Elverna Vanwinkle, Master Navajo Weaver

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Ganado Red

Finely woven Ganado Red Approximate size 26x30. If your interested in purchasing this rug you can click here.

Rug has been sold

Subscribe to this blog, or bookmark it to your favorites to see my wonderful handwoven Navajo rugs. They are made one painstaking stitch at a time, the old fashioned way with premium wool, and traditional dyes that I make myself using recipes passed on to me from the ancients.

I will post photos of and information about each rug as I produce it. Each one is a one-of-a-kind work of art--no two are ever the same. And each one reflects generations of Dine' wisdom.

My Story

I make traditional Navajo rugs in the way of the Ancients, by hand, one strand at a time. I learned at the feet of my Mother and Grandmother from the time I was a small child, when we were given the choice--learn to weave, or herd sheep. I decided as early as I have memory that I wanted to be a weaver. My Mother and Grandmother carry generations of weaving knowledge with them and continue to weave the patterns of their ancestors to this day. My sisters and I started by learning the carding of the wool and spinning it to turn it into yarn. We also had to learn which herbs and plants to use to dye our yarns, a process I still use for all my yarns today in my burnt water rugs. By the time I was six years old, I had woven my first rug--a rug that my mother still cherishes today and swears she would never sell. I still go to my sweet, 89 year old Grandmother for advice on weaving and dye recipes.

Weaving traditional Navajo rugs is my life's work. I have been weaving full time now for 16 years. I love sharing my heritage through these special generational designs that are unique to Canyon De Chelly, and through designs that are mine alone. I hope that you will be blessed with that heritage as you enjoy my rugs, and enjoy an art that is fading rapidly into the past.

Depending on the size of each rug, they take 3 to 5 weeks of full time effort to produce. Contact me for availability, or to commission your favorite design.

Elverna Vanwinkle, Master Navajo Weaver

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Ganado Red

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