And now for where I went and what I bought! Firstly, a HUGE thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions of places to go. I laid them all out on a Google Map and used that map to plan every day. That map is here. I’ve added notes to many of the addresses.

It was very hot while I was in Paris and so I didn’t run around quite as much as I might have if it had been cooler. There are a lot of wonderful shops in Paris that cater to people who do needlecrafts- mostly cross-stitch. And, there is a wide variety of beautiful threads in most of the shops- some of which I haven’t seen here. The stores I visited had cotton floss, linen floss, wool, silk, blends, thick threads and thin threads, crochet cottons in all colors, and on and on- WoW! But, the threads that are the same as I can get here (DMC floss for example), are much more expensive there. Here, I spend .39 a skein, in Paris it was consistently 1.30 euro. So, I didn’t buy any threads. I enjoyed looking at all the beautiful linens to use for embroidery- every store had a great selection.  I thought this shop– Des Fils et une Aiguille- had some very pretty finished pieces on display-a tree design stuck in my memory- but maybe it was that they were displayed well and I noticed them more!

I spent some time in the fabric block in Montmarte. That was great fun! First stop, Marche Saint- Pierre, six floors of fabrics. Next, Moline, where I bought some wonderful dotted netting on one side of the street and a bit of toile in their shop on the other side.

The other big store is Tissus Reine, another multi-storied fabric paradise. This store had a table of Liberty fabric (at 22 euro a meter) and I looked it all over but none of it needed to come home with me. There were a number of other stores that had cuts of fabrics, folded and stacked, apparently individually priced. These stores were a mystery to me while I was in the neighborhood though- it was only when I read about them on another blog that I understood how you were suppose to buy anything. The idea of messing up the stacks by pulling out the fabric to check the prices- no way would I be willing to do that! They have wonderful fabrics in all of these stores- not just fabric for quilting or home decorating. Although I didn’t buy much, I enjoyed my morning of eye candy. And, I enjoyed watching what other people were buying.

I did find some Liberty fabric at Entree des Fournisseurs that it turned out I need. And a little bit of something else too. I think the Liberty fabric was 20 euro a meter (25 euro on their website), which seemed like a good price, considering the current exchange rate.

The bottom piece is very wide and I am considering making a shirt with it. They had some very cute childrens clothing samples on display, some Japanese craft pattern books, adorable kids clothing patterns and this very sweet clothesline with doll clothes-

I asked if it was alright to take a photo and the answer was no. I explained (as well as I could considering the language barrier) that I had a blog about dolls and I wanted a photo of the doll clothes. I showed her my Moo cards and let her pick one… and she conceded. Just one photo. I don’t get it. What is the problem with pictures? I wonder what they are worried about. Anyway though, this is a charming store and well worth my visit.

My last purchase was felt-

It is thick (but not dense), slightly rough textured and has a handmade feel to it. It is different enough from standard felt that I think it will be fun to play with. I got it at Pain D’epices, which specializes in everything for dollhouses, but upstairs has supplies for teddy bear making, needle felting, and this felt.

That is all from me, but here is a list of some other helpful posts about Paris shopping from other blogs.

Townhouse from May 2010

Sew Stylish from February 2007, but still useful.

Kitty Couture, whose use of the word SEX for Stash Enhancement Experience made me laugh out loud!