Uniting a Nation Through a Wonderful Idea

Six months ago I was having a trying day but received a message from an Internet friend, Kay Meadors, which altered my day, and my goals as a knitter.

Kay wrote:
"I just had the most wonderful idea! We need to start a shawl and try to get knitters from all the 50 states to knit a section of it and send it to the next state. Wouldn't that be fun?"

That was September 6, 2008. Between that day and the next I count 21 email messages that flew back and forth between us. On September 7th I suggested auctioning the shawl, a project we'd already dubbed the Sisterhood of the Traveling Shawl, off to raise funds for breast cancer research through the Susan G Komen Foundation.

By then Kay had a friend, Jackie, in Oregon on board and I was emailing Merideth in New Mexico to see if she was interested in participating. We were already knitting together a community that would grow into a group that would create friends and excitement across the nation.

Women from all walks of life have participated in the the Traveling Shawl's progress. Librarians, software programmers, ministers, professional knitters, accountants, and stay-at-home moms have all taken a few days out of their busy schedules to knit six rows of intricate lace. Now as a farmer in Oklahoma I will be adding my part. Each knitter is asked to write a short entry into a journal that travels with the shawl. Many have contributed photos and blog entries detailing the time they spent knitting this project. Most of the women have dedicated their stitches to friends or family members who have been diagnosed with cancer and some of the women are cancer survivors themselves.

Thus far the shawl is just past its halfway point. My friend Kay hasn't seen the shawl since she cast on the first stitches of the project and knit the first few rows. On March 21st I will be lucky enough to meet Kay in Ft Smith, Arkansas, a town conveinently located between our homes, and show her the shawl that began as a "wonderful idea" just six months ago.

While the shawl is small compared to the huge fundraising efforts that large companies and professional philantropists conduct, I am quite pleased with the Traveling Shawl and the effect it has had on the people who've encountered it. Knitting is a meditative act for me so next week I'll add my stitches and focus on the people in my life and the lives of my loved ones who have battled cancer of all types. A simple act of pulling yarn through a loop can unite people in a cause, and the Traveling Shawl is a great example of how it happens.

#28 LOUISIANA

Name: Bonnie
Ravelry name: grayweaver
Location: Louisiana
Occupation: Fiber Artist/Knitting Instructor
In memory of Margaret Dugas.

#27 MISSISSIPPI

Name: Atlee
Ravelry name: Atlee
Location: Mississippi
In memory of Brenda Melohn, October 2004

Missouri's bit

This week I had the pleasure of knitting the Missouri rows on the Traveling Shawl. The box was waiting for me Monday night. Inside were several bags with a journal, pink ribbon pins, the in-progress shawl and extra yarn. And it all smelled like lavender, thanks to lovely sachets.

The first thing that I did was write in the journal. First the demographics - name, Ravelry name (mlledefarge), location. And then I got to write about why I am participating.with breast cancer. My grandmother had it, but fortunately lived past it and lived a long life until something else claimed her.

Last spring, one of my friends was diagnosed. Not a friend-of-a-friend or wife-of-a-colleague this time. Nine years ago, Paige married my friend Josh. They went on to move to St. George, Utah and have a couple of darling, well-behaved children. About a year ago, while pregnant with bambino #3, Paige found a tumor. After months of diagnosis, surgeries, chemo, radiation, and more surgeries, Paige is on the mend and still as positive as ever. And the baby? He's perfectly perfect.

I visited them in September and got to accompany Paige to one of her last chemo treatments. It was (to me) surprisingly cheerful. Her mom, sister, sister-in-law, nieces and nephew came by to spend time with her. Josh brought food for us and another patient and his wife. We sat in front of a sunny window talking and laughing.

Paige blogged. I probably knit. It was a nice way to spend a morning. My guess is that not everyone has sunny, comfortable places for their chemo treatment. (I don't know that for sure - this is the only one I've attended.) I am thankful to the staff, patients, and family that made it as pleasant as possible for her. And I am thankful that she is doing so well now.

So I was thinking about Paige and Josh while I knit the six Missouri rows on Monday night. See them there, in between the green threads?

The next day I grabbed a photo op outside the cafe were I was meeting up with some new knitting friends. I just had to get a "St. Louis" picture of the shawl and the fleur de lis was perfect.














On Wednesday, I packed it up and sent it on to the next knitter. Next stop: Mississippi

#26 MISSOURI

Name: Emily
Ravelry name: mlledefarge
Location: St. Louis, MO
Occupation: Research Administration
In honor of Paige Allred
In memory of Winifred Seeman (Gigi)

#25 ILLINOIS

Name: Barbara Bundick
Ravelry name: barbrev
Town: Woodstock, IL

I'm knitting this shawl for my mother, who died from cancer, for my sister, who survived breast cancer, and for friends, too numerous to mention, who live with cancer.

I brought the shawl into work. I work for the Presbytery of Chicago, the body that supports the 104 Presbyterian churches in the greater Chicago area. We prayed for the success of this venture.

#24 INDIANA

Name: Laura
Ravelry name: lwsexson
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Occupation: Manager
In honor of all the breast cancer survivors that I have known