Continuing to Create Spring!

Mother Nature and Jack Frost have been in a serious "power struggle" most of this week. 

This was the view Wednesday morning ... very gray and wet.  When it is warm enough to rain, Mother Nature is winning the battle.

Thursday morning ... still gray ... with white highlights.  Jack Frost really asserted himself ... we were hit with a lot of very heavy, wet snow.

This (Friday) morning ... blue gray and heavy, wet snow continued.  Poor Mr. DillyDally ... he had to reestablish an intimate relationship with the show shovel.  ;-)  We got about 18 inches of heavy snow total ... both decks and the stairs required shoveling multiple times a day.   Many of our friends who live at higher elevations got much more than that, so we can't complain very loud. ;-)

While the forces of nature were at battle ... I continued my efforts to create a sense of spring indoors ...

My little herb seeds have sprouted!  Young sprouts ... filled with the hope of sunny skies and living in larger pots!  ;-)

 

In the sewing room ... we ignored the war going on outdoors by working with happy fabric!  Aren't these table scraps beautiful?  They just sing "Spring"!  I couldn't throw them out ... who knows what I'll do with them ... they are too small to remake into another quilt ... some dillydally whim will hit me!

It was easy to ignore the battle going on outdoors when Teacup and I laid out the blocks made with the "Dilly Dally" fabric!  Supervisor Teacup approves of the dillydally lifestyle ... we make our own fun and refuse to get involved in battles we have no control over!  ;-)

I have to chuckle when I think about Jack Frost ... in our remote corner of the planet, he tends to get a little "big for his britches" ... up here Mother Nature allows him to remain in power a bit longer than most places.  He forgets that he is Mother Nature's subordinate and when she begins to change the season, he responds with temper tantrums.  No one likes to give up power ... but like all leaders, Mother Nature remains firm ... spring will eventually arrive.

 Tonight she left us with a reminder that she will prevail ... spring will arrive and Jack will be moving to the deep south.  Create your own happiness ... do dillydally this weekend!

A Wonderful Weekend!

Gosh ... it really was a wonderful weekend!  This was our guild's 24th Annual Spring Retreat ... and many of us have been going for all 24 years! ;-)  I hope you had a chance to see the guild's blog ... here ... there you will see photos of everyone and their projects!  Golly ... did I mention that it was a wonderful weekend?

I dillydallied on three different projects ... yep ... those dillydally winds were blowing every which way!  The first project I worked on was a kit I bought last summer in Bemidji, Minnesota from Emily's Country Cottage!

It is one of Emily's original designs and is called "Flowers in the Wood Box".  When I saw the sample hanging in her shop, I knew I had to have it!  It was love at first sight!

I was able to finish the piecing ... ya-hoo!  It was the perfect project to take ... not too complicated ... able to visit and sew at the same time!  Next step on this project is the wool applique' flowers in the block centers ... will keep you posted as I start that process ... remember ... I am very new to wool applique'!  A bit out of my comfort zone!  ;-)

Project 2 was another wall quilt designed to bring a touch of spring indoors ...

... yep ... more bunnies!  But these are of the McKenna Ryan variety ... they're wild bunnies, not Easter bunnies!  I won't have to take them down after Easter ... they can stay on the wall all summer!  I still have to layer and quilt in all the details!  Will update you as that happens.

Supervisor Teacup was not happy that I wasn't spending much time at home this weekend ... she got quite an attitude while I tried to do some prep work during the early morning hours ...

Teacup is thinking ... "Hmmmm how can I make this difficult for her?"

"She won't dare cut any strips now!"  Insert evil cat laugh only they can hear.

"I dare her to disturb me while I'm napping ... I know how to scatter all those tiny fusible pieces!"

I love her ... and she is cute ... and I don't care if she is my dillydally supervisor or not!  She was being very naughty! Naughty, naughty, snotty kitty! ;-)

Project 3 really sings to my dillydally soul ...

... it involves a pattern from this wonderful book, the pattern is called Hot Cross ...

... and I'm using my Dilly Dally fabric cake stands!  Really?  Can it get more fun?  I am loving it!

So that is what I did over the weekend ... did I mention how wonderful it was?

Most of the time our remote corner of the planet appears very gray this time of the year ... however, late this afternoon ...

... it seemed more silver than gray ... it had a shimmer.  Yes ... everyone who attended retreat accomplished a lot of quilting, but there was a silver lining much more important than our quilts.  The quilts only serve as a reminder of what the weekend was really about ... the laughter ... the problem-solving ... the snacks ;-) ... the encouragement ... the teamwork ... all those things that are intangible and must be represented in something we can touch ... our quilts.  I savor those moments when surrounded by the silver lining of life ... I bask in it's shimmer ... it's the dillydally way!

Did I mention?  Oh My Gosh Good Golly!  It was a wonderful weekend!

Busy Weekend! Annual Guild Retreat!

The Cordova Northwind Quilter's Guild held their annual retreat this weekend!  The fun began at 6:30 Friday night and ended this afternoon.  As always it was fun, inspiring, motivational, and filled with quilting.  You can see the fun and progress had by all ... check out the Guild blog here.  I'll share my projects later this week ... I am so tired tonight ... in the best way possible!  ;-)  Yes ... dillydallying is exhausting! 

Creating Spring!

It is still early for us to have signs of spring in our remote corner of the planet ... we have to rely on our faith that spring will eventually appear ... we have to believe without seeing any obvious signs ...

... because, as you can observe ... this time of year our outdoor environment is primarily many different  shades of gray.

I use that as an excuse to make the indoor environment show signs of spring ... it helps me keep the faith.  ;-) Mr. BunnyTails and I  took our relationship to the next level ... I finished the binding just a few minutes ago.

The photo doesn't do him justice ... too dark in the house this time of night ... I'll take another picture of him in daylight.  I still find him irrestible ... and love the bit of spring he'll bring to the house!  He just makes me smile and leaves me inspired!  Yep ... I have bunny fever ... so I moved on to another bunny pattern and kit I have.

I've done a few Patch Abilities patterns in the past ... and love them!  This one is called "Chocolate Bunny".  I bought this kit while in Anchorage in February!  When I pulled it out this weekend ... laid out the fabrics ... they just didn't sing the strong song of spring I need to hear.  The color palette was fine ... but too tame for my vision of spring.  I slept on it over night.

This morning I decided that I would only use two items from the original kit ... the egg shaped holder and a medium brown.  Now remember ... I am a dillydallier and work on a whim ... it is not unusual for me to change things up ... plus, I collect fabric and I know that the fabric from the kit I am not using now ... I will find a better use for later.  It is all good!

These are the fabrics I pulled from my stash ... I did end up changing the turquoise out for pink ... but here are the results!

Yep ... Mr. Chocolate Bunny is tall, dark and almost good enough to eat!  

The past week has been busy ... it was the end of third quarter at work ... which means tons of paperwork.  In dillydallydom, it took days to recover from the excitement of being featured on the "Free Quilt Patterns" facebook page!  I still can't believe that over 600 people visited the 2/27 post that they featured!  I also have 12 new followers ... who would have dreamed I would have 50 followers?  Thank you all for your kindness!  My single hope is that all who stopped by begin to see dillydallying in a different light ... do dillydally! 

I KEEP HAVING TO PINCH MYSELF!

The last 24 hours have been dillydallytastic!

OFF!  THE!  CHARTS!  WONDERFUL!

It all began last night when the dillydally winds shifted ... a designing weather pattern moved in ... yep ... I had no choice but to submit.

I was inspired by yarn I had purchased on Saturday ... it kept calling me ... finally I relented and spent several hours with a calculator, pencil, graph paper, this luscious yarn (more on the yarn in a future post) and several sizes of knitting needles.  After multiple gauge swatches ... the pattern was finished and the knitting began! Today, I began the day with an hour of early morning knitting and coffee ... what a wonderful way to begin the day!

When I got home from work today, these lovelies were in the mail ... yep ... I had finally purchased some Dilly Dally fabric ... 3 cake stands (I know they're called layer cakes, but they misnamed them, I call them cake stands ... it just fits better!) and some yardage.  OK ... does "she and her sister" secretly know me?  Because this fabric just screams ... Mrs. DillyDally!  I have to thank many of you who emailed me and encouraged me to get some ... you were so right!  I love it ... not sure what I'll do with it ... eventually it will speak to me.  What a fun and wonderful thing to come home to! 

My usual routine when I get home from work is ... check facebook ... check email ... check this blog.  So ... that is exactly what I did.  When I got to my blog I was surprised to see that I had gotten 8 new followers ... new followers are very unusual when they come one at a time ... so 8 in one day just about blew me over.  Next I checked my comments ... two new comments on an older post made in February ... that was very unusual too.  Then I looked at my stats for the day ... I nearly had a stroke!  Over 500 people had visited today?  That couldn't be right?  I called Mr. DillyDally over to take a look, now I was sure I was having a stroke and he needed to look at it and straighten it out for me!  He looked everything over very carefully ... yep ... he nearly had a stroke too!  See why I keep pinching myself?  It is so unbelievable that anyone, let alone that many people would bother with my nonfunsense!  We finally caught our breath and backtracked where they had come from ... it was facebook.  The Free Quilt Patterns fan page had posted a link to this very small, humble and modest blog!  We couldn't believe it!  I was so excited, I couldn't talk ... I was squealing like a baby piglet ... no, I won't describe the look on Mr. DillyDally's face ... it was a side of his wife (of 30 years) he hadn't seen before and would probably like to forget! ;-)

This was my supervisor's response to all the excitment ...

... no ... she wasn't impressed ... one bit.  There is only room for one member of the DillyDally family to have an ego ... and it's Teacup. 

I am still pinching myself ... what an exciting dillydally day!  Holy Moly Hot Bologna!  I am grateful to all who made the past 24 hours so wonderful ... I love my dillydally life and all who are a part of it ... thank you!

Oh My Gosh Good Golly!

Oh-oh...pinches leave bruises...how will I explain those tomorrow? ;-)

A New Man!

I've fallen in love ... yes, I am still in love with Mr. DillyDally ... even though he grilled dinner tonight in his short pants (it is not even spring in this corner of the globe!), crew socks and crocs! ;-)  But my new love is ...

... Mr. Bunny Tails!  I have found him irresistible ever since I met him on facebook.  Now that he has been "stitched" our conversations have become more serious.  We're almost ready to take our relationship to the next level ... I'll let you know what happens!  ;-)

I hope you found time to dillydally this week ... I spent every spare minute with Mr. Bunny Tails!  Here is a sunset we enjoyed from the front deck this week...

Don't worry ... a man standing over his grill ... in freezing weather ... wearing short pants, crew socks and crocs ... yep, I find that pretty irresistible too!  Life in my remote corner of the planet is good!  Have a wonderful dillydally weekend! 

 

Dillydally Day Dreaming...

I am a very practical person.  I live a simple and modest life.  I am known to be pragmatic and proactive.  I know how to break tasks down into manageable steps and get them done.  Maybe it comes from growing up on a farm ... I do know how to "plow" through things when I deem necessary. ;-) There is nothing delicate or fancy about me or my life ... and I've always been comfortable with that.

But in my day dreams ... I live like a queen ... I dress like a movie star ... and ... "plowing" is never necessary.  Lately, I have been doing a great deal of dillydally day dreaming ... 

... I have spent hours ... thoughtfully reading ... imprinting the images in my mind ... and reverently touching this book.  

The Haapsalu Shawl: A Knitted Lace Tradition from Estonia by Siiri Reimann and Aime Edasi has everything necessary to inspire those who hold it in their hands.  The history section allows us to time travel to the beginning of this tradition ... increasing the value of and our relationship with the art of lace shawl making.

We are then transported from the past to the present.  I have spent most of my time with this book on these two pages ... three simple photos ... that speak volumes.  On the left are the master knitters from the late 19th century ... top right are the current master knitters ... bottom right are the future master knitters.  These two pages offer a great deal of comfort to those of us who value cultural traditions. 

"A true Haapsalu shawl is so delicate and airy that it can pass through a ring..."  This photo is so lovely, I would love to have a reprint of it ... for me it serves as a metaphor ...

The book includes pictures of many shawls that were designed for specific purposes.  Lily of the Valley are one of my favorite flowers ... and because of this book is now one of my favorite lace patterns.

The book provides directions and techniques for making shawls and scarves in this tradition ... and at 120 ... I stopped counting the number of lace patterns that are in this book.  The possibilities truly are endless.

I have been losing myself in this book for over a month ... it is lovely.  It has been so inspiring for me ... it has evoked dillydally day dreams that allow me to escape my very real practical, pragmatic and proactive life.   

I absolutely adore this photo of master knitter Linda Elgas ... wearing and creating lace.  I look at this photo and find a kindred spirit ... perhaps practical, pragmatic and proactive people can wear and create lace?  Maybe lace is not only for queens and movie stars? ;-)  I'm not sure ... hard to imagine myself wearing or creating fine lace ... but I do admire and appreciate it.  And I love day dreaming about it.

Do day dream.  Do dillydally.