Family

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    Whistle While You Work

    ByHeather Bailey

    Goldfish

    Okay, so the Trash Ties response was amazing!  And a bit
    overwhelming.  We’ve turned our house into a full-on workshop and I’m
    experiencing Christmas through the eyes of Santa’s elves.  Thank you
    for your orders.  We’re making and packaging them up round the clock.
    I’ve added a post to the Trash Ties blog to answer some questions about
    shipping, security, applying discounts, extended coupons! and such.  If you’ve placed an order or are about
    to, you should have a read through that post.  (There’s also a giveaway!)

    Other than the
    elvish nature of this week’s work, we haven’t yet had a chance to break
    into Christmas this year.  The Christmas decorations are stacked in
    boxes in the middle of our living room and have been for two weeks.
    This year will have to be condensed, with extra Christmas effort and
    activities packed into the end of next week.  We’ll make it particularly fun
    so the kids don’t notice they had to wait! 

    Oh gatz!  I’m
    getting weepy.  My friend’s two daughters are over to help and they’re
    watching Fiddler on the Roof while they work.  Sunrise, Sunset is
    bellowing from the other room and I can’t get through that song without
    tearing up, even if I’m in a distant room focussed on writing this
    post!  I’ve got to wrap it up before they get to the Chava Ballet song, the
    one that starts, "Little Bird, Little Chavala."  Oh forget it, I can’t
    even type it out.  I’ll move on.  One of my favorite movies, anyhow!

    The fish?  I’m
    looking forward to the fish.  I made him for our Christmas tree about 5
    years ago or so.  Beyond my funky junky collection, he’s one of my
    favorite ornaments.  I just love the idea of a goldfish swimming around
    in a pine tree.  A few more days to go…

  • One of Those Moments

    ByHeather Bailey

    How are you guys doing this?  Getting through the turkey comas,
    family get-togethers, late-night movie parties, early-morning shopping
    sprees, etc, etc, & so on, then fitting in a Happy Thanksgiving
    blog post? 

    I missed it.  No Thankgiving post.  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving,
    but I have no photos and I’m a couple of days late in posting.  And of
    course, there are no luscious pies left to photograph!  So shall I move
    on or add my thankful chimes to the music? 

    I’ll chime a little.

    "Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment
    which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words."     — Martin Luther King, Jr.

    I am so deeply grateful for so many things this year.  A bulleted
    list could never cover it.  And my little niece was baptized today to
    add to an already moving week (Ocho is now an Adam!).  My mother gave a
    perfectly beautiful talk that had me fighting tears several times
    throughout.

    Then Charlotte decided to be a big girl this week.  Monday night she
    announced, "I need to go potty," and she hasn’t turned back.  I’m even moved by this!  What’s up?  She’s just been so responsible about the whole thing.  It’s her thing; she owns it.  My baby. 

    Pillows
    Oh, I really could go on.  Whole categories I’m not touching on.  I’ll say it’s been one of "those moments" (from that quote up there) all week.
    Good timing for a holiday called Thanksgiving.  Of course, I am eyeing the couch (still feeling my turkey). 

    Before I go though, I must express my gratitude to all of you!
    Taking time from your days and families to make me smile, bring me to
    thoughtful tears, send me rolling on the floor with laughter, provide
    me restorative distraction and share with me sweet sisterhood from
    around the world.  What a magical force you are for good.  Thank you
    dearly. 

    Happy late Thanksgiving!
    Love, Heather

  • Ocho

    ByHeather Bailey

    Selfshot

    What do you do when your sweet sister’s in the hospital giving birth
    and you’re anxiously awaiting the news?  Assuming you’ve already worn a
    hole in the floor from pacing, you can fiddle with your hair.  Then,
    when it’s finally time to go see the baby, your hair is all ready. 

    And that’s about how it went yesterday. 

    Ocho

    Introducing my newest little nephew, what’s-his-name, or as my dad
    likes to call him, Ocho (the eighth grandbaby).  He doesn’t have a name
    yet, but isn’t he darling and perfect? 

    AllfourHe
    looks a lot like my little Elijah did when he was born, but for the
    nose.  And his little head feels like the inside of a rose petal —
    velvety, velvety soft. 

    So, hooray and heaps of love for my sister Julia and her
    husband Brent — well done!  A perfect and sweet new baby boy to fight
    over at family get-togethers.

    I love him the most – me first!

  • Bric-a-Brac in Brief

    ByHeather Bailey

    Lots of artwork going on in the studio this week, keeping me
    occupied and content  My sister’s due to have her second child any day
    now, so I’ve got that on my mind as well.  I’ve got about five projects
    that each need a good nudge before the week’s over and I’m enjoying the
    busyness.  Perhaps getting sick last weekend was just what I needed to
    have a good rest in prep for a carnival of activity this week. 

    Feeling grateful.  Looking forward to Thanksgiving.

    Blocksnpaint
    Anyhow.  Two TV things:
      1.  My good friend will be on Martha tomorrow (Nov. 15th).  I’ve got
    a Martinelli’s chilling in the fridge and popcorn ready to pop.
    Martinelli’s and popcorn?  Not sure why.  It just seems like a good way
    to celebrate such a thing.
        2.  Project Runway is back.  Tonight.  It’s been a while.

  • 12:10 to Bed

    ByHeather Bailey

    Halloweenmagic
    One more Halloween photo — If you could capture true magic on film, I expect it would look something like this. This is Charlotte "poofting" me into a pink frog. She’s been poofting cars into carriages, toys into cakes and balloons into horses.  Today she "poofted Daddy into a kingdom" (king).  Ribbit.

    I went on a date with my mom tonight.  We tooled around some new
    boutiques in town, then went to see 3:10 to Yuma, which was excellent!
    I love when a story ties every wandering thread into one tidy bow for
    the ending.  It’s, well, magic when you realize, ""Yes, of course!" 

    And Christian Bale.  What can I say?  Just go see it/him.

    Hmmm.  Well, I didn’t intend to drift into a glowing movie
    endorsement and then call it quits, but I’ve got the flu and was just
    hit with a wave of fatigue.  Next post will be non-Halloweenish.  Or is
    that non-Halloweenie?

    (Did you know that Christian Bale starred in Empire of the Sun (amazing movie) and Newsies as a kid?  I didn’t realize that until tonight.)

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    The Aftermath

    ByHeather Bailey

    Candy
    There are lots of ways of dealing with the aftermath of Halloween
    — the candy.  Isaac and I let our kids have at it for a couple of days
    and then get rid of what’s left.  I have some friends who stage it out,
    dishing one candy per day Muckymuck2
    for who-knows-how-long.  Then there’s the pick-out- your-favorite-insert # here–
    pieces method.  Makes for a good alternate discussion topic amongst
    mommies when you’ve already memorized everyone’s birth stories! 

    Ok, being a bit sarcastic, yes.  We have plenty of other things to
    talk about than birth and candy!  In fact, we didn’t discuss birth or
    candy at all last weekend in Houston.  Oh wait, I did hear how Anna‘s fourth baby was her most difficult delivery.  But beyond that brief interlude, it was all art and schoolmarms.
    I probably had too much fun at Market.  My next fabric line didn’t
    quite make it in time to be released this Market, so I was free to hang
    out as I pleased.

    I met some new friends and some old ones too.  If you haven’t seen Liesl’s new company,
    go take a peek!  My gush over her paper dolls was a bit embarrassing in
    hindsight.  I even ran to get my sketchbook to show her all the paper
    dolls I’ve been sketching.  Just to prove, "You see, I’m not just
    saying that I’m excited about your paper dolls!  I really am."  Ridiculous.  Liesl, forgive me.  And what a sweetheart and smart.  She’s really got things together.

    Thebite_2

    Hmmm.  I don’t know that I’m up for listing everyone
    this time.  The list keeps getting longer.  I’d rather just report my
    embarrassing moments : )  I was a bit sleep deprived and shouldn’t have
    been in a professional setting that last day.  Nothing horrible… I
    just get a little too excited about things like thread and Japanese
    fabric, you see.  I’ve got to chill. 

    I figure I now have six months to rest up for before Portland (yah, right).  My eyes and my stomach are set on this chocolate palace for an evening escape.

    Had the best time showing Laura around too!  So fun.

    And yes, there were plenty of perfectly polite, well-mannered, calm
    conversations as well.  I’ve just got to get more sleep next time!

    Want some candy??   

    Here

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    The Mermaid

    ByHeather Bailey

    Thecrowningmoment_nhb

    Pure elation!  Do you see it?  And I thought I’d have a little
    pirate girl, or a piggy, or a little cardboard robot girl with a
    polka-dot bow.  No, Charlotte was very clear that she wanted to be a mermaid.  And
    somehow the timing worked out well this year, so I went all out!

    Plop2

    I created the tail texture by running gathering stitches in a fanned-out pattern.  Huge relief that it worked as planned!  The
    skirt is supposed to be the ocean, but I didn’t quite get to the
    seaweed and fish I had in mind.  I love the color variegation there
    though – makes for great interpretive water.

    GleeI
    made a removable plastic sleeve for the fin so Charlotte could enjoy
    her Halloween without being barked at about dragging her tail.  It
    worked out swimmingly — though the tail stayed off the ground anyhow
    as she pranced around in just about the same pose as you see in this
    photo. Crazy cute!

    I drafted the pattern for the bodice and went a bit nuts with
    ruffles and trim.  At one place in the sleeve seam there’s something
    like 12 layers (a couple sets of doubled ruffles & piping, trim,
    & the usual stuff).  I had to outfit Charlotte with a sleeved dance
    leotard underneath to keep her little arms comfortable.  And dance she
    has, in full regalia, on Halloween and every day since.

    MermaidcrownflipIsaac’s contribution was the crown.  I handed him the materials and said, "Go for it!" 

    He responsed, "What’s wrong with this one?" (The original plastic crown underneath all of the goop). 

    "Nothing’s wrong with it, but it could be so much more mermaid-y."

    "Ya, I guess," he said, but then proceeded to spend the next thirty
    or forty minutes deeply enthralled, improving in every way my original
    plan.  He even got out the drill so the button shanks on the back of
    the crown jewels would nest into the plastic just so.  I mean he really
    got into it.  He’s proud of that crown.

    He went a bit crazy with the wand too.  Got burned in the process : (

    Thewand

    Besides the hot-glue burns, we had extra-fun this year.  It was
    Charlotte’s first Halloween where she understood what was up – costume,
    candy, costume.  What a joy to see the magic in her eyes!  She’s really pretty caught up in her underwater fantasy.

    And obviously, Elijah’s still got the magic.  Thank heaven Jedis
    lead a simpler, less-layered, unglittered existence or I might not have
    made the deadline.  Love my twirly, big-eyed dreamers.
    Tada

  • Touch & Go (the original, airplane-related definition, as I just got back from Disneyland and I’m heading back out again — not the sad, someone’s-dying-in-the-hospital version)

    ByHeather Bailey

    Off to Houston for Market.  I’m counting on some good fun and
    a couple of teary, giggly late night chats.  And some business
    stuff in there too.

    ShelfI’m
    just about done with the costume (reveal to come)– and thank heaven,
    as I have one more to make once I get back… a Jedi. Jedis are a bit
    more quick to put together.  And, I’m very familiar with Jedis. 

    My older brother, Matthew, had me sew up Jedi costumes for him and
    two of his business buddies a number of years ago.  There was an
    Amidala     in that crew as well, for a change of pace.  It was for
    a business presentation. (How cool is that?)  And it paid well. 

    Then
    my other brother, Ryan, had to have a Jedi costume too.  He even scored a
    cloak to go with it, as I found the most amazing cloak fabric
    that year — all sand-beaten and worn-looking.  It even wafts in the
    wind. 

    So, can you guess what Elijah wanted to be for Halloween that same year? 
    Yep, a Jedi.  He was about 4.  Now he’s 10 and he’s feeling the Jedi
    vibe again.  And there’s no chance the older costume will fit.

    So that’s the Tuesday/Wednesday that awaits me next week.  That, and a full report on my weekend away!

    (Nope, photo does not relate to post.  But she’s cool, don’t you think?)

  • Magic of One Kind and Another

    ByHeather Bailey

    Halloweeninprogress

    We’re back from Disneyland and it was amazing!  Our first time on an official
    vacation     as a foursome. Charlotte, though 2 and admitted for free, had
    as much fun as any full-fare filly.  And Elijah enjoyed himself even
    more than last time (with Isaac in May, I think) – improved by the company of cousins to hang on fences
    with and generally poke and pester.  I’ll track down the camera cards
    from our trip and find some photos to share. 

    We came home to a backlog of business, a visit from Isaac’s mother
    and Halloween magic to make.  Wait till you see
    this one.  Charlotte is hovering.