For the Girls

October is upon us in 3 short sleeps. Today in Vancouver we are enjoying the first of what I hope will be many sunny, crisp fall days to come. Besides the annual hoopla on the 31st (costume negotiations are officially ON at my house), there is the month long celebration of breast cancer awareness goin' on. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.

I've written several posts on the subject, my favorite one was Boob Sandwich, where I got so many incredible comments and very personal, emotional private emails from many of you. Most of you know about the walk I did last year and again this August. And you've already seen this hoop remembrance I stitched up with our team logo designed by Berene.

There was a lot of interest in the stitchery pattern, and since the lovely Bari J. posted it on We Love French Knots the other day, the orders are rolling in! Do you know a crafty cancer survivor who would love this in her sewing space? Or a recently diagnosed friend who could use a colourful, handmade-with-love symbol to give her strength and hope? Breast cancer is hard, but embroidery is easy - just chain stitch, back stitch and satin stitch (long, filling in stitches).

You can buy the pattern here for a nominal fee, 100% of which will be donated to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation to further the already ground-breaking research that is being done in our country. Visit Berene's Happy Sew Lucky blog, read this beautiful post featuring incredible artwork by her SurvivorMom and help end breast cancer.

The girls thank you.

Blisters and all....

The radio ads for the Weekend To End Cancer last year featured a breast cancer survivor, who at the end of the spot stated: "Cancer is hard, walking is easy."

Many times throughout our stroll through the beautiful streets, beaches and forests of Vancouver last weekend, I thought about that statement. Because I have to admit, at times walking was a little bit hard.

Lovely little scenes like a decorated neighbourhood traffic circle made it easier....

So did the amazing volunteers who fed and hydrated us, and who stopped traffic so we could safely cross the street.

The scenery wasn't bad, either. It is so easy to take Vancouver for granted, or to whine about the 2 months of rain we had this spring/summer (and 4 months of rain we have every winter), but an hour strolling the sunny beaches, bridges and boulevards of this city quickly erases those memories and has one feeling rather thankful to live here.

What really made this event for me -- what really got me to the finish line after 35 km on Saturday and another 25 km on Sunday, however, was my TEAM.

Walking, talking, listening, laughing, LAUGHING, sharing, comparing blisters, waiting in line for the Starbucks (flush) toilet, stretching, snacking, encouraging, sighing, smiling (okay, and I did a little bit of whining, too). We did it for ourselves, for each other, for our two amazing survivors and for all women.

My movie-star boyfriend even showed up. It was an incredible weekend. If ever you've thought about participating in something like this, I can't encourage you enough to dive in and just do it. The sixteen of us worked together to raise over $41,577 and it wasn't even that much work, honest. As we walked together holding hands, towards the finish line on Sunday, the announcer said "and here comes the team that was always together, at every pit stop, encouraging each other...it's Team Kicking Cancer with Creativity!!!" I felt no pain in my knees, my blisters had momentarily disappeared and I had the biggest smile on my face. We all felt amazing.

Unfortunately, this will be the last year for the Weekend event in 5 cities across Canada. Participation is down (last year 1100 walkers in Vancouver, this year 800). The great news is that Ride To Conquer Cancer, an event benefiting all cancers has really taken off and is raising millions. Good thing I bought a new road bike this spring......

Well, isn't that Hunky Dory?!

I've finally basted my Fat Quarterly quilt along quilt. Katy originally posted the instructions for this simple one-jelly-roll quilt last summer and I immediately wanted to make one. I'd never used a jelly roll before. As luck would have it, a quilt shop on my summer vacation had this one on sale!

The original quilt design has all of the squares sewn together. I wanted the quilt to be a bit bigger, so I added 1 1/2" sashing strips of Kona Snow between all of the rows. Each row also has 3 vertical sashing strips place randomly in the row.

I'll be using this quilt to raise funds for my Weekend to End Women's Cancers team (see my sidebar). We're called Kickin' Cancer with Creativity, so it only seems fitting to raffle off a quilt! There has been a second quilt donated by a friend's MIL, we've got a summer adventure weekend in Whistler, BC and a gorgeous sterling silver bracelet for the raffle as well. Our final fund raising party is this Friday night at a local pub. It is really great that several local pubs offer 'beer & burger' nights for charities allowing us to make $10 on each dinner sold.

Last year when my SIL and I completed the 60 km walk (read about my weekend here), I was determined to form a team for next summer and set a goal of finding 8 more women to join us for a team of 10. I am very proud to share that we are now 16 strong and already we've raised over $30,000 for the BC Cancer Foundation.

If you've been visiting Poppyprint for a while, you know that three of my friends were diagnosed with breast cancer in the past 12 months. Two of those cases were discovered through routine mammogram. We are very fortunate in BC to have one of the very best screening programs in the country. My friends will survive cancer, and thrive, as a result. One of these remarkable women is a team member and will walk with us in August.

But first. That quilt needs quilting!

A Weekend Stroll....

On Saturday morning 1100 amazing women & men departed my alma mater, the University of British Columbia campus, on a 60 km journey to raise money, awareness and several thousand blisters in the name of breast and gynecologic cancers.

We were off in a sea of pink, full of optimism and slathered in sunscreen. It was about 32 C in Vancouver under bluebird skies. My SIL and I walked together and raised almost $7000 between the two of us, not bad!

Six kilometers to go before we can trade our runners for flipflops!

The volunteer cheering squad was amazing. They drove decorated motorcycles and mini-vans along the route, stopping regularly to help us cross busy intersections, squirt us with water, blast disco tunes to keep us moving and generally provide a super-positive atmosphere.

Even families along the route showed their support by leaving their sprinklers on over the sidewalk, cheering from their doorsteps, or providing refreshing drinks and in this case delicious plums!

It was wonderful to walk through our amazing city and enjoy the views. Here we are strolling the seawall at the 2010 Olympic Athlete's Village.

All things considered we didn't fare too badly. The medics wrapped my 'other' knee on day 2 and kept my biggest blister sealed under moleskin. I am pleasantly surprised that I'm able to walk today with minimal pain. Mostly, I'm just terribly proud of everyone who participated (especially the large contingent of survivors and women currently undergoing treatment!) and all of our amazing supporters. In Vancouver alone we raised $2.4 million for the B.C. Cancer Agency.

The two of us have already signed on for next year and I'm building a team. We need more walkers! I'm hoping to gather many of my creative and quilty friends so we can "Kick Cancer with Creativity." Care to join us?

Like the radio ads said, "cancer is hard...walking is easy".