Bags no….Wallets YES!

I have been trying to stay strong and not cave in to all the pressure of making a bag or tote.  Every quilt shop I enter, every blog that I read, all show patterns for bags, totes, purses and the like…now there are even pockets to put in your tote bags so you can quickly interchange your personal items between totes.  Well, I didn’t cave to the tote pressure but I did buy a wallet pattern.

The pattern is from This and That.  I purchased the pattern with the intention of making the little wallet, they call it a Koin Keeper, as a gift.  My intention is to make the little wallets and put a gift card inside.  This one is going to be a bridal shower gift.

I showed it to my 15 year old daughter and she was oogling and googling all over it.  She informed me that she would LOVE one and quickly proceeded to explain the fabric she wanted hers to be made out of.  That got me thinking….she is always being invited to last minute party things.  Usually I give movie passes to her friends as a gift but it always seems a bit impersonal.  If we put them in a little wallet, that would spruce up the gift.  One of the reasons, she liked it was because it doesn’t have so many pockets on the inside.  She explained that when she looks at wallets in town she feels so inadequate because she doesn’t have credit cards to fill all the holes….(I quickly explained that all those holes aren’t for credit cards..they are for your LIBRARY card)…

It took me about an hour from start to finish.  Most of that time was rereading and double checking the placement of pieces so I didn’t have to “unsew” anything.  If I make another, it won’t take as long.  If you choose to make one, I HIGHLY recommend using a walking foot when you assemble it.  You will be sewing through MANY layers at once.  The outside of the pattern says that it is charm square friendly….that is deceiving.  Many of the pieces need to be 5 1/2″ and charm squares aren’t big enough. 

My next stop is the local quilt shop.  They got in a shipment of Atkinson Designs new fun colored zippers.  I think they are only $.79 each…Speaking of zippers.  If you have zipper fear, don’t worry.  Putting the zipper in this wallet is as easy as sewing any seam.

All in all it was a great little pattern and now I am starting to contemplate what fabric I will use for my own wallet. 

On a side note:  Yesterday I referenced Schnibbles in my post.  I had several people ask “What is a Schnibble?”   Here is the explanation.  

Schnibbles are a line of patterns designed by Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosies Quilt Company.  Schnibbles typically use two charm packs (80-  5″ squares) along with a bit of yardage.