Arrived in Minneapolis!

Peanut the Elephant (my sewing room mascot) is sad the I'm leaving. I survived another red eye flight...barely! But as soon as I saw Sister DillyDally...I immediately forgot how miserable I was...it is so great to be with her!
Mr. and Mrs. Valerie are the ones who provided Daughter and Boyfriend DillyDally with their Copper River Red salmon dinner tonight...it was delicious! I thought they might lick their plates clean! We had a lovely meal filled with lively conversation! It is soooo great to be here.

Tomorrow I go on my first of two Quilt Shop Tours! Can life get any better? Sunshine...summer temperatures...daughter...her boyfriend...salmon dinner...quilt tours...I'm trying to breathe slowly and soak it all up!

Take time to DillyDally!

Catching Up!

Tuesday, July 28th
I turned 52 yesterday...yes I believe in being honest about my age...and I wanted to celebrate in a very low-key manner this year. Last year was an over the top celebration...let me explain...the above book, Every Month by Jeri Kelly includes a tablerunner pattern for every month of the year. Great book with great designs!

August Tablerunner

Last year, a dear friend from Ketchikan, Dena was in town visiting. She insisted that we visit one of our local quilt shops, The Alaska Fabric Camp. When we arrived, I was shocked to see many of my friends there...it was a surprise "Quilting Birthday Party"!

January, March and February Tablerunners

Quilting Buddy, Diane, had created a kit for each months tablerunner from her stash! Can you believe it?

April Tablerunner

She had us each draw a month out of a hat, and that was the kit we received. What fun!

May and June Tablerunner

At that point, I was so overwhelmed...we have soooo much fun when we get together and sew. But the biggest surprise was yet to come...

July and September Tablerunner

We had had similar parties in the past...such fun...and everyone went home with a project.

October Tablerunner - This is the one I made.

The twist Diane created was...I received every one...YES...all twelve!!!!

November & December Tablerunner

I still am completely overwhelmed with emotion when I think about it...it was such a special gesture of kindness from everyone involved...I am so blessed to be surrounded by friends like this...it renders me speechless...

While we were happily sewing that day...we had a brainstorm...to display the tablerunners in the shop for the next year, create kits available for sale, then everyone can complete the entire set.

Caught Barb in this photo, too cute!

We ladies sure know how to capitalize on a great thing! Valerie and I have been given the task of creating the kits each month...what a year of fun!
Without a doubt...I have the greatest friends imaginable...I am overcome with gratitude!

This year was nice as well...I went low-key...quilt buddy Julie stopped by...lunch with Nebbie...started a new novel...Mr. DillyDally made dinner...and I got a new computer! Life is good!

July 27th --Another perfect Dilly-Dally Day!

Here in Cordova, we are huge Bonnie Hunter fans! In fact she is coming to visit us in Fall of 2011! Valerie subscribes to Quiltmaker magazine and in the July/August issue they introduced a three-part mystery by Bonnie!

That Valerie...here she goes...forcing me to start another project! I love this kind of peer pressure! Valerie arrived by 8:30 am with her scraps in tow. We raided my stash...a favorite Peep, Sara, arrived about 9:00...by noon we had the pieces for each of us cut out! The three of us, standing at my kitchen counter...cutting...counting pieces...and sharing our lives...what a perfect way to spend the morning!

We went to lunch...the quilt store...the yarn store...planned future projects...around 4:00 pm we shared a chocolate. I came home and finished a novel I was reading. Mr. DillyDally and I made dinner...organized a new knitting project for traveling this week...another perfect DillyDally day!

The Weekend, July 25-26

We attended the memorial service for a beloved woman from our community on Saturday. She and her husband arrived in Cordova in 1959, the year Alaska became the 49th State. They raised their family here and helped Cordova grow into the community it is today. Attending this memorial reminded me that in the end...all that really matters is love...the love we share with family, friends, strangers...that is what survives long after we are gone.

We were invited to a lovely dinner at Valerie's home to celebrate my birthday. Mr. Valerie helped her make a wonderful authentic Italian dinner. Not only are Mr. and Mrs. Valerie outstanding cooks, but are gracious hosts in every way. In attendance were 16 year old Daughter Valerie, quilt buddy Lila with Mr. Lila, and friends Cathy, Mr. Cathy and their infant grandson. It was so fun to have a multi-generational birthday party. It reminded me of my childhood, when all parties were multi-generational...we ate...laughed...talked college plans...played pass the baby...it was wonderful in every way...I am so grateful.

Above is a photo of the UFO I've been working on. It is complete except for the hand sewn embellishments. Will complete that when I return from my travels.
I still am not completely satisfied with my machine quilting, but practice, practice ...

Go out there and do dillydally...

It was a perfect Dilly-Dally Day!

What a wonderful day! I began the day working on a project that I had started two years ago. At that time our local "Fusible Applique' Queen" and my dear friend Valerie convinced me that we should make the entire set of McKenna Ryan's Gingerbread Lane quilt series. And because they are heirlooms, I decided that I was required to make two...that way Brother and Sister DillyDally will each have their own set...I know...is my thinking flawed or do I just like to torture myself? Long story short...I finished the first one two years ago and put the second one in a box until today. Gosh...it felt good to work on a project that had been started. What you see in the photo took me about 4 hours. But unloading some guilt felt wonderful!

Then it was off to lunch with two of my favorite Cordovans, Barb and Jackie! These two women have served as both mentors and friends over the past twenty plus years. They are like the older sisters I always wished I had. I have sought them out for advice on everything from parenting to buying appliances. These two have helped me in ways they cannot begin to imagine. They are a blessing.

After our two hour lunch, we went to the local thrift store. Above is the treasure I found! I couldn't believe it! About a month ago a couple of local quilters and I were talking about these very pillows that we recalled from our childhood! At the time we talked about how we wished we had the pattern! There it was....gosh....that was a true DillyDally moment!!! The date on the envelope is 1961...I was four years old! Talk about the stars being in alignment! I was thrilled!
Next on the agenda for the day was a stop at The Net Loft. I couldn't resist getting more of that lovely hand dyed yarn...this one is called "Fall Hike". Won't tell you what I'm designing for this skein...you'll have to guess.

Honestly...what a lovely day...rid myself of some guilt working on an old project...treated to lunch with good friends...finding treasure...beginning a new project...making dinner with Mr. DillyDally...reading a great book before bed...life is good.

My advice...get out there and DillyDally! It feels great!

Step 3 is definately a redo! UGH!

This is a photo of Child's Glacier. It is located here in Cordova, on the Copper River within the Chugach National Forest. Our local yarn store, The Net Loft, has had multiple types of yarn hand dyed to reflect many of the natural wonders that are a integral part of the lifestyle we enjoy in our little corner of the planet.

Well...I still can't figure everything out...I was hoping the photo on the right would be below the above text...anyway.... The yarn you see in the photo was hand dyed and labeled "Child's Glacier". It is called Casbah and made by Hand Maiden Fine Yarns. The fiber content is 81% Merino, 9% Cashmere and 10% Nylon. Machine washable and feels like heaven in my hands.

Because these are custom yarns, several of us local knitters were asked to develop a "one skein" project that reflected the yarn of our choice. Blue is my favorite color...Child's Glacier is a family favorite...I was drawn to this yarn immediately.

Choosing the yarn was easy...coming up with a design concept took a lot more effort. I thought about glaciers...I find them to be somewhat mystical...there is a sense of mystery yet comfort in knowing that something I enjoy has been in existence for tens of thousands of years and will continue long after my footprints on this earth have faded. My thought process eventually led to the realization that every glacier began with a single snowflake...suddenly I knew exactly what I was going to do with the yarn! The photos show the finished design...a pin cushion...and the process that got me there.

The pictures are out of order...UGH!!...I hope I finally get this figured out!!!! Anyway...the pincushion has a single snowflake on the top and has mountains on the four sides. Garter stitch makes up the bottom. I'm sorry that the photos are so out of order...I have some work to do before I master Step 3 of this blogging process...Hee-hee!

Second Step...

Here goes...I'm going to try and post a photo...wish me luck! It worked! But it took forever to download...Brother DillyDally tells me that I need to make the pictures smaller so that they will download faster...sooooo much to learn! Ugh! Hope I can comprehend it all! Oops! I almost forgot...this is the view from my home...sunrise in June...about 3:30 am...gotta love the daylight during summer in Alaska! Don't even ask why I was up that early...but am glad I got the photo!

First steps are always the most difficult...

The first step IS always the most difficult...especially when I have no idea what I'm doing! I have no idea how to set up a blog, but have enjoyed reading many of them and for numerous reasons decided to create one. I am certainly out of my comfort zone...nothing like diving in and hoping I can still swim...hee-hee...

Later...