Saturday, January 30, 2016

A Finish ... or Three!

Since Christmas Day, we can count the number of days with out sideways snotty rain on one hand.  That kind of weather really makes our already short days darker ... but every dark cloud has a silver lining ... it is great weather to dillydally by!
Our sun sets around 4:45 now ... the sun rises about 9:00 ... the days are becoming noticeably longer!  I took this picture yesterday ... Lake Eyak experiencing the sunset through rain!  I love the colors as the evening blue approaches upon the last rays of light.  Am so happy I didn't miss that moment!
Here in DillyDallydom ... the urge to finish something was recently in full swing!  While going through piles a few things, I happened across three items that were waiting their turn to be quilted and bound.  Immediately the idea of accomplishing three finishes before the end of January became a priority!  We brought Her Majesty out of the sewing room ... took over the dining table ... and got this party started!
We began with the smallest project!
My Gingham Table Runner!  I had pieced it last spring, and want it available to use this spring and summer!
Let's just say that Flicka was less than helpful ... but we were both very happy!
I admitted a long time ago that machine quilting is not one of my talents ... sew, I keep it very simple!  I just used my walking foot and quilted 1/4 inched on each side of every seam.
The second project was a kit that I had bought during an impromptu shop hop trip in Washington.  I purchased the kit at Ester's Fabrics on Bainbridge Island.  It contains some unusual prints from France ... Valerie and I fell in love with them.  I quilted it by doing a simple stitch in the ditch around each piece, then crossing each square and rectangle!  Keeping it easy and letting the fabrics shine through!
Final project was a charm square quilt project that I had purchased a year ago while in Oregon building the DillyDally Trail!
Stitch in the ditch and straight through the rectangles!  Flicka was intimately involved ... she really is such a quilt kitty!
All this quilting activity is usually limited to about 2 hours a day ... because an 8 month old puppy monopolizes most of my time.  Yep, she pretty much dictates what kind of dillydallying happens at this point.
The goal everyday is ... how can I wear her out enough that she will nap for a couple of hours ... sew I can quilt!  Good news is that she loves being wet ... nasty weather does not bother her!  We go out in it everyday ... two hours of uninterrupted dillydallying is worth it!
Quilting done ... passed a close inspection ... time to cut binding!
Gingham ... done!
I spy a kitty ... this is helping?
By the third binding, the supervisor decided to shirk her duties and chose to be a mischief maker instead!  Kitties are so silly!
After I finish binding quilts, I like to immediately wash and dry them!  I love the look and feel of a quilt after it has been laundered ... soft and wrinkley!  As is well known ... I love gingham ... and I look forward to using this table runner!
I'm calling this my "Gypsy" table topper ... so bright and fun!
This youth sized quilt is made with Basic Grey's Persimmon fabric collection.  Soft colored fabrics looked a bit washed out in this photo, but I find it almost spa like ... very different look than the other two!  It is so hard to take pictures this time of the year ... artificial light makes everything look yellow and bright daylight seem to wash everything out!  I plan to use the first two personally and hope to donate the third one!
Friday, January 29, 2016 Sunset
It felt so good to end the month with three finishes!  I plan to spend the weekend making progress on other projects in progress ... it is wonderful to feel forward movement!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!
Mrs. DillyDally 

Friday, January 22, 2016

Time Flies!

I know that I am not alone in this ... time flies by!  I was scrolling through my photos and it hit me that February is only a week away!  Yikes!
Here in DillyDallydom ... life is easily improved with a long run and walk.  Nissa has an abundance of puppy energy and our 1500 square foot home is too small!  With that level of enthusiasm she needs to spend part of her day outdoors.  We take a 1-2 hour walk/run every day ... whether Mother Nature cooperates or not!  I only stop to take photos when the weather is decent ... so I always feel that I might be misleading everyone.  If everyday looked like my photos, a million people would move here! ;-)
Terry and Barb are our December QBee birthday girls ... due to travel we celebrated in January.
Their birthdays mark the end of our 2015 birthday cycle.  We began our QBee birthday parties in October 2007 ... two years before I began blogging!
Slowly ... but consistently our days are getting a bit longer!
While working on a 007 project I cut out 216 squares that were 7/8th inch!  Insanity!  After I was finished, I recalculated the numbers ... and I only needed 36!  Quilt math!  So ... I have 180 extra 7/8ths of an inch squares ... guess they'll make great fabric confetti!  Such silliness in DillyDallydom!
The lake freezes and thaws all winter long as the temperatures drop and rise.  So even though we take our walks here most often, the view is always changing.  I never tire of it!
Cannot get this fur baby to sit still for a photo!  ;-)  When we ask her to stay, she thinks she is in trouble and pouts!  Such a goofball!
Girlfriend DD recently spent an afternoon sewing ... Flicka supervised!  Of course!
Finally ... a photo of a walk in light rain!
Sister DD sent photos ... here she is with her Star Wars quilt and wearing her Star Wars pajamas.  I make pjs for the kids every Christmas!  
Here are both she and Boyfriend DD in their pjs.  I had planned to spend the past week in California with them, but Sister had a an unexpected business trip come up.  She would have been home only 5 of the ten days I was to be there ... so I rescheduled and will be visiting her in May.
Picture proof that I can't keep up with this pup!  She turned 8 months old yesterday!
This storm system moved in and is dumping buckets of rain today.  I will brave the elements ... Nissa loves the rain ... and we'll wear off some of her energy ... ;-) ... while draining mine!  Life in DillyDallydom is never dull ... time flies by ... and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!
Mrs. DillyDally




Monday, January 18, 2016

Embrace the Day!


"Faith is taking the first step, even when you can't see the whole staircase."
Martin Luther King Jr.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Knitting & Fur Babies

When you live with a seven month old puppy, nothing ever inhibits you from helping that puppy wear off some of their energy!
Mornings are still a bit dark here in our remote corner of the planet ... it gets light around 9:30 am.
Nissa loves to play "Catch Me If You Can" ... and of course, it is impossible to keep up with her!  I occasionally drop a mitten when I stop to take a photo ... she is fast and snatches it!
I eventually get it back ... something else distracts her and she drops it ... and it is my turn to snatch it!  It's pretty obvious which mitten was part of her game on this very wet and muddy day!  Too fun!  This is as close as I can let her get to my knitting ...
Nissa is a "shredder" ... and is very proud of her abilities!  See that tail wagging? I had just put in a load of laundry ... yep, that ball was demolished in seconds.
She has very poor knitting manners ... ;-) ... and cannot be trusted around yarn or knitting projects.  On a few occasions, she has been quick and gotten some in her mouth ... I can't believe how fast I was able to move on those occasions!
Flicka, on the other hand ... has excellent knitting manners.  She required no training ... very unusual for a kitty.
Under her close supervision, we recently ...
... finished a project ...
... designed specifically for her!  I designed this myself and am mostly happy with the results.  Knit with love for my well-mannered fur baby!
I made a few tweeks and adjustments to my pattern and cast on for the next version!
This one is being knit with love for the fur baby with very poor knitting manners.  ;-)
The truth is ... having a puppy in the house has cut into the amount of time I have available to knit ... but I sneak it in here and there.  Fur babies and all they require teach their humans so many important dillydally skills ... we've enjoyed how Nissa has retaught us the importance of play ... both in and out of doors!

Do what you love.  Love & play with your fur babies!  Do dillydally!
Mrs. DillyDally    

Saturday, January 9, 2016

The Force is Strong in this Family!

The DillyDally family has always been driven and influenced by the Force.  You may not know this ... but The Empire Strikes Back was Mr. DD and my first date!
We are huge Star Wars fans!  Our children knew and could recognize the Star Wars theme music before they were born!  As a family we have celebrated each addition to the Star Wars saga ... so we were thrilled that a new one was being released this past December!
I find that gift giving for adult children can be challenging  As I struggled with what to get them for Christmas ... the movie release date approached ... and online fabric sources started advertising Star Wars themed fabric!  I decided every DillyDally household needed a Star Wars lap quilt!  I quickly went online and ordered fabric!
Novelty prints get lost if they are cut into small pieces ... sew .... I used this pattern from Thimbleberries "Lake Life" book!  A simple pattern that allows the print on the fabric shine!
Easy piecing ...
... and easy cutting were necessary because my timeline was short!  Nothing like 007 work under pressure!
QBee Diane with her long arm quilting skills saved the DillyDally holiday!  Not only is her workmanship beautiful, but she got them back to me very quickly!
I brought "Her Majesty" out to the dining room table and got busy applying the binding!
Of course ... Jedi Kitty was supervising and assisting ...
... the our Jedi Apprentice was working hard to be part of the process!  Seriously, sometimes I can't believe I get anything done!  They do slow the dillydally process down, but they definitely make up for it in entertainment!
The quilts were labeled ... done!  Two finishes in record time!
Sister took this photo of her quilt ...
... in her California home.  I like how this photo catches the quilting that Diane did ... I love it!
Our Jedi Girl wrapped in her quilt ...
... and our Jedi Boy snuggled under his on Christmas Day!  Oh how these two photos make my heart happy!
I love this photo of Jedi Kitty supervising the Jedi Apprentice ...  it makes me giggle and completely captures the silliness of my dillydally life!  Yep ... the Force IS strong in this family!

May the Force be with you ... always!
Mrs. DillyDally