Coming this Saturday ....

Rochester's very own MAYDAY!underground arts & crafts show at the Main Street Armory!

There will be over 90 vendors and the first 50 people through the door will receive a free swag bag filled with handmade items!



come see some of my new one of a kind designs!

Do you remember when....

as a child the mere site of a new box of 64 count crayola crayons could set my heart a thumping....cracking it open, selecting that first color....so many colors to choose from. It was heaven!



now... my heart starts beating faster when I catch a glimpse of this....




oh how I wish that this arrived in my mailbox... I would create some amazing new designs .... too bad christmas is so many months away!

New for spring!

I have been listing some delightful new spring offerings for women & girls in my etsy shop...

Serenity Garden came about as a customer request from a customer...



she also inspired Strawberry Fields



and for the big girls - 2 new yoga waist skirts...also the result of custom orders from a customer headed to Hawaii on vacation!


Celadon Garden .. also avail in girls sizes :)



and to be listed later this morning.... Meadowsweet yoga waist skirt




Pop over to the shop and check them out! Have an idea for your own custom - let me know and we will work on something special just for you!

Will work for Fabric...

you know those signs you sometimes see people standing at the edge of the road holding...



I think mine should say... "Will Work For Fabric"...because I have been known to do this in the past!



Last year I swapped my labor for the giant roll of batting you see in the photo above. I did some sewing for Roc-Lon Industries for quilt market & in return I got the batting...only problem was, I didn't quilt!

I have long drooled over the new movement in quilting - modern colors, traditional patterns approached in non-traditional ways, the use of solid colors to complement the prints and decided just before christmas that I wanted to give quilting a try and made some table runners for gifts.

Then I stumbled upon a friends blog post announcing season 2 of Project Quilting! This was just the inspiration and challenge I needed to try my hand at quilting!

here are a couple of pics of my work in progress..






and the description of my piece for the challenge - inspiring friendships

20"square pillow cover

named for Friendship, NY

driving through the hills of allegheny ny this summer I passed a roadsign for Friendship NY and thought that would be a great place to say that you were from ... when I spotted this challenge on your blog I thought it would be the perfect place name from which to draw my inspiration.

so... friendship...my online friendship with you brought me to this challenge, the fabrics I used are from other "friends" I have made both online and in real life while pursuing my creative endeavors...Patty Young and I started out together in the same boutique group on ebay, I met Sandi Henderson there as well, Jennifer Paganelli and I became online friends and later met in real life when I visited her home in CT for one of her fabulous home shows(turns out she also has inlaws in my hometown!), and I snuck a little Valorie Wells in there as I had the good luck to meet her at quilt market!

the nesting dolls fabric represents the friends we made while living in Poland too many years ago!

the fabric used for the border came from my stash - the outermost print reminds me of the hills where friendship, NY is located

I started with a log cabin block that I cut into quarters, shifted around and sewed back together, made the stripwork heart applique, added batting & backing and quilted it all free motion (?) ... as I may have mentioned this is one of my first forays into quitling and I don't know all the correct terminology yet! I then added an envelope back to the front so it could be used on a 20" pillow form

thanks for inspiring me!

Facebook Fan Page Specials...

After seeing a variety of promotion ideas on facebook I have decided to try offering some specials available only through my fan page for a special price.

Tonight I posted the first deal....



this dress is a one of a kind - ready to ship in a size XS (4/5/6) for $30 shipped priority in the US

if you are interested in any of these deals on my fan page, message me with your paypal addy and I will invoice you directly!

if that is not your size or style I have listed a couple of new skirts in my etsy shop

Sunny Days




and Mikayla

Wear it Wednesday!

A sweet & funky skirt for valentines and beyond! Hearts and ruffles, a rainbow of colors



available in 12months - 12 years in my etsy shop or leave a comment on the blog or my facebook fan page!

Holiday Open House at the Hungerford




The Hungerford Unwrapped!

Friday, December 3 · 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Saturday Dec 4th 1:00pm-4:00pm
1115 E. Main Street, at Goodman
Rochester, NY

Explore 4 floors of fine art & craft. Enjoy food, music, festivities & fun to WRAP UP your holiday gift giving.

Over 35 studios will be open

SHOP Local & Handmade for the Holidays!

How I spent last weekend....

Last weekend I had the honor of showing my goodies at a local juried art show that is held by our local Memorial Art Gallery each year. I was a bit nervous as the weather has been known to be rather nasty for this event but I managed to escape all but a brief shower on Sunday.

This was my first solo outdoor show and I was not sure what to expect with set-up and display.



I had a corner which was great for showing off my goodies and I had lots of time to look at my booth to see what was working and what wasn't...I would also love your ideas for better or different ways to show off my items.



my number one helper was there both days! couldn't do it without her!



happy customers donned their new skirts and took them for a test twirl!

I also added some new items in my inventory for those shoppers without little kids...reversible tote bags & tablecloths!





new knot tie jumpers



funky flower pins

gock's frocks is now appearing at Kittleberger's

I am pleased to announce that you may now shop for special one of a kind gock's frocks designs at Kittleberger Florist & gift shop in Webster NY!

Offerings include petal filled tutus, peasant tops& dresses, skirts, appliqued crazy daisy tees, t-shirt dresses and frida tunics ... all one of a kind - available only at Kittleberger!

show me the love!

I love my customers and am always tickled to see the photos they send me in their gock's frocks ... I'd like to share a few I recently received and encourage you to send me photos of your gock's frocks in action!





Hard to believe she just had a baby!!!






and isn't she scrumptious! I so miss that age!!! thanks again for sharing - keep them coming!

Sharing some new designs....

I recently had the good luck of working with Carrie Daly of Daly Moments Photography in photographing some of my new spring designs....

she specializes in natural light photography (my favorite) and the weather in Michigan finally cooperated for her to get some great shots outdoors...

enjoy and pop over to etsy if you are interested in purchasing any of these!

You're Invited....

to the grand opening of my new studio space! It is rather hard to believe that I have moved out of my cave in the basement into such a light airy space.




I have teamed up with a local jewelry designer to share almost 800sq ft in an old fruit factory....we patiently waited about 6 weeks for them to renovate the space

this was about 2 weeks into the renovation work

and we thought it looked pretty good then until we saw this....


now it is a bit more filled up but we are slowly making it our home away from home...



some of my favorite fabrics in embroidery hoops



prints I use at shows



my trusty machines



and maazing cutting table my dad helped me with! the baskets have felted wool sweater parts sorted by color and bolts of fabric waiting to be cut are in the lower cubes. It is all mounted on a solid wood base on heavy duty casters so I can move it around the studio. My dad is the best!

So...if you have made it this far and are still reading I am extending an invitation to stop by our open house tomorrow night from 5-9pm ... email me for more details!

A budding fashion designer...



This morning, about 25 minutes before the bus was expected, Eily asked if I could make her a pink skirt to wear for school - you see, yesterday I managed to pull off a skirt and a pair of pants before the bus as we had no green to wear to school so now E thinks I am a miracle worker, speedy seamstress.

Not wanting to disappoint I sent her to get ready after she picked her fabrics...she also had definite ideas about the style - high waisted and poufy ... I made my yoga style waist and added elastic to the hem to give it the full look she wanted - the result, in my humble opinion was pretty cute!

I think I will offer these on etsy for the tween crowd...what do you think??