I have vivid memories, as a little girl, of Sunday afternoons at my grandmothers house, and of spending hours gazing at her floral fabric curtains.
I loved the bold and loosely assembled groups of flowers whose repetition every metre or so down the fabric gave a rhythm and a pattern to the drapes .
Today, I beg your indulgence as I play with my own take on floral designs for fabric. Not drawn, printed or painted, but rather cut and positioned …. just for fun.
I am loving this combination of pale orange with blue grey and white.
I have been wanting to do this for a while, and so today I tried three combinations. One on a background of black and white ticking, and two others on a plain linen.
I wonder which you prefer, and I wonder if you recognise each of the flowers that I used. To get you started, I shall tell you that the rose is called Polka, and it’s my favourite in the garden this year.
Hope you are having a wonderful weekend, thank you for reading me.
37 comments
I love it!!! You can use your photos and send them to a company out there somewhere that will make it into fabric for you. I have seen it on another blog, but I don’t remember the company’s name. Sorry.
Yes! I was just on their website yesterday, after reading again about it on Karen Watson’s site The Graphic’s Fairy; the company is Spoonflower! I might have to dabble a little in creating my own fabric!
My choice would have to be your ticking stripe – are those dogwood blooms? and perhaps parsley? Beautiful!
Thank you Janette and Mary, it’s good to hear about Spoonflower …. who knows, one day?!
The flowers on the ticking stripe are individual petals from a hydrangea, leaves from a Blue Johnson geranium, grey leves from Convulvus and the tiny white flowers from feverfew
xx
Bonjour Sharon,
The patience you’ve taken to arrange these flowers is simply just stunning.
Cheers
Anita
Thank you Anita, it really didn’t take that long, and I love doing this sort of stuff anyway, so actually it never takes long enough!
xx
Gorgeous!
Hi Sharon absolutely beautiful. I like the 4th from the top. I think the red is Sage and of course the happy Daisy. Thank you for sharing beauty. Regards Esther from Sydney. PS I was thinking of you the other night while watching French Food Safari its an Australian production very well done they were shopping at one of the French outdoor markets the figs caught my attention among other beauties.
Hi Esther,
actually the red is croccossima, although I think I know the sage that it reminded you of
thank you for your comments, always so kind 🙂
xx
Just lovely.
Beautiful!!
Beautiful Sharon. Love the first one!!
Love the pop of red with the roses but, Oh, I am such a sucker for anything involving ticking, especially if it’s blue!
Amazing!!
You inspire me! Loved the ticking!
I love the flowers in the first several shots! The crocosmia is so beautiful with the pale coral rose and other greens! Wish they were all in my back yard! Alas . . . I have only the crocosmia!
Don’t you love the corkscrew roots of the crocosmia Vicky?! I have a large red variety that flowers first and then this slightly smaller orange version – love them both!
xx
I’d love to see a picture of your red crocosmia! I’ve only seen the orange which I think is beautiful. I love it as a cut flower and frequently put a few stems and some of the leaves in a small vase to put here or there, drawing the eye to an unexpected small bit of color.
Oh my gosh….I love how you did that. The colors combinations are gorgeous and it does look like (beautiful) fabric. You have such a way with details…very clever.
Hi Sharon
I love all the top ones, the last is not so much my personal thing though very cute. I adore your Polka rose, the colour seems very like my favourite rose here in my garden in Brisbane, which is Just Joey, though JJ doesn’t have so much of that gorgeous ruffle on the petals! I’m sure like mine yours has a delicious perfume?
Thanks so much for this and all your posts which add so much pleasure to the day.
Penne
Thank you Penne, you are too kind …. I have never seen Just Joey, off to check it out!
xx
It appears you’ll be able to add another career to your CV. These beautiful designs remind me of the French wallpaper in my childhood bedroom – pink roses (mostly large) with sprigs of green on a white background. Thanks for this wonderful, creative post. Warm regards
Hi Elizabeth, I don’t really think I’ll be designing fabrics, but if I have managed to share my enjoyment of the moment, then I am happy enough 😉
xx
It’s me again sorry about that I meant to say Salvia not Sage…duh… Regards Esther from Sydney.
Not to worry. Sage is the common name for salvia.
Lovely floral effects, Sharon.
There is an online company called Spoonflower that will take images and print on fabric or wallpaper. I am awaiting samples as we speak. These are so beautiful, it might be fun to try.
Your talents just continue to amaze and impress me….. I love all of the designs and I hope to see them duplicated on fabric soon! Just beautiful!
What a lovely idea Sharon. That rose is an incredible one. The petals appear as though they are fluttering so delicately & soft. I’m certainly not an authority on botanical names but it does look as though you have some herbs mixed in. Rosemary, salvia, dill & of course daisies. I know there’s more & this is a stunning idea.
Thank you Colleen, the grey feathery leaf is artemisia, and the tiny yellow flowers are from fennel that we use as an aromat but also plant all over the garden
xx
Oh Sharon, I absolutely love this!!! How beautiful and creative (I want to get my brushes out and paint them). I think the first is my favorite, but I love them all – those ticking stripes are divine, too. I’ve long been a sucker for a beautiful floral fabric. Your creations are lovely. XOXO
Thank you Jeanne, you are too kind ….. there is an email on its way to you
xx
What a lovely way to look at prints. As someone who spent years painting and working with prints, it’s fun to see layouts of actual flowers! Sending you a jpeg of what one of these might look like as an actual print, just for fun… 🙂
Thank you Lory, I look forward to seeing your print
xx
Stunning; what a lovely idea! What a light, beautiful fabric this would make–unlimited possibilities here! Looks like you are using herbs in your greenery. Love that! The colors of the flowers are perfect!
What a great idea…you must have had a blast doing this! (I also appreciate your patience & steady hand!)
Delicious! I love the roses 🙂
Madeleine.x
Hi Sharon,
I used to automatically get your blog, but for some time now it has stopped coming. Is there a reason for that? I really enjoy reading your blog and miss having it come like it used to.
Jody
Hi Sharon,
Wow! You are such a creative person. I couldn’t leave out of your works. I have roses, greens and others in my garden that you are using but have never had such a great idea to do with them. I’ll paint your works.
Thanks for the beautiful works.