New artwork is on its way to the mill. I pretty much have to disappear for a while in order to make that happen. Then, spring comes: lunch dates, time to help friends who are grieving, maybe I cook a real meal here and there, even wear make-up on a no-big-deal-regular day. My personal spring couldn't come at a better time, because it's spring. And I'm needed.
It's just beautiful outside. And I'm determined to soak it in before the Arizona summer descends.
You know you want it…and you can have it too. Remember to vote EVERY DAY in the Bernina USA Faceplate Face-Off to increase your chance of winning this luxury machine. Voting ends 4-14-14, so set a reminder.
Also, if you are in Arizona this weekend, please consider joining me at the Run for Travis fundraiser in Gilbert. Travis Williams, the father of one of Charlotte’s very best friends, passed away this week from a battle with cancer. Travis leaves behind a wife and four young children. He was only age 40. Proceeds go toward helping the family with medical expenses. There will be a 5k walk/run, a silent auction, food trucks. I’m excited to go help in this way.
Becky Higgins, who I worked with on a Heather Bailey Project Life kit last year, is good friends with the Williams family. She wrote a beautiful post about their longstanding relationship earlier this month, if you’d like to take a look.
Also, if you would like to help, but you’re not in Gilbert, there is info on the Run for Travis facebook page on how to donate.
What a week for our community, for our family, for our Charlotte—though nothing compared with what these incredible families are facing. She and I leave for Travis’ funeral after this post goes live.
Vote TODAY for the Heather Bailey sewing machine in Bernina USA's Faceplate Faceoff on facebook. Vote every day through 4-14-14 and you can win this rockin' $1900 luxury sewing machine. Pretty awesome giveaway. Set a reminder.
Let's make this retro-modern machine happen.
xo—Heather
While I've had some exposure in my life to the inadequacies of the english language, it is confirmed for me this week that words can never match the depth of feeling our souls experience in times of great joy and great sorrow. The phrases, "words can't describe" or "there aren't words” can be seen as lack of trying. That is, until you have been there, reaching for words that don’t exist.
Great blessings and great trials stir up the recesses of our souls, making us experience something new, something quite inexpressible: the singular moment when you know what you must do next, after weeks of confusion and indecision; the sparkle of love and utter trust in your child’s eyes while you tickle him into the hiccups; the awe and reverence I myself have felt this week witnessing my friends, Jori and Dwight Udall, maneuver through the darkest nightmare with light and love, taking every opportunity to testify that they know they will be with their son again, and that he is now whole and well, calming and reassuring family, friends, and the community at large. What strength of spirit this generosity requires, I can only imagine. Heaven knows, I would be tucked away in a private corner, crumpled in on myself.
I am incredibly moved. And grateful to call them friends.
– – – – –
More information in this previous post. And at CJUdall.org.
I had the privilege to design a sewing machine for Bernina's Faceplate Face-off, along with 9 other designers. From March 17th through April 14th, votes will be collected on Bernina's facebook page and the TWO machines with the most votes will be sent to production and available for purchase.
One lucky voter will WIN a BERNINA SEWING MACHINE valued at $1899. Every time you vote, you are entered into the drawing again. So, set a reminder on your calendar to chime every day for the next few weeks.
It is my understanding that you will want to access Bernina's facebook page from an actual computer, and not from a phone or ipad. To see the designs and vote, click the "Like" button the face-off page, then a "Click Here to Register" button will appear. Enter your info (so they can contact you if you win!), then you will see the various designs.
Please note that Bernina's mock-up of my design on their facebook isn't quite accurate yet. My design is red and white/cream, not red and silver. And I believe we would be indicating the model number "B350" with an emboss in the lower lefthand corner of the vertical plate, not with large black text across the artwork. My images here are closer to accurate. Feel free to post these images (links below) anywhere and everywhere, along with the contest info. I would sure appreciate it. And hopefully your sewing room will appreciate it too—when you WIN!
• Sewing Machine Image 115k (612px wide x 72dpi)
• Mod Daisy Artwork 192k (612px wide x 72dpi)
• Heather Bailey Logo 10k (612 px wide x 72dpi)
Remember to set your daily calendar reminders through 4-14-14.
PS: I think this contest is open to U.S. residents only, but I don't think that prohibits non-US residents from voting. I will ask. And I'll put together a giveaway that includes everyone—from everywhere—should my design win.
My dear, dear friend's 11-year-old son unexpectedly passed away this weekend in a tragic accident. It has been a tender and uplifting experience for our family and our church. I am honored to witness such strength of faith up close. Jori and Dwight have endured more than anyone I've ever met. And must endure this as well. They are my heroes.
Jori asked Isaac to create a website where CJ can be honored and where more info is posted. His family would like to celebrate his life by championing meaningful projects to benefit CJ's favorite things, including Boy Scouts, the Special Olympics and more. If you would like to know more about this special boy and help his family channel their tremendous grief in this positive direction with a donation to CJ's fund, please visit www.CJUdall.org. There was a press conference this afternoon, so more info will likely be on the AZ evening news tonight as well. Please spread the word. We can pull together and make a difference.
Carvel Scott Jackson Udall (CJ)
February 17, 2003 – March 15, 2014
We did it. We made it through the party grinder and survived to tell the tale. Nothing like a streak of over-abundance, coupled with a steady drip of sugar to make you crave a detox.
My back has been on the fritz for months and finally started to show improvement this weekend, so I went right out and re-enrolled at my favorite gym—the one with indoor and outdoor lap pools—as soon as Charlotte's party was over on Saturday. I can't wait to get moving.
True, I run, and that's definitely a form of moving. But, I've been on a workout freeze the last few weeks while trying to heal. I'm going to try some less-jostly activities for a while and see what happens. I'll get back to running once my butt butts out and stops pulling my back out of place. Yes, this is what appears to be happening.
Enough about me and my back. How about this amazing quilt!?
Amy Gibson of Stitchery Dickory Dock put this Tuileries quilt together as part of the True Colors blog tour this January. She mixed True Colors with Lottie Da and wrote about her process here—with many more photos. Amy is an avid quilter, a mama to four kids, a teacher, and more. She teaches a Block of the Month class on Craftsy (it's free), so check that out while you read through her beautiful blog.
It's party month at the Bailey's. With two birthday parties to throw for my children in January and my younger brother's wedding coming up next week, my personal creative time is fully spoken for. This hasn't kept me from dreaming about what I'll work on next, once the storm of confetti has blown west. I have new fabrics to work with—stacks of True Colors and Lottie Da are sending out a pulsing beacon from just about three feet behind me to my left. Boop, boop, boop, boop.
Till February, I'll get my fix through you guys. I love watching what pops up on your blogs, on Instagram, on Flickr, etc. If you post a project with my fabrics or my new embroidery patterns, let me know. And send me links to others' projects you come across.
In fact…in fact! There is a sweeping True Colors blog tour going on this week and next, all over the web. You'll want to check this out.
The amazing bloggers below are working with Free Spirit's new True Colors collections, adding their personal flair. There will be inspiration galore and a bunch of giveaways. The fabulous bloggers that will feature my own collection are highlighted in 'radiant orchid.' The other wonderful blogs will be working with Anna's, Joel's and Jenean's True Colors prints. Should be a serious shindig. Don't miss the first two who have already posted.
1/20 Sew4Home (Blog-Tour Kick-Off)
1/21 Stitchery Dickory Dock
1/22 I'm a Ginger Monkey
1/23 The Sewing Loft
1/24 Ellison Lane
1/27 Diary of a Quilter
1/28 Material Obsession
1/29 Craftsanity
1/30 Stitched in Color
1/31 Craft Buds
2/1 Jaybird Quilts
And! I nearly forgot. Here is video of the four of us discussing color and these new True Colors collections. I'm a little shy to share this as **I have never been so sleep deprived** as I was the day we filmed this video. I had something like six hours of sleep over a four-day period. And it shows. Thank goodness for CreativeBug's fantastic filming skills. I only wish they had included my little soapbox moment on the importance of "UGLY COLORS" Maybe my bleary-eyed, tongue-tied self did not communicate the idea as eloquently as I remember. Anyhow, Anna has similar thoughts on "muted" colors. I ditto what she says.
If you're stopping by from the blog tour and new to my blog, be sure to sign up for the Heather Bailey newsletter. And I'm a big fan of Instagram and Twitter, so come say hello there too. I'm @HeatherBailey on Instagram and @_HeatherBailey on Twitter.
Are you interested in creating a pocket-page scrapbook? Like the one I designed for Project Life?
There is an online, full-day event coming up on January 25th that you might be interested in. It's called "True Scrap Pocket Pages" and the classes will be live and interactive, discussing the basics of pocket scrapbooking and beyond. All of the live classes will be recorded as well, so you can re-watch them as needed.
Here's the list of classes —each one is an hour long:
• Hybrid Hints for Paper People (Traci Reed)
• Pocket Scrapping 101: Back to Basics (Layle Koncar)
• Do You Hear What I Hear? Including Your Family’s Perspectives in Your
Pocket Spreads (Marcy Penner)
• KISS: Keep It Simple, Scrappy! Simplifying the Pocket Page Process
from Monica McNeil
• Playing Big: Adding 12×12 photos and layouts to your Pocket Pages
Albums (Lilith Eeckels)
• Outside the Lines: Creative Approaches to Adding Journaling to Your
Pocket Pages (Stephanie Bryan)
Anyhow. If you are interested, visit truescrap.com/pocket for more info. (Lain Ehmann even posted a welcome video.) There is a ridiculous discount if you book the class today (January 10th)—hence my hurry to get this information posted! The code is "99OFF". You save a wild 66% or something, making the total cost only $50.
What is pocket-page scrapbooking? Here are my thoughts.
Embroidery patterns are here. Printed with heat-transferable ink for your ease and convenience, our FOUR new embroidery patterns make stitching beautiful needlework fun and relaxing—perfect for your holiday break.
EVERY PATTERN INCLUDES
• 11" X 17" pattern sheet with heat-transferable ink.
Each design can be heat transferred multiple times.
• Instructions for a variety of transfer methods including
tracing options.
• Illustrated guide to basic hand-embroidery stitches.
These first four patterns feature birds, flowers, paisleys, butterflies, repeating borders, frame designs and more. Stitch a quilt label to match your next Lottie Da quilt or trim out your next apron with a charming cherry border. There are countless ways to incorporate this rewarding hobby into your creative repertoire.
Everything comes back from the printer today and we'll work into the night to begin shipping tomorrow so you can have your hands on these great new patterns right away—and have a fabulous holiday break making beautiful projects for yourself and your loved ones!
Ask for them all at your local, independent fabric store. It always helps to make requests. Not every shop will know these are available. In fact, if you want to bring in a pattern catalog to show them, email me and we'll send you one to drop off at your local shop.
Quilters will be especially excited to hear about the Fresh Flowers quilt labels and frames pattern. Several of the designs coordinate with fabrics I've designed, such as Sprig, and Dauphine. With these frame designs, you can match your quilt label to the quilt itself. I've never seen this before—so I'm calling it revolutionary.
The Blooming Borders pattern includes a variety of designs in repeat. In other words, transfer a border multiple times to the length that suits your project. One of these repeating borders (the bird design shown at the top of this post) coordinates with the Mockingbird print from my Garden District collection—which will be out next year on quilting cotton (wink, wink).
For me, this is like birthing another baby—an art baby. I've worked long and hard on every aspect of this new pattern collection to get every nuance and need met with style. I couldn't be more excited to send these out to your ready hands and see the beautiful things you create.
You guys are amazing. Thank you, as always, for your cheerful support.
A BIG Happy Holidays to you!
xo—Heather
