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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.

  • Embroidery Patterns are Here!

    ByHeather Bailey

    HeatherBaileyEmbroidery_BirdBorder3

    Embroidery patterns are here. Printed with heat-transferable ink for your ease and convenience, our FOUR new embroidery patterns make stitching beautiful needlework fun and relaxing—perfect for your holiday break.

    EVERY PATTERN INCLUDES

    • 11" X 17" pattern sheet with heat-transferable ink.
    Each design can be heat transferred multiple times.

    • Instructions for a variety of transfer methods including
    tracing options.

    • Illustrated guide to basic hand-embroidery stitches.

    These first four patterns feature birds, flowers, paisleys, butterflies, repeating borders, frame designs and more. Stitch a quilt label to match your next Lottie Da quilt or trim out your next apron with a charming cherry border. There are countless ways to incorporate this rewarding hobby into your creative repertoire.

    EmbroideryPatternCovers

    HeatherBaileyEmbroidery_FreshFlowers2We did it! The new patterns are completed in time for Christmas. Now we can go a-wassailing, then come back home to sit and stitch while snuggled up with our troop of bug-a-boos. I love holiday break—only a few more days till my kids are home for a couple of weeks.

    Everything comes back from the printer today and we'll work into the night to begin shipping tomorrow so you can have your hands on these great new patterns right away—and have a fabulous holiday break making beautiful projects for yourself and your loved ones!

    Ask for them all at your local, independent fabric store. It always helps to make requests. Not every shop will know these are available. In fact, if you want to bring in a pattern catalog to show them, email me and we'll send you one to drop off at your local shop.

    Quilters will be especially excited to hear about the Fresh Flowers quilt labels and frames pattern. Several of the designs coordinate with fabrics I've designed, such as Sprig, and Dauphine. With these frame designs, you can match your quilt label to the quilt itself. I've never seen this before—so I'm calling it revolutionary.

    HeatherBaileyEmbroidery_Cherries2

    The Blooming Borders pattern includes a variety of designs in repeat. In other words, transfer a border multiple times to the length that suits your project. One of these repeating borders (the bird design shown at the top of this post) coordinates with the Mockingbird print from my Garden District collection—which will be out next year on quilting cotton (wink, wink).

    HeatherBailey_GardenPaisleysButterflyIn short, embroidery is seriously fun and relaxing. And I hope to make it even more so by providing beautiful designs, all ready for your use. As I've mentioned before, it's "like coloring in slow motion." But, with much more substantial and long-reaching results.

    For me, this is like birthing another baby—an art baby. I've worked long and hard on every aspect of this new pattern collection to get every nuance and need met with style. I couldn't be more excited to send these out to your ready hands and see the beautiful things you create.

    You guys are amazing. Thank you, as always, for your cheerful support.

    A BIG Happy Holidays to you!

    xo—Heather

  • Free Baby Bib Pattern & Tutorial

    ByHeather Bailey

    HeatherBailey_BabyBib_Cover470

    Are you ready for another free pattern? Baby Bibs!

    I've been making bibs for my kids since my first child was born 16
    years ago (seriously?). Now his tee-shirts are bibs. And his jeans are
    napkins.

    This time around, with my littlest—who is now a year-and-a-half, I have these AWESOME laminated cotton fabrics
    to work with. They make the BEST     bibs. Easy to sew, wipeable,
    washable—and pretty. Half of our family stock of bibs are made with the
    laminates and half are made with all-cotton quilting-weight fabric.
    They're both great. But, the laminates are slightly favored.

    So, this is a really simple pattern. You can make a bunch of bibs in
    one sitting. If you coordinate a few bibs and add some
    embellishments—like ribbon or an applique—you can whip up a fantastic baby shower gift in no time. Cute AND useful—the best gifts to get. Download the pattern here—or follow the sidebar link under Free Patterns.

    SlobberMonkeyBabyBib_HeatherBailey

    I'll be sharing My Slobber Monkey Baby Bib pattern on PBS this spring. Check your local listings for Sew It All TV.
    In Phoenix, I believe the episode will be airing next Monday at 9:30am
    and 2:30pm on Eight Life (Cox 80). Tune in for sewing tips, fabric and
    embellishment variations—including a monster bib. For more info about the episode, see this post.
    I don't want to be redundant—except to say that we filmed the episode
    in one, long, 30-minute take. I, myself, am anxious to see how that
    worked out.

    Fun, fun!

    All my love and sewiness,
    Heather

  • Watch Me on PBS

    ByHeather Bailey

    I am guest-hosting an episode of Sew It All on PBS
    this spring. Every PBS affiliate has a different schedule, so I can't
    give you an exact date. BUT, the episode should be airing very, very
    soon. So, visit PBS.org to
    check the schedule in your local area. Sew It All slated this as
    Episode 4, but from what I hear, the episodes can be shuffled around by
    the PBS program directors. And different areas will carry different
    shows. Very interesting stuff.

    SewItAll_HeatherBaileyBW_BabyBib

    Anyhow, we're making baby bibs. Here are Sew It All host, Ellen March,
    and I holding up a baby bib together—it must have been very
    heavy—weighted down with cuteness. I'll post about the free pattern next
    week, along with a little monster you can applique on the bibs—or on a
    kid's tee shirt or bag, etc.

    The fabrics shown above are laminates from my Nicey Jane collection—I LOVE them. They are so fun to work with!

    Chances are, you'll see the episode before I do. Stop back by and let
    me know if you have any questions afterward. We filmed the show in one
    take. One, long 30-minute take. Can you believe it? No pressure, right?

    It was a blast.

  • Live from Marie, It’s Freshcut TV

    ByHeather Bailey

    We have a winner. By random drawing, one shiny copy of Creative Spaces Volume #2 is on its way to Renee G. Giveaways are the best, huh? Let's do a lot of them this year.

    Marie-osmond-heather-bailey-s

    And, here is fun news. Apparently, my Freshcut flannel fabrics were featured on Marie Osmond's television show this week on The Hallmark Channel. Ellen March, host of Sew It All on PBS, joined Marie to make pajama pants. For more info on the episode and the free pj pants pattern they used, click here.

  • A Wristed Development

    ByHeather Bailey

    In my ongoing quest to cute-up the dull, it’s time to attack the wrist pincushion. Who wrote the law that wrist pincushions must be ugly and uncomfortable? Did it begin with the red-plastic snap-on variety of my mother’s generation; in our excitement for the advent of plastic, did we take things too far?** Or were we torturing ourselves long before then?

    WristPincushion2
    True, there have been some commercial attempts to add personality to the plain old pincushions of the past: gingham hearts, lavendar daisies and so forth. With a lack of alternatives, I might prefer painful-to-wear over painful-to-look-at.

    WristPincushion Bring on the bloggers. I’m not the first to offer a solution. Megan of Crafty Intentions whipped up an octopus from Futuregirl’s pattern — a wristopus? Super cool. Lori La Tortuga made a fun little owl once upon a time. Super cute. And Planet June has a great tutorial for a simple, but stylish Offset Square Wrist Pincushion. Super chic.

    I’ll take a stab at pretty.

    Here, I’ve taken my new free pattern, Spring Violets (announced in our May newsletter) and adapted it to the cause. For the wrist band, I cut two rectangles of felt, 1.5″ x 7.25″ and 2″ x 7.25″. (Measure your wrist to make sure this works for you — allow overlap for a velcro closure.)

    With hot glue, I attached a thin circle of wood at the center of the wider felt band and pinked the edges of the felt. I then layered the smaller felt band on top, enclosing the wooden disc. I edge-stitched the bands together around the perimeter, then attached velcro at each end as a closure. Lastly, I whip-stitched the Spring Violets in place above the wooden disc. The flowers are attached to a small, stuffed tuffet (see pattern) which is perfect for pins. The wooden disc keeps your wrist whole-not-holey. (Check the woodcraft section of your local craft store.)

    WristPincushionNotes That’s it. Pretty simple.

    Click here to download the flower instructions. Let me know if you have any questions. Looking for felt? We’ve got plenty of that.

    ** However uncomfortable, I am totally nostalgic for those clamp-on red pincushions. Even though my mom usually kept pins between her teeth, she always wore a ratty red wrist-cushion covered with a rainbow of threaded needles.


  • Tray Jolie

    ByHeather Bailey

    CupcakeDecorating

    How about a new free pattern?  An early Valentine’s Day present.

    Here’s a sweet little project that goes together quickly — a bow-tied box for treats or trinkets.  Perfect for displaying tasty truffles and candies for your Valentine or hip paperclips and doo-dads for your desk.  The pattern and instructions below are for one 3″ x 3″ x 1 1/4″ tray.  However, once you have the hang of it, you can scale the design up or down as needed. Imagine tasty trays for sewing supplies, post-it notes, business cards, candies, jewelry, buttons, keys, coasters…

    TreatBox4

    Treat_trinket_tray

    TreatTrayPattern2MATERIALS LIST (one 3″ x 3″ x 1 1/4″ tray) 

    7” x 7” fabric*
    7” x 7” lining fabric*
    3/4 yd narrow piping
    1 1/3 yd ribbon, 1/8” wide
    8” x 10” stiff, thin cardboard
    Thread 

    HELPFUL TOOLS
    Pins, scissors, needle, liquid seam sealant (such a s Fray Check™)

    * Suitable fabrics include laminated cotton, quilting-weight cotton, light-weight decorator fabric, and other light to medium-weight woven fabrics

     

    INSTRUCTIONS (click on illustrations to enlarge)

    A. Cut Out Fabric & Cardboard – Click here to download pattern pieces. Using pattern, cut one 5 7/8” square of fabric and one 5 7/8” square of lining fabric. Round corners per pattern & clip at circles to mark ribbon placement. Of cardboard, cut one 3” square, and cut four 1” x 3” rectangles.  If cardboard is flimsy, cut two sets & glue corresponding pieces together to stiffen.

    Tray_01_02_03b B. Baste Piping to Tray Exterior – Baste piping to tray exterior. Join piping at one black circle by overlapping piping neatly. Trim.

    C. Attach Ribbon Ties – Cut eight pieces of ribbon, each 6” long. With a small stitch-length, sew one ribbon to tray at each black circle, on top of piping; stitch back & forth across ribbon to secure well.

    D. Sew Lining to Exterior – With right-sides-together, pin lining to exterior. Sew around tray, leaving one side open between black circles. Notch curve at each corner. Turn tray right-side-out through opening in seam.

    E. Insert Cardboard & Stitch Around Sides – Insert one rectangular cardboard piece into tray;  butt cardboard up to stitching at side of tray opposite from opening, beneath the seam allowance on exterior side of tray. Secure cardboard in place by stitching 1 1/8” away from fabric edge (not piping edge) along stitching line shown on tray pattern, beginning & ending at black circles. See illustration. Be sure stitching runs alongside cardboard & does not go through it & ribbons are not caught in seam. Insert another cardboard rectangle at one adjacent side & stitch as before. Repeat at opposite side of tray. Slide cardboard square into place at center of tray & stitch along last stitching line, parallel to opening. Insert last cardboard rectangle into opening. Fold tray lining edge under 1/4” & ladder-stitch to close opening in seam.

    Tray_04_05_06_07
    F. Tie Corner Bows & Trim – Fold sides up & hold corners together with a pin. Tie two ribbons at each corner into a bow. Once tied, trim ribbons to desired lengths. Finish ribbon ends with liquid seam sealant to prevent fraying.

    ENJOY!


  • 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!


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  • Autumn Napkin Ring Tutorial

    ByHeather Bailey

    Thanksgiving is coming right up. 

    To get into the autumn groove, try stitching up some fall decorations with our designer felt, glitzy thread from DMC, and few glass beads.  With a full table to set, these playful napkin rings pack a big bang for little buck.

    ThanksgivingNapkinRing
    Trimming up the acorns is my favorite part.  Aren’t they fun?  And Charlotte is always game to help embroider — she likes to the pull the needle through, then hand it back to me.  This is a much slower process, as you can imagine, but I love her.

    To share the fun, I’ve put together a tutorial and a free pattern download…



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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.