So Many Dutch Knitters—Utrecht, Netherlands

Cathy and Rebecca, her daughter, finally finished their tour of Portugal and Spain. You know, I was quite neglected while they wined and dined their way around Iberia. But once Rebecca flew back to the States, I did get one unveiling in Spain… 

Miquela and Shania and ME!

In late May, I got two contributors in Spain and they were from the United States! Cathy was taking a few days “down-time” in San Sebastian after the whirl-wind tour of Spain and Portugal with Rebecca. In the hostel common room, she met Miquela and Shania, who, along with their friend Max, were traveling Europe. When Cathy discovered that both women were knitters, she brought me out of that tiny orange bag and invited them to knit! They had such fun with me. It was a good warmup to the workout I would get in the Netherlands!

Birth Picture: June 5, 2017

June 5 was my birthday and I turned one year old as Cathy loaded up and we traveled on a fast train from Spain to the Netherlands! 

Cathy discovered a very special place in Utrecht—the Sticks and Cups wolwinkle (yarn shop) and it kind of became our second home in Utrecht. 

Lovely Lili

Lili Van Wattum runs the shop with the help of her mother. They immigrated from Iran when Lili was only 4, and they radiate the hospitality their culture is famous for…sincere welcomes, tea all around, interest in everyone’s life, and gifts. 

We were overwhelmed. Cathy visited with Lili for quite a while on that Wednesday and then returned on Thursday to the Knit Lounge where I got passed around quite enthusiastically. It was a warm evening so we all sat out on the street while passers-by took interest.

Olivia

Cathy had told Olivia, a young English woman in the hostel dorm about the Knit Lounge We were delighted when Olivia showed up to enjoy the stitching comaraderie and added a lovely flower stitch, writing in the journal, “Flowers for Utrecht, a city full of plants!”  

On Sunday afternoon, Cathy was knitting in the Strowis Hostel garden and a couple, Marja and Jon, were sitting nearby waiting for the café next door to open. Once Cathy found out that Marja knitted, she ran upstairs to fetch me! 

Cathy, Marja, and me in the garden at Strowis Hostel in Utrecht

On Tuesday evening, we joined a local Stitch ‘n Bitch at a pub on Breedstraat. We met Carla Meijsen, of The Dutch Knitters. Carla is a genius knitting designer and is soon to publish a book about the use of “Magical Motifs” in knitting. She discovered this traditional method for coding words, dates, and numbers into colorwork designs while in Latvia. Now she has written a computer program to create the geometrical patterns.

The knitters were very enthusiastic about my visit. Janne wrote in my journal, “It was nice to meet you! I envy your freedom and adventure.” Marjolyn used a special silk yarn dyed by Dutch fiber artist, Loret Karman. We really enjoyed the evening. 

On Wednesday, we returned one more time to visit Lili at Sticks and Cups before we left Utrecht. Cathy spent five hours chatting, knitting, and perusing the shelves! Between Lili’s gifts, including a new drop spindle and silk fiber, and the sock and lace yarn she purchased, we almost needed a new piece of luggage! Cathy made plans to return some day and promised Lili that she would do some lace-knitting demonstrations for her shop. 

Camille at Wollyhood's Knit Cafe

On Wednesday evening, at Lili’s suggestion, we visited the Wollyhood Knit Café. Cathy managed to be 45 minutes late because she got very disorganized. But despite that, four ladies were able to knit some rows, including a butterfly stitch that Camille constructed! Nice!

For our next stop, we were invited to stay with lace shawl knitter and designer, Connie Wolthius. Although we had yet to meet her, Cathy and I were destined to have some very special times together with Connie.