Amsterdam: Hunting for Yarn

Notes from the Netherlands. Part 1

Last week I got an incredible opportunity to travel to the Netherlands. As a member of a very creative and friendly Scheepjes Bloggers Team I was invited to Bloggers Day. I will for sure tell you more about this event later this week. I’ve decided to publish a series of posts about my trip, and today I will tell you something about my stay in Amsterdam.

I have never been to the Netherlands before. My very good friend Lera has been living in Amsterdam for many years. We haven’t seen each other for ages, and I thought it might be a great opportunity to meet her and spend a day in her company before the Bloggers Day. By the way Lera is an owner and creative mind behind Terra&Luna helping people to find their own way to healthy nutrition. On her website you will find lots of very unusual vegan recipes, and beside she conducts workshops in Amsterdam in her very stylish and cozy studio.

I was so happy to be invited for a dinner and try some meals I will probably never dare to cook myself. You know, balls from raw green soya beans with avocado souse, and incredibly tasty and healthy brownie. Sometimes when I read through her recipes I simply cannot recognize the ingredients. But Lera says all of them are available in “normal” stores, and I just don’t pay attention to them. Anyway, if you would like to start eating less meat and healthy (and this is my absolute goal, though I would like to be vegetarian, and I am sure I will achieve this goal in the nearest future) you should definitely check Lera’s website.

So my main aim in Amsterdam was to see her. And (of course) to visit the Museum of Van Gogh. And (of course!!!) to go yarn shopping.

My trip started with crochet on the airplane as I didn’t have time at home to finish the dress for this little Bunny  - a gift to Lera (you can find the pattern of male Sunny the Bunny with pants HERE on Ravelry and HERE on Etsy). Fortunately crochet hooks and needles are allowed on the planes, but if you (as me) are travelling with low cost airlines, be sure your hand luggage is exactly the same size (or smaller) as required. On the way back I had to pay 40 euros at Eindhoven airport for the fact my (smallest ever) suitcase is 1.5cm higher than it should be… I was not happy with this at all, but what can you do. So next time I better go to the airport in advance to check the sizer (luckily I live just 5 minutes away from it in Brno).

Yarn (short) adventure

Amsterdam was welcoming with terrible rain and strong wind. I was expecting something like this and took my umbrella. The cheapest one, as I always lose them. The cheapest and not strong at all, so while I was trying to find my way from Central railway station to a yarn shop, it was almost broken quite a few times. Luckily I had a GPS navigator in my husband’s mobile phone, which I borrowed from him for the trip, because mine is super basic, and I never use even an internet. 15 minutes of walking to the yarn shop took me literally forever, carrying suitcase, umbrella, mobile – all at once, and walking under strong rain. But what can stop us when we are hunting for yarn? Right! Nothing!

Why was I so stubborn to visit this yarn shop? I have never tried hand dyed yarns in my life. I’ve lived for the biggest part of my life in Belarus, and yarn choice is not very wide there. Then I moved to the Czech Republic, and so far I couldn’t find a nice enough yarn shop with great range of yarns and shades here… And when I started to write the patterns, I noticed that quite a few people from the USA use Madelinetosh yarn to make my mandalas. I am always amazed by its colour changes, and when I read about the composition – I immediately felt I need this yarn in my life! My blogger friends advised me quite a few nice yarn spots in Amsterdam, but all of them agreed that Stephen&Penelope is the best. This yarn shop is located not very far from Central railway station, and it is very easy to find it. Especially if you have a GPS navigator, lol. But seriously, it has a very good location.

What did I feel when I entered this shop? Well… I felt like in heaven. I didn’t recognize a single yarn brand but it was so incredibly pleasant to be surrounded by natural fibers in gorgeous shades. There is a separate stand with Madelinetosh yarns there. Not so many shades were available, but I chose something for myself.

 

What can I say? Yarn can be expensive, yes. And yarn can be VERY expensive. I don’t know which price range is normal in your country, but Madelinetosh Pashmina was the most expensive yarn I have ever bought. But when you see those shades, and when you touch it, you just cannot resist… Madelinetosh Pashmina is 75% merino wool, 15% silk and 10% cashmere. You can have a look at other options on Madelinetosh website, Craftsy* or Amazon.


And yes, I treated myself so well. But now I am not quite sure what I should make with these two skeins (in emerald and dark gray shades). At the moment I feel like putting them behind the glass to just look at.

A nice lady in the shop (unfortunately I forgot to ask her name) kindly allowed me to take some pictures, so that you get complete atmosphere of this magic place. So here they are.

Here are 100% wool yarns from Peru.

A cute bike yarn bombing :)

 
Doesn’t it look like the stage in the theatre?

In the next post I will tell you about my meeting with Vincent Van Gogh for real... To be continued (HERE).

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