Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th! I hope that all my friends and family in the US are taking a well-deserved day off from lab/work/stress.

Things here have been quiet. Perhaps no more than usual. It feels like it's been quieter, but that could be because I put my part-time editing work on hold a couple weeks ago. Why? Because it was taking up just enough of my day that it made an easy excuse not to accomplish anything else. I do plan to pick it  up again after this month. Because this month (as in, July), I am trying Camp Nanowrimo - AGAIN. This time I've actually written out some sort of outline and key plot points (important because I hear that's a writerly thing to do, but also because my last attempt in April failed due to multiple impossible/out of order scenes and occurrences). I'm also working in some biology because, well, that's kind of what I know. So we'll see how it all goes. It does likely mean that I will be quiet on the blog over the next month.

I've been in Switzerland now for almost six months. Which seems crazy to me. And completely stresses me out because I should've gotten much more done. Or at least be looking into a "real" job (ok, fine, any job). I have been keeping my eye out for teaching positions at international/private schools in the area, but most of them want actual teaching credentials. Which I do not have. And the other jobs that I have seen are not biology-related, which is really the only subject I can claim to have extensive knowledge of (according to my CV, at least).

Outside of the job front, however, things feel on-schedulish/time-appropriate. My German is not comfortable, but I can now tell the difference between a dry cleaner's and a grocery store, and I can translate a surprising number of advertisements on the train and around town. To be honest, I'm still highly uncomfortable with even basic interactions, but I've become more accustomed to the discomfort and I deal with it better. I've taken to watching a solid half-hour of German news in the morning, during which I sit with translate.google.com up and just type in the news headlines on the screen. It's good for expanding my vocabulary, although I don't have much occasion to use "bankrupt," as a general rule.

My social calendar is also slowly settling. I have met a few people here that I socialize with on a semi-regular basis, which is needed for sanity. I've occasionally made my way to the local Stitch n' Bitch meetups, which are tons of fun. I've also been to a couple meetings of an English-speaking theater group here (although I didn't audition for their fall production, I'm interested in getting involved behind the scenes). Last Friday, I went to a writer's group that is hosted by the AWCZ (American Women's Club of Zurich), and it was lovely and fun, and I plan to return - although apparently my interest in "genre fiction" made me a bit of an outlier. On Monday, B and I went with one of our new friends to see the latest Superman movie (in English, with French and German subtitles - which, by the way, are SUPER distracting. I kept reading them and then missing the actual spoken dialogue. Also, movies here have intermissions. Just a tip - it doesn't mean the projector is broken. Not that I thought that! - Ok, I totally did). For the next month, we have a variety of outings scheduled at least one evening a week, which feels lovely - not too busy, but not too much hunkering down and hiding from the world.

This weekend is the Zürifäscht, a huge street fair here in Zurich that apparently happens once every three years. There are supposed to be music and street acts, food stands, and fireworks. I'm super excited to check it out, and the fireworks are right on time for July 4th, which I appreciate. Schedule/website can be found here (in German). I plan to charge my camera batteries and check it out!

Yarn stores in Zurich

Update: For (yet another) yarn store in Zurich, see my more recent post here.

 I'm in the beginning stretch of my Camp Nanowrimo marathon, but so far still on target towards my goal, so I'm feeling encouraged. Although I have started skipping around in the story, writing random scenes that may or may not actually occur later. But that's why I actually enjoy Nanowrimo - focusing on the word count forces you to just write and not get too bogged down in details (like, say, plot).

My completed basket! I had to frog (ie, take apart) large portions of this twice,  and the bottom was still a little wonky - getting cotton jersey that thick to lie flat was a real challenge. Halfway through, I had to buy more jersey to finish it, and of course they didn't have the same color, so ripped out half of it and introduced the stripes. I still have some of the pink, but I switched to more typical yarn for my next project in order to prevent carpal tunnel.

I've been crocheting steadily (B claims maniacally) over the past month in an attempt to reduce the size my yarn stash - a noble goal, but unfortunately the more I work, the more I feel the need to purchase yarn, a vicious circle. Particularly when dreaming of tackling a goal the size of an afghan, for which you often need 700 yards or more of a single color.

Successful yarn containage. Unfortunately I have 2 plastic bins full of yarn as well. I'm gonna need a bigger basket. 

So, I did some poking about online, and I found several yarn stores in Zurich that I decided to check out - for investigational purposes only, of course.

Current project: in the round afghan. I'll go until I run out of these yarns, but since I purchased them in the US and can't buy more here, it will probably end up being more of a lap blanket (or baby blanket?) than full size afghan. Pattern inspiration here.

I had previously purchased a few skeins of yarn here in Switzerland, but most of my collection was brought over from the US - it's not heavy and it makes great padding for packing any delicate items, such as an Xbox. Before starting my investigation, the only known yarn locations I had were Manor and Coop City, both large department stores with decent-size craft sections.

Opening hours/addresses for all stores are listed at the bottom of the post.

Manor:

The main wall of yarn at Manor.

Manor is the Swiss equivalent to department stores such as JC Penney or Macy's and has a sewing/craft section on the fourth floor (the Zurich store is located on Bahnhofstrasse). The selection is varied and I would compare it to the selection at Michael's (although the yarn is overall better quality), in that they have many basics and a few novelty/fun ones. If you just want something to scratch the knitting/crocheting itch, it is easy enough to pick up a few skeins here. Prices are clearly marked and run from CHF 1.50/skein - CHF 13/skein for the nicer yarns. This is the only place I found with the heavy cotton jersey "yarn" that I used to make the above pink/maroon basket. They do occasionally have yarns on sale (sales are rare here, stores don't have an almost-constant "sale/clearance" sections as in the US), so I try to drop by regularly. As a side note - I am allergic to wool, which often restricts my yarn possibilities, and this restriction felt most limiting here, although there are many cotton blend options. (Also note: in German wolle is simply 'yarn,' despite what google translate says. 'Baumwolle' is cotton, while Schurwolle is traditional sheep's wool, I believe. However, most yarn labels here do have details in English, so don't fret about knowing your textiles in German.)

Coop City:

Coop City is one of the multitude of store types under the Coop banner (we do most of our grocery shopping at the local Coop), and also has a sewing/yarn section. I've been to a few around the city, and by far the best selection is at the large Coop City at St. Annahof (also on Bahnhofstrasse, pictures below are from this location). They carry a lot of the same brands and options as Manor, and prices seem comparable. I did feel that this location had more non-wool options, as well as perhaps a few more novelty yarns (in terms of multi-color, not necessarily texture). Prices are also marked here and run from CHF 3.70 up to 13/skein. I did not find any sale yarn, although that doesn't necessarily mean that they never have any.

The main yarn wall, although there were at least 4 sets of shelves facing it, also full of options.

Ok, this isn't yarn. It's shoulderpads. Are those still big here in Switzerland? Coz they had a LOT of options.

Another place that carries basic, 'cheap' (by Swiss standards) yarn is Migros Do-it + Garden, but the one I went to had a very poor selection, almost entirely involving some percentage of wool. So I mention it here to be fair, but I wouldn't recommend it.

After the somewhat familiar chain stores, I switched gears. I found three yarn stores in searching online (well, I thought I found four, but one of them was a general craft mecca) and went to check them out.

Anna Lana:

This store is near Stauffacher and rather small, but manages to pack quite a bit into the space. About 2/3 of the store is devoted to yarn, while the remainder has a fairly wide bead selection, although I didn't take the time to explore that part thoroughly. When I first walked in, my main impression was simply the explosion of color. They had a lovely selection and I could've lurked for hours, but I managed to pull myself out after 20 minutes of fondling the various selections. They definitely had a much wider variety of yarn textures and materials/blends than the non-specialty stores - alpaca, bamboo, linen, merino, acrylic, mohair, silk - although it didn't have quite the range of the other two independent stores (below). They have a basket of clearance yarn to the left of the entrance with skeins for CHF 3- or 5- each. My only critique, as a budget-conscious wallflower non-German lurker, is that there were no prices anywhere for their regular yarn stock. It would have been nice to have some idea whether I could possibly afford the yarn I was fondling.

Side wall.

Back wall.

Yarn that didn't fit on a wall.

Vilfil:

The next two yarn shops took me to the east side of the city, on the side of Zurich lake that I don't get to very often. My first stop was Vilfil, easily the largest yarn shop in the entire city. The place was simply enormous - they have two rooms towering with shelves and shelves of yarn. They only display one skein of each color/type of yarn, because apparently they have a basement where the actual stock is kept. The organization seemed rather random, but it must have made sense to the people that work there, because upon inquiring about wool-free yarn (the lady was more than gracious at slipping into English), she knew right where to go. I managed not to buy skeins and skeins for an afghan that I really want to attempt, but I did break down when I found their basket of clearance yarn, and I bought 4 skeins of white/silver/black for CHF 3.- each.

This was the only shop where I actually interacted instead of lurking, and the woman was more than patient with me. Unfortunately she was very much a knitter, not much of a crocheter, and this - coupled with the facts that I don't much care/know about yarn weight, the weird US vs. rest of the world crochet hook size, and yards vs. meters - led to lots of me leaning towards heavier yarns than what she thought I wanted. I probably should've just asked her to show me nice stuff.

This places was like your eccentric great-aunt's den. It was awesome. There was an entire second room, almost as large, to the left. I thought I got a picture of it, apparently not.

In addition to the actual yarn, the shop also had dozens of knitted items for sale - hats, jackets, skirts, accessories, etc. I suspect these were made by the employees themselves when the store wasn't busy, and this seemed like it would be so much fun that I wanted to inquire if they had need of a non-German speaking intern. They also had pre-packaged yarns/supplies for various individual projects (most of them appeared to be knitting rather than crochet), which might be nice if you don't have time to browse all the options. As with Anna Lana, they had a huge variety of yarn materials, not just cotton and wools.

Also appreciated - price lists! They weren't always 100% up to date, but they hung from each shelving unit and corresponded at least somewhat to the yarns.

Tuttolana:

My final stop was also on the east side of Zurich Lake in a lovely part of town - much of Zurich isn't perhaps what one would expect from an old European city, but this area had it all: cobblestone streets, narrow alleys, small family-run shops. I'm definitely bringing B back for further exploration.

I was the youngest person in the shop by at least 30 years, and got a little side-eye from some of the Swiss ladies, but this may have been due to my camera and loud Desigual coat more than my lurking. The saleswomen didn't bat an eye. This shop also had their shelves arranged by color in columns, while the rows were the same yarns. It made for easy and aesthetically pleasing browsing, although there was no sign of any listed prices, so I was again left wondering if I could afford anything I had my eye on. They also had a display full of already-made items available, and a display afghan that I wanted to curl up under with a book and some tea and never leave. I didn't find any clearance yarn.

In terms of selection, they also had many, many wool-free options, and, based on the 100% silk ropes spread through some of the color displays, I suspect they had some pretty pricey yarns. I did see a repeat of some of the basic yarns as well, though, so there seemed to be a wide variety.

Yes please.

I love the mini granny squares peaking out.

100% pure silk, and they had every color in the rainbow, which I realized after I snapped this picture. My favorite was an emerald green. WANT.

Overall, I was pleased to discover that Zurich has such a wonderful selection of yarn shops. I was also happy to realize that a small city can support three independent yarn stores - all shops were doing a bustling business when I was in them, and I had to wait to snap pictures without browsing customers. I also was happy to have an excuse to venture into unknown parts of the city - something I definitely need to make an effort to do more often.

Now, back to that afghan.

Store Addresses/Hours:

(All stores are located in Zürich)

Manor:

Bahnhofstrasse 75

Mo-Sat 9 am to 8 pm

Coop City St. Annahof:
Bahnhofstrasse 57

Mo-Sat 9 am to 8 pm

Anna Lana:

Rebgasse 5

Closed Monday

Tues-Fri 9 am to 1 pm/ 2 pm to 6 pm

Sat 9 am to 4 pm

Vilfil:

Kreuzstrasse 39

Mo 1:30 pm to 6:30 pm

Tues-Fri 10 am to 6:30 pm

Sat 10 am to 4 pm

Tuttolana:

Closed Monday

Tues-Fri 10 am to 6:30 pm

Sat 10 am to 4 pm

NaNoWriMo camp!

Happy Easter everyone! Here in Switzerland, everything pretty much closes up for both Good Friday and Easter Monday, so B and I have been enjoying a quiet weekend. I actually finished my crochet basket already - largely aided by the hours that B and I have been sunk into Battlestar Galactica. We made a big run on both groceries and gardening supplies yesterday, the only day out of four (Fri-Mon) that places were open. I've become a true Swiss, much to B's amusement; I knew we wouldn't be able to get to a grocery store for two whole days (!) so I ended up with a page-long shopping list. We've been doing a fair amount of cleaning and straightening to prep the apartment for viewing.

From tripadvisor. I forgot to take pictures.

There are still some restaurants and bars open - on Friday night B and I went to tibits, a restaurant near the Opernhaus that a friend introduced me to earlier this week. They are open throughout Easter weekend, and we very well might end up going back tomorrow. The restaurant is a self-serve buffet, entirely vegetarian, and has an amazing variety of food - cold, hot, veggies, fried - that is constantly replenished. You pay after you fill your plate - by weight - and it's one of the few places I've been to in Zurich where you can eat your fill for around 20 CHF (1 CHF is around 1.1 USD). Even B, carnivore that he is, very much enjoyed it. It's the first place I've been to that has gone on my mental list of definite places to take visitors.

Also from tripadvisor.

We woke up to daylight savings time and snow this morning - I'm hoping that tomorrow April will usher in more spring-like weather (still no start on the balcony garden). April also ushers in Camp NaNoWriMo! For those who may not be familiar with National Novel Writing Month, it's a sponsored event in November in which people (regular people, not fancy real novelists) attempt to write 50k of a story over 30 days - an average of 1,334 words per day - while continuing their regular, craze-filled life. I've attempted it twice in the past three years, and failed both times - I got to around 35k words, but inevitably laundry, chores, or my experiments and dissertation got in the way the last week.

In addition to the official NaNoWriMo, their sponsors have started virtual "camps" at two other times during the year - April and July. These camps allow writers to set their own goals - a certain word count, revising or finishing other stories, etc. I've got a story outline and plan to go traditional - 50k words written in 30 days. Hopefully without a dissertation and with the support of B (who always does the dishes), I'll finish this time! As always at the beginning, hopes are high and views are optimistic. I'd love for anybody who is interested to join me - I have one friend who has expressed interest in making it her goal to finish a scientific paper manuscript.