Thinking Pink

Kimber had a question about the date on a quilt she owns, a green and pink quilt with just two pieces of fabric, not too much help. The pink is a double pink, shades of pink figures on a white background, the classic pink print we see throughout the 19th century and into the twentieth. Because October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and there is a plethora of pink around I thought I'd blog about her question.

 

Here's double pinks in a similar quilt. (It can tend towards orange or purple.) The pink is hard to date---1830-1930?

I have a rule of observation, the more pink in the quilt the closer to 1900, but that's a pretty iffy clue.

We often see pink right next to green with no neutrals (or is pink the neutral?)

This color relationship was popular in Pennsylvania after 1880  or so.

But the solid green in Kimber's quilt was so much like the cloudy gray green, Nile green, that we see after 1925 or so. Could her quilt be that late? Would somebody use a double pink print with a Nile green after 1920?

1929

I looked through my picture file of date-inscribed quilts and found lots of pinks.

 

Date-inscribed 1925

But the pinks were mostly solids rather than double pinks.

1922

Once quilters could get a solid pink that didn't fade they loved it.

 

Here's a Drunkard's Path variation dated 1923 that uses a double pink print.

 

 

And a pinwheel dated 1931 with a

double pink print and a plain pink border.

 

 

This friendship quilt is dated 1929. The pink is hard to see in the photo but probably a solid---very much like Kimber's two-color quilt in the use of Nile green, plus pink and no neutral.

I think we can say that quilters in the 1920s or 1930s might have combined a double pink print with a Nile green.

 

So now that I am thinking pink I am considering my virtual booth for Quilt Market which starts on Friday October 26. Even though I don't do an actual booth I always like to do a virtual booth.

Is pink the theme?

We could wear pink outfits.

Serve pink snacks.

How about pink quilts and pink balloons----

 

Good Heavens that doesn't work!

 

I WON'T be having a booth but if you are at Quilt Market come to my Schoolhouse Presentations. I am doing three to show shop owners how to market my two 2012 books and BlockBase.

 

 

 

Here's my schedule for Friday October 26th:

 

10:20 - 10:35: Room 362D. The Garden Quilt: Interpeting a Masterpiece for Star Books.

1:55 – 2:10: Room 362B 10 Ways to Help You Sell BlockBase for Electric Quilt.

3:10--3:40: Room 371E Civil War Sampler for C&T Books.