A Bit of Stash Busting!

In 2010 I made this quilt (read about it here) using floral prints from my stash.  The remaining yardage was in a tote ... I added other florals that were in the sewing room ... and last month I brought those fabrics back to the Home Ec room for our open sew day.  The dillydally winds were encouraging me to do a bit of stash busting!

Our guild has an AccuQuilter.  It is wonderful!  I decided to cut all of my floral stash into 2 1/2 inch strips.  There are gazillions of patterns that use strips that size, so I was confident that I would find multiple ways to use them.

I spent the entire day cutting ... it would have taken me weeks to cut all of this by hand!

When Bonnie Hunter was here ... she showed us how to use the AccuQuilter to create "strings".  I hadn't done any string quilting prior to that conversation, but have fallen in love with that technique since.  I am excited to come up with plans for this pile of fun!

Pic by Bonnie Hunter from Quiltville.com

Bonnie's pattern, Scrappy Trips, has gotten a huge amount of press recently.  Many quilt groups have had "quilt-a-long" events using her pattern.  I have come across them all over the internet...very inspiring!  Bonnie's pattern is free ... you can find it here!

Time to begin ... my "leader and ender" squares are in position ... what fun!

I have such a variety of strips ... I gave up on having any color placement strategy ... am just grabbing strips from each color pile and sewing!

I neglected to take pics of sewing the strip set into a tube, cutting it into rings and then ripping out the seams that result in the pieces above.  But ... this isn't a tutorial ... Bonnie's instructions do not need my assistance! ;-)

A finished block!  Quick ... easy ... fun ... and completely scrappy!  Such fun!

An ender ...

... both the leaders and enders add up quickly!  Love accomplishing two things at once!

Flicka inspects the first seven blocks and picked out her favorite!

Even though she isn't in all the pictures ... Flicka is ever present!  And she is happiest when the sewing table is super messy!  There is never a dull moment when we are quilting!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

Hexie Update!

Between teaching and traveling with students, there has been a very limited amount of dillydallying going on here in dillydallydom.

4.17.2013 - 6:00 am

Mother Nature continues to allow...

4.17.2013 - 6:00 am

... Jack Frost to maintain his residence here in our remote corner of the planet.  We had 6 inches of fresh snow yesterday!  I must admit that it is hard to complain when the view is this beautiful ... but most of us here in Cordova are ready for spring to arrive!

Exactly a month ago, I began my Hexie Adventure.

 I love that even though my life has been crazy busy ... when I have only short periods of time ... I can easily pick these up and hand sew a seam or two.

My snoopervisor is always willing to help out!

Flicka likes to rearrange my notions to meet her approval!

Bet you didn't know that hexies make a great "Sit Upon"!

And a second hexie is necessary to use as a "Paw Upon"

Together ... two hexies make a great "Nap Upon"!  Who knew? ;-)

A few dillydally moments here and there ... and a helpful kitty ... can result in a little bit of progress!  Even small amounts of progress feel great!

Do what you love.  Make progress.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally 

Retreat with Guild QBees!

Before I had a blog ... in 2008 I took a class from Judy Niemeyer at the Valdez Quilt Festival!  It was my first class with a "Quilt Rock Star".  She was absolutely wonderful ... I learned more in those two days than I thought was humanly possible!  The pattern I did during that class was called "Raindrops".

This past weekend, our guild held their annual Spring Retreat!  We had Sue Wilson from SewFish come and teach Judy's techniques.  Sue is a certified teacher for Quiltworx, Judy Niemeyer's company.

Sue lives in Ohio for most of the year, but she and her husband live in Soldotna, Alaska during the summer months!  Yep...she completely understands our Alaskan lifestyle!  She taught in public schools for 30 years, before making quilting a career.  She is also certified as a Cotton Theory instructor!  Many talents!

It was so great to get a refresher course on Judy's paper piecing techniques!

Sue has made multiple Quiltworx patterns and willingly shared her experiences with us. She also brought with her some samples of other designs she teaches.

My heart skipped a beat when she unfolded this one!

A closer look...

... a light section...

... and a close up of a dark section!  Yep ... I am getting the pattern and will start collecting fabrics ... now! ;-)

This Wedding Ring Star is a pattern that I have been wanting for some time now.  Sue showed us this bed runner of the same design.  It was beautiful!

Sue was great about letting us pick her brain ... gleaning as much as possible from her experiences.

She was so generous with her time, talent and expertise!  I love those traits in a quilt instructor!

I am nearly finished with all ten of these sections ... then it will only be a matter of piecing them together!  It was a great retreat ... quality instruction ... time with the QBees ... great food ... and piles of fun!  What a wonderful way to dillydally!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

To see the amazing projects by other local guild members check out the blog here!

Blondes ... having fun!

Flicka's First Birthday!

It was a year ago today that we brought Flicka home to live with us ... her home "of origin" didn't record her actual birth date, so we refer to her adoption date as her birthday!

Such a little fur ball ... filled with fun and energy!

Yep ... the evolution of a quilt kitty!  A year of fun, mischief, and adventure!  She is a wonderful addition to the DillyDally family!

Do what you love.  Celebrate your furry family members.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

Life in the Dillydally Bubble!

I confess ... I am in love with my accidental Easter centerpiece!  So much so that I took another picture of it on Easter day.

Easter 2012

Easter 2013

I tried to get Flicka to get in the basket again this Easter ... she would have none of it!  Look closely and you can see the red glitter ball in her mouth!  She loves to play fetch with them!  She has grown so much!  She is extremely intelligent and well-behaved for her age.

When I got home from work on Monday ... this is what I found on the table!  Oh-oh ... someone has been naughty!  I wonder who?

And this poor little peep was found on the floor!  Yep ... someone had been very naughty!

Sorry...pic won't stay rotated correctly!

Flicka knows and follows the house rules while home alone ... no cats on the dining table ... ever!  Something had to be done!

Defensive measures were taken this morning before I left for work!  I placed a protective bubble around the centerpiece to protect it.  Success!  It kept Mr. DillyDally and his naughty paws out of the centerpiece when he came home for lunch today!

Yep ... lovin' life in my dillydally bubble!

Do what you love.  Live in a bubble.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

An Easter Centerpiece ... DillyDally Style!

Pic from Facebook

Fresh flower centerpieces aren't really an option here in my remote corner of the planet.  You can imagine how expensive fresh flowers are ... plus, by the time they have traveled this far ... they are no longer very fresh! ;-)

In true dillydally fashion ... I have had to make do with what I have on hand!  In 2011 that meant using the trimmings from a project I was working on ... leftovers from a line of fabric called Dilly Dally!  Too fun!

Last year, my centerpiece would not stay in the basket!  Hee-hee!

Easter is almost here ... time to throw together a centerpiece ... throwing things together is the dillydally way!

How to Build an Easter Centerpiece ... DillyDally style!

• Begin with a bowl.
• Line bowl with Easter Grass (kitty wouldn't allow that) coasters that lucky for you happen to be green.

• Add knitted Easter eggs.

• Mix in some peeps.

• Yield:  An Easter Centerpiece 

Definite step up from fabric trimmings! 

The peeps won't be hopping off the table like the kitty did!  Wink!

Yep ... I consider this centerpiece an upgrade ... an accidental improvement! 

Do what you love!  Make do with what you have!  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally