Good Morning, Good Evening and Good Night

What a wild ride the past few weeks have been. I hope everyone had a safe and happy christmas spent with the people whom they hold dear.

As a special gift to my readers, and because it's snowing outside, because I get a snow day from work tomorrow, because it's the end of the year, because I'm going to be an aunt again and just because I love ya - Use coupon code snowday2010 to receive 15% off your TOTAL PURCHASE at iggard.etsy.com . Yes, you may share this code with your friends. Hurry -- this deal is only good until December 30th!!!!

So what did santa bring you? I'm currently cuddled up in the most comfy, warm and soft sherpa blanket I've ever laid my grubby little hands on. I firmly believe it is cursed - as once I am within its grasp, I can not leave...

I'd ask one of you to come save me but I am entirely too cozy with my happycat and sherpa blanket to ever, ever want to move.

Look for pictures of a brand new baby quilt, just for baby Mary, coming soon.

Ways to buy Handmade

Here are some awesome websites to buy handmade goods.

Artfire  As per the site: "we currently provide a home for handmade goods, fine art, vintage, designed items, supplies and media. ArtFire was built as a marketplace for artisans by artisans to celebrate the unique individuality of artists and crafters around the globe. ArtFire is the fee-free e-commerce solution for all artists looking to sell their wares online."
One of my favorite items

Etsy is, of course, the staple of handmade goods in the U.S.
My favorite store (me...silly!)

Folksy is a sort of British-etsy. It's just as adorable and jam-packed with handmade goods.
One of my favorite items.

iCraft is a Canadian based website which offers handmade goods. I haven't had the time to peruse this website. Feel free to do so at your leisure.

Made It Myself is another site very much like etsy.com. It is still in "beta" stage.
My favorite item (oh someone please buy this for me!)

Shop away!

A rainy sunday

 It's a rainy, grey Sunday here in southeastern Pennsylvania. Today, I have a job interview in Allentown. The very odd weather has literally rained on all of my plans for today. I was going to straighten my (freakishly) long hair with a little curl at the end, wear a nice white turtleneck with a bright blue chunky necklace and some grey pinstripe pants. Well... seeing as today is an absurd 50 degrees, a turt0l0-+999+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Pardon that interruption folks. That would be the musings of a happycat trying to invade my personal space and block my view from the monitor so I show her, and only her, attention this morning. Back on topic!

A turtleneck seems too warm for this type of weather. Additionally, anyone who straightens their hair understands the futility of doing so when humid and/or raining. I may go against convention, though, and wear the turtleneck after all. I am almost always cold...

So, on to the topic you're all actually here to read about: Crimson Phoenix Designs. We sold a few more bags over the past week. I'm going to take a wild guess here and say it is because Christmas is only 13 days away.  Hey, only a guess. One of the sales was a double: lime damask wallet and tote. I really loved that set and felt it was one of the best I've produced in a few months. The pockets turned out perfectly spaced from the bottom, the heavyweight interfacing was perfectly placed so that there were no lumps or bumps that needed to be slowly worked out and the zipper pouch had nice, small squared corners so your belongings would fit without looking like they were jammed into the thing. The only thing I wish I had accomplished on that piece was this: I can't figure out how people get zippers to not stick at the beginning. Perhaps it is the brand of zippers I am buying but they always always always stick at the beginning when they are first opened. It happens in all of my pieces unless I make a zip pocket that gets sewn around the beginning and a fake beginning is formed. Can anyone give me advice on this? I tried putting a bit of clear wax over that part of the zipper and it seemed to help but I know that will not last forever.

I haven't been as productive over the past few days for various reasons, including working late, a cookie bake with family (tried a recipe from thekatherly and it was awesome), getting Christmas presents/tree together, being interrupted by the very demanding happycat and an overall sense of burned-out-ed-ness that has been plaguing me for a few weeks now. That said, does anyone have any suggestions or requests for new bags they would like to see? I am particularly fond of this website for fabric choices: www.hawthornethreads.com  They have a great selection and none of those annoying prints we all hate. I'm considering making more teardrop (rounded bottom) bags. What else would you like to see?

I am also getting very tired of the layout of this blog. It is quite yellow and I'm just not feeling it anymore. Look for a blog change coming soon.

I hope all of you out there have a very happy Sunday and enjoy your last day off before the drudge of the work week begins.

Repurposing

I've spent the evening cutting, seam ripping and deconstructing items for multiple uses (ok... maybe with a little wine in the mix. it was a hard day in my small sandbox). That said, I don't have too terribly much to say about tonight's goings-on.





I was given this fantastic poly blend soft-as-suede skirt by a friend. She even had the tags still on! The material was beautiful... just perhaps not in a skirt-form. This picture is washed out and unevenly exposed due to the nature of my cell phone camera but you can just begin to glimpse how nice this fabric will look as a bag. It will yield at least three bags out of one long skirt. One of these bags is going to be a tall, skinny bag perfect for holding books and bottles of water. Another is going to be short and fat and positively adorable. The last will be more of a large-tote style. If I feel adventurous on a snow day,  I believe I will bat and quilt it. Wouldn't it look positively splendid as a quilted large tote?









I also began working on a small quilt for my sister. She's due at the end of this month and I figured I had put off the inevitable long enough. I finished the piecing together of the top of the quilt. I now need to run to the store to find a suitable flannel for the sides and back of the piece. It's mainly peach and green with splashes of pink. A true blue lover, myself, it feels awkward without any blue in it. Feedback on this piece would be awesomely appreciated.

It's terribly cold in this area so I'm going to go snuggle by my Mr. Gnome and have myself a nice sleep. And to all, a good night!

Time's really flying

You know, it doesn't matter how fast my little fingers work - time is as swift an enemy as any. With all the other obligations upon me, I can only manage to finish one bag a night... and that is only if I get to dedicate the entire after-work time to bag making. Often times I have other obligations with friends, family or other work affairs that I can simply not finish a bag. This frustrates me so. I very badly would like to create more, as it is my passion, but I can not due to the constraints of a working life. *ahem*

Alright, enough whining and on with the display!!

Please enjoy pictures of my newest creations, below.

Holiday trees and snowflakes in red as well as a Holiday lime damask!

Oh what fun it is to sew all of these fun totes!

See my etsy shop to learn more about these festive little gifts.