I am a hopeful survivor. Here are the pictures, I did them all in Circle of Friends Squares, because we are all friends!
JoBug - JoAnn Dillon in Iowa
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Honored and Thrilled
Pete and Maxine, my in-laws, were two very special people to me. Because cancer touched their lives time and time again, I would like to dedicate this project to them. Pete's Mom and Dad both died of cancer. He had four brothers that have died from cancer and three living siblings. Pete's first fight with cancer was with lymphoma (lime green) and later it attacked his lungs (lgt. grey). Pete was a fighter and fought the battle for a good nine years. He went home for the last time in February 1998. Pete was a simple man, proud father of 10 and WWII Vet.
Maxine's Dad died from cancer. She lost her Mother at the early age of three to an accident. She lost both of her brothers to cancer. Maxine also lost her life to cancer in May of 1996. She hadn't been feeling well with a severe pain in her midsection. When they went in to remove her gallbladder they found very advanced pancreatic cancer (purple). She was with us 10 very precious days. Maxine knew how to cook and serve people. Her husband, 10 children, grandchildren and extended family were her life. She enjoyed watching her Soaps and she was an avid crocheter. She helped me with my first afghan. She enjoyed working with thread and built my confidence in working with #10 thread and a small hook. Maxine had patience and a sense of humor.
When I first hoped to be a part of this project, so many names and faces from the past immediately came to mind and I began planning a square for each of them. Then just within the short time that I have been waiting for Jimbo's hook we have ran into a couple of special people who are again battling cancer for the 2nd. or 3rd. time. So I'd like to take this opportunity to honor them with a square.
Jerry H, 51 yrs. young, diagnosed initially with prostate cancer (blue) but recently has been told it has moved to his bones (yellow). Jerry is still trying to work his job through the chemo. His daughter was recently married. Soon after his daughters wedding Jerry had another setback and is just finishing up 6 weeks of radiation and is looking at another round of chemo.Jerry still remains positive and doesn't miss an opportunity to relate something funny that may have happened to him while having a treatment.
**Our dear friend, Jerry H., passed away from cancer on February 7th. God Bless him and his family.**
Patti M, 50ish, just found out her brain tumor has returned for the 3rd. time. Patti has had two operations. Both times it was benign but was told this time they won't be able to operate again because of the location of the tumor. She is taking oral chemo at this time. She is also on daily barbiturates for seizures caused from the tumors. She showed me pictures of her two children and 18 month old granddaughter. Her husband stood beside her after a long day of appnts. with 3 doctors and said "We got through the other two and we are going to beat this one also." She and her Mom have spearheaded a support group for brain tumor survivors.
As so many of you, I wish there had been time to crochet a special square for each loved one who cancer had touched but life happens and time became an issue for me so I chose two that were important to me. The teal/white for so many brave women who have had ovarian/cervical cancer. Also the yellow one for sarcoma/bone and bladder cancer.
For all of us Crochetviller's who have participated in Traveling II....Hooking For A Cure, here is a "Circle of Friends" in lavender for our "general awareness of cancer." Here I'd like to thank angelfire. Other then sending off a couple charity squares I've never been involved in a project, this is my first time posting on a blog, posting pictures on photobucket and then to add to this journal with pictures and words...well, if you see this here it will be thanks to extra help from angelfire, my DH and other viller's that are always so generous to answer share their knowledge.
And now I have a dream....to own a Jimbo hook. The one amazing thing I noticed immediately is I could crochet much much longer without having to take a break because my carpel tunnel didn't bother me. So well balanced....So sleek....So much easier to slip into the stitch. Thank you Jimbo for donating this luscious creature for Hooking For A Cure.
And yes, thrilled to be a part of this project because on May 23, 2008 I will be a 5 yr. breast cancer survivor. This lone pink square is for the many strong courageous women who have gone before me, most of whom didn't have the medical advantages that I did, the women that reached out their hands to me when I needed their encouraging support and for the women I know of now that are struggling for their lives with this disease.
~Blessings~~
KathyWho
Designers of the Squares:
Warm Jewel Granny Square - Kimberly Andrew
Lady Square Variation - Julie A. Bolduc
Circle Of Friends - Priscilla Hewitt
Starfire Square - Melanie Stiles
Cat Tracks - Drew Emborsky, The Crochet Dude
Patti M, 50ish, just found out her brain tumor has returned for the 3rd. time. Patti has had two operations. Both times it was benign but was told this time they won't be able to operate again because of the location of the tumor. She is taking oral chemo at this time. She is also on daily barbiturates for seizures caused from the tumors. She showed me pictures of her two children and 18 month old granddaughter. Her husband stood beside her after a long day of appnts. with 3 doctors and said "We got through the other two and we are going to beat this one also." She and her Mom have spearheaded a support group for brain tumor survivors.
As so many of you, I wish there had been time to crochet a special square for each loved one who cancer had touched but life happens and time became an issue for me so I chose two that were important to me. The teal/white for so many brave women who have had ovarian/cervical cancer. Also the yellow one for sarcoma/bone and bladder cancer.
For all of us Crochetviller's who have participated in Traveling II....Hooking For A Cure, here is a "Circle of Friends" in lavender for our "general awareness of cancer." Here I'd like to thank angelfire. Other then sending off a couple charity squares I've never been involved in a project, this is my first time posting on a blog, posting pictures on photobucket and then to add to this journal with pictures and words...well, if you see this here it will be thanks to extra help from angelfire, my DH and other viller's that are always so generous to answer share their knowledge.And now I have a dream....to own a Jimbo hook. The one amazing thing I noticed immediately is I could crochet much much longer without having to take a break because my carpel tunnel didn't bother me. So well balanced....So sleek....So much easier to slip into the stitch. Thank you Jimbo for donating this luscious creature for Hooking For A Cure.
And yes, thrilled to be a part of this project because on May 23, 2008 I will be a 5 yr. breast cancer survivor. This lone pink square is for the many strong courageous women who have gone before me, most of whom didn't have the medical advantages that I did, the women that reached out their hands to me when I needed their encouraging support and for the women I know of now that are struggling for their lives with this disease.
~Blessings~~
KathyWho
Designers of the Squares:
Warm Jewel Granny Square - Kimberly Andrew
Lady Square Variation - Julie A. Bolduc
Circle Of Friends - Priscilla Hewitt
Starfire Square - Melanie Stiles
Cat Tracks - Drew Emborsky, The Crochet Dude
Monday, October 15, 2007
hook update
Hi!
Just wanted to let everyone know that I received the hook on October 15th and am planning to mail out my squares on the 22nd or 23rd. My goal is to have the hook a week and then pass it on. I lost my father to cancer a few years ago and I am happy to be taking part in this!
Elizabeth
Just wanted to let everyone know that I received the hook on October 15th and am planning to mail out my squares on the 22nd or 23rd. My goal is to have the hook a week and then pass it on. I lost my father to cancer a few years ago and I am happy to be taking part in this!
Elizabeth
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Why the Traveling hook
Hey all. I've not received the hook yet, and hope that all is well with Jazziblu but I wanted to post why I was so eager to participate in this project. Here you go:
My first encounter with this scourge we call cancer was at a young age.
I was 17 and beginning my senior year in high school. Months before that, my father was diagnosed. It was a whirlwind for my family and within months, too few months actually, my father died on Aug. 31, 1988, what was to be the second day of my senior year in high school. What we went through was confusing, but a learning experience: the diagnosis, the illness, the end. What we went through after was amazing.
Led by the strongest woman I’ve ever met, my mother, my family made it. We survived the diagnosis, the treatment (including cobalt therapy) and the death. Because of my mom, we persevered. I remember sitting there, on my father’s hospital bed, swearing he was still breathing, and saying out loud “there’s no more reason to go on.” It was after 3 a.m. that day.
My mother, that beautifully spiritual being who put all her trust in her faith (we were Catholic) and, more specifically, the Virgin Mary, proved me wrong. There was plenty of reason to go on. She got a job after being a stay-at-home mom for DECADES and I graduated high school that year, top 10 percent of my class, and went on to college.
Then, more than 4 years in to that venture (I changed majors my fourth year), IT did it again. Cancer struck.
This time, it was my mother. I would find out later she was given only a couple months to live. Never one to prove anyone right, she proved "them" wrong and we lived a roller coaster the next two-plus years. She died Oct. 20, 1995, little more than seven years after my dad and at the same age, 65.
I am here today confident it was her strength that has carried me through. I graduated from college, attending classes while she was being treated and was at her side as much as I could be through all her treatments.
I consider myself a success, not measured by money earned or material possessions, but because of who she taught me to be and the person I believe I am because of her.
Fastforward please to 2001: That’s when I met Margaret.
At 72, she was a retired nurse with a remarkable past. Her daughter introduced us and there is no one more thrilled than I that that happened.
Margaret had been diagnosed with metastasized cancer, origin unknown.
As a journalist, with her permission, it was my job to chronicle her journey...to follow her -- to her death. My bosses and I agreed, the ethics policy was to be followed as much as possible, but there would be times that wouldn’t be possible.
Through it all, I became FAST friends with her oldest daughter who is more like me than she knows.
Margaret died on Feb. 22, 2003. Her passing left a hole, like the deaths of my own parents had.
Fastforward again please to today. That daughter, my friend, is a community representative for the American Cancer Society and she is the “Relay geek” -- Relay for Life that is.
Relay is my summer “thing," -- because of my friend, but also because I believe in it.
I Relay from May to late June like many people golf or boat. It’s a hobby. It’s my “thing.” It’s a verb, a noun. I Relay. I am a Relayer.
Over the course of six years, I’ve watched our survivors take their first lap after opening ceremonies.
At night, I’ve watched the luminaria ceremony. I’ve participated in that luminaria walk where survivors, their caregivers and those walking “in memory of” take a lap around the track, lighted candles of hope burning brightly against the summer night sky as candles spelling hope light up the bleachers, or a hill, and a song of hope urges us on.
The last couple of Relays, I’ve watched as HOPE on the hill, or in the bleachers, became CURE. That’s what we’re all striving for and that’s why I chose to participate in the Traveling Hook II -- to hook for a cure.
Thanks to all who have made this possible: Jimbo for the beautiful hook and Angelfire for the organizing of it and all the wonderful crocheters across the US and Canada who said yes to this venture.
Surely someday HOPE will become CURE and we will walk around that track in celebration of that CURE and in honor of everyone who came before it.
My first encounter with this scourge we call cancer was at a young age.
I was 17 and beginning my senior year in high school. Months before that, my father was diagnosed. It was a whirlwind for my family and within months, too few months actually, my father died on Aug. 31, 1988, what was to be the second day of my senior year in high school. What we went through was confusing, but a learning experience: the diagnosis, the illness, the end. What we went through after was amazing.
Led by the strongest woman I’ve ever met, my mother, my family made it. We survived the diagnosis, the treatment (including cobalt therapy) and the death. Because of my mom, we persevered. I remember sitting there, on my father’s hospital bed, swearing he was still breathing, and saying out loud “there’s no more reason to go on.” It was after 3 a.m. that day.
My mother, that beautifully spiritual being who put all her trust in her faith (we were Catholic) and, more specifically, the Virgin Mary, proved me wrong. There was plenty of reason to go on. She got a job after being a stay-at-home mom for DECADES and I graduated high school that year, top 10 percent of my class, and went on to college.
Then, more than 4 years in to that venture (I changed majors my fourth year), IT did it again. Cancer struck.
This time, it was my mother. I would find out later she was given only a couple months to live. Never one to prove anyone right, she proved "them" wrong and we lived a roller coaster the next two-plus years. She died Oct. 20, 1995, little more than seven years after my dad and at the same age, 65.
I am here today confident it was her strength that has carried me through. I graduated from college, attending classes while she was being treated and was at her side as much as I could be through all her treatments.
I consider myself a success, not measured by money earned or material possessions, but because of who she taught me to be and the person I believe I am because of her.
Fastforward please to 2001: That’s when I met Margaret.
At 72, she was a retired nurse with a remarkable past. Her daughter introduced us and there is no one more thrilled than I that that happened.
Margaret had been diagnosed with metastasized cancer, origin unknown.
As a journalist, with her permission, it was my job to chronicle her journey...to follow her -- to her death. My bosses and I agreed, the ethics policy was to be followed as much as possible, but there would be times that wouldn’t be possible.
Through it all, I became FAST friends with her oldest daughter who is more like me than she knows.
Margaret died on Feb. 22, 2003. Her passing left a hole, like the deaths of my own parents had.
Fastforward again please to today. That daughter, my friend, is a community representative for the American Cancer Society and she is the “Relay geek” -- Relay for Life that is.
Relay is my summer “thing," -- because of my friend, but also because I believe in it.
I Relay from May to late June like many people golf or boat. It’s a hobby. It’s my “thing.” It’s a verb, a noun. I Relay. I am a Relayer.
Over the course of six years, I’ve watched our survivors take their first lap after opening ceremonies.
At night, I’ve watched the luminaria ceremony. I’ve participated in that luminaria walk where survivors, their caregivers and those walking “in memory of” take a lap around the track, lighted candles of hope burning brightly against the summer night sky as candles spelling hope light up the bleachers, or a hill, and a song of hope urges us on.
The last couple of Relays, I’ve watched as HOPE on the hill, or in the bleachers, became CURE. That’s what we’re all striving for and that’s why I chose to participate in the Traveling Hook II -- to hook for a cure.
Thanks to all who have made this possible: Jimbo for the beautiful hook and Angelfire for the organizing of it and all the wonderful crocheters across the US and Canada who said yes to this venture.
Surely someday HOPE will become CURE and we will walk around that track in celebration of that CURE and in honor of everyone who came before it.
Monday, October 1, 2007
My squares
(Sorry for the delay in posting my entry... )
Each square that I made with the Jimbo hook has a special meaning to me and/or my sisters. Here are the stories behind each of the squares -
The top left square is for my little sister's best friend who has lung cancer. From what my sister told me, she had surgery to remove a tumor in her lungs in August and it was successful because they caught it early.
The bottom left square is for my grandfather on my mom's side. He started smoking when he was in his teens and didn't stop until his death due to lung cancer at 64.
The blue squares in the center column are for my grandfather and grandmother on my dad's side. My grandmother died of kidney cancer way before I was born and my grandfather died about 15 years ago due to prostate and kidney cancer.
The square at the bottom right is for one of my "su su" - that's Chinese for uncle, what we call my parents' male friends. His family moved with my family from Taiwan to the US and I can't remember a major event in my life that he has not been a part of. He has thyroid cancer and is doing rather poorly right now but he has a fighting spirit and I constantly pray that he will overcome the cancer.
Last of all is the bright blue square. This is for a friend of my two older sisters. She is petite but makes it up with her large personality, hence the very bright square. She had brain cancer and has gone through several rounds of chemo already. The cancer is in remission but my sisters say that cancer has definitely changed her as I'm sure having cancer will change anyone.
Well thank you all for letting me have the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful project. I hope you enjoyed reading about my squares and I can't wait to see everyone else's squares!
Each square that I made with the Jimbo hook has a special meaning to me and/or my sisters. Here are the stories behind each of the squares -
The top left square is for my little sister's best friend who has lung cancer. From what my sister told me, she had surgery to remove a tumor in her lungs in August and it was successful because they caught it early.
The bottom left square is for my grandfather on my mom's side. He started smoking when he was in his teens and didn't stop until his death due to lung cancer at 64.
The blue squares in the center column are for my grandfather and grandmother on my dad's side. My grandmother died of kidney cancer way before I was born and my grandfather died about 15 years ago due to prostate and kidney cancer.
The square at the bottom right is for one of my "su su" - that's Chinese for uncle, what we call my parents' male friends. His family moved with my family from Taiwan to the US and I can't remember a major event in my life that he has not been a part of. He has thyroid cancer and is doing rather poorly right now but he has a fighting spirit and I constantly pray that he will overcome the cancer.
Last of all is the bright blue square. This is for a friend of my two older sisters. She is petite but makes it up with her large personality, hence the very bright square. She had brain cancer and has gone through several rounds of chemo already. The cancer is in remission but my sisters say that cancer has definitely changed her as I'm sure having cancer will change anyone.
Well thank you all for letting me have the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful project. I hope you enjoyed reading about my squares and I can't wait to see everyone else's squares!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
My Dedications
Instead of posting pics of my squares here, I am posting picture of two women in my life that I am dedicating my squares for. The first picture is my Grandmother, Ida, who died from bone cancer. She was a farmer's wife, wore an apron 90% of the time, because she was always working! I can remember her gardening, canning, cooking, baking, making jellies and preserves. I loved going out back to pick blackberries off her vines and stuffing myself! She was a devout Christian and gave of herself to us and to the community.
She sewed and crocheted, as well as doing other needlework. She crocheted mainly with thread. Her work was exquisite considering she created pieces without written patterns. I now have her steel hooks and a few bone hooks. Unfortunately, I didn't learn the art from her, because when I was young I didn't care about needlework. Of course, now, I regret not being able to share my enthusiasm with her. But, when I use her hooks, I think about her. Maybe, in a spiritual way, we are sharing.
The next picture is my dear Mother In Law, Joan, who passed from lung cancer. She was very strong minded and I admired her. After divorcing her husband, she raised and supported four children while attending law school, ultimately passing the bar. She and I "clicked" right from the first time we met. She had a quick, dry wit and I just loved trying to keep up with her!
When my mother died, Joan consoled me and encouraged me to call on her anytime if I needed support. My mom seldom showed love or affection, but her death was hard on me because I knew deep down she loved me. Joan gave me time, an ear, a shoulder to cry on. Later,when my husband and I got married, she clearly approved of our union and asked me to call her Mom. For that alone, I will always love her.
So, here are two reasons for joining in the Traveling Hook II. I have other family and friends that have battled this disease, but I wanted to dedicate publically to these two very special women. Miss you... love you... remembering you..
Saturday, September 8, 2007
wooden hook
i loved working with the hook. so smooth and easy to work with. thank you for letting me join the cure for cancer. i joined because i had 4or5 family members who died of cancer. also have a very good friend who has cancer. i felt that making the squares will help people feel the love that goes into the afghans and that we care. i hope to join another traveling hook. would still like to keep making squares for the afghans so we can give more. if that is ok. thank you again for letting help with the afghans. debi(nana) love and hugs to all.
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