[Dunwen]

Ebba smiled broadly when Miz Bella asked her about her yarns. She had an entire saddlebag full of those of her wares which could easily be packed and carried, including skeins of yarn and spools of cotton thread. One of her great pleasures was creating designs on cloth with jewel-colored threads, yarns, and when she could get them, beads. For that purely selfish reason, she always had a supply of good quality yarns, cloth and thread at hand.

When she had been left a young widow with two small daughters, she had turned to peddling as a way to provide for them all. Her hard work had paid off and she now owned a respectable business in Bree, patronized by Big Folk and Little Folk alike. Like most of the other Big Folk in Bree, Ebba had grown up with hobbits and was familiar with their preferences, so she thought Miz Bella might find something she liked.

Now she opened a saddlebag and pulled out skein after skein of yarn: rich blue, golden yellow, buttercup, moss green and emerald, red, orange, violet and cream. A rainbow appeared to have settled on the table in front of Miz Bella, who exclaimed in delight.

Most of the yarns were ordinary knitting yarns, but there were some that were thinner for fine work, and some that had an odd loosely-twisted appearance. There were even spools of cotton thread suitable for embroidery in the colorful mass, as brightly colored as the woolen yarns.

"There we are," Ebba said. "Take your pick!"