Grand Designs of Constance, Germany

This is my 100th Post!

I feel as if I should be celebrating, or writing one of those fantastic posts that everyone will want to read and offering some great giveaway or something. But it is just any old Monday and for me the top reason to celebrate is that the sun is shining outside my window, there is a blue sky, and that I have  finally cleaned up my studio after having it look like a bomb hit it last week.

(I had set about the overwhelming task of   ‘organizing’ my fabric scraps, yardage, charm packs and both partly used and never been used fat quarters and fat eights; all common ‘tools of the trade’ for today’s quilter.)

So today I thought I would do a simple post, highlighting a bit of fun I had last week. I hope you enjoy the photos and inspiration!

____________________________________________________________________

Last Wednesday, a friend and I decided to head to Germany for a bit of ‘affordable’ fabric shopping.

It is that time of year again, when we are starting to plan for Christmas and she has a big project which I am trying to ‘help’ her with which involves fabric, sewing and piecing,  all in aid of making homemade Christmas presents for far away family and friends.

As Constance, Germany (in German: Konstanz) is the largest EU city in our area, we headed there for the day by car, approximately a 45 minute drive, from my home in Eastern, Switzerland.

It was a wet day, so a great day to shop.

Karstadt, a large department store chain, is usually a very practical place to find a lot of home wares, craft supplies and fabric for garment sewing, home decor and quilting.  It does not have a huge selection, but it is good considering the size of Constance itself. (For details in German, go to their website here .

After my friend picked out her supplies  she would need for her project, I decided to have a little relaxed browsing for me, making sure I didn’t miss something which I really ‘needed’. I picked up this tracing wheel which I had been looking for.  I hope it is the right tool for marking foundation paper pieces.

And of course I couldn’t resist this lovely fabric.

It is a bit childish, but I had to have it. I thought it would make a great quilt back for a baby quilt. But unfortunately, I don’t know anyone who might appreciate that right now! I may just use it for myself to go in my studio, who knows, it is cute and colorful and just speaks to me.

The Information on the selvedge is as follows: What I assume is the manufacturer is “Cosmo Textile Co. LTD. ” and it is made in Japan. It is 100% Cotton, though has a nice weight about it. I love the Little squirrels on it which represent each of the color ways which it suggests as options to use with this fabric.

I found a lovely spotty Tilda print to go with that, which I think I might want more of, as it looks like a great basic.

Now, we did get up to something other than fabric shopping, well rather I did, as my friend was just a ‘little’ bit exhausted after having me ‘help’ her choose her fabrics and supplies!

Let’s just say she needed to park herself on this lovely bench for a while, right outside my favorite shop in Constance. bent sorensen a Danish Home Furnishings Store. You can get a virtual tour of the shop here . For it’s address, contact details and opening hours, in German, go to their website here.

Ever since I moved to Switzerland 11 years ago and began outfitting my new apartment with the most minor and affordable of elements, I have been visiting bent sorensen.

 

Even now that I am able to sew and can only afford to make my own home decor items, I cannot resist the opportunity to browse the beautiful showrooms and store, which can be found behind the doors of this historic building.

Leaving my friend outside, to enjoy the fresh air in it’s beautiful courtyard, I disappeared through the world of Danish Home furnishings.

 

 

 

 

Despite the fact that it is located in a fairly central position in a bustling border town and despite the fact that it is a popular destination for people interested in quality home furnishings , I am always surprised by the feeling of peace I encounter when I walk through it’s doors.

 

 

This time, I must say I was very tempted by these pillows!

 

 

 

The cool summery colors of its’ tableware and the materials and textures of its furnishings in their front room, were also hard to resist.

 

 

 

But it was refreshing to see some more vibrant colors amongst its’ assortment of textile goods.

 

 

 

As I had more time than usual, I decided to take some time upstairs in it’s furniture department and discovered there was quite a lot of lovely treasures to be found on the upper floors.

 

 

As much as I love the furniture, the building in which bent sorensen is located has it’s own charm. I remember standing in front of this chest of drawers and practically eating up the reflection of the beautiful staircase in this mirror.

 

 

I love that despite the fact that it’s furnishings have sleek, modern lines; they still remain warm and inviting with their use of natural, exposed  wood.

If it weren’t for the fact that I had a friend waiting for me, or that we had quite a drive ahead of us and the threat of traffic at the border crossing, I would have stayed there all afternoon, soaking in all that creative inspiration. I might even have been tempted to curl up in this lovely bed and dream of days when I might be able to afford something as insignificant as a lamp in this pricey store.

 

 

If you enjoyed this post, please let me know by commenting below or sending me a message on Facebook, Instagram or by email me at ebbenflowz@hotmail.com  . I would greatly appreciate it!

I hope you have a great one, wherever you are and whatever you may be doing when you read this!

Jodie