Undercover Work Continues!

My undercover work continues ... some are finished ... some have even been wrapped and sent on their way ... and a few are still in progress.  The good news is ... I can share one now!  Finally a post about my dillydally efforts!  It is a tablerunner that I gave to Sister DillyDally early so she could use it over the holidays.

I just love these new contemporary holiday fabrics!  I love the color combinations in the palette and the graphic designs.  And I especially love having a daughter who has embraced them!

The pattern is by Lisa Moore of Quilts with a Twist fame!  She is an Alaskan who has become a Quilt Rock Star!  We in Alaska are very proud of her success!  I took a class from her in September at the Valdez Quilt Festival, you can read about it here.  I will be the first to sign up if I ever have the chance to take a class she is teaching again!  She is amazing!

When we walked into her class ... a precut kit was waiting at every seat ... she called it her "warm-up" activity!  It is sized to fit paper napkins, but I think it would be cute as a candy dish!  Can't you just envision it full of Hershey's Kisses?  The fabric was perfect for Sister DillyDally's holiday palette, so it traveled with the tablerunner to her apartment! 

After our break during her class, this luggage tag was our second "warm-up" activity!  Aren't they great?  I could "gush" forever about Lisa and her talent!  She is so creative and her background as an electrical engineer means that her patterns are well written and easy to follow.  She also designs Alaska themed fabric ... so all of her patterns work very well with novelty prints.  I encourage all you quilters to check out her designs ... fabrics too!

It has been very clear and cold here in our remote corner of the planet.  We are not complaining because that means that during daylight hours (10:00am - 3:00pm) it is bright!  Kysa loves the cold and is always ready for a trip out the road!  She is looking forward to having Brother DillyDally home for the holidays ... they are always taking adventures together!

The Sheridan River with glacier in the background on Sunday (12/12/10).

James Bond has "M" for a supervisor ... I have "T" (Teacup) as mine!  Do you see that look?  She is telling me to get back to work on my top secret missions!  She is such a taskmaster!  Enjoy your dillydallying, covert or not!  ;-)

Vegas and Cowboy Culture!

During the last few days I was in Vegas, the city was also hosting the "2010 Wrangler National Rodeo Finals"!  We immediately tried to get tickets for Saturday night after our conference.  But tickets to this annual event sell out months in advance.  Needless to say ... we were very disappointed.  But to our surprise and delight...

... yep ... the Cowboy Christmas Gift Show was taking place at the convention center where we were!

Cowboy hats were worn by nearly everyone and there were hats for sale!  It was fun to watch people try them on and then to watch the booth staff shape them specifically for each customer.

How cool is this?  Carrying cases for your cowboy hat!  I love it!  It makes a lot of sense ... these hats are a major investment!

It was possible to smell leather as you walked up and down the isles ... I loved it ... beautiful leather items everywhere ... the saddles were gorgeous!

The variety of leather handbags was incredible ... well made and very fashionable ... absolutely lovely!

Belts for the entire family in a wide variety of styles ... too many choices!  Add to that the buckles that were available!  

Yep ... you could even buy the whole hide!

I thought these Christmas stockings made from cowhide were very creative ... perfect in ranch or lodge themed holiday decorating!

But my favorite leather items were of course ... the boots!  Specifically cowgirl boots!  They were incredible ... I wanted them all!  Except for this pair ...

... these belong on the feet of Sister DillyDally ... when I saw them, I immediately knew they were made for her!  But it is never a good idea to buy boots for someone without them having the ability to try them on for size ... so another cowgirl will get the honor.  It was hard to leave them behind!

There was a lot of handmade furniture ... 

... outstanding craftsmanship ...

... and amazing creativity! 

I only found one booth that had quilt related items.  She had several quilts for sale as seen in this photo.  I like how she used one of Terry Atkinson's patterns to showcase the western themed novelty fabrics!  Kits for the quilts were also available.

 She was from Oregon and shared with me that she sews all year and only attends this show.  She had constructed everything from curtains to bumper pads for cribs.  I would have liked to talk to her longer and taken more photos, but her small booth was packed!  It was fun to watch her success!

There was one item that really won my heart and I soooo wanted it!

  Many of you know that I love the color red ... and you might also know that I have wanted a red couch for a long time ... when I saw this, it was love at first sight!  It was stunning in every way (insert a very deep sigh) ... I wish you all could see it live ... in my living room!

I personally have no interest in gambling and had no interest in trying it, but as everyone knows ... most of traveling to Vegas is about gambling.  I don't have an issue with others who enjoy gambling and do not feel in anyway self-righteous about it.  All week, as I walked through casinos, watched others gamble, shared in conversation with those who had gambled, I really didn't see the appeal and felt no temptation to participate.

The conference ended early in the afternoon on Saturday ... we were flying home early Sunday morning ... how to spend our last night in Vegas became the task at hand.  And then it happened ... after 5 days in Sin City ... the gambling bug finally bit! 

  We had heard that if you arrived at the rodeo early enough, you could buy tickets that were being sold by "others".  Now I admit to not being anything near genius ... but I knew not to ask who these "others" were.  Soooo ... we went to the UNLV sports center two hours early ... and those "others"?  Lets just say they found us!

We paid three to four times the original price for the tickets ... yep, it was a gamble.  One that we feel like we won!  ;-)

Mr. DillyDally and I have been following the rodeo all week on ESPN ... we've even learned many names of both the cowboys and livestock!  We've had a lot of fun with it ...

... and every night this week, I've had a strange dream with cowboys in it.  Every morning I share these silly dreams with my husband.  The other day, Mr. DillyDally finally asked if he needed to worry about these dreams I'm having?  ;-)  

You know ... he might want to consider getting himself a cowboy hat and boots ... hmmmm ... a pair of chaps wouldn't hurt either!  ;-)

My Inspiration

Three life altering events changed forever how I would live the rest of my life.  The first pivoting event was the loss of my mother four years ago today.

If my memory serves me well, she was 16 when this portrait was taken ... around 1953.  I love this photo because her sense of fun and adventure is so obvious.  My mother had a personality that was larger than life ... her intellect was engaging ... her common sense valued ... her creativity admired ... her love for family was unmatched.  She was and will always be an inspiration to me.  I was blessed to have her as my mother ... I miss her every day.

Mrs. DillyDally travels to Las Vegas!

I was in Las Vegas last week to attend a national professional development conference for teachers, as you might recall, I am president of our state association.  I don't like to mix my work into this blog, but I must say that the conference was terrific!  We began every morning at 7:30 and ended each day at 5:30 ... it was exhausting, but so inspiring that I didn't want to miss any of it!

In the evenings we enjoyed all that Vegas has to offer!

We walked for miles ...

... the evening temps were mid to low 40's ...

... it was great to spend time out of doors after being in the convention center all day!

There was a lot to see inside the casinos as well.  This is the Statue of Liberty made out of jelly beans ... love it!

It is Vegas after all ... fast cars and beautiful women!

I loved seeing the holiday decorations ... here is the MGM lion amongst the Christmas trees ...

... Polar bears in a frosty forest.  Can you see the worker between the two trees?  She was wearing hip waders while placing white poinsettias in the display.  At first we thought she was on her knees, but she was standing ... the pond was that deep!

This rocking horse was about seven feet tall ... and the reindeer flying around the tree were bigger than life size.  Everything in Vegas was wonderfully exaggerated ... which is exactly what entertainment should do ... help you escape reality!

My mother was a huge Elvis fan and I grew up listening to his music.  Like many, I associate him with Las Vegas.  When I saw this statue of him, I had to have my picture taken with it.  Here he is ... blessing my adventure in "Sin City"!

This isn't the end of my Vegas story ... but enough for now.  ;-)

A Twist and Turn

I fondly remember my Sesame Street days ... one of the best things about having young children.  I remember a game of sorts on that show where the children had to guess how one item was related to another ... teaching them association reasoning.  Soooo .... what does this item ...

... yep ... that is one leg from an Alaskan King Crab ... have to do with ...

... this recent book of quilt projects by Sherri Falls of This & That Patterns?  Are you busy guessing?  If you own the book, see if you can find how these two items are related ... ok ... I'll give it to you ...

... the DillyDally family's Crab Stuffed Mushrooms recipe!  Yep ... many, many months ago, Sherri (on her blog) asked for holiday recipes that she might include in an upcoming book she was working on.  On a whim, I submitted this one.  These were served to Mr. DillyDally and I our first Christmas as newlyweds ... 29 years ago ... now they are a tradition, served at every important DillyDally event.

This summer while QBee Diane and I were visiting Heavenly Patchwork Quilt Shop, owned by Kay, Sherri's mother ... you can read about it here ... I bought the book, fabric for projects and discovered that Sherri had put my recipe in it.  OMGosh Good Golly!  I was thrilled!

Now ... fast forward to Thursday morning ... as I began to prepare the recipe I remembered that it had been published in Sherri's book ... another blessing on a day meant to give thanks.

The Crab Stuffed Mushrooms were delicious ... of course!  If you own the book, I hope you'll give them a try.  I'm always amazed at the twists and turns that are a part of my dillydally life ... of course life has very difficult moments ... they remind us to savor those glimmers of joy that come our way.

Blessings found in DillyDally Land...

Like many of you, I spent a great deal of time yesterday counting my blessings.  Recently I was a beneficiary of two random acts of kindness.  Last Saturday I attended a Holiday Open House at The Net Loft, our local yarn and gift shop.  Owner, and long time friend Dotty declared, "I have a gift for you!  When I saw it I just knew it was something Mrs. DillyDally had to have!"  I love it when she calls me Mrs. DillyDally!

For more years than either her or I are willing to count, Dotty has willingly listened to my many stories about my grandmother, great aunts, and the women who were role models for me during my childhood.  As a young child I was surrounded by remarkable women ... here are a few of them ...

... meet the Alida Kitchen Band!  All of these women lived in our small rural community ... neighbors and relatives ... my grandmother is in the back row, fourth from the right.  This band, their instruments made with kitchen utensils, performed all over the state of Minnesota during the late 50's and early 60's.  ;-)  Now you know how I came by my personality!

Dotty had browsed through some antique shops while traveling and found this treasure...

 ... she was right ... it is the perfect reflection of the women I knew and continue to love.  Holding this apron in my hands brings back a flood of warm memories.  It represents so much about the women of that generation and what they taught me.  Having a friend that knows you so well is a blessing in and of itself ... and then to receive such a thoughtful gift ... such a gesture of kindness ... what a blessing to have such a friend. 

While there that afternoon, I was told that a package had been left for me at the counter.  When I picked it up, I learned that it had come from Norway and was from another friend, Christa.  It was securely wrapped in paper and I put it in my bag along with my purchases.  I forgot about it until the next day when I was putting the items I had bought away.  Christa is someone I've known for years, she comes to Cordova every summer while her husband commercial fishes. As our children became teenagers and we became empty nesters, our free time allowed us to find that we have a lot in common ... including our Norwegian heritage.  Look what she gave me from one of my favorite bloggers, Ravenhill ...

...isn't she lovely?  Christa ordered it from Ravenhill's Etsy shop.  This Matryoshka doll was designed and is hand made by Ravenhill...no two are alike!  Doesn't she have a lot of personality?  Yep ... she fits me very well ... we were meant for one another!  She traveled all the way from Oslo, Norway to live with me ...what a blessing ... she and Christa have a special place in my heart!

I am so touched by the generosity of those who surround me ... I am so blessed to have friends who understand and support my quirky dillydally ways ... I struggle in my efforts to show appreciation ... I am humbled ... thank you for your kindness.  

Let us all work at being a blessing in the lives of others ... hmmm ... I need to work that into the Dillydally Creed.  It definitely needs to be a part of the dillydally lifestyle!  Dotty and Christa ... thanks for your inspiration!

Happy Turkey Day!

The DillyDally Family wishes you and your loved ones a ...

Happy Thanksgiving

from our remote corner of the planet to yours!