What color says valentine to you? Is it the traditional red? Or formal black and white? Could it be hip yellow? Or a sultry blue? At Road to California, we would have to say pink, as in the Pink! Exhibit. 
Curated by Cindy Rennels of Cindy’s Antique Quilts, the Pink! Exhibit featured 16 antique quilts in various hues and patterns of pink from Cindy’s own collection. The quilts were dated from the 1880’s to the 1940’s. A couple of years ago, Cindy had seen The December National Rodeo Finals from Las Vegas. What impressed Cindy was seeing all the “macho cowboy riders” wearing pink in commemoration of breast cancer awareness. Their theme, “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” inspired Cindy to come up with a pink and white quilt page on her web site. 
Last fall, Carolyn approached Cindy to create an exhibit featuring only pink quilts just for Road. Cindy wanted the exhibit to reflect more than just a color. She wanted the feel of pink . She researched the different definitions that described pink and came up with passion, love, femininity, practical, and pretty. She also found out some cool pink facts. Did you know that in the early 1900’s, pink was the color for boys, not the blue that we associate with them today? Apparently, pink was considered the stronger color of the two. I wonder when it changed? And were you aware that it was Mamie Eisenhower who brought pink to the White House, using it as a theme in one of the bedrooms? 
While pink isn’t exactly a predominant color used in quilts today, Cindy noted that several conference goers remarked to her that seeing the exhibit inspired them to want to use it in their next quilt projects. It was fun for Cindy to see all the pink quilts put together in one group with their various patterns and designs. She was glad these quilts were exhibited, shown, and enjoyed by others.
How do you feel about pink?
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