Yarn crawl...

I can't believe how long it's taken me to do this post. It's about yarn, for goodness' sake.

However. Blame taxonomies. And laziness. And doing some actual knitting... here's a teaser...

And also apologies for the quality of the yarn photos in this post - they were some of the first I took with the new camera (to replace the one I lost in Canada), and I really hadn't got the how-to-focus thing sorted out...

Anyway:

Stage 1: Montréal

Tony evidently thought I was a bit of a nutter to consecrate one of my scarce afternoons in his adopted city looking at wool. But I was really glad I did - both of the shops were also in areas not generally visited by tourists, and therefore dead interesting...

Shop 1: Effiloché, 6252 St-Hubert. Métro stop Beaubien

It's just occurred to me that these double-nicenesses happened to me a couple of times in Canada - there was also a Bellefair on my trip to match the Beaubien here... Anyway; here's the shop; and here's the street it's in, all arcaded with a real mixture of shops from what looked like the Canadian equivalent of Iceland (who, I see from their homepage, are delivering to Privet Drive), to cafés and greengrocers, to hardware shops. I could quite happily live in that neighbourhood and never move out of it...

Anyway. The shop was mindboggling. Large for a UK shop, open-plan; big cutting tables in the middle... They offered help a couple of times but weren't intrusive, and I was terribly British, and I then regretted that once I got to the counter to pay because the owner Ginette was so friendly and invited me to knit night (Fridays, if you're interested), and I could have been having a nice conversation all the way round!!

Canada = Fleece Artist for me; so I picked up some Casbah (I can has cashmere??)

and some Noro sock (unphotographed; and yes, I know it's not Canadian, but with Noro, seeing it is all, and I don't know anywhere I can get to that's selling it)...

And a crochet hook to avoid the Lack-of-knitting-desert that was the trip over. I was too honest, both ways. If I'd just packed my knitting needles and said they weren't sharp items (which let's face it, they aren't), and not admitted I had them, I'd have been fine. As was the lass who sat next to me on the way home who hadn't even thought of declaring her Denises.... I crocheted on the way back. Granny squares with Noro are curiously exciting. But I can only crochet for a couple of hours without burning the skin on my thumb... (Yes, I know; I'm evidently doing it wrongly. Next time I come down, Jan, I think I need Remedial Crochet lessons...)

Stop 2: Mouliné, 2679 rue Notre-Dame Ouest. Métro stop Lionel-Groulx

Thank God for public libraries; this shop was in a bit of a desert. I got there in the dead time after everything had closed after lunch but before it opened again for dinner; knew I wasn't going to be able to concentrate on yarn while desperate for the loo; and finally spotted a sign for a public library. (It was also a really nice public library...)

I also forgot to photograph the shop (on the way in I was still bathed in gratitude to public libraries, and then the yarn fumes got me...). A little smaller than the first, but no less packed with goodies. I picked up this sock yarn on sale

and three skeins of this Misti Alpaca, which is slightly variegated pink-and-purple and seemed extremely cheap...

And two balls of this Zara DK; which is now a pair of Socks of Doom, and the smooshiest yarn I think I've ever knitted with. And it's machine-washable. Should have bought more - that was pretty reasonably priced as well...

Here it is knitted up - not sure who these are for, either - two pairs of socks all knitted for Christmas!!

Stage 2: Toronto

I think another excuse for the delay was that I was still hoping to retrieve my Toronto photos and have the one of Mary, Mary's friend Pat and my friend and host Martha outside a Certain Famous Yarn Shop. You'll have to make do with the souvenir beer-cap I brought back!

Shop 3: Lettuce Knit, 70 Nassau Street.

It was a blisteringly hot day, and the shop looks very much like it does on their homepage; but with the addition of Laura Chau behind the counter. I was sort of sure it was her when I first saw her but the original of Serrano hanging on the shelves was also a giveaway... I managed to get over my usual paralysing Britishness and said how much I liked her patterns and that Serrano and Thermal were both in my Ravelry queue... I don't think I gushed too badly - she didn't look scared or call the police or anything. I'd seen quite a lot of yarn by then, and actually although it's a wonderful shop, Lettuce Knit was the least utterly spectacular in terms of things-I'd-never-seen-before; five years ago you'd have had to crowbar me out of there, credit card blazing, but we have some pretty good shops in London and some excellent mail order places now. There were, of course, a couple of total-irresistibles...

Misti Alpaca Laceweight again, this time in variegated and in an 800m/100g skein.
And I'd heard of this stuff, but hadn't encountered it anywhere. Lovely long variegation. For some reason on this trip, autumnal colours appealed to me most.

Shop 4: The Naked Sheep, 2144A Queen Street East.

This is in the very beautiful neighbourhood of The Beaches, where I was staying, and was a very nice shop in a street of interesting shops - they had a good mix of reasonably priced yarns like Cascade and Freedom Wool, and some acrylics, alongside some more special stuff. More Fleece Artist, in fact. Somoko, to be exact. All the Fleece Artist sock yarn I saw in stores was their "pot luck" selection - no shade names on it, all one-offs. I think the bulkier stuff had shades on it, but I didn't want to tempt the Fates of Excess Baggage by falling in love with sweater yarn...



This is a merino/kid/nylon/silk mix and feels glorious...

General impression - gosh, they have some gorgeous yarn shops in both cities... I didn't go berserk because the pricing wasn't that advantageous compared to the prices in UK shops - you'd save maybe a couple of pounds per skein, which given that the UK traders have had to pay import duty etc... Except for Cascade 220 which was ridiculously cheap! Everyone was really friendly (but everyone on the trip was!). Wish I'd bought more Zara. And wish I'd bought some of the Fleece Artist Angel Hair at Mouliné - they had some in semi-solids and I was looking for more variegated colours, but the basic yarn is so wonderful and the price was so good I should have bought some and overdyed it!

Anyway, that was the yarny part of my trip. I'll blog some knitting next!

Beautiful madness

Pigwotknits not only did the meme, but asked me about the church photo, so I can do that as a first Canada post. [Future posts may be slightly less photo-heavy - I managed to lose my camera, including its lovely new four-day-old case, on the train back from Toronto to Montréal, and nothing turned up at the bureau des objets trouvés. I trekked to Argos on Friday lunchtime for the equivalent model...]

This is the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal: also known these days to locals as l'église où Céline Dion s'est mariée - I was told this once by my hosts before going in, and overheard a guide telling a party about it while in the church...

Not that impressive from outside; but the Rough Guide went a bit mad about its Victorian Gothicness - moth, flame, etc...

So I went in; and as I'd just got off the bus from my friends' house in Brossard, I sped through the church pausing only to ooh and aah, and headed straight for the very nice loos at the back, so this post will give you a somewhat odd idea of the geography...

The basement-to-ground-floor windows were impressive to start with - the glass was made up of rough-cut chunks about an inch and a half thick.

The Wedding Chapel/Sainte-Chapelle right at the back (which was actually not où Céline Dion s'est mariée - they had the main church, apparently, as there were so many guests) was stunning. I couldn't work it out until I'd read the guide, because the reredos was so modern:

while the rest of the chapel was so Gothic.

Turns out, though, that although it was built in the late 19th century to the same style as the rest, it was destroyed by fire in 1978 and reconstructed between 1979 and 1982 - while the rest was rebuilt according to photos, the bronze reredos was a new work by Charles Daudelin, cast in England in 32 pieces.

Another couple of photos of the Sainte-Chapelle...

Here's a view from there down into the main church:

and here's a side chapel.

I've a nasty feeling the statue here is an Infant of Prague. I thank the rest of the decoration for not alerting me to this sooner... Don't know why I don't like Infants of Prague, as I have a reasonably highly-developed tolerance for other statuary - they slightly creep me out though... So - look at the pretty architecture!

While we're going for imagery though - here's Ste Marguerite Bourgeoys, first woman Canadian saint (canonised 1982) - two rather different biographies here

There were several altars to her in different churches, and she seems to be dispensing pearls of wisdom to representatives of various First Peoples in each one of them...

But here's the main attraction - the general view is pretty spectacular:

Maybe la Dion knew what she was on about in this matter... (And it's not her fault that the thing I hear every Friday night in life when I leave work is the busker in the Tube station playing My Heart Will Go On on a harp... ) According to this, Pierre Trudeau's state funeral was here, too, which is something they don't mention quite as much...

A bit of history. This was designed by an New York Irish Protestant called James O'Donnell, who subsequently converted so he could be buried in his own creation. It was largely constructed between 1824 and 1829 but the towers were built in the 1840s (the East tower is called Tempérance, for any Kathy Reichs fans out there...) and the interior decoration was completed between 1874 and 1880, by Victor Bourgeau.

It was only about 9:30 on a slightly grim Monday morning at this point, so there were very few people around, which was fabulous. There were so many beautiful details to stare at, like this paintwork on pillars

and ceilings...

And as with seriously good Victorian Gothic, everything was all-of-a-piece including the exits (apart from the illuminated "SORTIE" notices, of course...)

I think this is quite the most beautiful church I've ever been in. And I've been into lots of churches. There are various photos of my brother and me as teenagers sitting sulking on steps outside churches all over France, but we did go into many, many more...

Next up, Vieux-Montréal, and some yarn!!

Back home

In the last month, while I've not been blogging I've been a) going through the somewhat labyrinthine annual reporting cycle and doing lots of other things at work; b) knitting - photos sometime... c) preparing for going to Canada d) going to Canada...

But I'm back now. The cat has decided she's still speaking to me (bringing her back two rabbit-fur mice may have helped there...)

First, a picture taken inside the most beautiful church I think I've ever seen... As a complete Victorian Gothic junkie...


But while I was away, Lixie tagged me with this... (I've seen it in various versions but this is the one passed down to me...)

The Rules

Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. What I was doing 10 years ago

Indexing official publications in my old job; starting my City and Guilds qualification in Embroidery and feeling completely lost at it; learning to dye, a transforming experience...

2. What 5 things are on on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order)

Empty suitcase; order new printer cartridges; phone lost property office at Montreal railway station again; finish baby jacket for Baby A; declutter entire house. The last item has been on a standing list for at least the last 10 years...

3. Snacks I enjoy

Cashew nuts (roasted salted)

Macadamia nuts (ditto)

Cold pizza

Salt and vinegar crisps (which ought to be in a blue bag; anyone remember Tudor crisps?)

Rainbow Drops

4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire

Pay off the debts of family and friends...

Travel around the parts of the world I've always wanted to see...

Buy a flat in Nancy; a cottage in Northumberland; a house by the beach in Toronto...

Open a shop which would sell beautiful yarn and handmade pieces by people who could charge what they ought to, and still get buyers...

Bend public transport gently to my will, so it becomes possible to travel everywhere without driving...

I guess I'd also leave my job - a year ago that would have been top of the list...

5. Places I have lived

Whickham, Gateshead

Chester-le-Street, County Durham

Cambridge

Paris

London

Loughborough

Waterbeach

5-6 people is ambitious, given that most of the blogs I read have already done this: so, tagging.... Diviknitty and pigwotflies, but only if you're up for it and haven't been tagged a gazillion times before...