Due to a rerouted flight, I found myself at Schiphol airport where I noticed a woman dressed unusually. She wore a small, white, crocheted cap and vest that resembled stiff paper. I was intrigued!

With a bit of research I discovered that the woman was in traditional dress of Bunschoten-Spakenburg, a town about 45 minutes from Amsterdam. On my next trip to Europe I visited Spakenburg, was fortunate to be introduced to some women who still dress traditionally. My interest in Dutch traditional clothing grew as I learned more about traditional hats from Zeeland and the embroidery of Marken. And how can you not be utterly charmed by Amsterdam?

The Netherlands became my next residency destination. In 2017 I attended an artist’s residency program in a small town about an hour away from Amsterdam. I spent a month working on art inspired by my travels around the country visiting museums and artisans, learning about the traditional clothing from various regions. If you look back at previous blog posts, you’ll see notes from my 2017 trip and earlier. I ended up meeting my partner, a Portuguese landscape architect living in Amsterdam, through the residency and moved to join him in April.

I am thrilled to live in Holland, give workshops, host retreats, and research traditional embroidery in Europe. I will return to the US to teach several times a year and plan to expand to the South and Mid-west! I’m teaching Hungarian Written Embroidery I and Embroidered Flowers of Portugal at the Handcraft Studio School near San Francisco on January 4.

Stay in touch via Instagram, my blog, and newsletter— and hope to meet you at a workshop or retreat!