La Mimose Merceria

How adorable is that? And I am talking about my purchase, not the (possibly stained?) lace tablecloth. I went this morning with a friend to the merceria around the corner from our apartment, which is a catch-all of craft stores. My friend was looking for knitting yarn, which they did have and I was looking for fabric and/or thread. 

I know I didn't really spoil the surprise (if you couldn't tell what it was), but I was shocked when she handed me this little package. It made sense for two spools of thread, but in the states we would have gotten some small plastic bag...this just seems more like a present this way:

Yay! Maybe some shops in the states do this that I am not aware of, but this was a first for me. I also don't know how long that Gutermann thread has been there, but it matched my fabric and that is all that matters. Of course, we did have an incident in the store.

My friend, as I mentioned, is a knitter. I did bring one pair of needles with me in the hopes that I might be able to knit something. Quick disclaimer: I have only knitted one thing, a scarf. I only know how to do the garter stitch (whose name I was informed of today), but I figured I could get some fantastic yarn out here. And it was beautiful. Not a crazy big selection, but decent. A lot of wool. My friend and I were touching and pulling out the skeins when we got in trouble. Apparently here in Rome, you are not supposed to touch any of the yarn. Not at all. I wasn't sure exactly what she was saying, but I think it was something about the oils on our hands. And that I can only assume. Needless to say, we listened and only touched the labels, if even at all. I was even a little hesitant about touching the thread...but as you can see, I did.

The funny thing about this shop is the amount of stuff in it. Not just being packed, because it was, but what it was packed with. Thread, yarn and some cotton (looked like quilting) fabric there was, but then there was also cross-stitching stuff (understandable), socks (a bit odd), stockings, and random intimates (very strange). It seemed like an odd mix of things that maybe only ladies would shop for? Any thoughts??

On our way home we walked through a local market a few streets away. Here is a shot for those who want to see:

By the way, you are also not allowed to touch the fruit or vegetables here either. You either have gloves at the supermarket or you have the stall vendor get your stuff. Interesting, don't you think? 

Okay, that is it for today. I may have some exciting news about the sewing machine that I can borrow, but I need to do a bit more research.  Oooh, the suspense ;)