CORSET BAG DRIPPING IN GOLD

A few weeks ago, a young lady came to my embroidery shop to pick up some items for her boss.  Once she entered the front show room, she was amazed at all of the items available for sale.  As she surveyed the room, her attention was drawn to a grouping of corset bags.  

She immediately fell in love with these bags and asked if they were for sale.  Of course, they were.  Everything in that room is for sale.  She inquired about the price and looked at the various colors, fabrics, and sizes (10" tall and 6" tall).  Once she saw the little bag with a monogram, she once again swooned.  

I explained that it was also possible to have her signature embroidered onto the purse and she was shown some handkerchiefs embroidered with handwriting.  

Her mind changed from purchasing the already made corset bag, to creating one to her specifications.  Her question was, "Can you make it in gold?"  Yes, of course.  I carry satin fabric in several colors, including gold.  

By the time she left, she had ordered 2 gold satin, over the shoulder corset bags, one 10" and one 6", using gold metallic thread, with her signature embroidered for the monogram.

Anyone who follows me knows how much I enjoy and am passionate about embroidery and this embroidery machine.  So, I was anxious to get started.

I had her signature and the first step was to digitize.  

She later send a picture of her signature, not so rushed. Both were digitized.  The first, rushed, signature actually fit better on the small corset bag.  The not so rushed signature worked well on the larger bag.

Before creating the bag, there were a few things I needed to know.  What type of over-the-shoulder strap did she want?  

I gave her some choices and she chose the beautiful, ornate, gold, sequined trim for the larger bag; and, small, gold cord for the smaller bag.

Since the larger bag required a button for closure, I went through my stash of buttons and found a lovely plain gold button for the gold elastic closure.

The designs were then created in the digitizing program and send to the customer for approval.

Once approved the designs were placed into separate files and the materials and thread gathered.  The embroidery machine was set up appropriately.  The first bag was the 10" bag.  Then the 6" bag.  The cording, trim, and elastic closure were all sewn with the embroidery machine.  Once out of the embroidery machine, the stabilizer and excess fabric were removed.  Voila'!  The only thing remaining to do was to sew the button onto the larger bag.  I sewed it by hand.

The bags turned out beautifully and seriously dripping in gold.

The customer absolutely loved them both.

Cajun Corner – Vol. 6, No. 19 – August 2, 2014

 

 

 

Cajun Corner – Vol. 6, No. 19 – August 2, 2014

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

 

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit us at www.cajunstitchery.com, www.flickr.com/photos/cajunstitchery, and, www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.   We are also on Twitter and Facebook. 

Visit our on-line catalogs at:

http://www.my-catalogs.com/cajunstitchery

and www.companycasuals.com/cajunstitchery.

Does size really matter?  Sometimes in embroidery it does matter.  With that said, I want to inform you it is my understanding Cajun Stitchery now owns the biggest hoop in the embroidery industry.  It is not so much the size of the outside of the hoop as it is the footprint of the hoop and machine.  Any machine has its limits.  On embroidery machines you can go just so far side-to-side and up and down.  That is known as the X and Y axis.  Flashback to algebra, huh?  Our new hoop has a stitching footprint of 16” wide and 14.75” tall.  That is very big.  Of course, if you turn the design sideways it can be 14.75 x 16.  Just to test the new hoop, I enlarged a fleur de lis to these dimension and stitched it out.  Of course, I don’t have any designs that large now but we can now make them that large.  You aren’t going to buy designs that size, either, unless they are custom designed.  That’s not to say that other machines and other hoops cannot complete a design that size.  They can but not in one hooping.

It is now August.  George and I will be celebrating our 44^th wedding anniversary on August 14^th.  George did a little research and found that the traditional wedding gift for a 44^th anniversary is groceries.  Yep, you read that right.  George said he’s going grocery shopping for our anniversary.  I’m still thinking about what to give him.  He’s not a big fan of sweets.  Maybe I’ll just take him out to dinner but that is just so blasé.  Any ideas?

We have added a new category to our Etsy store for Wedding Miscellaneous.  There are little and big corset bags, Just Married luggage tags, Mr. and Mrs. Luggage tags, and a few other items.  Hopefully, more items will be included as time goes by. 

The new category is because so many people want to purchase unique gifts for wedding and baby showers, as well as birthdays but unique items are either too expensive or not special enough.  I’m going to try to do some items to help out.  I know there are years when it is one wedding after another; then there are years with a multitude of baby showers (usually the year after the weddings).  The pocketbook tends to start shrinking after a few of these showers.  Practically speaking, I would think you can never go wrong with diapers for baby showers, but so many of the young people these days are going with the holistic and environmental thing and you don’t know what kind of diapers to get.  Monograms are always in vogue and appreciated.  They aren’t very expensive, either.  If I can hoop it; I can monogram it.  Yes, even diapers.  And, I have monogrammed disposable diapers.

A friend of mine suggested that I include the following, from a conversation we were having, in this week’s Cajun Corner:

Texture question:  Yes, different textures are digitized differently, not to mention there are different techniques in embroidering different textures.  For example:  if we are embroidering on light linen or cotton, like a sheet, heavy embroidery would be too much and look funky.  You want something light on a light fabric.  Heavy embroidery could tear a light fabric.  However, if you are working on a heavier fabric like the primitive linen, you would want a heavier design so that the embroidery would not look washed away.  Heavier fabric requires an underlay most of the time. 

 

Remember the pillowcases that I made?  Remember the embroidery on the edge compared to the embroidery as you had me change it.  It was the same design but adding the underlay made the embroidery stands out, have texture, and look more elegant.

 

If you are using toweling, velvet, corduroy, anything with a pile, you need to digitize to help the design stand above the pile and/or keep the pile down.  A lot of that is also in the embroidery technique used.

 

Leather, plastics, netting and card stock need the embroidery with longer spaces between the stitches so the fabric is not ripped.

 

So, in a lot of respects the fabric determines how a design is digitized.

 

Price-wise, more stitches = more cost.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK

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. 

No time to read Cajun Corner?  Visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com and click the Odiogo button to hear the computer read the blog.

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.

Cajun Corner – Vol. 6, No. 17 – June 29, 2014

 

Cajun Corner – Vol. 6, No. 17 – June 29, 2014

 

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

 

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit us at www.cajunstitchery.com, www.flickr.com/photos/cajunstitchery, 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.

When I see any one of you, our e-newsletter subscribers, I’m usually taken aback that you know what is going on in my life and the life of Cajun Stitchery until I realize that you must be reading this e-newsletter.  This helps to keep you informed.  Our subscribers are friends, relatives, or customers.  I love hearing from you, too. Let me know what is happening in your life, business, or even if you just want to drop a line to say, “Hello.”

The garden is bountiful this year and George has worked very hard on the garden and yard; although, the weeds seem to have a hold on the yards.  Weeds are a constant battle when we are trying to get beautiful green grass.  Just as one man’s junk is another’s treasure; one man’s weeds are another’s prized store bought plants.  A friend of mine who lived in Iowa told me that asparagus grows wild in Iowa.  In Florida asparagus plants are prized.  A friend of mine from Central Florida told me once that dollar weed can be used in salads.  I would love to send her our entire dollar weed collection but the more you pull, the more it comes back.  I like to watch the P. Allen Smith gardening show on PBS.  Earlier this spring he was talking about his beautiful lantana blooming.  We struggle to control the lantana in our yard from spreading everywhere.  All of this is to say that as we struggle to control weeds in our yard, George and I will sit back in the evenings with a glass of wine and decide where these plants would be treasured.

Speaking of our garden, we have a couple of blueberry bushes.  Each year we watch as the fruit appears.  We keep an eye out as the fruit begins to ripen.  Then one day we will go out to look and all of the ripened fruit is gone.  Obviously, birds and squirrels have the same idea.  There is apparently a special variety of blueberry that grows here.  We tried planting blueberries for years to no avail until one of my friends, a master gardener, gave us the blueberry bushes that we have now.  Our newest theory is that we need to plant more blueberry bushes in a place closer to where we can see them everyday, rather than on the other side of the yard. 

On the embroidery scene, lately I have made several of our little corset bags.  Years ago when I was pretty new to embroidery and soaking up information from the embroidery sites on the internet, I ran across a site from, I believe, South Africa called The Purple Hat.  This lady had some of the cutest embroidery designs and a lot of in-the-hoop designs.  The corset bag was one of them.  I bought it.  I’ve made these little bags every once in awhile since.  There are about 5 or so pieces to the bag and it takes about an hour to make one. The problem that I have with the little corset bag is that the 5x7 size is almost large enough, but not quite, to hold my android.  The android won’t go past the waist.  So, I made a larger version, 7x10.  The 7x10 version is large enough for my android, plus a few small items.  They are really cute and have a carrying strap/ribbon.  They can also be monogrammed.  The only drawback is the closure. It is open at the top with no closure.  However, the bag is fully lined.  These bags are now listed in our Etsy shop.  Lots of people have stopped by to look at them but no buyers yet.

We did have a customer last night who purchased a black, military style cap with gold fleur de lis embroidered on it.  Frankly, I’m surprised the fleur de lis caps and visors haven’t sold better.  Where are all of my Saints fans?  It is summer and football season is right around the corner.

Another ongoing project is creating a tweed fill design.  This project is still in the works but it certainly seems that a tweed fill design can be done.

I’m always looking for new monograms to create, especially antique/vintage types.  Pinterest has been a great help in this area.  The problem with creating monograms is that I am not a designer.  I can usually take a picture and digitize it into embroidery, but with monograms you usually have one or a few letters of a particular style but not the entire alphabet.  Designing the missing letters is a real challenge.

This week I received a call from an old friend of mine who worked with me in Pensacola during my paralegal days.  It is always such a pleasant surprise to hear from old friends.  She has an upcoming baby shower to attend and wanted to know if I could monogram baby blankets.  Yes, I can.

HAVE A HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

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. 

No time to read Cajun Corner?  Visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com and click the Odiogo button to hear the computer read the blog.

To deter spiders from staying or coming inside your house:

Add 20 or 30 drops of peppermint oil to an 8 ounce spray bottle first then fill the spray bottle with water (leave an inch of head space from the top)
Shake for at least 30 seconds before every session you use the spray bottle.

Spray around : The inside of window sills ( all the way around )

Around door frames ( all the way around )

Under the kitchen and bathroom sinks
In the 4 corners in a room on the ceiling

You can also place a few drops of the peppermint oil on cotton balls and place in closets, kitchen cabinets, behind couches…. any out of the way place to keep spiders from returning.

Repeat the process once a week

You can plant it near doors and windows.

Thought this was cute:

Want to freak out your neighbors?  Name your Wifi “FBI Surveillance Van 7”.

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.

Boogers, Boogers, Boogers

 A young friend of mine showed me a tissue holder posted on the internet that a lady was making as stocking stuffers for Christmas.  The tissue holder had written on it:  You have a booger.  My friend said if I made those she would buy one.  Well, you know how I feel about our disposable world.  Instead, I made cloth handkerchiefs.  Very dainty lavender hankies.  Two say: You have a booger.  One embroidered in hot pink thread and one in lime green.  Another said:  Placer boogers ici.  That's french for "put boogers here."  And a fourth said:  Got boogers?  They are all hysterically funny.  I took pictures but the french version and the Got boogers pictures didn't turn out very well.  I did list the other two in the Etsy store and one even got a heart.  They are so cute.  I keep telling everyone that they would be perfect for those occasions when you see someone with a booger on their nose and you don't know whether to say something or not.  You could just hand over the hanky.

I've been working on a tea towel order with a beautiful mylar embroidered mermaid.  Embroidering with mylar is very easy.  The problem is that it is so messy.  The mylar has unbelieveable static cling and I find little pieces everywhere.  It is beautiful.

A few years back I purchased an ITH (in the hoop) design for a corset pouch.  A cell phone will fit in it; reading glasses will fit in it.  It's fun to make and very versatile.  The problem is that it doesn't have a closing at the top.  You know my issue about cell phone holders that don't close and allow the cell phone to fall out.  This pouch would be very handy hung around your mirror in the car to hold sun glasses or what not.  I may end up sewing Velcro on it.  Nevertheless, I'm thinking about making some of these cute pouches for whatever can be done with them.

And I ended up making another baby blanket for my friend who is a new grandmother.  This one is for the baby shower next weekend.

Remember:  Cajun Stitchery can make all of your embroidery dreams come true; your other dreams are up to you:>)

C'est tout, mes amis.