Netherlands Part One

We are home from our trip to the Netherlands.

Velma had a nice time with the house sitters, but was very happy to have us home.

She has been my shadow every day!

Only a sunny patch in the window keeps her away.

Please continue - as I take you through Part One of our travels.

Our first couple of days after arrival we take it easy.
Why hurry? We are on vacation!  There is so much to see and do in Amsterdam before we take off to other parts of the country.

Landing at 6:30AM local time, we try to stay awake and moving!  Options include luggage lockers prior to check in at the hotel or concierge services at the hotel desk. After taking the train from the airport to Central Station, we were fortunate to get early check in at our hotel. We were able to shower and freshen up.

We took a morning canal ride and soaked in the sunshine.

We enjoy seeing the construction techniques.

This is stonework on a bridge we cruised under.





This is the famous spot where you can see the arches of seven bridges in a row.

Click to enlarge, maybe you can see them too.


The fresh air and slight rocking of the boat could have very easily lulled us to sleep!

The beautiful sights and sounds kept us energized.

We also had tickets for a wine and cheese pairing. We learned about the aging (ripening) of cheese on wood shelving. The wheels can be aged to about 2 years.

Very large mature wheels of cheese are then sent to market where they are sampled and auctioned.

We had five cheeses with three glasses of wine! Then, a sixth cheese paired with a glass of Port.  It was magnificent.  We were advised to find the true Dutch cheese in the USA - check Whole Foods.

Evidence of an early afternoon well spent.

This was the leftover wine.

The "pours" were generous and we couldn't finish all of it!

Of course I had to visit Den Haan Wagenmakers.
I was fortunate to meet Petra and Elsbeth. They even wanted to see a couple of my little quilts.  What an honor.

I was fun to see the hexagons Elsbeth was working on in Dutch Heritage fabrics.

Petra shared her new Dutch Heritage fabric lines.
Of course, I placed and order.  They are all so beautiful.

Web Image

Barnsley - strike off

This is the new panel.

10" x 11.5" - of course wonderful quilt shop quality fabrics.

As if it couldn't get better - -





Check out the project and matching border prints.

You can order yours Click HERE.
I was told it is only available in the Netherlands.
A few tips:
   * The postage will not calculate correctly!  The shop will adjust the postage to reflect the actual amount when they ship it. The postage will look very high as you checkout. While it isn't as low as ordering from within the US, it is a web shop issue.
   *  The pattern or kit is designed to also use your stash. The center panel, second border print and final floral border are all you need - along with your stash!
It is beautiful!

After my first quilt shop visit, (more quilt shop info in part 2) we went antique shopping.
On my last visit here I only had an hour.

So, this trip I made sure I had more time.
It was wonderful!

I did make some purchases this time.
Those I will show you in a future post, dedicated just to Dutch antique needlework tools.

It was early to bed and up the next day for some touristy things!

We went to Zaanse Schans to see the windmills.

The sky teased us with potential rain, but stayed dry.

It was refreshing to be out on the water.

One of the most interesting windmills to me was the color mill.

Beside the mill was a storage shed with 17 shutter units that were opened and closed to facilitate drying.

At capacity it contains about 11,000 pounds of pigment that can be dried in about 2 months,

Pigment is used for coloring many things, textile pigments interest me most.

The operation and staffing of the windmills is done as part of a heritage/history program that keeps the mills functioning as they did centuries ago.

We were allowed to enter the windmills, and even climb up to the balconies.

I couldn't help but think in the US, they probably wouldn't be operating and any are potentially dangerous would be roped off and off limits.

We loved exploring the old timbers and stone.

We were lucky to leave before bus loads of people descended on the little village.

Back to Amsterdam we went - ready for some sleep.

Dreaming of our next adventure to Leeuwarden!
Stay tuned for Parts Two, Three and Four.

Thanks for coming along for Part One.

Happy Stitching,

Dawn