Showing posts with label terrycloth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label terrycloth. Show all posts

Monday, March 4, 2013

Cajun Corner - Vol. 5, No. 8


 

Cajun Corner – Vol. 5, No. 8 – March 4, 2013

 

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

 

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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:



Our customer loved the ball caps; however, we forgot to take pictures.  Luckily, we took some pictures when we were working on the design in the beginning but it would have been nice to have a photo or two of all 65 ball caps. 

Now we are working on a towel order.  The customer wants a peace sign, mermaid, and fish embroidered in all white on her bath towels, wash cloths, and hand towels.  George is working on this order, too.  He is quite the little embroiderer.  The designs worked out well except for the little fish that the customer requested.  The fish is an outline type design and the lines were so thin that the loops in the fabric covered the outline.  The design had to be altered to thicken the lines.  They are working fine now.  To hold the loops in the terrycloth down to embroider, a special overlay stabilizer is required.  The stabilizer is basically starch made into sheets.  Once the embroidery is done and the tearaway stabilizer is removed from the back, the towels need to be washed to remove the stabilizer on top.  Recently in one of the embroidery periodicals that I read there was an article on this suggesting using a thin plastic, rather than the water soluble overlay.  That would not work in this situation because of the outlining in the designs.  It would work nicely on fill or appliqué designs.

What have I been doing?  Mardi Gras put me terribly behind on all of my birthday gifts for the girls.  I have everything to make the gifts but there are a few steps to the project and all I can say is that I’m working on it in my spare time. 

In the meantime, I’m combining a couple of projects.  When I use my Embird digitizing program to download true type fonts, they usually look great on the computer screen.  That does not mean they will stitch out okay.  In fact, when I send anyone a “computer simulation” of a design, any design, that is exactly what it is, a computer rendition of the embroidery design.   A computer screen does not have depth or drape or any of the issues involved in hooping and stitching.  The computer simulation could stitch out horribly or beautifully.  You just never know until you stitch it out.

Nevertheless, I have recently downloaded a whole bunch of true type fonts.  They are more in thee area of antique, heirloom type fonts.  It takes awhile to create one of the samplers, so I decided to make little in-the-hoop purses with the girls’ initials in some of the new fonts.  In addition to that, there are fonts called ornaments and wingdings.  If it is a true type font, I should be able to change it into embroidery stitches.  Some of the ornaments that were downloaded are beautiful curly cues and swirls to enhance the monogram.  I am using some of these around the monograms on the little purses to see how they look and stitch out.  One that I did actually stitched out pretty nice but the columns were so thin that it kept breaking the thread.  Remember:  not everything done with pen and ink can be duplicated in embroidery. 

The purses themselves are a design that I created.  The entire purse is made in-the-hoop.  Once the purse is taken out of the embroidery hoop, the only thing left to do is attaching the handle/strap with grommets and attaching the snap.  It is a really awesome process and we can make these purses up to 10” square.

Now that the house next door a/k/a the green house is remodeled, we are working out decorating ideas.  Our garage still has Mama’s apartment furnishings in it.  I never had any place to put her stuff, nor did I have the heart to go through it.  Now is the time. 

The house is going to be a multi-purpose house with Cajun Stitchery occupying a portion.  So, it will be a semi-business, semi-home thing.  It needs to be available for my Nereid girls to meet and spend the night, so, beds are going to be important.  There are a lot of beds, tables, ottomans, chairs, drawers, etc., that George is going to have to make for me if I cannot find what I want in Mama’s apartment, or at the Salvation Army or Waterfront Mission.

In addition to the furniture, there are 20 windows that need curtains and I will make those.  There are rugs, towels, etc., needed.  All sorts of things that I need to buy or make and, of course, embroider.  If you are local and want to get rid of tee shirts, send them over.  It doesn’t matter if they are ripped or stained.  I plan to make some rag rugs out of them.

We have had a few cold days lately, down into the low 30’s.  Today is like Spring and absolutely beautiful.  None of our newly planted seeds have sprouted yet.  That’s probably a good thing since the sprouts would have been injured by the cold.

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.

Did you know (found at http://www.funfunnyfacts.com/Fun-Amazing-Facts.html):

66% of home based businesses are owned by women.  
Insulating your attic reduces the amount of energy loss in most houses by up to 20%.
Rain contains vitamin B12.
Real diamonds can be made from peanut butter!
Recycling one glass jar, saves enough energy to watch T.V for 3 hours!
Rubber is one of the ingredients in bubble gum.
Salmon can jump as high as 6 feet.
Snails breathe through their feet.
Sound at the right vibration can bore holes through a solid object.
Sound travels fifteen times faster through steel than through air.
Surgeons who listen to music during operations perform better than those who don't .
The American Film Institute has named composer John Williams score for Star Wars as the greatest film score of all time.
The average American/Canadian drinks about 600 sodas a year!
The average four year-old child asks over four hundred questions a day.
The banana tree cannot reproduce itself. It can be propagated only by the hand of man.
The Bible is the most-shoplifted book in the world.
Peggy Henshall
Cajun Stitchery
(850) 261-2462
P.S.  You are always welcome to stop by and look at all of the catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Cajun Corner Vol. 2, No. 46

Cajun Corner – Vol. 2, No. 46 – November 26, 2010


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.

I still haven’t received the certified copy of my birth certificate.

I certainly hope everyone had a delightful Thanksgiving Day. On our end, I cooked way too much food and ate way too much food. We only had one visitor and that was our neighbor, London. We enjoyed his visit tremendously. We splurged and let the dogs eat leftovers. Evie and I definitely need to go on a diet today. She looks bloated. We watched several Christmas movies and just had a very nice, relaxing day. I must say that George has a gift for packing the refrigerator. I couldn’t get all of the leftovers in there but he worked his magic and everything was put away. If anyone is hungry, drop by the house; we have tons of food.

This week has been very active filling orders. Sadly, I cannot post the pictures on much of these things because they are Christmas gifts and top secret. A friend of mine asked me to make her a kleenex pouch with the words “You have a booger” embroidered and sent me a website where a lady made these for Christmas and traced the wording with a fabric marker, rather than embroidery. I laughed hysterically. I doubt I’ll make a kleenex cozy but I will embroider that and similar sayings on handkerchiefs. Somehow, I think that’s cute.

I finally found a robe wholesaler that I like, seems to have a good quality products and reasonable prices. If anyone is interested, I can get a 100% cotton, 3 lb, kimono terrycloth robe, 50” length, for about $30 and I’ll throw in the embroidered name or initials in the left chest area. This would make a wonderful and elegant Christmas gift for man or woman. This wholesaler also carries children’s terry robes, body wrap towels, towels, and hair wrap towels. In fact, this will be the sale of the week.

George got a bit sidetracked on the house. We needed to tear down the utility shed in the back but when George got inside he believes that it is salvageable. He took what remained of the roof off and is going to work on this building for the time being. The AC guy came over on Monday, as planned. He is supposed to have an estimate to us next week. As long as we can afford the AC job, George will work on the shed while the AC people are installing the AC/heat unit.

Christmas is coming and customers are doing their Christmas shopping at Cajun Stitchery. Get this out of the way as soon as you can. For all who have businesses out there, remember that we also sell personalized gift baskets.

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

ΘΘΘΘΘ

This may be a repeat. If so, sorry:>(

Pierre and Boudreaux went on a camping trip.

After supper and several beers they both laid down for the night, and went to sleep.

Some hours later, Boudreaux woke up and nudged Pierre.

Boudreaux says, "Pierre, look up at de sky and tell me whatchu see."

Pierre replies, "I see millions and millions of stars."

Boudreaux says, "What does dat tell you?"

Pierre ponders for a minute, den says ... "Astronomically, it tells me dat dere are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe dat Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce dat de time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see dat God is all powerful and dat we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect dat we will have a beautiful day tomorrow."

Well, despite all of de amazing information coming from Pierre, Boudreaux is not impressed. Boudreaux asks, "Mais Pierre, but *what* does dat tell you?"

Pierre is silent and puzzled, and doesn't answer.

Boudreaux slaps Pierre across de head and says, "Pierre, you idiot. Someone has stolen our dam tent!"

ΘΘΘΘΘ

French phrase of the week: Placer boogers ici. (Place boogers here)

ΘΘΘΘΘ

From: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-topsoil.htm

Topsoil is the upper surface of the Earth's crust, and usually is no deeper than approximately eight inches (20 centimeters). The Earth's topsoil mixes rich humus with minerals and composted material, resulting in a nutritious substrate for plants and trees. It may one of the Earth's most vital resources, because it represents a delicate nutritional balance that provides food for many of the animals on Earth, either directly in the form of plant material or indirectly in the form of products from animals that eat plants.

The delicate nature of topsoil was imperfectly understood until very recently. Traditionally, farmers have rotated crops because they discovered that rotation created a better crop yield, but they did not understand why this was. During the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, farmers planted profitable crops over and over again, rather than rotating, and ultimately stripped the topsoil of nutritive value. The stripped soil did not support plants, which hold topsoil to the earth, which meant that even light winds could pick up the limited remaining topsoil and transport it elsewhere.

Modern sustainable farming practices place a heavy emphasis on crop rotation to conserve valuable topsoil. Farmers keep crops in rotation, allow fields to lie fallow, and plant nitrogen fixing plants like beans to promote soil health. Many farmers also plow plant material into the topsoil to enrich the humus, and spread compost and manure on it to make the topsoil more nutritious and rich. Healthy topsoil is dark brown, moist, and crumbly, with chunks of plant material and rich earth. Unhealthy topsoil is pale gray, thin, and uniform in texture.

Farmers who do not use environmentally sensitive practices are slowly killing off their topsoil. In some areas of Africa, Australia, and the Midwest, farmers are working with only a few inches of topsoil and a growing pharmacopoeia of fertilizers. As the topsoil becomes more and more degraded, more complex formulations are needed in an attempt to restore the balance of nutrients to the soil. This exhausted soil can take years to repair with organic practices after it has been abandoned by conventional farmers. The ultimate result if these farming techniques continue is desertification, a process which is already being observed in Africa and Australia.

Farmers are concerned about topsoil because it sustains their crops, but biologists also keep an eye on global topsoil health. Plants need healthy topsoil to survive, and it is actually very easy to damage. In nature, an assortment of plants combine with natural cycles of fire and water to maintain the topsoil. Plants hold the topsoil to the Earth, water nourishes the plants, and the plants die or are burned in fires to restore nutrients to the topsoil. When this cycle is disrupted by farming or clearcutting, the results can be disastrous.

Please let me know if there is something that you would like to see in the weekly email. You may always call me at (850) 261-2462 or email me at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com.

If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list.

C’est tout, mes amis

Peggy Henshall

Cajun Stitchery

(850) 261-2462

cajunstitchery@yahoo.com

P.S. You are always welcome to stop by and look at all of the catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.

SALE OF THE WEEK (Good through Thursday, December 2, 2010)

Robe + embroidered name or initials = $30.00 (plus tax/shipping)

UNISEX - TERRY KIMONO BATHROBE

100% NATURAL COTTON

Terry Kimono Bath Robes have been woven using 100% Natural Cottons. The World's softest and the most absorbent cottons ever. Robes are made of terrycloth inside and outside. These top quality terry cloth robes are used by most of the first class hotels and spas for their valued customers. First Class luxury hotel spa robe for as low as below wholesale robe price. These terry hotel robes are designed for maximum comfort and durability.











Length Waist Size

S 43" 51"

One Size 50" 56"

ROBE SPECIFICATIONS:

• 100 % Super Absorbent Top Quality Natural Cotton

• Approximately 3+ lbs Each Bath Robe.

• 100% Cotton Terry cloth Inside & Outside

• Two Patch Pockets

• Self Fabric Two Loop Belt

• 16 oz/yd2

• Double Stitched for Durability

• Mens Robe & Women's Robe (Unisex)

• White Robes

• Kimono Style

Our products do not contain any harmful chemicals.