Pictorial weaving has always been a favorite style of weaving in our family. Our father had a great collection; he and Mark Winter included several pictorials when compiling the Durango Collection, which is now housed at the Center for Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was not unusual for Navajo people to be referred to by descriptive names, primarily because English-speaking newcomers to the reservation had not yet mastered the pronunciation of the complex Diné language.

On December 6, 2004, Navajo pictorial weaver Isabel John and her husband Frank were driving from their home at Many Farms, Arizona, to Farmington, New Mexico, to deliver some paperwork for a new truck they had purchased the day before.

One of our favorite weavers over the years was Ella Rose Perry from St. Michael’s, Arizona. She only lived there part of the time. She was a teaching assistant at the Crystal Boarding School up on Narbona Pass near the old J.B. Moore Crystal Trading Post. In the summer, she often lived with her sheep in a summer hogan in the Lukachukai mountains.

Awards given for art, including Navajo weavings, are always subjective. While a Blue Ribbon at the Gallup Ceremonial, the Heard Museum, or Indian Market may be interpreted to mean that the chosen piece was the “best” weaving, there are always people who will disagree.

Books are treasures, particularly if they can be read and enjoyed multiple times. Horizons—Weaving Between the Lines with Diné Textiles is one of those special and unique books.

I met Laverne Barber about 50 years ago. My father had worked with Lavern’s mother, Anna Mae Barber, a long time before that. Anna Mae was the oldest sister in what would become the family that created the Burnham Weaving Area.

Unlike many Navajo weavers of old, Nellie Begay is accomplished at creating multiple styles. She has been a fixture and a ribbon winner at the Santa Fe Indian Market, where she has sold most of her work in recent years.

One of my favorite times to be in the gallery in Durango is when a weaver comes in with a rug wrapped in a Blue Bird Flour sack. Older weavers seldom open up the package.  After we greet each other, they hand it to me, and I get the pleasure of unrolling it. It is just like opening an unexpected birthday present!

Over the years, 259 documented trading posts were on or adjacent to the Navajo Reservation. I bet nearly all these posts had at least one Name Rug!

Over the years, we have seen Navajo weaving evolve from wearing blankets to the transitional and Germantown weavings, the early floor rugs, and the regional styles. I’ve been thinking about where we are today and would like to share some thoughts.

Spider Woman is not a Navajo Deity. The Holy Ones created her and Spider Man to weave the fabric of the universe. Today, the Navajo live in the Fourth world, called the "Glittering World."