The Shop on Blossom Street

by Debbie Macomber

If you want to read something deep and meaningful or something that stretches your brain, then this book is NOT for you! However, if you want a light hearted gentle read that you can pick up whilst snuggled in a cosy warm blanket on a blustery day or on a sunny beach somewhere, then this could fit the bill.

Debbie Macomber is a prolific writer. I’ve enjoyed some of her books, others not so much! There is a definite theme/formula in play and the books are very American, but the Blossom Street series I have really enjoyed. I first came upon them when I rediscovered knitting!

The Blossom Street shop is a yarn shop in Seattle, newly opened by Lydia Hoffman. It is a new start in life for her as she recovers from cancer. She sets up a knitting class and three women join for the first project ‘How to make a baby blanket.’ The story follows their journey in creating the blanket, their reasons for wanting to make one and the friendship that forms between the four very different ladies. As a reader we share their dreams, their heartbreak and their fun times.

Jacqueline wants to knit something for her grandchild, a peace offering after falling out with her daughter in law, Carol makes the blanket to give her hope that she might finally become a mother herself and Alix has been sent as part of her court ordered community service. They are all very different: different ages, different backgrounds and different aspirations, but they all bond together as they learn the craft of knitting and as they bond they discover more about themselves and each other.

There are sumptuous descriptions of the shop and its products which will delight knitters and it isn’t long before readers are totally engrossed in the lives of these women and the hopes that they will all get the outcome they desire.

It is a quick, easy read, quite predictable but likeable. I genuinely liked the characters and once I had finished this book, was eager to read the others in the series to find out more about them and how their lives developed. Debbie’s style is easy and flows well and she covers the rather difficult subjects of infertility and the reality of living with cancer in a sensitive manner.

As an added bonus, at the end is a pattern for knitting your own baby blanket.