Sunbury’s Suzanne Mills didn’t know a few years ago that a breast cancer diagnosis would lead her to her great love: knitting.
She was working full time when she noticed a dent on her breast, which eventually led to a mastectomy in July last year.
In between all of her treatment, her daughter became pregnant. To keep busy, and to keep her own thoughts at bay, Ms Mills decided to start knitting the baby everything under the sun.
“It became an obsession, to the point that [my daughter] was saying, ‘Mum, please, no more’,” Ms Mills said.
From there, her Facebook knitting page, Grandma’s Obsession, was born.
Because the treatment has prevented her from working, her new passion is her coping mechanism.
She knits all things for people in the community now – beanies, children’s clothes and dog jackets – and she puts the popularity down to knitting being a fairly “lost art”.
“Even if I haven’t got any orders, I’ll go through the internet and pick things out anyway,” Ms Mills said.
“I’m keeping my brain healthy by challenging it and stopping it from dwelling on medical treatments and things.”
The 62-year-old said she was “always looking for people to feed her obsession”.
“I’m always open to new ideas, challenges, anything to get my brain occupied,” she said.
She said it’s gorgeous to think about all the kids and animals wandering around in her work.
“I think it’s wonderful, I feel chuffed,” she said.
Elsie Lange
