SATURDAY IN THE GARDEN

I love spring. Every day there is something new in my garden,Yulan Magnolia

Ornamental quince

'Tete A Tete' Daffodils & Pansies

'Tapestry' Pansy

White Peach Blossom

Rosemary

A Flicker

Forsythia

Hyacinth 'Pink Pearl'

Greigii Tulip'Quebec'

Grape Hyacinth

Purple Asparagus

Bloodroot

Virginia Bluebells & Grape Hyacinth

'Barrett Browning' Daffodils

Creeping phlox, yellow 'Tete A Tete' Daffodils & 'Barrett Browning' Daffodils

Hopefully, this will be the first in a series of photographic Saturday garden updates.

*** BLOG DU JOUR ***
For visual delights of a different sort, visit Samantha's Plump Pudding.

LA QUICKIE

I’m back… and, you didn’t even know I left!I would have mentioned my trip, but I had to keep it a secret so my son Fred wouldn’t read about it.
We decided to fly out to Los Angeles on Friday and surprise our new graduate. Fred's girlfriend Jessica was our accomplice in the surprise. She phoned/e-mailed his best friends and asked them to be at Versaille, a popular Cuban restaurant in Venice, at 7:30 PM.

Jessica picked up Fred after work and told him that she and his roommate Jono were taking him out to dinner to celebrate his surviving his first week on the job.
When the trio walked in and Fred saw all of us sitting around a table, he was really surprised… especially to see us.(Jessica and Fred are on the left)
Although it felt quite chic to fly cross-country for dinner, we stayed the weekend.
On Saturday, we spent time strolling along the water in Playa del Rey, visiting Venice, and lunching at Metro Diner in Culver City. This hip eatery is located in a motel but the food is fresh and healthy and clientele trendy, not transient.We headed to Santa Monica for dinner at Father's Office, a local pub famous for burgers on bagettes and sweet potato fries. Oddball beers on tap were good, too.


The evening ended with a stop in Westwood for tea and juice at Cafe Elysee, just down the block from the historic Fox Theatre.

On Sunday, we started the day at the newly re-opened Getty Villa and its treasurehouse of antiquities (outdoor statuary are repro.)

We also drove up the Pacific Coast Highway to admire the natural beauty and man-made oddities.
and stopped for lunch at Malibu Seafood. We munched on fish tacos, grilled tuna, and assorted fried fish, shrimp and oysters on a lively outdoor patio with a water view.
The weather was perfect. According to locals, it was the best day in LA so far this spring.
It was even warm enough to go to the beach!
Sunday night, we took the red eye back east and arrived home at 5 AM this morning. Ouch!

I took LOTS of great photos and I promise to share some. More to follow this weekend when I get back from yet another a trip. And, then, it's back to the wonderful world of textiles.

*** BLOG DU JOUR ***
Take a trip to France at La Vie Au Soleil. Cat lovers will adore Sunday's post. Not a cat fancier? I promise you will be swept away by the artful photography of nature, interiors and the French penchant for everything beautiful. No translations necessary! If this link refuses to work, and it sometimes does, type Lavieausoleil.canalblog.com into your search engine. It's worth the extra effort.

FLOWER GIRLS

It’s confession time. I have a soft spot in my heart for textile designers. Some of you who are familiar with my work might have wondered why over the years I have featured so many fabric folks, fabric collectors, and pattern profiles in my magazines and blog.

Now, it’s time to let you in on my secret. Before accidentally becoming an editor and writer, I had intended to make textiles my career. I was studying weaving and textile design at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, when one fateful day in April, I was “discovered” by a magazine editor.

She found me at crafts fair; bought lots of my creations; and did a feature on me in her magazine. Several months later, when I showed up at her office to collect a check, she offered me a summer job. The rest, as they say, is history.
(I would have shared more old photos, but my scanner is still out of order.)Anyhow, all of the above is an introduction to my blog series on textile designers.

Today, I’d like you to meet Jennifer Paganelli, alias Sis Boom.

All of the patterns featured today are her designs. Aren’t they gorgeous?
Jennifer resides in Connecticut with her husband and two children and has had her work featured in various decorating and crafting magazines. Her fabrics also occasionally turn up in unexpected publications.According to Jennifer’s blog, her company’s name, Sis Boom, is the childhood nickname given to her by her twin brother.
Jennifer’s fabrics are hard to categorize. Romantic? Vintage? Whimsical? Perhaps her unique vision comes from spending her youth in the Great Lakes region, her adolescence in the Caribbean, her college years in New England, and her early career days in New York City.
In addition to selling her fabrics on her company’s web site, Jennifer designs exclusive collections for Free Spirit Fabrics, an amazing resource for unique textiles.
On Free Spirit’s designer page, Jennifer is quoted as saying, “My designs are rooted in the things I handled as a child.” She goes on to say that she also uses tag sales, flea markets and European sources as a starting point to create her art. You can read more about what inspires Jennifer in an interview by Kari Ramstrom (aka Artsymama) at Just Be Connected.

IN THE SPIRIT OF MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS: And now for something completely different... My First Backyard Bouquet of 2008

MYSTERY PROJECT UPDATE: We're making progress. Draft 2 of the Introduction is handed in.

I also handed in Draft 2 of the first chapter (of eleven) for Part 2 of the book. I sent it to the editor on Monday. Late Wednesday afternoon, she came back with some suggestions, "It’s too long and it’s too focused on XXXX in the beginning, but the ending is great. It just needs a little cutting and refocusing."

I re-edited the text and sent it back this morning. It's been approved and I quote,"Well, that was quick. The revised text is perfect! Love it!"

One down... ten to go.

SPRING FLING

In the same way that flowers are my garden’s spring fling, my home is ready to bloom. After a winter wrapped in solid down comforters and cashmere throws, fun floral patterns feel right.

This morning, I picked up a book, a biography about flamboyant Australian designer Florence Broadhurst, which I had finished reading weeks ago, to look at the illustrations of her ultra-modern florals.
Filled with gorgeous full-page reproductions of Broadhurst’s graphic silk-screened fabrics and wallpaper designs, the book by Helen O’Neill is a work of art, too.

Today, many of Broadhurst’s iconic designs are available again from Signature Prints...
thanks to New Zealand native David Lennie, who purchased the original silk-print screens, ten years after Broadhurst's mysterious murder in 1977.

Photos courtesy of Signature Prints

Lennie archived Broadhurst's unique legacy, and, in partnership with his wife Helen, began marketing Broadhurst's fabric and wallcovering designs.

I continued my “flower picking” mission by visiting Joel Dewberry’s Eclectic Modern website. His quilt and home décor textiles have a fresh exciting look. Their color palettes inspired by history and a global sensibility are outstanding. Dewberry's current collection includes Aviary, Manzanita, Chestnut Hill and the brand new Ginseng line. Each and every print is inspiring.

Photo courtesy of Joel Dewberry

Next, I checked out Thibaut Wallcoverings’s just-released Chelsea collection.
The patterns are reminiscent of a tour through England’s famous Chelsea Garden Show and equally thrilling.
I'm going to continue my virtual bouquet of designs, so be sure to check back soon.

RED LETTER DAY: Today is my son Fred's last day of class at UCLA. He's graduating a semester early. Never one to waste time, he starts work as a web developer tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM. He'll be working at an LA design firm.

*** BLOG DU JOUR ***
Looking for a blast of spring? Follow the housemartin. This always-inspiring blog by Pam Zsori’s features great home décor and garden inspirations.
Pam, a Portland, Oregon Renaissance woman and floral designer, is in the process of opening an organically inspired shop called Ink & Peat. Get a sneak preview at www.inkandpeat.com

Catching Up

Do you ever wondered where time goes? I do, especially lately. How did it get to be Friday?

My house is starting to feel normal again and I'm excited about several new additions.

The new couch arrived…
… as did an oversized chair with a coffee table-sized ottoman.
Penny Carlson sent me a gorgeous house re-warming present.
Did you know Penny adds a butterfly to each piece? Her signature touch has a meaning behind it. Her mother loved butterflies.To honor her memory, she adds a china butterflies with her initials on it to each piece.
Everyday, more of the old, and in some cases antique, pieces are back in place, too. The fretwork I found years ago at a New York City stoop sale once again spans the doorway between the bedroom and the sitting area/library.
My watercolors are back on the staircase wall.
The freshly washed and starched crocheted edgings (thanks Ruth!)...
are once again in place on the kitchen cabinet shelves.
Even the tiny Goebels woodchuck has found his way back on top of a book cabinet in my office.Unfortunately, I still can’t find the right cord for my scanner, my favorite cutting board, and about two-dozen other can’t-live-without essentials I am learning to live without!

MYSTERY PROJECT UPDATE: Good News! The second draft of Part 1 is done and was handed in earlier this week. The new editor will be out of town all next week and had promised to send me her comments on it before she leaves.

Last night, an e-mail arrived that made my day:
“I read the Part 1 manuscript and I like it! First, this tone is great. I think the organization is working. I love the sidebars. Kudos to you—this is looking great!"

What’s Next? The second draft of the introduction, then it’s on to revising Part 2. I wrote the text based on photos editor #1 chose. The new editor changed most of the photos, so substantial rewriting is required.

SHARING THE LOVE: I'm also excited to say (belatedly) I was one of the four winners of Adla's Vintage Delights' One World, One Heart giveaway. Isn't the purse notepad great? Knitters should be sure not to miss her February 26th post. There are photos of two tiny miniature chicks that are positively irresistible.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST: I'd like to thank Brook at The Home That Love Built for the Sweet As Sugar award and Sioban of Vintage Mosaic Boutique for the You Make My Day award. Thanks ladies, much appreciated!

And, to everyone who has left me a comment in the last few weeks, I promise I will get back to you soon.

*** BLOG DU JOUR ***
I’ve been meaning to share Poppy Lane with all of you who haven’t visited this delightful Tasmanian blog. Scroll down and enjoy Kali’s photos of everything from vintage china and fabrics to flowers and fauna (I love the brushtail possum pix!).