HELLOmynameisHeather

The Squeak Heard Around the World

Yes!  Thanks for humoring me.  Literally.

Perhaps most of us find a giant-mouse maxi to be a fashion turn-off.  However, Thomas of WayCoolKid was inspired.  Yep.  Within a day of the post, Thomas hopped right-to and whipped up this adorable mouse jumper for his daughter.  He describes the jumper as a fusion of "Little House on the Prairie & Swiss Modernism."

It goes to show, you can find inspiration just about anywhere.  At least, Thomas sure can!  I'm impressed.

As for the giveaway... I've had a difficult enough time narrowing the comments down to five, let alone one.  So, more giveaways it is.

You guys are a hoot.  In no particular order, a goody goes to each of the following:

1. "Said in a deadpan voice... "Is this skirt cheesy?"" Hizzeather
2. "I'd have to cut holes where the eyes are so my knees peeked through! Maybe then you could draw various kinds of eyes on your kneecaps..."  Ange Moore
3. "Ain't nothin' "Minnie" about me!"  Angela H.
4. "...you thought my hair was mousy." Leslie Plank
5. "You're all so last season."  Helen

Funny folk, email me your contact info & I'll send you a little something for your waggery. (info@heatherbailey.com)

Rodent of Unusual Size

Nothing like a giant-mouse maxi skirt to freshen up an otherwise dull wardrobe. This vintage get-up says something, but what exactly?

"I am a professional."

"Beware the Rodent of Unusual Size."

Nail it & I'll send you a gift of some sort.  I'm in the thick of fabric design and can use a good laugh -- clearly.

I missed the end of the auction while I was out of town or I might have caved. I imagine wearing this number to the studio with a white shirt, drippy earrings, and an I'm-dead-serious business-bun. There would be a candy bar in store for whomever on my team snickered first. 

Missed opportunity : (

The Creative Connection

I'm in Minneapolis, MN for The Creative Connection this week.  What an amazing crowd of bloggers and business women!  All brought together by Nancy Soriano, Jo Packham, and their fantastic friends and staff.

It is an honor to be invited as a speaker and panelist. They have put together a perfect schedule of business-fodder, food, and fun, along with an impressive Handmade Market.

The event kicks off tomorrow morning with a variety of classes for the attendees. At lunchtime, The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, will join in for some Q & A. Then MaryJane Butters and Amy Butler will speak at the kick-off dinner.  I have an autograph party tomorrow night and two panels on Friday, centered on business development, with some meals and meetings in there as well. Saturday morning I'm listening in on another panel, then heading back home.  It's a full schedule. 

I can't wait.

(It looks like the bio and pig-tailed photo of me on the Creative Connection site are both several years out-of-date. Oops. (No, I'm not introducing my first line of fabric this year.) Here's a more up-to-date portrait courtesy of Charlotte.)

Fossil Creek Waterfall

Wow, so it sounds like there's a bunch of you looking for directions to the Fossil Creek waterfall now.  I did a little search in order to provide a link, but I could only find maps of an 8 mile hike in the area, with no information on the waterfall or how to get to it. That won't do.

Solved!  Here's a quicky-map of the 1-mile trail from the parking lot to the waterfall, with driving directions from Phoenix/ Flagstaff or from Mesa/Gilbert. Click on the image of the map to download.

Please bring a real road map too -- and sunblock.  Be safe & have fun!

Whaa-Hoo!

Who:      The Baileys

What:     Best idea ever

When:    This week

Where:   Fossil Creek

Why:      'Cuz it's dang hot outside

Isaac's sister Evie and her daughter Maggie came for a visit this week.  Beyond shopping, and taking Maggie's senior pictures, their must-do list included swimming in the Arizona heat. (Not enough warmth in Washington this summer.)

We packed up the kids and headed to our favorite swimming hole, Fossil Creek, about 2 1/2 hours north. 

What can I say?  I had a blast.

On our way home, we stopped in Pine for pastries -- a little ol' baker-man braids bread inside a funny little grocery store -- another favorite stop.  We still don't know the name of the place; though it's right next to the Sidewinders Saloon if you're looking for it. We are always too distracted by the pastries, I guess.

August in a Cupcake Wrapper

Had a birthday. Yep. 

It was great!  Isaac brought me chocolate cake, mom brought me chocolate cake, and Nica made me a bouquet of chocolate-rose cupcakes ala Carrie -- delicious and entirely photo-worthy. (Thank you s'much!)  Add to that a great birthday party put on by my sisters, Julia & Merris, and a serious spread of mexican food.  I was far too busy eating chocolate and tacos to blog about it. 

Other than eating cake round the clock, let's see, I've been busy batting at a variety of moving objects.  Life is a pinata.  One feisty, swingy pinata.

One project I'm excited to announce is my partnership with Peking Handicraft to produce several housewares collections, including aprons, dishtowels, pillows, and more.  I'll post photos once samples are in hand.  Right now we are aiming for several January releases.

On the pattern front, I'm introducing two new mini patterns this month.  LOVE them both.  One is the awesome lunch bag pattern I mentioned before and the other is a great little hat pattern -- a sort of mixture between a 1920s cloche and a hippie beret.  Patterns & instructions are complete; I just need to wrap up the covers.

I'm also toying with a blog theme idea; tell me your take on Sketchtember.

Doodle-loo, scribble too -- whoop-di-do.