Oh How I Love My Girl...

Hard to believe in only a few months she'll be gone.

We spend so much time together, there is really going to be a void.

Not sure how well that is going to sit with me.

Shot Cotton Deliciousness....

Not sure what this is yet - other than a mosaic of frayed edge shot cottons on a linen ground.   What is shot cotton?  It's fabric that is woven with two different colored threads - one for the warp and one for the weft, creating beautiful movement when the light hits it and when the edges are frayed.  I adore frayed edges and the organic feel they give to textiles.

Next, some type of hand stitching will be applied  to the squares and then perhaps "pebble" machine stitching in the negative white space.  Still pondering and enjoying the process

Any ideas??

A Blustery Day on Cape Hatteras...

...but nobody seemed to mind.

My List is Getting Smaller...

This month - I've crossed two MAJOR things off my list - I saw Elton John, and graduated from Harley Davidson's Rider's Edge Program.

SEEING ELTON JOHN IN CONCERT - CHECK!

I've been in love with Elton John since I was a little girl.   Our seats - only about five rows back - were situate where I could see the keys of his piano go down as he played, and see the emotion in his face as he sang.  He treated the audience to over 30 songs from his vast repertoire - ending the concert with a heartfelt and emotional version of "Your Song" - which, having heard that song as a young girl living in  Ohio - brought tears to my eyes.    It was a magical night.

LEARNING TO RIDE A HARLEY -
CHECK!

Last week I spent a grueling and empowering three days learning to ride a motorcycle.
Three days of reading, studying, riding, falling (ouch!), getting up and falling again,
wanting to quit - but NOT, and going back for more - I did it.  I passed the written test, got my permit, attended the school, passed another written test, and most importantly passed the driving skills - Definitely taking me OUT of my comfort zone.  But I am proud to say - out of a class of 13 - I was the only female, intimidating at first, but later empowering.

I've been riding for 20+ years behind my husband - and loving every minute of it.  But now - on to my next adventure.  And while I have no intention of giving up my seat behind him, I am looking forward to occasionally going solo.

Not now Gizmo..
Maybe later.

Silly dog.

With 2012 Fast Approaching....

I find myself reflecting
 on what was the
second most difficult year
of my life. 

It was full of sadness, emptiness, trials, tribulations, worries and a few wonders - each of which left me older, wiser and more aware of how precious every moment of every day is.

It is with this knowledge that I am going to rush forth into the New Year with a fresh perspective on life - no longer dwelling on what could be, what should be, or what isn't.

Instead, I'm going to
take a deep breath,
close my eyes,  and
run directly into the wind. 

I may or may not go it alone.
Bring it on 2012.  I'm ready.

Sabrina's Talent Show Performances - Last Year & This Year..

This Year...



Geeze - they grow up so fast!  Love YOU Honey.  We're so proud of the young lady you've become!!
XO

I Love Christmas Cookies...

and I love making things for people I love.

I've completed four nice projects - one quilting, on knitting, one painting and quilting, and one just painting and mixed media - but guess what!!! I can't show them to you because they are gifts for people who frequent my blog! :( I really want to share them becuase the painted/quilted one came out so cool - but it would spoil the surprise.

Alsa, all is not lost. I do have a present just for "YOU!"
I have a few Christmas surprises to give away to my bloggy friends any day now - so keep checking back. I'm just finalizing the details.

Only 15 days until Christmas!!!

How Many Days is it Until Christmas?????

Only 23 Days Unit Christmas (in case you didn't know!) Thanksgiving is over and now it's time to move on. As we do every Thanksgiving, the Recca family gets up early in the morning, has breakfast and then, husband, son, daughter, corgis (and me) rummage through the attic, basement and closets looking for the boxes upon boxes of outside decorations so we can decorate the exterior of the house - and light up the neighborhood on Thanksgiving evening.

It only takes a few hours, but sometimes it can drag on a wee bit longer - because let's face it -we are not an "all work and no play" family. There's corgis to play with, eggnog to sip and hugs to be had at any given moment - distractions abound. But we did get the job done - in plenty of time to have dinner, clean up, and get back outside before dark.

Here's a picture of Tobie for a change - because, where was Gizmo? He was out back rolling around in the mud. Very naughty corgi. It was bath day anyway - so both corgis enjoyed a luxurious bubble bath in the sink in the garage - before entering for Thanksgiving dinner.

Tonight another tradition takes place. As a reward for all of the exhausting Thanksgiving and Christmas preparation - my husband takes me to a concert during the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last year we saw the Trans Siberian Orchestra - and we loved it. So we're going again tonight. A nice way to take a deep breath before all the craziness begins. (If your not familiar with TSO - they are really something special. Let me put it this way - they play Metallica - so to hear this particular "type" of orchestra play a Christmas Canon - it's pretty cool.)

Tomorrow I will wake up and it will only be 22 days until Christmas. I better get in gear for there are still have cards to write, a tree to buy, cookies to bake, a quilt to finish quilting, pj bottoms to sew, a scarf to finnish knitting, and those socks - well, they may have to wait until Valentine's Day to get those socks!

But that's ok - because tonight... I'm looking forward to the company of my husband, a pomegranet martini, some shrimp cocktail, maybe a little steak and the Trans Siberian Orchestra! Now go get started on YOUR to do list. Remember - only 23 more days!

The Leaves.......

are falling.... and falling.....

and falling.....at the Recca House! We get 'em cleaned up, and they fall some more. Everyone loves playing in the leaves - even Tobie!

NOW... go out and jump in a great big pile of leaves today (when nobody's looking - if you care to do it that way!) It will make you (and anyone who sees you!) SMILE I promise!!

All Kinds of Stuff Going on.....

Been painting with inks and dyes in prep of some hand stitching projects for auction donations and gifts, etc. I like to use hand painted fabric for these types of projects if possible.

I am in love with cotton canvas (and this picture of Gizmo!) lately. I guess it's the texture - but it takes inks and dyes really well. At first I thought maybe not as it's so course - but it just sucks up the color - and keeps it vivid. This "brick" looking piece was using the glue gel resist and dyna-flows. I'm in the process of filling the bricks with seed stitches in matching colors.

This piece is Neocolors on muslin - a pretty big piece of muslin. I have several pieces coming out of this. Here's a "before" applying water and an "after" apply water.
Next I'm going to thread paint it with some metallic and rayon threads, and then cut it up. These pieces will be for some post cards and note cards for an auction "summer fun" theme basket at Sabrina's school.

Just a few pieces I painted in preparation of smaller projects. I finally got around to painting some cellophane and organic cotton batting with Lumiere. Can't wait to use these in something. Since I already had the painting "mess" out, I decided to paint up a few extra pieces of stuff for a special friend in Ohio who is experimenting with art collaging.

Finally, I've been meaning to try making some tyvek beads, so about two weeks ago I cut up some strips and melted them onto a skewer. (Carolyn has a wonderful tutorial on her blog if you'd like to get see the process and her beads are really, really pretty. )

I finally got around to painting them last week and sprayed them with varnish. After looking at Carolyn's tutorial, I decided to wrap some of them with metallic threads - I love that bit of detail. I think I'm going to do a huge batch of these and add painted detail and fibers to some of them. They make the coolest embellishments for art quilts. Some of my favorite quilt artists use tyvek beads in their work and you'd never know these are just little melted pieces of Priority Mail envelopes (don't tell my mailman!)

And finally, a few snapshots I took around the house yesterday morning - it was a gorgeous day and the sun was dancing around the trees and Gizmo and Tobie were dancing around the yard! I get up really early even on the weekends - and so enjoy sitting outside while it's quiet with the sun, the shadows, my coffee and my corgis.

Life is good!

Van Gogh Iris Slice Quilt - Continued.....

It's been a while, I know. You may recall, I participated in a group project wherein we each selected an image, sliced it up into five pieces and handed out one piece to each artist to interpret. I received all the pieces back months ago, got frustrated with this and put it aside. (You can click here to see the history and beginning's of my Van Gogh Iris art quilt slice project.)

I've had a hard time getting the pieces to fit together properly and just put it away for a while. Well, I got it back out this past weekend and am bound and determined to complete it. The pieces have now been stitched together and I am in the process of adding painted details to unify the pieces. Once I finish the painting process, I plan on adding some beads and hand stitching. I may or may not add machine quilting/stitching, depending upon how my hand stitching comes out. I'd love to just do the rest of this all by hand.

I'm so glad I brought this back out. I'd like to get this finished and maybe get it in to Symposium. We'll see.

Neocolor Gardener's Journal.....

Sometimes we begin a project that we think we will enjoy and it ends up being a nighmare -- either because we are not happy with the quality of our work (I've recently suffered through one of those after spending weeks on it) or, because we are simply NOT enjoying the process. Other times we begin a project not knowing exactly what direction it will take us and end up gaining a wealth of knowledge, valuable experience and, if we're lucky, indulging our creative muse along the way. This was one of the projects.

What started out as a painting "experiment" on some white duck cloth when I first received my Neocolors in the mail, ended up being free motion embroidered, quilted, is being beaded and turned in to a Journal cover. (I'm currently beading the centers of some of the flowers with crystals and beads.)

After inserting the blank lined journal into the cover to make sure it fit, I decided that blank pages just wouldn't do. Once again, I got out the Neocolors, and a few of my favorite gardening magazines and went to work as I clipped out words, flowers, and implements to adorn the pages which I later modpodged down, and watercolored around - being extra careful to NOT saturate the pages too much with either water or color so they can be easily written upon by the special person for whom this journal was made.

I plan on making another one of these soon, utilizing the knowledge I gained from the first one, as there are many things I will do differently -- next time.

As an endnote: I also finished some bookmarks I made with my Neocolors when I first got them. They too are off to new homes within the next week.

Now, it's time to get back to work.

I've only got 24 more days!!

The generous man enriches himself by giving; the miser hoards himself poor. - Dutch Proverb

'Tis the Season for Giving...

Give from the heart!

C~

Dreaming Again......

#9 Dream


by
John
Lennon

....my contemplation of "cycles" continues.

the leaves are changing, the wind is picking up and the cold air has been settling in. i have had an incredible surge in creative energy lately. ideas aren't just coagulating inside my head they are manifesting themselves in fabric, paint and fibers. wierd.

i feel particularly energized right now to take off in a new direction. i find myself rebelling against "straight lines," grids and evenly spaced stitches. i am letting my mind and my hands wander in different directions - leaving the familiar in the past. venturing into the land of trial and error. no fear of failure.

(this piece is a 10x10 art quilt done with black and white batiks, and printed using the vintage wooden letters my friend Lisa sent to me. the letters are printed in acrylic paint on white canvas and stitched onto hot pink silk dupioni. The center of the eye is one of the art squares I was sent by Monica. This is actually the "reverse" side of my 10x10 made with the leftover Love Squared art squares. the front will be revealed shortly.)

Art Slice for Jean's Quilt DONE!

Here is the Renoir picture that Jean wanted reproduced into an art slice quilt.

I have drawn a box around the section I am responsible for reproducing....

And here is my reproduction which measures about 14x15" (approximately). You can click on the picture below to enlarge it and view details.

Jean seemed pleased with it. It actually didn't come out too bad. I used a dense weave burlap for the foundation which really made it look like an art canvas. I then painted much of the background on with acrylic paint. I used some orange hand dyed fabric for the oranges, that I painted with highlights and details, stuffed with looose woold and satin stitch embroidered with shiny orange rayon. For the tablecloth, I painted much of that, but then used a piece of hand dyed grey and white fabric. I folded it for texture, and once I got it just how I wanted it, I brushed it with a solution of uva glue and starch. Once it dried, I painted in detail with various shades of blue, grey and white acrylic paint.

I had to leave the meeting before the others showed up with their slices, so I don't have pictures of those -- but later this week I should have some pictures and will post them then.

We have one last art quilt to do and I will be starting on it this week. It's a great picture with a classic car (with lots of chrome) and a surfboard. It should be fun to do.

I am looking forward to getting these behind me so we can start working on our next project. Everyone is going to select a 4-6 block "big block" pattern and each member of the group is going to do one block which will then be given to the owner to put together, sash, bind and quilt. I am really looking forward that one. More on that later.