APIL Event This Saturday - November 10th

We have another APIL event this weekend from 10 - 11:30AM at St. Amant Park. It will involve hockey and crafts. Ascension Parish Inclusive League is a non-competitive, all inclusive sports program for children between the ages of 4 and 13 of ALL abilities. If you are interested or know someone interested in more information, call the Ascension Parish Recreation Department at (225) 621-9661. Volunteers are also needed. The volunteers have as much fun as the children and leave with such a great feeling.

Here are pictures from our last event.

Christmas Stocking and Scarf Ebooks on YCMT

My two new ebooks are now available on YouCanMakeThis.com. This has been so much fun, making the ebooks, making the stockings and starting the Etsy shop. I am an Accounting Manager during the day so doing these projects has helped to fulfill my creative side. An added benefit has been learning more on the computer side - changing files to pdf, changing the size of pictures, uploading, downloading, setting up accounts, etc.

I am hoping to continue to add new and interesting things to both websites and really give my best effort to make this business grow. Maybe even be on Oprah one day!!!!

So everyone, go to YouCanMakeThis.com and Etsy.com and buy all my stuff!!!!!

All joking aside, leave me a comment on what you think.

Halloween Ninja Costume

These are some pictures of my "adopted" grandchild in the Ninja costume I made for her. I used a robe pattern for the top and a simple elastic waist pants pattern for the bottoms. With some of the extra fabric I cut rectangle strip for the headband.

As you can see, she really got into the character for the pictures.

More Stockings

I am having so much fun making these stockings. Here are a few more I've done. Some will be sold in my Etsy shop and some are for gifts.

This one is great for those LSU Tiger fans. I think these will be a big hit. I've sold one and am considering making a couple for those on my Christmas list.

I went through my fabric stash and came up with this combination.

This one matches a little girl's dress I made and have for sale on Etsy.

This one was made from an old chenille bedspread that someone gave me. The trim also came from the bedspread. This one is sold but I am going to try to make another from the same bedspread. I really like the idea of recycling old things into something new.

Another chenille but this one was new fabric with the poodle chenille cuff.
This one is black corduroy. The picture isn't very good but there are large red bells hanging from the cuff.

I had enough fabric to make 3 of these. The red fabric is what I used to cover the seats of my dining chairs and the stripe fabric is what I used for curtains. I decided to keep one of each for my mantel and have one to sell or give as a gift.

I love ladybugs and I thought the lime green looked good against the red.

This one has beads and sequins on the fabric and is a linen blend fabric with the poodle chenille cuff.

APIL Fall Fest Kick Off Celebration

This past Saturday we had the Ascension Parish Inclusive League Fall Fest and Ribbon Cutting. The event was a huge success. The weather was perfect and we had a large number of children and their families attend. Here are some pictures.
The ribbon cutting ceremony was part of the kickoff. My dad was given the honor of cutting the ribbon. He and my mom came to support the program as well as represent the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization. Pictured to the far left is Tommy Martinez who is in the runoff for Ascension Parish President.

This is Abram and is cousin Carrie with my daughter Betsey. Abram is the cousin we went to watch play t-ball at a similar program in Baton Rouge that inspired my daughter Betsey to start APIL.

This is my "adopted granchild", Riley, who calls me Nanoo (which inspired my logo). She is wearing the Ninja costume I made for her.

Here's a closeup of Riley decorating a treat bag and the station I worked at the Fall Fest.

This is my oldest daughter, Tana, helping at one of the game stations. There were 6 game stations with prizes and candy handed out at each. Besides the games, we had a picture station, cotton candy, hamburgers, hot dogs, cookies, cake and face painting.

The team that has been instrumental in getting this league started as well as the fall fest is a awesome group of people who have gone above and beyond to make it all happen.

Dr. Rebecca Mandel and her co-workers, Jen and Karen, wrote the grant that provides funding for the program. In addition, the three of them along with Rebecca's husband helped decorate and man the stations as needed for the event.

Sherrie Kinchen and Beth Clark who work for Ascension Parish Recreation have been mentors to Betsey as she gains experience in running the program. Their attention to details, moral support and encouragement while letting her make the decisions and plan the program has been invaluable. Along with everything else they do, they made the backdrop for the pictures.

Courtney Vicknair, co-director of the program and her family have also been a huge part of the success of the program.

In addition to the professional people involved, friends and family have supported Betsey in her effort to make this program a reality.

Quinton Leblanc, who Betsey has been friends with since middle school, has been involved with the program since it's start. His mom has also helped spread the news about the program and brought a car load of children to the fall fest.

Betsey's friend and partner, Sunny, has also been involved from the start and even though she was in pain from a bad toothache Saturday, she was a trooper and stuck it out till the end of the kick off.

My niece, Karen, came out to help set up for the Fall Fest. Tana and Joey (my daughter and son) and Joey's girlfriend, Nicole, were at the kickoff to help man the stations and help wherever needed.

My friend Sandi gave the league information to her son, Brian, who works for Channel 2. He sent a reporter out to cover the event and showed it on the 10 o'clock news.

Having a program like this in Ascension Parish is a great opportunity to make recreation accessible to children of all abilities. On a more personal note, watching my daughter use her talents and gifts for such a worthy cause and seeing the support of family and friends makes me very proud.

My Latest Stocking

Since my specialty is girl stuff, I thought it was time to do something more masculine. This latest stocking is made of soft brown pinwale corduroy lined with a thin camo fabric. The cuff is fleece. I made this one for a precious little boy named Couper but will probably make another one to put on my Etsy shop soon.

Scarf & Stocking Ebooks

These are the two new projects I've been working on. They are almost done and hopefully will be on Etsy and You Can Make This websites soon. In addition to the ebooks, I've made several stockings that I should be putting in my Etsy shop. They were so much fun to make, I'm thinking about making a few to give as Christmas gifts. An LSU one for a Tiger Fan; a camo one for a baby I know who is only 2 months old, a Disney one for my niece....... Maybe I can make them a matching scarf. I better get busy. My list is growing.

Christmas Stocking

I've taken a detour from making clothing and am making Christmas Stockings for my Etsy Shop. I'm also putting together an ebook on how to make them for the You Can Make This website. Here is a sneak preview.

I'm looking forward to making these. I have alot of ideas I want to try so keep checking my blog for new pictures.

Stay tuned - I'm thinking about a Christmas Giveaway in the near future.

Also, check out this link, I'm a featured author on the You Can Make This website.

Amy and Ava in their fleece jackets

Here are the sisters I made the jackets for. See previous post .
Once we put the coats and scarves on them, they started running around and being silly. They were having so much fun. I managed to get a couple of pictures while they were playing.

Aren't the girls adorable?

Corduoroy Jumper

This jumper was made from the Annette Reversible Sundress Pattern but instead of loops and a ribbon tie, I made straps. I put buttons on both sides of the straps so it could be reversed. Since the front and back are the same, the button straps can be used in either direction. I added two buttons on each strap to accommodate growth.One side is a soft pinwale pink corduroy and the other is a pink and brown coordinating cotton check.

I made a removable fabric flower for each side.

This would really cute with a brown blouse or turtleneck underneath and some matching leggings for Fall. This is one of the dresses I have listed in my Etsy shop.

Esty Shop

I finally took the plunge and put some of my dresses on Etsy.com . I tried setting up a shop once before but couldn't get pictures to download. That kind of thing frustrates me. I contacted their customer support and with their help and some additional frustration, I was able to get some items listed about 4 hours later. I'm still trying to figure out how to get the main page prettier but for now at least I'm up and running. Seven items listed so far and hoping to put more soon. It is very satisfying and fun to watch as items are viewed and sold. Hopefully, I will get to experience that soon.

All in One Pattern

My friend, Aimee's pattern is now available on the You Can Make This website. Check it out.

Fleece Jackets

Last night and today, I've been working on fleece jackets. Fleece is easy to work with and because it doesn't ravel you don't have to worry about finishing the seams. I made 2 red jackets and 2 with ladybugs. The collar is made from a very soft furry black fabric. The fur fabric was harder to work with because it was so slippery and shed alot when cut. I had black threads everywhere.
With the little piece of extra fabric, I made a scarf using both the red and ladybug print. These jackets are for sisters, Ava and Amy. I hope to get a picture of the girl's wearing them and post it later.

Sew Sensible's All-In-One EPattern

Here is Aimee's All-In-One Pattern she designed and will be putting on You Can Make This website soon. She asked me to test it and here is the result. The pattern is very easy to make and the instructions are simple to follow. The pattern comes in sizes 24 months to size 6. There is also instructions for an optional ruffle along the top and pants legs. Here is a link to her website for more information and to see pictures of what it looks like on her daughters.

The back is halter style with elastic that can be adjusted for growth.

Almost Done!

I'm just about done with the dress. Since the retro dot fabric I used for the lining was so colorful, I made a band of it around the bottom. I used heat bond to hold it in place but also sewed along the top and bottom edges.
Here is the back. I still have the buttons and button holes to make. It buttons all the way down the back.

The trim in the back matched perfectly to form a red circle. Believe me, I didn't plan this. It just happened to fall that way. How cool is that.

This is a Size 1. I am considering getting a booth at a craft show around Christmas if I can get together enough stuff to sell. If not, I may try in the Spring.

Back to Sewing!!!

Even though I haven't been sewing any children's clothing lately, I've been adding to my fabric stash. I've collected quite a variety of cute fabrics that I can't wait to start sewing. When I don't have anything particular in mind to make, I go through my fabric stash and pick several pieces and lay them on a table. Sometimes just seeing a design on a piece of fabric will give me inspiration for an outfit. I like to visualize the finished product, then start working from that idea by combining and changing existing patterns or making my own. There are several ideas I have in mind to try. One of them is a simple A Line dress. If this one works out, I may make an ebook out of the pattern. Below is the "test" one I cut out this morning. I'm making it out of the solid and lining it with the retro dots. I want to put some kind of decoration on the front but haven't decided what that will be yet. I'll post the finished product when it's done.

Ethnic Look

This was an outfit I made from some fabric I found on a sale table at Hancocks. I think it was about $2 per yard. It was very soft and had that flowing feel to it. I thought it had an ethnic look and I wanted to experiment with a design I had in mind. It is a very simple designed top with pants. Even though the top is a little too long; my model, Riley, had fun posing for me and liked the way the fabric felt. With a scrap of the fabric, I made a headband to match. I added a ring to the tie around the neck for some added decoration. The top is just a rectangle with elastic across the top and a tie around the neck for a halter look.

The pants are plain elastic waist style.