Here in Portland, where Pendleton Woolen Mills is headquartered, we have been invested in Portlandia since it started.

The introduction at a meeting went something like this: “There’s a new show that’s going to film in Portland. Basically, it’s just going to make fun of us. And they want some product.”

We were fine with that. It wouldn’t be Portlandia without Pendleton blankets.

Here’s a little tour of the blankets we’ve seen over the seasons.

This last season, we were honored to have our Journey West blanket as the backdrop for the dramatic and unforgettable back story of Toni and Candace, as narrated from the sofa in the Feminist Bookstore.

One of our jackets had some sushi, too.

We’ve been in a few more skits in Season Five, and will grab those stills as we can. But we thought it might be nice to recap the blankets of seasons past for you.

Who could forget the skit about binge-watching, back before we even knew how to call it binge-watching? Our watchers and their Glacier National Park blanket became progressively more rumpled as they watched just. One. More. Episode. Of Battlestar Galactica.

Our favorite shot, bar none, is this one. Ah, the days of wine and Eddie Vedder. IFC gave away this fringed Chief Joseph dance shawl in a haiku contest on Facebook, back in the good old days when Facebook was a fun place to have contests.

Our serapes made some peeks here and there, including this skit about a hippy who betrays his band of free-thinking friends by sneaking away to pursue his personal fitness goals at a gym.

Another serape makes an appearance in a skit about an extremely disappointing brother-in-law. Even the dog is disappointed.

Another Portlandia dog keeps company with the perpetually unemployed husband who needs a babysitter while he stays home all day, not looking for work. The dog takes center stage on our Glacier National Park throw.

Carrie exercises “The Nuclear Option” to free herself from the tyranny of social media on our Abiquiu Sunset blanket.

It’s never too late to sit in your immaculate Craftsman bungalow and learn the history of hip hop with our Chimayo throw, and that’s one of our Beach Shack shirts, too.

A cringe-inducing tailgate party with Earl Grey tea and tofu meatless balls includes a quite pile of our throws and saddle blankets.

Carrie and Fred have had so much fun at our expense. We’re looking forward to Season Six to see what else they will skewer. Portland and its earnestly recycling citizens realize that we’re great comedy fodder. There’s just so much to work with here.

We know one day you’ll be through with us, Portlandia. But until then?

Carry on, Portlandia. Carry on.

It’s time to say good-bye to a fascinating show. We have been watching the evolution of style on Mad Men for seven seasons. With the year off for the writers’ strike and the split final season, that is close to ten years of sociopolitical history under the guise of entertainment. We are sad to see it go.

We’ve seen Pendleton on Mad Men’s men in robes, sportcoats and Topsters.

Don Draper sampled plaid as the years went on.

Don dabbled in plaid, but never seemed comfortable in it. In so many ways, Don was a libertine, but his taste in clothing remained as conservative as Pete’s politics.

Pendleton had a breakout role when Peggy disguised her pregnancy under the waistband of an ever-higher Pendleton reversible skirt–or Turnabout as it was called back then. It has been nearly impossible to find a good still featuring this skirt, so this one will have to do.

The early seasons captured an iconically Pendleton look. The characters seemed to step right out of a Ted Rand illustration.

We were really only part of Megan’s look in her earlier years.

As she evolved into an actress, her dramatic eye makeup, extravagant hair and miniskirts were so much edgier than anything we were up to in the late sixties.

We always enjoyed the style evolution of Peggy Olson. She began as proper and plaid, and retained her taste for buttons, bows, high necklines and cropped jackets.

Yes, Peggy started in plaids, and she ended in plaids. Her later outfits were almost always polyester doubleknit. That happened quite a bit in the seventies. We can forgive Peggy, because this is the finest visual of the last season, right here:

So now it’s over. But a glimpse of the future is found in Sally Draper’s wardrobe. She wore plaid from her earliest years on the show.

She tried the go-go boots and the ponchos, but always returned to the her plaid-centric style that was so popular in the late sixties and early 70s.

We had a line called “Young Pendleton” just for the Sally Drapers of the age. Two of the ads below feature a young Cheryl Tiegs. She’s walking a lamb in her Pendleton jacket, as one did.

Love it or hate it, the finale has happened. We will miss the style, the intrigue, the disregard and comeuppance of this particular cast of characters. Thanks for the memories, Mad Men.

We were so excited when we found just the way to showcase some of our jacquard patterns in these plate sets. Our Pendleton Home team had fun isolating the design elements, figuring out the most pleasing rations and repeats, choosing accent colors. These patterns really know how to liven up a tabletop.

Here’s a closer look at Hacienda, based on our Hacienda blanket:

Journey West:

Saxony Hills:

And everyone’s favorite pattern this year, Spider Rock:

We are especially happy to see two of the patterns in a tabletop feature in COWBOYS & INDIANS magazine.

Spider Rock above, Journey West below.

And there’s no better way to set off western tableware than one of our blankets: Spirit of the Peoples shown below.

So if you’re wanting to make sure that your first morning cup of coffee reaches your lips in a mug you’ll treasure, consider ours.

Available in sets of four per pattern here and here.

See more of our fabulous Instagram account here.

Ed. note: We are reposting this previous entry this Memorial Day. Please note that the Grateful Nation Vest is currently available, thanks to the efforts of veterans like Chris Winters. Our respect and thanks to the men and women who have served in all branches of our military. 

We have been making our Grateful Nation blanket for most of a decade, and for part of that time, we also made a Grateful Nation Vest. It honored veterans in two ways; by visually commemorating each of this century’s service ribbons, and by donations  to The Fisher House Foundation. The Fisher House Foundation provides residences near military and VA medical centers for families of ill or wounded veterans and service members. A portion of the sale of each blanket goes to the Fisher House Foundation, as well. 

Cue Chris Winters, a Puyallup tribal member and veteran who understood that we were no longer making the vest, but wanted to know if we had fabric available. He sent photos of his own vest.

Said Chris, “I am on a Tribal committee and we not only wear Pendleton vests for ceremonies. ..we gift your native blankets to guests, elders, and returning warriors.” Chris is very involved in IUPAT, a Washington State organization that offers outreach, support and training for Native veterans. This group marches in local parades honoring servicemen in their Grateful Nation vests, decorated with the medals earned by veterans who have served our country.

The role of Native Americans in our military cannot be understated. Books have been written and movies made about Native Code Talkers in both World Wars. The percentage of Native Americans serving in the military is higher than any other minority group in America.

We thought you’d enjoy seeing the vest worn in Tacoma, Washington area parades and ceremonies by Native veterans who have served our country well. 

And thanks, Chris, for reaching out. 

Here’s the blanket in the  IUPAT office.

More information below on the meaning of each service ribbon stripe.

The Grateful Nation blanket  honors the sacrifice of brave men and women who have defended freedom throughout the history of the United States of America. Each authentically colored stripe represents a service ribbon awarded to veterans of historical conflicts in which our country has engaged:

• World War II Asiatic Pacific Campaign
• World War II Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign
• Korean Service
• US Vietnam Service
• Southwest Asia Service (Gulf War)
• War on Terrorism

A portion of every blanket’s sale goes to support the Fisher House Foundation and its mission to support the families of veterans. As their website states:

Fisher House Foundation is best known for the network of comfort homes built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers nationwide and in Europe.   Fisher Houses are beautiful homes, donated to the military and Department of Veterans Affairs.  These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful time – during the hospitalization for a combat injury, illness or disease… Since 1990, the foundation has saved military, veterans and their families an estimated $200 million in out of pocket costs for lodging and transportation.

This Bloomberg Business Week feature on summer fashion is a lot of fun to watch. The heels are high and the models are smoking hot. Okay, we don’t really buy her playing soccer in those shoes, but the music somehow makes it all plausible.

Watch the video here:

That’s our Glacier National Park Blanket, of course.

Read the full story here: source

If that doesn’t get you ready for summer sports and champagne picnics, we don’t know what will.

It was exciting to see our blankets on NBC’s The Voice, as stage dressing during a finale performance by Pharrell Williams and his protege Sawyer Fredericks.

Yes, there among the beanbag chairs and the super-chill tambourine girls swaying gently to the “Summer Breeze,” you can see our blankets; Heroic Chief, Mountain Majesty, and Compass Stripe.

Sawyer is an Americana musician. Our American-made blankets bring just the right American vibe for him. From what we understand, the blankets were given as gifts to the crew after filming wrapped.

You can watch the performance here:

And the big moment here:

Because, guess what? SAWYER WON! But that’s not even the most exciting part.

When our UK partners tweeted a link to this Instagram:

The man himself retweeted it!

Yes, a good day around Pendleton Woolen Mills. You can follow us on Twitter @pendletonwm. And as always, you can get your blankets at pendleton-usa.com.

Pendleton, OR. May 11, 2015 – Rogue Ales and Pendleton Woolen Mills announce a collision of Oregon artisans with the unveiling of Rogue Pendleton Pilsner. Brewed at Rogue’s headquarters on the Oregon Coast in Newport, Pendleton Pilsner uses floor malted barley grown on Rogue’s Farm in Tygh Valley and Liberty hops grown at Rogue Farms in Independence, OR. Pendleton Pilsner features a serigraphed bottle design which reflects Pendleton’s iconic jacquard textiles.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside Mort Bishop and his team at Pendleton,” said Rogue President, Brett Joyce. “In the process of creating Pendleton Pilsner, we discovered that we have a lot of common DNA – we are both generational Oregon companies that come from small towns, we both focus on innovation and product excellence, and we share a passion for creating long lasting, enduring brands and products that we love to share with fellow Oregonians and true fans everywhere.”

“Pendleton is really excited to be working with Rogue,” said Mort Bishop, Pendleton President. “With our craft at Pendleton, weaving fabric in Oregon for 152 years and Rogue’ s deep roots in craft beer in Oregon using the finest ingredients from our region, this feels like a very natural relationship. The creativity around storytelling is also something we share and is a fun way to create wonderful new products. We enjoy working with the talented and committed team at Rogue.”

Pendleton Pilsner will make its worldwide debut during Pendleton Bike Week in Pendleton, OR, from July 22-26 and will also be available in Pendleton stores, Rogue pubs, and at select local retailers in Oregon. For more information on Pendleton Pilsner, please visit rogue.com and pendleton-usa.com.

About Rogue Ale & Spirits
Rogue Ales & Spirits is an agri-fermenter founded in Oregon in 1988, as one of America’s first microbreweries. Since 2008, Rogue has remained committed to saving the terroir of Oregon hops, barley, rye, wheat, honey, jalapeños and pumpkins one acre at a time by  growing its own.

In 2010, Pendleton Woolen Mills introduced our Tribute Series, paying homage to the American mills that thrived during the Golden Age of Native American Trade blankets. 

In the early part of the 20th century, Pendleton Woolen Mills was one of five major mills weaving Trade blankets. The Buell Manufacturing Company of St. Joseph, Missouri, incorporated in 1877. St. Joseph was the gateway to a booming Wild West, thanks to homesteading and the Gold Rush. The Buell mill, operated by Norman Buell, his son George, and another partner named John Lemon, was well-run and successful.

According to the county records of 1904, the Buell Manufacturing employed 175 workers and used more than a million pounds of wool a year. Buell products were sold in every state of the Union (45, to be exact).  Buell products included far more than their Trade blankets. Their colorful designs were only a fraction of the products woven by Buell from 1877 to 1912. Since the Pendleton mill opened in 1909, we were only competitors for three seasons.

According to our friend Barry Friedman in his book Chasing Rainbows, “The blankets produced by Buell Manufacturing are without question the truest copies of Navajo and Pueblo Indian designs.” The original Buell blanket designs were given tribal names in keeping with America’s romantic view of the west during those years. We’ve included the original names strictly for your information. Please keep in mind that the Buell designs often bore little-to-no resemblance to the weavings of that particular tribe.  Our re-weavings of these blankets are simply named for the original manufacturer, with the number of the blanket in the series.

Buell #6 ( available here ) was originally called the “Choctaw” or the “Spider and Hawk” design.

Buell #5 available here was called the “Winnebago.” Though Buell has a darker palette than many of the other mills producing blankets back in the day, this blanket is an eye-popper.

Buell #4 (retired) was called the “Ojibwa.” Dale Chihuly has one of the originals in his incredible collection of Trade blankets. The banded design of diamonds, stripes, stars and that central sawtooth band is just gorgeous.

Buell #3 (retired) features a rare pictorial element–bands of Thunderbirds. Buell blankets were generally without any type of representational figures. This banded pattern was known as the “Comanche.”

Buell #2  (retired) is called the “Zuni” pattern in the Buell catalog, but is actually a copy of a Hopi manta according to Barry Friedman (who knows pretty much everything there is to know about Trade blankets).

Buell #1 (retired) is named “Aztec” in the original Buell catalog. It was offered in at least four different color combinations. An example in this coloration is also part of the fabled Chihuly collection of Native American Trade blankets. This blanket was a bestseller in our first year of the Tribute series.

Buell blankets are among the most rare and most sought after by collectors today. This mill actually accomplished a major commercial weaving innovation–the incorporation of a third color in a weaving line. This was beyond the capabilities of Pendleton Woolen Mills at the time, so we tip our hat to the Buell Manufacturing Company of St. Joseph, Missouri.

We received a letter from Sharon Myers Knoph with some wonderful photos of her father, Fred Myers. We decided to save this post for Father’s Day, because it’s about a Pendleton dad.

Here are Sharon’s words about her father.

My dad, Fred Myers, was born in Parkdale, Oregon.  He joined the United States Marine Corps and served in Korea.  He married Margaret Hinrich of Hood River, Oregon, in 1956.  They eventually settled in southern California where he graduated from the Police Academy. He was an undercover narcotics officer during the 1970s. After retiring from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, my parents traveled the country in their motor home.

My dad loved his Pendleton shirts. He bought his first one in 1957, a shirt that he actually wore for 57 years.  He was described more than once as “the officer in the Pendleton”.  He held his first grandchild wearing a Pendleton shirt.

When he passed away in May of 2014, my mother couldn’t bear to give away his Pendleton shirts. She decided to use them to make three quilts. They are very special to us, reminding us of the man that his friends and family loved very much. In the photo below, his first shirt from 1957 is circled.

Here at Pendleton, we have seen quite a few quilts made from our shirts. But we have not seen one made with the pockets, which is a charming touch. What a way to have your dad keeping you warm forever.

To all the admirable fathers out there, happy Father’s Day from Pendleton Woolen Mills.

This is a photo of Robert and Matt Raven, father and son, taken in 1963, and shared with Pendleton this last year. It was taken by Carl “Pete” Petersen, who was there along with his son Grant.

Here are some words about his father from Matt, who is a professor at Michigan State University.

My Dad (Robert D. Raven) was the epitome of what Tom Brokaw termed the Greatest Generation. He grew up on a farm in Michigan and was a gunner/mechanic on a B-24 in the South Pacific during WW II. This was one reason he was such a great wing shot. He went to Michigan State (then Michigan State College) on the GI Bill. My mom (Leslie Erickson Raven) was a Marine during WWII (an aircraft mechanic) and also went to Michigan State on the GI Bill. They moved to California after they graduated in 1949 with $200 in their pockets. My Mom help put my Dad through Law School at UC Berkeley (Boalt Hall) and he graduated in 1952. He practiced law for Morrison Foerster (home office in San Francisco) all of his professional career and help build them into one of the premier law firms anywhere. He was one of those men that helped the United States become the greatest nation on the planet after WWII. He died in 2004 and I miss him every day. I am proud to be his son.

What a great American story. We love this image so much, we chose it for our Instagram #PendletonDad photo contest this year. It just says Father’s Day, and it’s a fitting way to wish Happy Father’s Day to all the admirable dads out there from Pendleton Woolen Mills.

In 2016, we will honor the centennial of our National Park Service. We will celebrate our National Parks, along with the employees and volunteers who work to hold the Parks in trust for generations to come. An important part of that trust includes preserving and managing each Park’s wildlife. The National Parks have played a key role in the preservation of the American bison, commonly known as the buffalo.

In the 16^th century, North America was home to 25 to 30 million bison, making the American Plains Bison the most abundant single species of large mammal on Earth. The Plains Bison is a “keystone species.”  The trampling and grazing of these thundering herds actually shaped the ecology of America’s Great Plains. A bison can weigh over 2,500 pounds,  jump six feet vertically, and run 40 miles per hour when alarmed. This is an impressive animal.

The bison played a crucial part in the lives of Nomadic Native American peoples. One bison could provide 200 to 400 pounds of meat, as well as hides, robes, and sinew for bows. Hunting was accomplished on foot and on horseback through herded stampedes over buffalo jumps. For an accurate and detailed account of Native American hunting methods, along with art and photography, see this blog post at www.nativeamericannetroots.net. Hunters thanked the animals with rituals and prayers for the gift of their lives. The Natives, the herds and the habitat thrived.

Two hundred years later, the bison was hunted nearly to extinction.  Decimating factors included loss of habitat due to farming and ranching, and industrial-scale hunting by non-Natives.  The systematic destruction of the herds was promoted by the U.S. Army in order to strike an irrevocable blow to the way of life of the Plains Nations. The loss of the buffalo was an economic, cultural, and religious tragedy for the original inhabitants of North America. It was also a great loss to the natural ecology of the Great Plains.

Somehow, tiny “relict” herds survived. A few ranchers attempted restoration of the herds through private ventures in the late 1800s. Samuel Walking Coyote (Pen d’Oreille) started a small herd with seven orphaned calves he found west of the Rocky Mountain Divide. Another herd was formed from this initial group, and in the early 1900s, small herds were sent from this second herd to Canada’s Elk Island National Park, and the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.

Left to graze in protected wilderness and park areas, the buffalo began to rebound. The Yellowstone Park Bison Herd formed naturally from a 23 bison that remained in the park after the massive slaughter at the end of the 19^th century. This is the only continuously surviving herd in the Americas, and the largest at over 4,000 head. There are preservation efforts in many wilderness areas and National Parks, in part due to the beneficial effects of bison on regional ecology. Unlike domestic cattle, bison herds cultivate rather than deplete the native grasses through grazing.

Because of the close relationship between our national wilderness areas and the American bison, Pendleton commemorates this impressive land mammal as part of the Pendleton National Parks Collection. Our newest buffalo blanket, “Buffalo Wilderness” celebrates the resilience of a magnificent animal and its role in shaping the Great Plains.

The Buffalo Wilderness design recalls a time when millions of buffalo roamed grassy plains from Oregon to the Great Lakes, from Canada to Mexico. Today our National Parks protect the wilderness, and the remaining buffalo there roam free. One of the largest herds (more than 4,000) of free-ranging wild buffalo lives in and around Yellowstone National Park. It is thought to be the only place in the United States where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times. You can also see herds in Badlands, Grand Teton, Theodore Roosevelt and Wind Cave National Parks.

You can get more information on the blanket here. And remember, the purchase of items from our National Park Collection helps support the National Park Foundation. More information here.

There’s a new way to share your love of Pendleton with your best buddy, and it’s finally here.

Pendleton Pet includes an assortment of beds, collars, leads and jackets.

All sizes are included, from the tiniest to the largest. Your dog is really going to enjoy this. And so will you, of course.

These are offered in National Park blanket stripes representing U.S. National Parks; Acadia, Badlands, Crater Lake, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Rainier, Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Glacier.  Yes, your best friend can recline in the finest Pendleton Pet style, or take his walks on a Park Stripe leash, and show his commitment to preserving our National Treasures with his Park Stripe collar and his spiffy little National Park dog coat.

Doesn’t your best friend deserve the best? We know you share your favorite Pendleton blankets with your best friends all the time. We have photographic evidence!

So check out the new line and see what’s right for your dog. And if you Instagram, please tag with #PendletonPet. We’d love to see the line at work.

More information on Pendleton Pet can be found here. And remember, your purchase of these products helps to support the National Park Foundation. More information here.

Our National Parks are protected and enriched by a small army of volunteers whose time, enthusiasm and energy are put to use in so many ways. Over the next year, we would like to recognize the efforts of some of the people who help protect America’s Treasures. Today, we’re going to start with Jim and Ellie Burbank. The words below come from Lauren Gass, Special Projects Director for the Great Smoky Mountains Park.

Jim and Ellie Burbank give selflessly of their time on a weekly basis to enhance and improve Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Residents of the great state of Tennessee, they embody the volunteer spirit.  They are former operators of the Snowbird Inn in Robbinsville, NC.  Ellie is a world-class chef and baker and Jim is a retired biologist with the Tennessee Valley Authority. Both are weekly hikers who thrill at any chance to introduce their friends and family members from across the U.S. and around the world to the wonders and beauty of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Jim is a key member of the Volunteers-in-Parks program, and the Friends of the Smokies Tennessee office just would not function very well without Ellie’s help.

Jim actually goes out and meets strangers and tells them about the national park in his work as a weekly educational interpretive volunteer in Cades Cove, and he meets plenty of them with 2.5 million people visiting this beloved valley in Great Smoky Mountains National Park every year.  He also leads monthly full moon walks in the Cove for campers and families to experience the quietude of this mountain treasure at night.  Jim also leads wildflower walks for other nonprofit organizations including Friends of the Smokies, and has helped countless hundreds of hikers differentiate between a yellow trillium and a trout lily.

Ellie acknowledges all of the contributions made to Friends of the Smokies, which involves keeping the organization’s donor records up-to-date and accurate, printing tens of thousands of acknowledgment letters each year, and she does it all in two days each week.  She has volunteered with Friends for more than 14 years, and is the equivalent of another part-time staff member. Jim and Ellie dedicate substantial amounts of time to impart their love of Great Smoky Mountains National Park to others, and they take their volunteer work very seriously.  They are extremely knowledgeable about the Park and its needs.

The Great Smoky Mountains national Park hosts over 9,000,000 visitors each year. Yes, you read that correctly–Nine. Million. Visitors. As the most-visited park in the United States, it needs the help of people like the Burbanks. We thank them sincerely for their generosity and commitment.

Learn more about helping to support our National Parks here.

Are you gearing up to celebrate America’s birthday this weekend? We hope you’re celebrating the good old-fashioned way, with cookouts, picnics, sparklers and family fun. We will celebrate with two very patriotic blankets; Dawn’s Early Light and Brave Star.

Dawn’s Early Light

“O say can you see by the dawn’s early light.” These words were penned on the back of an envelope in 1814 by young lawyer and poet Francis Scott Key. Key was held captive on a Royal Navy ship as British ships in Chesapeake Bay bombarded Fort McHenry throughout the night. When dawn broke, the fort was still standing, the American flag still waving. It was a turning point in the war of 1812, and the birth of our national anthem, the “Star Spangled Banner.” This blanket, woven in our American mills, commemorates the Bicentennial of that momentous morning in U.S. history. Fifteen red and white stripes and stars represent those on the flag at that time. Each star is shaped like an aerial view of the fort, which was built in the shape of a five-pointed star. Striations and imprecise images give the design a vintage Americana look.

Brave Star

This contemporary interpretation of the American flag celebrates the patriotism of Native Americans. In 1875 Indian scouts carried messages from fort to fort in the West. Native American soldiers saw action with Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders in Cuba. And soldiers from many tribes battled in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and Iraq. Five Native Americans have been awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery “above and beyond the call of duty.” The design marries modern asymmetry and vintage Americana. The unique striations, using pulled out yarns, reflect an era when dyes were made from plants.

Beautiful blankets for our beautiful country.

Now go out and watch some fireworks.

We are absolutely charmed by this Backcountry feature on Romance in the Wild, featuring our “Love Me” blanket by Curtis Kulig.  This is actually a phone app, but you can view it perfectly online by clicking here. Just click that arrow to the right to see a campfire and more. Go see! It’s adorable! Thanks to Backcountry for the love.

#lovemewashere

Our friend Greg Hatten, the WoodenBoat adventurer, is floating some of our country’s National Parks as part of the centennial celebration of the National Park Service.

Greg is an accomplished guide and fisherman who splits his time between Missouri and Oregon. He is happiest on the river in his wooden drift boat, the Portola.  Greg’s Portola was built to the exact specs of the original Portola piloted by conservationist Martin Litton down the Colorado River in 1964 as part of a historic journey that helped save the Grand Canyon. As difficult as it is to believe, there were plans at the time to dam the Colorado River, flood the Grand Canyon and turn it into a gigantic reservoir.  Wooden drift boaters took to the river, along with a documentary crew, to make a film that brought national attention to the proposed reservoir project. This river journey helped save the Grand Canyon for future generations. Greg’s 2014 recreation of this journey is part of his larger commitment to our National Parks.

In honor of the 100^th anniversary of the National Park Service, Greg is running rivers through some of our most beloved Parks. Pendleton will be following his journeys on our blog, starting with his trip to Yellowstone Lake.

As Greg says in his blog post:

On this WoodenBoat adventure… it was late May and the lakes in Yellowstone National Park were free of ice earlier this year than anyone could remember. Usually on Memorial Day weekend, this park is just waking up from its winter hibernation – the snow is patchy in places, the campgrounds are just starting to open, and the staff and crew coming from around the country to work for the summer are learning the answers to hundreds of questions they will be asked by the visiting tourists from around the world. The park was green, the wildlife was stirring and except for the sparse number of tourists, it seemed like it was midseason.

Greg sets up camp Pendleton-style, in a canvas tent with our Yellowstone National Park blanket AND one of our newest products. Greg has only good things to say about our new roll-ups, which are virgin wool camp blankets attached to a new waxed cotton fabric that we are just a little bit proud of.

As you can see, so far we are offering this blanket in Badlands, Glacier and Grand Canyon. Greg says it sleeps like a dream in the wild, and we trust his opinion. So go read all about his trip on his WoodenBoat blog, especially the meal. Everyone here in the office wants to try Greg’s campsite cuisine!

Please join us for a great time to celebrate a great cause. See our Parks merchandise and learn how you can help us with the restoration of key landmarks in our National parks! Won’t you join us? Find a Pendleton retail store or Pendleton Outlet by clicking: HERE.

Pendleton is growling with bikes today, thanks to the Pendleton Bike Week rally. Yes, if you’ve wanted to explore eastern Oregon on your bike, now is your time. There’s so much going on in; concerts, a bike show, a vendor’s fair. There are giveaways at all the local businesses, including the Pendleton Mill Store.

Speaking of which, do you see that? That’s a frosty bucket of Pendleton Pilsner, by Rogue Ales. And it’s right there at our mill, which is of course attached to our store, where you can pick up your giveaways as you explore the charming town of Pendleton during the rally. Isn’t the bottle a beauty? It’s a serigraphed with a unique-to-Rogue design based on our Pendleton patterns; the patterns we weave in this very mill.

We are excited to officially launch the Pendleton Pilsner at some invitation-only events at Pendleton Bike Week on July 25th, and you can taste it at any of the Rogue Brewery Ale Houses on that day.

Many fine things come from Oregon, including Pendleton blankets and Rogue Ales.  Pendleton Pilsner is brewed at Rogue’s headquarters on the Oregon Coast in Newport, with floor-malted barley grown on Rogue’s Farm in Tygh Valley and Liberty hops grown at Rogue Farms in Independence.

So if you’re headed to Pendleton for the rally, roll on. We will see you there. And if you’re in Portland, we hope you’ll duck in out of the heat and cool off with our new Pilsner on Saturday.

This brew is pure Oregon.

Nearly every day, we hear from people who have toured our mills in Washougal, Washington, and Pendleton, Oregon. They are impressed by the complexity of the process and the unrelenting noise of a working woolen mill. We are (of course) proud to show off our state-of-the-art mills. That’s why we’re always throwing open our doors to the public. We are working constantly to meet the demand for our fabrics and our weaving capabilities.

You can find information on our tours here and here. Our mill in Pendleton gets quite a bit of press attention, but you can read a detailed history of the Washougal Mill here. But if the Pacific Northwest is not your neighborhood, we offer this virtual tour, filmed at both our mills. We wanted to offer a detailed look at just what it takes to weave a blanket from fleece to finish.

Enjoy!

Pendleton has been supporting the goals of the American Indian College Fund for years. To understand why this makes us so proud, please watch this video.

If this is a casue you can get behind, you might want to consider our AICF blankets for 2015 as a way to contribute. Both blankets were designed by Larry Ahvakana, an Inupiaq/Eskimo from Barrow and Point Hope, Alaska.

Born in Fairbanks, Larry was raised in Point Barrow until the age of six, when his family moved to Anchorage. He left behind his grandparents, his native tongue, and many of the traditional cultural influences that had shaped his childhood.

Larry has been a working artist since 1972. He graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He also studied at the Cooper Union School of Art in New York. He works in a variety of media, including stone, glass, bone, metal and wood. His masks bring tradition to life with mythic imagery in old-growth wood.

image courtesy of the Blart Museum

Larry is also widely recognized as an educator. He has instructed at the Institute of American Indian Art. He headed the Sculpture Studio at the Visual Arts Center in Anchorage, Alaska, and founded a teaching studio for glass blowing in Barrow, Alaska. His works are included in a large number of major museums, corporate collections, private art collections and as public art commissions.

Thunderbird and Whale Crib Blanket

The image on this baby blanket is inspired by the artwork of Larry Ahvakana and the Iñupiat legend of the Great Spirit Eagle. Legend states that there once was a massive thunderbird so large and powerful that it could hunt and carry a whale—the main source of sustenance for the Iñupiat. To honor the whale, the Iñupiat created the Messenger Feast. The ceremonial dancing and feasting prepares the community for the coming year and ensures the success of future generations. This blanket is a collaboration between Pendleton Woolen Mills and the American Indian College Fund to honor and reawaken a vital part of Native history. A portion of the proceeds will help provide scholarships for students attending tribal colleges.This blanket is a collaboration between Pendleton Woolen Mills and the American Indian College Fund.

The Return of the Sun Blanket

The traditions and activities of the Iñupiat, today, as in the past, revolve around the changing of the seasons. This blanket, inspired by the artwork of Larry Ahvakana, celebrates the arrival of the sun back to the Arctic and the start of hunting season. The Iñupiat mark this special time with the Messenger Feast—a ceremony where the spirits of the past season’s harvest are ushered back into the spirit world. Today, the celebration fosters cultural pride and the regeneration of traditional values. This blanket is a collaboration between Pendleton Woolen Mills and the American Indian College Fund to honor and reawaken a vital part of Native history.

You can see all our AICF blankets here: American Indian College Fund Blankets