Knitch Magazine

This tips of the flower attract hummingbirds.It’s bold. It’s energizing. It’s alive. And stimulating.

And yet, it’s calmly comforting.

Designers and doctors agree that if there’s one single color that symbolizes caring and compassion, that color has got to be pink. Pink dilutes the intense passion of red, replacing the pulsing desire of sexuality with the more peaceful and positive energy of love.

Pantone’s 2011 Color of the Year, Honeysuckle pink, is the perfect color to elevate spirits and inspire us to overcome our challenges. It’s a deeply gorgeous shade that exudes nurturing tenderness as it fulfills our desire for insight, intuition and strength.

Why Honeysuckle? The color experts at Pantone tell us that it’s the pink highlight of the honeysuckle’s petals, and not the fragrance, that attracts the hummingbird to the flower.

Pantone's Color of the Year, Honeysuckle.How interesting it is that all of us sharing this earth – humans and creatures alike – are attracted to the same beautiful expressions of nature. Bees, hummingbirds and humans each appreciate the colors of the blossom, and are affected by the power of its beauty. This is connection, continuity and commonality has inspired scientists, philosophers and theologians to explain our perceptions and impulses.

In the psychology of color, pink represents hope. Physiologically, it stimulates adrenalin to help raise our spirits. Its effect on our psyche is tranquillizing. This is why drunk tanks and prisons often are painted pink – to help suppress the hostility and aggression of its inhabitants. Clever sports teams have been known to paint their visiting teams’ locker room pink to sap their energy and make them more passive on the field.

Natalie Redding of Namaste with her new Honeysuckle Long Locks yarn.What the world needs now

Sweetness. Kindness. Understanding. When the world is in turmoil and we anguish over what the future might hold, every single one of us would benefit from a break from the stress. Who among us doesn’t desire to abandon fear and exhaustion to believe “everything’s rosy” and that soon we’ll all feel “in the pink.”

With this new shade for fashion, these are no longer out-moded clichés but stylish statements of courage, comfort, vitality and vigor.