Design

  • Check Out ‘Dem Booties!

    ByHeather Bailey

    Bittybootiescollage
    Have you seen the Bitty Booties Photo Pool lately?  There are some amazing little booties in there – almost 200 photos.  Some with amazing embroidery, some with funky embellishments, some simple, some a little wild — so many great interpretations of a simple baby shoe (free pattern in my sidebar).  Go take a peek at the photo pool if you’re expecting a baby, know someone who’s expecting a baby or are just looking for crafty inspiration.  You’re bound to think of someone to make shoes for once you’ve bathed in the cutness that is Bitty Booties.

    Also tickling my fancy is this new patchwork dress from Anthropologie.  Who’d have thought a patchwork dress could look so chic?  Yes, and a little Oklahoma, but I like musicals.  I’m pencilling-in a patchwork dress for a summertime project in my fantasy craft calendar.  Who knows, some dreams come true.

    Thanks for the chandelier love. And, yes, you’ve been heard…I’ll try to get some good pictures of the
    studio tomorrow.  I have such a good time taking detail shots, I
    haven’t stepped back to get the big picture. (Sounds like a metaphor
    for something.)

    Finally, today’s the last day to vote for the Bloggies.  I’m putting in a major bid for Amy Angry Chicken who’s a finalist in the Best Craft Weblog category.  Just in case I’m not being obvious enough… Go vote for Amy!

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    Many Months Ago

    ByHeather Bailey

    Pincushion1hb

    I thought I’d break up the long train of toys (see last three posts) with a fun little pincushion.  Does anyone remember the flouncy bouncer saga and thereby neglected pincushion design?  That was seven months ago.  This little pincushion has remained in my cabinet since then, sewn, stuffed and tufted.  All it needed was a button — poor little pincushion.  And, as luck would have it,  I had just enough crafting time today to sew on a button — so here she is, neglected no more. 

    Pincushion2hb
    I’ve got a friend I’ve been meaning to send this to — the only blogger who knew what I was up to with Free Spirit last year (before I started my blog).  If you’re reading this, Amy, thanks for the happy email breaks during last year’s fabric marathon.  The pincushion’s on its way next week : )

    For the rest of you’uns, I’m posting some goofy photos I sent to her mid-process (showing Freshcut in the works). But I am in PJs, so be warned.  Oh, and they’re terrible pictures – they were taken with the built-in camera on my computer around midnight – no light.  You might have to click on them to see what’s on those papers – eek.  That email was sent January 5, 2006.  Here’s what it said.  That was twelve months ago.

    Iphotome2hbbordAs for today, I’ve been informed that a couple of comments have disappeared recently.  At least two.  So, if you’ve noticed that your comments haven’t stuck around, please don’t be offended.  The only comments I’ve ever erased are the occassional duplicates. Typepad was down a couple of days ago and is likely the cause.  I’ll send them a note and see if they have any more info.  Otherwise, be sure to hang around to type in the security code after you’ve commented.  I know that I forget that step sometimes and have had to go back in and reconstruct my thoughts. 

    Iphotome1hb_1
    And, again, thank you for each and every comment.  Such a treat!  I don’t have time to respond to each one individually, but I try to answer questions as much as possible and leave comments on your fabulous blogs.  If you have a question that I haven’t responded to yet, please feel free to send me another email.  I’m working on putting up a website with some f.a.q.s to help in some cases.

    See you soon — Happy Weekend!

  • Pins & Plans

    ByHeather Bailey

    Here’s a fun find I should have spotlighted a couple of months ago when I first snatched ’em up, my fabulous pearly-plastic leaf pins. 

    LeafpinshbNot every project can withstand thick crow-bar-like pins, but aaah, when the project’s right, out these babies come!  They have a color palette and a kitschy quality that reminds me of vintage Christmas ornaments – or the art direction of that recent Marie Antoinette movie (though I haven’t seen it yet).  A sewing indulgence.  Fun, fun. 

    The rest of the time I like to use slender glass-headed pins.  They’re more sharp and easier to use than most plastic- headed pins and they don’t melt under the iron.  Anyhoo…

    I’m about to head into a big sprint, designing my next fabric collection, and I’m in debate about how to handle blogging during this time.  Of course, I’d have plenty to carry on about if I could show you what I’m working on, but that wouldn’t be fair to Free Spirit (designs have to stay hush-hush until released to ward-off copycats, I’m told).  I’ve thought about taking a few weeks off, but that sounds no-fun.  So, right now, I’m thinking shorter posts with pics of some of my favorite things — though I might just ramble on even longer as happy task avoidance.  Regardless, for stress-management purposes, I needed a ‘plan.’ 

    So, expect random antique and thrift store goodness, tools, old projects, old photos and so on for the next few weeks.  I’ll try to throw in some fun projects here and there as fabric-design breaks are had.  Perhaps I’ll even finish some of what I’ve started or get one of my patterns printed at last.  Or maybe not 😉

    Anyone hail from Arizona with lots of free time on her hands? 

    (The pins were in some random bin at JoAnn’s of all places.)

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    Bang!

    ByHeather Bailey

    Yay, a new year!  Tabula Rasa.  Of course, give me one day and I’ll have the whole year pencilled in.  I swear, I could keep a large team of people busy.  So many things to be excited about. 

    Sittingprettyhb

    CoatflowerhbCuffdetailhb

    Sittinghbtall

    FrombelowhbWalkindoggiehb

    For now, here are my last-minute home-mades for Charlotte’s
    Christmas: a vintagey coat, cuffed gauchos and a rumpled felt flower.  I
    didn’t get to the piggy doll I had planned (too sick).  Have I ever
    mentioned how obsessed with pigs my Charlotte is? 

    It all started with Babe a few months back.  She quickly found
    a red-eyed plastic hippo doll amongst Elijah’s old toys, named it Babe, and began to stroke and bottle-feed the freaky thing.  It
    didn’t take me long to replace the hippo with a far friendlier plastic pig
    and a cuddly stuffed one too.  Her collection continues to grow.  So, for
    months now, Charlotte’s pigs have gone with her everywhere.  They’re
    all named Babe.

    Anyhow, I’m so happy about this little coat.  It fulfills some
    deep-rooted baby-wardrobe fantasy of mine.  I think its that retro
    shape and those big yellow buttons.  Not to mention the sweet little
    girl with yarn in her hair.  I made the pants Christmas morning, after
    the presents, and while Isaac made breakfast.  I don’t know how it
    happened, but they were done before breakfast.  Painless.

    Even better, Charlotte now has something to wear with her brown
    & orange patent leather shoes.  (Of course, she’s about as obsessed
    with her pink Crocs as she is with pigs, so fat chance she’ll wear them much.)

    Frombelowhorizhb_1

    I’m proud of these photos too.  I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with
    Isaac’s Canon 10D.  I use it for most of my blog photography, but for
    this shoot, he insisted that I use the Canon 1D Mark II N. (It’s faster and
    better for taking pictures of a busy little girl.)  And I did it!  And
    it was faster. 

    So, for 2007, I think it’s time I finally learn the language of
    Photography.  I’ve known Isaac for almost fifteen years and we’ve been
    married for twelve (Saturday was our anniversary).  He’s been a
    photographer since well before we met, but I’ve never had a compelling
    reason to learn his craft until I started this blog.  And, you know,
    I’ve discovered that I quite like photography.  (See my first attempt with real equipment here.)  I can’t explain
    F-stops, shutter speed or aperture for the life of me, but I know a few
    camera settings and the lighting scenarios that work for me and I just
    go for it.  It’s about time I learn the language.  This is the year.

    I’ve got a bunch of other goals too, but if I stay here discussing
    them, I’ll never get to any of them.  And, since today is the big
    kick-off for 2007, it’s time to start with a bang and get some momentum
    going.  Be back soon…

    Happy New Year!
    xo–Heather

    (Edit:  More photos here and a pic of the coat’s lining.  And, sorry I can’t lead you to some pattern #s for these, I designed the patterns from scratch.) 

  • Couch Flower

    ByHeather Bailey

    …or Fleur de Divan. (Everything sounds fancier in French.)

    Flowerbrooch

    Looking for a quick stocking-stuffer idea? This flower pin is a fun project to make while watching season five of 24 on dvd☺. I cut two flower shapes out of felt and stitched a running-stitch around their perimeters. I drew up the stitches on the top-most felt flower to curl and rumple the edges. Then I stacked on slubby wool yarn, a vintage fabric yo-yo, a slitted circle of wool felt and a fun little button. With a pin on the back, it’s a perfect bit of pizazz for a winter coat or a holiday sweater.

    Ooo, it’d also be fun to dress the top of a present with one – a ‘bow’ and an accessory in one!  Aw shucks, it looks like I’ll have to watch a few more episodes tonight.  Of course, Isaac won’t mind. That show is addicting.

    Update: Instructions for this scrappy flower pin are now available as the La Fleur Debris mini pattern at the Heather Bailey store. For more flower pin inspiration, visit this post and this post. xo—Heather

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    The Peppermint Experiment

    ByHeather Bailey
    Peppermintgarland_2

    Peppermint2_1


    Here’s the result of my late-night rush on the fabric store for red & white striped fabric. My church is donating a decorated tree to a family in need (love this idea), so I had some friends and the teenage girls over last night to make this zany garland for contribution. We sipped hot cocoa with homemade marshmallows (Katie-made) and sat in a circle, sewing. Now, why can’t that happen more often. My kind of evening.

    (The top garland is the ceramic one I mentioned two posts ago.)

    Gingerbread

    The gingerbread house was a whole-family activity. Thank you Costco. Have you seen these kits? All of the hard stuff is already done for you;  the cookies are cooked and the frosting is mixed. Just assemble and decorate (and snack). Elijah did most of the work, but tuckered-out before the house was gaudy enough, so Charlotte and I helped him out.  I could glue candy on things all day. It’s a lot like making yo-yos – repetitive and hypnotic.

  • |

    This N That

    ByHeather Bailey

    So far, so good. Here’s the state of my re-fashion at present. The collar is made from the entire bottom band of one of the sweaters. It can be flipped up or flipped down.  I’ll see what works best once I try the thing on. I’m thinking of stitching the yoke back to the yoke front with big red stitches and raw edges exposed, but I’m making it up as I go along, so I reserve the right to change my mind. 😉 On a related note, check out this recent article from TIME magazine on re-fashionistas (link no longer exists).

    Refashioninprogress

    On the garland front, I stopped by the store last night and picked up some striped fabric. I’ll let you know how the peppermint experiment goes & take some pics.  It looks like Amanda (Soulemama blog) has been in yo-yo mode as well. She’s put
    together a festive garland for her window frame and was sportive enough to use
    her treasured vintage buttons. (I can be too protective of mine.) And Anna has made a funky felt one.

    So, I’m officially proclaiming it The Year of the Garland (by no authority at all) and I’m starting a Flickr photo group for handmade/homemade garlands (not just Christmas garlands either), called Ga-ga for Garlands. So, if you’ve got the garland bug, then, by edict, you must join in and show off your efforts. 

    Also, Freshcut is finally up on the Free Spirit site. (Remember, you guys got the early early preview.) The collection starts shipping out to stores just this week (not till January or February for Australia), so hopefully you’ll be able to get your hands on the line soon!  I’m looking forward to seeing what Freshcut projects you come up with. 

    The fabrics are also for sale at various online fabric stores, but, be warned, on some of these sites the colors are all muddy and funny – much yummier in person.  Here are some of the sites that have the line available for pre-ordering:

    Flapper Girl Fabrics

    The Bernina Connection

    Cabbage Rose Quilting

    FatQuarter Shop

    Hancock’s of Paducah

    Quilt Fabric Delights (Australia)

    Finally, I want to take a moment to thank everyone for your kind condolences these past two weeks. I’m not finding the time to respond to each of your well-wishes individually, so please know that Isaac and I are grateful for your love and support.

    Love,
    Heather

  • Yo-Yo Garland

    ByHeather Bailey

    Tonight’s the big un-boxing: up with the shrubbery, up with the lights, up with Christmas! Here’s my most recent addition to the fanfare – the yo-yo garland.

    Yoyogarlanda_1And, what a quick and relaxing occupation it’s been; one movie rental (You, Me, and Dupree) and I was halfway done. 

    I’m planning to make a red & white one as well, as I have a red & white Christmas fantasy for my kitchen table. I just need to hunt down some red & white striped fabric and see what it does in yo-yo form. I’m hoping for a peppermint effect.

    I do have a ceramic peppermint garland, but it’s seen better days.

  • Re-Fashion in the Works

    ByHeather Bailey

    Beforesweaters2hb_2 I’m riding a small wave of winter-cleaning this week. It’s about time I box up my maternity clothes, as Charlotte’s almost two!  However, I can’t quite pack up these three sweaters.  I know I’ll never wear them. Never have. They’re just too boxy and big, even for maternity-wear. And who needs three of the same thing anyhow, even if they were a bargain?

    Aah, but they’re wool…

    So, I’ve decided it’s time for a re-fashion, my first in a long time. And, I’ve given myself two rules:

    1.  I’m not allowed to make a pattern first. I’ve just got to cut into it and work it out as I go (even if I don’t end up liking the result).

    2.  It must be slightly weird (again, even if I don’t end up liking the result).

    I’m excited to get to work on it, as I’m in need of a project of no monumental importance, a palate cleanser. Ha! I like that. A palate cleanser. Perfect.

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    Back at It!

    ByHeather Bailey

    0107_sewnews_1We’re back from Vancouver. The funeral was perfect, exactly what Gary would have wanted. He even had the Dixieland band he’d special- requested. His widow, Elinor, is in decent spirits, considering. She’s heading out to Switzerland at the end of the week. I hope her trip will be the perfect distraction to help her through this painful transition. Love that woman!

    I came home to this fun little surprise in the mailbox, a Freshcut feature in Sew News‘ January 2007 issue. Holiday noise-makers, of course. Aren’t they cute? Pretty nice little spirit-lifter.

    I’ve organized my to-dos for the next couple of weeks as well and was careful to plan-in a few all-day-present-making-marathons. Making spirits bright, as they say (mainly mine). So, that’s where I’m at. Next post… something cheery.