It’s not that I really give a lot of weight when new “hot trends” roll along.
I’ve never been a rule follower.
It doesn’t mean I don’t use colors that appear in fabric, or in home décor, or in choices in clothing.
If I like the color, I’ll wear it. I’ll sew with it. I’ll have it in my home.
But it feels really weird when a company goes from not promoting ONE new color trend for the year, to pairing TWO!?
Quilters are all a-buzz with very vocal opinions on this pairing, and many have given me fits of giggles in the process.
How about THIS for a description?
2016 PANTONE COLOR OF THE YEAR | ROSE QUARTZ AND SERENITY
Representing a mindset of tranquility and inner peace, this year’s Color of the Year is represented by a harmonious pairing of complementary shades: PANTONE Rose Quartz 13-1520 and PANTONE Serenity 15-3913. Weightless and airy, like the expanse of the blue sky above us, Serenity comforts with a calming effect, bringing a feeling of respite even in turbulent times, while Rose Quartz is a persuasive yet gentle tone that conveys compassion and a sense of composure. Approachable and welcoming, in tandem these subtle and discerning hues convey a message of connection and wellness; evoking a calm and restful mood.
Remember these?
From Bill Volkening's Wonky World.
Bill Volkening is a friend who has written about his thoughts on his blog, Wonky World HERE. He has titled his article Color Blindness! He makes some valid points and I think you will enjoy his tongue in cheek humor!
One snip from his post:
For some people, the colors were reminiscent of the 1980s, the whole Miami Vice thing. At the time, I lived in Manhattan, dressed in black, and didn't watch TV. So, Pantone's 2016 colors brought me all the way back to the colors of the Di-Dee Pins that held up my cloth diapers in the late 1960s. Blue was for boys. Pink was for girls. Baby colors, but also binary ones. Pantone calls the colors representative of gender fluidity. Utter hogwash, if you ask me.
I also adore Pepper Cory and am thrilled to be teaching with her at the Craftours Cocoon in Naperville, IL in April of 2016! She posted her blog link through facebook and yes, it was this photo of this doll that drew me right in! LOL!! Dusty blue and mauve? REMEMBER?
Egad!
Hello, 1990 called and they want their colors back!
Pepper writes:
This year I'm afraid Pantone's petticoats are showing with their 2016 pick and their color picks are even less applicable to the average consumer.
The color company hedged its bets and picked two shades--oh no--the first time that's ever happened! The partnership here: maybe Pampers? No offence intended: babies are my favorite kind of people but smart moms have long since ditched the pink-vs-blue nursery color scheme.
Read the rest of the story on her blog HERE.
I have to admit –I am also perplexed, and maybe this happens when one has lived long enough in a fabric related world to watch colors and pairings come around yet again.
This is a blast from my OWN designing past, circa early 1990s when I had a doll pattern company named Needle in a Haystack.
Oh, those were the years. I had a 6 year old and a newborn at home when this company began. And I turned to the fabrics that were popular during the time to dress my dolls and get this little upstart pattern company going.
Pink and blue, 1992!
Country bears –pink and blue!
A bunny or two, pink and blue!
And even more. Pink and blue!
These sweeties as well!
Pink & Blue!
It was definitely the theme of the year back in the mid 90s!
Country decorating was all the rage and pink and blue paired together were everywhere.
Being a fabric and color lover, I will never say never. And I will always find a way to use fabrics even if others think the colors are a bit “out dated.” I added my old dusty mauves and blues to some reproduction fabrics to create this quilt from Scraps & Shirttails II
![OldKyalbumfinal[2]](http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DeNGfItuaIA/VmlsCKFBzAI/AAAAAAADWeA/KfhvOd7Zd04/s1600-h/OldKyalbumfinal%25255B2%25255D%25255B6%25255D.jpg "OldKyalbumfinal[2]")
Old Kentucky Album!
What do I do if I still have these “nearly vintage” fabrics hanging around 25 years later? Mix them in with something NEW to give them a new lease on life.
I added these older prints to civil war blues and double pinks and they looked just fine. This quilt makes me smile as many of the scraps used were from those same early doll making days. They hold a ton of wonderful memories for me.
I added these older prints to civil war blues and double pinks and they looked just fine. This quilt makes me smile as many of the scraps used were from those same early doll making days. They hold a ton of wonderful memories for me.
So my conclusion? ALL colors have their place. Even Mauve and Dusty Blue Rose Quartz and Serenity.
These happen to be colors that I look good wearing. My favorite article of clothing? A very worn and faded denim shirt that I wear over tshirts like a cardigan. Soft and comforting, along with my faded blue jeans. I happen to like blue, all shades.
As for the pink? Ehhhh…it’s a bit milk-toasty, but I can live with it in small amounts, like in the quilt above.
But will I be pairing these two exclusively together in a show of Pantone 2016 solidarity?
Likely not.
As is said all over “Been there, done that.” I've lived in a pink/blue world and I'm not going back.
Any thoughts?
89 comments:
I have to agree with you. When I saw these colors announced the other day. I just went " Blehhh"
Yea, not my favorite either. Totally an 80's shade of blue. I remember having some kitchen stuff in that shade when I got married. I like warmer colors and darker stuff, most everything but those two shades except for baby stuff. What were they thinking. I don't know what Pantone even is? Have a great day Bonnie!
I remember these patterns...I think I even made a couple for my little girls. I like the colors by themselves but not together. I think Pantone will have a hard time selling this to the masses. Can you even imagine a living room in a new house in these colors? Or a kitchen? Blehh. I am however currently using the pale pink in a quilt paired with deep cranberry and another ufo is my dresden plate quilt that has the pale pink background behind the "plates".
I normally don't go for pastels, however, I have my living room painted pink and my dining room blue. The shades are very close to Pantone's colors for 2016. Everyone who sees it loves the look. The way I used the colors in my decor has nothing to do with the 80's. So, be brave and try them out!
Scarlett Burroughs
Quilting Editor, Craft Gossip
http://quilting.craftgossip.com/
This was the decor pair for nearly a decade from the mid-1980s thru the early 1990s. During that time I worked in the frame shop for our local Ben Frankin and I can't even begin to count how many counted cross stitch pictures I framed in country blue and dusty rose. We all loved these colors. I decorated my daughters' bedroom in them in our new house in 1985 and four years later, made a comforter for our master bedroom in them as well. I knitted sweaters for our six kids in darker versions of them. They wore pink or blue dresses to my sister-in-law's wedding in 1992. I might have gone a little overboard. :)
I hadn't seen the 2016 colors until now. Talk about a blast from the past. I may still have some of that dusty blue fabric with the pink cabbage roses! Well, what was old is new again, but I don't think I'll be part of this trend if it gets that far.
Myrna in KY
Glad I'm past those colors! Our bedroom and our daughters bedroom had those colors in the late 80's and early 90's. Won't be embracing them this time around! Love your quilt though! It's on my bucket list to make.
My sister-in-law just offered me some quilting fabrics from her "crafty phase" circa 1989 and I declined, knowing it would be dusty blue and mauve! LOL
Not gonna do it...nope, those colors are not in my stash and I won't allow them to creep in :)
My very first quilt was made in 1992. It was a Double Irish chain with a pattern from Eleanor Burns in mauve and blue, and cream. That was back in the day when I made quilts in 3 colors and 3 fabrics. Everything had to match EXACTLY! Light, medium, and dark. Now, I rarely have less than 50 different fabrics in a quilt, and of course all scraps! My 2nd quilt was peach, green, and cream, also a favorite in the early 90's.
I think choosing two colors and choosing these two colors, a statement is being made. Pantone is showing quick and sharp intelligence. I think it's hilarious.
I love these colors!!! Been there ...done that....and I still love them!!! Sooo glad it's back!!!
I don't even like those colors on babies.
I made the dusty pink and blue bunnies and love roses in the late 80s and my tastes go very soft to very bright! So I will by the pink and blue thanks for saving it for me!
I seriously hope they're not taking us back there. I love bright colors. The new bright greens and aquas and reds make me happy.
Suellen
The only time I use colours vaguely like the ones selected...is when I dye them on one piece of cloth to create a sky...for a moon-set or a sunrise or sunset. "Sky-blue pink with a shot of ginger", my mother used to call that! :-)
My house built in 1987 had dusty pink countertops in the kitchen and that horrible blue in the bathroom - counter; toilet; tub and surround. Even the linoleum had that blue. Of course, I had to tone it down with my only choice in finishes, the carpet and put down a smokey grey. I remember being over run by "cutesy rabbit decorations" in those colors. By 2006 the walls were painted in more subtle colors, new flooring replaced those horrors, and the only 1980's left was that darn giant pale pink counter and the horrible bathroom counter/tub. At least new flooring helped tone it down and the pale pink turned to a "rosy beige" when paired with something a little earthier. HORRORS.....
Sorry, but I still love these colors. They are restful and peaceful to me. I have my home decorated in mostly blues ranging from light to dark. I don't think there is any mauve in it now, but in the past, I loved it. I like stronger colors now. I do wonder why they picked these colors though, I thought it would be more grayish.
blue of any shade is among my favorites; add a little 'dust' to a pink and it becomes acceptable... As for anyone / any company saying this is the color of the year (or in this case, colors), I use what I like, when I like, however I like.... Older fabrics will always have their place and yes, we do see the older colors / prints come back around - just like the length of hemlines, the height of waistlines - just please no more bell bottoms....
luckily, I too am not a trend follower (or setter for that matter). But these colors do absolutely nothing for me and I dread what the following year might look like if others follow.
Thank you for hte shout-out. This year's colors were such an odd choice, for so many reasons!
A bit to much on the pastel side for me to wear or quilt with. I like to use bright fabrics.
A bit to much on the pastel side for me to wear or quilt with. I like to use bright fabrics.
We've both come almost full circle. I co-owned a quilt shop in the 80's & 90"s and sold a TON of your patterns and had samples of those darlings. Little did I know I would be on the internet 20 something years later reading your blog and following you daily. I'm sure we must have crossed paths somewhere at market or shows.
I think they could have made a better choice. To me it is a tired color combination. I remember J C Penny's had boatloads of blue and mauve ruffled bedspreads and curtains, with yards of cluny lace on them. Hope we aren't going back to that!
Crazy talk I tell ya... my Mom had that cow pattern!! <3 I remember helping her cut out the many layers for the cow petticoat!! Thanks for the flashbacks and great memory of my Mom!! I believe it was 95 or 96!!
Still giggling. I guess it's impossible for them to pick a color that doesn't remind us of a previous era but these 2? Maybe Laura Ashley will make a comeback. Having said that I've noticed a shift in clothing to a lot of colors with a cool/gray undertone which I guess will continue. I'm also hoping we will start to see more purple in the fabric stores. For the past few years there was a definite shortage.
Yep, I figured someone musta flipped their lid when they picked those colors!! The only thing even close to appealing about those colors is the name Serenity as that is my ONLY granddaughter's name!! HAHA Maybe in another 20 years or so those colors will be popular again but not now!!
I think there is a millennial person working for Pantone that has baby fever! I know it hit me hard in the '80s! And yes, both my girls' rooms were decorated in those colors and my living room! I don't think I will be reliving it. I still love my lime green and magenta! Julie in MS.
Yup, this is definitely a blast from the past. But there is one place I like these colors together. In the sky blue pink of the sunset.
Don't worry. I have it on authority that 2017's colors, 3 of them, will be navy blue, forest green, and burgundy, and Pantone will suggest that we all decorate our home with a GEESE theme. Start searching the thrift stores now for items that fit this "upcoming" trend! If you find anything avocado, rust, or gold, better get it, too -- they'll be trending for 2018. 2019 - throw it all out, because that year's color is white. But the vision for 2020 is black. Then 2021 will be shades of gray, 50 of them. I just love it when someone tells me what colors to like in any given year, don't you?! I don't know what I'd do without Pantone to guide me!
And, what about those rag dolls made from a mop head? Yikes. Pantone is remiss in selecting this years color trend.
I have a flimsy from the 80's that was never quilted in those colors. It is going to our local prayers and squares. Don't like it enough to quilt it.
It is so funny to read all the comments, most of which I agree with~but one thing for sure, this company has accomplished what they intended, don't you think? They have everyone talking about their colors, etc, etc!! So we will laugh and talk about it, and then go right on using our scraps and leading our colorful life! Certainly "they" (who are "they", anyway?) won't have any influence on my life! Carol
Precisely! Thanks for the morning chuckle! I enjoyed it with my hazelnut coffee!
Precisely! Thanks for the morning chuckle! I enjoyed it with my hazelnut coffee!
Yes, those colors are still in my stash...and if you cut them small enough they're not so ugly :)
All I can say is, "Good Grief, Charlie Brown!!" Thanks, but no thanks!! LOL
Jeanne
Whoo hoo! I can now uncover that country blue and pink sofa that has been hiding in the basement! Then again, the sage slip cover looks just right.
Ugh! Not colors that I want to use. I well remember those colors from the 90's (and slightly before). They don't bring warm fuzzies to mind. Guess I'm not a trend follower (thank goodness). I DO like the colors you chose for the mystery quilt this year.
If these colors are to spread beyond fabric choices, imagine all the pink and light blue cars on the roads next year. Goodbye lime green and bright yellow.
I chose those colors for my bedroom when I was 8 years old- and didn't know any better. Then had to live with the pales until I moved away (repainted before I left).... Too blah for me- Maybe one of the two would have been fine but both.... together..... Well at least it is creating a lot of stir. And both the baby blue and the girlie pink could be used- if only in small portions- like salt and pepper - just a dab will do.
Tove Sondergaard at tsondergaard@cox.net
I love pink and I love blue, in a way going back to those colors in the '80's and '90's was a relief: anything was better than the avocado green, harvest gold, and orange of the '70's and early '80's. How I hated those colors. I however don't really follow the color trends picked by someone else, never have; the change of colors, though, makes it easier to find things that I do like. When it was green, gold and orange it was nearly impossible to find decent colors. nanny_of_phillip@yahoo.com
early Tupperware (R)! 2017 will feature soft yellow and mint green, and then: tada! we will have orange, brown and purple again!
don't laugh, 10 yrs ago we painted the living room teal, and yesteryear that happened to be the hottest in town....
just like the neighbourhoods i moved into, two or three years later they became the hotspots of amsterdam.
we just have to wait for the next whitewash =^}
love from witmarsum at night - friesland
irene
Wow, takes me back to the days when my MIL and I had a craft business. Almost everything we made was Mauve and Blue! Maybe it's time for me to quilt that top I made from my calico scraps! I still have a small bin of those scraps. Could it be their time has come again?
Whoever picked these two colors needs to get demoted make to the mail department. Not my cup-of-tea!
Definite thumbs down on the colors chosen. Thanks for the reminder to mix our deep stash with newer to give it new life. This is was a fun post and appreciate the links to what others think in the quilting world. Hugs, Allison in Plano, Texas USA
I like to see what color they come up with for the year--but I had the same reaction when I saw it announced. I'm not so much caring about the two-color year (did you see the coffee mug Pantone has for sale with them?), but the colors.... there are so many to choose from and this is what they come up with?? The diaper pins must have been a big part of their inspiration as it's a perfect match.
Laughing at this. The diaper pins are my favorite. Does anyone really pay any attention to the color of the year?
I, by far, prefer the blue and pink over Harvest Gold and Avocado Green from the early 1970s!
I'm not going back to these colors. No paint chips of them coming to my house. There is a few remnants of them in my stash. Cutting them up extra small. Laughing at all the uproar. It's TBT (Throwback Thursday). Great Throwback post today.
Lol, I made those cows in those fabrics, too! Cute post. :)
I think color trends are interesting, but don't follow them. If I like it, I like it, whether it is "In" or not. I don't dislike many colors, and find beauty in most, though greens are definitely my favorite. My prediction, next year will be back to what was called "seafoam" in the 90's and peach. Those colors followed the blue and rose closely, and were very prevalent in country decor. And yes, I still have plenty of all of them in my stash!
Everything old is new again!
Donna Williams
I follow Bonnie's rule of thumb. Cut small, mix in. It is all "good fabric" just not the star of the show. I have worked with fabric and colour all my life, to my own beat.
Enjoy the humour,
Elaine
Hamilton, Ontario
Canada
I personally will use them since I give away a lot of baby quilts and love 30's fabrics which I imagine would fit in quite nicely. I think they think that since retro 50's is/was quite popular this year, that this varying of colors would be a natural thing......but to do my house like I did in the 80's? No way!!! I like what I like!
So, the Serenity works well for those of us who are Carolina fans... I think I have some of the fabric from your Bear clothing in my stash - or at lease some very similar for a late 80s sorority project. It will be interesting to see what comes out in the coming year.
All I can say to your post is .... Ditto.
Had someone who worked in color trends talk to my sewing club once. Interesting how Europe's trending colors in furnishings & appliances are 1 - 3 years ahead of ours. Takes awhile for those colors to cross the pond and show up in our stores. So if you want to see what's coming, look at the ads in French or German magazines.
Yuck. My mom decorated her house in these colors in the early 80s and I'm not ready for them to return -- especially not together!
I have not heard of Pantone before, either. I must agree that the colours are WAY better than the avocado/harvest gold stage. May it never return. One note, however. My father-in-law passed away just 3 weeks ago. Whenever anyone would ask his favourite colour, he would always reply, "sky blue pink", with the occasional, "with purple polka dots". The day after he passed, my eldest son looked at the sunset and said, "Hey, look. It's Papa's colours!" very touching. For this reason, I will always like these colours together -- in small bits. Someone told us recently that the "sky blue pink" idea is British. Is that where this trend originates , perhaps?
Yikes! I saw the swatches and thought, "Oh, no -- not the 90's!"
Oh my....Oh my.....When I first saw these I thought......IT'S MAUVE!!!!! Flashback to early 90's, first full size quilt I made, yep, exactly these colors!!
I think Pantone wanted to change direction after last year's pick-Marsala-a brownish-reddish-winish color that also was questionable....LOL!
I may use them as neutrals, but not together!
Not my cup of tea!!! Not fond of pink at all
This is a 911 emergency Bonnie what are the direct opposites of those colors.
Oh no PINK and Blue! Those are only colors for babies. Not mature menopausal quilters.
This just can't be, I still haven't finished my 1993 sampler quilt from my first quilt class and I just realized why after 22 years it's pink and blue and cream background.
so washed out looking.
It is even worse when you look at the whole 2016, Pantone doesn't know quilting.
https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2016
well i do remember the diaper pins of course, there were yellow ducks too i think, but these colors don't stir my quilty mojo at all...
I'm with you, Donna Williams.....if this year is pink & blue, can peach & seafoam be far behind? Pantone needs to stick with the color business, and get out of the political statement business. But then, I don't much let anyone dictate which color gets my attention on any given day. It is all about what makes me happy at that moment. Juls in FL
Egad is right. In the mid 90's, we moved from the east coast to the west coast and settled into a lovely home. Except that the color scheme had me puzzled: blue carpet and subtle, but definitely, pink and cream striped floral wall paper. I remember thinking, "Who would decorate their living/dining/kitchen areas in Pink and Blue? It's so nursery." Frankly, on the east coast I had completely missed that unsophisticated duo earlier. We blended in our own furnishings and diluted the pink and blue and got accustomed to it.
Hopefully, the fabric folks won't jump on board with the nursery set.
ummm these were the colors of the 1950's. I so remember them in paint and appliances. I will not say what my parents referred to the colors as. It was not repeatable by small children or in this polite company. Everything old is new again.
Donna in very WET (up to my a$$) Scappoose, Oregon
Just not going to happen.
When once you go through a color trend or any other trend, remember Go Go boots, you don't want to go through it again, most of the time. That is like seeing things in the antique shop that you used to use as a kid and say "I used that, it isn't an antique"! That is the same feeling I get when I see these colors come and go and come back, yuck.lol I love all color really but who says you just have to like some certain color for each year, I use what I want when I want, and why tell us what to like and to use. I think the country colors came into their own at the time and then went out on their own, not by saying this is the color you have to like.
Donna, we are very wet too! Western Washington
I thought the same thing about Pantone's post. Being a grandmother and great grandmother I do have some of these colors in my stash, still not crazy about them.
Myra Salto
Myrasal@aol.com
Bonnie, I made the Melissa bunny years ago in green! LOL That's my fave and my friend's favorite, too. She wanted the bunny to sit in a mini rocking chair .... I wonder whatever happened to that bunny? LOL
Oh my. I had several of those patterns back in my craft show days. I collected way more patterns than I ever made and have since gotten rid of all that type of pattern in favor of quilting. I didn't know you then, but obviously I've been a Bonnie Hunter follower longer than I knew.
Of all the possible color combination, this pairing is absolutely the worst. It is the one combination i absolutely cannot stand.
I,m not thrilled by the colors either.
I have the serenity on my hallway and stairs. But it was chosen from a colour chart as a "light grey"!!! Turned out baby blue! I'm used to it now but it is not something I would have chosen as a definite. These colours are not what I would choose to buy, they are flat and rather boring.
Linda
I could help but thinking of these two paintings today after you posted the colors.
http://bethsmomtoo.blogspot.com/2011/04/pinkie-blue-boy-behind-story.html
ok, the second I saw this it seemed to me they were influenced by the fact that Princess Catherine and Prince William are expecting twins...a girl and a boy !
How boring. These colors will never make into my stash
Everything old becomes new again. Not for me, however.
swiftriverquilts@gmail.com
nancyb
my children are in their 40s and these two colors were the only game in town. they didn't present us with new colors but just changed the names. does anyone else see this? even if i was making a baby quilt i wouldn't use these colors! who's responsible for this anyway?
The colors are selected through a year long process and is based on industry trends and predictions. There is another group called the Color Marketing Group that is made up of industry professionals from across the spectrum; car dealers, electronics, interior design, paint manufacturers, etc. http://www.colormarketing.org/
You can sign up to receive their newsletter but know that color selection is a process across the world. Fashion colors have long influences colors selected in interior design. What you are seeing in the stores in fashion will follow in the home. That being said, you may start seeing blue and pink but whether the consumer buys into it is another story. With grey being so popular in the last few years, it stands to reason that blue and pink would follow with it. A few years back, Emerald was the color of the year but I don't recall a widespread use of it.. Turquoise was also a color and aqua/turquoise has been a hot trend for several years. White with pops of color were the trend but I think it difficult to imagine pink and blue with pops of color.
well, it's all BEEN said!!! I'm not a pastel kind of person, when you check my stash, there's very little in the light colors, as a matter of fact, nowadays about the only fabric i do have to buy are to fill in a light to pop the color and right now, i'm loving all the bright batiks paired with white!!! This may be their idea of what's "in"... but I'm not thinking I'm buying it!!!
They are ok for a baby quilt but I prefer bright colors.
Who decide this any way?
I also hate those mile high shoes some wear. I would break my neck in them and are not very good for the feet.
Let the men who design them wear them. .
I used to use more conservative colors but now I like brights the most.
Oh my goodness, I am going to be in H E double toothpicks. I was the last time these were the colors and when I was a kid in the 50's. My bedroom was so pink and blue. When my mother redecorated in the early to mid 60's, we got to choose new carpet, paint, and wallpaper for over the walnut wainscoting. My colors were ivory and jewel tones for the wallpaper and ivory for the paint and carpet.
Those colors should stay away. But I think those patterns should come back! Maybe with new clothes! I am seeing a lot more styles from the 80's and 90's showing up, including the peach and green. But then I didn't like the fabrics from the 70's either! Am I going to say that about the milleniums? I didn't start quilting till 2000, so I am safe from having any in my stash. And I dislike pink anyway. Could be some interesting trends to watch for! My girlfriend is building a new house. I am curious to she what the wall colors will be...
Ha what's old is new again, except I still have some old in my stash so won't be buying it again!
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