my view from the car, driving through the san joaquin valley to the sierra nevada foothills.
i love the dry california grass.

(click photo to enlarge)

flowers grow everywhere in san francisco... even between the cement cracks.
i'm in california for a week, and it's so nice to be here.

a dinner of kale, zucchini, feta, and whole wheat orzo tonight. yum... and pretty colors too.

favorites from the tas-ka.

i'm always so enamored with artist karen gelardi's work. i love the concept behind her new book project, which will be part of her terrarium show 301 gallery, in beverly, massachusetts. i bought a book yesterday, which will be part of the installation- and then mailed to me when it's disassembled.

this is the lena dress, fom the new wiksten fall collection. isn't that wonderful?! jenny wrote that the printed fabric reminded her of my book. i can't think of many things better than having a dress named after me!

jenny gordy is posting new photos of her wiksten fall collection all week... can't wait to see more.

thanks yu-i, for a peak at the autumn/winter mina perhonen catalog.

i'm feeling a little guilty about these recent purchases,,, but it's so hard to resist a good sale! sometimes 60% off still isn't cheap though... i'm happy to now own my second vena cava item. top purchases from the barney's warehouse sale, bottom from the apc surplus store.

collages by margarita gestrich. they remind me of the dali exhibit i saw recently at moma. and also of this video.

via not paper, via high up in the trees.

i love books... i can never get enough...

i'm excited to have my work included in simply pattern, a new book from viction:ary.

it's always fun to check out the beautiful books when i stop by the STC offices... i had seen images of therese laskey's zakka sewing book before, but hadn't yet flipped through it. it's a really sweet book, with a lovely layout and very cute illustrations. and beautiful photographs by yoko inoue.

* * *

summer print set & shop update from port2port press

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maria and i collaborated on our 3rd print set (winter, spring, and now summer).
she chose the theme; WAVES. and i was inspired by this photo, from shari. i know my interpretation is pretty far off from the photo, but i guess i see patterns in everything, even where they don't really exist. maria combined my drawings with her drawings, and then letterpress printed them. i love the deep, dark, watery colors that she chose.

the bottom photo is maria's newest away from home postcard set. another beauty from her recent shop update.

summer saturday... part two.

cake toppers from the small object (father's day and winter wedding)

summer saturday... part one.
(our cherry tomatoes are finally ripening!)

i took these photos last april, of the mociun fall 08 collection... more here.

more fall fashion to dream about...
photographs of mociun's new collection, naming ceremony, are online. the photos were taken by kate healey, and i think they're really, really beautiful.

i also helped caitlin take photos for her fall look book, i'll post those soon...

ohh!... ahhh!... images from the fall collection of mer are up. i love these tops, and i'm looking forward to seeing the ikat (i think it is) one in person.

a couple more book related things...

i have a printing project in this week's time out new york (on newsstands tomorrow). it's the career issue, and my project gives instructions for using customized stamps to print your own business cards (adapted from the stationery project in printing by hand).

also, i've been getting lots of emails with questions about the book and the projects in it, so i decided to set up a Q&A forum on Good Reads. in addition to the forum, i have a list of some of my favorite books over there, so come join and check that out, if you'd like...

(photo by sarah palmer)

recent purchases: claire nereim poster & wrought iron garden bench.

saturday morning ebay browsing... vintage woven textiles.

i have an envelope full of polaroids left over from the photo shoot for printing by hand. thayer took polaroids to check the light, styling, and angle for each shot, before she switched to using a film camera. i not sure why i treasure these polaroids so much, but i really love them. more here.

claire nereim has a beautiful new "forever" calendar in her etsy shop. it's hand-printed with california wildflowers on black recycled paper, and is organized by blooming times. i have her seasonal fruit calendar, and i'm looking forward to seeing this one in person...

a few snapshots from my day...

on my wish list...
(photos from betsy walton)

from makr.
beautiful photos and products.

it's hot, hot, hot in new york, and we have a steady stream of friends and family visiting. lots of eating out and very warm nights...

some perfect pattern mixing, done here.

(even better large!)

i love these paintings by kate o'connor.

grace and i are holding a decorating with patterns contest this week, in conjunction with my book coming out. i love layering and mixing patterns-- and although my style wavers between minimalist and maximalist, my heart is always true to bold and over-the-top use of patterns. i hope lots of people submit photos of their similar love for patterns in their home-- it will be fun! i'm giving away two "field" pillows to the first and second place winners.

send your entries via email until next tuesday, july 22nd at 10pm EST. finalists will be voted on by readers and 5 winners will be chosen and awarded the following prizes:

• 1st prize— one 18″ “field” pillow AND one signed book
• 2nd prize— one 13″ field pillow AND one signed book
• 3rd through 5th prize— one signed book

design*sponge also did a wonderful post on printing by hand today. thank you grace!

a few more of my favorite outtakes from the "how-to" photographs for printing by hand...

cards by gracia & louise, made with their artwork for volume three. i love them.

here is... LINES & SHAPES, volume three!

the theme for this volume is GATHER. we choose the themes by making lists of words that we find intriguing, and then mulling over our lists until we narrow it down to one that just feels right. we're so happy to have the work of the following artists in volume three:

yu-i chan
mat daly
gracia & louise
jane & jeremy
francesca tallone


to celebrate our third book out of six planned for this year, we made a special poster featuring all artist from the first half of LINES & SHAPES 2008. posters are a free gift for all new subscribers.

go take a look!

new shoes & new floor mat.

summer dinner...

grilled shrimp, chicken, zucchini, baguette, mint iced tea, & peaches.