A new year

You can't reflect on this past year without talking about Covid. I have been very fortunate to be able to work from home and have the means to have groceries and other items delivered rather than go out to purchase them in person, so my exposure has been limited, and to the best of my knowledge I have not ever contracted the virus. However, a work colleague died from it just two days after Thanksgiving. He was due to retire at the end of the year and had a family. I was looking over some computer code he wrote for me just yesterday (very well written, too), and it saddens me greatly that he passed away too soon from his life. He was a really nice guy. 

Another sadness is that we lost our beloved furry buddy, Felix, in early December. He lived a good, long life and we so enjoyed having him in ours. 

Felix Shag-a-ferocious Tuggle-rumpkin
2003 - Dec 2, 2020

Moving on...

I had a very crafty-filled year, most of which I wrote about in this post, so I won't repeat it here. I splurged on a number of new "toys" - partly out of retail therapy because of feeling cooped up but mostly because I wanted them.

And believe it or not there were things I didn't own yet. This Cricut Maker was a Christmas gift that arrived this week. Not a great picture of the machine, but the picture was more meant to show off the snowflakes I made - my first project after cutting out the sample blue bear. It's fun! I think my next project will be to cut out some lettering to label some drawers that store sewing supplies. It'll dress them up a bit more than boring label-maker tags. I'm also excited to use this to cut small fabric pieces, either for quilting or machine embroidery applique.

The rest of my Christmas gifts were mostly either items to sew with, like bobbins, sewing machine feet, embroidery hoop, or books on knitting. Two books on Norwegian-style knitting!

And speaking of knitting, I finished one sock today:

Last week I finished sewing a Christmas-themed potholder. Another one just needs the binding. Maybe I'll get to it tomorrow.

I've always wanted to crochet snowflakes, so I gave it a go. I don't know that I'll ever make all 100! Haha! 

And on this New Year's Eve, I also spent some time spinning:

So what's in store for 2021? Well, one things for certain, I will do more knitting, sewing, embroidery, spinning, and weaving. And now that I have this new Cricut, I might do a little scrapbooking. I still have plans to do some fiber dying with natural materials - I received an indigo dye kit and some madder plant material at my spinning guild gift exchange. 

Happy New Year!!

I won!

Elliott Berman Textiles has weekly fabric giveaways on their Facebook page. Usually they pick a few winners randomly from those who "like" their post announcing the contest. But a few weeks ago they offered a creative challenge: write a poem. My poem was one of three selected!

Here is my entry, which I wrote in the style of a limerick:

Fabric to suit discerning lifestyles
cannot be found in local store aisles   
  When Dolce and Gabbana
   is pure nirvana
one shops at Elliott Berman Textiles

I received my fabric the other day and it's lovely!

The blue one is one yard of a woven viscose and the one on the right is one yard of a viscose knit. I think they'll make some nice summer tops.

When the fabric market comes to town

I love Europe! Weekly produce markets where the demographic is everyone, not women in yoga pants buying heirloom tomatoes. Christmas markets. Easter markets. And fabric markets.

The Stoffmarkt Holland fabric market only comes to my town once a year and last year I was out of the country when it came. But this year I marked it on my calendar and clicked the Yes I will attend button on the Facebook event page. I prepared by checking out the yardage needed for a couple patterns and snipping a piece of fabric for which I needed matching serger thread.

The day had perfect weather - high clouds with occasional sunshine. I didn't need a jacket and instead of a purse to get in the way and tug on my shoulder, I wore a small backpack to carry my wallet, phone and purchases. A couple years ago I brought a portable shopping cart with me but that just gave me an excuse to fill it (which I did). My fabric stash is greater than my sewing output so the backpack was a better choice.

This market is crowded! They always schedule this to coincide with the Easter market and an auto expo also going on downtown, so occasional or non-sewers check it out and husbands accompany wives to hold their bags. Yes, I did see a few men handle and purchase fabric but it was primarily women. Older women, younger women, women with children in tow, women speaking all languages. I had difficulty in one notions booth when the clerk couldn't speak English and I didn't know what she was asking me to do and the woman next to me asked Polskie (Polish)? She would have helped me if she could.

I didn't have too much trouble at most booths with my limited German - it's not to hard to just ask for zwei meter - but I was frustrated by one notions booth. They had long tables with a hodgepodge of notions: zippers, thread, buttons, buckles, pins - everything. Just a yard or so in front of the table were those tall spinning racks with more notions hanging on the hooks. So the aisle made between the racks and the table was narrow and thus congested with people looking at the notions and people trying to pass by. And it's always super crowded. They have quite a few clerks, though it's hard to tell who works there and who's a customer. But as soon as you pick something up someone thrusts a plastic basket in your direction. So I took the basket, put my items in it and started to move down a bit to look at some more notions but the clerk started barking at me in German like I was doing something wrong and motioning for me to give her the basket. I understood a few words and think she wanted me to pay for what I had in there first, but I wasn't done shopping. I still don't understand what they wanted me to do - I guess put a few things in the basket and buy them and then get another basket a few feet down? I don't know. Frustrated and feeling claustrophobic by the crowd, I gave up and left my basket of things with her. Later I came back and bought the interfacing and thread that I wanted to purchase the first time and didn't bother buying anything else there.

My other problem with shopping was indecision. So many possibilities. So many fabrics I could envision making into things. Prices are pretty good too. Most of what I was attracted to was in the 8-14 Euro/meter range. Not a super bargain but perhaps a little cheaper than in the local stores, however the selection is what is appealing. There were a few booths with expensive fabric (24-35 Euros/meter) but it wasn't fancy-expensive fabric like beaded or embroidered, it was just really nice linen, wool or silk. One vendor in particular, TST-Stoffen, has been at previous markets I've been and the fabrics are really something special - Knipmode uses them often. I'm always tempted and this year I was prepared to buy a meter or two until I realized that their prices are no better than they have in their online store.

Picture taken to capture the name of the store and price, not for the fabric, though it's lovely.

Here's what I eventually bought:

From left to right:

• Black with pink polka dots. Cotton with a small bit of elastane
• Pink, beige, black, white knit with a quilted texture. Cotton and viscose I think.
• Pink and white butterfly print. Viscose
• Interfacing
• 5 pieces of vinyl coated cotton - for bags or zipper pouches
• Cotton knits in a blue/beige (it's beige on the other side) and solid beige
• Serger thread - I buy one cone to match color and wind onto empty spools to make more "cones"
• Bear print cotton - it's a heavier weight with one big bear on it. I plan to make either a book bag or a pillow out of it 

  

  Isn't he cute?

• Pink and black variegated knit. Cotton and maybe viscose. Don't remember.
• Black, white, gray voile large scale print. Cotton and silk according to the vendor. I found this on a bargain table - 10 Euros for the 2 meter cut of fabric.
  

So there you go. Fabric market! 

Copenhagen Fabric and Yarn "Hop"!

I'm a little late getting around to this post - time flies! In May I went to Copenhagen, Denmark and had my own little "hop", visiting a number of fabric and yarn stores in the walkable area around central Copenhagen. I always intended to blog about it and now I'm finally doing so.

I'd been to Copenhagen once before and visited the "must-see" tourist places, so this time, while my husband was busy during the day attending and speaking at a conference, I indulged my fiber-appetite and went exploring. Since my yarn and fabric stash is already bulging, I didn't need to shop, however a little bit of shopping did happen.

Prior to the trip I did some research and made up a list of stores to visit. Sadly I found a few were no longer in business, but I did stumble on one new one. Most importantly, it was a great way to tour the city and see some neighborhoods I might otherwise have never seen. I plotted the addresses using HERE maps and saved them as a collection. But since I don't know how to share this collection, and some of the stores are gone anyway, you should probably use your own mapping software if you want to go on a similar hop. If I can figure out how to share the map, I'll update this blog with the link.

I started with the first location in the lower left on Dybbolsgade since it was closest to the hotel and then went in a clockwise direction to visit, or attempt to visit, the rest. The very first location was, in fact, a bust! I could not locate the store and believe it is gone. I'm listing them here in case someone visiting this blog has found the names of those stores on other sites, like I did.

1. Stofresten, Dybbølsgade 68

GONE! I'm pretty sure I found the right address, but I didn't find a fabric store.

2. Stoff 2000 Vesterbrogade 41

New! - Not on my list but right down the same street from the next store on the list and the one I was intending to find.

The Stoff 2000 stores appear to be a chain in Denmark - there is also one later in my tour and when I was researching stores I came across others that are farther from the city center. I popped in and browsed briefly. This store in particular is fairly small, but they have garment, home dec, and quilting fabrics as well as the usual notions. Overall it's a nice, clean, well presented fabric store, it just doesn't have a large selection. I would probably consider this a "go-to" store for general sewing though.

Terrible photo, but at least you can see the sign

 3. Stoff&Stil, Vesterbrogade 20

This is a chain store as well, with stores in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Germany (and it turns out there's one a couple hours from me in Cologne). What struck me first about this store was how clean and well lit it was. The fabrics are displayed in rolls by fiber content and color. It's a large store compared to the other fabric stores I visited, but it's still in the city, so maybe not as large as their other chains might be. Thought they looked to have a decent selection of fabrics for garment sewing, including some youthful prints. I browsed but didn't stay long because I had a lot of stores to visit on my list. In the back section they have lots of notions, some craft supplies, and interesting kits with printed fabric panels, which were tempting but I didn't buy any. They also have yarn and a large selection of what look like their own knitting patterns and sewing patterns.




Note the long row of shopping carts!

 

Well lit and very clean!

Lots of knitting patterns

From here I walked north along the canal. It was a beautiful day!

May in Denmark is still spring.

Lovely flowering trees

4. Textilhuset, Fredriksborggade 39

GONE! No sign of this store anymore, however there is a Panduro Hobby at Fredriksborggade 36, which can satisfy some sewing and knitting needs as well as probably every other crafting need.

5. Stoff 2000, Fredriksborggade 26.

This is a larger store of this chain, with two separate sections for garment fabrics and home dec fabrics.

Bonus! Right across the street is the Torvehallerne food market. Perfect for a lunch stop!

6. Uldstedet, Vendersgade 3

This was the first yarn store on my tour. It's a fairly small shop with some nice yarns, some imported (Rowan, Katia) and some Danish (Isager). I browsed but didn't buy anything.

Worth stopping by if you're in the area!

7. Stofdillen Aps, Nørregade 36 - GONE!

8. City Sycenter, Rosengården 9

The information I found online had this at number 12 and from the description I think it once was larger than it is today and perhaps occupied buildings on both sides of the street. I could only find the small (very small!) store at number 9. But it was worth stopping. They happened to be having their anniversary sale so fabrics were 20% off. I found some knit remnants I really liked and also some sock yarn that is a mix of wool and nettles. I've never seen yarn made from nettles, so I had to buy it - it's very soft!

Knit fabrics with some interesting texture

Yarn from nettles!

9. Skipper Stoffer, Gammel Mønt 19

This is a dangerous store. Designer fabrics! Oh my. But at about $30/meter (200 DK), I knew that I wouldn't be buying some just to buy designer fabric. There were some beautiful fabrics, but nothing that I had to have, especially since I have quite a backlog of projects and a fabric stash on two continents. I did see names like Pucci and Armani...but I walked away.

Designer fabrics!

10. Handler, Vingårdstræde 19

If you find yourself in Copenhagen and are in need of trim, zippers or buttons, this looks like the place to go.



Fairly non-descript building hiding a rainbow of color inside!



Zippers!

Just one small, colorful section of trim.

Only open from 10 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday, but there is a website...in Danish only.

11. Sommerfuglen, Vandkunsten 3

This was the one yarn store I had visited when I was in Copenhagen the first time a few years ago. I remembered that they had Hanne Falkenberg kits - she's a Danish knitwear designer and I recall her kits being popular, albeit expensive, purchases among the knitters at the Stitches knitting conventions. Since the kits are about 1/2 the price when you buy them in Europe, I thought maybe I would buy one from this store. But ultimately I changed my mind when I saw an Isager (another Danish designer) sweater sample on display in the store. I purchased the yarn for it and was able to buy the English version of the instruction book online after I returned home. It's from the book "Amimono Room 606", if you're interested.

Nice yarn store close to the center of Copenhagen

This is the sweater that caught my eye

Yarn for the sweater

Yarn for the cuffs and bands and back yoke

 12. I.W. Hvidberg, Løngangstræde 25

The last stop on my grand fabric and yarn store tour is actually the oldest fabric store in Denmark and maybe even Europe. It dates from 1780. I was a bit intimidated when I stepped inside, because it looked as if it was only a place for ordering fabrics for suits that they would then make for you. But if you wander in farther you'll find a back hallway stuffed full of fabrics and there's a small basement "maze" crammed with silks, cottons and other fabrics. No bargains here, but the fabrics are nice.

The ugly store front certainly doesn't say "1780" 



Serious suit fabrics

Beautiful wool

Whew! It was quite a long day to visit all of these places. I actually did my scouting trip on one day and then returned to City Sycenter and Sommerfglen to buy my goodies.

I hope you enjoyed the tour, and now if you go to Copenhagen, you'll know where to shop!


Finally sewing again

I've had longer breaks from sewing but this time even though I thought about sewing I just couldn't get myself moving to do it. I thought about sewing when I'd buy Burda or Ottobre or Sabrina or Meine Nähmode or Fait Main or any other addiction-fueled pattern magazine purchase. I thought about sewing something right before the Stoffmarkt (fabric market) came to town because I felt wrong buying more fabric when I haven't used any of the fabric I bought at the last two markets. As the day of the market drew near I got as far as pulling some of that fabric out to make a shirt but then I got bogged down searching for the right pattern. The day of the fabric market arrived and I walked down there, toting my wheeled grocery cart with me, prepared to buy some fabric even thought I hadn't sewn anything. It was SO crowded, thanks in part to the car show and Easter market going on near by, but oh my goodness I was impressed by the numbers of women (and some men) buying fabric. I almost left because it was so crowded. Almost. But I didn't leave and instead went to some less crowded booths and the shopping commenced.

 

Clockwise from bottom left the fabrics are: a gray and white plush cotton knit that will make a snuggly pullover, a blue sweatshirt knit, black and white jersey for a top or dress, a crinkly textured olive green cotton for which I envision a loose top, dark green and traditional blue denims, half meter cuts of blue and white striped and white cotton knit for a top, half meter cuts of brown and beige cotton knit with a coordinating striped ribbing for a top, and a black and white cotton with an interesting pucker texture for a short sleeved blouse. On the right are notions: two packages of interfacing, snaps, and zippers.

I know...that's a lot of fabric. Add it to some travel fabric I picked up in Madrid in early March:

 

Blue and white rayon for a short sleeved blouse and a colorful knit for a top or dress.

Whew! I better get my sewing mojo back 100%!

Alas, my knitting and spinning fiber addiction was also fed thanks to the Easter market downtown:

I couldn't pass up the angora fiber for 4 Euros (package says 100 grams but I weighed it and it's more like 135 grams). The lovely alpaca yarn also jumped into my hands. Even though I wasn't sewing, I was knitting. I'm just about finished knitting a sweater and will reveal it when it's done. Hopefully that won't be next fall.

So back to the top I sewed. It's an Ottobre pattern from spring 2013 that is super easy with just two pieces and binding strips for the neck and arm hems. The shape has a bit of an exaggerated curve over the hips and it's a bit long so that the bottom hem sits on your high hip and the extra fabric pools at the waist.

I wanted to make a top out of t-shirt knit and liked the look of this pattern but decided to make it first out a flowing rayon knit I had on hand. I'm glad I did because the rayon fabric is much more suited to this pattern.

Since this was my first Ottobre pattern I've ever made, I traced off the pattern exactly according to my measurements. I cut between a 44-46 for the bust and graded out to a 48 in the hips. I have to be honest and tell you I didn't like those numbers because they're bigger than I wear in German sizing (I have no idea about Finnish sizes), but then I'm used to that with U.S. pattern companies. We all know that a size 12 in those patterns is much smaller than a size 12 in manufactured clothing. I wear a 42/44 in German sizing and that's actually what I end up using for Burda patterns, so I was tempted to do the same with Ottobre. With Burda, when I go with my measurements the results are too large. Ottobre seems to be accurate to their measurements, at least for me anyway.

I like the way the top fits and may make more, but now I need to find a different pattern for the t-shirt knit. I think it will be another Ottobre pattern because I really like the look of their clothes and the fact they show them on models with bodies closer to the average size woman. They also include the size and height of the model too.

The fabric market was in town!

In our city have a fruit/vegetable/flower market three times a week and an antique market once a week and twice a year there is a fabric market. I went to it last spring with my mom (here's my post about it). I saw an advertisement that they'd be back today, so I've had this date firmly planted in my mind for a while now. Every time I "found" myself in a fabric store I reminded myself that the fabric market was coming and to wait. The day finally came, it's rainy, and I have a cold, but I went anyway. I'm not sure that cold medicine and fabric market shopping go together very well though. I couldn't make any decisions, and the crowds were bugging me (yes there were crowds of fabric shoppers!). I wanted to buy everything...or nothing because I haven't a lot of room for a fabric stash, and I do have a fabric stash. I wanted to buy really nice fabric, because there was a lot of nice stuff available, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money. There were bargains but not a lot of those fabrics where ones I could justify buying without a plan for using it. Eventually I did buy fabric and somehow even managed to make some "capsule" choices despite my brain-on-cold-medicine. Here's my haul:

Going clockwise from the upper left:

• fleece with embroidered designs - I regretted this purchase shortly afterward (I blame the cold) but it was relatively inexpensive, and I will use it for a jacket or something
• gray sweatshirt fabric to hopefully pair with some other fabric to make a "designer" sweatshirt before the fad is gone
• black faux leather to use for trims and embellishments - maybe for that designer sweatshirt
• gray capsule - from left to right: printed jersey for a top, solid bottom weight for pants, solid jersey for a top
• zippers
• serger needles
• the green/blue is overdyed denim to make a skirt
• indigo dyed denim for a skirt or jacket
• brown/gold capsule - from left to right: wool/silk knit for a skirt, solid bottom weight with stretch for pants (I'm thinking Vogue 1378), rayon woven for a blouse
• the big snaps are for a jacket that's on my to-do list
• 8 cones of serger thread (for 15 Euro - about $19). Serger thread is pricey here and colors limited. Rather than buy 3-4 spools of colors, I buy 1 and use the EZ Winder.  

I couldn't resist

The Stoffmarkt Holland fabric market came to town, and I couldn't resist.

Stoffmarkt Holland is a travelling fabric market that goes to various cities around Germany, and this was their first visit to Stuttgart. They set up their goods in a downtown square. My husband snapped these pictures for me on his way back from his morning run, while they were still setting up and before the crowds.

Clockwise from upper left: Zippers! Rolls of precut knits; many bolts; realistic photo-printed fabric

Yes, there were crowds of shoppers. It was hard to get near some of the tables, and I had to patiently wait for someone to cut fabric for me.

 

And of course I bought fabric:

Top photo is 5 cuts of half meter knits. I plan to combine the two green ones on the left into a top and the three gray ones into another top. The bottom left photo is also a knit, with a photo-realistic print of trees and stuff. They had a top made up in the fabric and it hooked me on this fabric. I'll also use it for a top. The bottom left is also a knit and again they had dresses made up in the fabric and that helped a great deal to make me want to buy it. I bought three meters to make sure I'd have enough for a dress.