Working Through Some "Issues".....

Don't believe in complaining - it only proliferates negative energy and compounds frustration. So I do what I do - to work through "stuff" - I workout, I run, or I sew! Therapy.

Made this turkey out of batik fabrics that I've been hoarding ( sometimes I just can't bring myself to use stuff I really love - isn't that DUMB!) It actually was a pattern, but I didn't like the pattern so I changed it up. The turkey was supposed to be mounted on a "pieced" background which I thought made it way too busy and took away from this cutie. So I cut him off the pieced backing, and satin stitched all the way around his body, which added tons of dimension and personality.

Here is the Autumn Leaf Tote I have been working on. I was soooo tempted to keep this one for myself. The fabric I used on this is without a doubt the coolest batik I've ever found. I wish I would have bought about 10 yards because this would have made a really stunning quilt.

I made the leaves like I do for most of my projects - commercial leaves that I cut up and paint with Lumiere Metallic paint. I appliqued these leaves to a piece of jet black canvas before attaching them to both the front and back of the bag. The inside is lined with tea dyed muslin and I made a pocket edged with canvas and embellished with a bronze word charm,"Dream." (little hidden messages make me happy!)

Both of these are available in my Etsy shops. The tote is in my Clevelandgirlie Etsy shop, and the turkey is at MountainGirlQuilts at Etsy.

Go outside, look up at the sky, and breathe....

A Taste of Appalachia and the Blue Ridge Mountains....

We spent the day on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, and up through to Skyline Drive in Virginia on Thursday - traveling through the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachians.
A journey we typically do on the Harley, we decided since it was going to be a long journey done in one day that we would do it in the Jeep with the windows out - in order to appreciate the cool temperatures, the rustling of the leaves and the glorious smells.

The day started out a bit gloomy with grey and white clouds sifting down through the mountains...
I really didn't mind though, because the sky suited the day. Crisp, cool, breezy - a perfect Autumn day.

Around lunch time the sun was warm and started melting the clouds away. TheY were evaporating before my very eyes....

At lunchtime, we decided rather than eat in a restaurant - we'd eat out. So we got sandwiches and found a spot with a perfect view...

Some unusual "hitchhikers" on an expired Lady's Slipper flower. I couldn't resist bringing one of those pods home.

As the blue sky unveiled itself, the muted colors of the forest came alive. Red, Orange, Yellow, Gold leaves - everywhere. The forest was on fire!

After a leisurely day of just taking in beauty, we decided to Start heading home around 4, (we left the house at 5:30 a.m.) It began to get cloudy and cold....
Every turn around a bend, every time the sun went behind a cloud - the scenery changed, the colors changed, the mood changed. We spotted a Christmas Tree Farm along the way. I wondered if this is where our tree comes from every year??? What a cool way to make a living. I could seriously do that. Around 7:30 pm it was pitch black. We drove slowly around the twists and turns of the mountains as the night came alive with wildlife. The highlight of our journey was the sight of a black bear cub bouncing across the Blue Ridge Parkway in the dark without a care in the world. We stopped and watched him for a few minutes. I so wanted to get out to take a picture, but my husband reminded me - where there's a baby, there's a momma. It was a sight I will NEVER forget.

I so love the Autumn and the Winter.

I just can't stay indoors. The Reccas come alive with the arrival of the cold, windy, weather. I'm already thinking about our next adventure. Maybe Tennessee, the Smokey Mountains -- when the snow starts falling.

I'll be posting in a day some of the stuff I've been working on. My new header is a sneak peak. The studio's a mess - that means progress!! Now turn off that computer and go outside and PLAY!

Karen LOVES Bees and Lynette loves Surprises...

Okay, so Karen has a "thing" for bees. Fine. If it's a bee she wants- it's a bee she'll get.
Here is my page for Karen's Girlfriend's Art Sketchbook. THIS is the tar gel image transfer I did using Golden's Tar Gel over a copy of a picture Sabrina took of a bee on an echinacea flower, which I then threadpainted. How absolutely cool this came out. I do hope she likes it.

Now Lynette's page - I'm keeping that a surprise, because she is about to get her book back soon. So here's a sneak peak....

Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.

Jewels of Autumn - Art Pins Featured in Etsy Treasury....

My little purple art pins are featurued in a beautiful "purple" themed Etsy Treasury for the next few days. I do LOVE PURPLE!! Just click on words Etsy Treasury above to check it out.

Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.

I've Been Dreaming of Skulls with Cobalt Blue Swarovski Crystal Eyes....

Unbelieveable.... it's DONE!! It only took me 4 months.

This was the hardest thing I've ever put together. No lie -- even more difficult than that dang satin dress I made her for the talent show last year. This thing was a "beast!"

I'm not gonna lie - I am the worst at following patterns. I don't like the way they are written. They leave too much to the - imagination! However, in all fairness - this pattern was actually pretty darn good. It was written right into the pattern when things got a little sticky. And did they ever get sticky!

One thing I learned in making this bag full of zippers, pockets, pouches, toggles, buttons and velcro - is that if I don't think too hard, and just do "what it says," it really does work out in the end. There is only one little trouble spot I am not pleased with and that is the bulk at the right end of the zipper on the main body of the bag.

I had fun hiding a few secret surprises in it - just for fun, as well as a bag of Skittles in the main zipper pouch.

So glad I finally got this off my worktable. I don't know why sometimes I put things off. Fear of failure, I guess. I kept coming back to this one - and I'm glad I did. I learned a heck of a lot, and Sabrina - well she's just as happy as she could be with her skulls.

Tomorrow - our son is taking over parental responsibilities for the day so Blaise and I can get up early, early (4:30 a.m.) and head up to the Blue Ridge Mountains (Skyline Drive - one of the TEN most beautiful drives in the country!) to enjoy some "Peak Fall Color." It's been such a hectic few months. It's time to STOP and breathe.

I suggest YOU do the same. Take some time just for YOU today. Paint, Sew, Write, Nap, Play with Your Dog - do what makes YOU happy.

LOTS & LOTS of pictures upon my return.

NOTE: As of the writing of this post, our trip was postponed because - you guessed it - Sal got the flu. Mountain trip now re-scheduled for Thursday departure at 4:30 a.m.

Tar Gel Image Transfer Pictures and Directions (so cool!), Neocolor Threadpainting & Rope Coil Bowl and Placemats in the Works and Coming Soon.

It's a cold rainy day here in NC. I've got quite a few really cool little projects in the works. Should be posting pictures of those today or tomorrow. Until then, here's my updated Flickr set.

Make it a good day - go get messy!



Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.

I'm So Disgusted.....

with the world today -- and that is sad. I have always been an eternal optimist. I've always lived my life (thanks to my Mom's gentle wisdom) knowing that there is always a bright side, the cup is never half empty, it's always DARKEST before the DAWN. I truly believe that. I have raised my kids to believe that. My mother always told me something else that has stuck with me and I find particularly pertinent today - "you ARE the company you keep." An ideal that has served me well.

Working in the legal field for most of my adult life, spending five years at North Carolina State University and then working for a short stint as a high school teacher - I learned (sometimes the hard way) to keep my political opinions to myself - not an easy task for someone who can be as brutally honest and outspoken as me. But it is becoming increasingly more difficult (almost impossible for me) to hold my tongue any longer as I just can NOT believe what is going with "our" Government.

Let me say right off the bat - I am an conservative leaning INDEPENDENT voter, and as an independent - I am disgusted with what is going on in Washington. I don't know about you - but I feel as though I am living in a fog.

My family's breakfast/dinner table - instead of being a place of warm, reflective conversation - lately has turned into a place where we all (kids included) discuss the politics of being an "American," as we each share our, "Can you believe?" "Did you hear?" "Are they actually going to...?" stories, as every day it seems that we are presented with yet another unbelievable scenario of how life, as we know it - is being mandated to change.


"Change." I used to appreciate the word "change," for while it not always meant change for the better - it typically represented movement - to a better place. And even I will admit that earlier in the year (for a brief, very brief period of time) hearing the word "change" actually gave me hope for that movement - to an even better place (as I was NOT unhappy with the place I was in.) But over the last ten months - the overly touted and now, in my opinion "tainted" word "change," has taken on a whole new meaning. One I don't care for one bit.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this. But as a family of proud Americans, here in the Recca house, we have all been discussing what's been going on with our country and even Sabrina is asking, "what can we do about this?"

First and foremost - I tell her to remain informed. And keeping informed does NOT mean engaging or listening only to those that you agree with - but also listening carefully to those you do not agree with. I've also told her that we are now going to start voting in ALL local elections - something which I have never consistently done. Whether it's for school board officials, local city, county government, etc. - it is important we start at the bottom of the pyramid and work up - for is is the BOTTOM of the pyramid - is what "supports" the top.



And finally, we need to get INVOLVED. At this point, I'm not really sure where we are going to get involved - but WE ARE GOING TO GET INVOLVED. I'm in the process of researching appropriate political causes/issues that she and I can get involved in - together. It is important that we teach our children that "change" doesn't just happen - it is created. If you don't like the direction that things are moving - it is YOUR responsibility to do something about it. It's time to take our country back and take control of our destiny.

Now ....... go paint or sew something and think about what YOU can do to create the CHANGE that YOU desire....

Just Can't Talk About it Right Now....

It has been one looooooong month (and a half) Between Gizmo being sick, then Sabrina getting the flu and thank you very much - passing it on to me, I seem to have misplaced over a month of my life.

I don't really feel much like talking today as my head is throbbing, my throat is raw, and I feel like I've just been run over by a truck. I really just need to get a cup of tea and go lay down.

Before I do just that, here are a few pictures of a quilt I finished recently to hold you over until I'm feeling better. It's just a simple 4 patch, but this is my first attempted and a "stripped" binding. I cursed it while I was doing it, but I really like the polish that it adds to an otherwise simple little quilt and I can see using this border again in just black and whites on another quilt that I have in the works that is made with black, white and red skull fabric.

I found this really nice flannel cow print fabric for my baby cow quilt - from a collection called Molly's Backyard which I absolutely love. The hand of the fabric is really, really soft and the scale of the cow print is small - which is hard to find and I like it so much better than the larger scale prints.

Hope you don't get what I've got.

October is here......

Sabrina is trying to decide upon her "look" for a Halloween Party she is attending. Sugar skull or eerie skull?

Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.