Knitter’s Tour of Paris

I designed my own knitting tour of Paris after searching online and checking the discussion boards at Ravelry, but when I came home I discovered this awesome site Knitmap.com that would have done all the work for me. Anyway, I visited three yarn shops in the center of Paris and one a little ways out. It was a delightful day!

The first stop on our tour was right around the corner from our apartment… unfortunately they don’t open until 1 o’clock in the afternoon! I’d gotten an early start on the day, so I decided to make this the last stop on my way home.

I checked out all the stores on Google Maps Street View, because I like to be prepared. Unfortunately this shop is blocked by a big truck in the Street View pictures. I discovered that it just has a naturally low-profile outside when the shutters are down. Kind of like the Tardis’s perception filter… you just don’t even notice it unless you are looking for it.

My first successful stop, Cat’Laine. There was a dog inside. I want to exclaim about how typically Parisian this is, but the truth is people in Oslo take their little dogs everywhere, too. Though I do think there were more little dogs in Paris. Norwegians tend toward medium-to-large breeds. But I can’t imagine this ever happening in the States!

The yarn selection was varied, in color and composition, but I felt like it was all rather normal. I bought 5 balls of Katia Linen to compliment the Garnstudio Bomull/Lin that I bought in Copenhagen. I used them together to make a skirt.

Le Comptoir was the most strikingly beautiful store I visited. They had a small but gorgeous selection of yarns as well as a sewing/needle work section. I got a few clearance yarns and set of cute little 6mm straight needles with pink bobbles for Ruby. I thought they would inspire her to learn to knit. She’s tried a couple of times with not much success. She did bring them and her few rows of completed stitches to the new Stitch-n-Bitch group last week and surprised the ladies. :)

Gorgeous! Habu, Noro… if you aren’t familiar with these yarns, the names of them approximate the inarticulate stammerings of joy that you make the first time you see and touch them.

You can see lots of the cutie sewing things here, patterns, ribbons, pins, etc.

A better shot of the front than the Google Street View, it’s off of a large intersection and the street it is on continues down as a cute if slightly touristy pedestrian walk.

This shop was a little further out of the city than I would normally have chosen to go, but it was talked up on Ravelry and someone (owner?) was active on the boards encouraging people to stop by to visit. I have to say, however, that the welcome was a little less than warm when we arrived. There were patrons sipping tea who gave me and my kids sidelong glances as I browsed the very limited (though lovely) selection of yarn that was a little awkwardly arranged behind tables in the dining section. And as I stood waiting to pay, the woman in charge passed me off to her assistant-in-training, with no kind of greeting or acknowledgement. I just felt a little put out because it must have been clear that we were visitors who had made a special trip out to this place off the normal tourist track… Anyway, I got a nice skein of Lorna’s Laces which I haven’t had a chance to work with before. Though for the price, I felt like it should have been autographed by Lorna herself.

After this we headed back to town and visited the yarn department at Le Bon Marche (top floor, it took me a little wandering to find it). Wowza! The selection was impresssive (like thousands of skeins of yarn). I was happy to fondle a number of Rowan yarns, not to mention the largest selection of Noro types and colorways that I’ve ever been in the presence of, and I was happy to see some french yarns present (Phildar, Bouton d’Or). I try to select local yarns for my souvenir purchases. There was also a good selection of notions, buttons, zippers, needles, finishing touches… as well as a counter of super fab buttons from La Drougerie (a store with fantastic reviews that I unfortunately didn’t get to go to). It was bustley, and the staff was very busy, and the prices were a little less than bon marche (it means cheap in French) and Ruby was getting quite contrary at this point in our day… all in all I was only able to browse for about five minutes before we just had to leave, and I wasn’t able to pick out any yarns to take home :(

The yarn selection here was a little overwhelming. There certainly was a lot of it, but it was almost all coned or in huge hanks but with no kind of tags or marks about what kind of fiber composition the yarns were. It was all incredibly well priced, though. I chose a bulky wool in a nice natural brown, I got 2000 meters for about 20 euros. Ya, no kidding!

Not the most tidy store ever… hard to believe it’s not harboring a colony of moths that could take over Tokyo.

The lady wrapped up my yarn securely in plastic and then wrapped the whole thing in paper, tied up with string! I almost broke into song right there…