St. Lucia Day + Quilter's Anonymous

Happy St. Lucia Day!  Neither Mr. DillyDally or I grew up celebrating this day, even though we're both half Swedish.  It is a tradition that our daughter brought to the family.  When she was 10, she attended Swedish Language Camp for the first time.  There she learned many Swedish customs...some familiar to her...others new to her.  It was there that she was introduced to St. Lucia Day and its significance to Swedish culture.  It was all she could talk about...she dreamed of someday being chosen to be St. Lucia...she retold the history of St. Lucia over and over...sang the hymn in both English and Swedish...and her mouth would water when she described St. Lucia buns...her enthusiasm was infectious!

That very Christmas we celebrated St. Lucia...not on December 13th...instead we incorporated it into our Christmas Day traditions.  Christmas morning Sister dressed as St. Lucia while Brother wore a Tomten costume...then they would serve us hot glogg and St. Lucia buns in bed!  A new family tradition was born!

St. Lucia Buns

Recipe from Scandinavian Feasts by Beatrice Ojakangas 

 Now that the nest is mostly empty...we began honoring it on the 13th...we still have glogg and buns Christmas morning...but without the pageantry.  Sooooo...today I made St. Lucia buns and glogg...and forced the tradition on several QBees (Quilt Buddies) at our Quilter's Anonymous meeting today!

Yes....we have a Quilter's Anonymous organization...and noooo...our disease is not our addiction to quilting...it is the guilt that is often associated with quilting.  Q.A. meetings are a NO GUILT zone!  We meet monthly...share projects...share lives...and just support one another.

A few of us QBees have been participating in Bonnie Hunter's "Christmas Lights" mystery quilt published in Quiltmaker magazine.  Three tops are finished and two attended the QA meeting with their owners.

 

 

 We are all huge Bonnie Hunter fans...in fact she is coming to teach and lecture September 2011!  Even though that seems like a long time from now...we talk about it all the time...she is such an inspiration...in so many ways!  I love mystery quilts and it is challenging to do one using fabrics from your stash.  Bonnie's instructions are always very clear...her techniques teach new skills...and she is so generous with her talent!

St. Lucia's Day was a blessing...dillydallied in the kitchen...dillydallied with some QBees!  She is the Saint of Light...dillydallying brings light into my day...may it do the same for you!  Go dillydally!