Cajun Corner - Vol. 5, No. 29

 

 

 

Cajun Corner – Vol. 5, No. 29 – July 27, 2013

 

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.

As my Aunt Philo says, “Getting old isn’t for sissies.”  Last weekend I joined a couple of friends and we visited another friend in the hospital.  This isn’t something that I would like to do often; although, it did turn out to be a nice afternoon.  We went out to eat lunch and chit chat, then onto the hospital where our friend was in high spirits.  I suppose as we get older, hospital visits become more frequent.  Remember the Christmas Savings Accounts.  A news savings account for hospital flowers and gifts would be appropriate now.  Thank goodness our hospitalized friend is now home.

One of our friends arranged for Molly Maids to clean our friend’s home.  We are all sharing the cost.  This is such a wonderful idea.  I used to clean the house spotless before we would go on vacation simply because I hated coming home to a messy house.  It was so depressing returning from vacation to a messy house.  I’m sure our friend appreciates this gift of cleanliness upon her return from the hospital.

Another friend who has battled cancer has now been told that she is in partial remission.   There is no total remission for her type of cancer.  This is wonderful news to all who have walked down this road with her.  She has the best attitude of anyone I have ever known.  Even when the days were about as bad as they could get, it seemed as though something worse came along.  Through it all her attitude remained on a high note.  Watching my friend go through this terrible time in her life has assured me that a good attitude has healing properties beyond that of medical science.

The gnome mystery continues.  Now one of my friends shared that you can purchase gnome statues dressed in Saints attire.  Sure enough if you search for “Saints Gnome” you will find them for sale.  However, our gnominator remains a mystery.

Our Wednesday night girls night out has been cancelled the past few Wednesdays because our host was in the hospital.  This past Wednesday I offered to host our evening at the house next door, our new Cajun Stitchery studio.  There were about 11 or 12 of us and we had a fabulous time.  I provided the ham and the girls each brought an appetizer, dessert, or side dish.  The new stove was used for the first time and the new refrigerator that had been pretty much empty, now sports lots of leftovers.  Everyone got a tour and loved the house.  The “before” pictures were shown on my computer for comparison purposes.  Everyone agreed that George did a wonderful job remodeling that house.   Mama’s dishes and utensils were used.  I know that made her happy.  The evening was a total success.  Everyone enjoyed themselves.  The last car load left around midnight.

One of my friends who joined us Wednesday night told me that she was so proud that Kate and William named the new Royal baby after our own King George.  I like that.  When George was King of the Nereids, we would call him King George the dragon slayer.

I ordered a bolt of white organza fabric and it arrived this week.  It isn’t opened yet but I’m envisioning some really pretty items with it.

There is still a good deal of sewing and embroidery to do for our studio.  Curtains, shower curtains, table cloths, chair covers and rugs need to be made.  Towels need to be embroidered.  Mama’s double bed does not have a headboard.  George is going to make the headboard.  Since I’ve been digitizing and embroidering headboards lately, I thought that I should design an embroidered headboard for the double bed.  I digitized a 14” mermaid and stitched it out on one of the curtains.  It looks pretty good but still requires some tweaks.  We also need to get another mattress to raise bed higher off floor.

A friend ordered a photograph of three horses digitized and embroidered.  He calls them the Three Musketeers.  The horses belong to one of his friends.  This design was too difficult for me to digitize, so we sent it onto our digitizer.  The result is beautiful.  To achieve the shading, the design has several layers of varying colors.  The photograph was a bit dark and we simply used lighter colored thread to achieve the lighter coloring of the palominos.  It is funny that last week we embroidered a design for a young lady riding a horse in a barrel race and this week we are embroidering more horses.  The end result of embroidering the 5” wide design on a brief case.  It really turned out nice.  Since one of the stitch outs was on a bar rag which also turned out very nice, that was included in the order.  I enlarged the design to 10”, put an oval appliqué around it and stitched it onto a towel.  The towel may hang in one of our bathrooms at the studio. 

Looking at our Etsy store, we seem to sell handkerchiefs pretty regularly.  I wanted to embroider a handkerchief with a monogram within a frame.  The frame that was chosen is one of our heirloom designs and I used the letter P as the monogram.  Of course, any letter would go inside the frame.  As I stitched out this new handkerchief, I pondered a scalloped edge.  The scalloped edge handkerchief was digitized and stitched and works out rather nicely. 

The huge embroidery design is still coming along.  All of the pieces involved take a lot of time.  In the end it will be a work of art.

Almost any design can be embroidered on a beach towel, bath towel, hand towel, or any kind of towel.  They make wonderful gifts and are great for wherever towels are needed.  Imagine your monogram on a set of towels in your bathroom; all matching each other and embroidered using the color of the room. 

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.

Thank you Helen Szymanski for the following:

An elderly couple had just learned how to send text messages on their cell phones.

The wife was a romantic type and the husband was more of a no-nonsense guy.

One afternoon the wife went out to meet a friend for coffee.

She decided to send her husband a romantic text message and she wrote:

"If you are sleeping, send me your dreams.
If you are laughing, send me your smile.
If you are eating, send me a bite.
If you are drinking, send me a sip.
If you are crying, send me your tears.
I love you."
The husband texted back to her: "I'm on the toilet.
Please advise."

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. 5, No. 6

Cajun Corner – Vol. 5, No. 6 – February 16, 2013

 

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.

Mardi Gras is over and I’ve given up alcohol for Lent.  There is a good reason for that but to understand you would have had to be with us last Sunday for the parade.   Sitting high on top of our float with an incredible view of the island was simply breathtaking.  I could see the Gulf of Mexico, the beautiful white sands of our beach, and the sound side of the island.  Our sandcastle float sparkled with fleur de lis everywhere.  I was drenched, head to toe, with twinkling, sparkling bling that my friends and Royal Court had bestowed on me.  Topping if off was the gold and rhinestoned fleur de lis crown on my head.  We “lined up” around 11 a.m.  The parade didn’t begin to roll until 2 p.m.  Initially, the time is spent hanging our beads and setting up our throws.  Usually we walk up and down the sidewalk socializing with people from other floats.  One of our wonderful krewe members always provides lunch at the float and the alcohol flows freely.  This year I was on top of the float and had no intention of risking life and limb climbing up and down, so I stayed in my wonderful, sparkling perch with my king.  It wouldn’t seem like a problem but all I had to drink up there was champagne.  Oh, yes, and I didn’t eat breakfast.  Oops.  My sweet King John was quite the gentleman throughout the parade.  Or, to hear King John explain, “George kept looking up and saying ‘she’s drunk, you better take care of her.’”  We waved and wished everyone a happy Mardi Gras.  On or about 2 p.m. the parade began and the float started moving forward.  The roar of the crowd was deafening but glorious.  We threw our beads and throws to the excited crowd.  The next thing I recall was getting off of the float and the deputy rushing us off so the floats could keep moving.  Several of the krewe members congregated near the beach pavilion.  Some remained on the float until its final destination.  Overcome with alcohol and the shear intensity of emotions, I broke down and cried from joy.  We walked to the pavilion where the music was blaring and everyone was dancing, sitting or socializing.  George sat me down on one of the benches.  I do recall sliding off the bench and sitting on the ground.  A friend lifted me back onto the bench.  Then it was time for our krewe to dance.  I did dance.  Sadly, I do not recall dancing except for the point where we go into the audience and pick someone from the crowd to bring onstage to dance with us.  I recall grabbing a friend and telling her, “You are going to have to hold me up.”  The awards were given out and we all began to disperse. 

George drove a car load of partiers back to our krewe den.  Upon arrival he asked me where my purse was.  I lost my purse.  We drove back to the pavilion and I retraced my steps but we did not find my purse.  What really irritated me was that I did not remember what I did with my purse.  We came home and filed a report with the sheriff’s department.  I held no hope of finding that purse.  I called my friends but no one remembered my purse.  The following morning George and I went back to the beach to retrace my steps, again.  Still no purse.  I finally bit the bullet and cancelled my credit cards, although there had not been any activity on them.  I figured whoever had my purse threw away the credit cards and was spending the cash.  One of my good Catholic friends emailed me that she prayed to St. Anthony to find my purse.  Within the hour the Sheriff’s Department called that they found my purse and were holding it for me at the beach station.  We jumped into the car and drove out there.  Not only did my purse still contain my credit cards, drivers’ license, cell phone, etc., but all of the cash was still there.  We were both so grateful.  On the way home I checked my cell phone.  I knew George had called the number several times hoping we would hear it ring in a garbage can or something.  As I began listening to the voice mail messages, there was a message, “you left your purse at the pavilion.  We have it and are at the Sandshaker.”  Then, “We left the Sandshaker and are going to our hotel room at the Hilton.”  Then, “We have to go home to Perdido.  We have left your purse at the sheriff’s sub-station.”  When I got home, this gentleman had even emailed me.  Of course, I replied that I now had my purse and thanked him and offered free embroidery.  As this week has progressed, I found out that my knight in shining armor was the king of the Krewe of Seville and that I had been partying with him.  In fact, I’ve now seen a photograph of him and me at the pavilion.  I don’t remember meeting him but apparently I was having a really royal time.

Therefore, I have given up alcohol for Lent.

This has been the fastest Mardi Gras season that I’ve ever attended.  I was able to attend all of the Krewe of Wrecks festivities except the Pub Crawl this past Tuesday night.  I’m sure my mother could have partied a lot longer and harder than I did, but I’m tired.  It was like being a princess in a fairytale and I will treasure all of the memories until I go senile.  Suffice it to say being queen is a real good thing.

Having fun is great but there is a season for all things and the embroidery was calling me.  Tuesday there was a rush order for shirts and hats that had to be completed and in the hands of the customer in Orlando by Friday.  Yes, we made the deadline and the customers seem pleased.

The power board had arrived for poor Boudreaux but the tech couldn’t get here until Thursday.  All in all several things had to be replaced on Boudreaux but our new tech got it all done and Boudreaux is now purring like a kitten.  Yep, now we have to get back to work to recoup those service calls and cost of parts.  Repairing a commercial embroidery machine is not cheap.

The embroidery on the antique bedcover was finished on Friday.  It turned out beautiful.  That project took a lot of time but I remember when I first looked at it, my thoughts were that I don’t think I can do this.  We copied and digitized the antique design and stitched it out on the same bedcover near the original embroidery.  It was all white on white.  The hardest part turned out to be matching the thread color.  Then we created a monogram for the bedcover.  My sweet customer thinks she can make the thread colors match with some special laundering.  I hope she can because my opinion is that bedcover is a work of art.

In the meantime, George is working next door on a ball cap order.  It is so good to have Boudreaux back in business.

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 to Paulette Provost for the following:

LOST CHURCHES OF LOUISIANA

When hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, even houses of worship were not spared. A local television station interviewed a woman from New Orleans and asked how the loss of churches in the area had affected their lives. Without hesitation, the woman replied, "I don't know about all those other people, but we ain't gone to Church's in years. We gets our chicken from Popeye's."

Thank you to Harold Wilkes for the following:

Crawfish Prayer

Bless us, Oh Lord, and these crawfish which we are about to enjoy.

Bless those who caught them, those who prepared them,

And give crawfish to those who have none.

We thank you, Oh God, for this wonderful world

And for all that You have put on it.

And we give special thanks, Oh God,

For having put the Cajuns and the crawfish

Down in the same place.

 

Amen

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. 5, No. 3

Cajun Corner – Vol. 5, No. 3 – January 20, 2013

 

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.

Friday night was one spectacular Moon Pie Party.  I learned that my King is even more social than I am.  When I awoke very late Saturday morning my body screamed “PAIN.”  My knees and back were throbbing.  It was nothing an Advil couldn’t cure.  There are pictures of the party all over the internet but if you really want to see some good pictures go to www.pensacolabeachmardigras.com and look in the Photo Gallery.

It turns out that my King John lives only 2 or 3 blocks from my home.  John is a wonderful King and I wouldn’t trade him for all the tea in China.  However, he has me going to so many parties that I don’t know if I can keep up with him.  Not to mention he is very artistic and began decorating our Krewe Den and has started bringing costume pieces to my house.  Whoa there, Your Highness.  Pace yourself.

No joke it is wonderful being Queen and, as you can imagine, I’m making the most of it.  The krewe is my Royal Court and each has a Royal Title, as well as each has their own little tiara.  Hey, I couldn’t be queen without these girls.  They should share some of the glory.

As a little sideline to the Moon Pie Party, when George and I were leaving the house on Friday we saw a gray truck pull up in front of our house.  Something about it looked suspicious and the further we got down the road, the more bothered we were.  We contacted neighbors and conveyed our concerns and were able to continue to the party without worry.  It is good to know and befriend your neighbors.  They’ve come to our rescue more than once.

For most people tomorrow is a holiday but I will be working on a beautiful antique linen bedcover.  Hopefully it will be finished this week.  It is just beautiful.  The project has been ongoing for several weeks and poses a real embroidery challenge.  I surprise myself when one of these projects that “couldn’t be done” is finished and the customer is pleased.  There is a great sense of satisfaction.

We did hit a bump in the embroidery road, though.  One of our embroidery machines is acting up and George is on a quest to fix the thing.  Tomorrow will be day three of this quest.  If it isn’t fixed by Tuesday, I guess we have to either send it to Tampa or get a tech to come here.  Either way is very expensive.  We need it fixed because George is in the middle of a pretty large order and more in line after that one is done.  If it doesn’t get fixed soon, he’ll have to use my Amaya which will stop my work flow.  Thank goodness we have two machines.

J

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler

J

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.

Beaded Headdress Made From Mardi Gras Beads

Found at http://www.ehow.com/how_7729544_diy-made-mardi-gras-beads.html

Instructions

o                                1

Measure the circumference of your head at the level just above your eyebrows using the cloth measuring tape. If you know your hat-size in inches (or cm.), you can use that figure instead.

o                                2

Cut a length of black elastic equal to the circumference you measured for your head plus 1/2-inch. Sew up the extra length by overlapping one end over the other end to form a closed loop that will fit around your head snugly. To ensure that it doesn't come apart, sew the two ends securely together, stitching in a square pattern and then stitching an "X" through it.

o                                3

Attach the end of one string of beads to the outside surface of the elastic headband so that the other end hangs down freely. Use a small quantity of hot glue to do this, making sure that you use enough to securely attach the beads without making it a gloppy mess. Glue more beads at small, even intervals around the outside of the headband until you get back to the first one. You may prefer to sew a stitch or two around the base of each bead to secure each one to the headband (before applying the glue). This may be stronger than glue alone, if you know you'll be wearing the headband for long hours.

o                                4

In one part of the headband (about 1/3 of its total length), cut off the strings of beads a few inches below the elastic. This will be the front of the headdress, with the bead strings cut short to keep from obstructing your vision .

o                                5

Glue strings of beads across the circumference of the headband, from one side to the other in a cross-hatch pattern to form the top of the headdress. Make sure there is enough extra length in these bead strings to fit across the top of your head.

Tips & Warnings

·         Black elastic is available at craft stores.

·         Mardi Gras beads are available online, at most costume shops or the costume section at party supply stores.

·         If you like, you can use a pattern other than cross-hatching for the top of the headdress. This detail is important because it will both conform to the shape of the top of your head and keep the elastic from sliding down due to the weight of the beads attached to it.

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.26

 Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 26 – July 1, 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.

It’s here. It is the 4th of July weekend. I sure hope everyone has wonderful plans for the weekend. Have fun but please be safe. Pensacola Beach has so much going on this weekend that I cannot list everything. I suggest that you look up the Island Times on the internet for the list of events, dates and times.

As for George and me, we are staying in the neighborhood. Our Pennsylvania neighbor will be visiting for the 4th of July and we plan on getting together. Everyone brings something to these occasions and I’m bringing bread. In fact, until this is read, the others don’t know that I plan on making the bread myself. Mama would respond, “Well, la di da.” She would also ask me why I would want to do that when there is plenty of bread at the store. The answer is that I have an automatic bread maker that I rarely use and decided to do this. We shall see how this turns out.

Last Sunday we attended the award ceremony for Paradise Bar & Grill. That place was packed. It was also very hot. We had a lovely time and ate our usual cheeseburger at Paradise for dinner.

Another dog collar was made this week. This was for Amber Lee. She is going on vacation with her owners, Shelley and Richard, and like any girl, needed some new vacation attire.

One of my friends was telling me this week that her 3 dogs got loose last week. Someone called her to say her dogs were down the street. Obviously, she was talking to me about getting collars for her dogs.

You never know when that precious pet of yours will get out or be stranded. When George and I lived in Orlando, we had a beautiful, American, golden cocker spaniel that was actually stolen from our back yard. We looked everywhere for her and were finally told that a group of people had been in the neighborhood stealing dogs for scientific experiments. I don’t know how true that is but I do know that I cried many nights over that dog. We never found her.

Last week’s sale on napkins spurred several people to buy them. We were busy embroidering napkins this week. At one point I had orders for more natural colored napkins than I had. I thought I would be smart and get a rush order of napkins in so I could fill all of the orders. That did not work out. I had to tell one potential customer that we simply are out of natural colored napkins.

In fact, you aren’t going to see any more sales for $2 napkins at Cajun Stitchery unless I run across a great sale, myself. All year my wholesalers have been sending emails, brochures, etc., saying that the price of cotton has gone way up and those prices will be reflected in the merchandise that I purchase. When I contacted my napkin supplier, I found that the cost of the napkins has doubled. Not only that, but now I’m required to purchase a minimum of 5 dozen of the same color napkin. The new sale price for any new napkins is going to be $4.

SALE: Right now I still have some of the $2 cloth napkins. These are the 20 inch square, restaurant quality napkins with hemmed edges. The colors that we have in stock are:

1. Purple

2. Lavender

3. Blue

4. Royal Blue

5. White

6. Burgundy

7. Teal

8. Brown

9. Sea Foam Green

I’m selling these (in-stock) napkins at $2 each; first come, first served. They make great Christmas presents. I highly suggest you buy them now.

We do have 5 dozen ivory napkins, 20” x 20”, with hemmed edges, restaurant quality, for $4 each.

We still have some market baskets in stock. I sold the black one this week. It is going to be really cute with a gold monogram and 2 gold fleur de lis. We still have: purple, red, hot pink, blue, and the black with white polka dots. These are the regular sized market baskets that are 18"L x 11.5"W x 9"H with Collapsible/Removable Frame. The price, without embroidery, ranges from $22 (for solid colors) to $28 (polka dot), each. A name or initials would be $5. Of course, the more embroidery you want on the basket, the more the cost.

Last week my neighbor, Charlotte, won the contest. We had several entries. Many of the entries were correct but Charlotte was the first with the answer. Stinky is our oldest pet. She is 16 this year. Remember, you can only win once every 2 months to give everyone a chance.

CONTEST: First person to answer correctly is the winner. What was my mother’s pet name for me?

The winner will receive their monogram on:

Hot Pink Canvas Purse

10.5"L x 6"W x 11.5"H

Snap Closure

Zipper Compartment with Two Open Pockets Inside

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 Doucet Provost for sending the following joke:

Three friends from Church Point, Louisiana were asked, "When you in

your casket, and your friends and church members are mourning over you,

what would you like dem to say?"

Thibodeaux said: "I would like dem to say, I was a wonderful husband,

a fine spiritual leader, and a great family man."

Fontenot commented: "I would like dem to say, I was a wonderful

teacher, and servant of da church, who made a huge difference in

people's lives."

Boudreaux said: "I'd like dem to say, 'Look, he's movin!'"

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

French Phrase of the Week: Il fait humide. (It is humid.)

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

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.