Dillydallying on the Run!

I am finally home ... it feels soooo good to be home!  This is a 007 project I'm working on.  I took it up to Anchorage with me...thinking I might have some time to knit ... NOT!  I didn't even get to complete one row ... but it was a comfort to know that it was there ... just in case there had been a moment to work in a little dillydallying!

Late Tuesday afternoon a teaching buddy and I made a quick trip to the sewing machine dealer so that I could pick up some supplies I needed.  While there ... the woman waiting on us asked if we knew that a new quilt shop had opened near by!  OMGosh ... we were so excited ... got directions and headed over there in a hurry ... it was near closing time!  We made a mad dash and found ourselves at the Quilt Zone!

I loved these seasonal quilts that were on display ... this pumpkin quilt is just screaming at me to make it.  It was great to see it done in two completely different styles of fabric.  Seems that everyone who saw them felt the way I did ... they were completely sold out of the pattern.  I just loved the scrappy candy corn border!  Just too darn fun!

This little witch quilt was great as well! 

Lots of gorgeous samples of intricately pieced patterns.

Yummy eye candy!

A very traditional sampler ... wonderful.

Gosh ... I sure do love work done with light neutrals!

Stunning ... and scrappy too!

Another scrappy sampler with hand appliqued cats!  Love it!  Very vibrant!

They also had on display "works in progress"!  I really like that idea.  It allows us to have some insight into what the quilter is thinking as they create...

... we get to see arrangements of colors, pieces and fabrics that we might not otherwise consider...

...love seeing how they are using only shades of black and white...

... very inspiring!

This is a sampler that the shop owner uses to teach basic quilting skills to others.  I love everything about it!  Think of the masterpiece that every student has when they are finished!  Our brief time in this shop gave me just the few moments of dillydallying I needed in order to face the responsibilities I had this past week.  FYI ... the conference was a huge success ... I either reconnected or met new professionals in my field ... they too were inspiring! 

It was a great week ... even if there wasn't much dillydallying.  But now that I'm home ... tomorrow I plan to ignore the housekeeping chores that surround me and spend a few hours of bliss ... dillydallying comfortably in my little corner of the planet.  Gosh ... it feels so good to be home!

SeriousTherapy for President DillyDally

Yes ... it is true ... I have been in serious need of therapy ... for about six weeks!  About a year and a half ago I decided to run for the office of President for a statewide professional teaching organization!  What was I thinking?  Obviously ... I wasn't!  It must have been a moment of insanity or guilt.  Now that I think about it ... I bet it was guilt. Scandinavians are driven by guilt ... just ask Garrison Keillor.  I have been a member of this organization for over twenty years and had never served at the state level in any capacity ... I guess the guilt made me feel like it was my turn.  Guilt ... the gift that keeps on giving! ;-)

The first 12 months weren't stressful ... I was President-Elect.  In July, I became President.  By the end of August, things began to heat up!  We were planning our annual statewide "Professional Development Conference".  Don't misunderstand me ... I am not doing this alone ... there is a whole team of fellow members who are doing most of it!  But it has consumed a great deal of my time ... aside from teaching all day, I feel like all I do is work on and worry about this conference.  The conference is next week ... I am feeling the weight of it ... my stress is over the top!

On Monday of this week, I decided I was in need of some serious therapy.  I needed a dillydally activity that would require so much concentration that it would be nearly impossible to think about the upcoming conference or anything else.  So this week ... in the early morning hours ... late afternoons and evenings ... over a thousand of 1 1/2 inch strips ...

... became thousands of rectangles measuring from 3/4  to 7 1/2 inches.  Yep ... all that cutting ... took a ton of concentration! 

Yep ... Dr. Judy Martin prescribed her Snake River Log Cabin quilt ... very effective medicine!  

 Nurse Practitioner Teacup monitored my behavior while under medication ... while piecing in the evenings conference responsibilities began to reappear.  It was time for additional meds ... the ones that alter reality ... emerge you into a state of fantasy...

Yep ... it worked!  The quilt requires concentration and the Harry Potter clan provides the distraction ... perfect therapy for an over stressed dillydallier!

Beautiful sunsets help too! 

Later...

Madame President DillyDally ;-)

QBee/KBee Camp!

Q/KBee Julie (on the left) organized and invited us to her cabin across the inlet for a weekend of Quilt/Knit Camp! 

We met her and hubby, Captain Jerry, at 12:30 pm Saturday at the harbor for the 20 minute trip to their cabin.  I had taught a knitting class that morning, so they were all gracious enough to wait until I was finished!

Fortunate for us, it wasn't raining.  Even though it is chilly this time of the year, at least we were able to stay dry during the short trip.  Here we are leaving the harbor.

In order to get into the cove, we had to arrive during high tide.  Here is Captain Jerry waving goodbye as he leaves ... it's just us, the wilderness and ...

...tons of food!  ;-)  Yes, we know how to survive!  Freshly baked goods ... four kinds of cookies ... a bar ...and blueberry muffins.  Remember ... in our remote corner of the planet ... we are our own bakery!

Just in case the baked goods aren't enough ... candy is a necessary survival tool.

QBee Diane spent time hand quilting a Lone Star masterpiece ... yes ... it is stunning!

Q/KBee Terry was busy correcting a knitting project!

Q/KBee Julie was also knitting ... a sweater that her 18 year old son helped design!

QBee Barb H. was busy sewing down the binding and hanging sleeve on three projects!

Julie was in charge of dinner and had slow cooked all day on the wood stove her famous Smoky Cabin Beans and a delicious fruit salad.  We ate around the campfire ... it was lovely!

The sun rose about 8 am, I was in charge of breakfast.  We enjoyed several cups of coffee, an oven omelet and then went for a long walk while the tide was out.

It felt so good to surround ourselves with the wonders of nature...

...nature always inspires creativity and after a couple of hours we were ready to return to the cabin and continue our handcrafts.

As time passed today ... the tide quietly came in ... and before we knew it, Captain Jerry was returning to pick us up.

 Barb finished all three of her binding projects!

Julie accomplished a lot on her sweater!

Diane also made a lot of progress ... her hand quilting is incredible.  Terry worked hard on re-knitting her hat and I was able to finish the binding on a queen sized quilt! 

Soon it was time to return to reality...

... Captain Jerry helped us load up our gear and carefully steered the boat towards home.

Again ... no rain on the return trip ... the weather gods were on our side this weekend!

Returning to reality ... our remote corner of the planet ... Cordova, Alaska!

And there to greet us as we pulled into the landing ... our husbands.  I think they missed us!  

Gosh ... I treasure times like this.  Having dear friends ... working and playing together ... sharing the joys and troubles of our lives ... it is a bit of heaven on earth.  I am so grateful to Julie and Jerry for graciously inviting and sharing their cabin with us ...especially since it is the middle of deer season! ;-)  Jerry deserves "Husband of the Year"! 

Withdrawals

Yep ... some of us in this remote corner of the planet are experiencing Designer Blog Hop withdrawals ... ;-) ... for 10 days we felt connected to the "quilt world".  It was wonderful.  Ten designers blogging every day ... 10 days of giggles ... tasty recipes ... beautiful pictures ... funny stories ... 10 great projects that were FREE ... and ...

... an immense amount of inspiration!  QBee Barb C. made Carrie's toilet paper pumpkin for me!  I love the way she dressed it up with a brown paper towel stem ... silk leaves and berries ... the twill tape came from a layer cake she had ... it is just too darn sweet!  Designer Carrie would be soooo proud!  We both  intend to make her pillow too, but Barb could not resist this project first!

Anyway you "Quilt Rock Stars" ... thanks for all the fun and inspiration ... for giving us great projects to dillydally with.  Every time I walk by this table runner and pumpkin ... I'll think of you all and how generous you are with your talents.  I know you must be exhausted, but we're already looking forward to the next one!  What? Are those ten groans I hear coming from blogland? ;-)

Well ... withdrawals are painful ... but I know how to fix that ... dillydallying is the best medicine!

Finally ... Made Time to Dillydally!

Her Majesty (my Janome 6600) has been very upset with me.  We hadn't spent any time together for over 2 weeks!  She had a right to pout ... honestly ... I normally sew at least a little every day!  If you've read this humble blog recently, every post begins with how busy I've been ... now you know ... if I haven't sewn in over 2 weeks ... I really am swamped!  Her Majesty was so happy to see me yesterday ... she was on her best behavior!  Teacup supervised us as we made ...

... yep ... it's Gudrun's Corn Toss Runner!  Her post (dated September 27th) was the first one for the ...

... it has been so fun ... I have downloaded all of the patterns and will eventually make them.  Every day they have had a different theme ... all ten designers blog on the theme ... and every day a different designer shares their creativity.  Ten free patterns ... how great is that?  I can't believe there are only two days left!

Last June, QBee Diane and I visited Kay at the Heavenly Patchwork Quilt Shop ... 

... we had worked with other QBees all winter on the Cobblestone Lane BOM from Kay, so I couldn't wait to introduce Diane to her.  While there, we signed on for Sherri Falls "Sweet Pickins Club".  Yesterday we met to begin with September's pattern ... we had tea ... we snacked ... we talked about the project and the mystery quilt ... we solved all of the world's problems ... it was wonderful.  If not for the club, we probably wouldn't have made the time to get together ... did I mention that we didn't do any sewing?  We thought about it ... talked about it ... ;-) ... I just giggle thinking about it.  And because we live by the dillydally creed ... we didn't feel a bit of guilt about it either!  I came home so relaxed, happy and inspired that I actually began working on the mystery quilt after dinner.  I finished two of the four blocks ... it felt great!

Last Monday, when Kysa and I went for a long walk ... it was a beautiful fall day ...

... even when we returned to town ... Mt Eccles was wearing her favorite colors ...

Last Tuesday, the remnants of a Japanese typhoon moved in and hasn't left.  We've had hurricane force winds and several inches of rain ... for several days.  During a short reprieve this morning ...

... Mt. Eccles had been redressed ... in white.  Yep ... fall has left ... winter is knocking on our door.  The wind ... rain ... snow ... we dillydalliers welcome it ... makes it easy to dillydally guilt free!  Gotta love that! ;-)