Cajun Corner – Vol. 7, No. 5 – April 13, 2015

Cajun Corner – Vol. 7, No. 5 – April 13, 2015

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.

Ever since I was a young girl in Girl Scouts I've been interested, perhaps concerned is a better word, about the environment.  With that in mind, Earth Day is April 22nd.  One of my cousins posted a very moving video on FaceBook about how everyone should plant a tree on Earth Day.  We are looking into getting a fig tree to plant and join the movement.

That video got me thinking about the environment and wondering if I'm doing all I can to help.  There really are so many things individuals can do or not do to help the environment.  We have a garden and a compost pile.  I'm still driving my little 1995 Geo Metro. Insofar as Cajun Stitchery is concerned, I try to purchase 100% cotton, made in the USA fabric.  Sometimes I can and sometimes I cannot but I sure do work hard searching and trying.  

It dawned on me that rather than throwing away scraps of fabric, which is nearly impossible for me to do anyway, I should make stuff with it.  I do that anyway.  That's nothing new.  As I pondered this, I decided to make stuff from our old clothes, specifically our jeans.  At first I was making some cute dog bones that I saw on the internet.  The dogs love them and they are made out of jeans.  The shape is not perfect yet.  One actually looks more like a wrench than a bone.

Now I'm making plastic bag holder/dispensers. Years ago I made a plastic bag holder/dispenser for our home out of the leg of a pair of jeans.  It really has stood up to time, even when my husband pulls and tugs at it.  It is behind the washer hanging on a hook and you really have to reach for it.  In addition, you simply wash it like you would, well, jeans.

For Easter, I made these adorable fabric carrots from scraps of fabric and stuffed them with small pieces of scrap fabric.

There is a new category in our Etsy Store called "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle."  The intent is to sell items reusing/recycling scrap fabric, clothes and whatever else seems applicable.  Your positive comments are always welcome.

If you don't already know and would like to know how to make the plastic bag holder, here are the instructions:

I've found about 13" tall is a good size for us.  Cut off a leg from a pair of jeans.  Give yourself a good 15" or so because of the hems.  Cut off the bottom hem on the jeans.  It's just too bulky.  Sometimes, if the legs flair, I'll simply make them straight by cutting the sides straight (finish the raw edges and seams each side).

Serge or otherwise finish the raw edges at the top and bottom.   If the jean legs flair, simply make them straight by cutting the sides straight (finish the raw edges and seams each side).

If you are going to monogram or embroider anything, now is the time.  Just make sure the embroidery is centered the way you want.  

Turn the finished edges at top and bottom inside about an inch.  Sew the hems leaving enough room to thread elastic through.  Also, leave an opening to insert the elastic.  

Next, insert the elastic.  I thread the thin elastic through, tie it off, and then cut the elastic.  Usually the bottom is pretty tight to allow only one plastic bag out at a time.  The top needs to be tight but loose enough to stuff the plastic bags into it.

The final step is that I cut about a foot or two of that heavy felled seam that runs the side of the jeans.  Just cut it and make a long strip.  Double it up and tack it onto the side of the bag, or wherever you want the strap.

Voila - Finished

If you don't understand any of these instructions, please do not hesitate to contact/comment and I'll be glad to try to help you out.

Peggy Henshall, Owner

Cajun Stitchery

Cajun Corner, Vol. 3, No. 33

Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 33 – August 19, 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.   We are also on Twitter and Facebook.

When Nancy and I were pre-teens and teenagers Mama made two great big bags for our Christmas presents.  She probably used about two yards of fabric for each one.  One was green and one was red.  She got some iron on letters and ironed “Nancy” on one and “Peggy” on the other.  She closed the big bags with cording that slipped through an opening at the top of the bags and she attached bells to the cording.  They were very cute and very practical.

We always opened our Christmas presents after midnight mass.  Nancy would open her bag and I would open mine.  After the presents were opened, we would have breakfast and then everyone would go to bed.

Mama was very practical but very creative.  I made a bag like this for George a few years back.  Of course, I embroidered his name and a cute elf on it.  Not only are these bags practical but also environmentally friendly Not even Mama realized that she was a conservationist.  They are environmentally friendly because the presents were not wrapped.  Newspaper was wadded up inside to hide the shapes of the presents but, as Mama used to say, “Santa doesn’t wrap presents.”  If anyone ever wants one of these bags, let me know.

The topic is Christmas and I’m talking about Christmas because I’m preparing for the 4^th Annual Pensacola Beach Arts & Wine Festival.  I began making Christmas stockings.  We’ll let’s back up.  I began considering making Christmas stockings.  I have a red fuzzy Christmas stocking that I purchased sometime ago at the store and used that as my standard.  I digitized a stocking with a curly elf toe.  Then I stitched it out.  It was much smaller than the store bought and although it would make a cute little stocking; it wasn’t what I had in mind.  See the photographs attached.  The first one had the ornaments.  I could get my hand in but it could be a tight fit if someone had large hands.  I then widened it.  See the photo with the snowflakes and the little Eskimo.  That worked well but I wanted it longer.  Then I increased the length and widened the top a bit.   So far my final is the one with the candles.  It’s not quite as big as the standard stocking but it is a nice size.  Then I did the one with the elf and the candy canes.  I fell in love with that one.  These stocking are not finished because I need to put a cuff on the top and I’m working on that. 

Since I was digitizing, stitching and thinking about stockings, I realized that over the years stockings have become larger and larger.  I’ve seen stockings that hang from a mantle and go all the way to the floor.  What is the point of that other than novelty?  When I was growing up, we did not have a fireplace or mantle.  I don’t recall actually having a stocking; we had the bags.  We did have stockings for our boys when they were growing up and would put little things in the stockings, such as little toys or lotto tickets or candy and treats or little novelty type stuff.  I don’t think the stockings were intended to encapsulate all of the presents.  Maybe historically they were, but not since the tradition of putting the presents under the tree.  I must admit, though, that Christmas stockings in general are pretty.  My ultimate decision was that it probably doesn’t matter how large the stocking is anymore.  So, I’m sticking with the final size that I created.

Last weekend George and I celebrated our 41^st wedding anniversary.  Our plan was to have lunch in Perdido with George’s sister, Kathie, on Saturday noon.  Come home and then go to Pensacola Beach to celebrate our friend, Amy’s, birthday.  It rained while we were having lunch in Perdido and followed us home.  We decided that we really didn’t feel like driving in the rain to Pensacola Beach.  So, we stayed home.  On Sunday, we planned to take the Pensacola Historical Trolley.  The owner is one of my friends on Facebook.  I messaged him on Facebook to ask if they were going to be having the tour.  No answer.  I went to his website that said that they have the tour 7 days at week at 11:00 a. m.  It did suggest that you make reservations.  I called on the phone and got a voice mail.  So, we went to the Visitor’s Center and looked around while we were waiting for the trolley.  11:00 came and went and no trolley.  We waited until 11:30 or so and left.  We decided to just drive around and take in the sights and actually ended up in Gulf Shores.  Then my phone rang.  It was the guy at the trolley company.  They had a group that reserved the trolley for a special tour that morning.  At least he did call back.  So, it appeared that most of our plans did not come to fruition but we enjoyed each other’s company.

I messaged a friend of mine on Facebook who is into scrapbooking and asked her about the tiny appliqués.  She told me that scrap bookers love that kind of stuff.  So, I’m going to have a basket or bowl or something at the festival with a bunch of tiny appliqués.  We’ll see how they sell.

There are so many ideas going through my head about the festival and things I want to make and ways I want to decorate the tent.  At one point I was worried that I would not have enough stuff.  That was only a fleeting thought because I am bulging at the seams with stuff.  If anyone has any old fishing nets, I’ll be glad to take them off of your hands.  I think I want to have a theme to our tent this year.

A couple of friends made an appointment with me for today.  We spent almost 3 hours taking orders and letting them look at Cajun Stitchery’s wares.  It was so much fun.  I’m always open for this.  Just make an appointment and I’ll set aside some time and pull out all of our stuff and just give a grand display.  Of course, I’ll serve coffee, water, wine, or whatever you like.  We can even look at designs on the computer.  Enjoy it all while sitting at my kitchen table.

We still have our shipment of XL Fruit of the Loom, Adult, short sleeve, tee shirts in a variety of colors.  I chose XL because that tends to be the size most often ordered.  Of course, I can get you whatever size you like.  The colors that we have are:  athletic heather, black, forest green, Kelly, khaki, J. Navy, pacific blue, royal blue, true red, and white.  Tee shirts make great gifts and everyone can use them.  So, if you are planning for Christmas, think about giving a tee shirt with a name or monogram embroidered.  Of course, we can embroider anything you like.  Just remember the old saying that the sweetest sound is your own name.  Give a tee to someone with their nickname or special term of endearment embroidered on it.  So what, if you don’t have the entire logo digitized; get a tee with the name of your company anyway.  (If there are enough responses for other sizes, I might get that size next time.)

SALE:  In stock XL Fruit of the Loom, Adult, short sleeve, tee shirts with a name or monogram for $10.00 plus shipping/sales tax.  Sale is good until we run out of stock.  See above paragraph for available colors.

I should be ordering towels in the next month or two.  If anyone needs towels, let me know.

Don’t forget the upcoming Mystic Krewe of Nereid’s annual Splash Party.  The Splash Party will be held on Sunday, August 28^th, beginning at 2:00 p.m., at Paradise Bar & Grill on Pensacola Beach.  Mark your calendars.  It’s going to be a real S-P-L-A-S-H.

Speaking of the Splash party tonight is our krewe’s monthly meeting.  My friend from Alabama is going to drop by and pick me up and we are going to spend the night on the beach.  Our meeting will be a working meeting and we will be preparing everything for the Splash Extravaganza.  Don’t miss this event.  It is family oriented, so bring the kids.   Dress up like mermaids and bring your water blasters.

As planned, this past Tuesday I was on local radio station, 1620.  I had prepared a cheat sheet, just in case I became so flustered that I couldn’t think of what I was to say.  The whole thing lasted about 30 seconds.  The cheat sheet should always be with me.  That was one handy little thing to have.

CHRISTMAS is around the corner.  Unbelievable, I know.  Get that Christmas shopping done now and enjoy the holidays.

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. 

Cajun French Phrase of the Week:

Cracher en l'air ca va tomber sur le nez= if you do evil it will come back to hit you in the face or what goes around comes around

Taken from:  http://www.acadian-roots.com/cajun-names.html

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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.

Cajun Corner Vol. 2, No. 17

Cajun Corner – Vol. 2, No. 17 – may 1, 2010

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

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit http://www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com/ often.

April 22nd was Earth Day. A week later we are worried about a huge oil spill that threatens our environment, our livelihood, and our way of life. By the way, sea turtle hatching on Pensacola Beach begins today. The good news is that Pensacola is preparing for it now. They are gathering names and contact information for volunteers. If you want to do something now, then clean up the beaches. It’s easier to remove the oil from the beaches if they are clean. So, get out there and pick up any debris that isn’t sand and get it off the beaches. Think of it like sifting a huge kitty litter box.

We did get the screws for the cap sash in this week but we’ve been so busy this week that we haven’t had time to work on that. We will get to it.

Last Sunday evening I decided to check the Etsy site before going to bed. It’s a good thing because we sold 2 handkerchiefs. It was so exciting. Someone in Michigan wanted to purchase something I made. Wow! First thing Monday morning that package was in the mail.

We did a lot of designing this week for various jobs. Who would have thought that frogs would be so popular? Apparently, they are. Right now I’m trying to work on a design for t-shirts about the impending oil slick. I posted on Facebook asking people to let me know their ideas about this design. One lady suggested a broken heart with tears. Another suggested words: “Big sleasy greasy bussiness sucks...now the leak is out !!!” I’d like to see something a bit more positive. If you have ideas, please send them to me.

By contrast, the garden is simply lush. We eat fresh salads almost every evening. In fact, we have so much lettuce that I’ve been taking salads to events where I would usually just bring a bag of chips. We have tiny green tomatoes on our plants. The onions are ready to harvest. I can’t wait until the lilies bloom. Those plants are full of buds.

We post periodically throughout the week. Become a “friend” on the blog and never miss a post.

Always remember that we are just a call or email away at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com or 850-261-2462 and place your order.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

A very drunk patron at a bar is trying to impress everyone with his fighting ability. "I am trained in every hand-to-hand combat there is," he says. To further prove his point, he walks up to Boudreaux, who happened to be in the bar, and whops him behind the neck! "Karate chop from China," he says. Poor Boudreaux gets up off the floor and sits back in his seat, saying nothing. The big man hits him again. "Judo from Japan." L'il ol' Boudreaux once again picks himself up off the floor and continues sipping his beer. The man grabs him putting Boudreaux in a state of suspended animation. "That's a nerve pinch from Korea." After a few minutes, Boudreaux is able to move again. Instead of getting back on his bar stool he walks out. Ten minutes later he walks in with a large board in his hands and hits the drunk square in the head with the board, laying him flat out on the floor. Looking down at his tormenter, Boudreaux says, "Two-by-four from Home Depot."

ΘΘΘΘΘ

French phrase of the week: Si c'est pas les maringouins, c'est les chaboulures. (There'salways something wrong. If it's not one thing, it's another.)

ΘΘΘΘΘ

From: http://www.oilgoneeasy.com/oil_spill_blog/index.php/oil-spill-cleanup-2

Any major oil spill causes great environmental damage. The oil spill that took place on the San Francisco Bay in 2007 resulted in spillage of 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel from the container ship Cosco Busan.

But what makes the San Francisco Oil Spill unusual, is the oil spill cleanup technique that was adopted. A group of volunteers cleaned San Francisco’s beaches using unconventional products, namely human hair and mushrooms.Though unconventional, it is an organic and eco-friendly way of cleaning up oil spills.

Hair is a natural absorbent that soaks oil very well. In the San Francisco Oil Spill, masses of matted hair the size of a doormat were used to soak up oil. (These mats are woven from human hair donated by salons.) After the visible effect in the San Francisco oil spill, others have also started using these for cleaning up oil spills

You must be wondering where mushrooms come into the picture in this whole process. Oyster mushrooms have the power to convert toxic oil to compost. In the San Francisco oil spill, once the hair mats had soaked up the oil, oyster mushrooms were layered between these mats. In about 12 weeks, these mushrooms not only absorbed but turned these oil-soaked mats into non-toxic compost.

The success of using hair and mushrooms in the San Francisco oil spill cleanup calls for more such innovative, cost-effective, and eco-friendly techniques of cleaning oil spills. One such eco-friendly technique that has proved to be effective in oil spill cleanup is bioremediation technology.

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, May 6, 2010)

BULK SALE: 10 tank tops for $10 each. Does not include embroidery.

Fruit of the Loom - #2930Heavy Cotton™ Tank TopColors: Ash, athletic heather, Columbia blue, j. navy, orange, royal blue, true red, white.

5.6 oz. 100% cotton (ash is 98% cotton/2% polyester, athletic heather is 90% cotton/10% polyester). Double-needle cover stitching on self-jersey trim on neck & armholes. Double-needle bottom hem.

See attached photograph.