007 - Full Throttle!

With Christmas only a month away...and because most of my gifts need to be mailed to friends and family in the Lower 48...I needed to get busy on the gifts I plan to make!  YIKES!  Here are a few clues on the 007 projects that I worked on the past three days.

I started this project a week ago and am half finished.  This is a photo I took last weekend ... cannot share a recent one ... that would give it away!

As usual, Flicka was serving as the "Quality Control Officer" and had to use and inspect each project. Hee-hee!  She would make surprise visits without warning!  Her involvement makes machine quilting difficult! ;-)  I worked all day Friday on this project!

Flicka loves spending time in the sewing room with me.  Here she is playing in a plastic bag!  What a wingnut!

Friday night, QBee Lila hosted the monthly "Runners Club" night at the Cordova Quilters' Hideout!  She is preparing to machine quilt the shop sample.

QBee Sam and I both chose Holiday themed charm packs, but different fabric lines!  It will be great to see them when they are finished!

I made good progress on mine ... but will wait until my 007 projects are done before I go back to it.  We don't know in advance what the pattern will be each month ... Lila announces it the day of!  It is fun for all the obvious reasons ... but I like the idea of using patterns and techniques that I might not have chosen to do on my own!  This is our third month ... and I have really enjoyed it!

Another hint from one of the projects I finished on Saturday.  Can you guess what it is?

The birds outside the window love to torture Flicka!  She dreams of being a small game hunter!  ;-)

Here is a hint from today's 007 project ... I still love this fabric and am gradually using up the pieces I have left.

Flicka has a sixth sense when it comes to machine quilting.  She shows up and immediately makes herself comfortable!  Even with all of her assistance ... I was able to finish four 007 projects this weekend and 2 others are half done!  That kind of progress feels sew good!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Secret Agent DillyDally

Top secret work is exhausting ... who knew?  Have a great dillydally week!

My Thanksgiving

11.22.12 - 9:00 am

We chose to have a very quiet Thanksgiving Day.  No guests ... just the two of us.  As a child growing up on the family farm, every  holiday was an extended family event!  The house was always packed!

11.22.12 - 11:00 am

I never imagined then ... that I would ever live so far from my childhood home.  Without the chatter of two children ... our house seems especially empty on the holidays.

11.22.12 - 2:00 pm

Our turkey was in the oven ... I had just put the dinner roll dough to rise ... we decided to turn the football game off and go for a drive out the road.

Sheridan River & Glacier - 11.22.12

It was an incredibly beautiful day!

Hoarfrost - 11.22.12

The large ice crystals of hoarfrost made everything sparkle!  Mother Nature had covered our remote corner of the planet with her version of glitter.

Kysa loves these weather conditions - 11.22.12

We decided to get out of the car and take a walk.  It was wonderful!

11.22.12

We refer to Kysa as Miss Furball as her coat is in full winter fluff!

Eyak Lake - 11.22.12

Trumpeter Swans - 11.22.12

11.22.12

I have so much to be grateful for.  My children are safe, happy, and living their dreams.  A year ago, a walk would have been impossible.  Treasured memories of a childhood that shaped my character.  Friends who feel like family.  A career that I enjoy.  A partner to share this journey with.

Sunset - 11.22.12

It all adds up to be a dillydally lifestyle that empowers and sustains me.  Again ... I am grateful.  My Thanksgiving turned out to be the just the type of day I needed.

Do what you love.  Give thanks.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

Happy Thanksgiving!

I celebrate today with a grateful heart!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Holiday Fun Continues!

The holiday season has arrived!  Our local yarn and gift shop, The Net Loft, hosted a holiday open house Friday evening!  I know!  What a terrific way to begin the weekend!

Their gift displays are always inspiring!

Treasures abound ... in every nook and corner!

Shop owner Dotty welcomed the season and reminded us that it is impossible to do it all!  Good advice ... in the past I have been guilty of losing the joy of the season because I was busy trying to do it all!  Of course that was before I had developed the dillydally lifestyle.

Anna, of "Skeins in the Stacks" fame, introduced her new line of literature inspired hand dyed yarn!

This collection in based on the timeless tale, The Mitten.

This line of yarn equals the wonder of her debut yarn in September, you can read about that here.

Taken in the snow, 11.18.12

Anna's yarn is as beautiful as she is!  Am dreaming about what I'll do with this lovely skein of snow inspired goodness. It is titled, "coldest day of winter" and was inspired directly from the text in the book.  I love it when our local shop promotes the talent in our community!  It is win/win for everyone!

QBee Diane, aka professional cake decorator, made these snow inspired cupcakes!  Now you truly understand why making her a birthday cake is intimidating! ;-)

Each snowflake was handmade ... absolutely wonderful!  And these cupcakes taste as good as they look!

Sunset, 4:00 pm, 11.16.12

As Thanksgiving approaches we reflect on all that we have to be grateful for.  I am grateful for the talent and generosity that surrounds me as I live my simple dillydally life ... here in my remote corner of the planet.

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

The Holiday Season Begins!

Here in my remote corner of the planet, the holiday season begins (for me anyway) with our quilt guild's Annual Tea & Auction!  It is an event filled with everything I love ... friends ... handmade quilts ... all wrapped together into one community wide tea party!  You can read more about the actual event at our guild's blog here and here.

My first auction item began as a kit I bought at Front Porch Quilts in Walker, Minnesota.  I always stop by this shop on my drive between the Twin Cities and Bemidji.

The kit included fabric from Holly & Taylor and was meant to be four placemats using panel squares.  I decided to piece the placemats together into a tablerunner.  My thinking was that four placemats were not enough for most holiday gatherings ... sew .... three placemats became a tablerunner.  See the seam running down the center of the small green squares? That is where I seamed the placemats together.

With this kind of help ... it is a wonder I get anything done! ;-)  Too much fun!

I am not a very accomplished machine quilter ... sew ... I love when I can just "stitch in the ditch"!

Here it is hanging at the auction!  We never dare complain about the sun ... it rarely reveals itself ... but the back light it caused made photos difficult that day.  Still ... you get an idea of how it looked finished.

My second auction item came from a kit I purchased this summer from The Thimbleberries Studio Store. I love the panels that were a part of their holiday fabric line this year!  Yep, I came home with the kit for the quilt hanging in the center of this photo too!

I was so busy trying to get this project done in time, I forgot to take photos!  Nothing like waiting until the last minute ... it adds to the fun! ;-)

Here it is ... finished ... just in time! ;-)

Members volunteer to decorate the tables.  I decided to go with a Thanksgiving theme this year.

The quilt that serves as part of the centerpiece was a "Six Pack" from Fourth & Main Quilt Shop in Cannon Falls, Minnesota.

If you find these Pumpkin Spice truffles by Godiva  while you're out and about ... snag yourself some!  Do. Not. Hesitate!  They are delicious!

As the holiday season approaches, the days get much shorter here in my remote corner of the planet.  The work of our hands ... the warmth of friendship ... the traditions of community ... all work together to sustain us through the holidays and remaining winter months.  I love my dillydally life ... I am grateful.

Do what you love.  Embrace the holidays.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

Celebrating a QBee Birthday!

Even in this remote corner of the planet "life" gets crazy busy!  QBee Diane has an October birthday...

...we finally had a chance to get together and celebrate last Saturday!  It was so fun to have lunch and catch up on one another's lives!

Diane makes and decorates cakes professionally.  They are beautiful and delicious...making a birthday cake for her is a bit intimidating, to say the least!   Of course my trepidation is completely self-imposed...she graciously claims that everything I bake is wonderful!  Gosh...I love that feature in a friend!  ;-)

Long time visitors to this blog, know that each year I choose a project that I make for each of the QBees.  The gift cycle always begins with Diane's birthday!  Last year every QBee received a "Sewing Cup Cozy"... this was made for Diane a year ago ... the first of many! ;-)

This birthday cycle, I've chosen to make this apple shaped sewing kit!  The pattern can be made into apples or oranges.

The left side of the apple is stuffed and designed to be used as a pin cushion.  The right side is lined and has a zipper closure with a leaf shaped pull.  It is designed for storage of sewing supplies.

The slice shown above is meant to serve as a needle case.  I actually ended up removing it ... I decided it was unnecessary and just made it more bulky.  The pattern is called, Apples to Oranges and comes from Straight Stitch Society.  The instructions are well written and thorough, which I really appreciate.

 Happy Birthday QBee Diane!  I look forward to another year of our dillydally adventures!  Hugs!

Do what you love.  Celebrate friendship. Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally