This evening I thought I would make a little loyalty card wallet for my Mom, so she can keep all of her punch cards from the various quilt shops she visits all in one place. This should have been a simple project, but it was a three hour ordeal, complete with at least a dozen lessons learned.
I chose to use pieces of various reproduction print fabrics, and rather than using just one or two pieces for the outside cover, I decided to create stripes by using 1x4 inch strips of fabric. By the time you get a couple of 1/4" seams on either side of 1" strips, you're left with 1/2" of fabric, and narrow strips!
Lesson 1: Opt for slightly wider strips.
Lesson 2: When adhering Pellon (interfacing) to unwashed fabric, beware that the fabric might shrink - or at least it seems to...
Lesson 3: Always start with pieces longer than your finished project -- it's easy to trim off excess later.
I decided to free-motion quilt the outside cover of the case. Free-motion quilting isn't something I've done much of, so I'm not very "good" at it. I've heard that you're not supposed to let lines of thread cross each other when you do free-motion quilting, but I don't bother with that idea. I rather like the meandering swirl trails, even if they DO cross paths now and then!
Lesson 4: Practice free-motion quilting.
I decided to add some cute white rik rak to the cover. Nothing like a little rik rak to make things extra cute!

Lesson 5: Acknowledge that the "3-way auto shut off" device on the iron was designed to irritate me.
I was having a bit of trouble with the bobbin tension while I was sewing. I didn't notice it until I had sewn all the way around the wallet -- and I wasn't about to take out all the sewing around the outter edge of the wallet.
Lesson 6: Thread machine correctly. Bobbin tension issues resolved.
I was having trouble with my bobbins winding poorly. They looked like miniature bird nests, all loopy and loose.
Lesson 7: Thread machine correctly when winding bobbins. Bobbin winding issues resolved.
Lesson 8: Learn to use snap pliers before starting project so you know that you need interfacing between the fabric layers on the closure tab where snaps will be placed. You'll notice there are no cute fabric closure tabs OR snaps on this project....maybe next time.
Lesson 9: Do not sew the button on THROUGH the pockets on the inside. Oops! Now there are three usable pockets instead of four. *grin*
When I finally had the entire case assembled, I wanted to give it a good pressing to help give it it's final shape.
Lesson 10: ...darn self-regulating iron... no wonder it takes me so long to do anything. I'm always waiting for the iron to heat up.
Lesson 11: Do not iron May Arts rik rak. It melts. And smears all over the face of your iron. And stinks. Good thing I noticed it rather quickly, or this project would have been a REAL mess!
Lesson 12: Remember that there are many more lessons to be learned. That's what makes crafting so much fun!