Any quilting this week ....?

.... yes of course!

 I made a "dog" quilt for Lucca and Barbara. It will be a gift for the 5th of december when we are celebrating Sinterklaas all together with Willem, Dieuwke and Erik as well. You know, a very dutch tradition, Sinterklaas is riding his horse over the roofs and put gifts for the children in the chimney. Sounds very familiar to Santa Claus ; ).



If you want to read more about this very old dutch tradition, or want some food recipes:
http://dutchfood.about.com/od/dutchholidayrecipes/a/Sinterklaas.htm

Introduction
The Dutch celebrate Sinterklaas (the name is a contraction of Sint Nikolaas) on Dec. 5 and 6. The holiday, consisting of St. Nicholas's Eve and St. Nicholas's Day, honors the life of St. Nicholas.

Although St. Nicholas is always shown wearing his bishop's attire, the Dutch tend to see him as a kindly old man, rather than as a Catholic saint. The result is that Sinterklaas is celebrated by Dutch people of all ages and beliefs, without any real religious connotations.

His feast day is observed by exchanging gifts and chocolate letters (of the recipient's initial). It is also customary to make good-natured fun of your loved ones, by way of humorous poetry written by the giver and the infamous 'surprise', which is basically a (homemade) gag gift that hides another present inside.

Food
At Sinterklaas, the Dutch feast on: speculaas (spiced cookies), kruidnoten (mini spiced cookies, also called ginger nuts), taai-taai (aniseed and honey flavored figurines), borstplaat (fondant candies), colorful marzipan, chocolate letters and mulled wine.In Holland, it is more common to give presents on Sinterklaas than at Christmas, which remains a day to spend with family and attend church.

Carrots in your shoes
Dutch children believe that Sinterklaas writes down whether they've been naughty or nice in his red book. They put carrots in their shoes for his horse, hoping St. Nicholas will exchange them for presents if they were good.