Hudson Bay Point Blankets

no real suggestions, but they are damn fine blankets

Hey! That's the one, too, except mine's four point.

unfortunately it's not mine, just found the pic on line

would love to get one someday

Before my Dad died, he gave it to me with some other things of my grandmothers. I foolishly plunked it in my crawl space where it's sat unexamined for some years. I forgot about it until a few weeks ago when I pulled everything out for a purge-fest.

heirlooms like that are the best, hope you can get some help with the cleaning

I had one as a child . . . and used it until i was in my twenties and it was stolen. It was still thick and warm after more than twenty years of use . . .

I was surprised at the feel of it, Set -- softer than I remembered.

I'm hoping to rescue it for the cottage.

Thankd dj. Maybe you'll keep your ears open? ...You never know.

I know what you mean, Boss . . . i have never liked wool clothing, too scratchy, too heavy . . . but that blanket--it was like old flannel it was so soft . . .

Is it an Atkinson or a Woolrich blanket. ? e have had several made out of our wool and my wife selected her own dye lots so the blnkets have very funky neat color schemes. The blankets made out Delaine Merino, Ramboullet, or Corriedale wool are the softest. The Merino ones are like cotton. They are very expensive nowadays.

There are a couple books out there that try to grade them. Id try to get one of these to see whether youve got a 3 to 500 dollar one or a 2000 dollar one. There were some blankets made by Atkinson in the 50's to commemorte ENglish events (like Liz coronation or wedding). They will have a picture of the Queen on the lable.

There are collectors of these blankets out there

Thanks for the info farmerman. I suspect I have a run of the mill vintage four point, because it’s not as soft as old flannel or cotton, even though it’s much softer than I anticipated…and it wasn’t a commemorative blanket either " no queen on the label, etc. But (!) it would be in excellent condition really, if it weren’t for the stain, which is near the bottom. Do you know if there’s a way to determine if it’s an Atkinson or Woolrich without the book?

I think it’s really interesting that you and your wife were able to have some specially died from your own wool. I’d dearly love to see them. I envision spectacular. Do you brush them at all? After reading up a bit on the net, I see they sell blanket brushes, and I guess that’s my next step, though it won’t touch the mark I’m afraid.

When you say you have them made, do you mean carding, fulling, spinning and weaving? The reason i ask is because of your remarks about the dying. Is it dyed in the wool, or does your wife die it after the cloth is produced?

So many question . . . are the sheep nervous when you're around but your wife is not?

Joe and Set, we have our wool dyed in a large mass so that the dye lot is constant for , say, about 20 or more pounds of wool. She chooses colors from a dye lot available as Proscion dyes.

As far as getting it from the sheep, its done by our contract shearers who, in one day, will shear our herd and others that we bring in just for our use. (We borrow shep for wool which we "trade" to a series of Companies for spun wool. She only has the best stuff kept for clothing and soft blankets. She washes the wool in a commercial setup that e have in what was an old "milkhouse". The wool is washed in large rotating tubs that are kept with a water temp below 140 F. This keepds the wool from felting. Then she has to dry it and then its taken to a mill in New Brunswick (Ca) where they card and spin it into batts and :string" She keeps several types of spun yarn (worsted, sport, 2 ply, 4 ply etc). When she has the stuff dyed, she chooses only safe mordants and she never wants the mills to do a thing they call "carbonizing" which is an acid wash to rid the wool of any veggie flakes. She has that done by several AMish Ladies who do a mild post dye brushwork "fulling" but not so much that it felts. Felting is the natural desire of wool and our job is to keep the wool from doing its job.
The yarns that she uses for any blankets are chosen waay before hand and then sent with the white Merino to be spun at the mill with our own colors. Most o those mhave been given away as wedding gifts and gives my wife a lot of joy just doing that.

She markets and sells about 2and a half TONS of processed yarns a year, of which, only about 1/2 of that is actually supplied by our sheep. Its getting so that with her business, the sheep are actually the least important commodity. She can open market anythging from growers world wide. She is a major importer of Alpaca from Peru and Argentina and only sells that at yarn and knitting shows.

NOW arent you sorry you asked?

Its dyed as yarns set, the spun product is then post mfr brushed to give it a soft edge appearance on the stripes. But yes, its all pre weave dyed, Very observant of you to catch the appearnce of dyed "In the blanket" Felted blankets are often "Space dyed" by painting with air brush of various dyes and then heat sealed. They have to use many different mordants so the felted colors of space dyed covers (and yurt walls) are best not used to touch te skin as many mordants contain Chrome or Tin salts.

I recall that oxyalic acid used to be used to clean straw hats, and the like. You might give that a shot on the stain, but I've no idea of the technique. Just something you might want to look into.

Those blankets would make incredible wedding gifts. I’d be thrilled just to purchase one as a gift for someone, so I can easily imagine the joy she’d feel giving one she’s been instrumental in making. Fantastic.

Roger, thanks for the suggestion! I've never heard of it. I'll read up.

nothing about fixing blankets, but a little diversion about the hudson bay company

this is a pic of my great uncles homestead on the manitoulin island


and across the road is this sign

There are people who do fabric restoration and they might be able to get out the stain. If you have a local historical society or museum in your area they might be able to recommend someone.