Home & Family

  • In 2012…

    ByHeather Bailey

    I’m sitting at my desk amidst a whirl of pine-needle debris and
    glitter. The celebration and indulgence of Christmas is being swept up
    to make way for the new year: tightened belts, tightened routines,
    tightened to do lists, loosened possibilities.

    HeatherBailey_Flowers

    In 2012…

    ** I became a runner. I never believed it was possible. I did not
    succeed at age 14, I didn’t succeed at age 17, at age 24, at age 27. I
    tried many different times in my life. At age 36, two months after
    having a baby, I started running—very slowly, very carefully. It was a
    process. But, within a few months, I was running 5 to 6 miles per go. I
    am still baffled and amazed. Thank you, Couch to 5K, for holding me
    back. It turns out I was always doing too much too soon.

    ** I also learned that “running” means “jogging.” I was several weeks
    into the journey before I had this epiphany. If you run-for-your-life
    when the voice in the app says, “run,” you are not getting the idea—duh,
    Heather    .

    ** I had the thrill of getting to know my new little son. His unique
    personality revealed itself, as he hugged us and whacked us—alternating
    between the “Thank You” game and the “Uh-Oh” game—his two favorite
    phrases. What a sass-a-frass, lover-bub trouble-monkey.

    ** I took my kids to the Bahamas. They swam in blue waters and sat in
    the sand. Our first fancy vacation ever. Usually, we go camping.

    ** My work filled the shelves at Target. In the form of planners and
    calendars—there are new ones there right now. The best is when my
    personal friends stumble across them, having no idea I did this project.
    Serious double-take. “Wait, I know her.”

    ** I designed a new cotton quilting collection. It was all-consuming work, as usual.

    ** Then, I started on the next one.

    ** We remodeled and expanded our home work space.

    ** We moved our office/store so our little one could have a more
    homey start at life. It was a tight squeeze. But good and right.

    ** My mom started writing a column for the local paper.

    ** We gave our old van another chance at life—as our oldest child
    turns 16 this month and we don’t believe in giving a new driver
    something fancy to truck around in. $$$ in repairs later—more than the
    vehicle is worth, frankly—it still looks like a sad, speckled monster,
    but it works. The PERFECT first car.

    ** I took my daughter to dance class.

    ** I cheered for my teenager at band competitions.

    ** He grew to be two inches taller than his dad—so far.

    ** I hemmed a lot of pants for my growing children.

    ** I cried over difficult relationships.

    ** I prayed for my sister who is fervently wishing for a baby. I prayed for my brothers and my parents too.

    ** I thinned out my closet. Then, I filled it back up.

    ** I drank too much soda.

    ** I planted flowers.

    ** I filmed a tv episode with Sew It All for PBS.

    ** I didn’t blog all that much. I caught up on design projects after a
    brain-fuzzing pregnancy instead. And soaked up my sweet little kids who
    are growing older all-too-quickly.

    ** I designed aprons, kitchen towels, sewing patterns, embroidery
    patterns, fabrics, planners, calendars, a Project Life kit, a Shutterfly
    album and still more fabrics—all coming out in 2013.

    ** I found an awesome couch to reupholster for my family room. (I can’t wait!)

    ** I got older.

    ** I got muscles.

    ** I got boots. Several pairs.

    ** I took time off for the holidays.

    ** I baked a lot of cookies.

    ** I got tired of taking time off. And eating cookies.

    Now it's time to get back to it. Bring it on, 2013.

  • Hungry Walls

    ByHeather Bailey

    HeatherBaileyOwl2

    My walls are disturbingly void of artwork. I just don't like most
    commercial artwork. It's not personal enough either. And I don't have
    time to scout out great pieces on Etsy or make the artwork myself. Not
    usually, anyhow, but I'm making an effort this month to at least get a
    couple of pieces started and see where they lead me. Starting with this
    owl.

    HeatherBaileyOwl1

    Of course, he might sit on my drafting table for weeks, waiting to be
    painted. I thought work would slow down a little during the holidays,
    but holy cow, every licensee is looking for new product lines from me. I
    really need to get an artist-type on staff.

    I do have two awesome birdie prints from Laura Gunn that need framing. I should go get frames, huh? — like, right now while I'm thinking about it.

    If you have art to recommend, certainly post a link. I have hungry walls.

  • She Shows Mettle—Meddling with Metal

    ByHeather Bailey

    ApologyNote_800

    While crawling into bed last night, I found this note tucked
    carefully under my blanket. Don't tell Charlotte, but my first reaction
    was a big smile. Charm and cuteness go a long way toward absolution. In
    this case, I consider the necklace somewhat improved by the note it is
    taped to.

    I may not be teaching Charlotte to keep her hands off my jewelry, but
    she is learning some honesty to go with her mischievous fiddling.
    That's something, at least.

  • Are You Kidding? Of Course I Want a Sticker!

    ByHeather Bailey

    Eight years ago, on election day, I was six-months pregnant with Charlotte. I remember that day very well.
    I waited in line to vote for about 5 hours—on my feet. I got so
    dehydrated that I began to shake and cramp when I was about five people
    from the front of the line. I stuck it out the extra 10 minutes, voted,
    then headed to the emergency room once I discovered I was bleeding a
    little as well. I was in miserable shape. It was NOT a fun day.

    Vote2012_470A

    Now, I always pack water, food, and a folding chair—just in case.
    Today there was no line though. Somehow, I hit the timing just right. I
    missed the enormous lines from this morning and beat the rush hour lines
    sure to come later on. It was a 10-minute excursion.

    Tonight, we are heading to my brother's house to watch the results.
    Of course, it may take weeks to resolve now that the parties have
    discovered they can ring the voter-fraud alarm and buy more time. Ug.

    How to focus then for the rest of my day? We have a big magazine
    shoot at the studio today and I have a print from my new quilting
    collection that needs an adjustment to its repeat as well. And then
    there are the other 88 to-dos on the list. Oh my.

    BUT—the most important to-do on my list today is done—I voted.

    You should too. Bring water.

    Update: You must see this Election 2012 Bad Lip-Reading video above — too stinking funny. "It's like the whole world's a surfer dude and they're all chewing pencils."

  • Sand in the Suitcase

    ByHeather Bailey

    121003_VacationMode
    We
    did it! The Baileys took a vacation. I'd call it our first 'official'
    vacation ever—that wasn't a family wedding, funeral, or campout.
    Considering that Elijah is nearly 16, it was about time.

    This could become a habit.

    NassauBeach_HeatherBaileyA

    We spent a couple of days in Florida, followed by a tour of the
    Bahamas via cruise ship. Before leaving town, I mailed off a new fabric
    collection—so I could truly relax. Of course, travelling with a baby
    isn't always relaxing. His needs accounted for half of our luggage.
    There was the crib, the stroller, the diapers, the swim diapers, the
    wipes, the formula, the juice boxes, the baby food for excursions (Conch
    Salad on shore wasn't going to cut it), the multiple changes of
    clothes, the quilt, the diaper bag. It was a workout.

    NassauBeach_HeatherBailey2c

    My siblings came along with their kids, so Charlotte and Elijah had a
    flock of cousins to hang out with. My mom was there too. We were a big,
    noisy group.

    Ten stand-out memories:

    •
    Elijah's glee at the sheer quantity of food he could order at will:
    steak, then salmon, then steak, then dessert, and dessert again, then
    pizza, and so forth. Teenage-Boy Heaven.

    • A run on the beach with my sister at high tide in the dark. The worst/best workout ever.
    • Touring the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach—Whoa! I will post more about this one.
    Think mini Versailles.
    • Siamese cousins at the airport (below).
    •
    Charlotte teasing the magician during his evening performance. With
    hundreds in the audience, he called out in reference to her loud giggles
    and taunting, "Now there's the reason some species eat their young."

    • Spicy Ginger Beer and Goombay Punch in Lucaya.

    • Jogging around the ship's deck during departure.

    • The butterflies on the hill below Fort Charlotte in Nassau.

    • Not having to miss the U.S. Presidential Debate while onboard.

    • Cramming 15 of us into one van, with all of our luggage, for a ride back to the airport.

    • Not one of my kids got sunburned—yes!

     SiameseCousins

  • After

    ByHeather Bailey

    ArchAfterB_300Here's the finished remodel. We went ahead and laid down the white flooring from our last tradeshow booth,
    figuring we could swap out the flooring in both rooms later on.
    However, I'm liking it. It's incredible how much brighter the room is
    with a big, white reflector for a floor.

    Here's a glimpse of one of our finished work tables
    too. They are amazing. Each table is seated onto a rolling platform.
    The tables can be lifted off the platforms as needed for classes and
    workshops—at some point—or for a myriad of other uses. And they are
    tough as nails with a commercial-grade finish.

    Now that the sheetrock dust and construction debris  have been cleared out, it's time to get back into artwork. With Project Life under my belt, next up is more fabric. I'm working on completing a couple of new lines for next year. 'Tis true.

  • |

    Guidolfo

    ByHeather Bailey

    Guidolfo470Have you seen the documentary, Being Elmo? It's fantastic. Very inspirational. If you have a Netflix account, go watch it right now.

    In fact, it is so inspiring that….

    While I was cooking dinner tonight, Isaac began to enumerate the many reasons why he would have made a great puppeteer. When I insisted it was not too late to become a puppeteer yet, he said, "Okay!" and headed into the other room.

    After five busy minutes, he came back to the kitchen with a new friend—meet Guidolfo.

  • Expanding

    ByHeather Bailey

    Remodel_BeforeA

    It's time to expand our workspace again. This time we're connecting two of our three home offices for better workflow. It's going surprisingly quickly. Isaac is the Incredible Hulk in there, tearing through walls, grunting, chewing on nails.

    Remodel_1wWhat a dusty, snarly, gratifying mess. There's insulation, wood, nails and sheetrock everywhere. Raaargh-yaw!

    Isaac used to remodel homes back in college, so I'm in good hands. Of course, he did saw through some electrical wiring, leaving us without internet for a few days this week.

    Everything is connected back up now—see those two gray junction boxes on either side of the passageway, with the wiring strung above?

    The new sheetrock goes up today and then it's onto mud. We haven't decided what we're going to do with the wood floor yet, but we'll figure that out after we sweep up.

    I plan to make this space into a pattern workshop down the road: sewing machines, cutting tables, dress forms, fabric stacks, thread. What I really need to do is host a talent search and get more help. So You Think You've Got American Sewing Talent?

    Remodel_2

  • Remind Me

    ByHeather Bailey

    RemindMe470hOne tricky thing about having a teenage cook in the house is keeping track of your pans.

    I pinned this note on Elijah tonight before he headed out to a swim party with his friends. The note didn't make it out of the door, let alone out of the kitchen. Though I got a good laugh out of him, he had it unpinned in 5 seconds flat.

    It worked though. Elijah didn't forget. My springform pan is now safely tucked away in its cupboard, ready for Elijah's next fat-bomb concoction.