The life of a wallet

I am often asked how I can sew so many items without any help. I took some pictures today to show how I do it. I plan my items to try and sew in the same colour groups. The wallets I sewed today all used gray thread so I didn't have to keep re-threading my machine. This is a huge time saver.
First, I cut everything out. This is probably the most time consuming with wallets because there are so many pieces. I then put the fusible interfacing on everything now I'm ready to sew. I sew all the change sections first, then the cardholders.



Next I assemble and sew the inside of the wallet. Once that's done I make all the closure tabs. I add snaps to them and the main wallet piece. I then sew the two together. I turn them all the right side out, iron them and top stitch.



It took about 3 hours with a couple of small breaks to make 5 wallets. I love seeing them all finished and lined up. These wallets will be posted in my shop in a couple of days.

New Pocket Wallets

I previously posted about some new items I have been working on. One was the pleated tote and the other was a smaller version of my popular wallet. I call it a pocket wallet. I am very happy with them both and have started to list them in my shop. I am especially hooked on the wallets. I have used mine everyday for the last 3 weeks. I love that it fits in my coat pocket but still has lots of room for stuff.
I am also almost finished another new bag design. This may be my favourite bag yet. The only thing I can't decide is if it would be a one handle bag or two handles. I am leaning towards 2 as it has a more square shape. If anyone has any suggestions or preferences, feel free to post them.

Plans for 2009

I don't make New Year's resolutions but I have made a list of plans for my store for 2009. I have been working on some new wallets with some slight modifications to make them even better. I will hopefully have some posted this weekend. I also have two new bags in the works, one which I will hopefully get posted soon. I'm still drafting the pattern on the second but I hope to have those ready in February. I also have a third bag which is my favourite but I'm waiting for a special presser foot for my sewing machine which will hopefully cut the time down a little on making them. I don't have an estimated date for those yet.
For my blog, I am really going to try posting more often. I say that every month but I'm really going to try this year. I'm also going to post a free giveaway every month. I am hoping to get January's posted tomorrow, I just have to take a couple of pictures.
So these are my goals for 2009 but I'm sure some things will be added along the way.
Happy New year!

End of Year Sale

Well the holidays are finally over. It seems like so much work building up to them and it's over so quickly. I am back to work today but at least it's another short work week.
I am having an end of year sale in my shop until mid January. There are lots of items to choose from. I'm clearing out for some new items hopefully coming in January or sooner. There are only one of each item in the sale, so if you want it don't wait. Here is a sample of a few sale items.