By Megan Ma
 joe hu/town crier Los Altos resident Hollis Bischoff owns Full Thread Ahead, a knitting and yarn store on Main Street. Full Thread Ahead features environmentally friendly knitting supplies. |
Walking into Full Thread Ahead, the new knitting and yarn store on Main Street, you’re likely to be greeted by exuberant owner Hollis Bischoff. For the casual observer, the neat displays and cascading colors have instant appeal. Shiny birch floors set off full walls overflowing with vibrant colors. For the knitter, it’s a comfort haven.
“I love the wonder of taking a simple ball of yarn and turning it into something magical,” Bischoff said with panache. A former vice president of a high-tech analyst firm, Bischoff said her new job is not entirely different from her management career. “Just as before, I go in and learn something new every day.”
Full Thread Ahead carries a variety of yarns from all over the world, with some surprises. Bischoff pointed out an array of yarns derived from soy, bamboo and other renewable sources. The store steers away from mainstream vendors and focuses on environmentally friendly products. Bischoff likes to support vendors engaged in fair-trade practices, as well as women-run businesses. It’s also the first store on the West Coast to offer lighted knitting needles so aficionados can do their knitting anywhere - even in a dark movie theater.
Knitting classes for all ages and levels are aimed at building community.
“Knitting is definitely a communal activity and not a solitary one,” Bischoff said. “Knitting grounds you and puts you back in touch with yourself.”
Not to be confused with Uncommon Threads, another downtown knitting store, Bischoff said the two owners share a friendly relationship.
“We see ourselves as complementary to each other rather than as competition,” Bischoff said. In fact, the two stores overlap on only two lines of yarn.
Bischoff is married to Howard Bischoff, associate publisher of the Town Crier.
Full Thread Ahead is located at 169 Main St. For more information, call 948-9036 or visit www.fullthreadahead.com.
