Cajun Corner Vol. 3, No. 5

Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 5 – February 4, 2011


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

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit our  catalog at www.companycasuals.com/cajunstitchery and www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.

Last weekend was another wild and fun, Mardi Gras weekend. We started out with our Moon Pie Party on Friday night. That was a great party. Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make it such a success. We had all of our light sticks, lighted scepters, and lighted everything. More than once I found myself dancing on the stage. Congratulations go to Amy for winning the 50/50.

On Saturday our krewe attended the Junkanoo’s Third Annual Chili Cook-Off. Yes, Cowboy Carl made it there with the chili. The girls did a wonderful job of decorating our table and area. We all wore pieces of our cowgirl costume, except for me. I wore the whole thing with the suede skirt and vest and the gold, pointed toed boots. It took several days for my feet to recover. It was all worth it because we won 1st place. It was a bit odd for me to watch my krewe receive the aprons that I embroidered earlier in the week. Haha. That was a fun day, too. I even think Cowboy Carl enjoyed the event.

Sunday I hunkered down to do the lettering for the Krewe of Bad Habits. By golly, I got it done and did a good job, I might add. The completed design was emailed to them on Monday.

Remember the mylar embroidery on our tux jackets. I used the mylar embroidery to avoid snagging our cuffs and losing the sequins. Well, it kind of worked as planned. The mylar embroidery did perfect. The satin stitching around it caught on everything, just like the sequins did. And it wasn’t the satin stitching all the way around the cuffs, just on the inside toward the body because it snagged on my pins. I think that if I put a few layers of Elmers glue, or some permanent glue that dries clear, over the satin stitching, then the snagging issue should be solved.

The big secret from last week was Ella’s birthday present. She received the diva mermaid on a clam shell on her white towel. The colors were just breathtaking. They turned out so much better than I had anticipated. The clam shell was appliquéd using a very soft pink colored fabric and outlined in a deep purple. The diva mermaid was, of course, done in mylar embroidery with a medium purple and lavender. Of course, the stitch out is hanging in my bathroom. George says I need to start giving the stitch outs away because we don’t have room for so many towels. He knows by the end of the year we will have a krewe-ful of towels. I loved Courtney’s response. She said that they all have their own pillowcases to take on our overnighters and now they are all going to have their own towels. Hmmm, I wonder what next year will bring.

Tomorrow is Nauga. Yep, the Krewe of Nauga has one event and that is a pajama party tomorrow morning at 10:30. With just one event, this krewe has over 500 members. That should say a lot for the fun involved. The attire is to wear your pajamas. The cost is $15 per person and I believe they serve breakfast. The party is open to the public. As I’ve said before, George and I have never attended the Nauga Party and this will be our first year. George absolutely refuses to wear pajamas. That’s okay because many just come in jeans and a sweatshirt or whatever. The theme is animal print. Last year our precious Judy showed up dressed as a one eyed, one horned, flying purple people eater and was horrified to find out that she was crowned Nauga Queen. Her picture was in all of the local newspapers with her face painted purple. Personally, I thought she was adorable.

I’ve been trying to work on the Etsy shop this week. I’m trying to get some more scarves in the store and since I’ve been freezing this week (the highs have been in the 40’s) I’m working on some flannel, plaid scarves. Chrissy arrived at Krewe Den this past Wednesday with the most adorable scarf. It was black. Felt like velour, loosely woven. On one end was a big “Who Dat?” written in gold, glitter paint and outlined in rhinestones. Absolutely gorgeous! I may do a “Who Dat?” scarf later but not right now.

As I’ve written before, the girls are always complaining about crew neck t-shirts. The crew neck is so confining. This year, one of my vendors, has what appears to be a nice scoop neck tee. It’s an Anvil Women’s Sheer Scoop Neck Tee. This is the sale of the week. It’s short sleeved. To keep the price down, due to shipping, I have to sell in lots of 10 to get the price.

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.

My favorite poem:

Are you almost disgusted with life, little man?

I'll tell you a wonderful trick

that will bring you contentment, if anything can

Do something for somebody, quick!

Are you awfully tired with play, little girl?

Wearied, discouraged, and sick-

I'll tell you the loveliest game in the world,

Do something for somebody quick!

Though it rains like the rain of the flood, little man

and the clouds are forbidding and thick,

You can make the sun shine in your soul, little man

Do something for somebody, quick!

Though the stars are like brass overhead, little girl,

and the walks like a well-heated brick

and our earthly affairs in a terrible whirl,

Do something for somebody, quick!

Did you know:

Louisiana contains 41 percent of the coastal marshland in the United States.

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French Phrase of the Week: Le Parti de Nauga (Nauga Party)

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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.

SALE OF THE WEEK (Good through Thursday, February 10, 2011)

SALE: 10 Anvil Sheer Scoop Neck Tee for $8 each ($80) [size S-XL] embroidery is additional charge

Colors: black, Caribbean blue (out of size S), hot pink, mocha, silver (out of size S), white

391 Anvil Sheer Scoop Neck Tee

• 3.2 oz. 100% ring spun cotton; preshrunk

• Classic countoured silhouette with side seam

• Display tape and single-needle seamed collarette

• Double-needle sleeve and bottom hem

Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 4 – January 28, 2011

Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 4 – January 28, 2011

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

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit our catalog at www.companycasuals.com/cajunstitchery and www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.

Our trip to the Saenger in Mobile was so much fun. The bus was packed with 54 crazed, Mardi Gras decorated people. We had fun from the time we stepped on the bus until we returned home. God bless our little bus driver. The bus dropped us off right at the front door to the Saenger. As it happened a gentleman was playing a trumpet across the street for tips. When we departed the bus, the trumpeter joined us and played all of the Mardi Gras tunes, including When The Saints Go Marching In. We sang and danced and had a great time. Once we got to our seats in the Saenger, Beausoleil was playing. Who could sit with that kind of music? We were up and dancing. The security guard asked us to dance to the side of the seated audience so we wouldn’t disturb their view. We complied. Before long the whole audience was up and dancing. I noticed the security guard just sat down and enjoyed the show. We were overwhelming. Marcia Ball was actually the main attraction. I had never heard her music before and was very impressed. We danced through her set, as well. When the show closed, we entered our bus which picked us up at the front door, and partied all the way home. There were a few people who fell asleep on the return trip. They must have been tired because I think we were louder going home than we were going to Mobile. I would make this trip again in a heartbeat. It was just a wonderful evening.

Most of last weekend was spent digitizing the logo for the Krewe of Bad Habits. I had some concerns about whether I was a good enough digitizer to do a good job for them because their logo is fairly detailed with the King, Queen, and Jack of hearts in the center. By the end of the weekend I was able to sit back and give a critical eye to the simulated embroidered design. It is beautiful. On Monday I stitched it out. It stitched out perfectly, although it took a few hours to stitch.

I had digitized everything except the lettering. The lettering was done freehand. It’s pretty much a piece of cake to do lettering when there is a font involved. In those instances I can pick the font and type in what I want, give the program a few parameters and with a click of a button, voila, it’s done. Freehand lettering requires actual digitizing, as though it was a piece of art, stitch-by-stitch. With art detail, depending on the amount of detail and the size of the design, you can fudge a bit on the detail, since there is a point where a tiny thread sized detail isn’t going to show whether it is digitized or not. That is not necessarily the case with lettering. You have to read the lettering when it’s done. Tiny lettering is the worse. Many digitizers have to hire more experienced digitizers to do the tiny lettering. I’ve digitized some lettering before but this lettering is extremely thin. Think of it this way. An embroidery machine needle is 1mm wide. If you have a line 1 mm wide, then how do you zig zag for a satin stitch? All you can do is a straight line.

Photographs of the artwork were sent to the krewe, along with an explanation about the lettering. I haven’t heard back whether they like the digitized design or not. Everyone who has walked into this house has raved about it. I’m so proud of the stitch out that I have it on my kitchen table. I gave the krewe the option to hire a digitizer specializing in lettering. In the meantime, I’ve taken a crash course on digitizing lettering and, by golly; I think I’ve got it now. There are a few little things to iron out but I think I was worried unnecessarily. Finalizing, the lettering is my goal for this weekend. In between parties, that is.

Tonight is the Mystic Krewe of Nereids annual Moon pie Party at the Sandshaker on Pensacola Beach. It starts at 7 p.m. If you are local, please come and join us. The money earned from the raffles is going locally to help breast cancer patients and breast cancer research. I have a list of things that I don’t want to forget to bring tonight and it’s so absurd that I giggled after I wrote my list:

Tuxedo jacket

Top Hat

Flashy scepter

Hair lights

Tambourine

Light Stick

We will obviously have a great time tonight!

Tomorrow the Mystic Krewe of Nereids will be entering the Junkanoo’s 3rd Annual Chili Cook-off at the Sandshaker on Pensacola Beach from 1p.m. to 4p.m. You may recall that last year we were going to enter the chili cook-off but after the Moon pie Party some of the girls were a bit inebriated and came to rest at Krewe Den, got hungry and ate our entry. This year we have a failsafe method. Cowboy Carl (authentic cowboy, direct from Texas) is cooking the chili and delivering it directly to the Shaker on Saturday for the cook-off. You won’t want to miss Cowboy Carl’s Cowgirl Chili. We are certain that we are going to be the winners this year.

Oh yes, I also embroidered the aprons which will be given as prizes for the chili cook-off.

Yesterday, I had to take some time for us. If you are a true Mardi Gras person, then you know all about sequins. Our tux jackets have loads of sequins, including the sleeve cuffs. Those sequins snag on everything and we always end up with lost sequins or threads hanging. After awhile it looks tattered. So, I made new cuffs for George and me with the new Mylar embroidery. If for no other reason, you need to come to the Moon pie Party to see the new cuffs. George and I love them. They are every bit as sparkly as the sequin – without the snag problem.

Oh, there’s something else that I made this week. It’s top secret because it’s a gift that will be given tonight. This was another one of those stitch outs that we put on the kitchen table and just stared at – it’s beautiful.

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.

The following Boudreaux joke was sent to us by Paulette Provost:

Boudreaux, an 80-year-old South Louisiana Cajun, goes to the doctor

for his every year check-up.

The doctor is amazed at what good shape he is in and asks, "How you

stay in such great physical condition, Boudreaux?"

"I stay in the swamp and I hunt and fish every day" says the old Cajun,

and, that's why I'm in such good shape. "I'm up well before daylight and out

hunting or fishing all day. I have a beer for breakfast and at lunch and

wid my supper. And I have a shot of hooch before bed time. And I say my

prayers every night. And all is well wid me"

"Well", says the doctor, "I'm sure dem prayers helps, but there's got to be

more to it. How old was your father when he died?"

"Who said Pop is dead?"

The doctor is amazed. "You mean you're 80 years old and your father's still

alive? How old he is?"

"Pop be 100 next month," say Boudreaux. "In fact, he hunted with

me this morning, and then we went to a "beer joint" for a while and had

a few beers and that's why he's still alive. He's a tough Cajun man

And he hunts and fishes every day, too.

"Well, the doctor says, that's great, but I'm sure there's more to it than

that. How about your father's father? How old was he when he died?"

"Who said my Paw Paw's dead?"

Stunned, the doctor asks, "You mean you're 80 years old, your father is

100 and your grandfather's still living? Incredible! How old he is?"

"We tink 'bout 118." says the old Cajun. He likes his beer too, but he

wont touch the hard stuff."

The doctor is getting frustrated at this point, "So, I guess your

grandfather went hunting and fishing with you'll this morning too?"

"No, Paw Paw couldn't go this time. He's getting married today."

At this point the doctor is close to losing it. "Getting married! Why would

a 118-year-old man want to get married?"

Boudreaux looked down at the floor and mumbled "Who said he wanted to?"

Did you know:

Natchitoches, Louisiana, is the oldest city in the Louisiana Purchase Territory, and was founded in 1714.

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French Phrase of the Week: Le Parti de Tarte de lune (Moon Pie Party)

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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.

SALE OF THE WEEK (Good through Thursday, February 3, 2011)

Cobbler Apron with name or initials -- $20.00

Toppers Cobbler Apron

• 7.5 oz. 65% polyester/35% cotton twill

• Two front pockets

• 19" x 28"

Colors: Black, navy, royal blue

Bad Habits

This weekend was busy, busy, busy.  Saturday was the Mystic Krewe of Nereid's King Kake Party ushering in the Mardi Gras season on Pensacola Beach.  We had a blast and the turn out was fabulous.  Several of the local krewes always come out to support us and we are so grateful to them.  The party was definitely a success.  Our new king and queen were crowned and both seemed very surprised.  King Pierce and Queen Daisy shall reign in 2011.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, a dear friend to everyone on the beach, including myself, passed away unexpectedly last week.  The King Kake Party included a tribute to our Mary.  Mary's funeral was Monday.

While at the King Kake Party, I met a group from a new, local krewe, The Krewe of Bad Habits.  Don't you just love the name.  They said they may be contacting me later for some embroidery work on their logo.  Right now they are waiting to receive their tux jackets that are being made out of lame'.  I think I have previously talked about my feelings about lame'.  There are some things about lame' that I do like.  No doubt about it, lame' is as shiney as fabric comes.  I just hope the krewe isn't spending a lot of money on lame' jackets because they may not last very long.

I received several compliments on the last Cajun Corner.  My friend, Melanie, stopped me at the King Kake Party to tell me that she enjoys reading Cajun Corner.  Thank you so much, Melanie.  I just love the feedback from everyone.

January is loaded with birthdays.  George's birthday is the 2nd and his sister, Kathie's, is the 11th.  Each year we get together for lunch/brunch to celebrate.  We did the birthday lunch this past Sunday.  Kathie brought two of her neighbors/friends with her.  They were delightful people -- Pat and Peter. 

Also on Sunday a friend from Central Florida arrived in Pensacola on a business trip.  She will be here until Wednesday.  We took her out to eat on Sunday and last night she was at the house for gumbo.  We call her Turtle.  It's true and she likes the name.  She is absolutely adorable and is an embroidery machine technician.  I love it when we can spend time with Turtle because we can talk embroidery for hours.  And you know I am passionate about my embroidery.

Turtle actually has the sequin attachment.  I was able to show her some of our Mylar work and share some Mylar with her.  It made me feel good that she agreed that the Mylar is just as blingy as the sequins.

Last week I added several items to our Etsy store -- all were handkerchiefs with mylar designs.  I still have more handkerchiefs to add to the store.  There have been some people looking at them but not nearly as many as I thought there would be.  To be fair, I have been so busy with other things that part of the problem is probably because I need to get in there and do more marketing. 

We have more black satin jacket orders that I need to place this week.  Those black satin jackets have been a real hit.

I'm really looking forward to this coming weekend.  It's our annual bead trip to Mobile.  We spend the weekend at our friend, Marilyn's, home and the weekend is full of shopping.  Then each night all of the girls get together and party -- just the girls.  We drink and talk and sing and dance and laugh.  It's a wonderful weekend and I look forward to it every year.  One year, one of the girls happened into a dollar store of some sort and found slippers with blinky lights.  A bunch of us each bought a pair and that night when we all changed into our "after 5's", we came our with our blinky slippers.  The girls that didn't have them were so envious.  We laughed and played with our blingy slippers all night long.  I still have mine somewhere; although I'm sure they no longer blink.

Got to get back to work.  Have a nice day everyone:>)