$395.00
Offered here are 100% wool blankets, hand woven from our own fine Jacob sheep fleece.
Blankets measure about 64 x 80 inches and are hand woven using two ply yarn. They are soft, warm and beautifully attractive.
Jacob sheep are a rare and endangered breed with roots dating back thousands of years. In the Biblical account in Genesis 30 we read that the patriarch Jacob took the white and black spotted sheep from Laban as payment for tending his flock. Brought back to England during the Crusades they are now extinct in the Middle East. While some might scoff at this Biblical account as fiction, modern genetic testing indeed establishes that Jacob sheep are related to another ancient middle eastern breed described in the Bible and still found in the region, the fat tail sheep. Jacob sheep have a very distinctive appearance with four and occasionally six horns. Rams can grow horns as long as 30 inches! While normally loving, curious and docile, in some estates in England they are actually kept as guard animals!
Jacobs are perhaps best known for producing long, beautiful fleece in warm natural whites, blacks and deep grays. For a pattern, we selected a historic checkered pattern that highlights the deep natural colors and that is reminiscent of 18th century Dutch blankets ubiquitously found throughout colonial America.
In a letter dated June 12, 1775 Judge Hendrickson writing to the Proprietors of Boonesborough, North Carolina says,
“But to return to our subject: no time was lost; we struck whilst the iron was hot, fixed Mr. Cocke off with a good Queen Ann’s musket, plenty of ammunition, a tomahawk, a large cuttoe knife, a Dutch blanket, and no small quantity of jerked beef. Thus equipped, and mounted on a tolerably good horse, on the ___ day of April, Mr. Cocke started from Cumberland river, about 130 miles from this place, and carried with him, besides his own enormous load of fearful apprehensions, a considerable burden of my own uneasiness.”
These are best quality, hand woven in the USA of sustainably and humanely raise Jacob sheep, processed by hand without chemicals, dyes or added synthetic fiber. The traditional colonial pattern highlights the natural beauty of the fleece and is itself an unusual conversation piece. The natural colors look great in any color room. These blankets are a perfect holiday, wedding or birthday gift that is sure to become a treasured family heirloom.