I 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!
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.
It's party month at the Bailey's. With two birthday parties to throw for my children in January and my younger brother's wedding coming up next week, my personal creative time is fully spoken for. This hasn't kept me from dreaming about what I'll work on next, once the storm of confetti has blown west. I have new fabrics to work with—stacks of True Colors and Lottie Da are sending out a pulsing beacon from just about three feet behind me to my left. Boop, boop, boop, boop.
I guess it's a little odd to segregate my personal creative time from my professional creative time. I create for a living, so I should be satisfied with the dozens of hours I'm spending on new print designs and other products during the week. Really, what's the difference? Perhaps it's the element of play. Or maybe it's throwing obligation to the wind and just creatively goofing off for few hours here and there. I'm aching to 'play' with these new fabrics some more. There just isn't time this month. Hm. I guess I could show up to my brother's wedding with an odd assortment of experiments and call them "decorations." Here you go, Ryan, some quilt-block tests for your hors d'oeuvres table. So glad I could be such a help to you this week!" Or perhaps not—something about throwing them the wedding that they want.
Till February, I'll get my fix through you guys. I love watching what pops up on your blogs, on Instagram, on Flickr, etc. If you post a project with my fabrics or my new embroidery patterns, let me know. And send me links to others' projects you come across.
In fact…in fact! There is a sweeping True Colors blog tour going on this week and next, all over the web. You'll want to check this out.
The amazing bloggers below are working with Free Spirit's new True Colors collections, adding their personal flair. There will be inspiration galore and a bunch of giveaways. The fabulous bloggers that will feature my own collection are highlighted in 'radiant orchid.'The other wonderful blogs will be working with Anna's, Joel's and Jenean's True Colors prints. Should be a serious shindig. Don't miss the first two who have already posted.
And! I nearly forgot. Here is video of the four of us discussing color and these new True Colors collections. I'm a little shy to share this as **I have never been so sleep deprived** as I was the day we filmed this video. I had something like six hours of sleep over a four-day period. And it shows. Thank goodness for CreativeBug's fantastic filming skills. I only wish they had included my little soapbox moment on the importance of "UGLYCOLORS" Maybe my bleary-eyed, tongue-tied self did not communicate the idea as eloquently as I remember. Anyhow, Anna has similar thoughts on "muted" colors. I ditto what she says.
Founded in 2008 by husband and wife team, Mai and Josh Olivo,
Ruche is a vintage-inspired boutique with a modern perspective. In
short, they describe Ruche's aesthetic as "feminine, flirty, clever and
cute, yet subtly sophisticated "
Like any happening company these days, Ruche can be found all over the social media world. Follow Ruche on facebook, twitter, tumblr, pinterest and instagram. And don't miss their gorgeous videos on you tube.
Comment to enter today's giveaway. 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 11:59pm PST on Weds 8/28/13—which means it
will overlap with Day 26's giveaway
which ends tonight and Day 28's giveaway which will go up tomorrow, so
don't miss those. We want you to have plenty of time to enter. 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.
The Rose Bowl Flea Market makes me gitty. Wendy and I were like two
magpies, combing the aisles for sparkly treasure. She has a great,
vintage-20s, flapper-deco aesthetic. It was fun to see what trinkets
called her name—definitely a great way to get to know each other on a new level.
I highly suggest it.
One vendor offered metal letters of every size and color, including
polkadots. I sorted through his alphabets for a good 20 minutes—they
were comically hot in the bright sun. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a
website or even a business card. If someone’s looking for at Etsy
opportunity, track this guy down. He’s a Rose Bowl Flea Market regular.
And we all need his letters.
With our car trouble, we had to leave the trailer behind, so my
blinders were on when it came to furniture. That was a bit painful.
However, a hunt for small treasures brought an interesting challenge. In
the end, my eclectic loot included: plastic chicks, pink buttons, a
rhinestone buckle, embroidered ribbons and silks, a green vase, a red
scarf, and a sequined gold and black vintage circle skirt. If you're a
treasure hunter too, The Rose Bowl Flea Market marks the spot. In
charming ol' Pasadena, CA.
My son is 13 today. Thirteen! What in the world? I was such a little grown-up at thirteen. At least, I thought I was.
Things
have been extra busy this month. Isaac has built a wall to divide the
main floor of my new office, allowing pattern storage to be neatly
hidden away — and allowing the main work area to be cute-ified. I
don't know when I'll get around to that cute-ification, but it now has
the potential, which is a start.
I have successfully ignored the
move in order to wrap up some pressing projects. A serious feat. It
looks like I have one more week to go. Next time I make my way up
there, I'll snap a photo of the new wall. It was a lot of work and is
just about finished. There is a lot more work to do, but it will have
to be gradual. With Nicey Jane new on the market and several new
patterns popping, we're extra busy behind the scenes.
On a
personal note, I purchased some cool, mid-century modern chairs today.
They need refinishing and new upholstery, but I can do that. If it
weren't for birthday dinner & birthday baking, I'd be out sanding
them this evening. Perhaps tomorrow.
My camera is back too,
which means more blogging. I can't seem to get comfortable posting
without including photos. Case in point, the photos in this post. They
don't relate to what I'm saying at all, but isn't this a fun vintage
box? I gave it to Lindsay for Christmas, along with some other fun bits
& baubs. It's probably a stationery box from the 60s or 70s. All
it needed was a good cleaning and a refreshed interior. I used one of
Amy Butler's scrapbook papers from a while back. Don't they say that the best
presents are those you have a hard time giving away?
Something like that. I love funky kitsch like this.
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.
How
long has it been? Thank heaven for Twitter. I've been on the road for
the last 9 days, in Pittsburgh, Ohio & New York, hopping from one
meeting to the next. My dad met up with me in the middle there and we
toured around his childhood neighborhoods and mine. I lived near
Pittsburgh till I was 4 or 5 and in Ohio till I was 8. It was every
bit as beautiful as I remember, or more so. In most places, our
next-door neighbors still lived there (wild). I have a lot to share. I can't wait to get back home and sort through the photos and stories.
Yesterday,
between meetings in NY, I stopped by Tinsel Trading Co. on 37th —
vintage hat flower heaven! I have some fun projects in store for this
jackpot. Another reason to get home soon.
So, after a quick
stop by Purl Patchwork, and some other SoHo favorites this afternoon,
I'll make my way to LaGuardia, then home. It's been a great trip, but
I'm ready to be back with my family and back to my list of to-dos. We
have some big things in store this summer.
Score. One groovy, vintage needlepoint on it's way. If this is indeed as fun
as it seems, then it will be cleaned, matted and framed for my
grass-green loft. If not, well then, I still had fun buying it.
Thanks, eBay.
