HELLOmynameisHeather

Giveaway in Progress

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:

• Camera Strap
• Child's Beret
• Butterfly Pillow

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.

Heather Bailey Interview with Modern Sewciety

I have been keeping this blog since 2006. Along the way, I've received several requests for podcast interviews. However, for one reason or another, the timing never worked out to schedule a call. Till now.

Stephanie Kendron from ModernSewciety.com caught me at just the right time. Hear my interview in EPISODE 34 of the Modern Sewciety podcast, available now. Click here to tune in from your computer or download the episode and listen on your portable device. Stephanie and I discuss my fabric-design process, how I built my current business, my patented invention, my family and a lot more.

Have a listen and comment here if you have any follow-up questions from the interview. I will check in regularly and reply.

Up Parasol

Up Parasol projects are starting to show up all over the web. I'm excited to share many of them with you with links out to their makers. Before doing so, let's have a closer look at this new collection which is available now at independent quilt shops and online at HeatherBaileyStore.com.

Up Parasol is centered around two prints from my previous Garden District home-decor collection—Cakewalk and Mockingbird. These two designs were repeatedly requested on quilting-weight cotton, so I heeded the pleading and pinned swatches of these two on my design board to let them seep into my subconscious. 

What was born of this pairing is the new Up Parasol collection. I added many all-new prints of various scales and themes, including an extremely useful pinwheel blender named Devon Check, a vintage-flavored mum print named Mum Toss, a modern little flower repeat that looks a bit like a tiny umbrella named Stella, a fresh and trendy lattice print named Trellis, an inviting Summer Plaid and another super-useful two-tone print named Lulu. Among these is my favorite new print which shows a wood-cut style bird with flowers on his wings alighting from a branch, Meadowlark.

I'm not sure if it's my favorite new print because of the finished look or because I had such a happy time creating this particular design. Again, of course, there's the mother-hen in me who believes it's just not right for me to pick any favorites. 

I do really love how these prints work together. They are cheerful and buoyant while also sophisticated and chic.

I had the pleasure of creating a couple of Up Parasol quilts for the industry trade show, Quilt Market. One quilt will be out soon as a new pattern—so I'll wait just a few more days to share the details of that design. And the other is a large crazy-quilt-style design where I mixed Up Parasol with my basics collection, True Colors, as well as a couple of hand-selected solid colors for punch. This freely-pieced quilt is shown in the photo above on the turquoise quilt rack.

Crazy-Quilt How-To

Each block was started with a five-sided semi-pentagonal shape that was free-style cut with a ruler, but without set dimensions or proportions. I then pieced wedge-like strips around this center piece the way you would with a log-cabin block, trimming excess fabric from each newly-attached strip to keep the edges straight and ready for the next strip to be added.

As each block became bigger, I used a 12.5" square ruler as a guide to keep my piecing on track. Once the whole stack of blocks were made and I had arranged them into a layout, I used the same ruler to trim all blocks to a tidy 12.5" square before piecing them together. 

 

If you can make sense of that, then you can make a crazy quilt too! Let me know if you have any questions about how to put it together and I will be sure to answer those here, or in a follow-up post. 

Meanwhile, visit your local quilt or sewing shop to get your hands on these delicious Up Parasol fabrics. Or visit HeatherBaileyStore.com if you don't have a sewing hub nearby. Remember to include some True Colors and Lottie Da fabrics for an expanded variety of compatible designs, perfect for your modern quilting and crafting projects.

Pick up a copy of my Blooming Borders embroidery pattern while your at it. There is a border print included that features the same two birds shown in the Up Parasol Mockingbird print. Just imagine pairing your beautiful embroidery work with coordinated fabric in your next project—yum. 

 

RELATED POSTS:

NEW Embroidery Patterns

Garden District

Introducing True Colors

 

Reboot

Aaaah...yes.

Wow.

What a summer.

I have been all over the place—everywhere except home.

It was refreshing and fun, but I am seriously ready to get back to real life. And that's a great feeling. 

I had a design project that was about two days off of delivery when we left town. Evan's chickenpox slowed me down just enough that I had to wait till we were back to get that wrapped up. I finished the work last week, unpacked, ran around getting kids set up for the new school year, took a few deep breaths—including a hike to our favorite waterfall last Friday with friends—and now I'm back in the ring.

I've decided to have at least two Wonder Woman Days each week where I tear through my to-dos like I'm battling a horde of supervillians. I'm still debating whether this calls for a token tiara and gratuitous gauntlets to enhance my resolve or whether my invisible airplane is enough.

Yesterday was such a day. By the end of the day, my 'completed' list was five times taller than usual. Yikes. I really earned my stripes when I gathered up suit and tie for Elijah's senior yearbook photoshoot, picked him up early from his graphic-design course, shuttled him on time to his appointment across town, dressed and ready to go... and one last look-over revealed that the child had not shaved. We're talking 1/4" of growth or more—allbeit sparse—peppered all over his face. Not good.

Now, I don't shave my face. And he hardly ever does. Neither of us remembered this little detail. I was quite tempted to throw a nice little tantrum in the waiting room. This wooly diversion could set us back by hours while we waited for another opening or rescheduled for August. 

I closed my eyes, took several deep breaths and it dawned on me that this was one of those bad-in-an-extra-funny-way moments I would look back on fondly one day. I gritted my teeth, then gathered my golden lasso and my shaggy son and we headed to the grocery store for supplies. He put his tee shirt back on, shaved in the restroom, re-dressed in his fancies and headed back to the photo studio to wait.

The shoot was much more involved than I expected, including shots of him in a cap and gown. Be still, my mama heart. I'm so glad he was clean-shaven. If I hadn't decided earlier to be Wonder Woman, I don't think we would have dodged that speeding bullet very well. I have so much to catch up on. Rescheduling would have been a defeat.

I was even nice about it. How about that? And I fed the hungry boy a giant's serving of Backyard Tacos to celebrate our victory.

I love that kid.

Today? Today is not a Wonder-Woman Day. It's a secret-identity day and I'm proceeding at normal speed — rebooting for another blam!-kerpow! day tomorrow.

Glad to be back.

Embroidered Jewelry — I'm on a Kick

So, here's what I made in my time off last week — teensy little embroidered necklaces for me and my close friends. Well, and for you too. We made up a few dozen kits and posted them in the online store. There's a FABRIC SALE this week — through Friday 6-13-14 at midnight MST — with 15-40% discounts on my classic fabric collections (Freshcut, Pop Garden, Nicey Jane, etc.). We're making space for new fabric collections on their way.

If you order $35 or more of fabric and other goodies, you can get one of these limited-edition embroidery kits for FREE with your purchase. Once you're done shopping, add the pattern kit to your cart, then enter the code FREETINY at checkout and the price of one pattern kit will be subtracted from your total. Details about what's in the pattern kit are listed here. All three designs are printed with heat-transferable ink and can be used multiple times to make at least a dozen stitcheries. Heat-transfer and necklace-assembly instructions included.

I'm taking eight of these kits with me to Mexico later this month so I can teach my friends and their kids how to stitch up a necklace or two while we sit under umbrellas with our toes in the sand. I think I might bring my Foredom drill too so we can drill holes in sea shells and string them together into keepsake jewelry during siesta. Eight women and girls, 11 men and boys — we are going to have a blast. These little kits are the perfect portable vacation project. I'm so excited.

The Hub of Hubbub

What a week! Evan has chickenpox; my trusty little car is in the shop getting fit with a new harness; my Trash Ties patent needs some paperwork-love, I have a new fabric collection to deliver and another one to review. Oh! And another one to announce—shipping this week. And a big inventory-reduction sale to orchestrate. My store manager is out of town on vacation and Isaac is working a construction gig for our friend's new photo studio all week. So, he's not around either.

I'm at the hub of hubbub. It's enough to make a gal appreciate some good, old-fashioned, downtempo embroidery. Slow it down, think things through, meditate, devise a plan....then pow! Make it all happen.

Somehow.

My meditation is your win. Because what I came up with when taking things slowly for a day is - so - much - fun. And I'm working out a way for you to get your stitchy fingers on it for free. Just give me one or two more days to sort out the details and I promise to tell all. Consider the photo a sneak peek. And start planning your summer projects, because we are putting together a Big Ol' Summer Sale* for next week as well — making space for more good things to come. 

*Sign up for the Heather Bailey newsletter for full details.

Housekeeping

We have been busy prepping samples for my next quilting fabric collection—coming in June. My fashion-fabric collection is almost here as well. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you will have seen a number of sneak peeks last weekend during Quilt Market, the industry's trade show. Now that the business-to-business side of things is kicked off, we can start putting together some full reveals to share what I've been up to in the design department.

Before moving onto new releases, I have a little house-keeping to do. First, let me congratulate Ricky Tims and Tula Pink for winning the Bernina sewing machine face-off. And Brenda P. from Pensacola FL won the sewing machine—what a great prize—so fun!

I also have a book-giveaway winner to announce. Lisa McGriff, lucky #7, email me your address and I will have your copy of My Rag Doll sent posthaste.

Lisa McGriff said...

"I had a Raggedy Ann doll as well, to this day I still love Raggedy Ann dolls. I would love to win this book so much!!"

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Finally, watch for a MIGHTY Inventory Reduction Sale at HeatherBaileyStore.com in the next week or two. All discontinued fabrics—collector's take note—will be on sale. Start planning your summer projects now. It's time we make space for new collections on their way.

My Rag Doll & a Giveaway

I must tell you about this gorgeous new book from Corinne Crasbercu. With beautiful photographs, classic designs, and even darling little sketches and watercolors mixed in throughout, Corinne's new book, My Rag Doll, is a visual treat. Here is just a glimpse of the bright and inviting styling in this treasure of a book.

Even the materials-list pages are pretty. Look how the fabrics, ribbons and yarns are laid out for the Red Riding Hood doll shown above.

My Rag Doll takes you through the creation of a simple doll with customizeable hair and features. You can start with a clean and tidy hairdo and let the naturalism develop over time as the doll is loved and dragged about by her human friends. Or, you can style her hair with wispies and frayed ends for a more broken-in effect—see hair-style examples above.

And there are many different clothing and shoe patterns included as well, from dungaries and a raincoat to pajamas and a kimono—and everything in between.

I have a true soft spot for rag dolls. The sweetest gifts I received as a child—and I still have most of them—were all rag dolls made by my mother. My first rag doll can be seen in my baby portrait at one year old. I was so attached to my Raggedy Ann that the only way my mom could get me to stop crying during the photo session was to hand that doll right on back to me.

My next rag-doll baby doubled as baby Jesus in our family Christmas devotional when I was four. Somewhere amongst my keepsakes there is a photo of me as Mary holding my dolly Jesus. Later, for my eighth birthday, my mom made me another doll with a matching moses basket and a change of clothes. Again, there is a photo of me somewhere with my friends all gathered on our front lawn while I tear the wrapping paper off of this beloved gift.

I have often thought about creating the quintessential rag-doll pattern book. Something to pay homage to my long-standing love for rag dolls. I envisioned an intro with these personal photos and an account of my own history making dolls, even having dolls of mine displayed at a museum. Then, a lovely book like this shows up on my doorstep—it's great to have publisher friends—and my fantasy is quite fulfilled. I don't even have to do the writing and pattern-drafting work. I can skip straight to the fun part—gathering fabrics, trims and yarn and making up a rag doll for my own daughter to drag about and love. While I might write my own doll book one day, I'm in no hurry for now. This book is lovely.

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Stitch Craft Create, the publisher, has offered me a second copy of this new book to give away. To enter, leave a comment below by Friday at midnight MST. If you have a rag-doll memory, share it with us. One winner will be randomly chosen early next week. To purchase the book in advance and also immediately receive a downloadable e-book at no additional charge, click here. Or you can pre-order the book on Amazon. Blog-hop details here—psssst—there might be others giving away a copy of the book.

Spring

New artwork is on its way to the mill. I pretty much have to disappear for a while in order to make that happen. Then, spring comes: lunch dates, time to help friends who are grieving, maybe I cook a real meal here and there, even wear make-up on a no-big-deal-regular day. My personal spring couldn't come at a better time, because it's spring. And I'm needed.

It's just beautiful outside. And I'm determined to soak it in before the Arizona summer descends.

Run for Travis

 

You know you want it...and you can have it too. Remember to vote EVERY DAY in the Bernina USA Faceplate Face-Off to increase your chance of winning this luxury machine. Voting ends 4-14-14, so set a reminder.

Also, if you are in Arizona this weekend, please consider joining me at the Run for Travis fundraiser in Gilbert. Travis Williams, the father of one of Charlotte's very best friends, passed away this week from a battle with cancer. Travis leaves behind a wife and four young children. He was only age 40. Proceeds go toward helping the family with medical expenses. There will be a 5k walk/run, a silent auction, food trucks. I'm excited to go help in this way.

Becky Higgins, who I worked with on a Heather Bailey Project Life kit last year, is good friends with the Williams family. She wrote a beautiful post about their longstanding relationship earlier this month, if you'd like to take a look.

Also, if you would like to help, but you're not in Gilbert, there is info on the Run for Travis facebook page on how to donate.

What a week for our community, for our family, for our Charlotte—though nothing compared with what these incredible families are facing. She and I leave for Travis' funeral after this post goes live.

Pining for Excitement?

Vote TODAY for the Heather Bailey sewing machine in Bernina USA's Faceplate Faceoff on facebook. Vote every day through 4-14-14 and you can win this rockin' $1900 luxury sewing machine. Pretty awesome giveaway. Set a reminder.

Let's make this retro-modern machine happen. 

xo—Heather

The Words Between the Words

While I've had some exposure in my life to the inadequacies of the english language, it is confirmed for me this week that words can never match the depth of feeling our souls experience in times of great joy and great sorrow. The phrases, "words can't describe" or "there aren't words” can be seen as lack of trying. That is, until you have been there, reaching for words that don’t exist.

Great blessings and great trials stir up the recesses of our souls, making us experience something new, something quite inexpressible: the singular moment when you know what you must do next, after weeks of confusion and indecision; the sparkle of love and utter trust in your child’s eyes while you tickle him into the hiccups; the awe and reverence I myself have felt this week witnessing my friends, Jori and Dwight Udall, maneuver through the darkest nightmare with light and love, taking every opportunity to testify that they know they will be with their son again, and that he is now whole and well, calming and reassuring family, friends, and the community at large. What strength of spirit this generosity requires, I can only imagine. Heaven knows, I would be tucked away in a private corner, crumpled in on myself.

I am incredibly moved. And grateful to call them friends.

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More information in this previous post. And at CJUdall.org.

WIN a $1900 Bernina Sewing Machine

I had the privilege to design a sewing machine for Bernina's Faceplate Face-off, along with 9 other designers. From March 17th through April 14th, votes will be collected on Bernina's facebook page and the TWO machines with the most votes will be sent to production and available for purchase.

One lucky voter will WIN a BERNINA SEWING MACHINE valued at $1899. Every time you vote, you are entered into the drawing again. So, set a reminder on your calendar to chime every day for the next few weeks.

Considering the tragedy we are grappling with at this time, it is going to be a challenge for me to spread the word about this contest on my own. I ask you to please help me share this design. I will sort out another fabulous giveaway for the voters should my design win, so there's a double incentive, a shopping spree perhaps. I wanted to have this all worked out before the Face-Off went live, but here we are. If you have an idea for me, please share it.

It is my understanding that you will want to access Bernina's facebook page from an actual computer, and not from a phone or ipad. To see the designs and vote, click the "Like" button the face-off page, then a "Click Here to Register" button will appear. Enter your info (so they can contact you if you win!), then you will see the various designs.

Please note that Bernina's mock-up of my design on their facebook isn't quite accurate yet. My design is red and white/cream, not red and silver. And I believe we would be indicating the model number "B350" with an emboss in the lower lefthand corner of the vertical plate, not with large black text across the artwork. My images here are closer to accurate. Feel free to post these images (links below) anywhere and everywhere, along with the contest info. I would sure appreciate it. And hopefully your sewing room will appreciate it too—when you WIN!

• Sewing Machine Image 115k (612px wide x 72dpi)
• Mod Daisy Artwork 192k (612px wide x 72dpi)
• Heather Bailey Logo 10k (612 px wide x 72dpi)

Remember to set your daily calendar reminders through 4-14-14.

PS: I think this contest is open to U.S. residents only, but I don't think that prohibits non-US residents from voting. I will ask. And I'll put together a giveaway that includes everyone—from everywhere—should my design win.

Sweet CJ

My dear, dear friend's 11-year-old son unexpectedly passed away this weekend in a tragic accident. It has been a tender and uplifting experience for our family and our church. I am honored to witness such strength of faith up close. Jori and Dwight have endured more than anyone I've ever met. And must endure this as well. They are my heroes.

Jori asked Isaac to create a website where CJ can be honored and where more info is posted. His family would like to celebrate his life by championing meaningful projects to benefit CJ's favorite things, including Boy Scouts, the Special Olympics and more. If you would like to know more about this special boy and help his family channel their tremendous grief in this positive direction with a donation to CJ's fund, please visit www.CJUdall.org. There was a press conference this afternoon, so more info will likely be on the AZ evening news tonight as well. Please spread the word. We can pull together and make a difference.

Carvel Scott Jackson Udall (CJ)
February 17, 2003 - March 15, 2014

www.CJUdall.org

Tuileries

We did it. We made it through the party grinder and survived to tell the tale. Nothing like a streak of over-abundance, coupled with a steady drip of sugar to make you crave a detox.

My back has been on the fritz for months and finally started to show improvement this weekend, so I went right out and re-enrolled at my favorite gym—the one with indoor and outdoor lap pools—as soon as Charlotte's party was over on Saturday. I can't wait to get moving. 

True, I run, and that's definitely a form of moving. But, I've been on a workout freeze the last few weeks while trying to heal. I'm going to try some less-jostly activities for a while and see what happens. I'll get back to running once my butt butts out and stops pulling my back out of place. Yes, this is what appears to be happening.

Enough about me and my back. How about this amazing quilt!?

Amy Gibson of Stitchery Dickory Dock put this Tuileries quilt together as part of the True Colors blog tour this January. She mixed True Colors with Lottie Da and wrote about her process here—with many more photos. Amy is an avid quilter, a mama to four kids, a teacher, and more. She teaches a Block of the Month class on Craftsy (it's free), so check that out while you read through her beautiful blog.

True, True

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.

1/20 Sew4Home (Blog-Tour Kick-Off)
1/21 Stitchery Dickory Dock 
1/22 I'm a Ginger Monkey
1/23 The Sewing Loft 
1/24 Ellison Lane 
1/27 Diary of a Quilter 
1/28 Material Obsession 
1/29 Craftsanity 
1/30 Stitched in Color 
1/31 Craft Buds 
2/1 Jaybird Quilts

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 "UGLY COLORS" 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. 

 

 

If you're stopping by from the blog tour and new to my blog, be sure to sign up for the Heather Bailey newsletter. And I'm a big fan of Instagram and Twitter, so come say hello there too. I'm @HeatherBailey on Instagram and @_HeatherBailey on Twitter.

Online Event in Two Weeks

Are you interested in creating a pocket-page scrapbook? Like the one I designed for Project Life? 

There is an online, full-day event coming up on January 25th that you might be interested in. It's called "True Scrap Pocket Pages" and the classes will be live and interactive, discussing the basics of pocket scrapbooking and beyond. All of the live classes will be recorded as well, so you can re-watch them as needed. 

Project Life is one of the sponsors for this event. They asked if you guys might be interested in hearing about it and I said, "Of course. Why not." I'm not affiliated with True Scraps, but I do love the simplicity of pocket-page scrapbooking. I already organize many of my creative projects on index cards for easy filing. It wasn't hard to convince me to keep family stories, kid quotes, and doodles on pretty little cards—such a fun and easy way to keep a family record!

 

Here's the list of classes —each one is an hour long:

• Hybrid Hints for Paper People (Traci Reed)

• Pocket Scrapping 101: Back to Basics (Layle Koncar)

• Do You Hear What I Hear? Including Your Family’s Perspectives in Your
Pocket Spreads (Marcy Penner)

• KISS: Keep It Simple, Scrappy! Simplifying the Pocket Page Process
from Monica McNeil

• Playing Big: Adding 12×12 photos and layouts to your Pocket Pages
Albums (Lilith Eeckels)

• Outside the Lines: Creative Approaches to Adding Journaling to Your
Pocket Pages (Stephanie Bryan)

 

Anyhow. If you are interested, visit truescrap.com/pocket for more info. (Lain Ehmann even posted a welcome video.) There is a ridiculous discount if you book the class today (January 10th)—hence my hurry to get this information posted! The code is "99OFF". You save a wild 66% or something, making the total cost only $50.

What is pocket-page scrapbooking? Here are my thoughts.

Embroidery Patterns are Here!

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.

We 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.

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).

In 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

Pop Garden Giveaway

I just heard that The Elven Garden is having a fun Pop Garden giveaway this week. Enter to win this stack of popular, out-of-print fabrics from my Pop Garden collection over on her blog at TheElvenGarden.blogspot.com by Saturday, December 14th at 2pm (Australian DST) for a chance to win.

Christmas Interview Goes Live Today

Sweet and Simple Magazine (SweetandSimpleMag.com) is doing a 25 Days of Christmas marathon with interviews, tutorials, recipes,  party ideas and other Christmas-related fun. My interview went live today, along with details on my family's ornament-party tradition.

I'm working behind the scenes to finish up the new embroidery patterns so we can get those back from the printer with plenty of time to ship them out before Christmas. I plan to scent up my home with cinnamon and nutmeg—baking or candles, whatever it takes—then snuggle up with my kids and a soft quilt to embroider while we watch The Sound of Music or Gone with the Wind.

Doesn't that sound fabulous? It's the picture in my head that's getting me through the last leg of this race. I should have some embroidery-pattern news here very, very soon.

Happy Holidays!

Texas Two-Step

We're back in the studio after another great tradeshow in Houston where I introduced two new fabric collections: Lottie Da and True Colors. It's always a treat to catch up with shop-owners, designers, editors and friends. It's even more fun when there are new fabrics to share.

Our booth took the first place prize, which put a pretty blue ribbon on a rough ride to get there. On my way to the airport, Isaac called to say that our van's new transmission had died again. He wasn't far from town, towing our booth to Market. With only 15 minutes to discuss our options before entering airport security, I closed the call with "You better just go buy a new vehicle and get back on the road. Have fun!"

Hours later, when I landed in Texas, I learned I was a truck-owner—Isaac's dream truck—a big ol' Ford F150. Isaac glowed right through the phone. Talk about the stars aligning for the man. Your vehicle breaks right when your wife is about to board a plane, leaving you just enough time to hear her say, "Go buy something." Then, with blanket permission to do as you wish, you get to choose your dream truck without even having to field her questions. And on top of that, she's glad. The problem is solved.

Makes me smile every time I step up into my shiny new truck.*

* I'm told this is my truck.

This transportation trip-up put us a full 24 hours behind schedule which left me unexpectedly stranded in San Antonio, three hours from Houston. (Isaac was originally going to get me at the airport on his way through town.) What was to be a full work day, finalizing the tradeshow booth in Houston became a mini vacation day in San Antonio. I booked myself a hotel, got some much-needed sleep, and spent the next full day touring The Alamo, enjoying the gorgeous downtown Riverwalk and weeding through Lucha Libre masks and Eukeleles for some Christmas presents at the Mexican Market. Isaac and the new truck arrived by nightfall in time to grab some gourmet ice cream and hit the road for Houston.

What a week. We pulled out of that tailspin and kept on trucking. It cost us needed sleep when we finally made it to Houston to set up—and some dignity—while we scrambled to set up the booth in a quarter of the time we had planned.

Some blue ribbons mean more than others.

Late Night Sewing

It's the season for late-night sewing. With two collections to present at Quilt Market next week, there's some serious sewing going on around here. All of my clothes are covered with thread. Every surface is stacked with odd cuts. The studio floor is littered with scraps.

In all the excitement of the last couple of weeks, I certainly haven't forgotten about our Lottie Da fat quarters bundle giveaway. This glorious stack of fabrics is sitting on my desk waiting for a new home.

Thank you, everyone for your enthusiasm for my new collection. I hope you will take a trip to see the fabrics in person at your local fabric retailer. Nothing beats mixing and matching prints in the wild paintbox of a quilt shop. I am on the edge of my seat to see what you will make with the new line, so please share. My Facebook page is a great place for that. And I'll be prepping a Heather Bailey Fabric Flickr group soon as well. On Twitter, catch me at @_HeatherBailey and on at @HeatherBailey on Instagram. Hashtags help everyone else find the images, so don't forget #heatherbailey and #lottieda.

Now, onto the fat quarter bundle winner ˆ-ˆ-ˆ-ˆdrum roll ˆ-ˆ-ˆ-ˆ... The Lottie Da fat quarter bundle goes to Denise Clason, Lucky #168 ("These prints are so fresh and cute, with a little vintage flare! Love it!") Denise, we will email you and get these goodies in the mail. Thank you, Random.org for making the selection for me.

By the way, it looks like Denise is sharing in-depth notes on the various classes she took at The Sewing Summit last month. Read through her notes on Personal Branding,  Pitching Articles to Magazines, Blogging, HTML Basics, and so forth. It's almost like being there.

The Magic of Sleep

I made it through the Creative Bug shoot last week for creativebug.com. It was a close call, with only a few days to complete the prep—fabric was late to arrive. Ashley was out sick and Karen had other obligations, so I was short-staffed to boot. Mom to the rescue. She came over and cut out pillow pieces for hours. (Extra amazing, as my dad's in the hospital with a broken hip right now—yikes!) And I called in some freelance help as well for yet more cutting—there were lots of step-outs to prepare.

We made it. I even got three hours of sleep. Let's just hope the recording doesn't pick up my puffy, bloodshot eyes.

What a delightful film crew Creative Bug has: two camera operators, a sound technician, and an artist's coach—to help me stay organized and coherrent. If only we could keep her around, right?  I wish I'd had the chance to get to know them all better. I did all of the talking for hours straight.

Perhaps we will collaborate on future online classes. Next time, with more sleep. You'll watch those ones and say, "Wow, Heather just got 5 years younger in this new video."

The magic of sleep.

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!

Giveaway Day 31 – I Aim to Tease

What a month! And what a marathon of frenzied fun. I'm exhilirated to have made it to the finish line. Today is the last day of my month of giveaways—every day this August. I had an impulse to shower you all with presents as a big Thank You Party for your love and support. And I ran with it.

I'm honored that so many great companies and good friends contributed prizes. I was especially touched to read all of the sweet comments made by Mary Engelbreit's fans on Day 24. I hope that twenty or thirty years from now I will have maintained as meaningful of a relationship with my fans as Mary has. That was inspiring. Thank you for that.

There is one more proper August prize to hand out. But, truthfully, I have more prizes to give away than I have days in August. In fact, there are some gorgeous prizes associated with my new fabric collection that will be offered up next week when I officially introduce the line.

So, though we've completed this month of daily giveaways, the giveaways will keep on coming at a steady pace, mixed together with new designs, inspiration and behind-the-scenes peeks at artwork and new products in development.

I know you are all anxious to see the new fabric collection—only a couple more days to go! As such, I've decided to tease you with my Day 31 prize. The image above is proof positive that a new line awaits, but it sure doesn't reveal much of the artwork or even the color palette involved—considering that you're only glimpsing a portion of the line. Here is an appetizer. I am wildly excited to share more.

Today's winner will receive a thirty-piece design roll from my new Lottie Da fabric collection—to be revealed this coming week. Each piece is 2.5" x the full width of the fabric. Great for a variety of projects—and for project-planning. Comment to enter. One entry per household. Be sure to include your email address in the comment form so we can contact you if you win.

Giveaway closes at 11:59pm PST on Monday 9/2/13. 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.

Watch for more exciting giveaways next week.

Good luck!

xo—Heather

Giveaway Day 30

Today, I had the privilege of flipping through an early copy of Kerry Goulder's new book, Sewing Tales to Stitch and Love. The release is set for mid- October, but I got my hands on one of the only two copies Kerry has seen herself.

That's right, Kerry (aka Kid Giddy) sent me one of her only two copies so I could share the book with you as part of my August HELLO Giveaways celebration. So exciting! Thank you, Kerry.

My first peek at this charming project book was earlier this year when Kerry asked me to write the book's foreword. Over the course of several emails back and forth and a couple of phonecalls, I got to know Kerry and her concept. Each project in the book is tied to a story and centered on four themes, taking us "from a fairy woodland, to the coastal waters, to the arctic, and back."

Kerry lives in Maine with the ocean as her neighbor. One of my favorite projects in the book is her Pinchy the Lobster character. Coming from the land of paisley turtles and floral elephants, there's something about a calico lobster that certainly works for me.

I also love her station wagon and hipster-camping-trailer pattern above. Not only does it wax nostalgic, but here's one car toy that won't split your eyebrow open when your toddler attacks. That's a true bonus. I've had more than one request from my family to design some soft boy-toys suitable for snuggling. Our Evan likes a big reaction. This often translates into experimental hammering on his siblings and parents—especially at bedtime.

Beyond these great projects, Kerry has also included a dolphin pattern, an orca whale, a row boat, a hot air balloon, a teddy bear, and an igloo—to name just a few. A wide variety of projects for one book.

Join me in congratulating Kerry and KP Craft on their lovely new book. Watch for Sewing Tales to Stitch and Love: 18 Toy Patterns for the Storytelling Sewist to reach your local bookstore or fabric shop this fall and go get yourself a copy. Also, keep up with Kerry on her Kid Giddy blog (she's just beginning to post reveals of her gorgeous new sewing studio), and on facebook, twitter, pinterest, and flickr while you're at it.

Today's giveaway winner will receive this early copy of the book—signed by the author and me. Invaluable :-) Comment to enter. One entry per household. Be sure to include your email address in the comment form so we can contact you if you win.

Giveaway closes at 11:59pm PST on Sunday 9/1/13. It's a holiday weekend and the final stretch of my giveaway marathon. As such, I'm giving you through the weekend to enter so everyone can have a decent shot—even those who have found time away from the computer with their families! 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. See you again tomorrow. And Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone.

Good luck!

xo—Heather