Recently, I had a chance to connect up with Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom.  Jennifer is a fabric designer for FreeSpirit Fabrics who had success last year with her debut line, “Girlfriends”. (See my "Girlfriends" post.)

She is now introducing another fabric collection called “Mod Girls”—and she recently had a “spring fling” celebration showcasing this new collection—(see photos below).

Jennifer has a wonderful website and is a new blogger (she posts fabulous photos and project ideas) as well.

 In the past few months, her works have been featured in People Magazine, Country Living, Home Companion and Simple Scrapbooks.

 Jennifer is guest writing to tell us more about her background and to introduce her new line, “Mod Girls”, which is a wonderful collection of vintage-flavored florals, paisleys, and stripes---including zebra stripes and more.

The collection features ocean blues, pinks and yellows of native homes found in the Virgin Islands, as well as the brilliant greens of the rain forests found throughout the world.

Here is Jennifer: “I never realized it but the first half of my life was spent absorbing visuals and integrating them into my minds eye….I loved textiles at a very early age, and color and allure were all part of that….

 From visits with Aunt Nonnie and the vintage cast offs in her attic to the beaches of Christiansted, St. Croix I was (unbeknownst) to me formulating, editing, articulating defining my tastes becoming the person I was meant to be….

 In high school, I wanted to be a fashion illustrator and I had many big dreams of working with fabric and became a window designer for Bonwit Teller in Boston after graduating college ….

 Still collecting, still borrowing, working with my repertoire of choice…then onto New York City to work with The Knoll Group once again filling the well of visuals selling textiles for 12 years, parading the streets of NY and breathing in all the eye candy and the tantalizing seductive ornate window dressing I was so suggestible I was an empty well waiting to be filled with design elements and NYC has an endless supply of that..

 Then shift to 12 years later a mother of two in the suburbs then the family and the suburbs and change to a new life with an incredible yearning to do something of my own…

 No longer content to work with what was given to me I wanted to invent I wanted to create thus Sis Boom was born…blessed to have been discovered by Country Living Magazine in my third year of business I soon channeled the energy into designing my own products what has come from that is just tremendous and I love to be with Westminster and all the talent it has acquired through Freespirit…we are a family and I am so excited about continuing and bringing more exciting designs to the quilt market.”

 Look for “Mod Girls” is your favorite quilt shop.  And be sure to check out Jennifer’s blog and website for inspiration.  Also check out her free downloadable quilt patterns for "Girlsfriends" and "Mod Girls" on FreeSpirits website.

 Jennifer starting blogging a bit ago…here is part of an interview Jennifer had with Artsy Mama about blogging. Read the interview in its entirety here. 

When did you start blogging?

I started blogging around 6 months ago when a very close friend introduced me to some very creative people and I wanted to be a part of that world… What prompted you to start?    I started because I knew it was the right format for me to express my creative side with a supportive nonjudgmental community…

What was your motivation? 

My motivation was to educate people to my work but more importantly the fellowship of other bloggers…

Who/what are your major influences and inspirations in your blogging?

Other artists and their authenticity….

How does blogging reflect (and/or feed) your creativity?

Blogging for me is like putting high heels on  It’s my best presentation forward.....I will be changing the look soon to reflect a more professional blog it’s important to me as an artist …and to also connect with other bloggers through links etc…

Has it changed your creative process?

Definitely it challenges me to express newness to be bolder to go out on a limb…to not be satisfied with mediocre….when business takes the wheel I find the details are sacrificed and I’m trying to stay in the moment and not let the rush of success rob me of that…It’s a balancing act for sure…but it’s about being true to myself…

Blogs can be very intimate; do you enjoy showing a different side of yourself? 

I do but my blogging has been rushed..I write in a journal 3 pages every morning so I find I want to get my message across and move on when it comes to blogging…..the blogs I like are rich with links and sharing so I want to get better at that....I need to honor where I’m at, it’s a busy lifestyle but I wouldn’t have it any other way….. It’s my nature…

(Photos thanks to Jennifer, FreeSpirit and Fat Quarter Shop.)