Wednesday, January 5, 2011

GWV - Green White Violet

I fully intended this shibori piece to be GWV - green wine violet - but somehow the wine is missing. The suffragettes would approve - not only were many suffragettes closely aligned with the temperance movement but, as I'm often reminded by the BBC program The Antiques Roadshow, the Women's Social and Political Union adopted the colour scheme of purple, white and green: purple symbolising dignity, white for purity, and green for hope. These colours were also often used in jewellery in the late 19th century.   It is a popular myth that the colours were green, white and violet, in order to spell GWV as an acronym for 'Give Women Votes'* but I still like the fresh colour combination.

*See Suffragette Jewelry, Or Is It? Dispelling Myths and Ms-conceptions.

7 comments:

Diane Perin said...

This is gorgeous fabric, Brenda, and of course it makes me think you could do several wonderful quilts on the subject of the absence of wine!

Kristin L said...

Will we be seeing a Suffragette quilt anyone? Helen?

Gerrie said...

It is fresh and lovely.

JB said...

I thought this was Helen's comment until I looked at the bottom of the post!

Annie said...

Thanks for that information re this always fresh and complimentary colour combination. I have today learnt at least one thing -which is what my grandmother, a very victorian lady who lived through the suffragette era here in Australia and a great advocate for women’s rights and individuality, told me. “A day spent idly and without learning at least one new thing is a day wasted.
Keep stitching
Cheers
Annie

Carol said...

to me it reminds me of a metal fence with wisteria growing on it...........beautiful!

Lynn Cohen said...

Do I see a woman, a suffragette perhaps, along the right hand column or is it my brain after wine from then next piece above it?

Nicely dyed.