International Yarn Shop Review: Storkurinn - Reykjavík

 

Although we got back from Iceland last Friday, I wanted to do a post about an adorable local yarn shop we found in 101 Reykjavík, the district where we were staying.  It's called Storkurinn, and it has a great selection of yarns including Icelandic Lopi yarns, Rowan, Malabrigo, Debbie Bliss, Skacel's Schoppel line (of Zauberball fame), and Artesano.  There was also a wall of quilting fabrics, a wall of notions and needles, and a wall of books with lots of Rowan and Debbie Bliss pattern support, as well as a good selection of more well-known English language titles.  Overall, the atmosphere of the store was very quiet and pleasant, and I roamed the shop happily petting yarn for close to an hour between our two trips.

My favorite wall in the place, quite predictably, was the wall in the second and third photos, which had a whole lot of colors of BC Garn's Jaipur Silk Fino, which comes in a range of amazing jewel tones.  Not gonna lie - I ended up buying one more skein when we went back the day before we left.

It's funny how knitters around the world understand each other - as I was getting ready to take these pictures, I asked a woman in front of My Favorite Wall if she would mind stepping back for a moment so I could grab a few pictures.  She smiled knowingly and joked, "Of course, you must get good photos of the yarn!"

Yarn obsession appreciation knows no language or cultural barriers.

So if you're ever in Reykjavík and have a few moments to spare, I'd highly recommend checking out Storkurinn!

Of Mice and Yarn

 

These are the fruits of our first local yarn shop trip in Reykjavík - two skeins of gorgeous silk laceweight in an icy blue, and these three little wooden mouse buttons.  Sometimes I swear I'm still a six year old girl, because certain types of cute - usually small rodents and fish - make my brain start squeaking and flapping its arms up and down with excitement.

We've had a rather quiet last couple of days.  I haven't been sleeping well, and Tuesday the insomnia finally turned into my first migraine ever.  (Note to self: in the future, bring NSAIDs to foreign countries!)  That's not to say we haven't been having a good time, however: we made it out to some awesome local yarn and fabric shops (details to come!) and ate some great Thai food, I drooled over some amazing shoes, and we stayed up to watch the US election results early Wednesday morning - the results weren't called until 6 a.m. Icelandic time!

We're going back to the US tomorrow afternoon, and although we've had a great time, I'm also very ready to sleep like a normal human being in my own bed, cuddle with Mr. Mackie, and get back to work at school.  I have been soothing my growing homesickness with pictures of my favorite tiny person:

And luckily, I will be seeing his face in person tomorrow.  Yay!

Blue/Orange

The light here does funny things.  I've been waking early every morning, stirred by some internal sense of the time of day halfway around the world.  Rising out of bed to pad along the cold wood floors, arms folded, the light outside blue and eerie.

The wind is bitterly cold, and so strong that yesterday, we barely left the guest house except to eat - reports say it hit 150 mph.  Someone took a video of the wind whipping the sea up over the cars along the waterfront, and I feel a little better about staying inside, warm and dry.

But there's a kind of magic here.  Every country I've been to has its quirks: the ghosts in the groves in Bali; the quiet nods between strangers in Kansai; and here, something harder to pinpoint.  In the early morning, the whole city is quiet, and the sky glows blue while the incandescents of insomniacs shine a warm yellow-orange.  Our upstairs neighbors' feet creak across the floor in the early morning, and occasionally we hear music.  It feels like there are secrets everywhere.

Dispatches from Reykjavík

Late-night snack, complete with owl timer.

The door to our guest house.

Leaving to get breakfast.

Frost or snow?  No idea.

Upstairs at a cafe - perfect for people (and wool) watching.

Lots of coffee here.  Iceland, you and me are gonna get along just fine.

A statue at the top of a hill.  It was very sunny, and very windy, and absolutely freezing.

There's water almost everywhere you look.

I am so freaking glad I brought Crown Prince, as he is the warmest shawl I own.  I have been wearing him babushka-style when it gets windy, because hats fly right off my head.

Too cold - time to go buy some proper mittens.

We were totally not lost on our slightly-longer-than-anticipated walk - see, we found the big church!