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 - March 16, 2016

One of the most difficult techniques for me to learn in machine embroidery was to embroider with metallic thread.  There have been some very frustrating moments where I had to just walk away from it.  Over the years, thank goodness, I have learned.  The trick is to loosen your upper tension, slow the machine down, and put your thread on a stand or in a cup on the other side of the room.  Yes, you will still get some thread breaks but much less.

All of that said, I have fallen in love with gold work,silver work, and the look of a shimmering metallic design.  In fact, yesterday I made two black shams with gold metallic dragons.  Here are some pictures:

Remember when making shams, make them one or two inches smaller than the pillow insert in order for the insert to fill the sham to capacity for a better look and fit.

Have a great day.

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.

Cajun Corner – Vol. 6, No. 2 – January12, 2014

 

Cajun Corner – Vol. 6, No. 2 – January12, 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.

Yesterday was our Krewe’s King Kake Party and it was fabulous.  Laissez les bon temps rouler!  And it starts.

Last week when I could get some free time Boudreaux was busy embroidering Mardi gras masks and everything purple, green and gold.  We have turtle masks done.  Now I’m working on the butterfly masks.  I still need to get the mermaids and fleur de lis masks made.  There are so many more ideas in my head.

I took several pictures of how to put the new mask onto a pair of glasses.  The photos were posted on FaceBook and a few other places on the internet but I’m still trying to figure out how to post in our Etsy Store.  I will figure it out and see if we can get some mask sales.

The new pouch that I made to replace my older denim pouch that I use to carry my cell phone and items has worked out beautifully.  I carry it with me everywhere in place of a bulky purse.  Of course, if I have a lot of stuff to haul, I put the pouch in my big purse.  There are just a few items that I need to have on me at all times and they all fit in the 4.5” x 6.5” pouch.  It is just such a hassle to carry a big purse to a restaurant or bar or wherever because you have to watch it when you are in public and you usually have to put your purse under a table or next to a chair.  The little pouch doesn’t take up much room and can be placed on a table.  A tab is built into the side of the pouch to carry my keys and to hold the pouch.  A friend of mine said she would prefer a shoulder strap and says that would be even more convenient.  I would be interested in everyone’s opinion on whether or not a shoulder strap would be a needed addition to the pouch.  A cord could certainly be attached and when you aren’t using the shoulder strap, it could be tucked into the pouch.  Let me know what you think.

 

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.

Thank you Bob for the following:

A senior couple decided to go shopping one day, and split their efforts by going separate ways. Near the end of the shopping event they decided to get together for lunch. As the woman was on her way to the rendezvous point, she heard a traffic warning on the radio that a car was driving in the wrong direction up ahead. Knowing that her husband was near the point of the warning, she decided to call him on the cell phone. When he answered, she explained, "I just heard on the news, someone is driving in the wrong direction on the highway!" And the husband replied, "One? There are hundreds of folks going the wrong way where I am!"

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. 8

Cajun Corner – Vol. 4, No. 8 – March 2, 2012

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

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com, 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.

Is it Friday already? 

It was March 3, 2009, when I went down to the tax office and got myself a business license and filed for our Fictitious Name with the State of Florida.  March is Cajun Stitchery’s anniversary month.  Cajun Stitchery has survived three years and we are not out of business yet.

The first thing we have done to celebrate Cajun Stitchery’s anniversary is to purchase a new (used) embroidery machine.  Yes, this will be our second machine.  The new machine, an Amaya, is MADE IN THE USA.  The Amaya’s are the only commercial embroidery machines made in the USA.  There are a lot of really cool things this machine does that our older SWF machine does not.  Nothing that would probably interest this audience but it sure makes us happy.  Instead of a 12 needle machine, this is a 16 needle machine.  That means that we can put 16 different colored spools of thread on this machine at one time and stitch out a design with 16 different colors.  The old machine is limited to 12 needles.  Although 12 needles are not bad, 16 needles are better.  The top speed of our SWF machine is the same as most commercial embroidery machines, 1200 spm (stitches per minute).  The Amaya’s top speed is 1500 spm.  Not to mention that the Amaya has automatic tensioning.  With two machine working for Cajun Stitchery, we can take on twice the number of jobs and size of jobs.  If one machine breaks, for some reason, we will have the other to continue working while the broken machine is repaired.  There are a lot of reasons.  Happy Birthday, Cajun Stitchery.

Our new Amaya should arrive this coming Monday via our embroidery tech friend from Orlando.  The following two days will be training, with and without wine, for both George and me on our new machine.  Right now the old SWF machine will be placed in the living room until the house next door is finished.  The SWF still purrs like a kitten and embroiders beautifully.  So, we will be cramped for space for a little while.  It is worth it. 

Aside from the new machine, I went into our Etsy Store and reduced some prices so that there is nothing in the Etsy Store over $20.  Please visit our Etsy Store and browse around.

George and I are also planning to visit our son and his family in Tampa later this month.  Shernise, our daughter-in-law, is graduating with her RN degree.  I cannot tell you how proud we are of her.  We will be there for her pinning.  She said that she didn’t want to bother with the actual pinning ceremony.  My friends who are RN’s have all told me that they felt the same way but went through the pinning ceremony nevertheless.  In retrospect, all agree that the pinning ceremony is a memory that each of them cherish.  Now I have to figure out a really good gift for her.

Now that the Mardi Gras festivities are over, I had time to attend my WBL meeting today.  I didn’t realize how much I missed those wonderful girls.  I have already set up a meeting with one of the girls who represents Wines For Humanity.  That is the name of the company and pretty much sums up what she does.  I have often said that some day I am going to have a party at my house with Wines For Humanity and our Dove Chocolate lady.  You know that will be a good time.

I have also agreed to have a booth at the Power Link Small Business Conference & Expo at the University of West Florida on April 27 and 28, 2012.  This should be a fun time to meet others in business and determine how we can help each other’s business.

This week has also been consumed writing a fictional story for my krewe.  These annual post-Mardi Gras stories have become a tradition.  They are as zany and outlandish as my imagination will allow.  Someday I may even start another blog for my fictional stories.  I do love to write.

I made a cute dance bag this week.  In retrospect, I probably didn’t glam it up enough but my main reason was to see if I could sew a presentable round bag.  It is really neat because once you unzip it, you see that it is lined in gold lame.  It is blinding.   It is in our Etsy Store for sale.

I’m working on a long scarf right now.  I have a large piece of navy blue, stretch lace fabric that I’ve never used for anything because it is so pretty.  I decided to make a long scarf.  The scarf is 108”.  That is 3 yards, and about 20”-25” wide.  I’m still playing with it.  Since the lace itself is a design and it is so light, I really don’t want to embroider on it.  I have attached some colorful eyelash yarn to the ends and may attach more.  I am just not sure where I’m going with it at this point.

We’ve also embroidered several scrubs for the beautiful ladies at Bloom Spa.

I did have a situation where a lady contacted me for a lap handkerchief a/k/a lap scarf.  She wanted it 30”x30”.  The purpose was to lay the scarf on her lap and cover her knees and legs at church.  Sorry, but I’ve never heard of such a thing.  After doing a Google search for lap handkerchiefs, I found that there are actual stores that specialize in them.  I made one to sell in our Etsy Store.  Take a look.

George showed me a painting of a mermaid and merman entwined that he liked.  So, I digitized it.  I even made myself a scarf with the design.

It has been a busy week and I hope everything remains busy because I truly love what I do for a living.  Please let me know if there is anything you need that might require embroidery.  And remember you do not need to order embroidery if you want something out of our catalogs or through our wholesalers.  We can still get it for you.  Just ask.

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. 

========================================================

Thanks to Marshall Larrivere for the following:

Down in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana , Boudreaux gets a job with BP helping with the cleanup.

He reports for work and is told to speak to a supervisor about his assignment.
He finds the man and asks, "What it is I suppose to do?"
The supervisor tells him to go to the animal shelter and clean the pelicans.

Two hours later, Boudreaux comes up to the supervisor and says,

"Okay. Dey all cleaned. You want me to cook some rice?"

=================================================================

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. 3, No. 52

Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 52 – December 31, 2011

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

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com, 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.

Today is New Year’s Eve.  I sure hope everyone can look back on this year and have many happy memories.  May 2012 bring each of you good health, joy and prosperity.

Our family tradition is to take down our Christmas decorations on January 2^nd, George’s birthday.  Out with the red and green; in with the purple, green and gold.  I actually have some friends who take the Christmas decorations off of the tree and replace them with Mardi Gras décor for a Mardi Gras tree.

I must say that 2011 was certainly a Facebook year for me.  I have made so many good friends via Facebook this year and met all kinds of people from everywhere.

The garden is still giving.  It is unbelievable but wonderful.  We have to harvest more peppers and tomatoes today.  It’s time to plant celery, which I’ve never grown before and hope it does well.  Sometime this coming week the spent plants will be removed and new seeds planted.  We have some broccoli seedlings that need to go into the garden soon.

This has been a busy week.  Everything in our Etsy store is now on sale.  As I was putting the items for sale, I was upgrading a lot of things, especially the scarves and adding lots of rhinestones.  I still don’t have everything that I’ve made on there but I really want to get rid of some of the items that have been around for a while so that I can make some new items.  The sales are good until I take the sale off, which will be in the next couple of days.  You should visit the store and browse a bit.  I really slashed prices on the majority of the items.

The market baskets have been a huge hit this season.  So, for the Mardi Gras season I’m doing some market baskets with the Mystic Krewe of Nereids in gold/topaz rhinestones and a couple of cute mermaids in mylar.  I think all krewes should have these, especially since we carry so much stuff around.  But Krewes aren’t the only people who should have market baskets.  Many of my business friends should have them, too.  Not only is it a fabulously unique way to advertise by having your company name embroidered on the basket, but these baskets are perfect when you are carrying your wares around, like Avon, Mary Kay, soaps, oils, embroidery, etc.

You know each year I give my krewe members the same but special gifts for their birthdays.  One year I gave them personalized mermaid pillowcases; last year it was personalized mermaid bath towels.  This year I have something else special but I’m stumped on what design to use.  I’ve thought about several things but nothing has really grabbed me.  January starts a whole new year and new birthdays, so I better come up with something quick.

We were able to get the red aprons at a super discount price during the Christmas season and have sold out.  The sale is now closed and instead of $5 per apron, they are now $10.12 each.

We still have many items in stock that are on sale and have not been listed in our Etsy store.  We have tee shirts, polos, jackets, napkins, caps, and other things.  Call or email me if you are interested in looking at these items.

Happy New Year!!!

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. 

===============================================================

Thank you Paulette Provost for the following:

Boudreaux and Thibodeaux were a couple of drinking buddies who worked as aircraft mechanics at de Estherwood International Airport . Mais one day de airport was fogged in and dey were stuck in de hangar with nuttin' to do.

Boudreaux say, 'Man, I wish we had someting to drink!'

Thibodeaux say, 'Me too. Y'know, I've heard you can drink de jet fuel and get a buzz. So dey pour demselves a couple of glasses of high octane gas and get demselves completely smashed.

De next morning Boudreaux wake himsef’ up and is surprised at how darn good he feels. In fack he feels GREAT! NO hangover! NO bad side effects. NUTTIN! Den de phone rings. It's Thibodeaux!

Thibodeaux say, 'Hey, how you are dis morning?'

Boudreaux say, 'Man, I feel great, how 'bout you?'

Thibodeaux say, 'I feel great, too. You don' have a hangover?'

Boudreaux say, 'No dat jet fuel is great stuff -- no hangover, nuttin’. We ought to do dis more often..'

Thibodeaux say, ' Yeah, well dey's just one t’ing.'

'What's dat?' says Boudreaux.

'Have you farted yet?' axes Thib.

'Mais No.' says Boudreaux.

'Well, DON'T - cause I'm in Shreveport!'

=================================================================

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.