Spring Activities

A lot has happened since I last wrote anything.  I actually graduated!!!  I had an irrational fear that it was not actually true and that I was not really done.  But I have my piece of paper that says I have a PhD, but I cannot convince my family to call me Dr. Mom.  Oh well.  I have not been able to find a job in academia yet, but I plan on trying for a couple of more years before moving on to a different career path. 
This spring has been busy.  It seems that when children get older, a parent gets busier.
Tulip time was different this year.  I did not have to chair the quilt show and that lifted many of my responsibilities this spring.  I did have four quilts in the show.  That was all that I finished this year.  I plan on making finishing my WIPS a priority this year. The biggest quilt I finished I call Purple Peacock tails.  I really like the way this one turned out.  I came up with the color scheme before I came up with the pattern.  I quilted it on my home machine with my walking foot.

 This one is "Floral Libraries".  It was a kit that I bought at the 2012 AQS show in Des Moines.  It is okay, but not my favorite thing I have made and I did not like the way the pattern was written.  I also quilted it using my machine and walking foot.  I used an elongated zig-zag stitch and I like the way it gave the quilt some texture.

 This is a smaller quilt that I made at a quilt guild retreat.  I like the pink and brown together.

 This is a mini that I made to try several new things.  I created my own pattern in photo shop and used a product called Ricky Tims' Stiff Stuff for the foundation.  I liked the way I could run it through my printer and I did not have to rip it out when I was finished.  I also used decorative stitches as my quilting and put in prairie points.

 I also pieced the guild's raffle quilt this year.  I think we did well in ticket sales.  Linda Schminke did the quilting.  It is a pattern called "Winner's Circle" by Glad Creations.

The quilt show had a higher attendance than last year, partly because of the weather.  It was yucky outside and it drove people inside.  There was actually snow!  The parades on Thursday were canceled.  There were tears at our house because Zadok was supposed to ride on a float that night, and he was greatly disappointed when the parade was called off.  It started snowing on Thursday and we thought it would be done by that night. The kids made a Dutch snowman to keep the tulips company. 

We were surprised then on Friday morning when we woke up to this:

 The poor snowman was buried!!!  Both parades on Friday were canceled.  The weather cleared enough that there were parades on Saturday.  This is a good picture of Zadok and his teacher.

 Iris got to watch the afternoon parade from the comfort of a window!  She participated in a living window to help raise money for her trip with show choir next spring break. 

This year we had tulips, but they were not at their peak till a week after Tulip Time.  Sometimes in the middle of January, I wonder why we live here, but then spring comes and I think we live in one of the most beautiful spots there are.  I spent an afternoon just wandering around downtown taking pictures of the flowers and some of the buildings.  This is Pella's central park. 

 This is the Vermeer windmill, currently the tallest in the United States.

 This is Sunken Gardens Park and it is across from Zadok's school.  We often have to check the wooden shoe shaped pond for fish and other critters when walking home from school.

Now that winter is finally over, it is pleasant to live in Iowa again!

Tulip Time Aftermath

This year's Tulip Time was an exhausting one.  Because of the early spring there was not very many tulips in bloom.  The peak was a little after Easter.  I did manage to get one picture of the tulips.

 It was difficult because of the number of tourists in the area.  This year the kids were not as involved with the parades.  Zadok was only in two.  He walked with his class in the Wednesday and Saturday afternoon parades.  Iris was in the Friday night parade walking with the Girl Scouts, even though she has not been one for a while.  All her friends were walking and I think they wanted more people to pick up trash later.  She seemed to have a good time.  It is nice that she is old enough that she does not have to be supervised the entire time.  I gave her money and she hung out with her friends.  Easy.

Zadok had to have a dutch costume for marching in the parade.  I went to the costume exchange a little late this year and all they had left was a very used costume for $65.  I did not buy it.  I went the true Dutch route and went to the thrift store and bought items and modified them.  I got a larger striped button down shirt and some baggy black pants.  Here is what the shirt looked like before...

I cut the cuffs off and straightened the bottom.  I also turned the collar in.  With the hat and the kerchief, it looked "dutchy" enough.

With hundreds of kids marching no one will notice that it is not a true dutch costume.
This gives an idea of the chaos before the parade.  I title this picture "Boys in Black Hats"

The reason that this year's Tulip Time was so busy was not because of the kids, but because I was chair of the Quilt Show Committee for our local guild.  Every year during Tulip Time the Pella Area Quilter's Guild puts on a quilt show in the Opera House.  We had over 110 entries and I was in charge of making sure that everything got done.  It basically consumed my entire April.  We had to set up frames, figure out where all the quilts would hang, hang all the quilts, keep track of all the bookwork, etc.  Whew.  I have to have a few years to forget all the work before I volunteer for that again.
I had several quilts in the show and even though I have shown most on the blog before, it is nice to have pictures of them all when they are hung nice.
This one is my favorite of the year.  Every seam is matched perfectly, the quilting is beautiful, and I love the colors.  It placed 5th in the viewer's choice for large quilts.  I called it "Cabins by the Seaside"

This one is called "Floral Chains".  It was technically hung upside down.  whoops.

"70's Film Star"

"Pixilated Blossoms"  This one was 6th in viewer's choice for large quilts

"A Quilt for Iris"

"Lilacs for Mom"

"Oriental Mystery"

"The Pond Quilt"

"Tropical Fruit Salad"  This one tied for 3rd in viewer's choice for small quilts

A new feature this year for the quilt show was a window display.  I was able to put my Grandma Top's sewing machine in the window.

Now everything is dismantled and I have a pile of quilts to figure out what to do with them all.  I cleaned off the board where I put all my cards with finished projects.  I do not think that I will get this many done for next year. 
On the family front, Nathan is in Germany this week working with Vermeer.  This is his first time over seas and I am happy for him.  I got a call this morning saying he arrived okay.  When we were packing I insisted that he take basic toiletries with him like shampoo and soap.  He insisted that the hotel would have them, but packed them anyway.  When I talked to him this morning, he said that he was glad that he packed them because the hotel he is staying in is a dead ringer for the happiness hotel from the muppets.  I hope he has a great time!