Sewing Projects

It has been very cold and rainy here since we got back from Andrew and Lindsay's wedding so I've had a lot of indoor time. I got spring feever long before there was much spring type decor around so I had to get a little creative. I made this little table topper for our coffee table out of handkerchiefs. It was pretty simple but Dennis thought I had gone a bit mad.

Then I wanted to make something to brighten up our dining room table. There aren't a lot of fabric stores near-by so I was searching for any type of thing that was a nice springy color and found a sheet on clearance that I thought would be just the thing. So here is our dining room table now. It's a little hard to tell but it is a pretty lime green color.

I bought a quilt kit while in Utah and was so excited to sew it up. The name of the pattern is "Off-Kilter". The trick was that the fabrics used weren't the ones shown on the pattern and I had to try to figure out what pieces of fabric were meant for what. I guessed wrong on one major thing and ended up having a challenge on how to solve the problem with what I had or could find here. (If you can't tell what the problem is, great! I'm not going to tell.)




Ric-rac helped solve the problem and gave the quilt a added interest.

While we were home last, we took my computer in for repair and realized that it would be a while before I got it back. So Dennis bought me a cute little notebook computer. It is so small and so light that when I carry it I worry that I won't realize I have it in my hand and will just drop it.
Also since it fits into some of my bigger purses so easily, I thought it might be nice to have something to protect it from all the grunge that usually ends up in the bottom of my purse. So I made this cute little bag/purse for it. I used three bandanas in prints popular here in the Netherlands and a little batting. I thought it turned out really cute. I got to try out some things that I've been wanting to try as well as practice using my BRS foot while doing some free motion quilting.
My last project is the one I am working on right now. I have the major blocks done but I'm trying to decide if I'm brave enough to do some more free motion quilting on it and the best way to go about it. The name of this quilt pattern is "Hip to Be Square". It has some travel themed prints in it and I would like to put some of our travel/vacation sites on it - like Paris, London, Bryce Canyon, Mulege, Canada, Hawaii....... (Sorry it's not a better picture. Maybe when it's done.)

HIgh Tea

Today we had our Relief Society Birthday celebration. We had a high tea party. Everyone signed up for a food to bring and were encouraged to wear their fanciest hats and bring their cutest purse. Not many people had fancy hats but there were some pretty fun purses.

There were about 20 sisters in attendance which filled up all the chairs and was about all the room could hold. The room was decorated very festively with green and pink.

There were all kinds of interesting foods and in true high tea fashion, the desserts where at the beginning of the buffet and the sandwiches and vegetable stuff was near the end. There were teas of various kinds as well as fruit juices.

I made a raspberry chocolate torte. (Mindy, don't fall off your chair!) It got rave reviews. Okay, it did start with a cake mix but then it got lots of special attention - thanks to a recipe from Taste of Home Celebrations cookbook. It had a raspberry filling layer and it was suppose to have a ganache layer and then fresh raspberries but I couldn't find fresh raspberries this time of year and the ganasche hadn't cooled enough to whip properly so I ended up just making a fluffy chocolate butter cream frosting.

These are a couple of friends. The one on the left is Mickey. She is the other American in the ward. The lady next to her just got married and moved here from the Philippines. She is getting baptized next Saturday.

This is Armanda. She is an amazing cake decorator and a great lady.

The girl on the right is Lydia. She is our Young Women President.

It was a nice event and everyone seemed to have a good time. We had several investigators and non members attend and although my Spanish and Dutch are pretty limited I did try to at least smile, listen and nod and try to figure out what they said (they kept talking to me so I must have responded appropriately, or else they just thought I was a little crazy.)

A Bike Ride

Today was a brisk but sunny day so I decided it was time to get out on the bike and explore some more. A lot of times when I’m out riding around I either forget my camera or just don’t stop to take a picture and then later I wish I had. Today I remembered to take the camera and also decided that I would stop about every 10 minutes and take a picture of the most interesting thing around. I had one destination and that was a windmill I had seen from a distance several times but never seen it very closely. It is located in a little hamlet not far from here ( about a 15 minute bike ride).

As I rode down the street from our house I saw this. This house is decorated in typical Dutch fashoin for someone turning 5o years old. The Dutch are really into birthdays, so they see these types of milestones as cause for celebrations. 50 is a particularly big birthday to them, which they refer to as "Seeing Sara" for a woman or "Seeing Abraham" for a man. On the occasion, family members will construct a straw dummy (sometimes several) and put it outside of the house wearing the birthday boy or girl's clothes. The dummy will be adorned with items demonstrating their hobbies (like a golf bag for a golfer) and will be finished off with a gray wig. This display is to inform all the neighbors of the special milestone. I think I need to go on a Mediterranean cruise in May!

This lovely old house sits out amoung fields and farm houses. They have been working on renovating it since we got here and it looks really nice now. The thatched roofs always intrigue me.

Swans use to be scarce here and so they were put on the protection list and now we’ve seen quit e a few. They have been a lot in the fields lately and not on the water.

I love traveling down these picturesque little roads. There are always trees along the road and quite often a canal on the other side. It is so peaceful and pretty. It will be fun in another couple of months when all the leaves are on the trees and shrubs.

I took some pictures of some lambs that are just a couple of hours old. There were also some a day or two old. (I need to crop the pictures in order before I put them in here.)

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The Search for Quilt Fabric

The park strips all the way down our street look like this right now.
It is so cheery and fun. It is also interesting to notice how they
are planted, obviously with some kind of machine.

Dennis had to go to Paris for the first three days of the week so that meant I got to have sole possession of the car. Monday, I spent doing a few necessities like grocery shopping but also picked up a few things that aren't as easy to do on the bike. I bought a big bag of potting soil and a few more plants and pots. I got my plants potted and did some housework and picked Alyna up from school.

Tuesday, I dropped Alyna off at school and then went at picked up Armanda Bos and we headed out to find some fabric shops. Armanda is a lot of fun to be with and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. She speaks English wonderfully since her parents and brother, sister and son all live in Utah. She is a talented quilter and painter and she has a wonderful eye for color and texture. She is currently serving as the stake Relief Society President so although we keep planning on doing a lot of great projects together, I know her time is quite limited.

I needed to find some pieces of fabric to finish up one quilt and enough to round out the requirements for another one. I also wanted to get some baby fabric to make a gift for my visiting teaching partner who just had a baby girl. So we headed out with our TOM TOM and a list of addresses of stores that were within an hours drive. The first one we went to was way out in the country side. It was a delight to drive to because we had to drive over little canal bridges, maneuver around big farm equipment on roads that were only wide enough for one car and dodge bicycilists. We finally got to the point were the Tom Tom said we had reached our destination and it was this old farm. It looked nice but it was just typical old dutch farm yard. We decided that we were in the right place because we saw a little sign that said quilts on it.



We looked around for a bit and finally figured out where the shop was and went in. What a delightful surprise met our eyes. I wish I had taken a lot more pictures. The quilt shop was the inside of an old barn and it was so "gezellig." That's the Dutch term for the feeling of being warm, cozy, comfortable and content. There was a big old table in the center of the room with a group of about 10 ladies sitting around it and working on various quilting projects - no machines so everyone was either cutting out a project or doing hand work. It was really interesting to see what each of them were working on. The patterns and the fabrics were from Australia, England and the US so there was lots of different things to see. Then you went further into the barn and there was a great selection of fabrics at fairly reasonable prices. We found some great projects there and spent a wonderful hour browsing, selecting and talking to the various people there.

That actually turned out to be the highlight of the day. We went to 4 other shops; one had a great selection and high prices, the others had small selections but in each one we found some thing that was of interested or that we wanted to do. It was a really fun outing and it was after 5:00 when I got home. (Alyna had called while I was at a shop in Ede. She was locked out of the house so she had a long wait before I got home.)

Wednesday, Alyna didn't have school and I had researched and talked to several locals about what would be fun to do. I thought we could drive to Ede, take the train to Utrecht and see the sights there and then come home. Alyna showed me her list of homework and things she had to have done this week and we decided it would be best if we stayed home and got some things done. That was fine with me. I finished one quilt that I needed the bits and pieces for and started the baby gift. I also took an hour and went out to find the two fabric stores that are closest to my house. One was just tiny and specialized in small template (Marti Mitchell) type quilting. The other one was bigger and had a nice selection of fabric. It's always nice to know what is available but also really nice to know that I will be going back to the states often enough that I will rarely need to pay the high prices of fabric here.

Spring

Since we've returned to Holland, there have been little signs of spring. The days are definitely getting longer which is wonderful. The bulbs are starting to come up, even the tulips I finally got planted just last month. Alyna had a happy day because she only had 45 minutes of school on Wednesday so we went out and took pictures of "happy things." Here are a few:

Swinging at our local park

Alyna riding her bike with a smile. Amazing!


We've gone past this little store dozens of times without ever going in. It has a really nice jewelry making section as well as ready-mades that are fun.

Hot chocolate and friets at our local lunch spot.

This store has the cutest little green and white polka dot bags.


Look at how the crocuses are planted. Usually in a
strip down either side of the trees with nothing in the middle.
That's me on my bike.

It started out being beautiful and sunny when Alyna came home from school and by the time we got home from our little adventure it was rather cold and almost drizzly.

Oh Happy Days

Here are the top 10 things I loved about being home last week.

1. Being Home
While my American friends here were skiing in Switzerland, cruising in the Mediterranean, and touring in Egypt, I got to come home and sleep in my own bed and be with my family and friends. That is truly a blessing!



2. Seeing Andrew and Lindsay get married
It was a fabulous day and a very special event. They were so happy and their happiness was contagious. Everything was perfect, from the weather, to the decorations and food. Andrew and Lindsay did a great job, with a little help from their parents, in planning and preparing for the event.



3. Having all the kids home
Our family has grown a lot recently and it was fun to have a full house once again. We never had a chance to all sit down together and visit or play games, but everyone came and went and I got a chance to visit and play with some of them. The girls and I had some fun times shopping and going out to eat and working on Lisa's wedding. It was also fun watching them enjoy their time together.






4. Being with all our extended family
I have to say I have been blessed with wonderful relatives. My parents and Dennis' parents are so supportive and loving. Any time we need anything, they willingly get it done for us. They are the best. We also have great brothers and sister, nieces and nephews, and aunts and uncles that do so much for us. Everyone was so great to pitch in and help out in any way they could.



5. Being with Kara
My little sis lives in Atlanta and I don't get to see her much. It was wonderful to be able to spend a couple of days with her even though it was really crazy and busy. Just having her there was great!!



6. Visiting with friends
I have so many wonderful friends and I was able to see a bunch of them and spend at least a few minutes with a bunch of them. They are so much fun to be with and we had a lot to catch up on.



7. Knowing great people who can help make things happen
There were several things that I needed to get done in a very timely manner. First off, I needed someone who was willing to drop everything and get the quilt I had made for Andrew and Lindsay quilted and bound. Jean Briel came to my rescue on the quilting issue. I dropped the quilt off on Monday morning and she had it done by Wednesday afternoon. Then the Relief Society President in our ward, Lori Wood, took it and did the machine binding on it and about 8 of my Relief Society sisters got together Thursday night and did the hand stitching.

The dress I had ordered on-line needed more altering than I was capable of in a short amount of time so another talented friend, Elizabeth Smith, came to my rescue and in 24 hours had it altered and steamed and ready to go.

We needed to have our accountant do my Family Trust taxes in the few days we were home. When I called from Holland, they told me his first possible appointment was April 7th. When I explained our situation, they said to bring them in on Monday and they'd see what they could get done. They had them done by Wednesday evening!



8. Being able to read and talk in English
You know, when you are in America, it is no big deal. But I really am handicapped here. From simple things like reading instructions on how to prepare a packaged food, looking up something in a phone book, or finding the right kind of cold medicine, to knowing what in going on in the community, talking to doctors or knowing what different road signs say or mean when you are driving. It's a challenge.

9. Surprises!
I had so many friends and family show up to the reception that I haven't seen in a long time. It was so fun! I went a bit crazy a time or two. I felt bad that I couldn't spend more time visiting with them when they had come from so far.

10. Going out to eat at most of my favorite restaurants
We got to eat out almost every meal. Our family and friends fed us well but we also got to go to Chili's, Cafe Rio, Firehouse Pizza and Bajio. Next time I have got to do Chinese! I really miss going out to favorite restaurants. I've had some new and different foods here but nothing that I'm anxious to have again.