While this is a Christian organization and I am not by any means Christian (Goddess loving Pagan folks) I fully support ANY organization that helps cancer patients. I will wave and support until the cows come home even better with crochet being the crochet fan that I am.

Crochet for Cancer

From their website in the About Us area:

Crochet for Cancer is a Christian volunteer based non-profit that donates handmade chemo caps to cancer centers for patients coping with hair loss.

I admit I am very new to crocheting. I started to learn in December, 2011 when I was visiting my mom in Indiana. She was so excited to show me some of her creations she had made. They were adorable crochet hats. You see, my mom had recently been diagnosed with uterine cancer and was beginning the treatment process and had started to lose her hair. Her doctor told us this would happen and thankfully we were prepared.

A month prior to her first treatment we had heard about a local non-profit called River Bend Cancer Services in South Bend, Indiana that donates new wigs to patients fighting cancer. They were wonderful! The lady at River Bend really took her time to talk with us, give us advice and answer our numerous questions. By the time the appointment was over my mom had a brand new beautiful wig PLUS three crocheted hats, a silk pillowcase, and a lap blanket donated by a Notre Dame student all at no cost to us. Wow! Really? I never knew a place like this existed. It was right then that I felt a tug from the Lord on my heart telling me to do something. But what? I didn’t really understand until my mom showed me the hats she had made just like the ones she received from River Bend. It was like a light bulb over my head and the Lord showing me what he meant. Give back… help someone else like we were helped. So began our journey making and donating hats, scarves and lap blankets to cancer patients.

God has blessed our ministry and it has grown by leaps and bounds inspiring ladies from around the world to donate caps to their local hospitals and oncology offices. Crochet for Cancer, Inc. was formed in February, 2012 and is a registered non-profit corporation which has now partnered with numerous cancer centers and founded several chapters throughout the US & Canada. We have answered God’s call and He has truly blessed us with a beautiful ministry helping men, women and children as they fight cancer.

In Memory of Pam Harshman
3/30/1949 – 3/5/2014

My Mom’s Journey: On October 9, 2011 my mom was diagnosed with stage 3a uterine cancer. She had a complete hysterectomy followed by several chemotherapy treatments.

My mom finished her chemo in May, 2012 followed by 31 rounds of radiation which she completed in late June, 2012.

On September 24, 2012 we received another set back. The doctors said her cancer had spread to her lung. She began another round of chemo on October 8, 2012 which did not work and the tumor grew. She started an intense round of chemo in January, 2013.

In June, 2013 the doctor broke the news that unfortunately the cancer was resistant to this round of chemo. She began a new chemo drug July, 2013.

September, 2013 after reviewing a scan, the doctor said the tumors were extremely resistant to medicine. My mom made the decision to continue with chemo.

In January, 2014 we received news that the tumors had spread to my mom’s brain and on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at 12:05 pm EST she went home to be with the Lord. She fought a honorable battle and kept her faith till she took her very last breath.

Yes, another post about yarn, sue me, I love the yarn I mean, come on look at this recent yarn delivery and tell me I don’t love the yarn.  I love yarn..that is 20 skeins my friends….and all of it save 2 skeins is already claimed for coming projects.

 

On that note if you’re in London and in need of yarn you know where you should go? The cutest little yarn shop called Knit with Attitude, Eco friendly yarn solutions!

 

 

I made no secret while doing this one together that I was not a huge fan of the orange in it. However, I am pleased with how it turned out. I like working with the bigger squares and over all it all looks pretty nice together don’t you think? I completed this one several days ago and already started the next but was only just able to get some photos.

 

 

 

 

I am up to my eyeballs in projects of the King size blanket nature, but I really want to create one of these and I know Cubby will like it because ever since he was a little kitten he has loved kitty caves or kitty cubbies as we used to call them. Yes that is how he got his name. He was always in the cubbies.

I found the pattern and directions over at Eilen Tein...so think I can do it?

 

 

 

 

How to

Materials:

• carpet yarn/weft or thick t-shirt yarn, little bit over 1kg (about 2,5 lb)
• hook 8mm (the hook should be one number too small to make the basket as tight as possible)
• a cat or two

Nest size: 37cm x 37cm wide and 20cm high
Entrance size: 15cm wide and 11cm high

Starting chain: 3 ch, 1 slip stitch to close the chain
1 rnd: 8 sc in starting chain
2 rnd: *2  sc in one  1 st* repeat the whole round  = 16
3 rnd: *1 sc, 2 sc in one st* repeat the whole round = 24
4 rnd: *2 sc,  2 sc in one st* repeat the whole round = 32
5 rnd: 1 sc in one st, repeat the whole round (= round without increase)
6 rnd: *2 sc, 2 sc in one st* repeat the whole round until there is 2 st left. Crochet 1 sc, 2 sc in one st = 43
7 rnd: 1 sc in one st, repeat the whole round
8 rnd: *2 sc, 2 sc in one st* repeat the whole round, crochet 1 sc = 57
9 rnd: 1 sc in one st, repeat the whole round
10 rnd: *2 sc, 2 sc in one st* repeat the whole round = 76
11 rnd: 1 sc in one st, repeat the whole round
12 rnd: *4 sc, 2 sc in one st* repeat the whole round, crochet 1 sc = 91
13-16 rnds: 1 sc in one st, repeat the whole round
17 rnd: *5 sc, 2 sc in one st* repeat the whole round, crochet 1 sc = 106
18 rnd: 1 sc in one st, repeat the whole round

entrance to the nest:
19 rnd: continue crocheting 1 sc in one st, about half round. Cut the yarn (leave a little tail for finish it) and skip 10 st. Continue the crocheting with single crochets.
20 rnd: continue crocheting: 1 sc in one st, until you are about 5 sc from the point where you cut the yarn last time. Now fasten off the last round’s yarn tail by pulling the yarn over the edge the so that when you do the last 5 sc, the tails stays inside the stitches. Then cut the yarn again, skip 10 st and start crocheting from the same point as you did last round (fasten off yarn tail again by leaving the tail inside the stitches).
21 – 25 rnds: continue, until the entrance is 7 rounds high.

NOTE!
Be sure that you start and finish the stitches exactly at the same point as you did last round, so that entrance doesn’t start widening.

26 rnd: in the eighth round continue crocheting 1sc in one st, then crochet 8 ch over the entrance. Continue 1 sc in one st until in the end of the round.
27 rnd: 1 sc in one st, repeat the whole round. Above the entrance, crochet 8 sc around the 8 chs.
28 – 30 rnds: 1 sc in one st, repeat the whole round
31 rnd: *4 sc, decrease by skipping 1 st* repeat the whole round
32 – 33 rnds: 1 sc in one st, repeat the whole round
34 rnd: *3 sc, decrease by skipping 1 st* repeat the whole round
35 rnd: 1 sc in one st, repeat the whole round
36 – 37 rnds: *3 sc, decrease by skipping 1 st* repeat the whole round
38 – 39 rnds: *2 sc, decrease by skipping 1 st* repeat the whole round
40 – 41 rnds: *1 sc, decrease by skipping 1 st* repeat the whole round

Cut the yarn (or if the hole is still too big, continue decreases by skipping one or two stitches). fasten off.

Finish the entrance:
Crochet single crochets around the entrance, do the stitches around of two rounds to make the entrance stronger.