Casserole Carrier

Last weekend, when I spent so much time at Krewe Den, one of the ladies brought her appetizer in a casserole carrier.  I have made casserole carriers before but pretty much forgotten about them.  Her casserole carrier was for a rectangular casserole dish and had dowels as handles.  It was really cute.  All of this is to say that I decided that I wanted to make a casserole carrier. 

You know that I believe you can find anything on the internet if you just put in the right search criteria.  Sure enough I found instructions for making a casserole carrier on the Baby Lock website.  I took some tear away stabilizer and measured out and drew my pattern.  Then I cut out the pattern.  I went into the infamous stash of fabric that consumes our home and chose a fabric for the outer layer and another fabric for the inner layer.  I used a low loft poly batting.  I cut the pattern from each of these materials. 

The really cool thing about this pattern is that it included a pocket on one side to hold the spoon.  I would never have thought of that but what a nifty idea.

The perplexing thing about this pattern is that it has the batting but didn't require quilting.  It seems to me that when you wash it, all of the batting could clump together. 

The pattern actually said to cut it out and then sew on the spoon pocket and do your embroidery to the outer layer of fabric, and then put it together.  I changed the directions a bit.  George laughs because I can never follow directions without finding a different way of doing it.  I put all three layers together.  The right side of the outer fabric with the right side of the lining fabric, with the batting on top.  I then sewed all the way around, except for the curves by the handle.  I turned the entire thing right side out and pressed the seams.  Then I simply quilted by starting in one corner sewing diagnonally through all 3 layers, and then at even intervals sewed perpendicularly (is that a word?) until the entire surface was sewn with diagonal lines.  Then I did the same thing in the opposite direction and voila -- guilted fabric.  I then sewed the pocket onto the quilted fabric.  My theory being that the pocket sewn onto the quilted fabric would be much more secure than sewn onto one ply fabric.  Then I did the embroidery on the front.  I sewed a piece of Velcro to close the pocket and 6 inch strips of Velcro to close the side flaps.  It was almost done. 

The only thing remaining was putting in the dowels and sewing the curves.  Oops! When I quilted, I sewed the area where the dowels go closed.  Out with the stitch ripper.  I took out all of the quilting stitches to line up even with the bottom curve for the handle.  Then I started to put a dowel in.  Oops!  The curve didn't allow enough room to get the other end of the dowel in and since the fabric was quilted, I couldn't make the dowel go into the body of the carrier long enough to get the entire dowel in there.  I took out a few stitches on either end where the dowel would go.  Then I inserted the dowels and did my hand stitching around the curve and to finish off the edges where the dowel was inserted.

Voila!  That was not hard to do.  The only problems came from my deciding to quilt the fabric.  I may make some more.  I would still quilt the fabric but I would leave an opening on the end to insert the dowel.  If I make another one, I would probably make the spoon holder larger. 

I used the carrier last night.  The instructions said that it would carry a 13" x 9" casserole dish.  The quilting probably reduced the length of the carrier a bit but I was not able to close the Velcro strips on my 13" casserole dish.  I was able to close the Velcro on a smaller casserole dish.  Don't get me wrong the carrier carried my 13" casserole dish; I just couldn't close it with the Velcro.  This carrier really would carry a 12" casserole dish that was perhaps 2" tall.  The width was fine.

All in all it was an enjoyable project that I may do again.

C'est tout, mes amis:>)

The Festival is Over and it was a Huge Success

The Pensacola Beach 3rd Annual Arts & Wine Festival is now a memory.  We are looking forward to next year.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous.  It was nice talking to all of the visitors and finding out that there are many tourists still visiting the beach.  The people were so pleasant and interesting.  We met friends from Louisiana.  One lady is a good friend of my cousin's wife.  That was a real surprise to find we have friends and relatives in common.  We were surrounded by good friends all weekend.  Is there anything better than that?  Oh yes, we sold a bunch of stuff, too.

The Cajun Stitchery banner did well.  Next year we plan on 2 more banners for the remaining 2 sides of the tent.  We are also considering putting fabric or banners down each pole of the tent.  We did get the second table this year, which really worked out well.  Next year I hope to have matching tablecloths and some display containers.

Several of the little cell phone pouches were sold.  I was surprised when I finally realized that people did not know what they were.  Most people thought they were koozies.  Well, if you can get a can in that little pouch, best of luck to ya.  Once I showed them my pouch with my cell phone in it, everyone understood.

Everything with a fleur de lis was sold.  I should have done more fleur de lis.  Lesson learned.  We won't be making that mistake again.  It always amazes me the thing that do and do not sell.  As well as what does and doesn't sell at different venues.

The little white bottle apron with the tiny chef hat sold the first day.  Darn!  We never got around to making the bottle aprons.  Maybe they would have sold, too.

Today we are picking up from the weeked.  Accounting for what did and did not sell. And trying to put all of that information into conclusions about what to make for next year.

I don't expect to dwell on this past weekend, though.  It's time to move forward.  The next holiday is Halloween.  There are some cute little spooky designs in our collection.  As a matter of fact, we sold the white tea towel with the little witch embroidered on it.  The pattern companies like Simplicity, McCalls, Butterick, and Vogue all have such adorable Halloween patterns for everything from costumes to home decor. 

That reminds me.  I need to clean this house and decorate for Halloween. I would love to have a nice, black tablecloth with orange napkins.  We could embroider a spooky design on the napkins.  I cannot forget to have some black bats or spiders hanging from the light over the table.  This year I'm thinking about making several little back or orange pouches with the word "Halloween" embroidered on them.  I can stuff them with candy and had out to our trick or treaters.  Of course, the candy bags would have to go into a large, black cauldron, i.e., bucket.  What fun!

I also have at least 3 birthdays this month.  Two of the gifts are done.  I need to finish the third.  There is so much to do.  I know better than to wait until the last minute, but that's how it always happens.

The weather is so cool today.  George is outside working in the yard.  The garden is looking nice.  The windows are open and the fresh air is intoxicating.  As soon as we open the windows in the morning, the cats jump right up, like magnets. 

I better get going cleaning this place up.  We have lots of orders to fill this week.

C'est toute, mes amis.

Three Days and Counting

Three days before the Pensacola Beach 3rd Annual Arts & Wine Festival.  So much to do.  So little time.

Yesterday we finished the banners for the tent.  We made two of them; each is 10 feet long.  These banners are embroidered and beautiful.  They will go around the top of the tent on two sides.

The stuffed pillows are finished with some minor touches remaining.  These stuffed pillow letters spell out Cajun Stitchery, and will hang on the inside of the tent at the back.  We need to attach cup hooks to some boards to finish this project.

Next, I want to work on a tablecloth for the display table in the tent.  That should consume my day today.

George is busy working on tea towels.  Poo yie!  Those tea towels are beautiful.  His caps and visors are lovely, as well.  He does some good stitchin.  We have plenty of cell phone pouches and SOB patches made.  I never got around to making the bottle aprons and still need to make more luggage tags.  All in all, I think we are in good shape.

We finished an order for 6, long sleeve, forest green, t-shirts with the Friant Forestry logo embroidered on them.  Those were shipped this morning.

There are more tea towel, and Junkanoo orders coming in. 

The American Legion post on Pensacola Beach is gearing up for its annual Putt Putt Tournament.  This year Cajun Stitchery is going to be one of the sponsors.  I needed to come up with 3 lines of advertisement to put on our sign.  George wanted it to say:  Cajun Stitchery, you bitch, we stitch.  I love that!  We decided maybe the word "bitch" was too crass.  I think I'm going to submit:  http://www.cajunstitchery.com/.  Itchin for Embroidery Stitchin?  Call (850) 261-2462.  That's more professional sounding.  Don't you think?

I better get back to work.  There is so much to do.

C'est tout, mes amis.

Banners, Pillows and COLORS

George has been working on our banners for out tent at the Arts & Wine Festival.  You may recall that last year we took photos and later realized there wasn't one thing that said we were Cajun Stitchery.  Ahhh, learning experiences are so much fun.  Ha!  We will have two 10 foot embroidered banners saying "Cajun Stitchery" on the 2 sides of the tent.  Inside will be the Cajun Stitchery pillows hanging from the back.  "Cajun Stitchery pillows?" you might ask.  Yes, that has been my project.  I have made little pillows for each letter of C-a-j-u-n-S-t-i-t-c-h-e-r-y.  Each letter is about a foot square, I guess.  They have D rings in the top and we plan on suspending them from the back of the tent.  If that isn't enough, this year we are bringing our CD player and playing cajun music.  That is all in addition to the Cajun Stitchery aprons we wore last year.  See.  We can learn.

When I finally got to the machine yesterday, I stitched out some Who Dat luggage tags that we plan to sell at the festival.  I have a few more cell phone pouches to make but that should do it for the cell phone pouches.  Then we are all into luggage tags.  There will be several designs but I do plan on having several Who Dat tags, gator tags, and possibly some Vietnam Vet tags.  Then I need to make the bottle aprons.

George has some more ballcaps to embroider.

All of that is on top of and keeping up with our day-to-day orders and trying to stay on top of the Etsy store.  Yes, it's a lot of work but we love working together and we love what we are doing.  We really can be quite creative, given the chance. lol

While I was waiting on the machine yesterday, I was piddling on the sewing machine and made some, shall we say, unusual handkerchiefs.  Two of them have been listed on Etsy.  I plan on listing the last one later today. 

I'll be leaving early this evening, actually late afternoon, to attend COLORS at the Grand Marlin.  COLORS stands for something that I never remember.  It really is just an excuse for the beach people and friends to get together once a month at different bars and restaurants on the beach. 

After COLORS we are going to our usual Wednesday night girls dinner.  Tonight is one of the girls birthdays.  I am so excited because I can finally give her the pillowcases that I made for her and then, later, show pictures of them on the internet.  When I embroider for gifts, I am free to go all out and not be constrained by the price of the stitches.  George and I worked it out and the embroidery alone on these pillowcases would be over $88.  They are unique and beautiful.  That leave one more set of pillowcases that I haven't been able to share over the internet and those should be delivered next week.

Stay tuned.
C'est tout, mes amis.

Cajun Corner Vol. 2, No. 35

Cajun Corner – Vol. 2, No. 35 – September 10, 2010


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

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

We had a minor problem with Boudreaux. He got sick and we had to do surgery and order him some medication. He’s fine now. These past few days, I’ve been working on orders that came in while Boudreaux was sick. Thank goodness Doris is alive and kicking. She doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that Boudreaux has but she is reliable.

The beginning of the week was arts and crafts upstairs, then downstairs later in the week to fill orders. Now I’m needed upstairs, again, while George works downstairs with Boudreaux. Wooo, I’m getting dizzy.

Since I had perfected the little cell phone pouch, I decided to make more. So, a bunch more are cut out and waiting for me upstairs.

I finished a few more of the ribbon luggage tags and they are still sitting upstairs waiting on me to finish them. I will finish them even though I don’t like them. However, it’s a good thing that I have gone through fiddling with those luggage tags because now I’m coming up with more ideas for luggage tags. My new idea is much easier and much nicer. The new ones will be more like patches with an eyelet in them. We can put monograms, names, designs, whatever on them. They will all be done in the embroidery machine and we can do different shapes and sizes. I did one last night that had a little pocket in it. That one turned out to be too big but the method is correct. It involves appliqué and I’ll do them because George is not fond of appliqué.

I still have the idea for a wallet but just haven’t gotten that far yet.

I finally did some embroidery on our own pillowcases. They are pretty. I need to do more, especially one for when the girls spend the night.

Earlier this week I went to lunch with a friend, who happens to be my CPA. We went to Bonelli’s Italian Restaurant. Wow! That was fun and the food was wonderful. I brought back a bag of chips for George. He felt slighted. Lunch at Bonelli’s allowed me to get to know the owners a bit better. They are very nice people. The daughter goes to my WBL meetings. As it turned out, they do not have a logo, so part of my day yesterday was spent working on ideas for logos pursuant to the ideas the owners told me. I haven’t heard back from them yet, but I sure hope they like some of the ideas that I sent to them.

Yellow fingertip towels were ordered this week. They will be here in a couple of weeks. Along with the fingertip towels, some regular white bath towels were ordered. Embroidered towel sets will be sold for Christmas this year. The sets would include: white wash cloths, white fingertip towels, and white bath towels. The order for the bath towels was actually placed to see the quality of the bath towels before more are ordered. So far this company has provided good service and quality products even though they do take awhile to get the ordered delivered.

No rain this past weekend and guess what? My dog, Evie, was not sick. I really think it had something to do with the rain – mushrooms that grow when it’s really wet outside.

Last Saturday we were going to dinner on the beach. While waiting in line at the toll booth, we were rear ended. We are fine but George’s SUV has suffered a bit of damage. He has spent most of this week working with insurance companies. He worked with the at fault lady’s insurance company for 3 days, getting the estimate, etc., only to be told that the lady doesn’t have insurance. Why wouldn’t they just tell us that up front so we could get our own insurance company working on the claim? Sounds fishy to me. Nevertheless, we are working with our own insurance company now and he is taking the car in to be fixed on Monday.

The seeds have not arrived yet. Each day we wait for the postman to see if our garden seeds have arrived. Hopefully they will be here today. George is outside watering the garden, or what remains of the garden, now. You wouldn’t think that it would need watering with the rain that we had but it’s dry now.

Christmas is coming and customers are starting to do their Christmas shopping at Cajun Stitchery. Get this out of the way as soon as you can. For all who have businesses out there, remember that we also sell gift baskets.

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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An extremely large, muscular woman, wearing a sleeveless sundress, walked into a bar. She raised her right arm, revealing a huge, hairy armpit and pointed to all the men sitting at the bar and asked, "Which of you men will buy a lady a drink?" The bar went silent as the patrons tried to ignore her. At the end of the bar, was Boudreaux, a skinny little Cajun, who was as usual, VERY drunk. Boudreaux slammed his hand on the bar and said, "Give dat Ballerina a drink!" Thibodeaux, the bartender, a close friend of Boudreaux's, poured the drink and the woman chugged it down. She turned again to the patrons and pointed around at all of them, again revealing her hairy armpit, and asked, "Which of you men will buy a lady a drink?" Once again, Boudreaux slapped his hand down on the bar and said, "Give dat Ballerina anudder drink!" Thibodeaux, finally approached Boudreaux and said, "Boudreaux mah fren', I know it ain't none of my business of course if you want to buy dat lady a drink, but how come you keep callin' her a Ballerina?" Boudreaux replied, "Thibodeaux . . . to me, any woman who can lift her leg dat high gots to be a Ballerina!"

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French phrase of the week: Raconte-moi de tes nouvelles. (Tell me your news.)

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From: http://living.oneindia.in/beauty/skin-n-body-care/2010/home-remedies-facial-hair-090810.html

Here are some of the best home remedies to remove your facial hair :

• Turmeric the master in enhancing beauty proves its excellence in removing facial hair. Mix a spoon of turmeric powder with 1/4th cup of milk, apply that on your face and leave it for 10 minutes and rinse off in room temperature water. Make sure that it's applied on your face as well as neck. Apply it twice a week.

• Mix half tsp of sugar and lemon juice with water. Apply it on your face and neck, leave for 15 minutes. Later rinse off in room temperature water. For a better result strictly do it at least two times in a week.

• Mix an egg white in 1 tbsp of sugar and ¼ tbsp of corn flour and make a paste. Apply and leave the paste on your face and neck for 10-20 minutes and rinse off in room temperature water. Do it thrice a week.

• Mix 1 tbsp of lemon juice with 3 tbsp of honey, apply and leave it for 15 minutes. Wash off in room temperature water. Make sure that it's done on alternate days.

• Mix gram flour and turmeric powder in curd, apply this paste on your face and leave for 15 minutes. Later slowly scrub it off and wash your face in luke warm water. For a better result apply it thrice a week.

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 catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.

SALE OF THE WEEK (Good through Thursday, September 16, 2010)

SALE: Fingertip Towel (red, green, or white) with monogram = $7.00