It's only been a couple hours since our story aired on WABI, and my in-box is full of people ready and willing to knit knockers! I am completely blown away. Knitters are amazing. I've even had some non-knitters asking to become knitters so they can help in our effort.
I'm sending out the link to the pattern as fast as I can and will respond to each email, but in the meantime, we've posted the link to the knitty.com pattern here that led to that now famous first knocker knit by Mary Ellen.
(Mary Ellen, I know you aren't one for the spotlight, but I hope you know how many lives you touched with that wonderful first boob.)
And because so many have been asking for more of the story, I've copied my original post about the knitted knockers below - it was published on the blog in January 2007.
We've also had requests for the story behind The Knitting Experience Café. You'll find that copied below the knockers tale.
Knitted Knockers - posted January 2007
The Knitting Experience is sponsoring a new charity knit program. Since we opened, we have been collecting chemo caps for local chemotherapy patients. We will still be collecting and distributing the caps, but we are adding a new project - knitting knockers!
Ok - there is a story that goes along with this one.
As many of you know, The Knitting Experience itself, was born out of my personal experience with breast cancer. I was diagnosed over 4 years ago and had a mastectomy on my right breast. This past September, Mary Ellen presented me with the most thoughtful and joyful gift - a knitted boob! The pattern is free and available on knitty.
Well, October came and I made a decision. It was time. Time to have the other breast removed and start reconstruction. Because of my age and genetics, my chances of developing cancer in my remaining breast are high. By having a prophylactic mastectomy, I greatly reduce my risk. It took me a long time to be physically and emotionally ready to take this step, but now that the decision has been made, I am greatly relieved and a little excited.
I made an appointment to speak with the breast surgeon and the head of the Breast Health Center at MidCoast Hospital, Kim, sat in on the appointment. While we were discussing all my options, I asked them if they wanted to see my knitted boob.
Your what?
My knitted boob.
They loved it. Kim instantly asked if I thought the local knitters would make some for the patients at MidCoast. Of course!
I took the idea back to the Knit at Night crowd and the response has been overwhelming. Not only does everyone want to make a boob, they are telling their friends, who are telling their friends. We have a movement here!
Consider joining us. Why? Because knitting a boob is fun. It is a great conversation starter. And because it means so much to women who desperately need a little giggle. You might ask, why a knitted boob? Don’t they have silicone ones you can get at medical supply stores? Yes. They do. I have one. But I couldn’t get one right away. You can’t be fitted for a traditional breast prosthesis until you have been out of surgery for at least three weeks.
So, what are you supposed to do if you want to go to the store? Go for ice cream with your kids? Feel normal for a moment despite the fact that the big “C” is now part of your life? You can try to stuff a sock in your bra. That’s what I did, and let me tell you, it does not look anything like a breast. I felt horrible. I cried. I put on a BIG, BAGGY shirt and went out sorta hunched over so no one could see my chest.
I realize that most people weren’t looking at my chest. And maybe they wouldn’t have noticed the lumpy nature of the sock. But I noticed.
After three weeks of recovery, I was scheduled to return to work. Here I was, 28, 2 months pregnant, just had a mastectomy, and had to go back to work without a proper prosthesis. I called the fitting store and begged, pleaded, and even cried, in an attempt to convince them to fit me for my falsie early. Luckily they did.
But, if I had had a knitted boob right after my surgery, all that wouldn’t have happened. Yes, I would still have cancer. I would still have lost a breast. But, at least I could have gone out into the world feeling normal.
Today I wear the knitted boob most of the time. It is more comfortable than the silicone prosthesis and actually breathes. With the silicone one, I would get a heat rash on my chest during the summer or when the hot flashes get particularly active.
So... please consider knitting a knocker to help another woman with breast cancer feel a little more normal, and perhaps giggle each morning as she slips a bright red or orange or green - maybe stripes! - boob into her bra.
Women and breasts come in all sizes, so we need all sizes. Knit whatever strikes your fancy. Knit your size. Knit your sister’s size. Just knit.
When choosing a yarn, look for dk or sport weight. You want something that is soft, lightweight, and that breathes. Mine is done out of Cascade’s pima tencel a cotton/tencel blend. Many are making their boobs out of Debbie Bliss’s baby cashmerino. Bamboo is another good choice. Avoid pure wool. Check your stash, ask your friends to swap yarn, have fun and be creative!!
We will have poly-fill available at the shop for stuffing the breasts, so don’t seam them all the way up. If you have poly-fill at home, still leave a small opening so they can adjust the size by adding or removing filling at the hospital. (Mary Ellen was overly optimistic about my size and we had to remove a bit of stuffing.) (Keep track of what size you knit so we can tag each one.)
AND... THANK YOU!!!!"
The beginning of The Knitting Experience Café:
The Knitting Experience Café officially opened its doors on August 27, 2005. It was truly a family event, just as the shop has been a family enterprise from the very beginning.
In the days leading up to our grand opening, our parents and my sister, Becka, helped me and Peter assemble and then stock shelves, inventory yarn, enter data - pretty much anything that had to get done. Even Connor, who was only 6 year old, was fully involved in the process and helped select what would become one of our best selling yarn colors!
Today, when you stop by or call the shop, Becka, Peter, or I will be there to greet you. Frequently, you will also see Connor and Alec reading on the couch, or helping a customer wind their yarn.
But where did the inspiration for opening a yarn shop come from? Did I always want to run my own business? Not exactly. Life, as it has a habit of doing, caught me off guard a few years ago and threw all my carefully laid plans out the window. In the process, I discovered the gift of a slower pace, of connecting with others through the community of knitting, and of just enjoying as many moments as possible, whether it is the vibrant color of the yarn sliding through your fingers, or the look of joy on your son's face when you tell him the project on your needles is a sweater just for him. So here it is... The story of how The Knitting Experience Café came to be...
On May 15, 2002, I was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer at the age of 28. This was four days before Connor's third birthday and exactly one month after discovering that I was pregnant with Alec. I was terrified. Could I have this little baby that we wanted so much? Would I be around to see Connor celebrate his fourth birthday? The days and weeks after my diagnosis became a blur of doctors appointments, tests, and finally surgery. I received amazing care from my surgeon and OB/GYN who gave me the confidence to believe that everything was going to be ok for me and the baby.
Ultimately, that little baby ended up saving my life. Because I was pregnant, I did not have the option of a lumpectomy and radiation. I had to have the mastectomy and as a result, they found a second tumor in the deep tissue that otherwise might have gone undetected.
Alec, whose name means "defender", had saved me, and came through the surgery beautifully. Right after the surgery, they brought in the fetal monitor to check for his heartbeat, and there it was, loud and clear. He continued to be a source of strength for me throughout the pregnancy. I had this wonderful distraction from all the big "C" stuff of this new little person who kept pushing me on.
But, he wasn't the only one getting me through those early months. Peter and Connor were amazing. Little Connor, at only three years old, tried to make Mommy comfortable after she got home from the hospital by bringing her slippers or giving a very careful hug. Peter was, and continues to be, my rock - always saying that everything will be fine and refusing to entertain any other possibility.
And then came the knitting. My mom stayed with us at various times when I was recovering. On one of those trips she brought a book about a young woman with cancer who found solace in knitting and opened her own yarn shop. I think I read that book in less than a day and then Mom and I hit the local craft store for needles and yarn.
Although I had knit since I was very young, it was sporadic at best. Not this time. I finished a sweater in a week and have been knitting like crazy every since. Connor once asked, "Mommy, are you ever NOT knitting?"
I had re-discovered how relaxing and peaceful knitting could be - life just seems to slow down a bit. Through this timeless craft, you connect with others, with the natural world, and in the end, come out with something that you've made yourself.
As my yarn stash grew and library of knitting books overflowed their shelf on the bookcase, I started thinking how nice it would be to have a yarn shop. To spend my days surrounded by yarn and sharing the gift knitting has given me with others - to just slow down for a minute.
In April 2005, I mentioned my little dream to Peter after I had come home from a particularly stressful business trip. To my great surprise, he said, "OK, why not?" A little over 4 months later, The Knitting Experience Café was born.