A Perfect Dillydally Day!

The day began with good intentions ... this morning Flicka and I made a list of all that needed to be accomplished.  After two full weeks of substitute teaching, I am far behind in my household and dillydally obligations.

Well ... the rain and clouds moved on ... and I just had to get outdoors!

Can you spot Mr. & Mrs. Eagle in the trees?  They were enjoying the warm sun and beautiful scenery too.

Sheridan glacier ...

... the ice is a striking contrast to the golden foliage.

Of course I brought Kysa and my knitting along.

Alaganak River provides a beautiful view while knitting.

Kysa and I took a very long walk.

She even stopped to enjoy the view today!

There are a few leaves left on the willows ...

... their bright yellow leaves act like specs of glitter in the landscape.  Love that.

Kysa's fur is fluffing up ... preparing for winter.  Love my walking partner!

More yellow and golden goodness.  We walked for over a hour ... soaking in as much as possible!

More knitting while having a snack.

Kysa ... enjoying a doggie treat ... the view ... and the sun.

On the way home ...

we saw Mr. and Mrs. Trumpeter Swan enjoying a family outing with their four cygnets.

Once home ... we took pleasure in the view from the front deck.

Mr. Blue Heron dropped by for a snack.

To end this perfect dillydally day, Mother Nature gifted us with with a gorgeous sunset.

The list that Flicka and I developed this morning?  It is still here ... waiting.  We'll tackle some of it tomorrow ... maybe ... ;-) !

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

Let the Embroidery Begin!

While the past few days were filled with rain for us at sea level ... the mountain tops received snow!  Jack Frost has begun his migration to our remote corner of the planet!

It was simply beautiful yesterday!  Clear skies and crispy cold!  I had to wear mittens on my walk!  This photo was taken in the late afternoon, as I am still substitute teaching this week.

Last evening was also the second session of the Embroidery and Wool Applique' class I'm teaching.

For demonstration purposes, I completed some of my embroidery in advance.

We discussed stitch choices ...

... and practiced those stitches too!

We explored thread options ...

... and auditioned different colors!

After making stitch and color decisions ... everyone got busy!

Simple drawings coming to life ... the magic of hand embroidery!

By the end of evening ...

... everyone had made great progress!

And most importantly ...

... they were all smiling when class ended!   The next session is in two weeks, allowing for them to nearly complete the embroidery.  Then we get to play with wool that has been felted!  Fun!

I just have to include a few more pictures from yesterday ...

... especially because today we are back to rain and heavy cloud cover!  Great weather to embroider by!  ;-)  Loving life in my remote corner of the planet!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

Playing with Linen

It may appear to have been somewhat quiet here in DillyDallydom ... not because I've been feeling lazy ... I have been substitute teaching everyday!

No worries ... Flicka and I have stayed busy in the evenings ... there just hasn't been much time to blog!

In August, friend and The Net Loft shop owner Dotty, asked me to teach a few classes.  I will be traveling in November, so I suggested I teach a class that encompasses multiple techniques ... the fun began Saturday morning!

I love working with linen ... and our shop has an amazing collection for us to choose from.  Most people think that it has to be used for counted thread work, so I wanted to encourage them to use it in other ways.  We are using linen for our embroidery and wool applique' projects!  We used Fray Check to prevent the fabric from raveling unnecessarily.

The goal of this first session was to transfer our design to the linen.

We began by tracing the reversed images provided in the pattern on to freezer paper.

Then we pressed the reversed image to the linen.

Next ... we used the classroom doors ...

... and windows as make-shift light boxes!  Our mission was successfully accomplished by all!

Our next class session is tomorrow night, so in preparation I spent yesterday morning doing some embroidery.

Flicka ... always diligent ... is learning about linen as well!  She also likes playing with the balls of pearle cotton.  She has been very unhappy about my absence everyday ... she stuck to me like glue Sunday morning!  Love my little furball!

While she and I were working on our embroidery, we noticed that guests had arrived for breakfast ...

... Mr. and Mrs. Blue Heron decided to dine not far from the front deck.  Both Flicka and I enjoyed watching them!   Playing with linen was a wonderful way to dillydally this weekend!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally 

My Jillily Experience!

Friday - Potluck and Trunk Show
QBee Valerie and I served as the co-chairpersons of our guild's Fall Retreat this year.  We have been fans of Jillily Studio for some time and were thrilled when Jill Finley agreed to come to Cordova and teach!

Yep ... dillydally dreams do come true!

Jill and her husband arrived in Cordova Thursday evening by ferry.  They had flown into Anchorage earlier in the week and explored some of our great state before arriving here.  What a beautiful day they had to sail across Prince William Sound!

Friday evening we had a "Meet and Greet" event open to the public.  After a potluck dinner, Jill and her quilt rack husband began the trunk show!  ;-)  This is a design from her book that I intend to make ... you all know how I love berries ... I have no choice ... I must make it!

Here's a silly-dillydally fact for you ... since I can remember (about age 3) watermelon has been my all time favorite food!  When Jill pulled this quilt out my knees went weak ... yep, I ordered the pattern!

Another silly-dillydally fact for you ... outside of fall/harvest themed quilts, orange and peach colors are the most difficult for me to work with!  But ... I fell in love with this very orange quilt ... so I ordered the kit!  Yep ... if the decisions concerning orange are made for me ... I should be able to do it!

Along with her quilts, Jill shared with us how important quilting is to her personally.  She reminded us that it is the relationships around our quilting lives that is most important.  Her words were just the encouragement I needed to hear as I travel on this swirly-whirly dillydally journey.  You can see more of her trunk show on our guild blog, here ... enjoy ... her quilts are sew inspiring!

Saturday - Trellis Quilt

My poor quilt supervisor ... while I was packing supplies for the day ... she sat and pouted on our current project.  Look at that abandoned body language ... nearly broke my heart.  We usually spend our early Saturday mornings sewing ... I gave her lots of ear rubs and apologized.  She sure knows how to lay on the guilt ... sheeeesh!

The Trellis design gave Jill the opportunity to teach us several tricks and techniques in piecing and applique!  It was an excellent choice ... for the techniques involved and it is simply beautiful.

I decided to leave my comfort zone and chose fabrics outside the box for a design like this!  I like to experiment and force myself to do things that challenge me ... it is all part of my dillydally nonsense funsense!

By the end of the day ... Jill had taught us new methods for right triangles and hand applique'!  We learned sew much ... it was all sew very valuable!  At the very end of the day, I began laying it out ... it is a bit crazy ... but I think I'm going to like it!  Take a look at what other guild members did here ... their work is inspiring!

Sunday - Overture Quilt

On Sunday morning Flicka decided to change her manipulative tactics.  She is such a smart kitty ... since guilt had not worked the day before, she chose to be deviant instead!  Yep ... maybe naughtyness will work!  She is not allowed on the dining table ... when she does I scold her and clap my hands.  So ... on Sunday while I was packing supplies for the day, she jumps up and begins rolling around ... depositing as much fur as possible on a black, wool applique' project.  She kept eyeing me to see if I noticed what she was doing!  Imagine her surprise when I picked her up, gave her kisses and set her on the floor.  Poor confused and neglected furball!

The Overture class was a half-day class, but Valerie and I opened the classroom early, so those who wanted to could come early and continue working on their Trellis quilt.  I was able to get half of mine pieced together!

Honestly ... I am loving the results!

Photo from Jilllily Studio

By early afternoon, it was time to begin the Overture pattern!  I can't believe I neglected to take a good picture of Jill's sample ... silly me!

For this quilt, I went with fabrics that are far more traditional.  Yep ... back in my comfort zone!  I love Kim Diehl's fabrics.  Sew ... I chose to use her purples and teals for this design.  Turns out that Kim and Jill are friends as well!  What fun!

We could choose either cotton or wool applique' for the center square ... I went with wool.  Fortunately we have a large selection of felted wool available to us at The Net Loft, and I was able to find colors that matched my fabric!  Love when the stars align themselves!  Beautiful creations were made by many members ... check it out here.

Jill's skill and talent is amazing to watch!  After dinner on Saturday, she rejoined us ... just to visit and check to see if anyone needed assistance.  While there, she began designing a small quilt to commemorate her time with us.  It was incredible to watch the process ... it seemed almost effortless.  What fun ... and what a privilege!  Also ... her techniques for hand applique' are the best I've come across in my quilt journey.  I have done hand applique', but never enjoyed the process ... I think that after this weekend with Jill, that has changed!  Stay tuned!

I treasure the time we spent with Jill ... and I am so grateful for the many QBees in my life ... there is so much gained by learning and growing together.  I am so fortunate to live this dillydally life.

Even Mother Nature was influenced by all of our creativity ... here is the beautiful sunset she created Sunday evening!

Do what you love.  Learn & grow.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally