ENDLESS SUMMER

Fantasize about summer, and beach or boating excursions, backyard barbecues or fireworks probably show up somewhere in your reveries.

(Nautical flags from Wallies)

As you might have guessed from my recent posts, my summer fantasies include cherry pies and watermelon Sno Cones. But, I also dream about coral reefs and sand sprinkled starfish.

(Coral Gables by Thibaut)

(Starfish from York's cabana collection)

Since cherry season is all too short and eventually the weather turns too cool for icy treats, decorating in summerhouse style is a great way to turn summer's carefree mood into an endless vacation vibe.

(Happy Whales by Blonder Home Accents)

Whether your daydream is to swim with whales, beachcomb for shells or wear flip flops 365 days a year, I've gathered some season-stretching patterns and prints that can make your home feel as if you live where it's always an endless summer.

(Border by Blonder Home Accents)

Want to create the illusion of a beach cabana in your living room? Check out York's Cabana Collection for suitable wall patterns and borders.

Prefer shells? Here are a few 'shore' bets:

(Thibaut's Monterey pattern can be coordinated with matching fabric.)


(You can choose from a dozen different shell motifs by Blonder.)

(What size, shape or species of bi-valve do you favor? Claire Murray has the perfect rug)

If you prefer nautical gear, lighthouses, boats, or a beach bag of coastal motifs, Blonder has them all --in wall patterns and border prints.(Blonder Home Accents)

(Blonder Home Accents)

If you want something bright as the summer sun, two of my favorites are this Hawaiian shirt wall pattern and parrot/surfboard border from York Wallcoverings and...

a sprightly beach umbrella pattern from Thibaut.

*** BLOG DU JOUR ***

Yes, the Blog Du Jour is back. And, if you love the beach, you're going to love this one. David McRee spent the last 10 years exploring, photographing, and reviewing as many beaches in Florida as he can. Go to Best Florida Beaches and dive right in!

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

THE SOFTER SIDE

Today, it’s time to stretch the definition of mosaics.
In my mind, using bits and pieces of paper, fabrics, and trims to create works of art firmly anchors quilting and scrapbooking in the mosaic making tradition.

Lisa Tutman-Oglesby is one of the “soft” mosaic artists I admire. She started her blog about the same time that I started mine. Although we’ve never met, I feel as if I know her.
According to Lisa, she’s a true crafter at heart. She loves just about everything, including card making, quilting, rubber stamping, stenciling and even dollmaking.You can find instructions for making the thread board (above) in Lisa’s October 18, 2007 post entitled "Never Bored with a Board of Thread". It's a really easy project to make-FYI.

Lisa was selected as one of Memory Makers magazine’s 2007 scrapbook Masters. Throughout the year, her works were prominently featured in the magazine. You can see a few of them on the magazine’s website.When it comes to making album pages, Lisa says her inspirations often come from the pictures she works with.“I choose the paper and embellishments to match whatever colors are in the picture. I also see potential scrapbook layout designs in just about everything, including billboards, road signs and magazines. Once you become a die-hard scrapper there's inspiration in just about everything,” Lisa notes.
In regard to her love of quilting, Lisa says, “My twin sister often wonders about my fascination with cutting up lots of fabric into tiny pieces and then sewing it back together. Of course, true quilters at heart understand that's precisely the fun of it. I love strolling through quilt shops searching for beautiful colors and creating my own mosaics out of the colorful fabric that I find. I have a huge stash of fabric just waiting to be put to good use when I find the time and perfect pattern.”Lisa told me that a saleslady in one of her favorite quilt shops once warned her (as she was walking out the door with a bag full of fabric) to keep her hands on the wheel and off the fabric until she got home.

“I thought that was so funny--and quite astute,” Lisa says.
Luckily, Lisa heeded her advice!


*** BLOG DU JOUR ***

She’s back! The Desperate Diva has returned with new adventures and a new addition to the family! Visit Diane’s blog and meet little Pearl. She’s precious.

PRAY FOR PEACE

No, you haven’t arrived at the wrong blog. Today’s topic is still Mosaics, but it was impossible not to make note of a world in turmoil.

Just in case you haven’t heard, Benazir Bhutto, former Pakistani Prime Minister and a candidate in her country’s next election, was murdered today.

The first woman to head the government of an Islamic country, she has championed democracy and moderation in an area of the world where both are often in short supply.

Pray for peace.

And now we continue with our regularly scheduled program…

STOP AND SMELL – THE ROSES
In my opinion, the urge to create mosaics is truly universal. Siobhan, an Australian artist, proves my point.
This Melbourne resident makes mosaics with a passion … a passion for roses.

Her romantic creations all feature pretty pink roses as depicted on English, Bavarian, Austrian, and French Limoges china.

Siobhan loves to shop for vintage goods and pretty bone china.

Some of her old world finds she sells online, others she uses in her mosaics for tables, lazy Susans, birdhouses, photo frames, or jewelry boxes.
You can join Siobhan on her shopping missions on her blog Vintage Mosaic Boutique:
Her most recent venture is THE ROSE TRELLIS. Similar in concept to America’s MAKE MINE PINK boutiques, this online directory is a central hub catering to Australian (as well as worldwide) romantics’ shabby chic needs.

*** BLOG DU JOUR ***

How could you resist a blog written by a woman who introduces herself as follows:
“Hi my name is Mary. I am a 50-something reluctant housewife (I’d rather be an international supermodel or a forest ranger or a jockey)…. ? Don’t resist. Visit Little Red House today.