On Tuesday mornings, the knitters come in waves — mostly women, mostly retired, mostly in sweaters and socks of their own making — and fill the yarn store on The Concourse with laughter and the swish of needles. They will knit together for the next six hours, departing only at the notice of an appointment or grumbling stomach.

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The group meets twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Tuesday’s crew of 20 or so knitters settles around long tables in the basement, while the smaller weekend group meets in the front of the store, claiming their usual seats by unpacking the essentials: yarn, needles, pattern designs, lunch boxes and the first threads of the day’s chatter.

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The group was born at a bleak time for social gathering. Like other businesses, Yardgoods had been forced to close at the dawn of the pandemic, but owner Joyce Vlodek Atkins recruited some old high school friends to make fabric face masks in the empty store, allowing it to stay open as an essential business.

“They would sit at the table and keep me company,” Vlodek Atkins said. “And then a few others started to come, and I worked by myself for eight months, and then more came and they started going downstairs. Everybody’s welcome — knitters, crocheters — they bring snacks and salads and cookies, and they can come and go, and the camaraderie is priceless.”