More Snappy Card Wallets

These little wallets are just the most fun things to make. They finish so fast and look so darn cute - I want to make them by the dozens. 

I've gifted several of these this winter to friends and family here in Florida. I have plenty made for handing out when I get back to Ohio. I even had someone tell me that they'd like to BUY several to give to her ladies' group! Goodness! I might have a money-making venture on my hands!

That photo up above is a batch I made about a week ago. I made them in assembly line fashion rather than one completion at at time. Assembly line is definitely the way to do it. Gracious, those 10 wallets came together fast! Very gratifying.

 

Combined with the ones that were already made, I was beginning to have quite the 'inventory.' They look so pretty all lined up on the shelf.

Yesterday, I made 8 more. I'm using pieces of fabric that I just have sorta' hanging out in the sewing room. Since I honestly don't have any specific plan for these fabrics, they may as well be used for little wallets.

The snapping process seemed intimidating when I first began, but those daggone things are easy as can be. And selecting the colors to match to each wallet is rather fun, too.

Look at that - that - that thing! A tool which probably has a name. The business end of this tool clamps those snap parts together securing them to the fabric. That tweezer (black implement) helps pick up those tiny parts out of the little tub sections; the awl (green implement) creates the hole in the fabric for the snap.

 Looks like I can make several hundred more snappy wallets, eh? I ordered this kit through Amazon; I ought to go back to see how many snaps it included. I don't expect to run out any time soon, that's for sure.

My line-up of 30 card wallets! What do you think? Wanna make them yourself? I mentioned a tutorial I watched which taught me all the sizes and steps - click back to this post for that tutorial. In the meantime, I have found a couple more videos which offer some slight variations on this basic wallet. I might soon be branching out!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Class In Session

Claudia and Denise were here on Tuesday for sewing/quilting lessons. I can't really classify all that we do as quilting; in the long run, I suppose mostly these are sewing classes. Anyway, the plan was for me to surprise them with the project for the day. I contacted them ahead of time to tell them to bring two matching fat quarters for a little bag. Since the project was fast, bring additional varieties so a second and even a third could be made, if desired.

My plan was to make the little Snappy Bag. I made one several months ago and shared it here. Since I'd given it away, I needed a new one to use for demonstration purposes. And here it is.

Just like the first one, I added machine quilting - a 1" diagonal grid. It takes a bit of extra time, but I just like doing it. It probably doubles the time it takes to make the bag, but it's already so fast, that this seemed negligible. Plus it would show an option for Denise and Claudia, should they want to do it.

After making the first one so fast, I decided that I would make a sleeve for my iPad mini. They might want to change up the sizes, and I had the necessary hardware and batting. Here is my larger snap bag.

This time, my machine quilting was just vertical lines, measured against the edge of my walking foot. I really like the addition of quilting, but this definitely added time to process.

There is a significant difference between the two bags with regard to the closure. Each one uses a metal tape measure (like carpenters use). The small bag uses metal that is just a half inch wide. It is very pliable and works well on the small bag. For the larger bag, I used a tape measure that was nearly an inch wide. It is quite a lot sturdier, and for a device such as an iPad, I wanted to be sure it wasn't going to slide out. This wider closure is definitely strong enough to protect the device.

Now let's see the results of Claudia and Denise's day. I think they should be quite proud of their efforts.

Claudia's First Snappy Bag

Denise's First Snappy Bag

Snappy Bag Parade

After the ladies were comfortable with their process, and happy with their results, they both set out to make a second bag. Claudia wanted one just a bit larger than the original to meet some needs for traveling. Denise decided to make a larger bag for carrying sewing/quilting tools such as scissors and rotary cutters.

Claudia's Bags, a matching travel set

Denise's Sewing Supply Bag

Pine Tree Parade - Paper Pieced Coasters

When all the Snappy Bags were completed, we had some time to spare. I'd anticipated this, and had a suggestion that they were happy to take. Both had heard of paper piecing, and Denise had actually done it once, years ago. I had about a dozen copies of a small pine tree pattern and a variety of green, neutral and brown. We went to work, building our trees, and got a basic grasp of the concept of foundation piecing. It's sort of remarkable that we all began with the same pattern - just look at the variety in our finishes.

So a sewing class day was completed, and I think the enthusiastic students left with satisfaction. One additional thing I offered: Frienzie Kay is in the process of moving. She is weeding out her sewing room and had a giant laundry basket full of books, patterns, fabric, BOMs and more. Kay offered this stuff for them and both Claudia and Denise were pleased to find things they definitely thought they would use. Free stuff! What's not to like about that??

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Snappy Bag

Pinterest. Are you a fan? I love it, and find ga-zillions of ideas that I like. One that I recently saw sent me to the sewing machine today. It seemed so simple and fast, I just had to give it a try.

The woman who created this little bag has a blog called Gourmet Quilter; she is from New Zealand, and provides a video tutorial that walks you through the entire process of making this little bag.  You can view the video by clicking here. It couldn't be easier to follow her through the steps. The entire video is just about 15 minutes long. The only unusual component required is a metal tape measure which is cut and used to make the snap-closure. Coincidentally, I happened to have an old one put back in my craft drawer and zip-zip! I was done in no time!

This fabric will look familiar as it is what was left over from the Beatle Bag I shared in my previous post. And since my machine was still threaded with red thread, this seemed the logical fabric to use.

One variation I added was the quilting. I'd just done some quilting on the aforementioned Beatle Bag, and I thought it would be a nice accent on this little ditty. It took very little extra time at all, and I am pleased with the result.

I have an idea that this will be a little gift for someone, and it was so fast, I could easily make many more for other gifts. You really should watch that tutorial, and try it yourself!

Happy Quilting, Friends!