About fifteen or sixteen years ago, Martha opened up a little yarn shop. Many of you know of its location, even if you don’t know it as Natural Stitches. On Murray avenue there sits a little ice cream shop called Mineo’s, right next to the slightly larger pizza shop, famous in Squirrel Hill. That's where Martha started up the shop all by herself and did everything. All. By. Herself. With that workload, Martha found herself burnt out, burnt up, and exhausted after five and a half years. She decided to close Natural Stitches in 1998, just missing the next big wave of knitting that started that same year. But, oh, the stash she acquired that day.

Fast forward nine years. It’s a Wednesday afternoon and you’ll find Martha sitting in the Barnes and Noble coffee shop, sipping one of her shakes or perhaps some Earl Grey. Sitting next to her is her friend Carla, whom she met in the early part of this century. Carla is currently a teacher by trade, passing on this strange phenomenon we call Knitting to innocent victims who have no idea the journey they’re about to embark upon. Before Knitting, Carla was a Crocheter. She designed patterns for afghans and all sort of things in the name of the Great Art of Knotting that is Crochet.

Around the little tables that have all been put together to form on big sort of roundish table…thing, you’ll find some other faces: Steven, who frequently takes breaks from his knitting to make a balloon animal for a child in the café; Charissa hastily trying to finish a row of crochet or a round on a sock before her daughter Gloria awakes from her afternoon nap; Melissa, one of the newer members of the knitting group, who at first would sit quietly, but then suddenly you couldn’t shut her up. There are others whom we love: Delli, Joyce, Barbie. But as we recall through the mists of time, they were not there that day.

The group talks of yarn, of crocheting vs. knitting (needles are drawn in anger), of shops and of experiences of life. Finally, Martha says in an almost joking, lilting tone, “I’m thinking of starting up my shop again. Somebody talk me out of it.” The group sits there stunned for a moment and finally the answer comes, “Are you crazy??? We’ll come and work for you!!!”

And so this grand little adventure began. Martha brought in her long-time friend, Kelli, to give us some retail experience. She set up Charissa to teach the Art of Crochet. (As Charissa put it that fateful day, “Martha, if you open up your shop again, I would come out of retirement to teach for you.”) Steven was to specialize in getting people started when they’re young and in letting male knitters know that they’re not alone out there. “It’s ok to like string.” Carla became the main Knitting teacher because her passion never fades. (You should hear her talk about Knitter’s Insurance.) Martha approached Carol to enlighten us in how to set up a Yarn-Lab to make our own stash in the basement; a process called Spinning which is still mysterious and somewhat frightening. Finally, Martha assigned Melissa the task of getting all of these folks to run in the same direction.

A location was chosen: “Somewhere between where I live on the Parkway and Downtown. Oh, and it has to have a parking lot.” Stock was purchased: “I like to knit socks, lace, and I want to try those alternative fibers.” And artistic decisions were made: “We’re putting all 230+ colors of Cascade 220 on the wall.”

Now here we sit. We like to think we’re doing well, and we know we’re having a lot of fun.