Pillows Archives - PaolaPrints

Valentine’s Day 2024

February 8, 2024

Valentine’s Day 2024 Valentine’s Day has always been a high holy day for me. For some reason, I’ve looked forward to it since I was a child, buying all kinds of cards and annually baking all kinds of red desserts for my kids. So, of course, I chose red roses for my new crepe de chine shawl-26” x72”. Carmen is a sultry wrap for an evening out. I have one in stock. Red happens to be my favorite color. What’s yours? People say your chosen color paints a certain picture of the person behind the color. I agree with SOME of
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Color Transitions

November 21, 2019

Well, I managed to cover the boxwoods this year without freezing to death. The gardens have finally been put to bed in preparation for winter and the holidays. Not before the ground colors conspired to deliver a gorgeous last fall palette of colors. I’ve been thrilled with the bush covers we bought last year- and learned the hard way to not store them in an unprotected outbuilding. One of them got half eaten last year. Some tips about winter garden care in general. We tagged a tree last weekend at Angevine Farm in Warren CT. I can’t tell you exactly
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Holiday Fairs Incoming…

November 6, 2019

And there’s a whole lotta sewing going on..This is a new Paola Prints chiffon scarf called Endless Summer. Morning glories and sunflowers. This Saturday, Paola Prints will be showing beautiful pillows and scarves- including a collection of new 100% cotton infinity scarves at the Central CT Community Women’s Club 45th Annual Holiday Craft Fair in Cromwell CT. This is a one-day, juried craft show from 9:00-3:00 pm and will be chock full of exciting handmade gifts. See you at the Cromwell Middle School. This is a juried show so you know we’re a bunch of very special artists… Paola Prints will be
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Maine Travelogue

July 30, 2019

Our summer vacation this year began in Somerville MA, a comfortable driving pause enroute to Newburyport and Maine. The bonus was lunch with my son and his fiancée. Caught up in a whirlwind of late fall wedding plans as they are, we figured the best way to get their attention was over a meal. It worked really well! After lunch, we drove to Newburyport for an overnight at a bed and breakfast called the Essex Street Inn, close to downtown. Great location. Lovely people. The following day we drove to Harrison ME to catch up with old friends. Harrison is
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Welcome to the Tropics of Connecticut

June 26, 2019

Have you noticed? It’s hotter and wetter in warm weather, and less cold in winter. Still, every gardener welcomes rain as an alternative to being eaten by mosquitoes when you’re trying to water thirsty plants. And it’s wonderful to look out at the lush greens, especially as the lilies haven’t quite burst into bloom yet. It’s an almost-water feature! I adore my new water hyacinths that live in a small metal pot embedded in one of the flower beds. And you don’t have to water. What a concept. Water plants are new to me and I find the leaves with
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Blossom Shopping in a June Garden

June 15, 2019

The first blast of Spring flowers has past, leaving in its wake rich young green colors on every side. What’s budded up in CT right now? Well, the peonies are starting their show… The day lilies are dutifully rearing their crooked little heads as the astilbe flower stalks get fatter by the day. Welcome patches of purple spiderwort are bearing their first flowers even as they demand staking. Spiderworts are great this time of Spring, as little else is blooming. Their fat numerous buds are a promise of continuous flowering. A few patches of new white allium have appeared I
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Annual Pilgrimage to ICFF, NYC -May 2019

May 25, 2019

Every year we go to the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) to see what’s trending in home décor. As an international venue, many products are quite extravagant but the show also includes new materials and ideas just barely fleshed out by architectural students or young companies in search of distribution. The show showcases all aspects of home décor- inside and out. A must-see. I pulled a few to show you. The Italians are coming! Every year, there’s an extensive display of Italian companies- traditional leathers to very modern materials and high line designs. Worth the visit. There are many styles-
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Spring is Sprung

April 13, 2019

Sedum (aka Stonecrop) is a beautiful succulent that appears in early Spring (that’s today in Litchfield). I recently posted a new scarf design and asked people to guess what plant I drew the green from. Sedum! An unusual shaped succulent that spans the length of our growing season in New England. Sedum is a hardy, perennial addition to a sunny garden. There are both tall and creeping varieties. Mine get pretty tall- up to 2.5 feet and leggy. One might choose a creeping variety for a more tidy garden. It’s early Spring in Connecticut and the usual suspects are slowly
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It’s Sewing Time Again

March 19, 2019

I love sewing. It brings quiet. It helps one make connections with personal history. My mother and sisters taught me to sew many years ago. Exploring all kinds of fabric, texture and colors. My passion for the arts began in a fabric store looking for prints, lace and thread for doll clothes. Followed by patterns and zippers for my own clothes. And then, sewing special dresses for my daughter too! The sensation of peace often emerges as a welcome consequence of handwork. Sewing can allow one to move forward in an ordered fashion- without undue haste. In this way, it
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Winter Colors

March 2, 2019

Winter surface design offers the same color combinations as in warm weather. Warm and cool. The tone however, is entirely different. It’s important to note that all of my design inspiration begins in the garden which changes with the time of day, season and light. Even as I look forward to working in the garden and photographing its fresh spring colors, the cold weather continues to interest with its intense variations of warm and cool colors. I’ve been working with some dried roses to create my last winter scarf- a tribute to my sister Laura. Orange goes to earthy rust,
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