In the Pink Quilt

I finally finished the pink quilt.

Oh yes, it's pink. Pink like strawberry ice cream, pink lemonade, and Canada mints. Sweetheart roses. Carnations. Little girl pink. The nose of a white bunny. Cotton candy. Guavas. The inside of a conch shell. Peppermint salt water taffy. Maybe, just maybe a splash of rhubarb and prickly pear margarita to tone it down a little.

The back is pieced with extra blocks and some solid pink fabric.

If you've known me for any length of time, you're probably scratching your head and asking, "Pink, Tree? Really?" I'm not a pink person. Oh sure, there was a time when I was very young that I liked the color pink. I remember thinking that the 1950s bathroom in our old house with the Pepto-Bismol colored pink tub, sink, and toilet was the height of fashion and couldn't understand why my parents were so eager to replace them with plebeian white fixtures. And my great-grandmother, Granny Riddle, let me pick out one of her quilts and I wanted the one with the pink sashing, no matter how much my mother tried to get me to pick one that wasn't so pink. But no, I don't typically choose the color pink now. Blues and greens are more my style.

So how did I wind up making a pink quilt? Well, much of my fabric comes from used clothing and the fashion industry does use a lot of pink. One pink and yellow striped cotton shirt caught my eye and then suddenly I realized how easy it would be to match the fabric with other shirts, skirts, and dresses with the color pink in them. I bought some solid pink Kona cotton (I think the color is called carnation, appropriately enough) to use for backing and the binding, but the rest of the fabric is from clothing I picked up at garage sales and thrift stores. One piece of fabric with pink daisies on a white background is from an outfit Ally wore when she was about a year old. The fabric with the vaguely Asian cherry blossom motif with chocolate brown accents is from a hideous cotton muumuu, but the fabric itself was pretty.

The 4.5 inch blocks are a mix of solid squares and squares with a triangle of a different fabric on one of the corners. The triangles are a mix of sizes, some small and others fairly large. I deliberately mixed the floral patterns with graphic stripes and plaids for variety. I also chose to stick with a pink, red, yellow, orange, white and brown color scheme, rejecting some potential fabric choices based on the amount and tone of blues and greens mixed in with the pink. I didn't realize it at the time, but now that the quilt is done I can see how my fabric choices give the quilt a softer, more faded look. Instant cottage charm.

I must mention that after I cut out the fabric for this quilt, I had to take a break from all the pink. I cut and finished my Calaveras de azúcar quilt before I could return to this one. And while I was tempted to give this one a name based on candy or a flower, I think it just wants to be known as "In the Pink."

Finally, my all time favorite quotes about the color pink are from the 1989 movie Steel Magnolias.

Truvy: What are your colors, Shelby?
Shelby: My colors are "blush" and "bashful."

M’Lynn: Her colors are "pink" and pink."

Shelby: Pink is my signature color.

M’Lynn: That sanctuary looks like it’s been hosed down with Pepto-Bismol.