Pendelton blankets evoke so many vivid images from cabins of the rustic Old West to cowboy-themed boy’s rooms of the 50s and the warm decor of upscale A-frame mountain homes in Lake Tahoe.
I bought my first Pendelton while spending a brisk winter in Georgetown. The orange and taupe print made of weighty pure wool and cotton with natural felt binding kept me oh-so-warm when returning home from a day of interning on Capitol Hill.
I was reminded of the charm of these Native American patterned blankets on a recent visit to the Dale Chihuly exhibit at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. The glass artist produced a striking, wall-length patchwork quilt of vintage Pendeltons to demonstrate how they inspired a collection of his works. The blankets truly are works of art.
Pendelton sees that too, and has introduced a new vintage collection from its old design archives. The softly muted Los Lunas with star and arrow motifs from haciendas of the past ($298) has a stonewashed, distressed surface to give it the timeworn appeal of the real McCoy. The rock, Gallup and Flagstaff designs also harken back to the Western heritage and come in stunning shades of greens, corals and golds.
While these woolen treasures need to be dry cleaned (chemical-free of course), Pendelton also makes other blankets and throws you can toss in the machine. You can reduce the need for often cleaning of the vintage blankets by folding them as an accent at the end of the bed (which my friend Joan does at her house in Incline) or derive inspiration from Chihuly’s method of hanging these artworks on the wall. Made in the USA.