Wednesday, May 26, 2010

soft white knitting



And the baby knitting begins :)
I chose these patterns and color before we knew the gender (it's a girl, by the way) so it would be suitable either way. Besides, what baby doesn't look adorable in soft white knits ?



Pattern: Baby crossover jacket, by Hadley Fierlinger (from Vintage Knits for modern babies)
Yarn: Rowan RYC Cashsoft Baby DK
Needles: 4 mm
Size: 0-3 months





Pattern: Baby Sophisticate by Linden Heflin
Yarn: Brancal Manchester
Needles: 5 mm
Size: 0-3 months

Monday, May 24, 2010

Butterick B5173 - the red dress



Dresses have always been one of my favorite items of clothing, and now with my belly advancing week by week, they've definitely turned into my best friend. They're practical and so confortable to wear, and perfect for this warmer weather.

Finding nice maternity dress patterns, however, is not so simple. Most of the ones I found would probably make me look more like a tent than pregnant, and although I do like empire style dresses, I usually favor a more fitted style.

So jersey or knitted fabric dresses seem to be what suits me best. I have a few Boden dresses, for example, that still fit me now, and I'm very tempted to get this tea dress.

After some online seach, I came across this pattern, which seemed to fit what I was looking for. It really is quite straightforward to make, although assembling that front band was not that easy since I didn't interface it. I also made it much longer, since I had bought more fabric than the pattern called for, and I didn't want to waste it.

I'm really happy with how it turned out, and I hopefully I'll get a lot of wear out of it during the next three months ...





(a simple) maternity top







Pattern: my own

A quick and easy to sew maternity top, perfect for summer. I chose a very light cotton fabric which seems to suit this pattern well. It took me about 2 hours to assemble this (from cut to finish) so I think I'll be making a couple more soon ...

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Berlin shopping

Last Monday in Berlin it was pouring rain and A. was spending the day at the conference, so I decided to go shopping for the day. I went yarn shopping first, of course, but not only ...

:: Teddyland at Nikolai Viertel

We have a big passion for teddy bears in this house, so this store in Nikolai Viertel really made my day, especially the antique section at the back.





:: The flea market in Museum Insel

Great for browsing and getting some interesting souvenirs.



:: Fassbender & Rausch at Gendarmenmarkt

I can never resist a good chocolate store ...



:: The KaWeDe and its amazing gourmet floor

Another Berlin landmark and a must-see. It was indeed fantastic, we ended up getting a few things for ourselves, but the best was to be able to sit down and sample a few of the delicacies on offer.





:: The crafts section of the KaDeWe

The crafts section of the KaDeWe is actually on a separate building located across the street. I went there looking for yarn but didn't find anything I liked (very poor selection compared to the rest of the stores I'd been to) but couldn't resist some fabrics and the newest Burda magazine. They had Liberty, Tilda, and some cute Japanese fabrics for sale there as well, but at quite expensive prices.







:: around Hockescher Markt



:: one of my favorite streets was Alte Schönhauser Strasse. I bought this perfect pair of oxford shoes at Ugo Torrini (there was a 50% sale) and loved the vintage shop Soma further down the street.



:: around Kollwitz Platz



:: around Oranienstrasse



:: Yarn shopping

Based on the info I got from the Berlin group at Ravelry I decided to try a couple of the most recommended stores...

at Fadeninsel

Oranienstr. 23
Mo-Fr: 11-18, Sa: 10-14



at Loops

Wörther Strasse 19
Mo: Fr 11-19, Sa: 10-16



And this is what I came back with ...
Both shops offered quite similar things, and I ended up buying several skeins of merino wool (for baby stuff), some Regia and Lana Grossa tweed and Lang Jawoll sock wool.



Berlin essen



:: we couldn't go to Berlin and not try a currywurst, right ?
Can't say I became a fan, but A. loved it.







:: having a break at Schloss Charlottenburg (with some hot chocolate and sacher tort)



:: having lunch at Piaggio, a really good Italian restaurant we found in Dahlem-Dorf (just across the U-Bahn station)



:: dinner at Monsieur Vuong. Hands down one of the best meals we had during this trip !





:: and ice cream, of course :)

Monday, May 10, 2010

Berlin sehen - day 2

:: Gendarmenmarkt

I'd read it was the loveliest square of Berlin, and it certainly seemed so.





:: The Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz



:: Schloss Charlottenburg

We didn't have time to visit the interiors, but decided to just stroll around the gardens and surrounding park instead. The weather wasn't being very cooperative but we enjoyed ourselves anyway.













:: Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial

I was impressed by this monument, right in the middle of the shopping district of the Ku'Damm.



:: Berlin city beaches

Just something we found amusing during our visit. Apparently there are quite a few of these beaches around the city ...





:: The Reichstag



So later in the afternoon we decided to check the Reichstag visiting queue for the last time, and surprisingly it was not so long. Still, we queued for about an hour before going up, but it was definitely worth it (and were lucky enough to catch the sunset).