The Pendleton Woolen Mill tour. Automatic carding equipment takes blobs of mottled colored wool and transforms it into beautiful, uniformly hued strands.  Then it is spun for strength, steamed to relax it, and finally wound onto larger spools as it is readied for the looms.  For blankets, a cotton strand runs on direction and wool of many colors the other to create the pattern.  The automated looms are cool to watch.  Newer ones are all computer driven but even more amazing are older ones that are “programmed” by using a player piano like strip that is read by the loom to feed the correct strands.  I felt an un-napped version made from green wool that felt exactly like an old army blanket we had when I was a kid.

I checked out every item in the store. My favorite blankets are classic plaids or the southwest/Native American motif patterns.  Alas, I have no need for another blanket and they didn’t have the jacket that I loved in my size.  I left empty handed.  There is always the online store!