to market, to market

I'm in sewing production mode these days. Last week was all about cutting, and this week is stitch focused. I'm adding reinvented coffee sack market bags to to my product line. There have been far too many requests to ignore, and the farmer's market season is upon us out here in the northeast.

 I am currently only making items for the Squam Art Fair, but am hoping to do a shop update upon returning. There is only one to show you because making in multiples/mass requires a certain formula for maximizing efficiency. I completed this in one fell swoop, but my usual method involves doing each step over and over again for all like items before moving on to the next step. This means my studio has piles of different things at various stages of readiness. Not so easy to blog about... unless you'd like some tips on production sewing. You would? Great!

Production Sewing Tips:

1. Check your supplies ahead of time, and make sure you're stocked up. Who wants to run out of thread and needles when you're in your sewing groove?
2. Thread lots of bobbins before you begin. 
3. Cut everything first. Even if there are multiple projects, do it all at once.
4. Keep your iron set up and ready.
5. Sew in stages, as said above. Make all handles at the same time, sew zippers all at once, etc.
6. Snip obvious threads as you go, but leave the last threads on everything to do together as you watch a movie and drink a glass of wine (or whatever your preferred beverage is).

I'm sure I'm forgetting some tips... want to help me out? When you're sewing lots of things at once, either to sell or during gift giving season, do you have some good shortcuts to share?