HELLOmynameisHeather

Keynote Delivered

I just returned from Utah where I delivered the keynote address at this year's Sewing Summit in Salt Lake City. What a great experience. And what a fun respite from the whirlwind of work I have this month. I was there for the entire event which gave me the chance to get to know a lot of the attendees—such an inspiring group.

And the Salt Lake City food! That was a surprise. It helped that I went out to eat with some local foodies. Take Note: Bruges Waffles, Settebello Pizzeria, Plum Alley, Gracie's Bar, Hatch Family Chocolates & Ruby Snap Cookies.

I'm back in the studio now and I have to tear right into my class project for Thursday's Creative Bug shoot. I haven't forgotten about the Lottie Da fat-quarters giveaway. We will go through those entries and select our random winner this week, then post it here on the blog.

I just wanted to pop in with a quick hello and an update. I'm excited to tell you more about this great event and the thoughts and stories I shared at the closing dinner after I get through this next swirl of sewing.

Thanks to @cailamade and @hotpinkstitches for letting me snag photos from your Instagram feeds.

Pause. Wait. Go. Go Fast!

Are you in Utah? I will be at The Material Girls quilt shop in South Jordan THIS Wednesday from 6pm to 8pm. Stop by and let's meet.

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I had such a quaint little weekend. I pieced a lap quilt, made cherry muffins, did the laundry, went to a movie. I even slept at night. Nothing nearly reflective of my high-energy obligations this week and next. (High-energy is code for compressed and quickly becoming stressful.) My True Colors fabric hadn't arrived yet for next week's Creative Bug shoot, so I made lemonade of the situation and relaxed. I meditated on this week's keynote and did some prep for next month's needs. And I completed an entire quilt top.

My quiet activities took place in a stir of remodeling. Isaac and Elijah shuffled furniture out of our family room to make way for wainscoting and new flooring. I have a number of great vintage pieces that will need reupholstering or rebuilding in some way, but we'll deal with the furniture and trimmings later. Certainly no sooner than November.

My True Colors fabric was delivered this afternoon. The race is now on. I leave for The Sewing Summit in Utah in two days and must resolve the Creative Bug project before I go, get my kids squared away, and keep a number of other projects moving forward.

Some of you have asked for an update on my upcoming embroidery patterns. They will be ready soon. A few of these other obligations pushed their way forward in line. The work is 98% complete on the embroidery patterns, so my hope is to complete them once we've wrapped up the Creative Bug shoot. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know we're making progress on that despite my hectic schedule. We had planned to keep the embroidery patterns quiet till this Fall, but went ahead with previews earlier this year when my Lottie Da fabric collection was delayed for Spring Quilt Market. We had arranged a booth, but we weren't going to have fabrics. So, embroidery!

Okay. Time for me to go, go go.

If you missed the announcement at the top of this post, I will be at The Material Girls quilt shop in South Jordan, UT this Wednesday night from 6pm to 8pm. Come by for a hello. And see Lottie Da in person.

Getting Going on Sewing

It's a sewing week for me. For the last two years, I've spent most of my creative time at the drafting table and behind a computer, catching up on print and product design after having a baby. It's been great to get reacquainted with my sewing machine and start playing with these sunny new fabrics.

Angela Pingel of Cut to Pieces kindly offered to put together the quilt top for my upcoming free Lottie Da quilt pattern. She got right to it and had the top pieced in no time—which means the pattern will be ready soon—once the quilt is finished and photographed. Thank you, Angela!

With no corners to match up, the Lottie Da free quilt pattern is a perfect beginner quilt. I'll get into that more once the pattern is complete in the next couple of weeks.

For now, enjoy this sneaky peek courtesy of Angela. And stop by Cut to Pieces for Angela's post and a bigger peek at the quilt top.

And don't forget to enter the Lottie Da giveaway that closes Sunday night at 11:59pm PST (9-15-13) for a fat quarter stack of the entire collection—over a $100 value.

If you missed our Heather Bailey Store newsletter earlier this week announcing the Lottie Da collection... Enter promo code LOTTIEDA917 for a FREE full-size sewing pattern with any purchase of $50 or more through 9/17/13 11:59pm PST. Add your selected items to your cart to meet the order minimum, then add your selected pattern, followed by the promo code at checkout.

Happy Weekend!
xo—Heather

Introducing Lottie Da

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.

To see the full line of prints, click here.

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.

One Thought in Front of the Other

I'm getting things done this week. I just need to keep it up.

I've even sneaked in some time to embroider paisleys while cuddling Evan at night. He giggles when the needle comes through the fabric, chanting, "Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes..." I've got to get this on tape.

After the Sewing Summit keynote in two weeks, I have a film crew coming to my home studio to tape an online class. I am designing the project today, after I go over a newsletter to introduce Lottie Da. Of course, the fabric I am supposed to use for the class is not in the United States yet (this is a different group of fabrics than Lottie Da). And then the day after the shoot is my high school reunion in the San Francisco bay area. I have to decide if I can fit that in. I don't want to regret not going for the next decade. And I can't put off arranging flights and hotel, so I have to decide this weekend without knowing how I'll survive the next two weeks.

In the mix, I would like to complete the embroidery patterns that I'm anxious to introduce. And get things rolling along for a tradeshow in October, followed by another fabric collection due November 1st. Oh, and costumes for Halloween. You know that I can't let that slip. It looks like I better get some help on Lottie Da samples for Market.

As they say, one foot in front of the other. I'm not leaving my studio much for the next few weeks. For me, it's one thought in front of the other. So far, so good. We'll see how I feel in a few days!