Dear Friends,

My life is filled with passions, and one of the strongest is knitting. I’ve loved it from an early age but became truly passionate about it once my grandchildren started to arrive and I began knitting for them. When I say I’m a passionate knitter, I’m serious. I have an entire room filled with yarn, plus I’m part owner of a knitting store right here in Port Orchard. It’s called A Good Yarn and is named after the store in this book.

With The Shop on Blossom Street I’ve been able to combine my love of writing and my love of knitting. The idea formed in my mind for three or four years; it took that long to find the right characters and the right way to tell their stories.

A big thank-you to Ann Norling for her contribution. She gave me this baby blanket (or lap robe) pattern solely for The Shop on Blossom Street. There’s a photo of the finished product on my website. Many readers have contacted me since this story was first published to let me know how much they’ve enjoyed knitting up this project.

Several prominent designers have generously given me quotes about their philosophies of knitting. If you’re part of the knitting world, you’ll be impressed that I actually know these people. Even if you’re not a knitter (yet!), I think you’ll be as fascinated by their insights as I am.

I hope you enjoy meeting Lydia, Jacqueline, Carol and Alix and that they’ll encourage you to try your hand at knitting if you haven’t already. Or if you’re like Margaret and prefer to crochet, that’s wonderful, too. Yarn is yarn, and craft is craft.

Hearing from my readers is a constant source of joy and encouragement to me. You can reach me by writing to P.O. Box 1458, Port Orchard, WA 98366 or logging on to my website, www.debbiemacomber.com or on Facebook.

Warmest regards,