knitting lisboa

photograph: Retrosaria's hand crafted Portuguese yarns Retrosaria, Portuguese for haberdashery, began as an online shop in Jaunary 2008; by the end of 2009, the physical location opened at Rua do Loreto in the Baixa district, the heart of Lisboa. Rosa Pomar, an art historian doing field research of Portuguese textiles, also teaches classes. As a result of her field work, the selection of yarns at Retrosaria, are hand spun, and dyed by skilled artisans using traditional tools and methods. Exotic yarns such as Obrado Xisqueta produced from Spanish sheep in Catalonia  and indigenous Larada are deeply stocked. Thoughtfully, she also stocks tradition woven textiles, including wools and felted wools, as well as traditional calicos. The Brits are a visible component of Lisboa, so Pomar also stocks Jamiesons and Debbie Bliss among other yarns. ecomodista spent a pleasant hour pouring over the Portuguese yarns and textiles before purchasing a few skeins for lace mitts and was pleased to learn that when there is time, private sessions with Pomar may be booked to learn the  one needle knitting technique unique to Portugal.

photograph: traditional Portuguese china & cones of lace weight yarn dyed and spun in Portugal Larada is a bulky knitting yarn produced exclusively from Portuguese Merino ship, and indigenous breed found in the Alentejo, south-central region. This Merino breed originated not he Iberian Peninsula possibly preceding the Roman invasions and has always been prized for its fineness and softness. For centuries  this Iberian wool was traded throughout Europe, protected by strict laws during the medieval period the prevented the export of any sheep to maintain its exclusivity. Gary Richardson has written a fascinating working paper, Brand Names Before the Industrial Revolution, describing how guilds of artisans and materials production were protected,

photograph: Larado yarns and knit samples

photograph: Mé-Mé is produced in the mountainous region Serra da Estrela, a lace weight yarn traditionally spun for

photograph: buildings clad in traditional azuljos, ceramic tiles have similar designs to those found in the printed calico cottons traditionally produced in Portugal

photogrph: another yarn shop in Lisboa, Lãs Imperial, closed when ecomodista visited, but not as exciting anyway as Retrosaria

photograph: colours of Lisboa