fabric

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    Introducing Lottie Da

    ByHeather Bailey

    LottieDaFatQuarterStack_T

    Let's see some fabrics! My new collection, Lottie Da, started shipping
    this week. I'm over the moon. And I'm thrilled to share the line with you
    today.

    LottieDa_305With
    a playful, 60's-mod vibe, Lottie Da combines dancing pop florals with
    groovy go-withs—butterflies included. With strategic contrast
    planned into the collection (value, hue, scale, and so forth), Lottie Da
    is versatile and fun. Combine like-palette prints for a quiet,
    sophisticated look, or incorporate contrasting colors and values for
    greater pop. You can take this collection in so many different
    directions.

    Tweaks to my production process allowed me to experiment with colors I
    haven't focused on in the past—violet, aqua and charcoal to be specific.

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    I started sewing with Lottie Da this week and I'm having a blast with
    this zingy palette. I designed a foundation-paper-pieced project I'll
    be sharing soon, along with a new free Lottie Da quilt pattern. I'll
    show you how the prints can be combined for different effects. I'll also
    post peeks at some original Lottie Da artwork and previews of projects
    to come.

    LottieBolt470_HB1_VertTo celebrate the launch of Lottie Da, let's have a giveaway—giveaways are the best. I have a lovely Lottie Da fat quarter
    stack     for one lucky winner, including all thirty-two prints
    in the
    collection. Enter by Sunday, September 15th at 11:59pm PST by leaving a
    comment on this post. Make sure you enter your email address in the
    comment form so we have a way to contact the winner. One entry per
    household.

    But! Don't wait for news on the giveaway before stocking up on Lottie
    Da. The first print-run of a Heather Bailey cotton collection tends to
    sell
    out quickly, so stock up fast and soon or risk having to wait a month or
    two for the next shipment.

    To see the full line of prints, click here.

    For first news on upcoming products, sales, freebies and more, make sure to sign up for the Heather Bailey newsletter.

    Watch for those upcoming Lottie Da project posts. And, send in pretty
    pictures of your own Lottie Da projects. We love to see what you're
    making—and to show you off.

    JellyRollA_470

  • Giveaway Day 31 – I Aim to Tease

    ByHeather Bailey

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    What
    a month! And what a marathon of frenzied fun. I'm exhilirated to have
    made it to the finish line. Today is the last day of my month of giveaways—every
    day this August. I had an impulse to shower you all with presents as a
    big Thank You Party for your love and support. And I ran with it.

    I'm honored that so many great companies and good friends contributed
    prizes. I was especially touched to read all of the sweet comments made
    by Mary Engelbreit's fans on Day 24.
    I hope that twenty or thirty years from now I will have maintained as
    meaningful of a relationship with my fans as Mary has. That was
    inspiring. Thank you for that.

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    There is one more proper August prize to hand out. But, truthfully, I have more prizes to give away than I have days in August.
    In fact, there are some gorgeous prizes associated with my new fabric
    collection that will be offered up next week when I officially introduce
    the line.

    So, though we've completed this month of daily giveaways, the giveaways will keep on coming
    at a steady pace, mixed together with new designs, inspiration and
    behind-the-scenes peeks at artwork and new products in development.

    I know you are all anxious to see the new fabric collection—only a
    couple more days to go! As such, I've decided to tease you with my Day
    31 prize. The image above is proof positive that a new line awaits, but
    it sure doesn't reveal much of the artwork or even the color palette
    involved—considering that you're only glimpsing a portion of the line.
    Here is an appetizer. I am wildly excited to share more.

    Today's winner will receive a thirty-piece design roll from my new Lottie Da fabric collection—to
    be revealed this coming week. Each piece is 2.5" x the full width of
    the fabric. Great for a variety of projects—and for project-planning.
    Comment to
    enter. One entry per household. Be sure to include your email
    address
    in the comment form so we can contact you if you win.

    Giveaway closes at 11:59pm PST on Monday 9/2/13. Watch for the winner to
    be announced within the week at the bottom
    of the post. For more info on my August giveaway party, click here.

    Watch for more exciting giveaways next week.

    Good luck!

    xo—Heather

    Read More “Giveaway Day 31 – I Aim to Tease”

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    Giveaway Day 28 — There Will Be Fabric

    ByHeather Bailey

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    There are strike-offs everywhere at the studio today, looking better
    than ever. They tend to show up with only a moment's notice and require a
    fast turn around. Reviewing fabric samples takes daylight though—and
    therefore a reshuffling of the day's top projects. If it can be done in
    the dark, it gets bumped.

    Over my years designing fabric, I've learned that the sooner I hand in
    my color notes, the sooner I get finished fabric in hand. When
    strike-offs arrive, our little ant hill stirs into a frenzy to get the
    job done and set the world straight again.

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    All stirred up and settled back down again. Daylight has faded, but
    the job is done. Even better, we don't have to wait till this collection
    is ready for production before… there… will… be… fabric.

    In fact, we don't have to wait long at all. There is a tower of boxes a
    few feet behind me—just delivered today—that house a brand-new fabric
    collection. The only thing holding me back from tearing into the
    shipment is getting today's giveaway posted while it's still the 28th!

    ZZ-GFT03_050-2_300So,
    let's hop to it. You enter the giveaway, I'll open the boxes. And as
    soon as daylight rolls back in, we'll take some pictures, sew up a few
    little ditties and set the pretties before you within the week.

    With a new fabric collection close at hand, I figure a $50 gift certificate to the HeatherBaileyStore.com would make someone's day.

    Comment to enter. One entry per household. Be sure to include your email
    address
    in the comment form so we can contact you if you win.

    Today's giveaway will close at 11:59pm PST on Thursday 8/29/13. Watch for the winner to
    be announced within the week at the bottom
    of the post. For more info on my August giveaway party, click here. Please
    share the word. Check back every day.

    Good luck!

    xo—Heather 

    Read More “Giveaway Day 28 — There Will Be Fabric”

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    Giveaway Day 18

    ByHeather Bailey

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    We went out for my birthday on Friday night for Thai food and a movie
    with my siblings and their spouses, and my dad. It was
    great to get together after we were all scattered this way and that for
    the summer. And just the kind of birthday party I like—easy and low-key.
    I'm so glad they all could come along. If you ever visit Tempe, AZ, Yupha's Thai Kitchen is the place to eat.

    Of course, this year wasn't a 'big-deal' birthday. When the next one of those
    comes along, I'd like a Disco Dance Party with wigs required—nothing
    mellow.

    Day18_Blog_KarenBag5

    This giveaway circus is keeping me plenty anesthetized from any potential
    birthday blues. It's quite a project behind the scenes to make sure
    everything is reported accurately and the winners are chosen fairly.
    (Random number generator, after duplicates and late entries are
    subtracted.)

    I hope you're having as much fun as I am. I feel like
    a game show host at this point, "Step on down, take a spin, survey says
    — you win." I need fine, feathered 70's hair and a sparkly dress.

    As soon as today's giveaway post goes up, I'll get to work drawing
    winners for the last few giveaways. Expect those updates by midday
    tomorrow.

    And remember that our Day 16 giveaway for a Cricut Expressions 2 electronic cutting machine ends at 11:59pm PST tonight. So, there's still time to enter.

    Day18_Blog_GiveawayContents

    Without further ado, today's giveaway prize is a sewn book tote from FamLee Treasures, made with fabrics from my Garden District collection, as well as a Heather Bailey planner, a chevron note pad and a pack of personal stationery. A $73 value.

    FamLee Treasures
    is my office manager Karen's Etsy business. Her adorable totes also
    make perfect craft totes or church bags. Karen was excited to get
    involved with our giveaway party—and it's her birthday this next week
    too. That's another vote for Birthday Month. Happy Birthday, Karen!

    Comment to enter. One entry per household. 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 the email-address
    field on the comment form. Today's giveaway will close at NOON PST on Monday 8/19/13. Watch for the winner to
    be announced early next week at the bottom
    of the post.

    For more info on these August HELLO Giveaways, click here. Please
    share the word. Good luck!

    xo—Heather


    Read More “Giveaway Day 18”

  • Giveaway Day 2

    ByHeather Bailey

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    I have new fabric strike-offs to go over today and a magazine ad due
    on Monday, along with kids starting school next week. (Can you believe
    that? August 5th.) Not to mention a church campout, a dinner party and
    more housewares to prep for the factory. It's going to be a busy
    weekend.

    So let's get right to business. Today is Day 02 of my month-long Giveaway Party. The prize for August 2nd is a Henrietta turtle sewing pattern and a turtle kit
    to go with it (winner's choice). Henrietta is one of our top sewing
    patterns. She's fun to make and all too cute as a pincushion or toy.

    You don't have to be in the U.S. to enter. We love all of you—and we
    know how to ship things overseas 😉 Be sure to enter your email address
    so we can contact you if you win. Watch for the winners to be announced
    at the bottom of each post. For more info on my giveaway madness, click here. Each day's giveaway closes at 11:59pm PST that day.

    Good luck, everyone.

    Psst—up next week, we have custom jewelry, paper craft craziness, big brands, big prizes. Don't forget to check in every day.


    Read More “Giveaway Day 2”

  • HELLO Giveaways!

    ByHeather Bailey

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    I was chatting at my baby earlier this week, conspiring with him to
    start a Birthday Month tradition for August—as we are the only two
    August birthdays in my immediate family. With enough fuss, we'll surely
    make the Mays and Januaries jealous. Midst our little tete-a-tete it
    dawned on me that I neglected to host my annual birthday giveaway last
    year. Boo.

    TryingtoSew_HeatherBailey470
    I will now make up for that. Right. About. Now. In the spirit of Birthday Month, how about a GIVEAWAY EVERY DAY for the month of August!? I'm talking about fabric, patterns, jewelry, equipment, supplies, etc.

    Sewing_HeatherBaileyWI
    am SO very grateful to each of you for your love and kindness—and for
    your support of my business and consequently my little family. I am
    inspired by you daily and I look forward to your comments and feedback.
    Thank you so much for your encouragement.

    I know this madness will put me in a swirl, but I don't care. I want
    to show you my appreciation. Celebrate with me. And let me celebrate
    you. I'll post one new giveaway on my blog each day in August. To enter a giveaway, simple leave a comment on that blog post by 11:59pm PST on the day of the post.
    Be sure to enter your email address so we can contact you if you win.
    We'll draw a winner at random, send out an email, then announce the
    result with an update at the bottom of that post.

    If you are on Instagram as well, enter an additional daily giveaway for a $15 gift certificate. (See footnote in green below.) That's actually two giveaways each day, isn't it? This thing keeps growing!

    HELLOgiveaway_GiftCertifictae470

    To kick things off with a splash, today's giveaway is for a $50 GIFT CERTIFICATE to our online store, HeatherBaileyStore.com
    where you can stock up on fabric, felt, sewing kits, patterns, paper
    crafts, and more. I have a new fabric collection I will be announcing
    later this month. And I'll be releasing all-new embroidery patterns as
    well—in between blogging about giveaways, right? This prize should come in handy.

    Remember, comment below
    to enter and make sure to submit your email address so we're not stuck
    with no way to reach you!

    Good luck. And again, thanks for your enthusiasm and support. I love you guys.

    xo—Heather


    Read More “HELLO Giveaways!”

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    Good as New

    ByHeather Bailey

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    Getting back to project eye-candy, here's my finished chair. I went with St. Charles Bouquet in blue—which is perfect with my living room decor—and a distressed green finish to pay homage to the original condition of the chair. The contrast between the crisp new fabric and the lightly-weathered frame makes for a bold, yet elegant statement—in my smug and humble opinion.

    Upholstery470wThis is my Garden District™ fabric collection which came out right around when little bub came out to meet the world. I announced the collection to my newsletter subscribers but never managed to post any reveals here on the blog. Having a baby can be disorienting, to put it lightly.

    St. Charles Bouquet is a modification of Rose Bouquet from my Pop Garden™ quilting-weight collection. Those of you who have collected my designs will note that the focal bouquets of the print are much closer together and the scale of the design is much larger. The artwork was re-created and re-colored with home decor specifically in mind.

    The other prints in the Garden District™ collection are all new. Mockingbird is a print I put together at first for my Nicey Jane™ quilting-cotton collection, but it was swapped for Picnic Bouquet at the last moment, favoring the scale and mood of Mockingbird for home dec projects. Plus, Picnic Bouquet was too perfect for Nicey. It is one of my favorite prints in that collection.

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    I have received many pleas to release these home dec prints on quilting-weight cotton and laminated cotton as well. It would be helpful to know just which prints you're most interested in seeing in these other formats. They would need to be rescaled, paired with the perfect companion prints and recolored perhaps. There is a lot of thought that goes into balancing a cotton collection so the variety of prints can be mixed into the same quilt or craft project. It's complicated. But it can certainly be done.

    This collection was inspired by the urban gardens and vintage architecture of historic New Orleans. The prints are distinctly romantic with an urban influence. A portion of the collection is printed on a luscious cotton sateen, and others are printed on a sturdy cotton canvas. (In my opinion, a well-designed and inviting room offers a variety of textures.) The sateen prints are 55"/56" wide and the canvas prints are 58"/59" wide. Think bedding, curtains, pillows, purses, jackets, skirts, nursery decor, and more. At $17 to $19/yard, they are considerably more affordable than most designer decorating fabrics.

    That stack of chairs I just posted about… Garden District is the whole reason there IS a stack of chairs. My furniture-collecting habit reached new heights once this fabric collection was put into production.

    Finally, great color for the home! I got tired of searching for the perfect fabrics for my own home and decided to give up already and design them myself. I am genuinely, personally relieved.

  • Where in the World!? Part 1

    ByHeather Bailey

    Thank you to those of you who have written to see if I was okay. The truth is, I have been overwhelmed the last while and I decided to cut myself some slack. I’m sorry I haven’t chimed in with an update. There have certainly been blog-worthy things going on.

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    The baby has tripled in size and he is guzzling down food like it’s in short supply. Charlotte is dancing a whirlwind through the house and filling my walls and my heart with “I love you, mama” artwork. Elijah is stretching toward the moon and getting closer every day. He is a giant at over 6’1” and growing. Right now, he’s enjoying a break from marching band—we all are—and getting charged up to go at it again in a few months.

    My home dec fabric collection, Garden District™, is out. I have two new sewing patterns as well. There is also new Nicey Jane™ microfleece, which is irresistibly delicious. Yes, fleece! Think hats, scarves, mittens, blankets, toys. I’m dreaming up some fun projects.

    I could just proceed from here with new news, but there have been some wonderful things that warrant indexing, and some tough things too: naming the baby and why I haven’t announced his moniker, getting by with no assistant (it’s just a stinky time to train someone fresh when you have a new baby at home), teaching myself to run (go me!), creating a custom dance costume for Charlotte for Christmas, drawing and painting like mad in order to catch up from a brain-fuzzing pregnancy. The list goes on.

    Some of this stuff I imagine could be published in a tell-all book one day. There are always bits you don’t want everyone to know, but you so DO want everyone to know; you know? Life is a roller coaster. I try to sing the pretty songs in my blog, but throwing in a croaker now and then should keep it real. I know I’ve said it before, but I’m anxious to get back to this and be in touch. Thanks for hanging in there for me.

  • Little Bits Giveaway

    ByHeather Bailey

    LittleBitsQuiltingBeeKathreen from Whip Up has a new book out. Little Bits Quilting Bee is all about using small bits of fabric, such as charm squares, jelly rolls, layer cakes and fat quarters to create a bunch of fun, modern quilts, from wall hangings to bed quilts. (Quilters have great terms for identifying every kind of fabric scrap.)

    All sorts of aesthetics are represented in Kathreen's designs. Some quilts are sewn from solid fabrics only. Another features reproduction prints from the 1930s. There are japanese novelty prints, woodsy prints, modern florals and geometrics (my alley). My favorites of Kathreen's designs involve circles. She has a play quilt that looks like a scrappy, colorful sun and another that reminds me of the Spirograph I received for my 6th birthday, with interlacing swooshes and circles. The photography is fresh and clean– and there's a pattern pack included! That's the best.

    In celebration of Kathreen's fabulous new quilting book, Chronicle Books is providing me with a copy to give away. Send Kathreen your well wishes in the comments below and I'll employ the RNG to help me pick a winner.

    Follow the Little Bits Quilting Bee blog tour over at Chronicle's lovely blog.

  • Dab, Dab

    ByHeather Bailey

    ClothNapkins

    Whether you are prepping for the holidays, or getting ready for a birthday or baby shower, cloth napkins are a great way to personalize your table decor.  Expand your decorating options by sewing the napkins yourself — from your favorite fabrics.

    They are super easy to make, so why not?

    Deck the halls!  Deck the tables!  Get started with this simple, illustrated tutorial.  Fancy-up and save some dollars at the same time.  Happy Holidays, everyone!


    Read More “Dab, Dab”