Mercería Marquina - Katia Yarns in Northeast Madrid (Diego de León)

One of my students lives near Diego de León, and I had stopped by a yarn shop located on the way to her house a few times, but yesterday's purchase was so great that I had to recommend it to everyone looking for yarn and crochet or knitting supplies in Madrid.

1. Marquina Labores y Complementos

Address: c/ Eraso, 10, 28028 Madrid

This shop has a great selection of Lanas Stop, Nilo and Katia yarns, the Caron or Lion Brand Yarns of Spain. I previously had purchased two skeins of Lanas Stop Top Merino for my baby boy crochet sleeping owl hat and was really impressed with the quality of the yarn. It cost around 4.50€ per skein, but since it is a bulky yarn, it was worth the cost.

This shop breaks tradition and puts the yarn out WHERE YOU CAN TOUCH IT!!! Yes, the yarn is NOT behind the counter. Observe:

Yesterday, I stopped in to ask if they carried Nilo yarns, since the skein that I had purchased at Pontejos on Saturday - and subsequently used to crochet my first! baby dress using this pattern - was 100g, and even though the pattern says that you need 3oz (85g) of yarn, apparently you need about 150g of cotton yarn. To my surprise, they had one skein left in the color that I needed! Great! Now if only the dye lot matches nicely!!

I asked the shopkeeper if she had any other cotton yarns for baby dresses, and she surprised me with four different options. Mind you, that's only cotton. She also had plenty of wool and acrylic blends, and she told me that beginning in September, they would start getting in better selections of wools, even fur-like wools that reminded me that the fur coat obsession is still going strong in Madrid (an obsession that I never really understood, particularly when my boyfriend told me that his mother's engagement gift was a fur coat for which his father paid the equivalent to 6,000€... and that was over 30 years ago! Did I mention that I've only seen her wear a parka?). I will grant the optimistic shopkeeper that the sample that she showed me of the "furry wools" was really nice and very soft. I might just see a white faux-fur cardigan in some little baby's future, but only because it's faux!

The clerk was very nice, in a Spanish way (those of you who have lived here know exactly what I'm talking about), and helpful. She informed me that they have classes for knitting and crocheting in the shop, and they will be offering classes in a local café that they have rented beginning in the fall. I asked her for more information, and she said that if I stop back in after a few weeks (by the way, this is the answer you will always get from a procrastinating Spaniard), she will have an informational sheet for me.

They also have a lot of finished pieces in the shop that they make and sell. They sell kits for many of the items, so if you see a dress you love, chances are they will either sell you a kit to make it at a great price (I have seen them from 10-14€) or that they will sell you similar supplies and explain how to make it. She told me that they made this adorable cardigan using the same Katia Capri yarn that I purchased, but using a double strand.

 I ended up purchasing the Nilo red skein and two Katia Capri skeins in violet and white. The bill was 10.60€, but she only asked me to pay 10€. You can't beat a discount! (And no, for all of you skeptical types, I didn't tell her that I would be writing a blog entry about her shop until after I had shopped and paid.)

This shop doesn't have too much in the way of buttons and laces, but the price is right and the selection of yarns can't be beat! If you're near the neighborhood Salamanca or want to take a quick trip to metro stop Diego de León, check out this lanería. You'll be glad you did!