200th Post & A Great Give Away!

It is hard to believe that I have hit that milestone....my 200th blog post! In celebration and appreciation of all of you who have continued to stop by and catch up with gock's frocks I am going to give away a few goodies to a few lucky readers!


sorry....I know that picture has nothing to do with the giveaway but I wanted to share some of the fun I had this week! I realized I am always on the taking end of the photos and there are very few of me ANYWHERE so I took a few self-portraits .

So...on to the giveaway!

I will choose 3 lucky winners to receive the following:

1. $50 gift certificate to my etsy store



2. one log cabin pillow cover of your choice up to size 19" x 19"





3. crafty pack of 4 fat quarters from my OTHER etsy store and some coordinating trims

So...how do you enter???

Leave a comment...let me know your favorite item in my etsy shop = 1 entry
Write a blog post about the giveaway and link to my blog = 5 entries (leave me a comment with your blog address so I can check it out!)
Share it on Facebook, twitter etc.... = 1 entry
Join my Mailing List = 2 entries

When does the contest end??

April 13th is the last day to enter - I will choose the winners & post on the 14th so you have a little something to celebrate before tax day!

Have fun!

Spring Fling!

Happy Spring Everyone!

In honor of a new season, new beginnings and my 199th post I am offering a special sale through the weekend - Buy 1 get 1 half off from my ready to ship section on etsy!

I have just added some new goodies to that section too!






I also added custom log cabin pillow slipcovers...



just send me a message at checkout or through convo with the code: SPRING FLING and I will send a refund for 1/2 of the lower priced ready to ship item.

Happy Shopping!

March Madness - downhill style!

Yesterday we celebrated our own version of March Madness at our local ski area. A number of fun activities were planned that provided entertainment for one & all....

First, there were the costumes...



then the cardboard box sleds for the derby....





and then the race.....down the halfpipe.....and for some, through the safety fencing!!














yes...CARDBOARD boxes! Can you believe some of the designs...amazing and so fun to watch fly down the hill. The grand finale - at least for us - was the award ceremony where Little Man won the 1st place trophy for the race series for boys 6 & under! He was SO excited!! He actually took off the tutu to get his trophy!



one more event before the day was done - skiing over the slush pond....one of the 1st to go was Little Man's 7 year old friend!



she scored big on the style points! So the season ends. It was a lot of fun - no better way to pass a wintry day than with friends & family on the slopes! Already looking forward to next season!

Ain't she sweet!

just had to share a quick pic from today



see...I told you I love the new Frida pattern coming soon from Patty Young see more in my flickr account

New on Etsy

Happy Spring...well almost.

I have been busy working on some fun new projects....I am developing a tutorial for my simply charming skirts which will be available here as well as the FabricHound website.

I also had the good fortune of working with Patty Young of ModKid to help test her new line of patterns. I have just listed Serenity in my etsy shop - a new top made from her Frida pattern.

This is available in top or dress length and can be made custom from any fabrics in my stash!


available in sizes 2/3, 4/5, 6/7 (which fits an 8 slim)

serenity on etsy

I have also listed 2 new cherry skirts on etsy

the black skirt is available as a women's skirt as well!
gock's frocks on etsy

more OOAK goodies to come later this week as I start clearing out my stash!

A Pillow Makeover...

....or another case of crafting ADD! Last Thursday I had the brilliant idea that we should have a surprise 75th birthday dinner for my FIL on Saturday. No sweat - 48 hours to clean & cook a dinner for 17!

While cleaning up the house I decided that the cranberry pillows on our couch were too christmasy/wintry and that I needed to bring a bit of spring into the house...so I snuck down to my sewing room to see what I could whip up!


Before:


I have long admired the log cabin squares that Jona of Stop Staring & Start Sewing fame has been working on so I decided to give it a try myself!


attempt #1 - shades of aqua and celedon. Some Amy Butler, Erin McMorris and a touch of the new Oh Cherry Oh! It was so much fun I started in on another...


some green & yellow this time - Heather Bailey, Amy Butler, Oh Cherry Oh!...I was really getting the hang of this & could see how Jona was addicted. So back to the basement I went...


pinks & oranges this time....just needed one more to balance the couch!

I think I saved the best for last! I went through the pile of strips I had cut for the other 3 pillows & started with Heather Ross's matryoshka's in lavender and ended up with my favorite pillow of the day!

I may attack the living room pillows next with Patty Young's Andalucia! Let me know what you think about the great pillow makeover!

The Domestic Divo strikes again!

klem has become a domestic divo! He was bored yesterday so he decided to make some fresh squeezed OJ...do you like the purple juicer!





I love having him puttering in the kitchen with me. Such a comforting feeling working side by side with him, teaching him little tricks and tips. Thanks kiddo!

Yummmy!

Klem decided to make a tasty treat tonight to have while we watched survivor. He was bored & thought cooking might give him something to do - wish he was bored more often!

We had been nibbling on chickpeas for dinner so I suggested seasoning them & toasting them in the oven. We found this tasty recipe...courtesy of Martha and got right to work.

Drain, rinse, and pat-dry a 19-ounce can of chickpeas. Toss them in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a pinch of ground pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite dried herb or spice (we used curryand cumin). Arrange them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and cook at 300 degrees, stirring occasionally until they have browned and begin to crisp, about 50 minutes. Serve at room temperature.



credit to Martha for the photo - ours were so tasty they were gone before I could snap a pic!

Extreme Makeover.........

Dog Edition...or "how to lose 10 lbs in 2 hours!"

We have a big fluffy labradoodle - and when I say big...I mean 96lbs big! I love him long and shaggy but his coat becomes unmanageable, so yesterday he had his date with the groomer.

Let's start with a few BEFORE pictures...





isn't he so soft & cuddly looking! Like a little polar bear. So...I dropped him at 9am and picked him up at 1pm....where did my little bear go????





he looks so girly!!! but he is SO soft! I couldn't resist a couple of dress up photos!