Cajun Corner - Vol. 4, No. 46

 

Cajun Corner – Vol. 4, No. 46 – December 2, 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.

Lots of embroidery was happening over here this past week.  Both George and I were on our respective embroidery machines.  Boudreaux and Clothilde were humming with activity.  George worked on a job of putting names on 70 dance shoe bags.  I was working on some beautiful monograms and jackets, as well as working on several ideas and turning them into real embroidery.  Most of my days were filled with digitizing little, tiny pieces of designs.

The new snap machine/press came in and we were putting snaps on everything.

One idea that came to fruition this week was an in-the-hoop purse.  To make the purse in-the-hoop, the largest hoop (16”) was required.  The idea was to trace the front of the purse, lay folded fabric over the trace/basting stitches, tack it down and sew the front design.  Then the second piece (2 layers of fabric), with the flap was traced over that.  The strap was pinned in the proper places, and the fabric was placed on top.  The machine seamed the edges and appliquéd the flap.  The purse was then torn away from the stabilizer, turned inside out, and after pressing the snap for the flap and a couple of grommets to hold the strap, voila, we had a nice little purse.  As usual the first one had flaws.  The first one was so cute that I just couldn’t bear to toss it.  Instead, it was given to a friend.  The second one turned out great and is now for sale in our Etsy Store.

One of the first things made after receiving the snap press was a baby bib with a snap, of course.  That, too, is now listed in our Etsy Store.

Friday night was steak night at beach Elk’s Lodge.  Friends of ours invited us and we had a fabulous time.  That may have been the best prime rib that I’ve ever tasted.

Today was the annual SOB (Sisters Of the Beach) Brunch.  These women are truly wonderful people.  There is no way to describe in a newsletter the depth of the SOBs.  Some of these women have been friends for 30 plus years.  They drink.  They party.  They are loud.  They dance.  They sing. They are wild women.  They are also some of the most intelligent, creative, caring and nurturing women that I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.   To say that the brunch today was delightful is definitely an understatement.

The Etsy Store always seems to need attention.  The key is to be everywhere on the internet.  The more people who see the name Cajun Stitchery, the more the name is branded.  Branding is what a company wants.  Branding is why you know the names McDonald or Burger King mean hamburger.  This actually takes a lot of time because there is so much to learn and always seems to be another search engine or site out there that needs Cajun Stitchery to register with it.

Cajun Stitchery is also going to have an ad on www.PensacolaBeachMardiGras.com that will run until March 1^st.

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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Tip of the Day:

I was browsing on the internet, looking for a Tip of the Day and ran across the following Tips of the Day that I thought were, hmmm, interesting.  Found at http://forum.volition.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=26099:

 

1.  When going down the road, make sure you're not daydreaming. Often during my travels I go off into lala land, only to be snapped into reality 45 miles later, and wonder where I am, and hope to heck I didn't hit anyone or anything in the last half an hour since I can't remember a thing.

Once a couple weeks ago I remember getting on the highway. Next thing I knew, I was 20 miles away, on a different highway, almost to my destination. To this day, I can't remember changing highways, or any part of that trip

 

2.  When at a party walking with a glass of wine, concentrate on what is right in front of you. Do not look out thru the sliding glass door at what is outside, forgetting there is a sliding glass door...and walk right into said sliding glass door!

 

3.  When buying laundry soap because you are planning on going to the laundry mat (for the first time ever), be sure you take the soap inside the house if you don't go that night if you live in the north. Otherwise, it freezes solid. Thank goodness they had really hot water to run over my bottle so I could wash my clothes.

2nd lesson learned of the day: Put clothes in front load washing machine BEFORE putting money and soap in. Otherwise, you'll be paying for the laundry mat to clean its own washing machine. They don't open again until it’s done.

 

4.  Never wear a dress and high heels when working in the infant nursery at church.

 

5.  Always make sure that your dress is on the outside of your panty hose!!!

 

6.  When teasing the cats with laser pointers..don't have them chase it, and cause them to fly into the couch, knocking themselves silly.. They have ways of getting revenge.

 

7.  When exiting a running car to get the mail, make sure it's in park.

 

8.  After rinsing off a electric razor, and using it...Make sure the razor is OFF before using a wash cloth to wipe the water off.

9.  When in the car and tossing undrunk soda out the window, be sure the window is open first.

10.  When standing up to get a drink, before you take that first step, always make sure both feet are on the ground, or close to the ground. Otherwise, you'll get a first hand experience whether or not your carpet is dirty or not. Not to mention your face will hurt.

 

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. 12

Cajun Corner – Vol. 4, No. 12 – March 30, 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.

This past weekend we took a trip to Tampa to visit our son and his family.  My daughter-in-law graduated with her RN degree.  I cannot even express how proud I am of her and the whole family.  This is the first time that George and I were able to visit them at their new home.  They actually live in a little town called Wimauma, Florida, on the outskirts of Tampa.  It was a whirlwind trip.  We left Pensacola early Sunday morning and returned Tuesday afternoon.  The graduation ceremony was Monday evening.

Their home is beautiful.  They had the house built when they lived in Pensacola and moved in when they moved to Wimauma.  They were one of the first homes built in their subdivision.  So, Hank – like his mother – made of point of meeting everyone as they moved into their homes.  He is such a social butterfly.  The neighborhood group gets together frequently.  There are those who like to visit and those who are a bit more private, like any neighborhood.  They even have evenings around the campfire.  I got tickled at them because they neither smoke nor drink but they have a full wine rack.  Hank says it is just for show.  At my house it would be well used.

The graduation ceremony was impressive.  I have never attended a “pinning” before this.  At most graduations the graduating students line up and received their diplomas and shake hands with various people.  It was similar for this pinning except that when they got on stage they sat down and one lady pinned them and another put the nurses cap on them.  I cried and took pictures the whole time.  Something I learned is that when you receive your LPN, you get the nurse’s hat in solid white.  The RN gets the nurse’s hat with the black stripe.  Shernise says that she intends to return to school in the fall and work toward her bachelor’s degree.  Despite many obstacles, this little family has persevered and continues to do better and better.  I love them and I’m very proud of the family.  In fact, Hank and Shernise have been married for 15 years and have a very similar relationship to George and me. 

When we arrived at Hank’s home, they were all tickled at my hair color.  What was really funny is that one of my granddaughter’s had dyed her hair the same color.

While we were away, Evie was enjoying an extended visit at the vets.  It was kind of nice because she got her annual exam, nails trimmed, etc., and was ready when we got home.  She was happy to see us but not really sure what happened.  To make matters worse, George brought home a puppy the next day, Wednesday.   The puppy is named Sammy.  Sammy is 10-12 weeks old, a black Labrador retriever with a white spot on his chest.  The vet says that Sammy is probably full Labrador.  Oh yes, Sammy is also 34 lbs.  Not the little, tiny puppy most people think of when they hear the word “puppy.”  He is tall and lanky.  So far Evie is ignoring Sammy.  I am a bit surprised that Sammy is not very active.  But he is probably just getting used to a new environment.  He did meet the cats last night and barked up a storm.  The cats, of course, are totally indifferent to him.  Since Evie is so attached to me, Sammy is staying with George during the day.  We are actually thinking of making him a carpenter’s belt. 

By the way, on our trip to Tampa, we went via Highway 98 and then Highway 19 to New Port Richey.  George had never been to Mexico Beach and we made it there in time for breakfast on Sunday.  Taking Highway 98 around Mexico Beach and following it to Highway 19 was breathtakingly gorgeous.  The highway was right next to the Gulf for miles.  As gorgeous as the scenic route was, it took considerably longer.  On the way home we took the interstate highways which were much faster.

I learned the map function of my smart phone during the trip and nearly ran the battery dead playing with it.  A little blinky arrow appears on the map showing where you are presently located.  You can zoom in and see the roads around you and even find gas stations and restaurants. 

It is always a good feeling to return home.  The asparagus is ready to start harvesting.  Remember the end of the celery that I planted?  It is growing.  The parsley and catnip are trying to go to seed.  The sweet peas need to be picked.  Ahhh, the garden.

The hawk that was sitting on the fence last week, sadly, was found dead on the ground the next morning.  It probably had some sort of hawk disease.

When we returned home we found a package at the back door.  It was our new hoop and table for Clothilde.  The table just snaps into place and is extra large to accommodate large, heavy pieces of fabric.  The hoop can hold a design up to 15” x 18”.  That’s pretty big.  The same night we received another shipment of the stabilizer that I ordered.  So, everything arrived the night that we returned home. 

A couple of the secret embroidery projects can now be revealed.  The towels are bath sheets that were embroidered for a young couple’s wedding.  These designs are pretty large about 13” wide x 5” high.  Brianne’s has rhinestones applied.  The rhinestones did sparkle but I cannot promise they will remain on the towel after too many washings.  The customer who ordered these and provided the bath sheets said that she and her husband received bath sheets when they were married and used and enjoyed them for a long time.  It is a really good idea for wedding gifts.  With a design this large, the satin stitching would be too wide and would appear very loose.  Instead, we used a fill design that replicated two or three rows of satin stitches next to each other.

After we got home I was working on some dog collars.  Now I need to embroider the collar that we got for Sammy.  I still cannot believe that we bought a collar that I can make.

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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Want a beautiful herb garden by your door?  Take 3 or 4 progressively smaller pots.  Fill the largest with potting soil, then place the next size on top and to the back of the first, fill it with potting soil, and so on for each smaller container.  Then plant herb seeds or seedlings in the soil around the base of each of the pots.  When it grows you will have a small terrace of herbs.  Of course, make sure your herb garden gets plenty of sun and water.

Harvest often. Harvesting promotes growth. It keeps plants in their growing cycle instead of letting them mature and finish their life. So stop by your garden before dinner each night and snip away. (Never tear.) You can harvest up to a third of the foliage. And if you see a flower, clip or pinch it off. Once an herb flowers it’s trying to finish its life cycle.

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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.

California or Bust

In the process of perfecting the perfect patch, I decided to make some luggage tags.  Sometime ago I was making my version of a luggage tag.  I didn't like the ones that I made and threw them all away.  But now with the patch down pat, the luggage tags should be prettier.  One of my friends was very interested in the luggage tags back then but I wouldn't sell her any because I didn't like them.  Since she is about to take a month long vacation in May, I did make her a special luggage tag.  She is heading toward California, so I made the tag "California or Bust." 

I have probably a thousand or more different monogram designs that few people use or order.  Customers probably don't order them because they don't know I have them.  So, I thought that I would use some of the monogram designs for luggage tags.  They really turned out cute.  I just used the initial H since that is my initial.

I did make some mermaid luggage tags with the word Nereid embroidered on it.  That's for my krewe.  They were a bit more difficult to make but not too much.

Once I got going on the luggage tags, I began realizing that many of my friends are getting ready to go on vacation.  It seems that this year people are traveling, again.  Since my friend that visited me a few weeks ago lost her luggage on the airline, I thought that luggage tags would be appropriate.

The luggage tags would make a nice Mother's Day gift for the mom who travels.  One of the more elegant monograms would be perfect for business traveling and/or men.

We are having a sale this week:  3 of the 2"x4" rectangular luggage tags with embroidered name or monogram for $10.00.  This sale is good through Thursday, April 21, 2011.

C'est tout, mes amis