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    Nicey Jane is Back!

    ByHeather Bailey

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    NiceyJaneLogo_325I have exciting news to share! The beloved Nicey Jane collection has bee re-issued by Free Spirit Fabric in response to your begging and pleading. So, good work, everyone!

    The re-issue includes twenty of the original fabrics and is available now by the yard, or in fat quarter stacks, design rolls, 10" charm packs and 5" charm packs—while supples last.

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    Please note that in addition to the re-issued collection, we also have a limited supply of ten Nicey Jane prints from the original release which we have been holding onto for dear life till now. These ten fabrics are stocked in the store and available while supplies last. That makes thirty Nicey Jane fabrics in total—as of today.

     

  • Luxury Bedding

    ByHeather Bailey

    I've come across the most luxurious baby bedding by Tushies & Tantrums. I believe I was originally tagged in an Instagram post. (Which is one of my favorite things about Instagram—getting to see what is being made with my fabric collections. Tagging is such an easy way to share.)

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    Below is just one of the luxurious sets that Tushies & Tantrums has put together using Heather Bailey fabrics. The featured prints are those shown above, all from my Lottie Da collection: Dauphine turquoise, Lottie Dot purple, Carousel Stripe orchid, and Lottie Dot olive.

    TushiesTantrums470

    I adore this Jenny-Lind style crib as well. When I was a little girl, I slept on an antique Jenny-Lind-style "slave bed" that my parents painted bright orange. They had a custom mattress made for it because it was tall enough for a man, but much more narrow than a twin bed. It is one of my regrets that I didn't rescue that bed from a garage sale they had after I left home for college. That same unsalved regret had me practically leap across the store when I found this orange bookshelf at an antique shop.

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    The wish to sew my daughter a dreamy crib set must have played some part in my decision to design fabric. Charlotte was nine-months old when I began the fabric branch of my career. Her bed was still outfitted in her brother's crib sheets from eight years earlier. Now, whenever I see a beautiful crib set made with my fabrics, my mama heart skips a beat. However saccharine, I feel as if I get to play a small part in nurturing your sweet little ones. And there is nothing I love more than being a mama.

    TushiesTantrumsCrib2_HeatherBailey_470

    If you are looking for the tip-top-best bedding for your little ones, visit the Tushies & Tantrums Etsy shop. Ashley takes custom orders as well, so compile your dream fabric-combo and get in touch. There is a "Request Custom Quote" button on the lefthand side of the Etsy shop's home page.

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    Up Parasol

    ByHeather Bailey

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    Up Parasol projects are starting to show up all over the web. I'm excited to share many of them with you with links out to their makers. Before doing so, let's have a closer look at this new collection which is available now at independent quilt shops and online at HeatherBaileyStore.com.

    Up Parasol is centered around two prints from my previous Garden District home-decor collection—Cakewalk and Mockingbird. These two designs were repeatedly requested on quilting-weight cotton, so I heeded the pleading and pinned swatches of these two on my design board to let them seep into my subconscious. 

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    What was born of this pairing is the new Up Parasol collection. I added many all-new prints of various scales and themes, including an extremely useful pinwheel blender named Devon Check, a vintage-flavored mum print named Mum Toss, a modern little flower repeat that looks a bit like a tiny umbrella named Stella, a fresh and trendy lattice print named Trellis, an inviting Summer Plaid and another super-useful two-tone print named Lulu. Among these is my favorite new print which shows a wood-cut style bird with flowers on his wings alighting from a branch, Meadowlark.

    UpParasol310BI'm not sure if it's my favorite new print because of the finished look or because I had such a happy time creating this particular design. Again, of course, there's the mother-hen in me who believes it's just not right for me to pick any favorites. 

    I do really love how these prints work together. They are cheerful and buoyant while also sophisticated and chic.

    I had the pleasure of creating a couple of Up Parasol quilts for the industry trade show, Quilt Market. One quilt will be out soon as a new pattern—so I'll wait just a few more days to share the details of that design. And the other is a large crazy-quilt-style design where I mixed Up Parasol with my basics collection, True Colors, as well as a couple of hand-selected solid colors for punch. This freely-pieced quilt is shown in the photo above on the turquoise quilt rack.

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    Crazy-Quilt How-To

    Each block was started with a five-sided semi-pentagonal shape that was free-style cut with a ruler, but without set dimensions or proportions. I then pieced wedge-like strips around this center piece the way you would with a log-cabin block, trimming excess fabric from each newly-attached strip to keep the edges straight and ready for the next strip to be added.

    As each block became bigger, I used a 12.5" square ruler as a guide to keep my piecing on track. Once the whole stack of blocks were made and I had arranged them into a layout, I used the same ruler to trim all blocks to a tidy 12.5" square before piecing them together. 

     

    If you can make sense of that, then you can make a crazy quilt too! Let me know if you have any questions about how to put it together and I will be sure to answer those here, or in a follow-up post. 

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    Meanwhile, visit your local quilt or sewing shop to get your hands on these delicious Up Parasol fabrics. Or visit HeatherBaileyStore.com if you don't have a sewing hub nearby. Remember to include some True Colors and Lottie Da fabrics for an expanded variety of compatible designs, perfect for your modern quilting and crafting projects.

    Pick up a copy of my Blooming Borders embroidery pattern while your at it. There is a border print included that features the same two birds shown in the Up Parasol Mockingbird print. Just imagine pairing your beautiful embroidery work with coordinated fabric in your next project—yum. 

     

    RELATED POSTS:

    BirdEmbroidery150

    NEW Embroidery Patterns 

    		   GardenDistrict150

    Garden District

    		   TrueColors150

    Introducing True Colors

     

  • Getting Going on Sewing

    ByHeather Bailey

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    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.

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    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!

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    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.

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    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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    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.

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    Giveaway Day 18

    ByHeather Bailey

    Day18_HELLOgiveawayBanner

    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.

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    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”

  • Lucky Ducky

    ByHeather Bailey

    A quick reminder: the Project Life Olive Edition SALE ends tonight at midnight EST over at Amazon.com.

    I also want to introduce you to the digital version of the Olive Edition, which is on sale today at ACDigitals.com
    as well. The entire digital kit is available for only $10.15, or you
    can purchase portions of the collection for $3.19 each. Have a look.
    There are a ton of designs included in the kit. A serious deal.

    Heather Johnson recently posted these layouts she created with the Olive
    Edition digital kit. Aren't they gorgeous!? I love how she layered the
    gray chevron print with the turquoise floral background and balanced
    the bold titles across the spread. Great job, Heather—I love what you
    put together. Super fun.

    HeatherJohnsonPage1

    Heather is a photographer and a blogger from St. Paul, Minnesota. She is also on Becky Higgin's Creative Team
    this year, which means she is a talented idea machine, churning out
    Project Life inspiration left and right. I'm excited to see what she
    does next with my designs. This is truly the most fun aspect of my
    business—seeing what people make of my finished work. I love it.

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    Without further ado, I have a winner to announce for Friday's Project Life GIVEAWAY post. Whitney Winter, you can thank Random.org for calling your number on this one. An Olive Edition core kit and binder, along with a big pack of photo pocket pages is all yours. Email me
    your shipping info and we'll have Amazon send out your prize. Thank you
    to everyone who entered the contest. Like I said before, we're having
    lots of giveaways this year, so hang in there and keep those fingers
    crossed.

  • Olive Edition – Hot Off the Press

    ByHeather Bailey

    I have fun news today. My Olive Edition core kits and papers for Project Life
    have arrived. They are now in stock at Amazon.com and available for purchase
    with Amazon's FREE Super Saver Shipping. Becky assures me that she
    ordered gobs of product, but she also laments that her products tend to
    sell out with ridiculous speed. I'm not sure where that leaves us on
    urgency.

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    But, I do know that it's the beginning of a new year—and the perfect time to get going on a Project Life album. The Project Life concept makes
    documenting your life fun—and easy. You only have to fuss as much as
    you like to fuss. And if you don't like to fuss, there's no need to
    fuss.

    For Project Life, you use pocket pages to organize your photos and
    then you add in color, design and documentation using one or more of the
    Project Life kits—like my Olive Edition core kit here. Each core kit comes with hundreds of cards
    for jotting down key bits of information pertaining to the photos in
    your album. Everything goes in a pocket page. And there are lots of pocket-page configurations to choose from. Super simple.

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    The Olive Edtion core kit
    is housed in a chic, glossy box and organized as you see below, in a
    tidy tray. In the larger compartment, there are title cards and foldable
    journaling cards with lots of writing space. All of the smaller cards
    have artwork on one side and journaling space on the reverse.

    There are scrapbookers who go wild with their embellishments,
    preferring all sorts of texture and flair within their layouts. And
    there are others who like simple, clean layouts. Project Life is
    designed to satisfy everyone.

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    I like goop, well-done goop, that is. But, I don't have time to goop.
    I do have time, however, to slip photos and cards into pockets. And my
    kids are expert pocket-slipper-inners. Project Life works for me and my
    busy, busy life in this way.

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    Of course, you know I'll find at least a dozen other ways to sneak
    Olive Edition cards from their well-ordered little box and use them for
    other purposes: gift tags, thank you cards, bookmarks, valentine
    ornaments—lots of ways to spread this loveliness about.

    Oh, that's right. There's a 12"x12" coordinating paper pack. I can use that.

    There are also some cool, plastic month dividers and a coordinating
    album/binder that should be in stock soon. These are still making their
    way to Amazon's warehouse.

    Here are links to the products available so far:

    • Olive Edition Core Kit
    • Olive Edition Paper Pack

    To pull up my collection over on Amazon as items are added, search "Olive Edition Project Life" in their Arts, Crafts & Sewing Department. I don't think Becky has "Heather Bailey" on the listing yet.

    For more info and images, visit my earlier post about the Olive Edition here.

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    Good as New

    ByHeather Bailey

    GardenDistrictChairT

    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.

  • Same Not Sane

    ByHeather Bailey

    Leafy layers of tracing paper with final modifications blanket my studio. When this design is finished, I will have one more print to go.

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    I lay in bed this morning with my eyes closed for half an hour letting impressions of that final print soak into the backs of my eyelids. These images are elusive and transforming. Remember that Michael Jackson video where one person morphed into the next, over and over—Black or White? Like that.

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    The trick is to jot these ideas down without indulging in them just yet. I'm saving the last print for dessert.

    One petal reads "Yes," the other says "Same"—don't mistake it for "Sane." I'm not there yet, but getting very close.