I was in Haarlem in the Netherlands for the last four days for a student conference. Eight students from our school took part and it was a very enjoyable time with the students. On Thursday we had a bit of free time so I went looking for a fabric store I had found a couple of years ago. 
I was so excited to find a few nice things to take home. I wanted to stock up on a few Dutch fabrics in red and blue that I had used up. I also found two beautiful fabrics from Suzuko Koseki that I had often thought about buying on the internet.
These five smallish pieces were a gift from the shop.
I’m afraid that both of these will turn out to be that kind of fabric I love so much that I can’t bring myself to cut into it.
De Sampler is that name of the store and it is easy to find. They have a great selection of fat quarters and half meters. The staff were both helpful and friendly and as most people in Holland they spoke perfect English. (What a great help!)
- De Sampler in Haarlem
Haarlem is the nicest kind of little city. There are about 150,000 people who live there, few cars, thousands of bikes (we often had to dodge them to avoid getting run over!) The buildings are old and beautifully interesting. The center of the city has a wonderful Cathedral with one of the largest organs I’ve ever seen. (We were able to hear them play the organ as part of the conference.) There are many lovely little cafes and so many nice little shops to look around in. The weather wasn’t always great, but we had a great time in any case. On Saturday there is a market where you can find lots of flowers in every color and some nice food. It is just so fun to look around and makes me think Spring is coming after all.
