Wednesday 8 September 2010

Stockholm Redux

Stockholm, Sweden 2010

The city. The food. The unnervingly attractive and effortlessly chic Swedes and their unswerving ability to speak perfect English. Seriously- I only met one swedish person who didn't speak English immediately upon seeing the unnecessary  Swedish phrasebook I brought everywhere.

Now, let's get down to it, shall we? I planned on visiting 4 yarn shops while in Stockholm, but only got to three. I didn't have a lot of luck finding a variety of Swedish made yarn. The few kinds I found were single ply, rough spun, and a rough-and-tough working yarn that is not particularly soft. I have a high tolerance for wool, though. I will say this- the yarns have a lovely sheen to them, and you can feel the lanolin. Another point- Stockholm is expensive. As in, really expensive. I strongly suspect much of it's gorgeousness and cleanliness is due to the 25% tax that is on absolutely everything. Just warning you now.

As a side note, I also noticed a lot of yarn seemed to come from Denmark, so I wonder if Sweden doesn't focus on yarn production when there are neighbouring countries that produce a large range of gorgeous yarns. Just a thought. 

Litet Nystan
St. Paulsgatan 20, Sodermalm
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 This was the first one I went into, and just loved it. Amazing sample sweaters, some interesting independent patterns, and lots of beautiful yarn. I mean, see for yourself:
Litet Nystan, Stockholm

Sticka
Österlånggatan 20
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This was a really beautiful shop, and the biggest one I visited. They have a lovely and large slection of patterns, mostly Drops and Rowan, but some more international magazines as well. The yarns are beautifully arranged, and there are many gorgeous samples all over the store. I could have spent hours in here, there were really so many things to look at (and yarn to pet!). Sticka in Stockholm  

Anntorps vav
Österlånggatan, Gamla Stan
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The address on Knit Map listed only the street, but it's easy enough to find if you wander down. This was the smallest shop of the three, but very lovely- they had much of the same Swedish yarns, but they did do their own hand dying of a lace weight mohair in the shop. My only warning is that the shop keeper doesn't speak any English- the only person that I encountered there who didn't. At least I got to use my phrasebook!
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Below are my modest Swedish yarn purchases:
swedish yarn
 The turquoise and terracotta red skeins are a lovely light fingering weight, with about 420 yards in each skein. The grey is a DK weight with about 90 yards per skein. They are all single ply, and rough spun- there are subtle thick and thin portions of the light fingering weight ones. Now- if only I could figure out what these skeins want to be! shawls? scarves? mitts? hats? Hmmm.

23 comments:

The Sweatshop of Love said...

So fun! I love your pics and the yarn you got is beautiful. I have a super high tolerance for wool, too, so I would be all over it. Minus that nasty tax!

Jacey said...

It looks like you had an amazing trip. I took a look through your flickr photos-very fun! Hmm, as for your yarn, you could combine all your Sweden yarn for a cardigan (you may have to supplement for longer sleeves), but the colors would look amazing together in a striped cardi. I'm sure whatever you do, it will be gorgeous, and a great souvenir.

Anonymous said...

The two fingering weight yarns want to be mittens. They told me so. *nods* Looks like you had a great time.

Jill Nault said...

So nice Julie! I love the cobblestone streets! And I bet the food was fantastic!

As for what the yarn wants to be... sounds like a great excuse to spend time scouting Ravelry!

Christine said...

What a great souvenir! My vote is for some colorwok mittens that can be lined in something buttery soft. It is the perfect thing for a gloomy winter day.

Jane Richmond said...

Beautiful pictures, I loved seeing the Swedish yarn shops.

Allison said...

Looks like a great vacation! Your yarn choices are all beautiful.

Soposie said...

I've been lurking on your blog for a long time, thanks for all the reading and great photos! I love reading about the modifications. Question: What is that grey sweater you're wearing in your Sweden photos? Did you knit that? What pattern is it?

Thanks!

Ibunnysavetroy said...

the blue and red fingering weight says to me at least that it wants to be a daybreak shawl! Looks like a fun trip!

Julie said...

Liz, it won't let me reply to your comment in an email, so I'll respond here- that brownish grey sweater is actually a storebought sweater from Stockholm, a shop called Indiska. I love it so much, I'm even wearing it right now! I'm seriously contemplating reverse engineering it to knit a couple replicas in different colours, it's so comfortable and versatile.

juicyknits said...

Oh, tell me about Stockholm being expensive. Glad you enjoyed it, though

Sandy said...

Looks like a lovely trip!!

*jenn* said...

Im with Liz... i LOVE that grey sweater!!! if you figure out a way to recreate it...please,please share with us...

Teresa said...

So much fun! It's nice to have you back on the continent :)

As for what that yarn wants to become, I'm scoobied. Methinks they are so beautiful, it would be absolutely acceptable for them to just laze around the house for a while in their hank-y form :)

Anonymous said...

I spent a couple of hours in Stockholm on Wednesday and I'm hooked. That was in the evening so I didn't hit any of the yarn stores yet. Back on Monday and I have the yarn crawl from Knit Map printed out. I'd like to get hold of some Gotland wool.

Are you in London now? Going to I Knit Weekender?

Anonymous said...

Wow so jealous, Julie! Beautiful yarns, beautiful people, and beautiful scenery. Welcome home and glad you know you had a great time!

Hilary said...

Welcome home, and it looks/sounds like you had a fabulous time! I have always wanted to visit Sweden, it being the land of most of my great-grandparents, and it was fun to vicariously live through you! That's very interesting about the yarn mostly coming from Denmark, especially because Sweden has such a rich knitting history. I love what you bought, though, and can't wait to see what you do with it!

Skein said...

What an awesome trip! Love the yarn shop pics, yummy yarn that you brought home..cant wait to see what you make!

Maryse said...

That must have been a beautiful and unforgettable trip! Nice flickr photos! Thanks for the yarn shops visit. Nice purchases!

Michele Saunders said...

Your trip looks amazing! So glad you had a good time. Those yarn stores are so cute and I love your purchases - especially the gray.

yoel said...

Great photos! It looks like you had a blast!

Aesderina said...

the pictures look AMAZING. I love the cobblestone roads. wow. 25% tax?!? that's crazy! We just got HST (12%) tax in BC and it's killing me..

Hope you are getting settled back at home :) thanks for sharing your trops!!

Jen (pieKnits) said...

Wow that looks like a marvelous trip! Great pictures, thanks for sharing!