Every Day is a Good Day.

I am a cancer survivor.  I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma a month after my 29th birthday. I did a course of chemo and radiation, and it worked beautifully.  I have been cancer-free for 7 years (and 1 month)!

Last month my 91-year-old Mema was diagnosed with breast cancer.  It is very slow moving, and not in her  lymph system.  Her oncologist is extremely optimistic about her diagnosis, and she will be cured with a simple mastectomy, which is scheduled for next week.

I was filing her insurance authorization paperwork today in her cancer binder (On a side note, did you know that cancer patients carry a binder to all of their doctors appointments?  That way all of the doctors can see at a glance what all the other doctors are doing.  It's a nifty system.), and it occurred to me how grateful I am that I'm here to take care of her.  How grateful I am that I survived so that I could have Mims, and celebrate birthdays and anniversaries and weddings and brand-new nephews.

Mema needed a new mug wrap to protect her hands from the heat of her morning cup of coffee, so I made her one with a crocheted awareness ribbon button.  I think it turned out really cute, so I'd like to share my pattern with you. I also made a visual tutorial to go with the pattern, grade-school-science-fair-style, all in one picture.

The Awareness Ribbon Button
approx 1" across
Supplies:
Aunt Lydia's Size 3 Crochet Cotton (Black and Pink)
Size D crochet hook
Sharp yarn needle
3/4" safety pins (optional)

R1: 5 sc in a magic loop, pull loop tight and sl st into first sc (5 st)
R2: ch 1, 2 sc in each st around, sl st into first sc to complete round (10 st)
R3: ch 1, (2 sc in next st, sc) 5 times, sl st into first sc to complete round (15 st)
R4: ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st into first sc to complete round (15 st)
Stop.  Get out the pink yarn and embroider the awareness ribbon shape onto the front of the button.  Don't worry about trimming the ends too closely, you can just tuck them inside as you finish the button.
R5: ch 1, (sc 2 st tog, sc) 5 times, sl st into first sc to complete round (10 st)
R6: ch 1, (sc 2 st tog) 5 times, sl st into first sc to complete round (5 st)
Finish off, leaving a long tail.  Flatten button, tucking any stray threads inside before you stitch up the back.  Tack the button together around it's outer edge.  Enjoy your new button!

 I made some that I attached a small safety pin to the back of, so that they could be worn.  I'm planning to give them to my mom and sister, so that we can all show support for my grandma.

I think that these buttons would be great for fundraising, particularly for families that are in crisis who really need donations to help pay for treatments.  You could give the buttons away with any donation to the family, or you could sell them for $2 (or $5 or $20) each, depending on how much money you're trying to raise.  I'm not a fundraising expert by any means, I just think it might work.  I put some on my business cards, and they turned out professional-looking enough that I would have bought one if I'd seen it out in the world, especially for charity.

I made the purple awareness ribbon in the picture for myself.  Purple is the color they use to represent Lymphoma and Leukemia.  I made it to remind myself that today is a really great day.  Every day that I have is a really great day.  Because I get to be here.
xoxo