Congratulations! It's a Blue!

Pantone just released their Color of the Year for 2020 and to no one's great surprise, it was a shade of blue. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! 


Whether it will be referred to as indigo or deep water or Ceylon sapphire, Classic Blue, Pantone 1904052, is a medium dark blue. 

Pantone's Laurie Pressman gave the world the spiel on the 2020 choice.  “It’s a reassuring blue, full of calm and confidence. It builds connection.” She used adjectives like constancy, trustworthiness, and dependability "...traits that are valued in the fast-paced, high-stress situations of the current world." 

Another quote from Pantone: "We are living in a time that requires trust and faith. It is this kind of constancy and confidence that is expressed by PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue.” 

Wait, did Pantone just comment on our rocky political climate? As in, "Stay the course, stay calm everybody-" Maybe. There will always be someone who twigs to the fact that a 'blue state' is a state that's voted Democratic on the election day map but don't read too much into that. 

I've noticed that Pantone's description of their yearly shade has improved and while still voluble, it's not as strange and woowoo as in former years. 

Radiant Orchid, 2014's color, needed a lot of selling, as in "Radiant Orchid blooms with confidence and magical warmth that intrigues the eye and sparks the imagination. It is an expressive, creative and embracing purple—one that draws you in with its beguiling charm." Geezlueez--any color that requires that much verbal massaging has got a problem.

But I'm a true blue fan and it's primarily the reason years ago that Rod and I began collecting Japanese prints. Here's one that hangs on the wall of our living room right now. 

Our cat Memo (she's usually white) peering at us from the bathroom as she waits for one of us to turn on the tap.

A sashiko-stitched art piece I made.

Balls of perle cotton thread piled on a dish at the studio.

My favorite jeans jacket from the back. Notice I am now proud to claim the snail as my spirit animal. 

A masterpiece wholecloth quilt from the Jen Jones museum in Wales UK (swoon)




And my alltime favorite blue picture---- an indigo dyer's hands. From Cambodia. 

With all these wonderful blue images, I'm feeling calmer already. 




Good job, Pantone.