quilting

  • Specters & Sparkles

    My feet!  They are trotting along beneath me now, where they belong. 
    What a feat it has been to catch up on things after a couple of months
    of scattered-ant-hill syndrome.  I'm nearly there.  Just a few more
    photos for a book contribution, and one more design for my next fabric
    collection (of course, it's the most complicated of the prints and might
    take a week or two to finish).  Then it's back on schedule.  Glorious.

    MarloBloomBag_HeatherBailey_1
    Perhaps
    even ahead of schedule soon, as we now have an on-staff seamstress to
    help bring my designs to life, moving pattern-development and
    sample-making along.  I tell you what, it sure takes a mighty amount of
    focus to do some of my less-fun work (accounting, payroll, etc.) when
    there's a flurry of sewing going on in the other room.  But great!  I'll
    introduce you to Tamara in my next newsletter.  And Nica too, my new
    Studio Assistant.

    MarloBloomBag_HeatherBailey_2b

    So, isn't my new Marlo Bloom handbag adorable in Nicey Jane?  I feel sparkly
    when I'm toting a tangerine handbag around — even when wearing pjs to
    the grocery store, as I tested out last night.  I'm loving the vintage,
    khaki button on the flower too.  Nothing like a touch of ugly to pretty
    up a project. 

    The school year is hovering.  It floats over my
    shoulder, just beyond sight, and teases me, "Just a few weeks more and
    your little girl will be grown."  Now, of course, this isn't true.  But I
    am taunted nevertheless. 

    MarloBloomBag_HeatherBailey_4a I'm still deciding
    which school to send Charlotte to.  We're down to three choices — and there
    are just about three weeks to decide.  There's the school close to our
    home — the easy option.  The highly-recommended charter school — C is
    near the top on the waiting list.  And then a good, solid school in
    Elijah's same school district — great district, but that's about all I
    know on this one. 

    It's going to have to be a last-minute
    decision, as I still have my fingers crossed on the charter school. 
    Perhaps my school specter will go whisper a message to the
    school's administration, "Red rover, red rover, let Charlotte come
    over."

  • Smatterday

    NiceyJane

    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.

    SwirlW 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.

    ChurchFlowerCropT 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.

    Basket

  • Meet Nicey Jane

    NiceyLogoGraphic

    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 Booth and 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."

    NiceyJaneLaundry

    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.

    NiceyJaneBasketW (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.)

    NiceyJaneBike

    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.

  • |

    Re-Entry

    I'm back from Market and restoring sanity at home — and
    cleanliness. My kids kissed me awake yesterday like two little pecking
    chicks. It was a contest.

    Market photos are still on the road
    with Isaac, so I'll save the reporting till he rolls in later today.
    I'm excited to be home and thrilled that my long-awaited
    bicycle-weather has arrived in AZ at last. It's gorgeous out today.
    We're packing a picnic to the park, for sure.

    DooHicky

    Also, here are a couple of discount codes for you, to shake things up and keep it interesting at The Heather Bailey Store.

    • 20% off of all Trash Ties™ with code "TwitTies" (posted on twitter first)
    • 25% off of Freshcut™ fabric with code "FreshOut" (Freshcut is no longer in production, so get it while you can.)

    Discounts available through Monday, October 19th. Both codes can be used on the same order.

    It has been a wild few weeks — since Creative Escape,
    really. I'm ready to move forward, with lots of design work up next (my
    favorite!) — after filling these kids up with love and attention,
    picnics and parks, movies and popcorn, haircuts, and a few home-cooked
    meals.

    Now to resolve my hopelessly-clogged kitchen sink. Next
    time I'm tossing the old spaghetti in the trash and not down the
    garbage disposal.