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    Giveaway in Progress

    ByHeather Bailey

    LottieDa_HeatherBailey

    I'm popping in to let you know about a giveaway that's in the works. Gina from CampClem.com has been posting new projects made from my Lottie Da collection all week, including a fantastic little beret made from theses leftover quilt-block pieces (below).

    In conjunction with her blog series, Gina is giving away a Lottie Da camera-strap cover, two Heather Bailey embroidery patterns and a collection of stationery. The Camp Clem giveaway closes this coming Sunday (9/14/14) at the end of the day, so stop by soon to enter at CampClem.com.

    There are several posts in her Lottie Da series, all of which show her step-by-step process for each project:

    LottieDa_HeatherBailey_CampClem

    At the studio, we're working on new patterns for this fall and prepping to share our new fashion-fabric collection, Momentum, which ships out to stores this month. I'm watching Roman Polanski's Tess (of the d'Urbervilles) from 1979 while I work today. Or rather, I'm listening to it. The film is quite good so far—you know, should you be looking for an old Jane-Austen-ish kind of film to keep you company.

  • Getting Going on Sewing

    ByHeather Bailey

    130911_LottieDaQuilt4hb

    It's a sewing week for me. For the last two years, I've spent most of
    my creative time at the drafting table and behind a computer, catching
    up on print and product design after having a baby. It's been great to
    get reacquainted with my sewing machine and start playing with these
    sunny new fabrics.

    130911_LottieDaQuilt1hb

    Angela Pingel of Cut to Pieces
    kindly offered to put together the quilt top for my upcoming free
    Lottie Da quilt pattern. She got right to it and had the top pieced in
    no time—which means the pattern will be ready soon—once the quilt is
    finished and photographed. Thank you, Angela!

    130911_LottieDaQuilt2hb

    With no corners to match up, the Lottie Da free quilt pattern is a
    perfect beginner quilt. I'll get into that more once the pattern is
    complete in the next couple of weeks.

    For now, enjoy this sneaky peek courtesy of Angela. And stop by Cut to
    Pieces for Angela's post and a bigger peek at the quilt top.

    130911_LottieDaQuilt3hb

    And don't forget to
    enter the Lottie Da giveaway that closes Sunday night at 11:59pm PST (9-15-13) for a fat quarter stack of the entire collection—over a $100
    value.

    If you missed our Heather Bailey Store newsletter earlier this week announcing the Lottie Da collection… Enter promo code LOTTIEDA917 for a FREE full-size sewing pattern
    with any purchase of $50 or more through 9/17/13 11:59pm PST. Add your
    selected items to your cart to meet the order minimum, then add your
    selected pattern, followed by the promo code at checkout.

    Happy Weekend!
    xo—Heather

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    Babies Don’t Keep

    ByHeather Bailey

    My giveaway plans were derailed today by a very important little person and his very own 2nd birthday. Little Evan
    is two years old today! When I giddily plucked him from his crib this
    morning, we snuggled up on Charlotte's bed while I sang him a Happy
    Birthday song. At the end of every phrase, Evan chimed in with "cake!" 

    Happy Birthday to you…cake!…Happy Birthday to you…cake!… Happy Birthday dear Evan…cake!…Happy Birthday to you…cake!

    He knows what's important.

    EvanCake_2yearsold_470bT

    It took us till eveningtime to finally make good on the promise of
    cake with a small family birthday party. Boisterous cousins followed
    Evan about, patting his head and picking him up in turn. By the time
    cake was served, Evan couldn't care less about the stir of children
    throughout our home. Cake, at last—what a birthday is all about.

    I wanted to write Evan a little love note today to enumerate his
    sweet particularities at this age, count the many ways in which I love
    him. But, Sundays are my busiest days—even without a birthday to
    celebrate. As such, the love note didn't happen. And today's giveaway
    post didn't happen either. When it came down to it, I had to choose
    between photographing and writing a giveaway post and giving my little
    son his birthday dues—time, attention and cake. I chose the baby.

    I could prep and post today's giveaway
    now, but it's getting too late in the night to do our awesome Day 25
    prize justice. Instead, I'm going to go for a double header tomorrow and
    put up two separate giveaways in two separate posts. Hang tight and
    watch for those tomorrow. I'll make sure the deadlines are generous so
    you won't miss your chance.

    Happy, Happy Birthday to my darling boy. From our early morning
    cake-song to my late-night blog update, today, I'm reminded of this
    lovely poem by Ruth Hulbert Hamilton—though it could use a new stanza about the internet, the computer and the smart phone:

    Song for a Fifth Child

    Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
    Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
    Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
    Sew on a button and make up a bed.
    Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
    She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

    Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
    (Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
    Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
    (Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
    The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
    And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
    But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
    Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
    (Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

    The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
    For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
    So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
    I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

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    Giveaway Day 10

    ByHeather Bailey

    Day09_GiveawayBanner

    Happy Saturday. There's nothing like a busy first-week of school to
    help you appreciate a quiet Saturday. We don't have one thing planned.
    Except another giveaway.

    For today's giveaway, my friends at Martha Stewart are offering the winner their fun new book Favorite Crafts for Kids. This isn't a small, 24-project book. Rather, there are 175 projects included. I admit, my copy of this new book hasn't arrived yet, so I can't give you the play-by-play. But, everything the Martha Stewart company creates is absolutely lovely. I'm sure that Favorite Crafts for Kids is no exceptio

    Day10_MarthaStewart_craftsforkidsbook2

    And Potter Craft makes beautiful, beautiful books. I met with them at Random House in New York City on this trip.
    I thought I was having lunch with one person and found myself in a
    board room with a whole team. The same team that brings us this playful
    new book from Martha. That's another untold story. A positive one.

    My Charlotte is wildly into crafts
    and I'm excited to see what she does with Martha's big book of ideas.
    If you don't have kids, let this prize give you a good headstart on
    holiday gifts or add it to your personal library for rainy-day
    inspiration. A $25 value.

    Comment to enter today's contest. Be sure to include your email
    address
    so we can contact you if you win. You don't have to type your email
    address into the body of the comment if you entered it in email-address
    field on the comment form, as I can access info from the form
    behind-the-scenes.

    Today's giveaway will close at 11:59pm PST on Saturday 8/10/13. Watch for the winner to be announced within a day or
    two at the bottom
    of the post. For more info on my August giveaway madness, click here. Please
    share the word. Check back every day. (My actual birthday is Monday, so watch for a big prize that day.)

    Good luck!

    xo—Heather


    Read More “Giveaway Day 10”

  • Felt-ertainment

    ByHeather Bailey

    AirdaleTerrierFeltProject_01b
    My daughter Charlotte should write a book. I've never seen a more prolific eight-year-old. She is a craft-making machine.

    Her favorite stuffed animal is an Airedale Terrier. So, this week,
    she decided that all of her arts and crafts would be Airedale-Terrier
    themed. Today, she is finishing up this incredible little felt pillow
    and then I'm on board to teach her how to cross-stitch—another Airedale
    Terrier.

    AirdaleTerrierFeltProject_02b

    If you follow my feed on Instagram, you'll know I'm trying to be more
    organized about my kids' summers this year, and break the time up with a
    number of planned projects and activities. We'll see how that goes.
    But, as for the down time in between, I have to say that a big bin of
    felt    , some thread and a needle sure come in handy.

  • The Vintage Pearl

    ByHeather Bailey

    When Erin offered to make me one of her silver, hand-stamped necklaces, I was
    all over it.  Who in her right mind would say no!?  What I didn't
    realize at the time was how much I would love my necklace — and wear
    it all the time. 

    VintagePearl470

    I
    have a soft spot for funky jewelry.  But, as it turns out, there are
    plenty of days where I'm not up to the funky stuff.  And it is
    sweet-sweet to joggle the charms on my necklace and think of my two
    kids. 

    Necklace1upA
    Wouldn't these make great Valentine's Day gifts?  I know that each of
    my brothers has received a loud hint from his wife for a Vintage Pearl
    necklace.

    So check this out — when I told Erin I planned to post
    about my necklace, she offered to set up a 10% discount for anyone
    who wants a necklace too (enter Bailey10 at checkout) — AND a giveaway of two $50 gift certificates to her store, TheVintagePearl.com.  There are a lot of jewelry styles to choose from.

    Necklace3up

    Holy guacamole. (I'm kinda jealous. Which is so very wrong, as my necklace was a present after all.)

    Leave a comment to enter — and drop a 'hello' at Erin's blog as well.  Winners will be drawn on Thursday, the 28th.

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    Holly Day Girls

    ByHeather Bailey

    I have a new 'job' at my church.  I've been asked to teach the
    10-12-year-old girls crafting skills, and to organize service projects
    with them.  Sure! I can do that.  Today is our first activity.  We're
    making holly pins from yo-yos & felt.

    HollyPin470
    Over
    the next few meet-ups, I'm going to help the girls put together their
    own sewing kits, teach them to crochet, develop babysitting kits, learn
    emergency skills etc.  I want to find a senior center we can visit as
    well. 

    They're the sweetest group of girls.  It should be big, big fun.

  • Have you Herd?

    ByHeather Bailey

    Make a new friend in Henrietta turtle (or skip the flower corsage and
    make a Henry turtle). Henrietta will gladly house your pins &
    needles or entertain your baby or pet — but not at the same time. She's funny that way.

    HenriettaCvr

    You may have glimpsed my pokey new sewing buddy in my recent interview
    on NBC. This sewing pattern is hot off the press and ready to ship. I'm
    in love. Sitting by my sewing machine, Henrietta reminds me to take my
    time and enjoy the process.

    Fresh from Bingo night, come Edna, Matilda, Eloise, Harriet, Penelope and Gladys. "Shush, dearie. Did that nice young man call B-15?" Six different materials kits available here — pattern sold separately.

    A herd of turtles. Or as my dad likes to say, "A terd of hurtles."

    TurtleKits

  • Bead It, Kid

    ByHeather Bailey

    Necklace1new3
    Beadingnew So, guess who made these necklaces?

    Four-year-old Charlotte did this all by herself.  I thought I was
    embracing disaster by allowing her free access to several bins of beads
    while I worked on the computer today.  I was entirely wrong.

    Not
    only did Miss C patiently string together all of these designs without
    my oversight, but she made them all symmetrical.  Even her most
    eclectic necklace doesn't miss a beat
    bead.  Hours and hours of necklace-making.  All I did was add the
    clasps.  And I bent a loop at the top of her one pendant.  That's it.

    Necklace3new2

    Necklace4new2
    When I was four years old, my bottom dresser drawer was stocked with
    white paper, a stapler and staples.  I made all sorts of wild
    inventions with white paper that year.  And here I thought I had been
    tricky-stuff at four, with my paper robots and elephants.  Looks like
    Charlotte has 4-year-old me mightily whooped.

    The moral: 
    Moms, Grandmas, Aunts and Alligators, let your kids have access to some
    of your precious supplies.  They may surprise you with tidiness and
    ingenuity!  I can only imagine what I would have done with real art
    supplies at that age.

    Of course, they may surprise you with a royal disaster instead.  I've been there too — many times.