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July 17, 2006
Long time no see
It's good to be back! We spent a lovely 2.5 weeks in France. The weather was good, maybe even too warm towards the end. For the most part, we were in the mideastern part of the country. We stayed at 6 different campsites. Camping in France is so easy, in almost every village there is at least one campsite. And I love to camp!
In Strasbourg, I paid a visit to the infamous La Droguerie. I have such a love-hate relationship with this shop. They sell wonderful stuff, things you can't get over here in the Netherlands. And there is so much of it. That is the good part, the part that keeps making me come back when I have chance. But on the other hand is the fact that you can't shop around by yourself, because the attendants are the only ones who can take the things you want from the shelves. And all the yarn is in large hanks or on cones, which they will wind into balls for you, but this takes quite a lot of time, especially when the shop is busy.
I would still recommend a visit to La Droguerie though! There are 9 shops in France and three in Japan. If you have been there, let me know what you think.
So what did I buy?
Buttons for Salina. A bit difficult to photograph, but they are exactly the right color. I'm very pleased with them.
A kit to make a little strawberry baby cardigan. The yarn is bamboo, it feels so soft. I've never knitted with bamboo. It feels a bit like cotton, only it's much more environmentally friendly.
Three more kits to make a matching strawberry baby overall, hat and booties. (NB: they had to wind the yarn for these kits from hanks into balls while I was waiting....)
100% wool yarn in a lovely grey color. I already did a little test swatch, using the cuff pattern for Elise from Rowan's Vintage Style. I'm not sure if I will use this yarn to knit Elise though. Any other ideas? It's 50 g = 175 m.
That's all I got from La Droguerie. I did quite a bit of knitting during the holiday, especially on Salina. Progress reports are to follow later.
Last but not least: the butterflies. We always go butterfly watching when we can, and this holiday was a great opportunity. As not to bore you with lots of butterfly pictures, I made this collage.
Mmmm, there might be some inspiration for knitting designs in there!
Posted by saartje at July 17, 2006 4:54 PM
Comments
Hi Saartje,
welcome back! You really chose great weather for your holidays!
I love your butterfly-collage!
Posted by: Tina at July 17, 2006 7:06 PM
I really love your butterfly picture!
With your grey yarn, you can also knit a shawl or maybe one of the pattern I've talked about today on my blog.
I've never been to the droguerie, but I'm sure I'll go one day!
Posted by: Angsoka at July 17, 2006 7:17 PM
leuk dat je weer terug bent, ik begon je berichten al te missen, ik had het al eens tegen je gezegd dat je zeker eens wol met bamboo moet proberen, toen had ik het wel over sokkenwol, en weet je wat er ook zo handig aan is: het droogt super snel, en dat is voor babyspullen ook ontzettend handig, zeker als het niet in de droger gaat of als het op een handwasje gaat, heb je ook nog naar sokkenwol gekeken of ben je helemaal in babysferen gebleven? groetjes, en ja je boft, in nederland is het op dit moment ook zeker niet koud
Posted by: caren at July 17, 2006 7:42 PM
Hi Sartje! Glad you enjoyed it, camping is better with sun! I am not patient enough for La Droguerie ;-)
Posted by: fleur at July 17, 2006 9:03 PM
I love that shade of red. Can't wait to see your projects. Sounds like a real nice holiday.
Posted by: Barb at July 18, 2006 7:06 AM
Hi, good to read you again, missed your posts! I have the same experiences with Droguerie in France, but what a colours.... My dream is to live in a house with walls like overthere.
Can't wait to see your knittingpics. And what a wonder is nature. (butterflies).
Posted by: ajoursteek at July 18, 2006 3:23 PM
Hey! I just finished reading Nona Knits. She just returned from a visit to La Droguerie! (It sounds like an unusual and interesting place.)
Posted by: Kathy at July 18, 2006 4:07 PM
Leuk je belevenissen weer te lezen! Grappig zo'n aardbeientruitje! En ja die collage van vlinderfoto's is inderdaad een bron van inspiratie.
Posted by: froukje at July 18, 2006 4:25 PM
Ha Saartje,
Leuk dat je er weer bent. En fijn dat je zo'n leuke vakantie hebt gehad.
Ik hield de laatste dagen je blog al in de gaten, maar nu ben je er dus weer.
Door je bericht over het samen breien van een breimerklap heb ik me aangemeld bij de Yahoo groep. Het is erg leuk, vooral omdat het zo internationaal is en omdat het zo samen breien een verbonden gevoel geeft. Heb de nederlandse vertaling van het boek Stitch'n Bitch gekocht en ben met deze warmte maar weer aan het breien geslagen want nu vilten is niks gedaan.
Posted by: Herma at July 18, 2006 5:00 PM
Sounds like you had an amazing trip! I love camping, too.
You came home with some beautiful yarn. I love the grey, and the buttons look great. Can't wait to see Salina in all her glory.
Posted by: Charity at July 18, 2006 6:23 PM
Hi,
nice to hear that you had a good time on your trip to France. I visited Strasbourg a little over year ago, but didn't go to that shop, you described. I wish I had, it sounds interesting. Beautiful butterflies too, definately a possible source for fair-isle inspiration:)
Posted by: kaisakaisa at July 18, 2006 6:31 PM
It's good to have you back. I love your butterfly collage.
Posted by: Kimberly at July 18, 2006 6:37 PM
Hoi Saartje, fijn dat je er weer bent. zo te horen heb je het erg naar je zin gehad. Wat een mooie wol heb je gekocht. Leuk idee dat aardbeien truitje. De knoopjes op je trui staan erg goed. Heb je die wol ook in die speciale winkel gekocht? Ik ken ze niet die winkels. zijn ze alleen in Frankrijk? De vlinder collage is erg mooi. Wat een mooie vlinders bestaan er toch!Je bent echt een natuur mens volgens mij.
Posted by: Marijna at July 18, 2006 11:47 PM
Hi Saartje
Also a really nice patchwork design
greetings,Lita
Posted by: Lita at July 20, 2006 9:43 PM
Je hebt een prachtige collage gemaakt van de vlinders.
Wat een geweldige aankopen! Je kunt weer eventjes vooruit!
Posted by: Berthi at July 22, 2006 11:46 PM
Great looking Salina, super pictures and beautifull butterfly collage.
Welcome back!
Posted by: saskia at August 14, 2006 10:37 AM
Hi
I'm working for The Droguerie at Strasbourg. Sorry for the time you have waited but I hope you're happy with your yarn and pattern especially the "strawberry"
See you soon
Posted by: keller D. at September 7, 2006 1:34 PM
