Need a blanket?

This morning I heard a piece on NPR about a new collaborative project in Western Massachusetts called Heritage Wool. Basically, CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture) helped a group of sheep farmers join together and pool their wool. They then found a processor to spin the wool into yarn*, and hired a local weaver to create beautiful herringbone patterned blankets. They are hoping that the project will be self-sustaining, and they plan to make a new batch of blankets (in a different pattern) each year.

So--if you need a special gift for someone and you don't have time to knit or weave your own blanket--look into one of these!

*The reporter noted that CISA had difficulty finding a mill to process the wool and spin it into yarn. They ended up using a mill on Prince Edward Island. The owner of the mill told CISA that most of the machinery there was salvaged from mills in Massachusetts that were closing. So sad!