Monday 20 April 2015

2015 Pantone Challenge - Marsala - what even is that?

When Pantone announced that their colour for 2015 was Marsala, I was very surprised.  I looked at pictures of Marsala, but I couldn't even really describe the colour - was it brown? dark red? burgundy? what was it?




















I now know that part of the problem was that I didn't know Marsala was a type of wine! I'd never heard of it. We make a lot of wine in New Zealand, but we can't make Marsala because it's a name that can only used for wine that comes from near the village Marsala, in Italy. I guess our wineshops and supermarkets don't feel the need to import Marsala when we have other alternatives grown locally.  Once I realised that Marsala was a type of wine (and not a type of curry known as Masala), the challenge became slightly easier.




Adrienne from On The Windy Side had said that the judges would be quite lenient on the colours used in the challenge, so I picked out a few of the deep red (wine coloured) fabrics that I had on hand. I'd seen some colour charts on another site where they combined lime green with Marsala, and I that idea appealed to me. So I put some lime green in with my Marsala fabrics, and started to play around with them.



I decided to make a cushion out of my Marsala fabrics.  I added some hand stitching to the giant Gerbers on the beautiful Jane Sassaman fabric in the centre panel, and outlined the green leaves with Perle 8 too. I then did some rows of machine quilting across the cushion top.  The back is just a piece of brown fabric I had in my stash, but there is a zip so it can be washed if necessary.

So now I have a nice Marsla cushion which can be used indoors or out.



I loved the Pantone colour of the year in 2014 - Radiant Orchid, and really enjoyed making a lap quilt for that challenge. You can read about that quilt here. I wonder what colour they will come up with next year!


11 comments:

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

I like your choice of pairing Marsala colors with lime green - it really pops and looks great together. I found the hardest part of the challenge getting fabrics, but once the choices were made it was much easier to work with than I had thought.

magistra said...

Very nice! I love what you did with the challenge. This color really has made all of us stretch a bit, hasn't it? But I love to see how each of you as participants have risen to the occasion. The lime green is perfect paired with this and to me it's funny that I don't care for either color individually. Together in your pillow, however, they sing!

Oops-Lah said...

To me Marsala evokes a feeling of warm spices and the Orient. I think you did a pretty good job of capturing that feeling. I too like the surprise of the lime green. Very nice.

Wendy said...

Great choice to put the lime green with the Marsala, it really lightens it up. I love that gerbera fabric and I love hand embroidery on printed fabric, very nicely done Wendy!

legato1958 said...

Your Pillow is really gorgeous! I love the fabrics you used!
Susie

Sue C said...

I love your interpretation of Marsala. Those deep wine colours are just beautiful and coordinate perfectly with the lime green.
all of those naysayers about the Marsala might just change their mind after seeing this!! Perfection.

JanineMarie said...

I think you did a great job of brightening up what could be a drab color. I do like some versions of Marsala--but like you first wondered-- sometimes it can look brown. And here's a little tidbit for you. Pantone has just added a new color to it's line-up: Minion yellow. Amazing when a movie influences color technology.

sherry said...

beauty!!!!!

Granny Maud's Girl said...

I think the green really lifts the wine colour.
I will have to ask you about quilting with perle 8. I have a quilt and the thread, but I am a bit sketchy on the how to.

Anne said...

That shock of green is lovely with those wine-colored fabrics! I think my favorite part is the hand-stitching though, it's so lovely!

Kim said...

Those colors are so pretty. I love the green strips in between. Its a beautiful pillow.