Chaussettes de Paris

Remember ages ago, when I promised you tales of Parisian yarn stores, and then failed to deliver? Well, I'm ready to talk about them now. I hope you don't mind. I know I should be showing you all the amazing things we've been eating and doing over the Easter break, but there is time for that, and I'm afraid right now I just have to talk about socks and tea.
Apparently I missed all the best yarn shops in Paris. That's what happens when you're not expecting to visit them because the whole trip if about your boyfriend's birthday, and then the week before leaving aforementioned amazing man casually states, "but we have to go to yarn stores, surely?!" (see I've always said he was amazing). So I did some casual - ahem, frantic - searching, picked a few, printed maps (but no opening times) and off we went.

We made it to one, and it was quite a trek in the heat. But it was oh-so worth it. A yarn store situated in a tea shop. It was perfect (well, not quite, as N pointed out, because they would only serve beer with food and had stopped doing food by the time we got there...so it was almost perfect). We ordered from their extensive tea selection, were told exactly how long to brew our respective pots, and then I was let loose to browse the yarn, complete with enthusiastic input from the waitresses. It was marvelous.
Except the one colour I really fell for they only had one skein of. 175m. Hmmm...not a lot, but I just had to have it anyway. So I did, and using my newly acquired knowledge of two-at-a-time toe-up socks, I set to work on maximising the yarn and making a pair of very simple, but very pretty ankle socks.
And maximise I did as I only had about 10cm left when I was done casting off. Phew! That was a stressful ten minutes I can tell you! (This picture doesn't do the colour justice, there is purple and mustard in there too, it's very vintage and pretty, honest!)

But now I have a pair of very pretty ankle socks, to wear with dainty shoes on the cooler days of spring and summer, that will always remind me of rooibos tea and forgetting to check the opening hours of all but one yarn store in Paris, and sitting together on a beautiful day listening to the local band play at a community event, and learning new skills from new friends. Rather an evocative pair of socks, eh?!