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01/11/2010
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01/11/2010
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01/11/2010
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01/11/2010
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Description:
Planet Purl returned to Paris in October 2009 and checked out a few more yarn shops just for you!
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We've made no secret of the fact that Paris is our favorite big city. Wine, pastry, chocolate, pastry, cheese, pastry, fashion, pastry, museums, and did we mention pastry? We had a chance to spend a week in Paris with our non-knitting niece in late October 2009 and managed to get in a little yarn shopping as well as a marathon of sight-seeing since it was her first trip to the City of Lights.
So come along, mes amis, to the most romantic city on the planet (even if you're traveling with family) and catch a little yarn shopping along the way.
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 | The best view in Paris is, hands down, from the terrace of the beautiful Basilica of the Sacred Heart -- Sacre Couer. The site of the 19th-century basilica is believed to be the site of the beheading of the patron saint of Paris, St. Denis, in the 3rd century. According to the story, St. Denis picked up his severed head and walked from this site overlooking Paris to the suburb now known as St. Denis, several miles to the north. The Basilica was started as a guilt offering from the people of Paris following the French defeat in the Franco Prussian war in 1870, with the hope it might catch the fancy of God and the saints and turn the tide of French luck. The foundation was laid in 1875; consecration took place in 1891. The church was finally completed in 1914 and was made a basilica following the end of Worls War I.
All white stone with fantastical carvings, it looks like a giant wedding cake. It occupies a hill above Montmartre and Pigalle and is quite the gathering spot in warm weather. You can climb the wide stairs to the top, or you can take the tram. If you have a Paris-Visite pass for the metro and busses, it's valid on the tram as well. I say take the tram and save your strength for the fabric, yarn and trim shopping afterward!
From the terrace in front of Sacre-Couer, face away from the church, look down and slightly to the left and you will see two of the largest fabric shops in Paris. One of my favorite views in Paris!
The first, Tissus Reine (Queen Fabrics) is a huge mercerie (sewing and notions store) that also carries yarn. The yarn is on the second floor (1st European floor). The selection is somewhat limted and is a single brand -- Lanastop. They stock quite a bit of novelty yarn, but I will admit to being sorely tempted by the 100% angora. I was still at the point where I had convinced myself to concentrate on stocking up on buttons and trims, specifically for a PurlQueen Patterns design for the Tres Belle Clutch, as well as anything else that struck me while browsing the buttons and trims, so I skipped the angora and headed to the button section.
If you've never been to a French sewing shop, it's pretty hard to describe the scope of buttons and trims available. We're taking walls and walls of tubes with a sample of what's inside glued to the top of the tube. You get a salesperson on the floor to come write up your ticket as you select one of this, two of these, 5 of these, until you get so overwhelmed, you stop.
I should admit right up front, that I came home with more than $500 worth of buttons and trim from my week in Paris. This photo is a sample of what I brought home.
Tissus Reine
3-5, Place St Pierre
75018 Paris
Métro Anvers / Abbesses
Open Monday 2pm to 6:30pm; Tuesday to Friday 9:30am to 6:30pm; Saturday 9:30am to 6:45pm
Next stop, (and next door), the famous Dreyfus Déballage du Marché Saint Pierre, known as the Marché Saint Pierre. 6 floors of fabric, yarn, trims and all around textile bliss. For knitters and crocheters, the shop has a nice selection of Schachenmyer, Schoeller & Stahl, and French brand Plassard. My heretofore non-knitting niece who was travelling with me was wandering around touching the yarn and sure enough, she turned to me with a ball of lovely variegated purple Plassard in her hand and asked me to teach her to knit so she could make a scarf for herself. Ah, the lure of yarn. That moment was the real highlight of my trip.
The ground floor has all the sale fabrics, as well as cottons, dressy fabrics and a pretty large section of quilting fabrics. Up one floor is household linen fabrics as well as completed items like tablecloths and towels. Up again and you'll find clothing fabric, silk, fake fur and vinyl. Up again to the upholstery fabric, oilcloth and leatherette. One more for carpets and decorative objects. Top floor for luxury fabrics, especially art deco fabric designs.
If you sew, even just linings for your felted bags, make sure you leave space in your luggage for some "souvenir" shopping at Marche Saint Pierre.
Dreyfus Déballage du Marché Saint Pierre
2 rue Charles Nodier
75018 PARIS
Monday - Saturday 10:00 am - 6:30 pm.
Telephone: 01.46.06.92.25
Step out the front door of Marche St Pierre, look to your right and you'll spot Chatmaille by its big sign on the front "Laines" (yarns). A charming shop with floor to ceiling yarn, the proprietress was very helpful, probably because we strictly observed the "ne touche pas" (don't touch) sign! There's a nice selection of Katia, and some selections of Anny Blatt, S. Charles, Filatura di Crosa, Gedifra and French brand Fonty. Make sure you bring along our French knitting and crochet dictionary, as we did our transaction in Frenglish! I wasn't planning on picking up any yarn, but this Bouton d'Or yarn caught my eye as the color reminded me of sun on the glaciers during my recent Alaskan cruise and I just couldn't help myself. I have no idea what I'm going to knit with it, but I have 8 balls, so I have some wiggle room in deciding what to make.
Chatmaille
2, rue Cazotte, Paris 75018
Telephone:: 01 42 54 51 09
Tuesday - Saturday: 10:30 to 6:30.
From September 15 through April, also open Monday from 2:00 p.m - 6:30.
If you have time, there are scores of shops along the side streets in this area selling buttons, beads, fabrics, trims and all kinds of textile goodies. You could easily spend a day, and it's a great day if you can, but even an hour of wandering and you'll find plenty of treasures. |
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| If you need to speak English, drink tea, have a great sandwich, and buy yarn, all at the same time, head out the suburbs to L'Oisive Thé, and sandwich/tea shop that has a precious wall of American handpainted yarn, mostly sock and lace weight.
Why, you might be asking yourself? Owned by an ex-pat Nebraska-born knitter who happened to fall in love and move to Paris, where she was joined by her brother who works in the shop,
L'oisive Thé is a charming tea shop that also hosts a multi-lingual knitting night on Wednesdays from 7pm - 10pm. So pop in for afternoon tea or for a lovely lunch, pick up some Lorna's Laces or Dream in Color, or stop by on Wednesday night to have a knitting break in the City of Light.
L’OisiveThé
10, rue de la Butte aux Cailles or 1, rue Jean Marie Jego (shop is on the angle of the two streets) 75013 Paris
Metro: Place d’Italie or Corvisart
Bus: Line 62
Telephone: 01 53 80 31 33
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| Eiffel Tower and Mercerie Up
If it's your first trip to Paris, you'll definitely be heading to the Eiffel Tower. Plan your trip for a day that Mercerie Up is open and you can easily fit in some very nice yarn shopping at the same time.
First, I have to tell you I am afreaid of heights. It may have something to do with a personal history of falling down a fair bit. Yes, I have even been known to fall up stairs. I never claimed to be poetry in motion, but let's just say I've been forced to promise not to leave ground level when my husband's not home and leave it at that. The last time I went up to the observation deck was my first trip to Paris more than 30 years ago. I didn't like it then -- way too open and easy to fall off -- but with the additional safety measures added since, and the fact that my niece really wanted to go up, I decided it wouldn't be that bad. Riiiiight. But here's her pictures, which were taken much closer to edge of the platform than mine were.
The Eiffel Tower is a universally recognized emblem of Paris. It was designed and erected for the 1889 Paris Exhibition and commemorated the centennial of the French Revolution. The tower is just over 1000 feet tall and weighs in at over 7000 tons. At the time of construction, it was the world's tallest structure and held that honor for 40 years until the completion of the Empire State Building.
It almost wasn't built due to the uproar of renowned French artists and architects who objected to its construction as an abomination. A petition that included the signatures of Guy de Maupassant, Émile Zola, Charles Garnier (architect of the Opéra Garnier), and Alexandre Dumas was presented to the city government, protesting its construction. The petition read, "We, the writers, painters, sculptors, architects and lovers of the beauty of Paris, do protest with all our vigor and all our indignation, in the name of French taste and endangered French art and history, against the useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower." The petition was in French, though, so I'm sure the indignation had a certain, well, tone, to it as well.
The Tower was built on its present spot on a 20 year lease and came this close to being torn down in 1909. The only reason it remained was that an antenna had been placed aat the top that was used for tegraphing. French radio has used the antenna since 1918 and French television has used it to broadcast since 1957.
The lines for tickets can be a bit daunting, but they have just instituted a program to buy tickets online. Check out: http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/.
Mercerie Up is located on rue Cler, a lovely shopping and dining area very near the Eiffel Tower. In addition to embroidery supplies, needlepoint and buttons, this little shop maximizes its floor space with floor to ceiling yarns by Bouton d'Or and Anny Blatt. The selection is remarkable for the size of the shop. The owner is very helpful and speaks some English as well. This shop is definitely worth a little side trip.
Mercerie Up
14 rue Cler 75007 Paris
Telephone : 01 47 05 29 16
RER Stop: Pont de l'Alma/Champs du Mars;
Metro stop: Ecole Militaire or La Tour-Maubourg |
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