Although it would seem from recent posts that my trip to Switzerland has been quite heavy on sewing related activities, it really hasn’t. But I can’t help it if I happen to walk by a fabric store and need to go in and browse a bit, right? And so it happened today just by chance that I passed by two stores on the same block, Stofftrucke, which had quite a lovely, albeit pricey selection (about $20/meter for polyester jersey, about $50/meter for silk charmeuse, and about $80/meter for wool coating), and the Bernina Nähcenter, which had a small but nice selection of fabrics at about the same prices.
But one of my favorite things was the sign in the window of the Bernina store:
“Näh it yourself!” A sentiment near and dear to the Selfish Seamstress’s selfish, icy heart! Now, I’m guessing that when the Bernina store tells you to “sew it yourself,” they mean it in a positive, friendly way because they want to sell you sewing machines and because they’re probably nicer people than I am. They want to empower you to create and accomplish. Whereas I look at this and take joy in thinking, “That’s right, you näh it your friggin’ self! What do I look like, your Mutti? Lass mich in Ruhe!”
Here’s some fabric p*rn from the Bernina Nähcenter- felt and wool loden in lovely crayon shades, and Dan examining the velboa selection:
Here’s some more amazing fabric p*rn from the Stofftrucke for you, an embellished wool loden, a rainbow of silks, a graceful embellished lightweight taffeta, and some assorted green woolly, tweedy things:
That dark brown coat-weight loden with the teal flowers on it is pretty spectacular. I’d love it for a long coat with dark brown faux fur collar, cuffs and trim. But at $88/meter, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I did find the BEST knit ever though:
What makes it the best, you ask? Well, for one thing because a meter and a half of it is sitting right here next to me and it’s ALL MINE. It’s a lovely, soft, loose, stretchy, drapey knit in a deep, intense shade of greenish teal (they call this color “petrol” here) with rich, subtle variations. It was a bit of a splurge at $21/meter, as I think it’s just a blend of rayon and synthetics. But it looks and feels like luxury to me, and I’ve got the pattern for it all picked out in my head. All I have to decide now is whether to use it knit side out (above) or purl side out:
I’m leaning towards purl. A little more edgy, I think. Oh, and I probably need to read up on how to sew a non-stable knit. That knowledge could come in handy.
Anyway, flying home tomorrow and I’ll be reunited with my stash and my machine! All in all a great trip, a couple of good finds, and a whole lot of restraint- selfishness on a budget.
10 comments
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November 10, 2009 at 2:58 pm
amber
The color of that last knit is so rich and beautiful. I’m interested to see what you make from it.
November 10, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Carolyn
The embellished wool loden is AWESOME! I don’t know how you managed to walk out of the store without any. I do like the knit that you did purchase and wait with baited breathe to see what it becomes!
November 10, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Shams
Droool. Definitely gorgeous stuff. That knit it amazing and, I agree, I often can’t decided which side to use. Maybe you can use the purl side and trim it with the knit side. Yummay, can’t wait to see what you do with your splurge.
November 10, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Faye Lewis
Is a meter a little more than a yard or less?- I’m untraveled and totally metric challenged.
November 17, 2009 at 1:09 pm
selfishseamstress
They’re roughly the same– a meter is about 3 inches more than a yard.
November 11, 2009 at 1:20 pm
sonya
Just found your blog and love it!
November 11, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Meredith P
So how many Euros did that lovely Bernina 830 in the window go for? Love your blog, BTW. And big congratulations on your win in the LBD contest.
November 12, 2009 at 12:22 am
Progress report: Burda WoF 10-2005-114 « The Selfish Seamstress
[…] a Selfish Seamstress to do upon arriving home after a long, exhausting journey? Pull out her new Swiss fabric, a back issue of Burda (bought off of German Ebay), and get to work tracing, cutting, and […]
November 12, 2009 at 5:16 am
Mimi
Love the color!!! Your pic of your finished cowl doesn’t do it justice. This is a really pretty fabric.
November 17, 2009 at 10:00 am
S.W.A.G. – Sewing With A Grudge « The Selfish Seamstress
[…] army green for the other. Unfortunately I couldn’t find anything as soft and pretty as the teal knit I found in Switzerland, but they’re not bad. I suppose I could give one of them the one I just finished for myself […]