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Before weaving a rug or blanket, members of the Ramah Navajo Weavers Association raise and shear their own sheep, spin the yarns, and dye them with vegetal dyes. The warm browns in this skein of yarn and these weavings come from "ground lichen" (Xanthoparmelia chlorochroa), shown loose in the basket.
Photograph copyright Stephen/Sylvia Sharnoff