Bows, Bands and Is it Fall?

Before the morning was over on Friday, we had sold out of the little bags with bows.  George was running all over town trying to find more but could not.  So, we continued the sale with the little satin bags.  Those sold well, too.  A friend called the other day and she had found some more of the little bags with bows.  I told her to buy everything they had in stock.  So, we now have the satin bags and the little bags with the bows.  The sale continues ($5 for the bag and embroidered initials or name) through this Thursday.  Who would have thought this would have been such a huge hit?  Any bags remaining after Thursday will be sold at the 2nd Annual Pensacola Beach Arts & Wine Festival this weekend.  They will just have little designs embroidered on those.

Tonight was the last Bands on the Beach and, sadly, we did not attend.  I believe some of our neighbors went but we were just too tired.  Our friend, Debby, that we met at Bands on the Beach this year, called today to say how much she has enjoyed our weekly gathering and how much she will miss all of us.  We promised to stay in touch.

The weather, as of today, is starting to cool off and feel like fall.  Oh, I am looking forward to those evenings around the fire pit with the neighbors, singing songs, conversation, all of our silliness, and, of course, a glass of wine. 

I finally digitized the new Cajun Stitchery logo.  The one with the shrimp.  I'm pretty pleased with it.  I do see some minor flaws but I'm learning to digitize and just pleased as punch that it turned out so well.  In fact, I purchased 3 red aprons for myself and my 2 helpers for this weekend and we embroidered the logo across the bib of the aprons.  I think they are adorable.  Now I need to continue learning by digitizng another design.  I have an idea and will share it when it's done.

Spa Gift Bags

Didn't Judy's little tote turn out well with the seahorse?  The tote bag sale was a big hit.  We still have a few of the satin totes available and we'll be keeping an eye out for more.  $5 for the tote with embroidered name or initials.  The beauty of this sale is that you would purchase a bag or some sort of wrapping for a gift anyway, with the satin tote you are actually giving an extra gift that keeps on giving.  Besides who doesn't like personalized items?  The satin totes made me think these would make a great gift bag stuffed with spa or beauty items, like luciously scented soaps, spa wraps, wash clothes, eye masks, towels, spa slides, back scrubbers, bubble bath, incense, oil beads, a robe, luffa, and the list goes on and on.  As a matter of fact, if you ever need a completed gift bag of any type, Cajun Stitchery will be glad to put one together for you.  Just shoot us an email at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com or give us a call (850)261-2462.

Speaking of spa items, one of my nieces has an online store with her hand made soaps.  These are wonderful gifts.  Please take a moment and visit her website at http://www.deshawnmarie.com/.  You won't be sorry.

Here are a few more photos of things we've done lately.

The beautiful mermaid tote was put up for auction for the Krewe of Nereids.  That has been so much fun with the girls bidding and out bidding each other.  The auction is over at 10 p.m. today.  These girls are always a source of entertainment.  Of course, since we have the design, we can embroider it on any item.  The thing about the tote is that it has approximately 80,000 stitches, mermaid on the front and King Nereus on the back.

If there is ever a design or type of design that you would like to see stitched out, please let us know.  We just love to embroider over here. 

By the way, if you are reading this blog and enjoy it, please, please sign up as a follower.

Hot Hot Hot Sale

The little bags with bows that went on sale early this morning are almost sold out.  I had 5 of them and 4 have been purchased.  Then another lady wanted 3.  There is only one with the bow remaining.  We have decided to offer these satin bags with a rubberized lining, 14" x 12", no gusset for the same deal:  $5 each with name or initials embroidered.  We have 16 more of these bags available in red, gold, lavender and silver.  Hurry and place your order before these are gone. 

Cajun Corner - Vol. 1, No. 18.

Cajun Corner – Vol. 1, No. 18 – September 25, 2009

Bon Jour! Welcome to Cajun Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.

ΘΘΘΘΘ
Countdown is here. The Pensacola Beach Arts & Wine Festival is a week away and Boudreaux is humming away. George is embroidering some absolutely gorgeous totes.  Just look at this:

We have the table, chairs and canopy. We purchased the cutest little red aprons which will carry our logo for myself and our two helpers. We have business cards galore. I still need to get the price list printed. The SOB and Shark alert patches are done, as well as wine coasters, placemats, and totes. There may be some special items that we have not mentioned and kept a secret. Come on out and you’ll see.

The triplets’ t-shirts were so adorable, we receive an order for an “I’m 2” t-shirt. It is such a cute design. I must say that a size 2T hardly fits in a hoop. They are so small. I know my children were that small once, but the shirt is so tiny. Children bring such joy. My friend who purchased the “I’m 2” told me that her daughter had just called so excited because “Logan poopied in the toilet!” We laughed and laughed. I do, indeed, remember being so excited about successful toilet training. There was a time I was concerned that my boys might never learn. Lol

The Christmas list order was completed and delivered. That is one very satisfied customer and one very satisfied sales lady. That was so much fun.
I’ve been so busy with business that I haven’t been shopping in quite some time. Last weekend George and I went around to local stores browsing and purchasing. We found the cutest little totes. They are made of that recycled plastic fabric seen at stores. These are just so cute that I picked up several. They would make really cute, special gift bags. They are on sale this week until they run out. So, first come first serve. The sale is the bag, plus a name or initials for $5.00.

I am so thrilled that several of our readers have contributed items for this e-newsletter. Please feel free to send jokes or interesting information for the newsletter and we’ll try to get it into the newsletter.

All of our projects can be seen on our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com.

Always remember that we are just a call or email away at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com or 850-261-2462 and place your order.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

One day Boudreaux, his wife Clotile, Boudreaux's friend Pierre, and Pierre's wife Marie were talking. Clotile asked "Mais y'all, wat you tink is the most fastest ting in de world, huh?"

Pierre says, "Mais, Clotile, the fastest ting in the world is to tink a tought. Before you can tink a tought ... you've done tunk!"

Pierre's wife Marie thought about this some and she said "Mais, Pierre, I can tink of something faster den dat. I tink de fastest ting in the world is when you blink you eye. Before you can tink a tought, you've done blunked a blink."

After a while, Clotile says, "Mais I can tink of sometin faster den dat, I tink de fastest ting in de world is a light switch. When you flip dat switch, before you can tink a tought or before you blunk a blink, dat light comes on."

Boudreaux thinks about all this a while and says "Y'all are all wrong. De fastest ting in de world is diarrhea. One time I had dat diarrhea, and all of a sudden before I could tink, blink, or flip dat light on, I done messed in my pants! How bout dat?!"

ΘΘΘΘΘ

French phrase of the week: gaspiller (v.t.) [GAH SPEE YEH] to waste.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

This is from my friend, Angelie:

COFFEE FILTERS

Coffee filters..who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree

for a dollar.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee

filters make excellent covers.

2. Clean windows and mirrors. Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll

leave windows sparkling.

3. Protect China separate your good dishes by putting a coffee filter

between each dish.

4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a

wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.

5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet

to absorb moisture and prevent rust.

6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.

7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined

with a coffee filter.

8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter

on a kitchen scale.

9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy

foods.

10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot

with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage

holes.

11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed

in a coffee filter.

12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips

of coffee filters.

13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries,

chicken fingers, etc on them. Soaks out all the grease.

14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."

OH YEAH THEY ARE GREAT TO USE IN YOUR COFFEE MAKERS

Please let me know if there is something that you would like to see in the weekly email. You may always call me at (850) 261-2462 or email me at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com.

If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list.

C’est tout, mes amis

Peggy Henshall

Cajun Stitchery

(850) 261-2462

cajunstitchery@yahoo.com

P.S. You are always welcome to stop by and look at all of the new catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.

SALE OF THE WEEK (sale good through Thursday, October 1, 2009)

Sale: Tote bag, recycled plastic, size 11 ½” wide x 10 ½” tall x 3 ¾” gusset. Limited stock. First come, first serve. Bag plus embroidered name or initials for $5.00 plus sales tax/shipping.

Christmas is right around the corner – have you done your shopping yet? Take advantage of this week’s special and get ahead of the shopping rush.

Cajun Stitchery

Shopping, Sales and Fabric -- Life is Good.

We finished the little t-shirts for the triplets. The first set had "I'm 5" on the front with the "5" done in applique.  The back had the child's name in a zig zag fill.  The second set was just for the two boys and was a design with two pumpkins, the moon and bats.  All turned out so nice and the customer was very pleased.  In fact, the "I'm 5" shirts were so cute that another friend wants one for her grandson who is 2. 

The next project was the beginning of the Christmas list for my friend.  She came to my house, sat at my kitchen table and had all of my catalogs spread in front of her.  I sat next to her on the computer designing as she was shopping.  What a fun time that was!  We finished the last of her Christmas list tonight.  They just need a little clean-up and folding.  She purchased two of the tote bags that we had on sale a couple of weeks ago and personalized the totes for the recipients.  We then waited on the other items that she ordered to arrive.  They have since arrived.  She ordered 2 waist aprons in navy and one medium apron in red, each has been personalized.  She also ordered 2 of the 2 in 1 Pillow Blankets.  Since the Pillow Blankets are made of fleece, we used a solvy topping to hold up the stitches (otherwise the stitching will sink into the fabric).  We now need to clean the solvy (it's a sheet of starch) off of the Pillow Blankets and finish folding the blankets into the pillows.  Everything turned out so beautiful.

I've been so busy with meetings and business lately that I had not realized that I haven't been shopping in awhile.  Not that that's a bad thing, but I do need to keep track of what our local stores carry.  You never know when you will find a hidden gem, or a great sale.  In fact, I did find a great sale.  I found the cutest little totes.  They are little 12" x 10 1/2" with a 3 1/2" gusset.  There are greens, pink and purple with contrasting colored straps, and little bows on them.  Some of the bows are in polk dots.  They are constructed of the recycled fabric like you see in Wal-Mart recycled bags and other stores' bags.  They are not as nice as the canvas ones.  Still they are adorable and a great find.  These will go on sale later this week, personalized, of course.  They really would be cute as a gift bag -- that little extra umph that says "you're special". 

A friend of mine asked that I get hand towels for monogramming.  The problem with that is in order to get hand towels at a good wholesale price, I have to buy upwards of 100 towels.  We don't keep much stock on hand, so I was thrilled to find a great sale on white hand towels on my shopping extravaganza.

I ended my shopping in a fabric department.  What a surprise.  Most of my friends know better than to take me shopping for fabric.  I am compelled to touch everything, not to mention that I will stand in front of fabric and simply daydream of everything I could make with that fabric.  Since we had finished the little halloween t-shirts, my eyes caught a sale with some cute prints in orange, yellow and blue cotton fabric.  I have been wanting to make some more kitchen tablecloths with some cute little heirloom designs in our stock designs.  I know.  I should have stuck with a solid color and a more conventional color than the bright oranges, yellows and blues, but my head was spinning.  The bolts of fabric did not look as though they had five yards on them, so I told the clerk that I would take whatever was on the bolt up to five yards.  Only the blue had five yards.  The clerk was so sweet and would measure one yard, two yards, and so forth.  When he got to the end of the bolt, there would be 6 inches or so left over and he just threw the extra inches in for free.  Usually they charge for each inch, so this was a really good buy for me.  I bought it all.  The clerk even asked me if I wanted the cardboard the fabric had been wrapped around.  Politely, I said "no, thank you."  I had everything I wanted.  As I sit here, looking at my wonderful fabric stash, I'm thinking of at least 50 projects that I want to do.

While shopping we also purchased a baseball shirt for a friend whose birthday party we planned on attending that evening.  We went home, monogrammed the shirt and we were ready to party.  He was so pleased and so were we.

Happy Shopping -- Christmas is right around the corner, get your shopping done now and save the season for pure enjoyment.

Cajun Stitchery
cajunstitchery@yahoo.com

Cajun Corner - Vol. 1, No. 17, September 18, 2009

Bon Jour! Welcome to Cajun Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

George came home the other day with a new, super-duper, canopy. It just makes him feel safer. He said he would rather not have to chase after the flimsy canopy at the beach. We are set now. We even have a folding table.

We purchased professionally printed business cards earlier this week and will have plenty of cards to distribute at the Art & Wine Festival. The cards turned out so well that the printer asked about the graphic artist that we used. We also purchased printed work orders and waivers for those customers bringing their own items to be embroidered. The merchandise bags have been received for all of the sales were are going to make.

The festival is only a couple of weeks away and although we have lots of work to do, I feel pretty comfortable with what we have done so far. George did so well on the wine coasters that we ran out of fabric. I think they are beautiful.

We completed some adorable t-shirts for a friend’s triplets this week. The photographs will be posted on the blog later.

We are still working on my friend’s Christmas list but almost finished. Christmas presents are such fun.

We did have a sale this week for a 2 In 1 Pillow Blanket. I’ve seen patterns for these and was delighted that a customer purchased one so that I could see how they work, etc. If you can envision a fleece blanket with a pouch sewn at the top center. You fold the blanket lengthwise on each side of the back of the pouch, then fold the blanket up to fit the back of the pouch, then you pull the pouch over the folded blanket and voila, now your blanket is a pillow – with a zippered pouch to store little things. It takes a few times to get the blanket stuffed into the pouch right, but it can be done. The embroidery goes on the pouch. This Pillow Blanket will be the sale of the week this week, so take a look.

I am so thrilled that several of our readers have contributed items for this e-newsletter. Please feel free to send jokes or interesting information for the newsletter and we’ll try to get it into the newsletter.

Always remember that we are just a call or email away at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com or 850-261-2462 and place your order.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

This week’s Boudreaux joke was sent in by Helen:

SEVEN DEGREES OF COONASS

FIRST DEGREE

Boudreaux and his wife were asleep when the phone rang at 2 in the morning.

Boudreaux picked up the phone, listened a moment and said "How should I know, that's 200 miles from here!" and hung up.

The wife said, "Who was that?"

Boudreaux answered, "I don't know, some man wanting to know if the coast is clear."

SECOND DEGREE

Two Cajuns are walking down the street. One notices a compact on the sidewalk and leans down to pick it up. He opens it, looks in the mirror and says, "Hmm, this person looks familiar." The second Cajun says, "Here, let me see!!" So the first Cajun hands him the compact. The second one looks in the mirror and says, "You dummy, it's me!"

THIRD DEGREE

Boudreaux suspects his wife of cheating on him, so he buys a gun. He goes to his house unexpectedly and when he opens the door he finds her in the arms of a redhead. Well, Boudreaux is really angry. He pulls out the gun, and as he does so, he is overcome with grief. He takes

the gun and puts it to his head. His wife yells, "No, honey, don't do it!!!"

Boudreaux replies, "Shut up, you're next!"

FOURTH DEGREE

Boudreaux was bragging about his knowledge of state capitals. He proudly says, "Go ahead, and ask me, I know all of them."

A friend says, "OK, what's the capital of Wisconsin ?" Boudreaux replies, "Oh, that's easy: W."

FIFTH DEGREE

What did the Cajun girl ask her doctor when he told her she was pregnant?

"Is it mine?"

SIXTH DEGREE

Boudreaux, a Cajun in his fourth year as a LSU Freshman, sat in his US Government class.. The professor asked Boudreaux if he knew

what Roe vs. Wade was about. Boudreaux pondered the question then finally said,

"That was the decision George Washington had to make before he crossed the Delaware ."

SEVENTH DEGREE

Returning home from work, Boudreaux was shocked to find his house ransacked and burglarized.. He telephoned the police at once and

reported the crime. The police dispatcher broadcast the call on the radio, and a K-9 unit, patrolling nearby, was the first to respond. As the K-9

officer approached the house with his dog on a leash, Boudreaux ran out on the porch, shuddered at the sight of the cop and his dog, then sat down on the steps.

Putting his face in his hands, Boudreaux moaned, "I come home to find all my possessions stolen. I call the police for help, and what do they do? They send me a BLIND policeman."

ΘΘΘΘΘ

French phrase of the week: fatras (n.m.) [FAH TRAH] 1. trash; garbage. 2. no-account person.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

This is from my friend, Courtney:

Here are some facts about the 1500s:

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and and fall off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

For all of the teachers out there, I found this interesting list of environmental projects:

After visiting several of the websites on recycling, complete one or more of the following activities:

Print Out the Fun Book. Its has games to play and pictures to color. You can find it at The Recycle Cycle - Mobius Fun Book.

Play A Recycling Game. You have more that one to choose from - - pick and choose or try them all!

1) Clean Up the Park

http://funbrain.familyeducation.com/cgi-bin/shtml.cgi?A1=../recycle/index.html

2) Dumptown Game http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/gameintro.htm

3) Quest of the Ring Leaders http://www.ringleader.com/quest/intro.html

Recycle Some Paper. To get some help with the procedures, visit sites like Papermaking, another 42eXplore project from eduScapes, How to Make Recycled Paper, and Papermaking. You may also find ideas for recycling other types of paper products at Recycled Paper Crafts.

Complete A Home Recycling Survey. You can find the forms at the following websites.

1) Home Toxics Survey (Grades 4-6) http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/quiz/cornel14.htm

2) Household Hazardous Product Survey (Grades 7-8)

http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/quiz/cornel27.htm

3) Potential Home Hazards (Grades 9-12)

http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/quiz/cornel38.htm

4) Recycling/Precycling Activity (Grades 7-8) http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/quiz/cornel28.htm

5) Recycling Survey (Grades 4-6) http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/quiz/cornel16.htm

6) Trash or Treasure (Grades 7-8)

http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/quiz/cornel31.htm

7) Waste Reduction Survey http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/quiz/qz2.htm
Complete A Recycling WebQuest. Follow or adapt the procedures found at the following webQuest sites:

1) Paper or Plastic by M. Culp and P. Stohr-Hunt

http://www.richmond.edu/academics/a&s/education/projects/webquests/paper/Paper1.htm

2) Recycling Plastics http://www.glencoe.com/sec/science/webquest/content/recycle.shtml

3) Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle (Grades 1-3) by S. Dowell

http://www.memphis-schools.k12.tn.us/admin/tlapages/recycle_quest.htm

4) To Recycle or Not to Recycle by D. DeFouw

http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/hschool/webq/webq81/
Print Out And Color Or Create A Recycling Poster. You can find it at Planet Pals. Or better yet, design and create your own original poster that promotes and/or educates about recycling. Display your completed project.
Take A Recycling Quiz. You have more than one online quiz to choose from or you can take all of them!

1) Aluminum Recycling (Grades 7-8) http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/quiz/cornel24.htm

2) Handling Hazardous Materials http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/quiz/qz3.htm

3) Recycling Economics (Grades 7-8)

http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/quiz/cornel29.htm

4) Recycling Quiz http://environment.miningco.com/library/weekly/blquiz11.htm

5) Recycling Quiz from Environmental News Network

http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/2001/02/02232001/recyclingquiz_39571.asp

6) Reduce Through Reuse http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/quiz/qz1.htm

7) Supply and Demand Activity (Grades 7-9)

http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/quiz/cornel30.htm

8) Trash Trivia Quiz (Grades 4-6)

http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/quiz/cornl22a.htm

9) Trash Trivia 2 (Grades 4-6)

http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/quiz/cornl22b.htm

10)Trash Trivia 3 (Grades 4-6)

http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/quiz/cornl22c.htm
Please let me know if there is something that you would like to see in the weekly email. You may always call me at (850) 261-2462 or email me at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com.
If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list.
C’est tout, mes amis
Peggy Henshall

Cajun Stitchery

(850) 261-2462

cajunstitchery@yahoo.com
P.S. You are always welcome to stop by and look at all of the new catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.
SALE OF THE WEEK (sale good through Thursday, September 24, 2009)
Sale: Sierra Pacific - #3004

2-in-1 Pillow/Blanket with embroidered name or monogram for $25.00

Available colors: black, heather gray, maroon, navy, red, royal blue
12" x 12" embroiderable pillow with hidden zipper under black nylon trim. Embellishers pouch conceals the backing of embroidered designs. Unfolds to a 50" x 62" blanket with black whip stitched edge. Anti-pill 100% polyester.

Christmas is right around the corner – have you done your shopping yet? Take advantage of this week’s special and get ahead of the shopping rush.
Cajun Stitchery

Rain is Better than a Hurricane.

Can we say rain?  We should be thankful for everything.  I'm thankful that we are not experiencing a drought, nor hurricane.  Needless to say, the rain only curtailed my social life slightly this weekend.

Cajun Stitchery now has new, professionally printed, business cards.  Let me tell you those cards are so beautiful that even the printer wanted to know who designed them.  Of course, they were designed by my dear friend of nearly 30 years, Valerie.  George has cards and I have cards and we are handing them out to anyone we see.  There will be plenty of cards are the arts & wine festival.

Saturday night I attended my monthly Nereid meeting.  Actually this month it was our bunco party.  It was a wonderful time, with wonderful friends, playing an absolutely ridiculous game, that requires no intellect at all.  My kind of game.  We had the usual culinary marvels for dinner.  Isn't it amazing that all of my friends seem to be exquisite cooks, even my husband.  Cajun Stitchery business cards were placed on each table.

Sunday was bath day for the dogs.  Yes, I bath them indoors in the tub.  Yes, they are spoiled rotten.  But they are adorable.  Little Stinky is 14 years old now and getting hard of hearing.  Sometimes I think she simply doesn't feel like hearing.  She sleeps a lot more these days and plays less.  She can still outrun the 10 year old Lab, Evie.  Evie is much to heavy for me to pick up and put in the tub, so we've taught her that if she gets in the tub, a cookie will be waiting for her on the furthest side of the tub.  Once she realizes it's bath time, she dashes to the cookie jar, gets our attention and jumps in the tub. We close off all of the doors that we can and let them shake.  Then, of course, it's time for us to clean house.  This whole process does take up a day, but it's worth it.

George has informed me that he has run out of fabric for the wine coasters.  Wow!  And they are beauiful.  I'll be taking pictures and getting him more fabric.

Not everything that issues from Cajun Stitchery is a work of art.  Many experiments take place around here on many levels.  Attached are photographs showing why you should not embroider on patterned fabric, even beautiful patterned fabric, or if you do, why you should use a contrasting color thread rather than a coordinating color of thread.  Ouch!

Yes, more napkins.  This time for my friend's birthday.  I love combining pink and blue or coral and teal.  They are such a striking combo and pleasing to the eye.  Since she's our Nereid queen this year, she needed the appropriate crown motif on her napkins.

Amy's tote, from last week's sale, turned out so pretty.  Look at that SOB patch -- good job, George.  And look at the pretty Dallas Cowboys tote that Amy got for Elaine.  Amy had me embroider her initials. 

I can't wait to take photographs of the cute little t-shirts that we did today.  Wait until you see them.  They were done for a set of 5 year old triplets.  Too cute.

George surprised me today with a new, sturdier, EZ canopy and portable table for the arts & wine festival.  We are definitely going in style now.

Cajun Corner Vol 1 No 16

Cajun Corner – Vol. 1, No. 16 – September 10, 2009


Bon Jour! Welcome to Cajun Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

I posted an earlier blog this week about the episode with the new canopy. That was a hilarious situation.

In the earlier post, I also told about the new applications on my Yahoo and now I can accept PayPal payments via Yahoo! We haven’t put it to the test yet. If I’m understanding it correctly, you are free to order from me and pay via PayPal on Yahoo. That is a great concept.

The patches and placemats are done. We have begun production on the wine coasters. The wine coasters from earlier this year fit my wine glasses but were too small for the larger based wine glasses. The new design is 4” and looks like it will be just fine. George is getting the hang of the new project and I’m expecting wine coasters pouring out of the embroidery room any minute. Lol

Yesterday was definitely a fun filled day. One of my friends came over in the morning with her Christmas list. Our catalogs filled our kitchen table and the order began. Woohoo! The designs are now done and the quote sent out. As soon as we receive her approval, we will get her Christmas shopping done.

Not long after the first friend arrived, another arrived with a rush order for a birthday party last night.

Last week’s sale of the 3 tote bags was a great success. All 3 bags have been purchased. Wish I could find more.

We ordered new business cards this week and should have them tomorrow afternoon. Our wonderful artist, Valerie, created the cards and they are absolutely beautiful. We will have plenty of cards to hand out at the festival and elsewhere.

Always remember that we are just a call or email away at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com or 850-261-2462 and place your order.

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A friend sent this week’s Boudreaux joke:

Boudreaux and Thibodeaux went camping in the desert. After they got their tent all set up, both men fell sound asleep. Some hours later, Thibodeaux woke Boudreaux and said, "Ma sha, look towards da sky, what you see?"

Boudreaux replied, "I see millions of stars." "What dat tell you?" asked Thibodeaux. Boudreaux pondered for a minute then said: "Astronomically speaking, it tells me there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three in the morning. Theologically, mother nature is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.

Whats' it tell you, Thibodeaux?" Thibodeaux says: "Boudreaux, you dumber than cow dung. It mean somebody done stole da tent!

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French phrase of the week: eclair (n.m.) lightning. Variant: éloize.

Yes, this is the same word that we use for the pastry, éclair. Mama was always fascinated that a pastry was called lightning. The only reason we could think is the shape may have been thought to look like lightning. Well, I have now looked it up in the etymology dictionary and following are the results:

eclair
1861, from Fr. éclair, lit. "lightning," from O.Fr. esclair, from esclairare "to light up, make shine," ult. from L. exclarare "light up, illumine," from ex- "out" + clarus "clear." The sense is perhaps the "lightness" of the confection.

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This is from my friend, Courtney:

Here are some facts about the 1500s:

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"

Five Simple Ways to Pack a Waste-Free Lunch

YES NO

REUSABLE carrier (cloth bag, lunchbox) NO throw-away bags

REUSABLE containers NO plastic wrap, foil or styrofoam

THERMOS for drinks NO single-use cartons or cans

CLOTH NAPKIN to wash and re-use NO paper napkins

SILVERWARE to wash and re-use NO plastic forks and spoons

Lunch Waste Facts

ALUMINUM FOIL More than 20 million Hershey's kisses are wrapped with 133 square miles of foil every day

ALUMINUM AND TIN CANS In the time it takes you to read this sentence, more than 50,000 12-oz. aluminum cans were made

BANANA AND ORANGE PEELS Food debris in a landfill decompose only 25% in the first 15 years (try composting or vermiculture!)

JUICE BOXES Most inorganic trash retains its weight, volume, and form for at least four decades

PAPER BAGS AND NAPKINS It is estimated that 17 trees are cut down for every ton of non-recycled paper

PLASTIC BOTTLES, FORKS, WRAP U.S. citizens discard 2-1/2 million plastic bottles EVERY HOUR

STYROFOAM U.S. citizens throw away 25 billion styrofoam cups EVERY YEAR

From: http://www.globalstewards.org/lunch.htm

Please let me know if there is something that you would like to see in the weekly email. You may always call me at (850) 261-2462 or email me at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com.

If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list.

C’est tout, mes amis

Peggy Henshall

Cajun Stitchery

(850) 261-2462

cajunstitchery@yahoo.com

P.S. You are always welcome to stop by and look at all of the new catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.

SALE OF THE WEEK (sale good through Thursday, September 17, 2009)

Sale: Jerzees T's and Fleece - #773MP

NuBlend™ Cardigan, with name or initials on left chest area -- $30.00

Available colors: Birch, black, true navy, white

8 oz. 50% cotton/50% polyester. Pill resistant, double napped fleece. Self-material patch pockets. Four dyed-to-match buttons. Two-needle placket. 1x1 ribbed spandex cuffs & waistband. No side seams. Two-needle coverseaming throughout.

Christmas is right around the corner – have you done your shopping yet? Take advantage of this week’s special and get ahead of the shopping rush.

Cajun Stitchery

Wine Coasters, Canopies, and Fans -- Oh My!

Today was such a busy day.  It seems as though I just live on the phone and computer.  But this is a good thing, because it generates business.

The patches and placemats are finished, unless we decide to do more placemats.  Now we are beginning the wine coasters.  I'm sure pictures will be posted on this blog before long.  I had made some wine coasters earlier this year but my girlfriends objected because even though they do fit the wine glasses that I have at home, they do not fit the larger based wine glasses -- at least not without a struggle.  So, we now have a new digitized version that I believe will fit the larger based wine glasses.  It was funny today because I digitized one wine glass coaster for 5.25" and once it was stitched out, it was huge.  The one that I think we will stick to is 4.25".  We should go into production within the next day or two.

We did purchase the canopy for $20 from Winn Dixie.  I have to laugh.  George decided that we better put the canopy up in the back yard and learn to put it up and take it down with ease before the event.  Good idea!  He put it up and it looked nice but felt kind of flimsy.  We left it up in the back yard and went about our business.  George had to go to Lowes and while there he called me.  I ran downstairs where I had left my cell phone and as I answered the phone, I looked out back and the canopy had flown onto the deck.  Phone in one hand and still talking to George, I ran outside to straighten out the canopy.  Finally, I just had to tell George that I couldn't talk with him because the canopy was flying around.  I manipulated the canopy back into the back yard, but the wind was still blowing and I found myself stuck, holding onto the upper side of the canopy.  I am only 5 foot tall and the canopy is much taller than I.  If you can imagine that I was outside, on my tiptoes, holding onto the canopy while the wind was blowing and the canopy kept wanting to fly away.  Then George arrived home.  We took the canopy apart and sat back and laughed.  Now we know why they included the stakes and cord with the canopy.  However, the canopy will be sitting on pavement at the Arts & Wine Festival.  Any ideas on how to stake the canopy to pavement?  We're thinking about staking to a bucket of sand or dirt.

Remember the blog on hand fans?  I haven't forgotten that and am still on my quest.  The solution may have presented itself.  Before I write about it, I need to make one.  If it works, we are in for a lot of fun with hand fans. 

While on email today, Yahoo changed to the new and improved version of email.  This happens occasionally.  This new and improved version has applications.  One of the applications is PayPal.  The application says that you not only can send money via email/PayPal but can receive money.  My nemises has been trying to get my web page up and running so that I can put the PayPal links with items that I'm selling.  Obviously, that hasn't happened yet.  Now I can sell via email and get paid via PayPal.  Woohoo!  If you are interested in purchasing anything from Cajun Stitchery, please email me at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and we can take care of everything from start to finish, including the payment.  Like everything else, there will be a learning curve.  So, be patient with me.

Depression Era Survival

Tomorrow is Labor Day.  It makes me think of how many people are out of work.  It's too sad. 

Mama used to tell me stories of growing up during the Depression.  She used to say that, "Yes, we were poor, but so was everyone else.  So, nobody noticed."  They used creativity to get by.  My Grandmother Theaux told me that she decided that she certainly could do laundry, so she went down to one of the local stores that required uniforms and she did their laundry.  That built into more and before you know it, she had a business out of her home.  My Grandfather Theaux would chop wood for people and from what I understand, he was quite proficient at making and selling wooden swings and that sort of thing.  He would also take the neighborhood children to school for a nickel a week -- no buses in those days.  They got through it.  Neighbor helped neighbor.  Families helped each other.  You no longer felt humiliated to take a lower paying job because you were lucky to have a job at all.

My Aunt Lillian and Mama would tell me of their sewing escapades.  They would go to the local fancy shmancy dress shop and see the beautiful attire in the windows.  Lillian, the artist, would draw a sketch of the outfit and Mama and Lillian would go home and make the dress/outfit.  They both told me how people would say, "That's the dress in the window.  How on earth could you afford that?"  (If my cousin, Linda, is reading this, she should post a comment and remind me of the name of the store.)  They would just smile at each other.  I guess it's in the blood because I used to get fashion catalogs, find a dress or outfit that I liked and make one for myself.   It's a very satisfying thing to do.

Another sewing endeavor that they did was yo-yos.  A yo-yo in sewing is when you take a piece of fabric, cut into a circle, bast around the circle, pull the basting thread, tuck the raw ins inside the circle, and tie off the thread.  Then you make hundreds and thousands of these little yo-yos and sew them together.  Mama and Aunt Lillian made a robe out of yo-yos.  I never saw it, but Mama assured me that Lillian still has it.  No piece of fabric was ever thrown away.  They even used the cloth sacks from the flour purchased at the grocery store.  When the scraps of fabric were finally so small that you couldn't make anything with them, then you made a pillow or something that required quilting or stuffing and you used the tiny fabric pieces as the stuffing.  In fact, one of the first things that Mama taught me to sew was a pot holder.  I may have been 10 years old, maybe younger.  Take 2 pieces of fabric squares, a bit bigger than the intended pot holder, right sides together, sew 3 sides together, turn the pocket that you've just created inside out so the right side of the fabric is on the outside, stuff with fabric scraps (or scrap thread), fold the open edge in, sew across the open end, and finally sew all over the pot holder to kind of quilt it and voila, pot holder.

Everyone had a garden during the depression.  They always had food and homes always had flowers.  You did what you could to get by the best you could.  The more self-sufficient you were the better off you were.

I find it sad that today there are so many people who do not know how to sew, garden, and build.  Maybe I'm just getting old.  As long as you can keep a roof over your head, food in your stomach and clothes on your back, you will survive.  Today you also have to have electricity, running water, cars, telephones, internet, cable, insurance, and on and on and on.  I know many people in Pensacola learned through Hurricane Ivan that you can survive without electricity, internet, and cable.  It's certainly not as pleasant as otherwise, but it is possible.  In fact, Hurricane Ivan caused most of us to meet our neighbors and in a large way enhance our quality of life.

I'm including a photograph of a recent cooler/beach bag that I embroidered.  Notice the new "Shark Alert Team" patch.  These patches will be on sale at the Arts & Wine Festival on Oct. 3-4.

Cajun Corner Vol 1, No 15 - September 4, 2009

Cajun Corner – Vol. 1, No. 15 – September 4, 2009
Bon Jour! Welcome to Cajun Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.
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Are we really already in September? OMG! Time is just flying by these days. We have one month until the Arts & Wine Festival and both of the embroidery machines are humming along. One of my friends swears that I have ADD. I’ll be working on a project and thinking about 10 or 20 other projects that I’d love to create. There is never enough time. I guess it is ADD when I keep adding projects but someday I’ll have SUBTRACT and we’ll finish those projects.

My neighbor emailed me this week and told me about a great sale at Winn-Dixie for one of those outdoor canopies for $19.99. We bought one. That was a great sale. We’ve been looking at those things for a few months now and the cheapest we could find on Craigslist was $45.00. So, woohoo, for the great Winn-Dixie canopy sale. Now we need folding tables to put under the canopy at the festival.

Tuesday night our usual neighborhood gang went to our usual Bands on the Beach. A couple of weeks ago we met a nice lady at this gathering who happened to be sitting nearby. We are a rather rowdy group and she just joined right in with us. She was there again this week and we had a very enjoyable time with her and her husband. It was our second meeting and so, like the second date, I felt it was okay to exchange telephone numbers. The following day I received a call from her thanking us. For what? It turns out that she has had a really rough few years: she survived cancer; she was in a terrible automobile accident and the at fault driver died in her arms, and she was left injured and having to foot all of the medical bills; and finally she was laid off of work and is still seeking employment. She told me that after so many tragedies in her recent life, her family and friends have more or less become numb to it and seem to indicate to her to “get over it” or they just avoid being around her. It meant so much to her to have new friends, even if it was just Tuesday evening friends. There is a lesson to be learned from this. You never know when God will use you to touch someone. Now you know that I’m not missing those Tuesday evenings; although, the last one for the year is the end of September.

Cajun Stitchery now has its own Sales Representative and it’s neither George nor me. It’s our friend, Lois. Welcome aboard, Lois. Lois has me doing all kinds of things for her right now – mainly pulling together a presentable price list that she can distribute. Early on I had a price list and then this friend or that friend wanted something and it just breaks my heart to charge my friends full price. Especially when I know that my friends are out there telling everyone about Cajun Stitchery. It just seems they deserve a “girlfriend discount.” My “business consultant” told me that I could either have a very expensive hobby or a lucrative business. It’s my choice. So, ladies and gentlemen, hold onto your panties because this business is going to work.

The question that has haunted me since the inception of this business is: Why would anyone want to hire me over another embroiderer? I think I’ve finally figured it out. You want to hire Cajun Stitchery because we are going to have a really good time. We will treat you fair. Our prices are not the cheapest, but neither is our quality. We also are not the most expensive. Everyone says that they have great customer service. I really doubt they have customer service like you will get with Cajun Stitchery. We won’t just lead you by the hand through your project. We are going to dance along the way and probably have a glass of wine and a joke or two. To me, good customer service with a smile, is laughing until you have tears in your eyes. By the time you wipe away those tears, you are amazed at the quality of work that you receive. And the quality of work is superior because we are enjoying you and the project so much. Along the way, if I see a fabric or thread color that I just think would be perfect for the project, I’m going to call or email you to see if you feel the same. If I see a sale on something that you are looking for, I’ll let you know. By the time the project is finished you will probably know that I have spent my life trying to lose weight and I’d really love to stop smoking, among many other things.

All of our projects can be seen on our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com.

Always remember that we are just a call or email away at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com or 850-261-2462 and place your order.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

When Boudreaux was a little boy he was called "Tee-Boudreaux". "Tee Boudreaux" lived with his family in a house with no indoor plumbing. Instead they had an outhouse out in the back of the house. His dad, Papa Boudreaux, wanted the best he could get for the Boudreaux family. So they had a "two holer" outhouse so that two people could "go" at the same time.

One day Tee-Boudreaux and Papa Boudreaux were both in the outhouse when Tee-Boudreaux saw his Papa accidentally drop a quarter into the hole.

Tee-Boudreaux noticed his Papa thinking about something a while then reach into his pocket, pull out a dollar bill, and drop it into the hole where the quarter had gone.

Tee-Boudreaux saw this and said, "Mais, Papa what you dropped dat dollar bill into dat hole for?!".

Papa Boudreaux said, "May Tee-Boudreaux, I didn't have de heart do send you down dere for just a quarter!"

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French phrase of the week: drole (adj.) [DRAWL] 1. strange; bizarre; wierd. [Compare to SF drôle, meaning "humorous". The Cajun drole is rather pejorative.] C'est pas drole que... No wonder; it's not surpising that.

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This is from my friend, Courtney:

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were starting to smell . .. . brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

[Poo yie, now that’s conservation.]

Tips...

By Peter TongeStoves for People and Plants.

We all know that a wood stove is a great source of supplementary heat in the modern home, particularly valued when a power cut comes along. But did you know it's indirectly great for plants too? The creosote and soot you clean out of your chimney each year is a fertilizer, rich in slow-releasing nitrogen.

Please let me know if there is something that you would like to see in the weekly email. You may always call me at (850) 261-2462 or email me at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com.

If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list.

C’est tout, mes amis

Peggy Henshall

Cajun Stitchery

(850) 261-2462

cajunstitchery@yahoo.com

P.S. You are always welcome to stop by and look at all of the new catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.

Christmas is right around the corner – have you done your shopping yet? Take advantage of this week’s special and get ahead of the shopping rush.