Local, family-owned Apple Yarns has built and supported a community of knitters and crocheters who have, in turn, used their fiber arts skills to reach out and give big to the local community, across the US, and even to other countries around the world.
The brain child of Andrea and Andrew Evans, Apple Yarns first opened in 2008 in Barkley Village. “Andrea had been working in another yarn shop in town and realized owning her own shop was something she could do well,” Andrew recalls of their start.
Apple Yarns remained in its Barkley Village location for five years before moving to their current Iowa Street location three years ago. “We love this spot because it’s centrally located, has easy parking, and it’s close to the freeway,” Andrew notes. “We have three employees that have each worked with us since the day we opened eight years ago,” Andrea adds proudly. “Bellingham is our home. We want it to be the greatest, grandest place in the whole wide world.”
Also a member of Sustainable Connections, Apple Yarns prides itself on supporting the local arts community. “We love our locals — not only our local customers — but also our local artisans and dyers. Several of our products are locally made,” explains Andrea.
Apple Yarns’ primary focus is to sustain the knitting and crocheting community while hosting a number of classes ranging from smaller groups for beginners up to larger, advanced workshops taught by out-of-town experts. “Andrew and I support people all the way through their project, whatever their skill level, or where they are within it,” Andrea explains.
Their generous attitude extends beyond knitting projects and into the needs of the community at large. “We try and help whomever we can. It’s just part of being an important member of the community. It’s one of our goals and it makes doing business a lot more fun,” Andrea says. “We’ve helped through direct donation of course, but we also reach out through our community of knitters and crocheters.” For example, the Thursday Social Circle — just one of Apple Yarns many Social Circles available almost every day of the week — sent out a call for blanket squares. They were made and sent to the store from far and wide. The group made them into two blankets for Whatcom Hospice House that were later auctioned for more than $1,600.
Another Social Circle drawing lots of attention is the Wednesday group, whose central focus over the past two years has become the local 501(c)3 breast cancer survivor charity, Knitted Knockers. Led by breast cancer survivor and group member, Barb Demorest, this group’s mission is to connect volunteer knitters who make knitted breast prostheses with breast cancer survivors who have undergone a mastectomy. Survivors receive the prosthetic that is just right for them, free of charge.
According to Barb, approximately one in eight women will experience breast cancer at some time in their life. There are approximately 1.2 million women in the US living post-mastectomy without surgical reconstruction. Local physicians estimate that more than 200 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in Whatcom County each year. At least 50 of those will have a single or double mastectomy. “Nationally, approximately 90% of women who have a mastectomy will wear a prosthetic at some point,” Barb notes.
This project is particularly personal to Barb who was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy in 2011. “When I asked my doctor about the options, he said reconstruction was expensive and most people were not satisfied with the silicone prosthetics.”
Traditional prosthetics are made from silicone and, for some, can feel uncomfortably hot and heavy. “When I started to look for alternatives, my friend Phyllis found a woman in Maine that owned a yarn shop who had a mastectomy herself and had posted a knitting pattern. The name Knitted Knockers started there and she let us use it after her shop closed down,” Barb explains. “I made the website and the Facebook page and it really took off from there.”
“Took off” is an understatement. Knitted Knockers’ Facebook page now has more than 11,000 followers. The patterns the Wednesday group improved have been downloaded from Knittedknockers.org site over 90,000 times to date, and their instructional videos have exceeded 84,000 views. “We are inspiring and equipping volunteers all over the world to provide for their own communities,” Barb says. More than 100 other groups that provide the prosthetics in their communities — spread across 46 states and 9 countries — have registered at the site. The Wednesday group sent out over 1,000 prostheses in the month of February and 279 in a single week. According to Andrea and Barb, the program has grown exponentially over the past 18 months.
“We get requests from all over the world and we don’t turn them down. We have three new groups in Spain. This week we have orders headed out to Japan and the Philippines that we’ll fill because we don’t have groups registered in those countries. Recently we sent 100 to Rwanda,” Barb notes. The group is operated entirely by unpaid volunteers and funded solely by donations. “Postage is one of our major expenses. We spend $800 to $1000 per month,” Barb adds.
In addition to sending the artificial breasts far and wide, the group also provides them free to local surgical and imaging centers and oncologists.
Apple Yarns was the obvious choice for Barb once she decided to make Knitted Knockers a major focus in her life. “I had been knitting in the Wednesday circle for a few years before I was diagnosed with breast cancer. That community of people expanded my horizons. Apple Yarns already had this beautiful network of several different groups,” Barb recalls.
“Many of those groups have been meeting for the entire eight years that we’ve been in business,” Andrea adds.
“It touches a chord with women when they know they can help somebody in such a tangible way,” Barb says of the local fiber arts community. “They are so charity-minded. You send out a call to action and they respond with no ulterior motive. They aren’t trying to make money. They care and they want to help.”
You don’t have to know how to knit to help either. Apple Yarns will assist even the absolute beginner. “There are at least three ways to get involved,” Barb says. “You can help us get the word out to women that can use them, become a volunteer knitter, or make a monetary donation.”
“A key aspect of the program is partnering with local yarn shops, and Andrea and Apple Yarns have been just amazing in helping us through the process of learning what works,” explains Barb.
Interest in Knitted Knockers and demand for the prosthetics has been so high recently that a new knit and crochet group was added on Friday mornings. Whether for relaxation, learning, community or charity, Apple Yarns is a comfortable, enjoyable place to gather. “We provide a space at no charge for groups to just sit and knit — and talk and giggle and laugh and solve world problems,” Andrea says with a wink and a smile.
For more information and a full list of Social Circles, workshops and more, visit Apple Yarns online, by calling 360-756-9992, or by visiting the shop at its Iowa Street location.
