Yarn in Oslo

There are plenty of yarn shops in Oslo but a lot of it was yarn I can easily get in the US only much more expensive because everything is expensive in Norway.  I stopped in to the two Husfliden locations and they graciously let me take photos of a finished Gudbransdalen bunad.  Eventually mine will have to be constructed and I feel a lot better having looked at a finished one.  Since they were so lovely to me, I won't be a jerk and post pictures of their proprietary designs.  Here is a portion of the yarn department in the Glasmagasinet location but I didn't buy anything.  They had darling children's bunads for $800 on the low end.  They were heirlooms and the finest handwork but well out of my price range.

Instead I opted for yarn from the discount store Nille!  I was shocked to find 100% alpaca yarn for about $6.70ish/skein and they were on sale 3 for 2!  Whoo-hoo!

Really this was a more unique Norwegian yarn souvenir and it was way cheaper!

In doing my homework, I found a Sostrene Grene store and was thrilled to bring my Dad and sister here.  Mom and I shopped at one of these in Denmark and it is another discount type store with really neat items.  My sister got a lot of trinkets for her kids here.

They had a little of everything in this store: kitchenwares, hostess supplies, decorations, gift wrapping supplies, toys, furniture, teas, spices, food items and craft stuff including yarn and needlework supplies all at great prices!

I wish we had these here in The States because your money goes a long way!

I got each of these 100% wool balls for about $5ish each.  Couldn't have been happier.

And literally across the street was a Flying Tiger store!  Mom and I shopped at these in Denmark and England and this is another store I wish we had in The States.  Same kind of store as Sostrene Grene but quirkier.  I didn't take any pictures in there but I did get this wool sock yarn and I can't remember what I paid for it.  There was another location in the mall on Karl Johans also.  My sister found some fun things for her kids here and I got a bowling game for Dave. 

At the flea market, I got this metal tray of a budeia milk maid knitting.  It hangs in my kitchen where I can see it every day.  I also found 2 wooden knitting needle holders like we saw at the folk museum!

Of course I look for kitchen items while traveling.  I know I talked about my waffle trivet in an earlier post.  I got some stainless steel sauce ladles, Nigella Lawson whisks, and a plastic bench knife at a kitchen supply store.  That spatula came from a souvenir shop behind the city hall and matched the Marius expensive sweaters we saw everywhere.  The sweater was too rich for my blood but I sprung for the spatula.  I got some bay leaves from Sostrene Grene and the yeast, leaf gelatine and Freia baking powder in a tin came from our grocery store.  The baking powder tin is long empty and now sits on my window sill holding my measuring spoons.

I also got kilos of different cheeses that were savored and shared, a decent raspeballer mix, hamburger dressing sauce, remoulade hot dog sauce, hot dog mustard, bearnaise sauce mix, meat cake sauce mix, hot dog onions and dried spices.  I love that I can craft and cook with a little bit of Norway!  I always say some of the best souvenirs are recipes or items from the grocery store.