Lavera Blake's Double Diamond Burntwater is currently listed on Ebay.

Tempe, AZ The Spider Rock Girls are raising money for their back to school expenses and auctions and sales to traders are slow for them right now.  They have two items on Ebay at the moment.   Under normal circumstances, the only way to get one of their weavings is through competitive bidding or by being first in line when a rug is finished, but right now you have an opportunity to own their work at wholesale prices.   Lavera, age 25, is just completing work on a certification as a nursing assistant and will return to college  this semester to continue studies toward a business degree in addition to her weaving and work at a nursing facility.   She has completed a double diamond Burntwater rug (pictured at right) that is listed on Ebay for $1000.  The rug is 2.5′ x 4′ and is very tightly woven with Brown Sheep yarn.  Lavera is willing to consider offers at lower prices and she  accepts Paypal.   You can contact Lavera for more information on the rug or to make an offer.

Larissa Blake, 22, with her Spider Rock rug.

Lavera’s younger sister Larissa, 22,  has graduated from high school and is a full time weaver.  She is helping seven year old baby sister Alyssa with her back to school expenses.  Alyssa will be in second grade in Chinle Elementary school this year.  Larissa has woven one of her family’s signature Spider Rock rugs (see picture at left) and it is also currently listed on Ebay.  This rug is also 2.5’x4′ and is woven with Burnham’s Trading Post yarns in a multitude of vegetally dyed colors.

The pattern has been developed and refined by the girls since its inception about 10 years ago.  The story is that one summer, Lavera and her cousin Harriet Whitney were staying with their grandmother in Canyon de Chelly at the base of Spider Rock.  The girls wanted to learn to weave, and their grandmother, Rose Yazzie, was glad to set up looms for them.  She told the girls that they could have her leftover vegetally dyed yarns to use, but there wasn’t enough of any one color to do a pattern.  Since Rose told the girls that they could have all of the black yarn that they wanted, they hit on the idea of using the vegetal yarns in small bars for the background and using the black for the pattern.  When trader Bruce Burnham saw the results, he loved the visual impact and a pattern was born.  Harriet doesn’t weave the Spider Rock pattern much any more but Lavera, Larissa and younger sister Laramie are still doing them.

The Ebay price for Larissa’s Spider Rock rug is $800, but Larissa is also willing to consider offers at a lower price and does accept Paypal.  You can contact Larissa’s mother, Emily Malone,  if you are interested in the rug.

The girls will be adding more pictures of their work over at their web site, but I wanted to let you know about their Back to School Special as soon as possible!

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker