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CHAPTER 1

"The yarn fores the friendships, the craft links the generations"

--Karen Alfke, "Unpattern" designer and knitting instructor

LYDIA HOFFMAN

T he first tiht of my father It reminded me so much of the bicycle shop he had when I was a kid Even the large display s, shaded by a colorful striped awning, were the same Outside my dad’s shop, there were flower boxes full of red blossoe s That was Mo and sureen mistletoe at Christrew steadily and he er premises, but I always loved his first store best Ime the property She’d barely unlocked the front door when I announced, "I’ll take it"

She turned to face me, her expression blank as if she wasn’t sure she’d heard me correctly "Wouldn’t you like to see the place? You do realize there’s a small apartment above the shop that comes with it, don’t you?"

"Yes, you mentioned that earlier" The apartment worked perfectly for me My cat, Whiskers, and I were in need of a hon the papers, wouldn’t you?" she persisted

I smiled and nodded But it wasn’t really necessary; instinctively I knew this was the ideal location for my yarn shop And for hborhood was undergoing extensive renovations and, because of the construction mess, Blossom Street was closed at one end, with only local traffic allowed The brick building across the street, which had once been a three-story bank, was being transfor an old warehouse, were also in the process of becoed to inal places, and that delighted me Construction would continue for months, but it did mean that my rent was reasonable, at least for now

I knew the first six months would be difficult They are for any sht create more obstacles than there otherould have been; nevertheless, I loved the space It was everything I wanted

Early Friday ned my name, Lydia Hoffman, to the two-year lease I was handed the keys and a copy of the rental agreement I moved intoabout anything I felt as if I was just starting my life and in more ways than I care to count, I actually was

I opened A Good Yarn on the last Tuesday in April I felt a sense of pride and anticipation as I stood in thethe colors that surrounded ine what h with this I hadn’t asked her advice because I already knehat Margaret’s response would be She isn’t--to put ittype

I’d found a carpenter who’d built some cubicles for me, three rows of them, painted a pristine white Most of the yarn had arrived on Friday and I’d spent the weekend sorting it by weight and color and arranging it neatly in the cubicles I’d bought a secondhand cash register, refinished the counter and set up racks of knitting supplies I was ready for business

This should have been a happyto hold back tears Dad would’ve been so pleased if he could have seen what I’d done He’d been ht I was so shocked when he died

You see, I’d always assumed I would die before , but I’ve lived with the threat of it for so long, it doesn’t have that effect on me The possibility of death has been my reality for the last fourteen years, and I’ about it as I am the weather