Our Western Word
Lariat Is Merely A Corruption Of Lariata.
Thus the warp is made tight and
is ready for the nimble fingers of the weaver.
Her shuttles are pieces of
smooth, round sticks upon the ends of which she winds yarn. Small balls of
yarn are frequently made to serve this purpose. By her side is a crude
wooden comb with which she strikes a few stitches into place. When she
wishes to wedge the yarn for a complete row - from side to side - she uses a
flat broad stick, one edge of which is sharpened almost to knife-like
keenness. This is called the "batten." With the design in her brain her
busy and skilful fingers produce the pattern as she desires it, there being
no sketch from which she may copy. In weaving a blanket of intricate
pattern and many colors the weaver finds it easier to open the few warp
threads needed with her fingers and then thrust between them the small
balls of yarn, rather than bother with a shuttle, no matter how simple.
Before blankets can be made the wool must be cut from the sheep, cleaned,
carded, spun and dyed. It is one of the interesting sights of the southwest
region to see a flock of sheep and goats running together, watched over,
perhaps, by a lad of ten or a dozen years, or by a woman who is ultimately
to weave the fleeces they carry into substantial blankets. After the fleece
has been sheared, the Navaho woman proceeds to wash it.
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