Cajun Corner - Vol. 4, No. 26

Cajun Corner – Vol. 4, No. 26 – July 13, 2012

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

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com, and www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.   We are also on Twitter and Facebook. 

Visit our on-line catalogs at:

http://www.imprintit.biz/cgi-bin/cobrand/site.w?location=olc/catalog-home.w&top=catalog&frasmes=no&target=main&sponsor=000699

and www.companycasuals.com/cajunstitchery.

Could I be back on schedule?  Well, it is still Friday.

A really nice lady contacted me awhile back to do a monogram on a headboard cover.  We met this week.  She wanted the three letter monogram with one letter from this font and the other letter from that font and the last letter from another font.  After looking at the monogram, which will be 11” to 12” tall, she still wasn’t satisfied and asked that we get the monogram to form a circle.  No, she doesn’t want the letters inside of an embroidered circle.  She wants the letters themselves to form a circle.  The only way I know to do this is to digitize the entire monogram, which I did.  I actually created an embroidered circle the size required.  Then I placed the monogram inside the circle.  The monogram was then digitized to touch the width and height of the circle.  The digitized circle was then removed, leaving a perfectly round monogram.  Cool, huh?  I thought so.

My son called this week asking if I had made our great granddaughter a blanket, as promised.  I guess the family is getting nervous because our due date is the first part of August.  I told him that I’d get around to it.  Hank will be a granddaddy for the first time. 

We have a stock design for a baby bib which I did embroider but it looks teeny tiny and I hesitate to send it because it looks like something that would fit a doll.  Then I realized that it has been a long time since I’ve had a newborn.  In fact, it has been 40 years ago.  Nevertheless, they don’t stay that small for long.  Several months ago I found an online pattern for a baby bib and made a few to sell on Etsy.  With the new machine and the super duper hoops, a full size baby bib should fit in the hoop.  I set to work digitizing the baby bib using the dimensions from the pattern.  It wasn’t too hard to do.  First, I digitized a rectangle 11” x 9” with rounded corners.  Then I digitized a circle for the neck, 4” diameter.  Next were two small satin stitched lines from the upper part of the circle to the outer edge of the rectangle.  Finally, two eyelets were inserted, using the boring needles, of course.

When choosing the fabric it became apparent that one ply of fabric would not be thick enough.  Also, the bib should not be bulky.  Two ply of fabric was perfect. 

A sheet of tear-away stabilizer was hooped and the first round of stitching began for placement of the fabric.  Then another round of stitching was placed to tack down the fabric.  The fabric was then at a point to cut away the excess.  Finally, the satin stitching was laid around the bib and the neck hole began stitching.  There were a few adjustments required for the eyelets.  The bib turned out beautiful.  Next came the monogram.  We have so many different styles of monograms that it takes hours to go through them.  Most of the monograms I’ve never used.  I picked an art deco monogram for the first one.  It turned out so pretty.  Since there are two plies of fabric, the bib is actually reversible.

Creating these in-the-hoop bibs was so much fun.  The fabric stash was flying because I was going through looking for something cute for each bib.  Each bib has a different monogram.  These just turned out adorable.  I want to make more.

Bib making had to stop because I really did promise a baby blanket.  In fact, my granddaughter, Shakenia, said the colors would be purple and pink.  The fabric stash had the perfect piece of dark purple, cotton fabric which I laundered and folded and it has been sitting on a stool for several weeks.  This is MY great grandbaby.  I want this blanket to be different and beautiful.  While I was perusing the monograms, I ran across one that jumped out and said, “This is it.”  Once that was embroidered on the top fabric, I just wanted to stop and sew up the blanket.  It was, at least to me, breathtakingly beautiful.  I also decided that I’m making on for me, too.  The more I stared at it, the more I realized that I need this to at least hint that it is a baby blanket.  The search began in our children’s stock designs.  A cute little bird on a branch popped out and caught my attention.  I played around with the design a bit.  Some duplication was done.  In the end it was a row of birds on branches.  Four rows were embroidered; one on top, bottom, left and right of the name.  That’s where I’m at now.  I’m thinking about finishing the blanket.  The back will be a piece of tan colored muslin.  Then begin the quilting.  Guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens with it.

Yesterday, our precious puppy, Sam, was neutered.  George took him to the vet’s in the morning and we picked him up around 4:00.  He now weights 68 pounds and still growing.  He has his own bottle of pain pills.  The vet tech said he was the singer in the kennel yesterday.   Dogs are pretty darn resilient.  He came home and wanted to play.  He did sleep and lay around more than is normal for Sam.  Today, he is back in full force.  At one point today, I looked out the window and found Sam and Evie laying side-by-side outside.  That has never happened.  I had to take a picture but when I went outside the camera lens fogged up.  I kept wiping it and it kept fogging up.  I did get one or two clear pictures, though.  I guess Evie decided she would be his nurse or mama.  They have certainly bonded.

The canopy finally came down yesterday.  Every time we were ready to take it down and bring it inside, it would rain.  One of our neighbors claimed the canopy was causing the rain. It is down now and by golly, it rained this evening.

Have a wonderful week.

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Thanks to Marshall Larrivere for the following:

What Makes 100%?

What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%.

How about achieving 103%?

What makes up 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 =98%

And

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 =96%

But ,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 =100%

And,

B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 =103%

AND, look how far ass kissing will take you.

A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%

So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty, that while Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, its the Bullshit and Ass Kissing that will put you over the top.
Now you know why some people are where they are!

Thank you to Sandy Goodman for the following:

A successful attorney parked his brand new Lexus in front of his office, ready to show it off to his colleagues. As he was getting out, a truck came along too closely and completely tore off the driver's door.

Fortunately, a cop in a police car was close enough to see the accident and pulled up behind the Lexus with his lights flashing.

Before the cop had a chance to ask any questions, the attorney started screaming hysterically about how his Lexus, which he had just purchased the day before, was completely ruined and would never be the same, no matter how any car body shop tried to make it new again.

After the lawyer finally wound down from his rant, the cop shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe how materialistic you lawyers are," he said. "You are so focused on your possessions that you neglect the most important things in life."

"How can you say such a thing?" asked the lawyer.

The cop replied, "Don't you even realize that your left arm is missing? It was severed when the truck hit you!"

"OH, MY GOD!!!" screamed the lawyer.

"My Rolex!!”

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 catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.