A Touch Of Dutch

Hello! The annual local tulip festival is set to begin this weekend, so I thought it'd be appropriate to show some Dutch-themed items I have around the house. 

As far as I know, I don't have a drop of Dutch blood in me, but that didn't stop me from buying the following a few years before we moved to Holland, MI:

At the time, I'm not sure that I knew it was likely a Dutch scene; I just liked it and its lovely frame. I paid $7.00 for it at a secondhand store in Indiana. 

I don't know where the above handkerchief came from, but it had been in my mother-in-law's things and was given to me after her death. I was still living in Indiana at the time, but brought it out to display in our kitchen after we moved here. 

Not surprisingly, it's easy to find Dutch-themed decorative items in these parts. The rest of my photos are of local purchases.

I bought this two summers ago at a garage sale for 75c. That's a tile in the wooden frame. The tile says "Holland" on back. 

This postcard was a thrift store purchase; in a bag of other older postcards. On the back it says "Nelis Nurseries, Holland, Mich." Nelis Nurseries is not listed in the local phone book, so I assume it went out of business (or was bought out by another nursery). Therefore, this postcard has been around awhile.

My husband gave me this decorative tile for a Mother's Day gift a few years back. I don't recall where the piece was produced, but I think it is Michigan-made. He purchased it at a local shop that is known for carrying Michigan-made wares.

Purchased at a garage sale run by a local antiques dealer. On the back it says "Stetson Warranted 22 KT Gold". From eBay, I learned that the Stetson China Company was located in Lincoln, IL  and went out of business in the 1960's. I actually don't care for that "22 KT Gold" trim, but I liked the scene. 

This plate was a one dollar Goodwill purchase. On the back, it reads "DF Delft Holland". There are gift shops here that sell Delftware, so this was not an unusual find. It didn't have the repair on top either - that glued-back chipped piece was courtesy of me, accidentally knocking the plate off the wall. 

I bought this doll for our daughter when she was a little girl. It's 18" size so it can wear clothing sized for American Girl dolls. The same local fabric store that sells fabrics and patterns for Dutch dance costumes (Dutch dancing is a huge part of the tulip festival) also sells kits for doll-sized Dutch costumes. I purchased the Volendam costume kit and sewed it up for the doll to wear.

Yes, it was a bit fussy to make, but the directions were well-written, so I didn't have too much trouble. The wooden shoes weren't included, so I purchased those at the gift shop of a local tulip farm. 

While our daughter's doll now stays home, it's common to see little girls carrying their Dutch costume-clothed 18" dolls around during the tulip festival. What's even cuter is when the girls and their dolls are wearing matching Dutch costumes!

My last "Touch of Dutch" is my latest find, a 25c thrift store purchase last week. It's another days-of-the-week embroidery set and I love it! It features a Dutch mother and her son. Like a lot of little boys, he clearly has a mischievous streak:

It appears that his mother had asked him to bring in the laundry from the clothesline so she can iron it. He complied by bringing in the whole clothesline as well!

Since the above pattern is for Sunday, I assume that the mother is leading her son by the hand to take him to church. It looks like he's more interested in playing with a small ball he's brought along. 

More harmony is shown in this pattern,though:

As the son holds the dustpan, his mother is sweeping into it. 

I love these patterns! Too bad I hadn't found them before I started embroidering a days-of-the-week tea towel set. I like the cat pattern I'm using, but I like these even better! 

Well, all in all it's not much Dutch, but it's what I have on hand at the present time. I have a feeling I'll be adding more touches of Dutch as I find them, though!