Horses and hounds

So after a while of lurking around sewing blogs, I finally started my own! I'm yet to invest in a decent camera so you'll have to excuse the iPhone pics for the moment.

I'm originally from the UK but have been living in Berlin for almost 4 years now, where fabric can be bought for silly cheap. I get most of my supplies from the Neukölln Stoffmarkt fabric market, which I would totally recommend to any sewers visiting Berlin.  A couple of stalls there sell fabric starting from €2 a metre and there's a stall selling really nice Japanese cotton lawn for 4 or 5 per metre.

I went there last Saturday, after enjoying the best gluten-free sandwich I have ever experienced at Aunt Benny's in Friedrichshain. It looked and tasted like normal bread for normal people, so I was pretty chuffed.

We also went to the farmer's market at Boxhagener Platz on the way to the fabric market, where a very nice lady gave me a free onion and winked at me. This kind of thing brightens my days.

Anyway, onto the fabric!

First up, I got this mildly ridiculous horse print cotton. I have absolutely no idea what to make with this, but it made me laugh so I got it. This thinking has landed me with some very odd fabric in the past. I had to talk myself out of buying some turtle print bright pink fabric for the same reason. It's enough to make a summery skirt or maybe it's more suited to a cowgirl shirt?

Some classic nautical stripes in a thin cotton. Again no plans as yet but it was €2 a metre and I love me some stripes so no arguments here.

I think this beauty can safely be declared the catch of the day. It has a weird brushed texture and it's definitely much thicker than quilting cotton but I don't really know what its deal is. I intend to make this bad boy into a quilt and embroider around the frames. 

That cat on the right is giving somebody the side-eye. 

I reckon with the 2 metres of this I bought, I have approximately 101 Dalmatians. Give or take. I do actually have a plan for this! I don't just mindlessly buy novelty prints, I swear.

This rose number has a 90s vibe and feels kind of viscosey/crepey. The one issue with the fabric market is the lack of labeling so you don't really know exactly what you're buying sometimes. It's really drapey and I'm thinking a maxi dress would do it justice. I haven't bought the By Hand Anna pattern yet but I can see this being a cool Anna. I would wear it with doc martens and black nail varnish and listen to Hole.

And what would a fabric haul be without some mystery jersey? The light and dark greys are for T-shirts for the other half, while the stripes and dots are going to be some slouchy tops for me. I like my comfies.

I also got some cosy fleece for the backs of quilts, which I'm trying to keep away from my cats, as well as some plain black and white cottons for linings and facings and whatnot but nobody wants to see that, right?

First blog post: check! Next time let's see if we can't involve some sewing!