaking of threads in a weaving, I finally found out where my Vintage Woven Coat came from although I dont know the exact Loomer--the loom of the Triujillo family which is still active today most probably wove this coat or it was made from a RUG they wove! In the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico near Santa Fe is a small village called Chimayo. Im not going to give a history lesson, but a bit of background...the name comes from a local landmark -a hill- called Tsi Mayoh. Chimayó is also known for the weaving traditions of the Ortega and Trujillo families, who have been weaving in the Spanish Colonial tradition for many generations and now operate weaving businesses near the Plaza del Cerro and in the placita of Centinela.

So Ive had this coat since like 1974 and I always thought it was a Navajo coat..but the weavers of this coat have a history that goes farther back than that of the Navajo. It was amazing to find this out, and my coat is vintage according to Ms. Jamie Way of Shiprock Trading Post in Farmington NM. Probably from the 30's or 40's thats what I really want to find out. It once had a lining but that lining was missing when I got the coat I paid $20 for it, Im not certain of the value now...probably no more $500. I dont want to sell the coat it has been with me constantly since I purchased it off the hood of a dirty chevy belonging to some guy who was at the rummage sale one day. He had a NY plate on that dirty Chevy and he had other artifacts that I now wish I had purchased, he had a pipe, a rattle, and other hand made native crafts.

So ASA I get all my duckies in a row and get that Delta Sky Miles mileage up to 25,000 miles Im head to the 4 corners with my coat...just to take it home again and see if the Triujillo weavers can tell me more about it.