A small group of us got together again this year to head out East to Zwolle and the Handwerkbeurs! This was a much anticipated, and yet slightly scary prospect given how much opportunity there is to fall under the spell of some magical yarn!
I must admit that I had been looking forward to going back to this Hand Craft Fair since I was introduced to it last year! Would you like to know more?
Sometimes the stars align, and you get everything that makes you happiest all at once. I had a week like that last week. As the stars aligned, I was able to meet up with a friend I’ve spoken with almost every day in the last 5 years. We planned our weddings together, saw each other through good times and bad, and bought each other random gifts while traveling! (Doing our bit to keep the postal service alive!) Initially we lived on different continents, and in different time zones. We’re a lot closer now, but for one reason or another only actually met face to face last week! And we gossiped just like friends should. (Poor Himself.)
After picking her up from Schipol it was off to Leidseplein for dinner as I hadn’t had time to grocery shop! We may have then headed off for an after dinner whiskey.
The tasting menus at L&B are still amazing! Would you like to know more?
So much to do, so little time! It was up early in order to fit everything in today! It was one of the few days where we did have a timing deadline, as I had organised to meet up with friends in the evening.
In this vein we did something that I hadn’t actually planned for and wasn’t on the itinerary. We headed to Loop, the yarn shop.
I was so good! I was so strong! I made it out of there with no purchases! Hooray me! (I think Himself went into shock!) Would you like to know more?
I have been working on a few projects for another swap I’m doing on Ravelry at the moment. The theme is Super Heroes, and I don’t really want to post pictures of those projects until after they’ve been received in case I’m being stalked for information! So you’ll have to wait a little while for those pictures. I’ve been working hard on them and they’ve been taking up most of my time!
But, you’re all in luck! I have also been unable to put down some of the beautiful new fibres I came home from the craft fair with, so I thought I’d show them all off to you!
Though I’ll begin by telling you about the one lone, single, solitary, button which is also in the picture below. I purchased it from Luena and the photo just doesn’t do it justice. It’s made of shell, so when the light catches it at just the right angle it glows with all the colours of the rainbow! I couldn’t leave it there, and I think it will make a wonderful statement piece or brooch! Maybe I can turn it into a shawl pin?
All 3 yarns I got were from Bart & Francis who just have the most amazing and inspiring collection! We spent a fair amount of time in front of their stall listening to all the technical aspects of how the yarns are made and put together. I hadn’t left myself enough budget to purchase any of the really fancy yarns (think; brushed silks, mohair, cashmere …) But I couldn’t walk past the cobweb weight baby alpaca (right), and when I got to the register there was the impulse purchase of the 100% Mulberry Silk (left)!
The silk impulse purchase was aided by the scarf they had made up by the register which showed off the luster of the fibres to perfection! My photo doesn’t do it justice at all unfortunately!
Also by the register was my other impulse purchase. The Silk Shantung. It’s so fine, so delicate, and yet, being silk, a really strong fibre. The swatch piece they had made up to show off fabric made from the yarn, was soft and airy and with a simple but regular pattern. This showed off the texture of the yarn to perfection! Hence, upon coming home and having a quick flick through my stitch dictionaries, I cast on immediately.
This is the perfect knit night piece. It’s easy to follow, and quite a brain dead knit being only 3 stitches in combination. So I can talk and drink while knitting, with little worry about going wrong in the pattern. With all that taken into account though, it still creates an airy, interesting, and textural fabric. I love it!
And yes, I am knitting with something that is the equivalent gauge and density of sewing thread on that spool. Would you expect anything less of me at this point?
Wow! It never rains when it pours! Have a couple of quiet weeks, and then suddenly a week where I’m out constantly and feel like I’m doing everything!
I had a few errands to run during the week and whilst out finally made it into the secret convent garden of Begijnhof Court. The Begijnhof is the only inner court in Amsterdam which was founded during the Middle Ages, and therefore lies within the Singel — the innermost canal of Amsterdam’s circular canal system. The Begijnhof is at medieval street level, which means a meter below the rest of the old city center.
There is a plethora of information on this place and it’s inhabitants if you’re so inclined to go searching and reading.
It was beautiful, serene, quiet and a perfect place for meditation … until the next tourist group walked through. So I didn’t spend long there, and vowed to go back and visit the chapel on another day. It’s not going anywhere after all.
I then walked through to Dam Square where there was a bagpipe player. This is remarkably incongruous with the country, and so I had to snap a picture to prove to you all that I’d seen him!
Opposite him was the regular Batman. (Palace backdrop is quite effective, don’t you agree?)
Then on Friday I packed myself up onto a train with a group of friends from knit night and we went off to Zwolle for a craft fair! The snow in Amsterdam had melted away under the drizzling rain which had set in; Not so once you got a little bit more East though!
If you squint really hard you can see a farm house in this picture. I swear!
I was glad we’d all been able to go on the Friday as if it was this packed when the general populace was at work, then I wasn’t so keen to be under the crush of people who would have turned up over the weekend!
I’ll think about whether or not to thank my “friends” later. They may have introduced me to a remarkably dangerous store that goes by the name of Bart and Francis.
650m cobweb weight baby alpaca cones, three for EUR15.
You better believe it came home with me! I’ll figure what I’m going to make with them later!
It was only then that my new “friends” introduced me to one of their friends Loret. But by then I was out of budget! And she had the most amazing packs of yarns in colour pallets inspired by the Dutch masters! Oh well. I know for next time that I still need to have money left to hand over to Loret!
The floors were filled not just with stalls that catered to every kind of craft, but there were classes too!
I might look into those for next year when I know the language a little better.
All in all, a spectacular way to spend the day! Thank you guys for taking me with you!
ghoti industries 