HELLO my name is Heather

  • Good as Old

    ByHeather Bailey

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    I was digging through some old pictures today and came across these 'before' pictures for a chair I upholstered last spring. If Shredded Chic worked in a family environment, I might have kept the chair as it was—it had its own appeal, all shredded and torn.

    ChairSpring470wtOnce I had the chair fully dismantled I learned it was much older than I expected —and really well made. The frame was solid. The whole thing was upholstered with tacks and the arms were padded with horse hair. I had incorrectly assumed that its larger size meant it was much newer.

    This thing was old. Perhaps big-bummed-bustle gowns explain its size.

    Tacks are more of a pain to remove than staples—but more gratifying. Once you get a good purchase on one, it prys out like butter. They aren't so friendly on bare feet though.

    I only had one day to finish the job before photographing the chair for a tradeshow. I was 5 months pregnant so this was quite a task. Upholstering is like wrestling a dusty, groggy bear. Afterward, you're covered with claw marks and you're sore all over.

    Isaac was very attentive that day, fussing over my swollen self, bringing me tools and water, untangling the air hose as needed. He was fascinated with the process and envious of the loud racket I was making. Though I learned upholstery back in college, Isaac had never witnessed me do the work.

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    He got involved here and there. He had his first adventure with a webbing stretcher; he tied the springs back into place for me too and made sure the frame was square again—he did an excellent job.

    I'm planning to have him do ALL of the prep work next time. That should save me a few pulled muscles.

    ChairLegBefore470wI have a stack of collected chairs waiting to be upholstered with Heather Bailey home dec prints. More chairs than I have room for really. So, birthday presents for friends? Reception seating for the office?

    I'll post 'before' photos of my next project and get your take on color/fabric combos.

    Truth is, such physical work is a nice change of pace. With gear laid out and a queue of chairs ready to go, the blazing heat of the garage is nothing a freezy Jamba Juice and a run through the sprinklers can't remedy.

  • Apples in Bloom

    ByHeather Bailey

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    Last year we harvested one, singular apple from our tiny new twig of an apple tree. We sliced the tiny Anna apple into four pieces and passed it out to the children. It was a precious preview of what was to come; sometimes it's years before you know if you picked a good fruit tree or not. The group consensus was, "Hooray, these little apples are tasty!"

    This year, both tiny apple trees are covered with fruit. I feel equal pride and pity for their load. They are bent over and moaning. A beautiful ordeal—like an achy pregnant woman approaching her due date.

    *The Horticultural Scoop: One tree is a green Anna Apple, the other is a Dorsett Golden. Not all trees will cross-pollinate, but these will, allowing us to have two varieties come harvest time. Soon, soon.

  • Croak-ello, This is She

    ByHeather Bailey

    I lost my voice a few days ago. It's only gradually coming back to me. In my gusto to get things done today—it's the first quiet day I've had in a long stretch—I somehow forgot all about my condition.

    I set up a business call for the afternoon with one of my licensing partners and was only reminded of my voiceless state when I answered the call with an inaudible croak.

    Oops. They called looking for Heather Bailey and Neville Longbottom's pet toad answered the phone.

  • Medicinal Cuteness

    ByHeather Bailey

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    Are you ready for some cuteness?

    As it turns out, yardwork can still progress without risking scuffed baby knees and a stomach full of gravel chunks. All it takes is a scrap of smooth plywood, a bounce-a-licious bouncy chair…

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    …and one cute baby…

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    …who is tickled pink to watch his dad and teenage brother paint the new sideyard fence.

    Now Bobbin and Pixel can explore new roaming grounds under the lime tree, with their pet door, food, and water moved to the laundry room, far from the baby's reach. With good cause…

    Little Bub started crawling last Sunday. The following day, he began pulling himself to standing and cruising slowly along furniture. Three days later, he climbed up a flight of stairs and halfway back down again. Whoa, Nelly—zero to sixty in no seconds flat.

    I blame the bouncer. Our little cherub has some serious baby muscles now.

  • Zippity Buzz Buzz

    ByHeather Bailey

    While in Utah for the wedding, we stayed with Nadine & Tom, owners of the fabulous South Jordan quilt shop, Material Girls. Such a fun family! I pulled myself away twice to the shop and picked up fabrics for me, and this adorable beach cruiser embroidery pattern for my niece, Lily—Laura's girl.

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    Laura lived near us in AZ for a few years before moving out east. Lily spent a lot of time with Elijah and I back then—we MISS her!

    Nadine's store is as adorable as she is—well nearly. And they carry a number of items you can't get anywhere else—such as this bicycle stitchery. Fortunately, it is available online.

    There is so much going on around here. Today is the kids' last day of school; so, naturally, I'm attempting to get a summer's worth of work done today before the noise and chaos level rises. I'll share my secret if I succeed.

    I may have to split my time more evenly between my home studio and my office in order to concentrate—depends on the project. Am I the only one who experiences a mixture of excitement and dread on the last day of school? And why is it I feel exactly the same way about the first day of school?

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    Sunshine & Ice Cream

    ByHeather Bailey

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    It's been a long time since we've attempted a 12-hour road trip with an infant. It all comes back to me so clearly now.

    We just returned from a week in Utah where we celebrated our niece, Ellie's, marriage to Mr. Jon Cox. Isaac urged me to fly up separately with the baby, then meet up with him and the older kids once there. But I insisted we go The Togetherness Route and all take the car.

    Little bub did rather well. Of course, this is because we drove all night for each leg of the trip. Now it's time for a vacation from our vacation. Isaac and I need sleep.

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    Isaac comes from a giant, collected family which claims 10 kids. Those 10 kids have kids of their own, ranging from 2-months-old to 30-something. It's entirely too rare that we get to visit with a large sampling of this boisterous group. This is a family which will actually DANCE at a wedding. Dance-dance, not sway.

    Ellie was radiant in a 60's-inspired silvered dress which made a gentle bell, just skirting the floor. (Such a neat girl—I really need to tell you more about her and the charity work she is doing!) As Ellie is Charlotte's true doppleganger in the family, my own life fast-forwarded for a few minutes here and there as I caught glimpses of Charlotte as a woman on her own wedding day.

    Charlotte looked like sunshine and ice cream, wearing her new Easter dress to the wedding; Ellie paid her a mighty compliment, saying, "Charlotte is so adorable; she's my top competition today."

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    The reception was held at the Salt Lake Hardware Building—crazy cool place. I didn't have the camera out much, as my arms were full of baby. At nearly 9-months old, holding him is like wrestling a thorny bludger. His will is developing more quickly than his motor skills. Scratchy nails are his best negotiating tool. I haven't processed the photos yet, but if there are any of note, I'll post them.

    BaileyEaster_05At the reception, Elijah learned DJ skills from his cousin Izzy's husband, Johnny. Elijah has since been reading up on sound boards and other equipment in the B&H Photo catalog. (Izzy is one of Ellie's two vibrant younger sisters—the one whose wedding we attended two Christmasses back.) Izzy has a blog now at A Dose of Lovely—that's another post to add to the queue.

    From these photos, you can see that I never got around to posting about Granny's Easter dresses. I pulled up the photos—in a timely manner, I add—but every image was so breathtakingly delicious that I couldn't decide which ones to use.

    So I postponed.

    Here at last are Charlotte, Haley, and Chloe, my mom's three granddaughters, enjoying the Arizona sunshine outside my sister's home on Easter Day. Granny coordinated these three in my Hello Roses fabric, accenting each dress with a unique twist of lemon. These dresses—and the little girls wearing them—make my heart pit-a-pat.

    Charlotte's slouching white socks and mary janes give me a distinct thrill that's surely grounded in the slouching church socks of my own childhood.

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    It was a truly wonderful trip. As I wrapped up a new fabric collection the day before we left, the timing was perfect to enjoy a brief escape with my kiddos before immersing myself in the next big project.

  • Same Not Sane

    ByHeather Bailey

    Leafy layers of tracing paper with final modifications blanket my studio. When this design is finished, I will have one more print to go.

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    I lay in bed this morning with my eyes closed for half an hour letting impressions of that final print soak into the backs of my eyelids. These images are elusive and transforming. Remember that Michael Jackson video where one person morphed into the next, over and over—Black or White? Like that.

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    The trick is to jot these ideas down without indulging in them just yet. I'm saving the last print for dessert.

    One petal reads "Yes," the other says "Same"—don't mistake it for "Sane." I'm not there yet, but getting very close.

  • Hatching the Hoard

    ByHeather Bailey

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    It was a happy hunt: Laffy Taffy, Starbursts, and Twizzlers a-plenty. It's a chocolate-free tradition—the melting hazard is too high. Thank goodness too, or I might snatch some of Charlotte's spoils. I can resist the rest.

    Not that there has been a dearth of chocolate around here.

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    Despite my belly-aching, we had a great weekend. To switch gears from working to family time, I went on a short run Saturday morning. I returned ready to pause my projects and enjoy the moment.

  • Stop, Stop, Do not Hop on Mom

    ByHeather Bailey

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    We have a HUGE easter egg hunt coming up this morning. Hundreds and hundreds of eggs. Perhaps hundreds of children too.

    It's a rather fabulous neighbor tradition.

    My sweetest memory of the hunt was watching Isaac head out onto the field to escort Elijah seven years ago—with teensy new Charlotte in a baby carrier on his chest. He was glowing with greed for his tiny little Charlotte—she's all mine. The three of them were a greeting card that day.

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    I'm in a bit of a fix. My neck has been kinked up all week, kinking up my schedule—much pain, no sleep. I'm beginning to feel better and have surrounded myself with printouts, in the throes of composing a new collection. I'm not thrilled about stopping.

    Yet, the weekend is scheduled to the max. There's the egg hunt, then we have friends coming over to barbeque later on. Add to that Easter celebrations all day tomorrow.

    Aah! I don't have time for so much fun. Stop the fun.