In short, I do not worry about the colors in a scrappy quilt when I do not know who the recipient is going to be. I find that often in the process or after the quilt is finished a special individual will come into my life that really needs the comfort of a quilt and mine is perfect for the occasion.

I seldom make a scrappy that is all pink or all pastels or all darks. My choice is just through those colors together as they will and enjoy the result. But we each have our own style even in scrappy.

I've made a few quilts with guys in mind as I have hunters/fishermen in my family so have a lot of that in my stash. I'm into downsizing my stash now and using those colors - mostly fallish colors - browns, greens, etc. Guys like attention getting colors - but definitely no pinks, lavenders. Have fun creating!

I throw caution to the wind and use it all.

When my son was born my mother gave me a pink blanket that had been mine when I was a baby. It was just a standard baby blanket with a silky binding. I liked the way the blanket folded and used a it a few times with DS. Next thing I knew it was being used a lot. DS got very attached to "pink blanket". He carried it to day care until he was about 4 or 5. By then the binding had been replaced and the blanket was no longer square. He is now a manly 23-year old man and has no problem telling people about his pink blanket.

The main reason he gave it up was my mother crocheted him an afghan using the ripple pattern and bright rainbow colors. He still uses that blanket :)

It's actually really arbitrary that pink is for girls and blue is for boys. It used to be just the opposite tradition! Red is usually considered a powerful/masculine color, and pink is just light red. Then somehow it became a girly color. (Probably some marketing scheme) There's nothing intrinsically gender-specific about ANY color, so I'm not surprised lots of guys like pink. It seems like more and more men are wearing pink - I see plenty of pink ties and even pink shirts on the men here at work. Purple seems to be making a comeback in men's office wear too, which makes my DH happy as that's his favorite color. :)

Thank you to everyone who has posted their ideas here. I have picked up some new thoughts and tips for scrappy. I usually am "controlled" and trying to move toward "scrappy."

When I get ready to sort my scraps I sort into three piles manly, womanly, and child-like. I do not put to much thought into the sorting. No one has complained about the scrappy quilts that they have been given :)

I'm with Sewnoma. I think the pink vs. blue thing is way out of hand, and I expect it is some marketing ploy. Girls wear blue and boys can wear pink.

All the quilts I have made for the men in my family have been from Kansas Troubles with muslin back ground or Civil War Repro prints/colors. Besides the oohs and aahs the only comment that stands out came from a SIL , she said "I love it! It won't look like a pile of laundry on the couch or floor, it goes with our colors." The quilt was a Sticks and Stones pattern in Kansas Troubles and muslin.

Anything goes in my scrap quilts. Guys like flowers too! The quilt in my avatar has over 200 fabrics.
Sharon