Last of The Outfits to Display at All Brands

I've been sewing all day and finished the last of the outfits to bring to All Brands to display with my patterns on cd. They have such a great selection of fabrics in the store as well as online.

Emily Dress with Pleated Inserts

Dee Dee Pleated Dress

Karen Capri Set
Besides sewing today, I made vegetable soup, seafood gumbo and cleaned my house. Talk about multi tasking.

Nanoo Designs New Cover Look

Here is the new look for my pattern covers. Thanks Aimee for inspiring me with your ideas.

Check out the latest on I Made This from Sunny Pattern by Cara Beth Creations.

Karen Capri Set Now Available on YouCanMakeThis.com

My newest pattern - Karen Capri Pants and Halter Top is now available on YouCanMakeThis.com. Also available are the two dress bundle pack and the 3 outfit bundle pack. All of these are also available in my Etsy shop. All of these outfits are easy to make and would be a great addition to any little girl's summer wardrobe.

Tutu Dress Pattern

It's been a busy day. We had an APIL (Ascension Parish Inclusion League) event this morning which included bowling and crafts. The children had a great time. Many of the regulars returned as well as some new faces. At our next event, on January 26th, we will have a Mardi Gras parade. We're planning to decorate wagons, wheel chairs, wear costumes, throw beads and eat King Cake. It should be great fun. After the APIL event, I came home and finalized my Tana Tutu Dress Pattern. Little girls love dressing up and the tulle ruffle adds that extra girly touch to the dress. My models had fun wearing the dresses and allowing me to take pictures. Thanks Aimee for letting me borrow your beautiful little girls and helping with the cover. I should be able to submit it for testing in the next couple of days.

To top off the day, I cooked some beef stew. I guess all the activity worked up an appetite.

Pink/Black Tutu Dress

This is another tutu dress I recently finished. This one has ties at the shoulder and flares out more than the other aline version in the previous post. I used light pink pique with tiny white dots for the main dress and light pink broadcloth for the lining. Black tulle and black grosgrain ribbon were used for the accents. This one is a Size 2 and available on etsy.

I'm also working on making this an epattern but need to work out the details. I'll post about it as it progresses.

Finished Latest Project - Flower Power Tutu Dress

I finally found a few hours to sew today and made this dress and listed it in my Etsy shop. It is lined in hot pink broadcloth and has the appearance of a skirt made of netting underneath. I gathered 4" of netting and attached it 2" above the hem. Not only does the turquoise ribbon act as trim, it also hides the seam to sew the gathered strip of netting.
The fabric is so bright and colorful, great for the Spring.

I thought it needed something else so I added a bow made from some of the turquoise ribbon.

There is a seam down the back with a slit opening. I will probably use a hook and eye closure at the top or perhaps a snap.

Busy Week

The past few days have been very busy. Saturday, my daughter Betsey, graduated from college. After attending the graduation ceremony, we had a family get together at my house. Here are a couple of pictures, one of Betsey with her 92 year old grandmother at the family party and Betsey and Sunny before the graduation ceremony. I am so very proud of Betsey and her accomplishments.





After that, I attended my work Christmas Party. Sunday I finished up my Christmas shopping and Monday attended the jewelry show with my niece. To top off the day, I bought a set of dishes for my home at Tanger Outlet. Evidently, all of the Mikasa stores in the US are closing as of December 31st and everything in the store is 40% off on top of the already discounted outlet price. It was a great deal. Here is what they look like.




I've been trying to do a little sewing also. After the holidays, I plan to start sewing for my Etsy shop and a possible booth in the Spring. I've been buying some very cute fabric that I want to make some Annette Reversible Sundresses out of and some totes. Some of the totes have already been given as gifts and I've sold a couple more as a result of the gift. I plan to make a line of "Mommy and Me" totes that will include a large one for the mom and a smaller replica for the daughter. Here is a preview of one set I finished last night.

Little Girl Dresses for a Needy Family

Today was quite a busy day. I left to go shopping around 7:30AM and got back at about 2PM. I went to Hobby Lobby, the Mall, Burlington Coat Factory, Tanger Outlet, KMart and the Flea Market. I managed to get quite alot of Christmas shopping done. We pulled names yesterday so I not only have to shop for myself, but also for my mom, half sister and son. After Thanksgiving, I get in a hurry to complete the Christmas shopping so I can concentrate on the meals.

After shopping and taking a short nap, I started sewing while watching the LSU game. (which was very disappointing when they lost to Arkansas in the 3rd overtime).

Every year the employees of our company adopt a family to help at Christmas. This year's family has a set of twins and a 4 year old. Since they are all girls, I decided to make them matching dresses. Here is the almost finished product. I still have the buttons and button holes down the back to complete. I found this embroidered corduoroy fabric at Hancock Fabric along with the hot pink twill lining.

For the last couple of years, we have also adopted a military unit that we collect items for and send out at the beginning of December. This year we are sending items to a unit in Afghanistan. My heart goes out to the troops that will be spending Christmas so far away from home and to their families who won't have their loved ones with them during the holidays.

Christmas is a time of giving so consider donating items for the military or a needy family. There are so many opportunities available to help someone, whether it be a co-worker, family, neighbor, the troops or someone you don't know. The benefits can be as good for the giver as the reciever.