Cajun Corner - Vol. 3, No. 48

Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 48 – December 5, 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.

Last Saturday on Buy Local Day, Cajun Stitchery had a table at the Perdido Bay Golf Club.  One of my WBL ladies manages the place and generously offered vendors a means of getting their wares to the public.  This was not just your run of the mill craft fair.  She had a generously sized table and chair for Cajun Stitchery right in front of the door from the bar/restaurant to the golf course, covered, of course.  Then she had hors d’oeuvres served periodically throughout the day.  The crab cakes were to die for.  You couldn’t have asked for nicer weather.  Several ladies from WBL had tables and I met several new friends.  It was a wonderful day.  I would definitely do this one again, if the opportunity arises.

I finally worked with the boring needle.  Oh, that is a nice addition.  In the past when I make the can wraps, I have Boudreaux stitch out the design and included in the design are 4 little eyelets to enable me to run the elastic.  After the can wrap is embroidered and taken off the hoop, I take a hammer and hole punch to get the fabric out from the inside of the eyelets.  The hammer and hole punch method is a real pain and time consuming, not to mention that there always remains bits of fabric in the holes.  With the boring needle, I can stitch out the design but when it gets to the eyelets, it does a circle with the boring needles, which takes out that inner fabric, then, the machine stitches the satin stitch for the eyelet.  I do have to stop the machine each time the boring needle punches a hole and remove the little fabric circle, but that is much easier and cleaner than otherwise.

The other new method of removing those little eyelet holes is grommets.  I have had and have used the grommets for eyelets in golf towels.  The problem with that is you have step one, which is to hammer the die to create the hole, then, step two is to hammer the grommet into the hole.  The grommets are usually loose at first.  I keep hammering to tighten the grommet, frequently smashing it.  This week we received our newly purchased grommet machine.  It is not the big automated one.  It is manual.  You place the grommets in the dies, then put the fabric in between and press the handle and voila, you have a grommet attached with a hole.  This machine was pretty expensive but Cajun Stitchery can use it and it sure makes the process easier and much more professional looking. 

The next machine that I want isn’t a machine at all.  It is snap dies for the grommet machine.  With the snap dies, I can attach snaps to items.  I guess the real purpose of the grommet machine is for tents and sails and other canvas type items, but it will work on my items, too. 

We have gone a whole week without problems with our U-verse.  However, this week we have been working with AT&T on our smart phones.  For all of the years that we each had the little razer phones, we never dropped a call.  Now, with the smart phones, George will call me from Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Lowes, etc, and I either get his voice garbled or we cannot make a connection until he goes outside the building.  He has always been able to call me from these stores with the little razer phone without any problems.  Also, now I seem to be dropping calls a lot.  When we look at the little bars on the phone that indicate the wave strength, we only get one or two bars and sometime none.  So, we have spent a good portion of this week on the phone with AT&T.  Yes, in the middle of talking with the AT&T lady the call was dropped.  They tell us that the issue was turned over to one of their engineers and should be fixed by Tuesday.  We’ll see.  In the meantime, we are still learning to use the phone.

Speaking of the phone, the main reason we got the smart phones was so that we could use The Square to accept credit card payments.  I took The Square to the Buy Local Day event at Perdido Bay Golf Club but never needed to use it.  One of my customers did pay with a credit card this week, though.  It worked and was simple to use.  Now that, my friends, is one pretty cool little device.

I received a belated birthday gift from a dear friend of mine this week.  Earlier this year, she and her husband had taken a cruise in the north Atlantic to whale watch.  On the cruise they went to Quebec and Nova Scotia.  While in Nova Scotia, she located some craft ladies who she had make me a scarf.  She wanted to give me something from my ancestral homeland.  I cried when I received it.  It is so beautiful and delicate and I will wear it with pride.

A lot of my time this week has been spent listing Christmas items in our Etsy Store.  Please browse the store and, of course, if you have questions, just ask me.  We have 3 or 4 more items to list and that’s it for Christmas.

We are gearing up for the next holiday season and that is Mardi Gras.  Yes, I’m still making the custom Christmas Stockings, aprons, etc.  We are just not making anymore Christmas items that are not custom.  We’ll sell what we have in stock now.  I do have some ideas for Mardi Gras items so stay tuned.

If anyone is interested in bath robes, let me know.  I ordered some waffle weave robes, 48” long, hotel quality, one size fits all.  They are going to cost about $50 each, plus shipping.  Of course, the more I purchase, the lower the shipping rate.

We still have all sorts of ready made items in stock, such as napkins, pillowcases, towels, shirts, jackets, totes, etc., plus handmade items that have not been listed in our Etsy Store.  Please feel free to come by and look at all of the items for a unique Christmas shopping experience.  Call first to make sure I’m at home, though.  The coffee is always ready at Cajun Stitchery. 

CHRISTMAS is around the corner.  Get that Christmas shopping done now and enjoy the holidays.  Shop local and buy made in the USA.

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. 

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Thank you Marshall Larrivere for the following:

Boudreaux staggered home very late after another

evening with his drinking buddy, Landry. He took off his shoes to

avoid waking his wife, Betty Lou.

He tiptoed as quietly as he could toward the

stairs leading to their upstairs bedroom, but misjudged the bottom

step. As he caught himself by grabbing the banister, his body swung

around and he landed heavily on his rump. A whiskey bottle in each

back pocket broke and made the landing especially painful.

Managing not to yell, Boudreaux sprung up, pulled

down his pants, and looked in the hall mirror to see that his butt

cheeks were cut and bleeding. He managed to quietly find a full box

of Band-Aids and began putting a Band-Aid as best he could on each place he saw blood.

He then hid the now almost empty Band-Aid box and

shuffled and stumbled his way to bed.

In the morning, Boudreaux woke up with searing

pain in both his head and butt and Betty Lou staring at him from across the room.

She said, “You were drunk again last night weren't

you?”

Boudreaux said, “Why you say such a mean thing?”

“Well,” Betty Lou said, “it could be the open

front door, it could be the broken glass at the bottom of the stairs,

it could be the drops of blood trailing through the house, it could be

your bloodshot eyes, but mostly ..... it's all those Band-Aids stuck

on the hall mirror.”

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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. 3, No. 45

Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 45 – November 11, 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.

Veteran’s Day is coming to an end.  The Blue Angels Air Show was right over our house today.  It was a fabulous celebration.  The air show continues tomorrow, as well.

I’m lined up to have a booth at Gallery Night on November 18^th  in downtown Pensacola and at the Perdido Bay Golf Club on November 26^th.  Don’t forget to buy from local small businesses on November 26^th.  It occurred to me this week that the reason people shop at malls is because all of the stores are under one roof.  Just telling people to shop local small businesses is not good enough.  How are people going to find small businesses who work out of their homes, like me?  So, I made a suggestion to our wonderful Women’s Business Luncheon group that we need to find places to gather and have booths on the 26^th.  I really thought the perfect venue would be our Small Business Development Center.  I asked if we would be allowed to set up in their parking lot, which is just on the outskirts of downtown.  I still haven’t received a response.  In the meantime, another member has arranged for us to set up at the Perdido Bay Golf Club from 1-5 p.m.  She set aside a table and chair for Cajun Stitchery.  So, that’s where we are going to be.  If you are in the area, come on over to Perdido Bay Golf Club on Saturday, November 26^th between 1-5 p.m.   Meet some of your local small businesses and do your Christmas shopping.  Of course, it would be nice if there were areas set up all over town to spotlight our local small businesses.

It is getting busy now.  I’ve been working with several friends trying to learn how to make cold calls.  It really all started last weekend.  I was messaging a friend and was still pondering why people loved my merchandise at the craft fair, they touched, they commented, but then would walk away without purchasing anything.  I’m thinking that I am doing something wrong.  So, while we were messaging, she decided that I need to meet a lady who owns a new local small business.  Before the conversation was over I had an appointment for Tuesday.  Tuesday arrived and I did meet with the lady.  I made up a packet of information about Cajun Stitchery and embroidery, including my price list.  I brought one of my catalogs and even created a sample embroidered logo for her to see my work.  I walked in wearing my black fleur de lis scarf with rhinestones.  Another friend happened to be there and she really did all of the work for me.  She told the owner how she orders her embroidery from me and is a completely satisfied customer.  The rest was just chit chat.  Once her logo is done by her graphic designer, she is going to send it to me to have digitized and embroidered on aprons and smocks.  She also wants some scarves made.  We had a very pleasant conversation and have even arranged to meet again next week.  It was a good meeting.

Later, I thanked my friend and was telling her about the meeting when she decided that I needed to come to her office and practice cold calls.   While we sat and chatted I told her that was probably the first cold call that I’ve ever made.  In disbelief she asked how I got business.  I said, “I have a lot of friend and I talked about embroidery a lot.”  In fact, all of my business is via word of mouth.  At this she said that I needed to meet with a friend who is some sort of executive at Circle K.  That was humorous because that night George and I were going to our weekly Scrabble game which included a friend who is an executive at Circle K.  She wants me to put my can wraps on consignment. 

That evening I talked with my friend who said this probably is a good idea.  If I can get this lady to put my can wraps in her local Circle K stores on consignment, then we will be able to see how they sell.  I sent the introductory email to the lady today but so far have not received a response.  So, say a prayer that this works.  In fact, George and I are talking about printing out labels saying, “Made in the USA” to put on the can wraps and everything else that I make.  The nice thing about the can wraps is that they already have their own Can Wrap Rap by 2-Short Cajun Mama.

While I was on my first cold call, the lady showed me The Square.  Right now the only way that I can accept payment via credit cards is through PayPal.  The reason is because the credit card machine cost money, there’s a monthly fee, all in addition to a percentage taken from each credit card swipe.  The Square, however, is a little one inch device that plugs into the top of a smart phone.  It is the credit card swiper.  There is still a percentage charged for each swipe but no bulky machine and no monthly charge.  Now I can accept credit cards at craft fairs, home parties, wherever I am at the time.  I would rather carry a debit or credit card on me than cash.  I assume others feel the same way.  So, George and I have ordered 2 smart phones from AT&T which should arrive on Monday.  We have rearranged our phone package so don’t be alarmed if I’m off line and without phone service on Monday.

My birthday carried over into this week.  I finally had to quit eating completely except for all of the wonderful dinners and wine that I’m receiving.  My Wednesday night ladies were wonderful, as usual.  Our little nurse was still wearing her nurse’s hat from last week.  I received even more birthday presents this week.  As George says, “Looks like this birthday is going to last all month.”  Sure hope so.

Before I forget, I still have the box for non-perishable food for the homeless shelters.  If you are in the area, drop off some non-perishables.  The food drive is going on to December.

I still have some red and white, regular furry Christmas Stockings, approximately 17 inches long.  I will be glad to embroider a name on them for $7.00 each (includes the stocking).  I also made a pattern for a regular Christmas stocking, same size, which is pretty simple.  I’ll make the stocking and add the name for $12.00.  Let me know if you are interested. They are fully lined.  Fabric will change depending on what I have available at the time of the order.

All cell phone holders in our Etsy store are half price ($5.00), so stop by www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com and get some cute cell phone holders as gifts for Christmas.

CHRISTMAS is around the corner.  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. 

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

Thank you Marshall Larrivere for the following:

Boudreaux opened the morning newspaper and was

dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died. He

quickly phoned his best friend, Landry.

“Did you see the paper?” asked Boudreaux. “They

say I died!!”

“Yes, I saw it!” replied Landry. “Where ya callin' from?”

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

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.

Cooler Beach Bags and other projects

We are still working on patches and placemats for the upcoming Arts & Wine Festival.  I had asked some of the girls, awhile back, what kind of designs I should put on the placemats.  Unanimously, they said beachy type Christmas designs.  I know.  I've seen them, too.  But in going through our designs, I only found a handful of beachy type Christmas designs.  We have hundreds of beachy type designs and hundreds of Christmas designs but...  So, I decided to create my own design.  I took several small designs of fish, shells, seahorses, and other sea type designs and formed them into the word "Christmas."  George likes it and I think it turned out nice, too.  What do you think?  Post a comment and let me know.

Another thing that has become popular is the cooler beach bags.  I saw the cooler beach bags in a vendor's catalog this past Spring and thought it was one of the best ideas around.  It's a beach bag that slings over your shoulder.  The back side is constructed with a netting material and the front is a canvas/poly fabric, with a zippered pocket.  The bottom of the beach bag unzips to reveal a cooler that can hold a six pack.  They were available in red, blue, black, yellow, and a few bi-colors like red and white, and yellow and white.  I purchased a blue one, embroidered a beach scene on the front and have used it frequently this summer.  If we go to Bands on the Beach or other similar outings, I'm usually carrying my purse and several other bags.  Using this cooler beach bag eliminates so many different bags to carry.  In fact, I leave some of those cold packs or gel packs in the freezer and toss one into the cooler part of the bag with a six pack of drinks and we are good to go. 

People who saw me using the cooler beach bag were constantly asking about it, especially my girlfriends.  I sold several of them for graduation gifts.  Then I placed an order one day in the spring and found out that all they had were the red and black ones.  The blue was the most popular.  The vendor told me to check back in August and they may have some more blue bags.  I've checked.  They don't.  Since I couldn't get the blue bags, the orders dwindled, until this month everyone seems to want them again. 

I just finished embroidering a kayak design in yellow on a red cooler beach bag.  I have another order for a black one, which should arrive Tuesday.  The black one is a gift for a friend's husband and the design will be a cute golfing design.  The price has gone up for the coolers and we are now offering them for $25 (plus shipping/handling/tax, if applicable) for the cooler and embroidered stock design.  Email me if you want to purchase one (cajunstitchery@yahoo.com).

I'm puzzled that when I search on the internet for Cajun Stitchery, I cannot find it.  I can put the address in for both of the websites (http://www.cajunstitchery.com/ and http://www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com/) and get to the site, I just can't seem to get a search to find them.  So, I continue playing with help pages and find more and more widgets (I think that's what they are called) to include on this page.  Now you can click on the little icon and supposedly save this site to your favorites (which you should, of course, do) and you can scroll down and see other blogs that I read and like.  You can become my friend (another of course you should do that) and leave comments.  There are so many little widgets out there.

That's it for today.  Check back soon for more projects and discourse.