Wow! Y'all came through in spades! Lots of really great ideas to consider and tons of encouragement. I can't wait to check out episode 508 on QNNTV (thanks Paper Princess). Couple of quick questions:
1) Not More Craft--how do you glue the seams open? And with what kind of glue?
2) Yankee Girl--though my suede is quite thin and your advice is not to worry about the size of the needle, I still need to use a leather needle, right? I can't get away with just a regular sharp needle. (Also, I'm so interested in your apprenticeship. If you feel like sharing more, feel free to send me a PM).
3) Finally, it seems like the consensus is to have longer stitch lengths, which makes sense--the fewer holes the better (I think this was cookie monster and a few others' point) and I know I will have to test out. But, any ideas? The Juki 2010q goes up to 6.0, but that seems too long. 3.5? 4?
As always, thanks so much for your help! I have a feeling that this might be really satisfying (and then expensive....).
Bestest,
A