Thrift Store Treasures #1

My second favourite shop in Sogndal? A tiny thrift store! It's the kind of store you would expect in a village like this: run by a couple of elder ladies, filled with embroidered table runners, ugly candle holders and hand knitted mittens. The ladies are frequently visited by elder men who stop by and drink coffee. They even seem to have a few 'behind the counter sofa's' especially for this purpose. The choice of clothing is ofcourse very limited, so it's even more of a challenge to find something to work with.

What I found so far, is an asymmetric teal shrug, and a pink top. The shrug was ready to wear, so I left it as it was. A week later, I found the pink top which definitely needed altering. Way too many gathers and ruffles at the neckline for my taste, and it was size a L. But I liked the buttons and the shiny fabric (rayon/viscose).


I started with taking the top apart at the shoulders and the sleeves. I took out the gathers, but left some at the neckline and at the back. I then turned the hem over and topstitched it to get rid of the ruffles.The result is a much smoother neckline, and a less poofy back. To create a silhouette, I took the side seams in, and made two sashes with the excess fabric. Sewed them in the side seams, and tied them at the back.

I tried to sew in the sleeves without gathers, but that was a bit tricky. They look a bit strange now, but i think I've figured out what to do about it. At least now I know it's not possible to keep the gathers at the arm seam and get rid of the gathers at the shoulder seam at the same time. I like how it turned out, it's a bit slouchy but the shiny fabric makes it less casual. And I can wear it with my thrifted shrug!

So not only did I manage to acquire two new garments that can be combined, I also stuck to my new colour scheme, using pink and blue! I'm getting there, people. 

Nette's giveaway

A few weeks ago, I participated in Nette's Summer Giveaway, and I won! I got this pretty package in the mail:

She made a shrug and a hand-printed tote for two lucky winners. I can't tell you how nice it is to have something made by a fellow blogger. She was one of the first people I followed, and although our styles are a bit different, I really like her craftyness and the details she puts in her garments. 

This is the little tote with hand-stamped catprint. I have it with me all the time, to use for unplanned shopping. It has a little bag on the inside so you can fold it into a tiny package. I also took it with my on a hike up in the Norwegian mountains, and even though it's not very big, it held everything I needed.


This is my third shrug! Casually styled with my 'sunday at the campsite' outfit: chill-pants, longsleeved merino shirt and Allstars :) I'm sorry, this is the best I can do at the moment. I am going to wear it tonight in a better combination, I promise! As you can see this one is bigger and better fitting than the shrugs I made. Lesson learned: use the pattern!

And a last photo of the view from my tent, overlooking the mountains and the fjord... Not bad, eh?

Favourite Shop in Sogndal

My heart skipped a beat when I walked through Sogndal, and found a yarn and fabric shop! I had not expected to find anything in this small village of roughly 7000 inhabitants. I was afraid I'd have to go to Bergen to find yarn and fabric.

	A bigger button stash than the store at home!

Although the fabric is mainly quilting cotton, they have lots of yarn for reasonable prices. According to Norwegian standards, anyway. I still can't believe how expensive the food is though. And don't even think about any kind of alcohol (which we buy anyway, albeit with our eyes closed). Anyway, I bought two of each colour, at a discount for 25 NOK (€3,-) each. The first one I just had to try. I mean, ecological camel hair, how funky is that? Just 15%, but still. The blue one is the same merino wool I also used for my hat, and  the grey one is a super soft wool/soya blend. Never tried soya before, either. These are just for small projects, like scarves and legwarmers. I also got myself two pattern magazines, one from PT Design, and one from the Ecologico wool. I'd like to knit something with a hood. Those slippers look really warm and comfortable, perfect for the coming Norwegian winter!


I'd like to start a big knitting project again. It has to be an interesting pattern though, or else I'll get bored, and won't finish it until spring. I'm thinking of a combination of the striped dress and the pattern on the purple dress. Small problem though: the descriptions are in Norwegian. A pattern in French, à la, but I'd better learn some Norwegian before I start complicated undertakings like this! Have you already started knitting again now that autumn is around the corner?

Giveaway winner!

I'm sorry for the delay, I know the giveaway ended two days ago! I do have a good excuse though: I was on a glacier excursion! It was awesome and beautiful, but let's see who won first:

The winner is Crystal! Congratulations! I'm especially pleased with this, as she was one of my first followers. I'll be sending you an email very shortly!

Now, some photo's of truly astonishing nature! I'm posting these here because I wore something self made: a hat. I knitted it on wednesday evening. I did not bring a hat to Norway, and I needed one for this excursion. I had very little time, but I still did not want to spend money on something I could so easily make myself.

I had no pattern, and if I had had more time I'd have made it a bit bigger. It needed needles nr. 8, but I had only nr. 6. It worked out fine though, the tightness of the stitches makes it even warmer. I like the colours and it was nice and warm on top of that glacier! It's merino wool, and I'll tell you more about where I found it later. 

Matching Shrugs

To follow my new rules - tie my wardrobe together - I made matching shrugs to go with the Summer Dress. I choose a matching green and a blue one. They are the same fabric, a medium weight knit. They are based on Ichigogirls pattern. I didn't have the pattern at the moment I made them, so I made my own using the same (very clever) construction. Now that I do have the pattern, I might alter them a bit. Next year, because I left them at home, as well as the summer dress.


When taking photo's. I have to keep going back and forth to the camera to set the timer. The dog kept wriggling herself in the photo's, wanting to see what all the fuss was about. Most photo's just show the back of her head in front of the camera, or a wagging tail. Every time I put up the camera she takes up the spot where I usually stand and sits there waiting for me :)

I don't know which one I like best, green or blue. I do like the pattern, I have four shrugs already. Three made by me, the third one made from the floral fabric of my harem pants. The fourth one is special, and will be shown here later on!

P.S. Don't forget to enter the mustard fabric giveaway!