We have an order via Etsy for three of the polka dot handkerchiefs with embroidered lace. They are for a wedding later in August. The bride wants poems and writings on each of them. One for the bride's mother; one for the groom's mother; and one for the godmother. The bride likes the modern feel of these hankies. She also chose a font that I've never had anyone choose before, Bickley Script. I don't think I would have chosen that font, but, as it turns out, it really looks nice. The writing is teeny tiny, which is difficult for embroidery. We have gone through all of the steps and today should be the final stitch out on the handkerchiefs.
One of the pleasantries of this business is all of the nice people you meet. This little bride has been so sweet. She originally convo'ed me on Etsy asking if I could embroider a poem on a hanky. We worked together throughout the process to assure that she gets exactly what she wants. There have been many practice stitch-outs. We chose the color of thread, placement of the embroidery, choice of font, which hanky should go to whom, and even delivery choices. She lives in Illinois. I know embroidery is not something that will bring about world peace but in a small way, it does put a smile on the recipient's face when they get a creation that they had a hand in creating and it turned out beautiful. Okay, it puts a smile on my face, too.
We tried an experiment the other day. You are supposed to use vinegar in your laundry. I thought it helped clean and whiten. We had a stack of old, dingy, white shop rags and washed some as usual. Then we soaked the others in vinegar for about 15 to 30 minutes and washed them. Neither was any whiter, but the vinegar rags sure came out soft.
Well, we love experiments over here and I recently read about ammonia. Ever since I started keeping my own house, I always knew to make sure we had plenty of vinegar, peroxide, baking soda, and ammonia. The vinegar, peroxide and baking soda is used around here for a multitude of tasks. The lonely ammonia bottle would sit for years unopened. I knew that if someone fainted, I could always bring out the ammonia but no one faints around this house. When I read the ammonia article a week or so ago and posted about it, I went looking for my bottle of ammonia. Apparetly, through the years we got rid of it. We bought a new bottle and last night put it to the test. The article, and indeed, the ammonia bottle instructions, said to put a cup of ammonia in a container, put it in the oven, and let it sit overnight. The ammonia is supposed to loosen all of the grime and you just wipe it clean. My oven is one of those with a lock. You lock it and turn it on clean and the temperature rises to an astronomical degree and then turns off and the oven is clean. I did that a few times when the oven was new. Somehow over the years it got really dirty and I went to clean it one time and I was afraid that the house would burn down. So, I turned it off and haven't used it since. That oven was filthy. We put the cup of ammonia in the oven last night and when we opened it this morning, nothing looked any different. Oh well, another experiment that didn't work. But, I took a damp rag and started wiping the oven and that gunk started coming off. I think it's going to take a few ammonia evenings to get everything in there clean, but I was amazed at how much a simple wipe with a damp rag removed.
The next experiment is going to be fertilizer. The article said that ammonia combined with water makes the best fertilizer. We'll see. That will be a hard one to determine. It's not an overnight experiment and our garden looks beautiful but it is time to fertilize.
Stay tuned....
No comments:
Post a Comment