Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing everyone a very joyful and blessed day.

Track Team Honored at Southeastern University Football Game

Yesterday I attended the last home game for the Southeastern University Lions. My daughter, Betsey, and some of her track teammates were honored at halftime for their accomplishments. Some because they qualified to compete in the Regional Track and Field Meet and Betsey and her teammate, Curtis, who were the only two on the track team to compete at the NCAA National Championships is Sacramento, CA. In addition to the halftime honors, we got a chance to watch Brian Babin play the last home game for the season. We have been knowing Brian's family for many years and I really enjoyed the chance to see him play. To top it all off, it was my first time attending a college football game, someone I worked with gave us great tickets on the 40 yard line and allowed us to park at his house which was less than a block from the football field, the weather was pleasantly cool and I got to spend time with my daughter, Betsey, her friend, Sunny, and some of Betsey's teammates. All in all, it turned out to be a very enjoyable day.

Southeastern Track and Field Regional and National Qualifiers

Brian Babin #10, Quarterback - Southeastern Lions

Christmas Gift Idea/Cookbook and Memories

My twin sister and I always enjoyed cooking and had our favorite recipes we made over and over. Like many who have a collection of recipes, ours were in books, on pieces of paper, on index cards, etc. A couple of years ago, I decided to make a simple recipe book that would put our favorite recipes in one location. Anyway, that is how it started. Since my twin sister had passed away 8 years before and her husband 5 years later, this would also be a special gift for their two daughters. The idea began to grow and I decided to include pictures and stories. I searched through boxes of old pictures, picking my favorites and scanning them to my computer. I began gathering the recipes and jotting down stories. The process of putting it all together was very time consuming and brought out many emotions, some happy and some sad. I got our children and my parents involved to help with the stories and to help me decide what to include. I enjoyed the project tremendously and was very pleased with the result. I ended up printing about 25 copies and gave them as Christmas gifts to each of my children, my parents, close friends and family of my sister and brother in law and a few others who requested a copy. Everyone loved the idea and enjoyed making the journey through the book. I have my copy displayed in my kitchen and use the recipes from it often.

Here is a sample of some of the pages.

This is the cover with one of my favorite pictures of two of us. These dresses were made for us by my grandmother. On the collar is a pin with the first initial of our names that we wore throughout most of our school years. It was the only way the teachers could tell us apart. The next few pictures are samples of some of the pages. I put a picture and story on the left side of each page and a recipe on the right.Trying to figure out how to arrange it so that I could print on both sides of the paper was a bit of a challenge. Also, I wanted to start with us as infants and progress through the ages.

I also included an introduction, table of contents and a few personal messages at the end - to their girls, my children and my mom. I also added a couple of blank pages and a couple of lined pages with lines to add other recipes.

For anyone who has lost a loved one, this is a great way to document some of the stories, share favorite pictures and remember them in a special way.

Christmas Stocking - Zebra Print

This is the latest Christmas Stocking I've made. It's made of a velvety zebra print fabric. The cuff is fleece and I lined it in red broadcloth with a black chenille loop for hanging.

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.