Rug weaver's work among handmade pieces at Yuma Community Bazaar

For more than 50 years, Elsie Timberlake has been weaving rugs, and will have many of them for display and sale at the Yuma Community Bazaar Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Civic Center, 1440 Desert Hills Drive.

"Elsie has had her woven rugs in nearly all of our previous 37 bazaars," said Margaret Mai, president of the Yuma County Association for Family and Community Education.

"Everything we feature is handmade, including crafts, jewelry and ceramics. Food items are all from kitchens of our members," Mai said, "so the rugs by Elsie fit right in for our pre-Christmas shoppers."

Explaining her work, Timberlake said, "Weaving has always been a hobby for me. I have used all types and colors of fabrics. Fabric is cut into strips, sewn together according to color, then cut apart into long strips.

"You have to know how to thread the loom, then feed the strips into the loom with a shuttle. The process is time-consuming, but has always been like a therapy to me, because I enjoy working the loom and seeing the results.

"I have made rugs from about 12 by 24 inches, to a 38-foot hall runner," the weaver said.

Timberlake said her first weaving was on a loom her mother had, and then "I sent for this bigger one, about five feet wide.

"I've made as many as 50 rugs in one year, and will have many for this bazaar. I've also made bedspreads and have done cut-out embroidery," she said.

Timberlake has never been one to be idle. "I was on the City Bowling league board for 40 years and bowled all that time. My highest score was 258," she said.

She was born and raised in Kansas, and joined the Army in 1955, served three years and was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant.

She and her late husband, Cecil, had the Lloyd Pest Control business. She worked for the TGandY Store for 25 years; Anthony's for 10 years, and Factory 2U until she retired "when I was 89," she said. She's also a life member of the Women's Reel and Rifle Club.

Timberlake said she's retiring from weaving. "My son-in-law, Roger Stottlemyer has helped me with the loom, but my daughter, Ida, isn't interested. She's a beautician here at Desert Rose."

The weaver, now 96, has lived at Desert Rose for eight years. She has six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Betty Graham, treasurer for the FandCE sponsoring bazaar group, said "Elsie's rug weaving reminded me of my grandmother and her loom. We used to keep scraps of material from dresses and shirts that were homemade. We'd cut the scraps into strips and roll them into balls, then take baskets-full to grandmother for her rugs.

"The bazaar is a good place to have the rugs and other items on display. We have people coming from other areas with their works, some jewelry and more craft items. They'll be here from Pensacola, Florida; Pennsylvania; Indiana; Chandler, Arizona; and Holtville, California, as examples."

The show is open to the public, no admission charged. Proceeds of sales will be used for youths scholarships.

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Pam M. Smith can be reached at psmith@yumasun.com or 539-6856.