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. 4, No. 49

 

Cajun Corner – Vol. 4, No. 49 – December 23, 2012

 

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.

The other night the dogs began barking.  They were barking the distinctive bark that means, “Someone is here.”  George was outside, so I let him deal with whatever it was.  I went outside at the tail end.  Two little girls from down the street had stopped by to give us a bag of lemons from their tree, and wish us a Merry Christmas.  Their daddy was letting them do this alone but was just a few yards behind them in the driveway.  I must say that it would take a lot to out do the sweetness from that little bag of lemons in the brown paper bag that says “Merry Christmas” written with crayons from a child’s hand.

Another neighbor dropped by this week delivering Christmas goodies and a card.  We are so blessed to have such good neighbors.

Last Wednesday night was our Wednesday night girls Christmas party.  I would love to share some of the pictures from that night but don’t really want to humiliate my friends.  Needless to day, we had a wonderful time.

Cajun Stitchery made it.  We got all of our Christmas orders done and delivered.  Cajun Stitchery is closed until after Christmas.

I’m still playing with the snap and grommet presses.  My red hoodie that I’ve had longer than I really should, has a broken zipper.  George gave me the idea to replace the zipper with snaps.  I simply cut the zipper off, rather than ripping seams and re-sewing.  The snaps were then placed appropriately.  The very top snap is on backwards, but the rest are perfect and functional. 

I made another little in-the-hoop purse that I plan to list on Etsy.  The black webbing strap is embroidered with a tiny floral motif.  The only thing that I don’t like is the grommets are both next to the side seams toward the front of the purse.  The seam was too thick for the grommets to connect.  Otherwise, the purse is adorable.  It is also fully lined. 

We have received some sad news this week.  George’s mama has pneumonia.  We are praying for her health.

***MERRY CHRISTMAS***

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.

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Found the following at http://www.christmasfacts.net/funny-christmas-facts

Funny Christmas Facts

Christmas is a great period mostly because of the revelry, the feasts, good company and best of all the time off from work. There are many things that most people will know about Christmas; these are the more conventional Christmas associations including Santa, the Nativity story, the star of Bethlehem et al. However, there are other things that only those who go in search of the bizarre may know off hand. With this in mind, here is a list of funny, yet interesting Christmas facts.

• Pig head, it's what's for dinner. The traditional Christmas dinner in England used to be a pig head prepared with a mustard sauce. Most English folk are possibly quite delighted that this isn't the case anymore.

 

• Witches and Evil spirits are the greatest broom thieves. The Norwegians once believed that witches and devious spirits were likely to steal their brooms on Christmas Eve. Who knows maybe a mischievous prankster stole a few brooms during that period and the legend stuck.

 

• “Bah Christmas”. Perhaps not the best line created by Dickens, mainly because “Bah Humbug” just has that extra something special about it. Most people would probably agree that Dickens' decision to work on the famous catchphrase was a good move indeed.

 

• There is a special act in Britain that actually makes it mandatory to go to church on Christmas day. The act that is deemed the Holy Days and Fasting Act still exists, however, not so much enforced. Additionally no vehicle of any kind is to be used to get to the Christmas service.

 

• Forego throwing out your Christmas tree and make it lunch. The Evergreen is actually edible, well most parts of it anyway. In addition, it is nutrient enriched, so if you take the advice stated previously you'd be getting a good source of Vitamin C and roughage. Don't mind that you will be eating a tree; it's just one step away from any other vegetable.

 

• Bake your bread on Christmas Eve and it will remain fresh forever. If only. There is an old wives' tale that actually suggests that bread baked on Christmas Eve is mould resistant. While it cannot be known now how many people believed this, it's pretty obvious that any believers would be converted after the appearance of mould on their bread beyond 5 days or so.

 

• Kris Kringle really lives in the North Pole. But guess what he foregoes the reindeer and drives a 1984 Ford Tempo, additionally; he delivers Pizza instead of working in a magical toy shop.

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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. 4, No. 43

 

Cajun Corner – Vol. 4, No. 43 – November 11, 2012

 

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.

George and I were sitting in the living room late Saturday afternoon, watching a little television, when the door bell rang.  There were two little girls who looked to be between the ages of 8 and 11 asking if we had any left over candy.  They said they were “re-trick or treating.  They were turned away – George ate all of the candy.   And what’s this re-trick or treating?

Saturday afternoon I traveled to Navarre for my friend’s garage sale.  It was really a fund raiser for her sister-in-law who has been diagnosed with cancer.  I ended up with many items.  A young girl, perhaps 8 or 9, was having a bake sale for the fund raiser.  I inquired about the price of her cupcakes.  She said, “50 cents.”  I asked her how many she had.  She said, “all those in the carrier.”  I asked her how many were in her carrier.  She said, “I don’t know.  You’re not going to buy all of them.”  I told her that I was thinking about buying all of them.  She said, “There are 12 cupcakes in each carrier, but you can’t buy the chocolate ones.  I want those.”  I bought George 12 carrot cake cupcakes because I couldn’t buy the chocolate ones. Hahahaha!

This week I noticed my niece selling her soaps on Facebook.  She wasn’t just advertising but selling, as well.  She has a Facebook store.  Once I looked into it, there is a new feature on Facebook where you can connect to your Etsy store and sell those items directly on Facebook.  You know I did this.  So, now if you want to purchase items, you have a choice of purchasing at Facebook or Etsy. 

As I continue to practice my digitizing skills, this week I digitized a complete, A to Z, monogram alphabet.  It is pretty boxy, but it is my first attempt at digitizing monogram sets.  Nevertheless, it looks pretty cool.  George named it “Classy Cajun”.

Last Wednesday the girls gave me a birthday party.  The bling that came out of those packages was simply blinding but delightful.  I felt like a princess with all of the shiny presents.  It was a wonderful evening.

Friday we were scheduled to attend a neighbor’s retirement ceremony.  He retired from the Air Force.  I’ve never been to a military retirement ceremony and really looked forward to this event.  George and I got ourselves all pretty.  Another friend was picking us up.  We got to the entrance of NAS and the military lady that checked us in said, “Go straight down this road until you reach the T.  It is next to the Officers Club, I think.”  The “I think,” concerned us.  We went down the road until we came to a dead end with an intersecting road.  We didn’t see any signs for “Officer’s Club”, so we turned right.  We traveled for awhile and didn’t see any gathering of cars or people.  We turned around and drove that way until we reached an “Authorized Personnel Only” sign.  We passed a whole group of guys jogging in orange shirts.  We stopped a red truck containing another military fellow, but he didn’t know where the pavilion was located.  Then we went the other way, again.  By this time, the ceremony should have been nearly over. We never found the ceremony, so, we left.  After talking with our neighbor later, we apparently were right there and didn’t see it.  In fact, the young fellows jogging were right in front of the pavilion.

A lady contacted me via our blog page to inquire about the lap scarves that I made awhile back.  She wants me to make two of them.  This is the third time I’ve been contacted about making lap scarves.  I ought to make some and put them back on Etsy.

It is now evident that Mardi Gras is not too far away.  The first krewe order of the season arrived last week for a Bananimals logo on a white tux jacket.  Clothilde did a beautiful job on the jacket. 

This week our Amaya technician and friend plans to visit.  We are going to take her out to eat.  Every times she visits, we just stay at the house drinking wine and playing with the embroidery machine.  Although there is nothing wrong with that agenda, this time we want to take her someplace.  I think we’ll dine on the beach if the weather permits.  Then she and I can play with the embroidery machine.  In the meantime, I do need to clean up that messy room, the studio, because that is where she sleeps when she visits.

Thanksgiving is coming.  Can you believe it is just a week and a half away? 

Have a wonderful 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.

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Taken from http://www.themakeyourownzone.com/2011/02/homemade-furniture-dusting-spray.html

HOMEMADE FURNITURE DUSTING SPRAY

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon lemon essential oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1-3/4 cups water
Spray bottle (16 oz size or larger)

Mix the ingredients in the order listed into your clean spray bottle. Shake well to mix. Spray onto wooden furniture and wipe off with a soft cloth to dust and clean the surface.

You may be wondering if the oil and water actually mix. The olive oil does want to rise to the top. I found it helpful to shake the spray bottle often while I was cleaning which was no big deal. A light olive oil might be even better in this recipe.

It’s Important to Label

Be sure to label any homemade cleaners that you make because otherwise they just look like some kind of watery mixture. Don’t rely on your memory. You need to make it clear to yourself and others what’s in the bottle. You can make your label with your computer printer, or with a label making machine, or just use a Sharpie marker. It’s also helpful to list the recipe right on the label and then you’ve made it super easy the next time you need to mix up a batch. I would also recommend you buy a new spray bottle rather than recycling one from a purchased cleaner so that you don’t have to worry about any residual chemicals getting into the mix.

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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. 4, No. 40

 

Cajun Corner – Vol. 4, No. 40 – October 20, 2012

 

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.

About six months ago one of my cousins moved to Pensacola.  We have been trying to get together ever since she moved here.  It is always one thing or another preventing us from meeting face-to-face.  Finally, this week we met.  Her daughter, my 3^rd cousin, is going to be a flower girl in a wedding today and her dress needed to be altered.  They came over on Wednesday and we finally got to meet each other.  I must say that I was captivated by five year old Claire who was inquisitive and into everything and could charm the socks off of you, as she did me.  They returned on Friday to pick up Claire’s now altered dress and she proceeded to charm George. 

Claire was quite taken with the mermaids at the house and I told her that once a year, on Mardi Gras, I turn into a mermaid.  She is no dummy and questioned the possibility:  “So, do you have powers?” she inquired.  “Yes, I do,” was my answer.  “Show me,” she said.  Her mother piped in and told her that when you have powers you only use them when necessary and you never abuse your powers.  I explained that I only have powers once a year on Mardi Gras.  She walked around and played, then came back and asked why I had so many mermaids hanging on my walls.  Her mother came back with an absolutely fabulous explanation by saying, “You know how we have pictures of our family at our house?  These mermaids are her family.”  That seemed to satisfy little Claire who is now waiting for Mardi Gras so she can see my powers.

Cajun Stitchery made some new purchases lately.  The first one is called Peggy’s Eraser.  It is almost identical to an electric razor but used to remove embroidery stitches.  We had purchased a regular electric razor but decided that it doesn’t remove stitches as well as one made for that function.  Besides, Peggy should have one named Peggy’s Eraser.  It just seems right.  Peggy’s Eraser has not arrived yet but should in the next week or two.

The other recent purchase that we are waiting to receive in the mail is a 6”x12” hoop for Clothilde.  Boudreaux has all shapes and sizes of hoops but poor Clothilde has some very large hoops and only two sizes of smaller ones.  A few months back we purchased fast frames for Clothilde.  Now we can embroider those market baskets, totes and various object that are hard to hoop.  The new hoop is adjustable.  It can be 6x12 or 12x6.  There are several reasons that this is a good idea.  One is that used as a 6x12 hoop, we can hoop pant legs and sleeves.  That opens up some really cool embroidery ideas and possibilities.  As a 12x6 hoop, it gives more stability to smaller designs and monograms.

We had our first fire of the season in our chiminea this week and are planning more as the weather permits.  In fact, tonight might be perfect.

Another recent purchase was a solar smart phone charger.  You know I love alternative energy things.  It arrived and not only charges the smart phone but also can be used as a LED light.  That is pretty cool to have in my purse when I’m out at night.  I haven’t tried charging the phone with it yet.  They say that it does take some time to charge via the solar charger but I’m pretty impressed with it.  I know they have solar chargers for laptops.  Maybe I’ll save up my pennies and buy one of those next.

Last night was our krewe’s monthly meeting.  Our meetings are held at a different krewe member’s home each month.  This month the décor was Halloween and the house was decorated quite cute.  It turns out that our hostess is another Pinterest addict.  She turned so many of those cute ideas on Pinterest into reality. 

Speaking of Pinterest, I found an item on Pinterest that said to take a bottle of vinegar, poke holes in the top, and put it in the toilet tank.  The vinegar is a non-toxic way of cleaning the toilet bowl and with the extra mass in the tank, you save on water.  We tried it.  It took a few days for the ring around the bowl to start fading but it does seem to be keeping the bowl clean. 

Don’t forget to get your Christmas shopping done early.

Have a wonderful 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.

SURVEY:

What type of item category would you like to see most at Cajun Stitchery?

a.                   apparel

b.                  home décor

c.                   beach

d.                  gift ideas

e.                   trending

f.                   other (please explain)

What type of designs would you like to see most at Cajun Stitchery?

a.                   Cartoon

b.                  Children

c.                   holiday

d.                  heirloom

e.                   sayings

f.                   monograms

g.                  other (please explain)

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.