Valhalla!

What is Valhalla?  To a Viking warrior ... it is their version of heaven!  Today marks the beginning of the seventh week since my surgery ... it has been a long battle considering the months of severe pain and years of altered lifestyle!  My dillydally life is returning ... and this week I am in my very own version of Valhalla!

Our local yarn shop is sponsoring ten days of Knitting Valhalla!  The link can be found here.  Such a wonderful opportunity ... about 100 people are participating ... many from the Lower 48!

The fun began Friday with dinner and a special presentation discussing a Gansey historical project from Moray Firth, Scotland.  Many of the sweaters from their project are on public display in our local museum's gallery!  I will share photos later in a post dedicated specifically to that!

I spent Saturday and Sunday participating in a Faroe Islands Sweater Design class!  The class was taught by Mary Jane Mucklestone.  I have taken several classes from her in the past ... she is amazing!

We learned so much about the Faroe Islands and their knitting traditions.  We swatched, charted, worked out the math, and left with plans for a sweater!  Such fun and diversity amongst the group!

Here is Brother DillyDally, modeling his partially finished Viking Gansey with our local yarn shop owner, Dotty!  Fortunately I was not the only one who was unable to finish their sweater in time.  It is unusual for me not to meet deadlines ... but I finally reconciled that "life" (my knee) just got in the way.  Some things are just not within our control!

Today ... I'm teaching!  I will be teaching my Simply Steeks class!  Gosh ... it feels good!

All the activity this week confirms that I am getting my dillydally life back ... progress is being made!  Finally ... I feel like I am emerging from the tunnel of pain and disability!  It feels like heaven Valhalla!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

A DillyDally Birthday!

Here in DillyDallydom, we are always looking for reasons to celebrate.  Yesterday was a big day for us ... we celebrated Nissa's first birthday!  She has grown in every way possible and has carved out a special place in our family and in our hearts.

We love her personality!  She approaches everything with unbridled energy and enthusiasm!

We spent yesterday doing all of her favorite things!

Her birthday treat was a grilled burger ... frosted with peanut butter!

It was torture getting her to pose for a picture!  After the photo, I had to quickly remove the candle!  She is a retriever, and will eat anything!  Such puppy silliness!

Like many one-year-olds ... she licked the frosting off first!  Too funny!

Our 65 pound puppy came to us as this 6 week, 9 pound bundle of cuteness.  

Oh ... the difference a year makes!  She remains a bundle of cuteness!

Do what you love.  Seek out reasons to celebrate!  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally 

Triple D

I am content with my frumpy, middle aged life.  I live by the rules ... as long as I am the one who establishes them!  Deep within ... I am a dillydally renegade!  I refer to it as my "Triple D" ... Deviant Dillydally Disorder.  Yep, I can be a rebel!  I harness it by using it to produce positive results.

This condition usually emerges when someone is silly enough to tell me or others it can't be done!  Any attempt to marginalize myself or others also brings my Triple D attitude to the surface!  My family and closest friends know the symptoms ... and cheer me on!

I don't normally break the rules unless necessary ... but I do bend them quite a bit.  My Triple D was necessary last week while working on my son's gansey.

I am using steeks for both the sleeves and the neckline!  Gosh ... it feels good to go rogue! ;-) I tossed the instructions aside and am flying without instruments!

Kitties are champions when it comes to behaviors of defiance ... Flicka is my supervisor and inspiration!  Here she is telling me to put my knitting down ...

... and we did a bit of patchwork instead!  It felt good to be cutting and piecing again.  Such a wise kitty!

Nissa helped too!  Yesterday she and Mr. DD took me on a stroll.  Today marks the 5th week since my surgery.   My Triple D attitude has helped in my healing as well.  Yep, I highly recommend you find the rebel within and use it for good!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

Daydreaming with a Deadline!

Today marks 4 weeks since my surgery ... and now that I am off all strong medications ... I think clearly enough to dillydally!  Am not quite able to pull off a happy dance yet, but I am dancing in my mind! ;-)

My dillydally focus needs to remain on this gansey sweater!  It comes with a deadline ... losing the past four weeks has me more than a bit worried.  Knitting has a wonderful way of clearing my head ... but unfortunately it always leads to lots of dillydally daydreaming!

I have a friend in the Minneapolis area that knows two important things about me ... I love to knit and design mittens and that I covet adore vintage knitting patterns!  She recently sent me a box full of treasure!  I have loved reading each and every knitting pattern in these books!  Such dillydally fun!

The artwork on the cover of this book from the 60's just makes my heart sing!  Those dillydally daydreams are swimming "sliding" around in my head!  I yearn to recreate this artwork!  Oh the possibilities!

Other things I adore ... kitties and vintage fabric!  She included 3 yards of this amazing print ... and it includes mittens!  Yep ... I am wonderfully distracted ... in every possible dillydally way!

The gansey I'm knitting includes this Viking motif which was their symbol for happiness.  I can't promise to make the deadline ... but I am happily knitting and daydreaming in true dillydally fashion!

Do what you love.  Daydream.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

Celebrating June!

I am celebrating the arrival of June!  It has been three weeks since my knee replacement surgery and I finally feel like my dillydally life is beginning to return!  Yep ... there is a lot to celebrate!

Life truly has been upside down here in DillyDallydom!  On the advice of a close friend (who had the same surgery 6 months ago), we moved a twin bed down to the living room.  That way I wouldn't have to navigate stairs in the house.  Some of you may remember that we have 33 stairs outside our home.  Yikes!  Those 33 steps were my biggest worry ... but my physical therapists in Anchorage spent two days preparing me ... and I have done well!

I put my most colorful and cheerful quilt on the bed!  A dillydallier has to find fun where she can!

I used linens that have sentimental value ... Sister DD embroidered this pillowcase as a Junior Girl Scout.  Yep ... a dillydallier seeks out those things that bring comfort!

This medieval torture contraption is what Mr. DD and I un-affectionately refer to as the rack!  I have spent 2 hours, three times a day strapped into this contraption!  Ugh ... that adds up to 6 hours daily ... on my back, while it bends my new knee.  This and the pain medications have been the necessary evils of my survival and recovery.

This is what dillydallying looks like while on pain medication.  I was lucky to get my coffee to my mouth ... that is how short my attention span was.  It really messes with your brain ... but on the upside, I had the happiest dreams ever while sleeping!

During one dream, I had this great idea for a quilt design.  When I woke, I immediately got out graph paper, pencil and pen.  Even when I used the ruler, it came out looking like gobblety-goop!  But it was awesome in my dreams! ;-)  Fortunately, those strong pain killers are no longer necessary and my brain is beginning to clear!

The fur babies have been wonderful!  Flicka and I have shared hours of cuddles!

And Nissa has showered me with puppy kisses and loads of entertainment!

Mr. DD has been wonderful as well!  He has served as nurse, chauffeur, housekeeper and anything else that needs done.  Sister, Brother and Girlfriend DD have been great cheerleaders!

I am so grateful to those friends, both far and near, who have blessed me with gestures of kindness!  Your support and encouragement mean so much and makes the recovery process easier.  I so appreciate your thoughtfulness.

June is here ... summer is nearly here ... and my recovery is going well!  Yep ... let's celebrate!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally