everything's relative...

isn't it??


Of course, one knows they do all kinds of things with models before taking the pictures and then afterwards they do all kinds of things with the pictures - but to see it from a-z is rather frightening!
I wonder, what do all the little girls think when they see beautiful women on the billboards, in magazines or on tv? I don't remember but I think it wasn't that bad when I was little. Emma can't have it from me but she spends an awful amount of time in front of the mirror - and that's although she's rather a tomboy! Hope she will cope!
And actually I think it's not much different for the boys - very disconcerting!

another one...

Another Japanese craft book that I'd love to have. Amazon Japan charges so much for the postage that it's probably better to wait till someone sells it on ebay...

autumn

autumn and winter aren't my favourite seasons. I don't like the darkness. It makes me moody and lethargic. I could do without rain and cold weather. Maybe it's because we live in a small flat. It gets crowded and you can't escape...
But good news: I got a piece of green fabric that will look nice with the felt pouch I showed in my last post. I look forward to finishing it and start something new! Maybe I will do more felting?

WIP and linen tape

I want to show my current WIP. I am wondering what lining to use. Off-white would be boring but I don't think that I have a nice orange fabric, need to check and that can take ages as I am the owner of tons of fabric...


I recently got the most amazing bookbinding linen tape from this ebay-seller. It comes in 6, 10, 13 and 19mm width and has a very nice quality. I want to use it for stamping because it's very difficult to get nice trims that are affordable... But first of all I will have to make the stamps - I will keep you posted.

Oh, and I finally posted the swap package for Mayumi. Hope she likes the things I got for her!

Felted again

Felted flower brooch 2

After a long break I finally managed to do some felting with my daughter. I felted a couple of flowers. I made brooches of two of them that I am selling on etsy. I am also working on a clutch...

toy sewing machine

toy sewing machine I found on ebay

This is a sewing machine that I found on ebay and wanted to give to my 8 year old daughter but I am not sure if it works. Unfortunately, it didn't come with instructions :((
There doesn't seem to be a space for batteries, so maybe it works without? Would appreciate if anybody could help!

WANTED!

desperately!




There are so many Japanese craft books around but just the two books that I want most seem to be out of print. So, if anyone has one or both of them and doesn't need them anymore (fat chance of that, I know), please send me an e-mail at ckebel@gmx.de!

thrift stores, 2nd hand clothes

for those of you who like to visit thrift stores, there you go (haven't been to most of them and am not sure if they still exist...!)

Falbala Knaackstrasse 43, near Kollwitzplatz, 10435 Prenzlauer Berg
tube station Eberswalder Strasse
Faster, Pussycat! Mehringdamm 55, 10961 Kreuzberg
tube station Mehringdamm
Garage Ahornstrasse 2 /little road off Einemstrasse, 10787 Schoeneberg
tube station Nollendorfplatz
Kleidermarkt Colours Bergmannstrasse 102, 10961 Kreuzberg
tube station Gneisenaustrasse/Mehringdamm
Made in Berlin Potsdamer Strasse 106, 10785 Berlin - Tiergarten
tube station Kurfuerstenstrasse
Tenderloin Alte Schoenhauser Strasse 30, off Muenzstrasse, near Hackescher Markt, 10119 Berlin - Mitte
tube station Weinmeisterstrasse
Treibstoff Bergmannstrasse 106, off Mehringdamm, 10961 Berlin - Kreuzberg
tube station Mehringdamm

I also found a list of markets you could visit while in Berlin but I am not sure if it's up to date!

Craft and fabric shops in Berlin

(not complete! Changes possible!!)

craft stores

idee. Creativmarkt
Wilmersdorfer Strasse 108-111
10627 Berlin – Charlottenburg
opening hours:
mo - sa 10.00 - 20.00
they don’t have a working webpage
tube station Wilmersdorfer Strasse

another branch around the corner from KaDeWe department store (see below)!

Edelhoff-Kreativkaufhaus
im Storkower Bogen
Rudolf-Seiffert-Strasse 3
10369 Berlin
tel 030 - 99 49 90 61
http://www.edelhoff-kreativkaufhaus.de/
opening hours:
mo - sa 09.00 - 20.00
S-Bahn (S42, S43, S8), stop: S-Bahnhof: Storkower Strasse
Bus 156, stop: S-Bahnhof: Storkower Strasse

Hobbyshop Wilhelm Rüther
Goltzstrasse 37
10781 Berlin-Schoeneberg
Tel 030 - 23 63 68 3
http://www.hobbyshop.de/
opening hours:
mo – fr 10:00 - 19:00 h
sa 10:00 - 16:00 h

more branches here:
Berliner Strasse 90/91
13507 Berlin-Tegel
opening hours:
mo – fr 10:00 - 19:00 h
sa 10:00 - 16:00 h

Kollwitzstrasse 54
10405 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg
opening hours:
mo – fr 10:00 - 19:00 h
sa 10:00 - 16:00 h

Breite Strasse 37
13597 Berlin-Spandau Altstadt
opening hours:
mo – fr 10:00 - 19:00 h
sa 10:00 - 16:00 h


fabric stores


Frau Tulpe Stoffe & Accessoires
Veteranenstrasse 19
10119 Berlin - Prenzlauer Berg
opening hours:
mo - fr 10 – 20 h
sa 12 – 18 h
tel. 030 – 4432 7865
http://www.frautulpe.de/produkte.htm
check their website (Produkte: Stoffe, Accessoires)

Stoffhaus
Frankfurter Allee 50
10247 Berlin
Tel. 030 / 291 83 54
opening hours:
mo - fr 9.30 – 19 h
sa 9.30 – 16 h
http://www.stoffland.de/berlin.htm
tube station Samariterstrasse

KaDeWe department store
Tauentzienstraße 21-24
10789 Berlin
tel 030 - 2121-0
opening hours:
mo - fr 10 – 20 h
sa 9:30 – 20 h
tube station Wittenbergplatz

Wertheim department store
Kurfuerstendamm 231
10719 Berlin
tel 030 - 880 03-0
opening hours:
mo - fr 9.30 – 20 h
sa 9 – 16 h
tube station Kurfuerstendamm


also check out Turkish markets:
there used to be one on Paul Lincke Ufer just off Kottbusser Damm in Kreuzberg (tube station Kottbusser Tor), it used to be on Fridays but I have to check that...

as promised

Here comes the promised photo of the octopi that I crocheted recently and forgot to post ... I've seen so many pictures of nice amigurumi that I thought I should try to make one myself. I really adore this sweet cat, but lack the patience to make one, I'm afraid. So I started with something small:


Octopus Tintenfisch Krake
Originally uploaded by zakkablog.

my amigurumi style octopi!
anybody interested?

für einen Froschkönig

für einen Froschkönig
Originally uploaded by zakkablog.

manchmal sind die süßen Kleinen Giftzwerge, aber ansonsten doch eher Prinzen oder Prinzessinen - mit diesen Schühchen dann auch ordentlich ausgestattet...

21.9.2006 Meine Nichte hat einen Sohn bekommen. Er wird der - hoffentlich stolze - Besitzer dieser Schühchen werden. Und für meine Nichte hoffe ich, dass er sich nicht zum Giftzwerg entwickelt!!!

so many things to do

Yesterday I wanted to take some pix of a few finished crafts but then the batteries were empty and I only managed to take a few. Unfortunately I couldn't go out to buy a new pack because I started my own online travel agency not too long ago and there are still so many things to organize and do... if you want to book a flight or journey, ask me!

Anyhow, here is a photo of a little bowl that I made from a yarn blend. I knit the bowl first and then felted it in the washing mashine. It shrunk by about 40 %. It can hold all the odds and ends that usually litter my desk.

I wanted to crochet some flowers but they were supposed to look different from the usual ones, so I made these little starfish-shaped thingies. They look quite beautiful on dark hair, so I attached them to hairpins :-))

Well, I didn't stop there. Why not crochet some daisies, I thought? Well, I think they are very sweet. This one is attached to a hairclip and also looks very nice on dark hair... What do you think?

I'm an ambassador!

I'm an GYS ambassador!
I got that mail from Rikki asking for pictures and I will certainly spend some time clicking today or tomorrow.
I will also try to post pix of some of the things that I've been sewing and crocheting the last days. Maybe someone is interested in swapping for an amigurumi-style-octopus??

gimmeyourstuff

Actually, the main reason I am starting this blog is because I also want to join gimmeyourstuff and start sending goodies to you and receiving parcels with goodies from all over the world - it's such a nice idea! I just hope there is somebody out there fancying stuff from Germany!!
So, let me know!
To contact me, please leave a comment and/or email me at ckebel (at) gmx.de

The name of the blog already gives you a hint: I am really into Japanese crafts. I can spend hours drooling over pictures of craft books posted on flickr, everything is sooo beautiful! I do envy all of you living and working in Japan...
But I also like all those nice patchwork fabrics from the US and Scandinavian cottons - I guess it's obvious that I am completely crazy about sewing, knitting and crafting ;-))

But what would you get from Berlin / Germany?
* craft supplies, e.g. we do have great wool, also felting supplies (wool roving), embroidery floss
* a cut of an Indian saree
* sweets - we do have yummy chocolates, wine gums ...
* spices (also Indian! Cinnamon sticks or powder!) and other cooking or baking stuff
* herbal teas like peppermint or camomille
* German papers or magazines, small children's books
* handmade soap from India
* you name it, I'll try to get it!

I would love to receive:
* craft supplies obviously, e.g. fabrics, buttons, trims, preferably from Japan, Scandinavia, GB or USA (new and vintage)
* craft books / magazines from Japan (e.g. little sewing projects, sewing w/ linen, nuigurumi, zakka, felting)
* origami paper with patterns
* whatever else you may think of...

P.S. I am adding pix of some of the books that I am looking for. So in case you have one and don't need it anymore or you can easily get them, let's swap!! Can't seem to be able to upload a picture of this book - my absolute favourite! Plus the following...

P.P.S. In the future I will only send packages weighing up to 1 kg because supposedly they arrive at their destination much faster! Unfortunately, that also means: less goodies :(