For the entire month of April 2015, Free Spirit, the company that publishes my fabric collections, is featuring me on their blog. Currently there is a post up with 10 Facts about Heather Bailey you probably don't know: secret ambitions, my childhood nickname, etc. And Free Spirit is having a significant giveaway in association with that post. The winner will receive 10 yards of fabric from my latest collection, Clementine.
To enter the giveaway, share what you have in common with me in the comments of their post. A winner will be chosen on April 17th, so hurry on over—after saying hello here of course.
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.
With
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.
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.
To 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.
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.
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.
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.
I've
had the best couple of days. I got a ton done, which has made it more
fun to have fun, if you know what I mean. Of course, my list of to-dos
is still longer than my leg, but such is life.
I purchased a little table at Goodwill
two weeks ago, but forgot to go pick it up. Today, I'm going to go see
if it's still waiting for me — and if there's any other junk I must
have on half-price day. Perhaps I'll put on some make up & have my
kids lose the pajamas. Perhaps not. I love you, Saturday.
The blanket bling above is from Jamie of Sweet Baby Jamie. To help me feather my booth at Quilt Market, Jamie made several Nicey Jane
quilts from my sample yardage. I'm amazed by her free-motion quilting
skills. I don't know how she does it so evenly, without getting stuck
in a corner as she meanders. Wow.
Jamie patiently kept these blankets under wraps till Nicey Jane's public debut last week. Now they are all available at her Etsy store. She has a design-your-own-Nicey-Jane-quilt listing too, and her pricing is a little ridiculous, if you ask me — ridiculously low.
Well,
Happy Saturday. Treat yourself to something fun — a new scarf, a
candybar, a random, weird find from the thrift store, some time to
read, a quilt from Jamie. I might hunt down a new pair of flip-flops.
My last pair broke yesterday and I'm not willing to switch to winter
shoes.
She's gussied up and ready for her big debut. Meet Nicey Jane™, my
new fabric collection for Free Spirit. Nicey is sassy, sweet, and ready
to sew. In other words, check your local fabric store, as Nicey Jane
arrived this week.
These new prints are available in two color palettes. We'll call the pink/olive/tangerine palette Kissing Boothand the blue/gray/gold palette Porch Swing. Along with florals, geometrics, and stripes, there are also a handful of Nicey Jane cotton solids — which are batting their threads at me now, calling, "Sew with me, Heather. Forget that computer and run away with me."
In a couple of weeks, there will also be eight 58" wide laminated
cottons (similar to oil cloth, but light-weight and super-duper supple
— must touch). I'm excited that the finish is light-weight enough to
be gathered. Once I finish up my stationery design work this month,
I'm going to sew up a Smarty Girl book bag with the laminated cotton and give a full report. I also have some raincoat plans and a kid's booster seat to make.
(I never did show off my birthday bicycle,
did I? Nicey is doing the job for me now. Yep, that's my
pinkity-pink-ol bike there. I never would have guessed I'd go for a
pink bike. Would have guessed orange. Or khaki. Or bright yellow. I
love it though. Wait till you see the bicycle saddlebags I'm planning
to make out of this print — but in laminate. Oh yah.)
Back to the fabric, shall we?
The collection tells the story of small-town girl, Nicey Jane. Nicey
heads to the city on Friday nights to swing dance with her beau — but
not before hanging the laundry to dry & enjoying an afternoon
picnic on the farm. The prints are named for Nicey's story: Hello
Roses, Hop Dot, Swing Toss, Wash-Day Ticking, Welcome Road, Picnic
Bouquet, Slim Dandy, Dream Dot, Church Flowers, Pocketbook, and Lindy
Leaf.
(The Lindy Hop is my mom's favorite dance. She tried to teach me some moves on the family room rug when I was little. Tried. The Lindy is dang-tricky.)
Now for dessert, a little Nicey Jane video. Be patient with the resolution; I uploaded this piece to YouTube instead of hosting it on my own site so it can be shared, embedded in other blogs, watched a gazillion times, etc. I have Isaac to thank for the wink — you'll see.
For second dessert (what would a Hobbit
call a second dessert?), I believe I'm in the mood for a celebratory
giveaway. New fabric has arrrived — and it's Christmas time — a dangerous combination. So, three prizes! One $50 gift certificate and two $25 gift certificates to The Heather Bailey Store.
To enter, leave a comment. Tell us something fun, or interesting, or weird, or clever, or
something kind someone has done for you. Something like that. I do read all of the
comments. I'll go first (see comments).
Happy holidays, my friends. I'm off to stir some hot cocoa with a
candy cane and find myself a pair of slippers. It's cold outside.
I'm
off to Houston for Quilt Market. The stars have aligned. As such, I
am thrilled to debut a new feature fabric collection, a palette of
cotton solids and an assortment of delicious, laminated prints (my
samples arrived at the studio just yesterday). I also have several
fun, new sewing patterns to share (Henrietta is one of six new patterns).
If you're heading to Market
this weekend, stop on by booth #s 1957,59 for a hello — and a first
peek at my upcoming collection, Nicey Jane™.
Bring smelling salts. These fabrics may cause fainting — they're stinkin' gorgeous.
I just counted and we own a total of 13 rolling office chairs. That's
a lot of office chairs. Of course, the one I prefer at the moment is
shredded and hideous. It's the ugliest chair of the bunch.
My
neck and arm are all out-of-whack from trotting all over NYC with two
heavy bags. This chair holds me together best. It's a bit
out-of-place in my studio though. So, today, I'm slip-covering it.
No big style-ambition this time. I'll be glad to take it from hideous to mediocre.
Have I mentionedit's
great to be back home? With an expanding roster of help around the
studio, we're starting to get caught up, even ahead, on some projects.
Rachel and Lindsay spent a day or two just putting together a plump
stock of Strawberry Pincushion Kits, after finishing up the Flutterby Flip-Book Kits. Emily has kept everything else plugging along. Being ahead is great. I highly recommend it.
So, back to The Giveaway. What a variety of first sewing projects! I've been reading comments all day.
"Hi Heather!!! Let me start out by saying I am an ENORMOUS fan!! I
just completed 2 projects for my girls. I made a pillowcase dress with
the Lime Paisley and I made my youngest daughter the matching capris.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE all of your fabrics!! Thanks for posting this!!"
2. Random also picked the lucky Shannon / lilyhaven who wrote,
"Holy cow! 975 comments already! … My first sewing project was a
tiered skirt for my then 3-year-old daughter. I was so proud of
myself! I wanted to sew for years and years and finally broke down and
tried. I've been addicted ever since. I can't wait to see your new
fabrics!!!"
3. Then, for AndieBee, who apparently barely survived her first sewing experience, I'm sending a Strawberry Pincushion Kit, along with a copy of my Fresh Picked Pincushions sewing pattern. AndieBee wins just for surviving — and for calling me "cupcake." Here's what AndieBee wrote.
"Hi cupcake! My very first sewing project EVER in life: I was three and
hangin' out with my Momma while she was making something-probably a
dress or short set for me. She got up from her incredibly snazzy Singer
machine in the wood cabinet to do "something", so I climbed up on her
chair for a better view. Momma always held the pretty colorful straight
pins in her mouth as she took them out to sew. I decided to help take
them out while she was away…of COURSE I put them in my mouth just
like her. And OF COURSE I swallowed one of those bad boys!! LOL
"All I remember of the rest of that day was having to drink something
icky and Momma monitoring my potties! Apparently it all came out okay,
since I don't remember having to go to the hospital. ;O) I picked
sewing back up again when I was about 8 or 9, when Momma got tired of
making Barbie clothes, and I've been sewing since."
Ladies, send me your addresses.
Thanks everyone for participating — and for the blogiversary hoopla. I'm loving being back home and back to blogging, tweeting, etc. Thanks for sticking around while I was away through May.
…which reminds me, there's something special posted for @TrashTies followers over on Twitter : )
And, speaking of plumpness, check out this blog, with it's cheeky background image. Bacon-infused waffles? I'll be taking my camera with me next we go out to the fair.
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.
This
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.
See,
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?
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!
