JoAnn Dress Nov Available on YCMT

JoAnn Dress Pattern is now available on YCMT.

Here is what the tester for YCMT said:

"This is a great easy pattern. Our little girl loved the dress and we have 3 more ready to go. All in about 1 1/2 hours."

"A simple yet fun dress that is versatile. Can be made using a simple fabric to a wild print and still look great. The simple styling also makes it good for embroideries. Pattern is well written and steps are thoroughly explained."


(Also available in my Esty Shop).

St. Joseph's Altar - Donaldsonville, LA

Today I attended the St. Joseph's Altar celebration in Donaldsonville, Louisiana. This celebration started in Sicily to honor St. Joseph for prayers answered. Here is a link to a little of the history. This tradition has been going on for many years in Donaldsonville - always at the Ascension Catholic Church Hall. A reenactment of the search by Joseph and Mary to find a place for Jesus to be born starts the celebration. People are then allowed in to view the altar. The altar remains until the end of the day when the food is distributed. Spaghetti sauce cooked with boiled eggs is served. Boiled eggs rather than meat are used in the sauce because it is during Lent (the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday). There was lots of food, a band and a large number of people attending.

My grandmother Fontana was a big supporter of this tradition and made beautiful creations from dough and fig preserves. The preserves were made from fresh figs picked from her trees, the dough from scratch. The creations were made into different shapes (sort of like a pie) and she hand carved design on the top of all of them. She didn't have access to special tools so she created her own for the carving.

Here are some pictures from the celebration today.

You can see the large variety of food represented. Many of the recipes are italian recipes particularly for the cookies and breads are handed down through generations.

There is also a representation of local cuisine (crawfish, crabs and shrimp)

This rosary was displayed near the altar and made entirely of chocolate.
Everyone is allowed to take these bags as a treat.

The bags always contain traditional Italian cookies, a piece of Italian bread, a card with the prayer to St. Joseph on it and a bean for luck. The bean is the green item on the bottom right of the picture. I always remember my mom and grandmother having this bean in their purses.

Global Connections

Since I created my blog and started the pattern business, I have connected with so many people from all over the world. I love hearing about different people and cultures, from what there day to day life is like to what the weather is like. It's awesome that something as simple as sewing can bring people together.


It has been such a blessing to make new "internet friends" all over the world and see what they create with the patterns. The choices of fabrics and the creative changes made are an inspiration.


I looked back through my Etsy sales and here is a list of states and countries that customers live. I don't get the customers state or country from the YCMT and All Brands Sales but the Etsy sales shows what a variety of places that customers purchase from.


Alabama
Arizona
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Nevada
New Hampshire
New York
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
Washington


Australia
Canada
Denmark
Germany
Israel
Italy
Malaysia
Oman
Portugal
Switzerland
United Kingdom

All Brands Contest

Here are the pictures of the submissions for the All Brand Contest. Whether the patterns were made just as designed or something unique added, all of the submissions were awesome.

Tana Tutu Dress with a matching headband.

Karen Capri Set with piping, applique and a ruffle on the pants.

Karen Capri Set with lace instead of a ruffle and trim along the pants

Emily with a ruffled sleeve, belt and embroidery butterflies.

Emily with covered buttons at the top of the pleats.

Dee Dee with buttons instead of the ties on the side and a matching trim along the hem.

Here is all of them. Thank you to everyone who participated in the contest. It was such fun to see all of the creations. There were several judges so I'm not sure who the winner was. They win one complete set of Nanoo Designs patterns on cd.

Up and Coming New Designer

When Riley (my adopted granddaughter) was 2 years old, I made these pants for her to sleep in one night when I babysat for her. Her mom told me recently that she was still wearing them but they were like long shorts and were starting to make a mark at the waist. She is 8 years old. Can you believe they still actually fit her.

I told her it was time for new ones. She told her mom she wants to design clothes so I thought it would be a good chance to introduce her to sewing.

She came over last weekend and picked out the fabric she wanted from my stash. I cut the shorts out and she helped me sew them. She knows exactly what she wants. She wanted the waist lower and the legs skinnier. I used the size 4 Karen Capri pattern and adjusted it a little to fit her. Since it was a four, the waist ended up lower and I just had to cut some off the length and side seams. She was happy with the results and we had fun sewing together. She seems to have a good eye for fashion and has specific ideas of what she likes. She may be a budding designer in the making.

His Heart for Orphans Adoption Fellowship

I went to the His Heart for Orphans Adoption fellowship Sunday afternoon. This is where families who have adopted or who, like myself, just have a heart for adoption, get together quarterly for a fun day. Aimee and Tommy Poche head this ministry sponsored by Healing Place Church. They are also the parents of 8 beautiful children. You can read their amazing story here. Aimee is also the designer of Sew Sensible Patterns.
The fellowships are always enjoyable and today was no different. Lots of great food, beautiful weather, great conversation and fun for the children. There were many different countries, cultures and blends of families represented. Some of the countries represented were China, Taiwan, Africa and Peru as well as several from the US. It is so awesome to hear the stories of how they became a family. To have all of these families with children from all over the world end up in a backyard in South Louisiana together enjoying each other's company.

JoAnn Pattern

The JoAnn Pattern is complete and available in my Etsy shop. This pattern is so easy and can be done in a short time. I included two options for the front. One has two buttons at the top with snaps or velcro to keep the front closed. The other option is button down the front. I suggested the larger buttons for the button down option. I really liked the way they looked.

These are some dresses I made during the testing phase. This is a size 4. The fabric was purchased the All Brands Baton Rouge Store. This is the Size 2. This fabric was also purchased at All Brands in Baton Rouge. This is Michael Miller fabric. All Brands has added some other designer fabrics to their line up. I wanted to try something in a bright, bold print and was pleased with the way it turned out.
This is the size 1 and this fabric was from my stash. I try to use some of what I have but can't help but buy more. I know many of you who sew can relate. We tend to "collect" fabric. I thought this print would be cute for a young child. The pattern is tiny butterflies and the lining is pink/white gingham.

JoAnn Pattern - Tester Pictures

Here are the pictures and some comments from the testers of the JoAnn Pattern. Thanks Joy and Melissa for helping me test this pattern. There are two options for the front and it just happened that each chose a different style.


Melissa said:
The dress was so easy to make and I thought it turned out really cute. I think it only took me about 1.5 hours to make.


This is Melissa's neice wearing the dress she made. What a cutie!

Joy said:
This is a GREAT pattern!! The fact that it takes only 3/4" of fabric & lining and goes together so quickly is sure to make it a favorite for moms!!

Joy designs embroidery applique designs and added the beautiful flowers along the hem. She sells her designs on Applique for Kids. She has this dress in her design gallery.

Fabric for New Pattern

Here is some of the fabric I purchased to test the new boy pattern I am working on. There is not as many choices for boys but I thought these would work nicely.

My intentions were to try a draft this weekend but I spent all day Saturday getting stuff for my back yard. The beds have been retilled and soil added. Now we just have the planting and mulching left to do. I'll put some before and after pictures when it's done.

I received the tester pictures from JoAnn and will be posting them soon. I still have the cover and a few revisions but hopefully will have it ready soon.