TKE was a full service yarn shop in a warm, welcoming environment located in beautiful Brunswick, Maine
After nearly five years in business, The Knitting Experience Café - both the online and real life versions - closed at the end of May, 2010. The reasons behind our decision can be found here.
Our Story
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 years 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.