he Dutch sampler society MERKWAARDIG (founded in 1988) is a society, which has as its main purpose to arrange contacts between sampler enthusiasts. It hopes thereby to promote the design and execution of embroidery work as a hobby, as well as to contribute to the collecting and study of samplers and other embroidery work.
The society tries to accomplish this goal by:

• Publishing a Newsletter in Dutch with a frequency of 4 times a year. This newsletter includes announcements about expositions, books and other events which are relevant to sampler enthusiasts.
• Organizing activities for members. These include an annual general meeting for all members and excursions and/or meetings where members can share ideas and patterns and admire each others works.
• Organizing exhibitions where members can exhibit their own work and collection of samplers.