Instagram

I am not coming back to this blog. I am now addicted to Instagram. If you care to join me, I am @immerimmer

Spreewald

The lovely, lovely Spreewald. Only an hour away by train, but about a thousand miles away in spirit.

Such a happy, contemplative escape.

Templiner See

 

I’ve begun kayaking once a week in Templiner See through the University of Potsdam’s Zentrum für Hochschulsport and I couldn’t be more in love with it. The weather has been beautiful every single time we’ve gone out, and the kayaking itself has turned out to be, well, very difficult (I’ve bought a lot of Dr. Hauschka arnica oil), but also a wonderful and inexpensive way to get away from Berlin and be out in nature. Having grown up in Oregon, where we grew up on the water, where we lived and breathed the water, it is important to me to be able to, at the very least, take some time out from city life and go paddle/sail/kayak around a bit on a regular basis.

Next time out I’ve decided to be very brave and take a one-person kayak instead of pairing up. I may get lost and die, but it’ll be worth it.

New iPhone

I haz a fun with my new phone. Find me on Instagram — user name immerimmer.

Coming back to life…

As this city (and seemingly the world) returns to life after another brutal winter, I am also slowly returning. I won’t lie and pretend this past winter, accompanied by some unhappy health problems, didn’t just about crush me (I worry, as ever, about how to handle next winter) but I have decided to resurrect my blog as a way, at least initially, to remind myself to notice all the beauty I can find around me. I think it’s nice to also share, so, here on the site, I will hopefully accomplish both at once.

Crafting E01: Fabrics and Sewing in Berlin

For crafters interested in finding fabrics or even learning how to sew, Berlin can be quite accommodating and useful. Below is the best information I have collected so far. If you have more information, please feel free to comment.

-Offstoff Housed in a quaint little storefront in the Graefekiez, Offstoff has absolutely lovely fabrics (see photo above), including imported fabrics from the likes of Amy Butler. The owner speaks beautiful English and is happy to assist you with advice for your projects. They also make cushions and fabric buttons.

Offstoff Grimmstr 20 10967 Berlin tel. (030) 62908148

-Paul Knopf For non-fabric buttons (and belt buckles, vintage jewelry…), Paul Knopf is indispensable. Ask anyone in the know and they will tell you a magical story of the time they needed a very specific button, went in to the shop, described it to the owner, and moments later had the exact button they needed in their hands. If you plan to craft, this place needs to be in your address book.

-Volksfaden This Berlin-based online fabric shop has gorgeous imported cotton fabrics from the US and Japan, often with bold, colorful prints, many of which are even organic. Their website is adorable and easy to navigate, perfect for crafty mums and dads who find it difficult to get the time to go to the fabric store. Subscribe to their blog for updates on inventory.

-Turkish outdoor markets are a great resource for inexpensive fabrics, especially for novices. My favorite market is along the Maybachufer on Tuesdays and Fridays. Perhaps only one in twenty fabrics is worth buying, but for 2 euros a meter that one in twenty is definitely worth buying.

-Les Tissus Colbert For home decorating, this westside shop has some beautiful traditional fabrics with which to make cushions or re-upholster.

-Stitch’n Bitch Nähcafe This little spot in the Wrangelkiez provides sewing machines, sergers and invaluable help for people just starting out, those without their own machines, and those looking for community and assistance while crafting. For a nominal hourly fee the friendly Dutch owner of the “cafe” will guide you through your project, or for a fixed price you can sign up for one of their classes. If I lived closer, I would totally finish that simple bag I’ve been working on.

Extra: I just came upon Maikitten, a fantastic website devoted to art and crafting in Berlin. Unfortunately for English speakers it is mostly written in German, but if you’re an English-speaking crafter interested in bettering your Deutsch, well, that’s just another good reason to put it in your rss feed. Here is the sewing section of the website: http://www.maikitten.de/category/nahen/