Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Leeuwarden

On Friday evening I had a wonderful time with a fantastic bunch of Dutch quilters. I was so busy talking and quilting that I completely forgot about my camera. D’oh! Luckily Isabeau and Ellen were also visited by Quiltmania and their homes should appear in the September and December editions of the magazine.

The next morning we all headed up to Leeuwarden to see an exhibition of quilts at the Fries Museum. That’s Fries as in Friesland (a region of the Netherlands) not fries as in the potato treats.

Leeuwarden 12-13-2008 8-28-37 AM

The exhibition was okay. There weren’t as many antique quilts as I’d like to have seen and many were hung  high so you couldn’t see the details. No flash photography was allowed and my photos were terrible.

 An Moonen, an antique textile historian, was at the museum to give a lecture and to celebrate the publication of her latest book on antique Dutch quilts. By the way, if there is enough interest the book will be published in English. You can go here to let them know you’d be interested in buying one.

I skipped the lecture and instead walked around town. Here are some of my pics. An old pharmacy building with incredible details:

Leeuwarden 12-13-2008 8-03-06 AM

A close up of the sign:

Leeuwarden 12-13-2008 8-03-16 AM

I love this old building  and the way it leans into its neighbor:

Leeuwarden 12-13-2008 8-17-55 AM

The building has a date of 1697. I wonder if this cat was an original feature?

Leeuwarden 12-13-2008 8-18-02 AM

More “felines” decorating town:

Leeuwarden 12-13-2008 8-25-11 AM

Leeuwarden 12-13-2008 8-26-41 AM

And I couldn’t resist this little face:

Leeuwarden 12-13-2008 8-25-40 AM

I have a few links to share with you and then I have to go get cracking.

Dianne made this fabulous 10 Wishes top – such a sweet baby quilt and a great way to incorporate a personal touch into a quilt.

I love Joyce’s Winter Words quilt. I can’t believe how much snow I’ve seen in blogland – brrrrr.

Belinda has a great antidote to the winter cold: bright busy stars.

I love these household cleaning recipes that Bumble Beans featured – I’m going to have to try these out. I love that they’re great for people with allergies and chemical sensitivities.

Gotta run, things to do. Take care and stay safe.

13 comments:

Jude said...

Thank you for sharing your adventure. Fasinating, all of it.
Peace and happiness

Lynda said...

Great pictures of buildings! It's amazing what you see when you look up!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

Thanks for sharing the photos - what a wonderful place to visit it looks to me. Thanks for the links to the household cleaning recipes I will send that on to my son-in-law who is allergic to almost everything it seems and is always looking for new recipes for cleaning (yes he takes care of the house - role reversal, he stays home and daughter earns the paycheck)
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/

jovaliquilts said...

Looks like you had a beautiful day to walk around Amsterdam! Loved the photos, especially that leaning building. Thanks for putting so many links in your posts, I've discovered some wonderful blogs that way. I'd never seen Bumblebeans until today, what a wonderful blog! Merry Christmas!

Maureen and P.D. the Pet Dog said...

Ton, Have been enjoying your blog the past few days! Thank you for sharing your trip and your friends with us!

Browndirtcottage said...

wow tonya...these buildings look wonderful....would have liked to have seen them in person myself, but these are good pictures!!

Unknown said...

This is what I love about Europe--so many wonderful details on buildings and elsewhere. So glad you notice and capture all of them for those of us stuck on the frozen tundra this winter.

Cheers!

Twisted Quilts said...

I love your pictures particularly the leaning house. Merry Christmas

Victoria Findlay Wolfe said...

You've been so awesome. thanks for the shout out. I have my few loyal followers. :-)

I'm missing seeing all your fabulous work. can't wait to see what you've got cookin, in the seams....

Merry, Holidays.

Peace.

Julie said...

I have that issue of Quiltmania. I really like that magazine - the euro-quilt scene is just different enough from the US scene (from my small perspective) to be fascinating to me. One thing I really like is the emphasis on color and shape in the piecing. I also like the unwritten appreciation of quilting from hand or regular machine.

Holly said...

I like that building leaning into the other one, too. Sounds like you had a wonderful time - ah, I'm living vicariously through you! Have a wonderful Christmas, Tonya!

Lucy said...

Merry Christmas Tonya!

Sylvie said...

Merry Christmas to you, your husband, and the cats.