After visiting Museu Tèxtil i d´Indumentària we wondered the narrow streets of this old neighborhood enjoying the shops and old architecture.

I knew there was another small yarn shop in the area but thought I had done enough yarn shopping that day. Lately I’ve been trying to not to make any more impulsive yarn purchases until I use up what I have. It’s amazing how fast yarn can accumulate over the years, especially if there was no intended project when it is purchased. Only one stray ball of yarn has actually turned into a finished object, that was the yarn I used to make the swallowtail shawl. That yarn was purchased almost three years ago while on vacation in Paris. OK, so earlier in the day I did buy some  J&S Shetland yarn from Persones Llanes. I justified that purchase because I can’t readily get that brand where I live.

Well, somehow we eventually ended up at La Barcelana.

We popped our head into the door and I briefly looked at the yarns. Our timing wasn’t great because I think they were just about to close for the afternoon break. Various unlabeled yarns were stashed in bins along one wall and in the back room a woman was weaving on a large loom. This time I stuck to my pledge and didn’t buy anything. While the shop did display a few knitted items I got the idea that this shop catered mostly to weavers.

My first yarn store visit in Barcelona was to Persones Llanas. That’s me standing in front of the store happily clutching my purchases.

So, this is crazy – while in Barcelona I end up purchasing wool from Shetland.

Official Tally:

– 1 ball of J & S Jumper weight

– 6 balls of J & S Lace weight

– 3 balls of J & S cobweb

We asked about local Spanish wool. Isn’t merino from Spain?

Apparently it’s not being produced although the owners mentioned they are working with a local artisan and were hoping to get a shipment soon.

I don’t speak Spanish so I’m not sure a what the whole story is. That’s what my husband relayed to me after a long discussion with one of the owners who is from Barcelona. The other is originally from Tucson but she was giving a lesson in the loft.

My husband wryly mentioned that we were on a world wide tour of yarn stores. The response was, I know what you mean.

This is a really small yarn shop. Notice the display on the left? That’s just about the whole stock and I think much of it is from the US. In case you’re interested, they do offer a PDF catalog via their website. Since my current knitting phase is learning about Shetland knitting, I was thrilled to buy some Jamieson & Smith wool. Now I have some for comparison with VY and Jamieson.

The owners are very enthusiastic advocates of knitting and are encouraging Barcelonians to expand their knitting horizons. The next day I purchased a copy of Verena Moda De Punto, the local knitting magazine and noticed an article about “Nuevas Costumbres” which included a photo of group of  young knitters gathered in the loft knitting.

The store is conveniently located in the old part of town not to far from the Picasso museum. Across the street from the Picasso museum is an interesting textile museum.

On our way to the City History Museum of Barcelona in the old town, I was able to convince my husband to pop our heads into Merceria Santa Ana to check out a more traditional Spanish craft shop.

We didn’t get very far into the shop before we came across the button counter on the first floor. It quickly dawned on me that I might as well check their stock for something that might work for the Firebirds cardigan.

Many of the buttons were attached to cards that sit in bins on the counter sorted by type/color. There were also stacks of boxes with buttons behind the counter.

Like every late Saturday afternoon, this place (and any other store on this busy pedestrian street) was very busy.  I sifted thorough the cards as quickly as possible, hoping my husbands patience wouldn’t run thin. While they had a really good selection of buttons and several claps, it was soon apparent that finding what I had in mind in a short period of time could be difficult. I finally settled on some buttons that seemed to fit the bill; ones with a dark metal tone.

Since my husband speaks fluent Spanish I had him do the talking.  Apparently, these buttons were not in the boxes behind the counter but had to be delivered from the stock room. As we waited for the buttons to arrive, one of the clerks working in the back room spilled what sounded like a full cannister of buttons on the ground. It got everyone’s attention including many of the clerks in the area who came to her aid. We all watched as many hands helped clean up the spill.

After what seemed like an eternity, my buttons arrived but the alert clerk noticed that they were the wrong color. He then placed another order with the backroom for the correct ones. As we waited for the second delivery, the place seemed to get even more busy with people starting a queue for the next clerk. Finally the long sought after buttons arrived and the clerk handed a hand written ticket to my husband, mentioning that we had to now pay the cashier and collect the buttons with the receipt. This confused my husband until I reminded him of the time we went shopping in Paris at a similar store. Apparently, it was the same system. You to tell a clerk what you want, they get it, write a ticket, you take the ticket to the casher to pay and then you collect the purchase with a receipt from the cashier.

By the time we got the buttons, I was no longer interested in checking out their yarn selection. Normally such experiences wouldn’t frustrate me but I felt bad about dragging my husband into the shop and then not making it to the museum in time before it closed.

Not leaving well enough alone, this weekend I went to a few yarn stores here to check out what they had. None had as good a selection as Merceria Santa Ana. I really wanted some clasps but all seemed to either be too big or made in shiny silver. I did however find an alternative.
Don’t tell my husband, but I think I’ll use the ones I found today.