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    Giveaway, Oh Giveaway

    ByHeather Bailey

    Food5

    I don't even know where to begin with all of the adventures
    I went on this month.  I may have to grant myself a
    Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card and skip immediately past Go — at least till
    I'm caught up on some design projects.

    Food2noteThis
    weekend I went through the first round of strike-offs for my next
    fabric collection.  Gah!  I normally wouldn't mention strike-offs
    because, really, it will be months before the fabrics are available. 
    But, gah!  They're gorgeous.  I'm ready to fly over to the mill and
    screen the prints myself if it will speed things up.  I'm dying to sew
    with this fabric. 

    Bridgenote2See,
    now I feel better, and you feel worse.  Which is why I normally don't
    say anything.  But, that's what I'm working on today. And that's where
    my brain is.

    I'm also thinking about a giveaway to celebrate my blogiversary.  It's been 3 years now.  So, how does this sound for a prize?

    Hotelviewnote2
    Leave a comment, telling us what your first sewing project was — or if
    you don't sew, what your first sewing project might be — or if you
    don't plan to sew, why not!?  Or your favorite remedy for puffy eyes. 
    I don't know, tell us something interesting.  Or just say, 'Hi.'  That
    works too. 

    I'll let this go through Thursday night MST, then hand it over to the Random Number Generator for an edict. 

    I may hand out a couple of extra giveaways too.  I tend to do that.

    The photos?  Some shots from my weekend in Pittsburgh.  What a beautiful city!

  • Hat-Flower Heaven

    ByHeather Bailey

    TinselFlowersA How
    long has it been?  Thank heaven for Twitter.  I've been on the road for
    the last 9 days, in Pittsburgh, Ohio & New York, hopping from one
    meeting to the next.  My dad met up with me in the middle there and we
    toured around his childhood neighborhoods and mine.  I lived near
    Pittsburgh till I was 4 or 5 and in Ohio till I was 8.  It was every
    bit as beautiful as I remember, or more so.  In most places, our
    next-door neighbors still lived there (wild).  I have a lot to share.  I can't wait to get back home and sort through the photos and stories.

    Yesterday,
    between meetings in NY, I stopped by Tinsel Trading Co. on 37th —
    vintage hat flower heaven!  I have some fun projects in store for this
    jackpot.  Another reason to get home soon. 

    So, after a quick
    stop by Purl Patchwork, and some other SoHo favorites this afternoon,
    I'll make my way to LaGuardia, then home.  It's been a great trip, but
    I'm ready to be back with my family and back to my list of to-dos.  We
    have some big things in store this summer.

  • Fascinated, though Somewhat Discomfitted

    ByHeather Bailey

    0904HBhairdo1
    I
    woke up this morning to my mother calling 'Heather" with a short, soft
    whisper in my ear.  Was she there?  No.  It was a dream type-of-thing. 
    She wasn't in my dreams, it was just her voice saying my name — and only once.

    The
    last time something similar happened was several years ago, when I woke
    up early with a panicky feeling that something was wrong with Old MacDonald.  "Oh no, oh no, something happened to Old MacDonald!"  As I came to consciousness, I laughed it off.  What could have happened?  Perhaps the Farmer in the Dell stole MacDonald's Three Little Pigs to make a sow's-ear purse for Goldilocks?  Again, I wasn't really dreaming of Old MacDonald.  It was just a feeling I had while not-quite-awake. 


    0904HBhairdo3a A couple of hours later, I learned that Isaac's grandfather unexpectedly died in the night.  His last name was MacDonald.  And he was old.

    I'm still baffled by the experience.  Especially, being his
    grandaughter-in-law and not a close relative.  I think I only met him
    twice. I rarely have nightmares or wake up in a panic.  My dreams are usually bizarre and silly, like a They Might Be Giants song.  I clearly remember rollerskating along a riverbank in Turkey and making snow-angels in a mountain of sugar. 

    So,
    though my mother's whisper in my ear this morning wasn't in panic at
    all, it was such a similar experience that I've been pondering the Old
    MacDonald thing all over again.  … and thinking that maybe I need to give my mom a call.

    Has this every happened to you?

    (The photos?  Random, I know, but I mentioned my hairdo on Twitter yesterday & some folks requested a peek.)

  • Smoochy Pops

    ByHeather Bailey

    Valentine09
    Valentine's
    Day is even better when it falls on the weekend.  No
    school-night-date-night conflict and there's time to have fun with the
    kids as well. 

    I've been working on some interesting design
    projects this week.  It drives me crazy that I can't show sneak-peeks. 
    Some of my contracts actually prohibit me from letting the cat out of
    the bag – or the hen out of the haystack, to start a new cliche.  While
    I'm plugging away on product-design, I'm working on package design as
    well — and I love it — I love designing boxes.  My inner engineer
    gets the baton.

    Perhaps next year, I can make some funky, 3-D
    valentines for folks to download and get those folds, flaps, tabs and
    tucks out of my system.  I wish I had thought of it last week, but was
    mightily engaged in the storm of drawings and prototypes strewn across
    the studio.

    I'll make a note.  Till then, here's wishing you a
    Happy Valentine's Day weekend! Go smooch someone cute, or someone
    sweet, or someone cute and sweet. Or eat something cute and sweet if
    you have no one to smooch.

  • Inaugural Scuffs

    ByHeather Bailey

    InauguralScuffs

    To
    tap things off     this month, I started my dance class.  I'm on tap of the
    world, the tap dog, at the tap of my class, tap o' the mornin' to ya…
    tap that one.  Good grief.

    What a great leg-workout, and hokey
    and fun to boot.  Imagine stomping about on a wooden floor to a song
    called Carrot Stew, a dance that conjures picnic plaids, poofy skirts,
    pantalettes, and pig tails.  Sure, I'll start with clogging, but I'll
    need to add true tap dancing at some point if I'm to continue my
    rappity-clackity-dancity-fantasy. 

    Watch Eleanor Powell go.  That ain't no clogging costume either. 

    It would be extra cool to mix tapping with swing dancing. Oh if I had nothing else to do than dance all day.   

  • Through the Tunnel

    ByHeather Bailey

    OMGoodness!  What a whirlwind month.  We've managed both of our
    kids' birthdays, a wedding anniversary, a house hunt with/for my sister
    & her family, a new office/warehouse hunt for Trash Ties, a Creative Escape
    project design (fun!), a raised garden bed for the backyard, a
    snow-camping adventure, and a monster sinus infection.  That's on top
    of the regularly-scheduled programming around the studio. 

    SnowTunnel2

    Elijah
    is now 12 and Charlotte turned 4 yesterday.  Let me say, twelve is a
    big one to absorb as a parent — how did that happen!?!  His cub paw
    hardly fits in my hand anymore.  Four is a little crazy too. 
    Especially when you're four-year-old speaks as well as an
    eight-year-old and has a snappy, sophisticated sense of humor.  My mom
    calls her Scarlett Bailey for her salty coquetry.  Sugary treats aren't nearly as tasty without a pinch of salt.

    Just
    yesterday, when my mom asked Charlotte what she'd like to eat for her
    birthday dinner, Charlotte replied, "Nothing."  Then, when she saw a
    twinge of disappointment in my mother's face for her lack of an answer,
    Charlotte continued with a devlish smile, "Barf would be good!" 

    My
    mom and Charlotte had a good laugh over that one.  Mom loves
    Charlotte's sassiness, so she gets a good helping of it.  In the end,
    Charlotte chose hot dogs and strawberry lemonade, with cauliflower and
    "green olives that taste like black ones" on the side — in
    combination, far better than Mac N Cheese alone, which was the
    runner-up menu.

  • One Shingle at a Time

    ByHeather Bailey

    Baileydollhouse

    Isaac’s
    back on his feet and back to work on Charlotte’s dollhouse.  It was a
    crafty day all around.  Isaac shingled the dollhouse for hours, while
    Elijah built his first model airplane.  Charlotte looped velvet ribbons
    and string back and forth across my studio, while I sketched and
    painted new fabrics.  No computers, no Nintendo DS’s, no Gameboys, Wiis
    or XBoxes, just some old-fashioned, creative, use-your-mind fun.  It
    was a good day.

  • Happy New Year’s Eve!

    ByHeather Bailey

    We’ll see how tonight goes.  I’m already spent from staying out late
    last night to celebrate my wedding anniversary.  We went to a nice
    Italian restaurant and then out to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I’m still mad that Cate Blanchett didn’t receive an Oscar for Elizabeth.
    There’s a scene in CCofBB where Cate dances on a terrace or gazebo in a
    fabulous red dress… Watch for it.  It’s breathtaking.

    Grumblec_2

    The photos above are from our Nutcracker outing.
    Charlotte’s trying hard not to smile.  Isaac and she had a game going.
    (This explains the funky camera angles.  I don’t know about Charlotte,
    but I thought he was funny.)

    Anyhow.  I’m just popping in.  As today’s the last day to use our Happy Holidays coupons at the
    Heather Bailey Store, I thought I’d just post a quick reminder.  I’m
    feeling chattier than I thought though. I really do need to head out before the stores close. We have some party-prep errands to
    run.  And I need a break from the computer — I’m all
    boggle-eyed.

    On that note — Have fun tonight & be safe!

  • Frazzle-Dazzle

    ByHeather Bailey

    Tree08_2

    What a week.  Isaac had to go back to the emergency room on Monday
    and was admitted to the hospital.  The doctors wanted to keep a close
    eye on his blood chemistry, which had been out of whack since last
    Wednesday when Isaac first went to the emergency room for dehydration.
    It turned out he’d had a fit of rhabo-myolysis.  Certain enzymes in his
    blood needed to be flushed out with an IV while they made sure that
    gunk didn’t damage his kidneys.  At home, that same night Charlotte
    developed a super-fever and I had to baby her through the night to keep
    her temperature down:  wet towels on the forehead, icy drinks,
    medicine, blanket rearrangements.  I was up every hour or so.

    Christmas2up3_2

    Our whole dollhouse plan for Charlotte could not be completed
    without Isaac, so I had to dive into the stores for a last-minute,
    second gift-plan for Charlotte on Tuesday.  I had limited options for
    who to call for babysitting, not wanting to get anyone else’s kids sick
    for the holidays.  My mother dashed in with her flashing cape and
    super-hero goggles to save the day.  Six frenzied hours later (lots of
    long lines) I was back with a full sleigh. Then it was gift-wrapping
    till 3am and fever-nursing all night again.

    Isaac surprised us on Christmas Eve by returning from the hospital
    earlier than expected. His bloodwork was looking better and better and
    his kidneys had been working perfectly, so the doctors let him come
    home for Christmas.  That night I fancied up our Christmas tree with
    new baubles and fronds as a surprise for Isaac.  I didn’t originally
    know if he’d be home before Christmas or not.  I figured a dolled-up
    tree would add some holiday magic to our otherwise frazzled week. 

    Christmast_2

    Christmas day was wonderful — though I was exhausted.  My parents
    watched with us while the kids stirred up a storm of torn paper and
    ribbon.  Later, Isaac made a champion breakfast of apple-fritter-bread
    french toast, hash browns & bacon. Christmas dinner made a
    last-minute detour to our house and everyone came over for a potluck of
    good food and a white elephant exchange.  (I ended up with The Godthumb
    on dvd — perfect white elephant, Matt!) 

    Noway3_2
    My mom made all four of her kids a picnic blanket with loops at each
    corner.  Each blanket came with a carrying bag and a set of tent stakes
    for tacking the blanket in place through the loops.  What a ton of work
    — and inventive!  (I’ll take some photos next time we head to the
    park.)

    I’m sure this Christmas will go down in family history — two
    emergency room visits, a multiple-night stay in the hospital, a
    last-minute Christmas swap-out for Charlotte, all-night fever care, a
    Christmas dinner moved to our house, and new, feel-better tree bling to
    jazz up our one perfect day this week — Christmas.

    Yesterday I slept-in till 2pm.  And I’m still tired.