numbers ~ posted by Melissa

 

My Quill ~ the center square is finally finished!  Stats: 36,856 stitches, 896yds (6.4 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in 'Pumpernickel'), 332.0 grams & 30" x 30".

 

I'm making the larger size even larger by using worsted weight yarn.  Churchmouse Yarns estimated I would need about 30% more yarn than the fingering weight yardage the pattern specifies.  I got 50% more just to be safe.  I'm glad I did.  I'm already sweating that I'll run out.

 

 

 

Five : the number of basins of water it took to soak the excess dye from this 'Long Johns' Brooklyn Tweed Shelter I'm using in my Quill.  I'm so glad I took my own advice and checked for bleeding.  I almost didn't.  I would have had a huge mess since this color sits right next to 'Fossil' in my color scheme, and Fossil is the color of bone.  Yikes.

 

 

The Rachel Shawl.  I have one repeat done so far but we're still getting new people added to our knitalong ~ I'm just going to mosey along through this one and enjoy it.  The pattern has been out for 11 days and although pattern sales have slowed way down, we're making a difference!  If you're curious, here are the numbers:

 

♥ patterns sold : 73

♥ money raised in 11 days : $292.00 (thank you!!)

♥ number of days left to raise money : 47

 

If you're new to the blog and want to know what we're up to, here are some links ~ take a peek!

 

♥ The Cause

♥ The Inspiration

♥ How you can make a difference

 

Thanks so much to everyone that has contributed so far (hopefully you're enjoying the pattern and the knitting as well as knowing that you've helped to do something wonderful!).  I'm still awed by all the touching comments and personal notes I've gotten on Ravelry.  I can't say it enough ~ knitters are an amazing group of people!

 

I hope the weekend finds you all spending time with loved ones and dreaming of autumn knitting :)

~ Melissa

Please Meet Rachel ~ the beautiful Warrior herself :)

Rachel’s Story

Hi Friends of Girls (and boys!) in Sheeps Clothing! 

Melissa invited me here to guest blog and share my story with you all.

Where to begin?

How about how I know Melissa?

I say “know” because I know her through Ravelry and the Internet only.  We met through a knit-along around Christmas time I believe (correct me here if I am wrong Mel?) as we both embarked on knitting a translated (and sometimes complicated) lace shawl for the month of December. Each segment of the lace shawl brought new techniques, new fun in making pretty holes with pretty string. Dropping stitches, messing up stitch counts and trying to understand the language translation challenges together. Let’s just say Melissa’s shawl turned out breathtaking and mine just turned out. :GRIN: I knew she had the lace thing down. 

I worked at a yarn company for a while and I was able to bring Melissa aboard for some sample knitting. Lace of course. Her knitting presented in person was just as lovely as her pictures found on Ravelry. I loved her attention to detail. Also, Melissa’s own family had someone that struggled with cancer and my mom was a 32 year cancer fighter. We chatted a bit here and there about the challenges cancer brought to our families. Encouragement was always in Melissa’s correspondence with me! I am so grateful for her cheerful spirit.

Surprise came in 2010 when I myself was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. My own mother had just passed away from cancer 9 months earlier. What a blow to me this was! I had all my mammograms since age 21 and I did my monthly checks.  How could this happen? I was only 41 years old. The thought of treatments and trying to raise my four kids with my husband during this time seemed very daunting. How did this girl get through it?

My first chemo treatment in “THE CHAIR” and I was terrified. But I brought knitting…

 

Still knitting in "THE CHAIR" but now with no HAIR.

 I KNIT my way through it!!!

LAST chemo! WHEW. This was a LONG road.

16 infusions total of chemo…followed by 38 radiation treatments.

Towards the end of treatment, I wasn’t LACE knitting. But knitting was my way of coping with what was going on around me. It was my own personal “therapy” and it took my mind off of my side effects. Plus I had something to keep my mind occupied. I had lists of projects, I had things to make for my nurses/turned friends. It kept me busy.

One thing I desperately missed though was feeling girly, feeling feminine. Losing both breasts because of having BRCA-2 breast cancer gene was a tough blow. Then chemo puts you into chemically induced menopause. Add losing your hair (all body hair really!) and being allergic to your wig why it just seemed to add more insult to injury. I was pretty down.

Enter in Melissa.

After some encouragement from me, she took a leap of faith and she whipped up a beautiful lace shawl. 

It took my breath away! 

 

So delicate yet not at all weak. Have you seen her pictures of this beauty? Way more cool than mine…

This was a pink WARRIOR concoction that said YOU CAN DO IT.                  

And I did!

 

I fought cancer and so far…cancer hasn’t won.

Today, it will be 3 years this November since I was diagnosed. It’s hard to believe the woman in these pictures was me. It’s like it happened to someone else.

I can knit lace again. I can look to the future again with hope. I thank God every day for my blessings.

Yet I know there are women out there that are just starting their battles. They’ve just been told they have breast cancer.

They may be in the middle of treatment.

They may be struggling to finish their treatments.

They might even be fighting for a second or third time.

Those women are the true warriors. Those women are brave.

Rachel’s Shawl is Melissa’s way of making pretty holey string into making a woman feel pretty amazing wearing it. Not only women fighting breast cancer, geez, ALL us WOMEN desire that, don’t we? 

 

And for the months of September and October she is generously donating the money raised from the pattern sales to my Breast CancerSupport group and their retreat held each fall. A scholarship fund will be set up for women that cannot afford to pay for this retreat. They will get a chance to relax, to be pampered, to get away from the hospital and treatments to be around those that understand what it means to go through cancer. MinnesotaOncology and Virginia Piper Cancer Institute partner to offer these retreats for women to share, to love and to heal more than what’s on the outside.

It’s what is on the inside.

Please consider buying a pattern today.

October is PINK month.

Breast Cancer Awareness.

It’s more than a ribbon.

It’s about sharing. 

Thank you Melissa for sharing this pattern with me. Thank you for donating to an awesome cause that will help women with breast cancer. AND Thank you for letting me share ‘MY STORY’ here on your blog!

isn't she grand!?! ~ posted by Melissa

Do you guys remember Penny, my very talented artistic friend?  If not, let me introduce you to her:

This is Penny, who come to find out has a heart of gold as big as the stack of hats she's holding.  And that's a mighty big stack ~ 33 caps, to be exact.  Penny and I have a friendship made in heaven ~ I had an enormous bag of leftover yarn from finished knits that was always meant to be turned into some sort of charity project, but could never find the time to make a dent in it.  Penny knits hats for charity and has lots of time but had run out of yarn.  So, about a month ago the bag of yarn changed hands, and those hands on the receiving end got busy and with needles still smoking, Penny delivered this giant mountain of love to her local homeless shelter yesterday.  And you can bet they were thrilled ~ and encouraged Penny to come back with more, which as you can tell from the grin on her face, does not break her heart!

Penny, you rock!  Thanks for putting the yarn to such good use and I know the people that benefit from your kindness during the upcoming chilly months will appreciate their warm noggins and all your hard work.  I'm so glad to know you!   ~ Melissa

If you've joined Ravelry, Penny is an honorary member of the knitwits ~ her rav name is knitwitless if you want to check out the project she created for these hats.