Recommendations for a small touring bike

[indysteel]

So back to my question--do the people with custom made touring bikes have experience with either IF or Seven?

They're both reputable builders, but out of curiosity, why did you settle on those two builders? There are plenty of good builders out there, some of whom offer less expensive options. Are you leaning toward Ti for any given reason? Do you know enough about how you want the bike to fit and ride to articulate that to a builder?