The seamstress in Western Pennsylvania

The chimes tingle as you open the door to Blemahdoos dress shop at 221 E. Eighth Ave., Homestead.

A broadly smiling, round-cheeked Dosina Blemahdoo waves visitors to come on in.

A seamstress from Ghana, Blemahdoo plans to live up to the meaning of her last name, a Ga word that translates as being older or having endurance.

She's been in Pittsburgh since 1973, coming here when her husband began studying accounting at Point Park College. She opened her dress-making shop in 1991, first in Garfield and then in Homestead. Today, she makes the colorful, traditional clothing of her homeland, and she sells woodwork and other goods.

She wants to be around for a long time.

"The United States is a nice place to live," she said, "but living here means you have to work hard."

Blemahdoo, who grew up watching her mom sell fabrics in the marketplace, is still adjusting to a different work ethic.

In Accra, where she lived, if an item of clothing wasn't ready, her clients waited.

Here, she keeps long hours and continues to sew when she goes to her North Side home to keep on schedule.

"You have to have it ready," she said.

Blemahdoo has been a U.S. citizen for 12 years. Life has had its struggles. Her three children, ages 30, 27 and 16, were taunted with racial slurs when they first moved into a mostly white neighborhood years ago.

At 56, she can recall when Ghana won its independence from Great Britain in 1957. The unrest that followed meant people couldn't always speak freely against the government.

The ability to criticize leaders here endears her to America.

"In this place, you can fight for your rights," she said.

Blemahdoo gave up her Ghanaian citizenship but travels back about once a year to collect materials for her business.

When she first came to town, she was involved with Pittsburgh's Ghana Association, a group that assists immigrants with relocation and helps them ferry goods and funding back to family living in Africa.

But not any more. "There were a lot of Christmas and birthday parties," she said. "I'm not a party person."