The tag at the junk shop read……

“Amaze-Balls Crewel Work Indian Chief”

and just how could I be expected to possibly resist that?

……. so, after a little internal debate (yes, I’m pretty cheap) I brought him home with me.

He’s from a kit.

1975-ish, I Googled him and found an expired Ebay listing. That Faux Bois background should have been a clue to the 1970’s.

These kinds of craft was pretty popular then, but I’ve never seen an Indian before. W-to the-OW

Just look at the detail.

I would imagine that some woman spent uncounted hours working on him. Probably while watching McMillan and Wife on the television that doubled as a piece of furniture.

On the backside you can see all the knotting that went into him.

He needs to be restretched.

Which shouldn’t be much of a problem because he’s held together with loose staples and thumbtacks.

I popped the thumb tacks out and pulled the guy a little tighter…

Then I used some scrap cedar in the garage to make a quick frame for him. Basicly I made 2 frames with the brad gun, same outside width – one slightly smaller, and glued them together with wood glue. I filled in the holes with natural colored putty, and gave the whole thing a light sanding.

I used some flat straps at an angle to hold him in the frame.

Someday, I may have him framed by a professional, but I like the simplicity of the free cedar frame for now.

He works just perfectly in the guest room.

Still need to frame that big cow head……

If there were a fire in the Cavender house, that Indian would be the first thing that I would save.

After Harley, of course….Oooooh and Jamie…

Then the Indian.

Yepp, Indian third.