When you're in Paris you expect the odd accordion or saxophone player playing "Strangers in the Night" in the metro, but this one was new to me. As I walked to the Boulangerie Landemain on the rue des Martyrs for my mid-day baguette, this woman was sitting on the sidewalk, knitting. On the ground in front of her were a coffee can holding scissors and a handknit-dressed Barbie seated on a box. The piece she was working on looked more like a fun fur scarf than anything that Barbie might wear, but Barbie does always need evening wear, doesn't she?
Was she offering to knit Barbie clothing for passersby for a small fee? Or were we to applaud her on her industriousness with a few Euro coins? I'm still not sure.
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| Only my second sighting in over 10 years of visiting Paris of anyone knitting in public (other than me). |
I am always knitting in public (KIP) here in Paris since there is always idle time on the bus or metro. People are always fascinated when I pull out my sock-in-progress and knit away. If they ask me what I'm knitting, I usually tell them "chausette" (sock), then they give me a surprised look like "no way, why bother!", then they go back to looking at their phones. The lines for the butcher, fishmonger, boulangerie, patisserie and Vuitton can be really long, stretching around the block. Whenever I see a long line here, I think "these people could be knitting!" Think of all the socks and Barbie dresses that could have been...
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| Look closer, she's not only KIPing, she's set up shop as couture knitter to Barbie! |
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