HELLO my name is Heather

  • Refresh, refresh, refresh, re-…

    ByHeather Bailey

    Freshcutpool

    New bells & whistles — ever-changing selection of photos from
    my Flickr groups in the side bar.  Every time you refresh the page,
    there’s a new selection of goodies.  (It’s been a couple of weeks since
    I added them, but you know.) 

    I’m so impressed with the hundreds of projects you guys have posted
    — and such an amazing variety at that!  Scroll down a bit and you’ll
    see links to each of these Flickr groups: Freshcut & fabulous!,
    Hooray for Headbands, and Bitty Booties.  I mentioned the impressive
    Bitty Booties pool once before, but haven’t mentioned any of them
    nearly enough, especially the Freshcut & fabulous! pool.  Hundreds
    & hundreds of amazing projects:  quilts, clothing, purses, piggies,
    dog collars, you name it. 

    If you’re looking for a spark of inspiration, click on the mosaic
    above or follow this link.  And, of course, if you haven’t already,
    join the group (it’s free) and add your own photos to the pool.  Jump
    in, the water’s nice.

    Free patterns for Hooray for Headbands & Bitty Booties in my sidebar, toward the top.  And, yes, there’s  a Ga-ga for Garlands pool as well.

  • Drag-Around Sue

    ByHeather Bailey

    I’m whipping up a drag-around blanket for Charlotte.  She’s getting
    pretty attached to a thread-bare quilt I made in high school and I
    can’t have that, can I?  Not with a bunch of Freshcut in my shelves.

    Equiltinprocess

    I’m not doing anything elaborate.  Just a big piece of this fabric,
    with a couple of borders around the edge.  The goal is soft.  Soft,
    soft.  So, the fewer seams the better and it must be tied or loosely
    quilted.  Otherwise, I’ll never get her to make the switch.  I’ll do a
    trickier, pieced quilt next, but for now I’m all about replacing that
    other blanket.  If I can happily toss this one in the washing machine
    when needed, with no guilt, then it’s just right.  It does have a fun
    bias ruffle for a border though.  You’ll see.  It keeps the blanket
    from looking too much like the cheater quilt that it is.  Oops, did I
    say that?  Cheater quilts are great.  And crazy-big prints make cheater
    quilts easy.

    Legomaniac2

    So, then Elijah caught on and decided to make Charlotte a doll
    blanket as his first attempt at the sewing machine.  His design.  His
    stitching.  No quicky, drag-around blanket like mom’s either.  This one
    would have a tricky, pieced border.  And, wow, he did a pretty amazing
    job of it.  I only babysat that first row of stitching and all of the
    cutting.  He kept his seam allowances in check and hung in there until
    the top was pieced.  It looks like he’s ready to expand beyond
    hand-stitching.  Lego skills come in handy.

  • Longings & Belongings

    ByHeather Bailey

    I’m finally finding time to flip through these books I ordered ages ago.  It’s a treat to browse my copy of Bend-the-Rules
    and see what Amy‘s been up to behind the scenes. It’s amazing what an
    undertaking authoring a book is.  Potter Craft has done a beautiful job
    translating her style onto paper.

    Sewingbookshb
    Bend the Rules is
    full of beautiful, often quirky photography and illustrations, and
    entertaining text as you might expect. It’s magical. Congratulations,
    Amy.

    Simple Gifts to Stitch is a fun book to touch.  The paper is
    more matte and stiff and the photography is peaceful and quiet.  Yes,
    as a designer, I’m much more of a book browser than a book-project
    maker, but if I did pick a project from this one, it’d likely be the
    magic rain poncho which houses a smattering of tissue-paper confetti. 

    Caves_grandcypress
    Oh, and here is the pool I missed out on in Florida.  I always, always
    pack a swimsuit when I leave town, but had to forget the swimsuit on
    the this trip of all trips.  Look at that pool!  There were caves and
    tunnels, waterfalls and rope-bridges.  Ay, ay, ay.  I thumbed through
    the gift shop swimsuits twice.  I was ready to splurge $150 on a
    one-swim suit.  Isaac even consented.  My pocketbook was saved by a
    late night conversation with these guys and one of these guys. 
    Sleeping in gained priority.  That was the Hyatt Grand Cypress in
    Orlando.

    Pool_grandcypress
    Then, the next weekend, we were at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas for Trash
    Ties    .  They had a wave pool!  (I didn’t take any pictures.  That’s
    still The Grand Cypress over there — about half of it.)  I walked past
    it to and from the convention center each day.  Yes, I packed my
    swimsuit, but no, I couldn’t stay longer to dip in — I needed to get
    back to the kids.  Needless to say, I think we’ll be heading to a
    waterpark before summer’s over.  Perhaps with the wave of family coming
    to town next week?

    I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned how much I like to swim.

  • Free Embroidery Download

    ByHeather Bailey

    Embroiderycollage

    I have one of those fancy-schmancy sewing machines that can output
    original embroidery designs.  When I first received the machine (oh,
    about a year ago), Isaac took it upon himself to figure out exactly how
    I might utilize my new Cadillac considering we’re a totally-Mac
    family and these machines are all designed for PC users.  He signed up
    to write an article on the process for Sew News. All I had to do was
    design an embroidery and sew up something cute with it — no problem. 

    Sewnews_augsept07
    My design     is now a free download.  Follow the "Sew News Rose" link over
    in my sidebar and you’ll download a zipped folder containing several
    file types of the same design (.ART, .CSD, .HUS, .PCD, .PCQ, .PCS,
    .PEC, .PES, .SEW, .SHV, .XXX)  If you have a tricky sewing machine too,
    then one of these should work for you.  If you need some other sort of
    file type to be able to use the design, I apologize, but the above 11
    file types are all we can do.

    I wish I could say that digitizing embroideries is now second-nature
    for me, but I have some work to do before I can hatch an idea out in
    thread lickity-split.  I’ll have to take some classes or hook up with
    someone who enjoys moving needle positions around.  I’ve got the
    flower-doodling part down pat… and plenty of thread.

    Check out Isaac’s article in the August/September ’07 issue of Sew News. 

    Enjoy!  (and send me photos!)

  • I’m Back…

    ByHeather Bailey

    … and am thoroughly enjoying my kids and cleaning.  I’ve been home
    for almost two days and the house is almost back together from weeks of
    mad activity.  I even slipped away to the doctor’s today for an x-ray.

    StacksRemember
    the flower arrangement incident at Quilt Market? My foot has developed
    a knobbily spot near the wound and the area occasionally sports a new
    bruise with no obvious cause, making me think my foot just might have
    broken that day.  It doesn’t hurt to walk or run, but I am sensitive to
    shoes that put pressure on the top of my foot.  I had a peek at the
    x-ray and didn’t see anything obviously amiss, but am pleased to have
    enough breathing room to no longer neglect the mystery.  I should hear
    back in a few days if there are any problems.  I’ll report.

    Oh, and my finger is infected.  So strange.  No cause.  It’s swollen
    up and throbbing like a cartoon injury.  I picked up some antibiotics
    and am planning a few sleep-ins.  My recently over-worked self is ready
    for some good TLC. Maybe I’ll even cash-in the gift certificate for a
    professional masseuse that I received a couple of Mother’s Days ago. 

    I have lots to share.  Lots.  So, I’ll pop in more frequently the
    next while and try to catch up a bit.  I took photos here and there
    over the last couple of weeks, but couldn’t eek out the time to post.
    For instance, here’s that fabric, trimmed, folded and ready to kit.
    That was a job.

    I’m happy it’s done and am glad to be back.

  • |

    Breathe

    ByHeather Bailey

    I so need to pop my head in here. Hello. Hello. Hi. I’m still kickin’, still alive.

    Freshcutrolls_hb
    I’m making about 75 kits for my hands-on class in Florida, hence the plump
    fabric rolls.  I’m putting the finishing touches on the sewing pattern
    for the kits as well (getting closer to publishing).  Then there’s the
    style guides for Trash Ties and their cute little pink boxes, Trash
    Ties booth design, brochure, order forms, press release, press kits,
    etc.  Are you spinning with me yet?

    Once those things are taken care of, it’s back to outlining my 3
    other lecture/classes for Florida and putting together all necessary
    visuals, handouts and fun surprises for those classes.  All of this by
    Monday morning when my plane takes off.  I’ll be back at the end of
    next week for one day before heading out to Vegas to introduce Trash
    Ties to the beauty industry.    

    Come July 18th, I can jump off the treadmill for a couple of weeks –
    squeeze my kids extra, make real food for dinner and paint a room or
    something — shake things up.  I have a gaggle of family (including Laura – yay!) coming to town
    at the beginning of August and I couldn’t be more excited to play,
    play, play!

  • |

    Moving Right Along… doogadoon, doogadoon…

    ByHeather Bailey

    Tt_shirtshb

    It’s official.  Trash Ties is moving forward.  Afterall, we now have shirts.*  What’s more official than that? 

    Tuesday was a big day.  Big day!  I shipped out my fabric designs
    (see that mysterious tube down there) and we finished up the design of
    our Trash Ties boxes (which required a big two-day photoshoot last week
    — a different one — things were just too hectic to blog).  It was an all-nighter
    for me on Monday toReliefbd_a get both
    projects out the door on time.  I really need to cut that out!  It’s
    been absolutely crazy around here.  I did go to bed at 8pm last night
    though — oh so nice. 

    Today was several hours of forgiveness cleaning, followed by
    booth design & some shopping with a friend.  It was nice to get out of the studio for a
    bit.  It’s been a long, hard push these last few weeks.  I’ll take
    cleaning and more work (but different work) as my break for now.  I’m
    tough.  And I did pick up some more straws — you know how I feel about straws : )

    We should have the beginnings of a Trash Ties website up soon? and I promise to reveal all.  It’ll be good for me to record
    some of my experiences there.  It’s been an interesting and colorful
    adventure — and likely to get even more so.

    I think I just might sneak out to a movie one of these nights though — shhh.

    *to wear at the launch

  • Cuteness

    ByHeather Bailey

    Girlyfigurine

    I just received some fun little pick-me-ups in the mail.  These
    goodies hail from ms. elinor, lowercase e.  I love this little
    figurine.  She’s only about two inches tall.  She’ll be making herself
    at home on Charlotte’s bookshelf (which used to be a china hutch —
    I’ll have to post about that one too).

    Elinorprezzies2Elinor,
    well mom :), also sent some funky fabric bits, horsey buttons and an
    antique mother/daughter postcard.  Random and perfect.  We have a lot
    in common in our taste for miscellany.  And, mom’s now selling my
    fabric on her website.  So, here’s a link for that. 

    It’s our babysitting night tonight.  We have a co-op set-up with
    three of our friends where each couple takes a turn watching all of the
    kids on Friday nights.  In other words, we each have reliable
    date-night babysitting for three weeks, followed by one very hectic
    fourth Friday filled with all the goings-on of eleven little kids.  So worth it.
    Highly recommended.  Of course, it was on a date night that Charlotte
    broke her teeth at our friends’ home.  So, if you set up one of these
    babysitting circles with your friends, make sure all couples agree to
    some sort of basic structure — like two adults present or rooms with
    bunkbeds get locked, etc.  It can get pretty crazy. 

    We usually take the kids to the park for a couple of hours and get
    them all tuckered out and then set them up with pillows, blankets and
    popcorn in our loft and project a fun movie onto the wall.  Sometimes
    we’ll slip in a craft activity or cookie decorating.  I think we made
    New Years hats once.  Anyhow, that’s my night.  It’s actually kind of
    fun.

  • The Soap Trick

    ByHeather Bailey

    Soaptrickhb
    Don’t struggle with obnoxiously-thin slivers of soap in the shower ever again!  You know, the dwindling remains of a bar, when the soap finally gives up the ghost and snaps in two?  Set them aside with your sewing supplies.

    Readymade_junejuly07Waifish
    soap bars can be the perfect marking tool in many instances.  In fact,
    I find myself using soap far more often than chalk.  And there’s no longer any
    guilt in instating a fresh bar of soap in the shower when the old one
    gets cumbersome.  Handy and resourceful.  Yes, there should be
    some sort of disclaimer here — test it on your fabric first, etc, etc.
    — but it works for me. 

    My favorite little soap trick made its way into ReadyMade this
    month, along with a groovy illustration.  Like my favorite knot,
    "the soap trick" is one of those little things that makes sewing more
    fun.  And showering more pleasant.   

    My next collection of fabric gets turned in this week.  And, yes,
    that’s where I’ve been — tending my two-dimensional garden.  As soon
    as the designs* are shipped out, it’ll be a mad-dash to prepare three
    lectures and one hands-on class for these guys (attendees — note the
    supply list in the sidebar) for early July, followed by the launch of
    Trash Ties in mid-July. Then I think I will fall over sideways for a
    couple of weeks before committing to anything new.

    Thanks Kim, for your kind take — this sort of thing helps keep a girl peppy and at-it — at least for a few more weeks.

    *It’ll be months before we see the resulting fabric.  It’s still Freshcut season 🙂

  • West Chester

    ByHeather Bailey

    My dad read through the recent posts about my brief trip to
    Pennsylvania and my nagging hope to explore my early-childhood neighborhood,
    sorted out that my one day was spent in West Chester, PA and presented
    these photos to me at dinner last Sunday. 
    Westchesterhome

    I may not have made it to Cranberry, where I first lived, but it turns out that my father was born in West Chester, where I did go.  I wish I had known.  This was his first home. 
    Poconosvacation1944

    And here he is, the baby, being held by my grandmother, Bernice,
    whom I never had the pleasure to meet.  Third from the left is Joyce,
    Bernice’s sister, the same Joyce from August’s trip down memory lane.
    Two of her children, the young man on the left and the teenage girl in
    the middle, are the "double-cousins" I met that same day last summer.
    Joyce has since passed, at a well-lived 96 or 97, as have many of the
    folks in this photo, including my father’s older brother and sister,
    his uncle and his grandmother.  My grandfather was undoubtedly the one
    behind the camera — photography was his chosen hobby.  I know, funny
    that I married a photographer, but I only have one memory of my
    grandfather, so it’s sadly just a coincidence.

    Anyhow, it looks like I’ll have even more exploring to do in
    Pennsylvania one day.  It turns out my dad remembers all of his old
    addresses.