Introducing... The Garden Club!

I am so excited and pleased to announce a brand new knitting club: 

the JANe Garden Club!

Drawing on the gorgeous patterns to be found in gardens as inspiration, this club will feature three fabulous knitting bags from Dancing Sheep including two new bag styles that are not currently available, three beautiful new accessory patterns from Stick Chick Knits, and three amazing skeins of yarn from Hazelknits, each in a different base, one of which will be a brand new color, specially created to compliment the kit's bag and pattern, and offered for the first time to the Garden Club.

The Garden Club has three purchase options: a full three shipment subscription, a single shipment subscription, or a three shipment bag & pattern only subscription option.

We look forward to having you join us out amongst the flowers. Just bring your needles and let your knitting bloom!

The JANe Garden Club Details

What’s in the Shipments:

The JANe Garden Club consists of three JANe Kits shipped over a six month period. Each shipment will include:

·      A Dancing Sheep bag, two of which will be new styles not currently available

·      A new Stick Chick Knits one skein pattern for an accessory exclusive to club members for a period of time

·      A full skein of yarn from Hazel Knits, each shipment a different base matched to that shipments pattern, one of which will be a brand new color

·      Special extra treats to enhance your garden experience

The Timeline:

The Garden Club will have three shipments over the course of six months. Shipment windows will be:

            First Shipment:            April 17 - 19^th

            Second Shipment:            June 12 - 14^th

            Third Shipment:            August 14 – 16^th

Subscription Options:

In an effort to accommodate as many knitters as possible we are offering three subscription options:

A) Full Subscription  $235.00

• Includes all three shipments
• Subscribers to the full package will receive an extra treat in the final shipment
• Price includes shipping to US residents (international customers will need to contact me for a shipping quote – sorry!)
• The order deadline for the Full Subscription is March 20^th.

B) Bag & Pattern Subscription  $145.00

• Includes the bag, pattern and treats for all three shipments but no yarn
• Price includes shipping to US residents (international customers will need to contact me for a shipping quote – sorry!)
• The order deadline for the Bag & Pattern Subscription is March 31^st 

C) Single Shipment Subscription  $85.00

• Includes only one shipment.
• All the items for the subscribed month’s shipment will be included: bag, pattern, yarn & treats.
• Price includes shipping to US residents (international customers will need to contact me for a shipping quote – sorry!).
• Only one shipment will be available for purchase at a time. Single shipments will be sold as follows:

                         April shipment - available for purchase until March 20^th  
                         June shipment  - available for purchase April 22^{nd -}  May 17^th
                         August shipment – available for purchase June 17th- July 19^th

How to Subscribe:

Subscriptions to the JANe Garden Club can be purchased in my Etsy shop: Dancing Sheep.

In addition, a limited number of Full Subscriptions only will be available for purchase at Vogue Knitting Live in Seattle April 5-7^th (while supplies last). If you subscribe at VKL you will receive your first kit that day and the remaining shipments will ship as usual.

More About JANe Kits:

Just Add Needles exclusives, or JANe, is a collaboration between myself and Melissa Goodale of Stick Chick Knits. We wanted to create a line of knitting kits that were unique, included fabulous patterns, yarn & bags, and were practically all-inclusive- everything but the needles since needle preference varies so much from knitter to knitter. Each kit since our first, launched our first kit at Sock Summit in 2011, has shown great attention to detail: the yarn color, often dyed just for us, exactly matching the fabric of the bags and the knitting pattern echoing the fabrics theme-all three components blending together to create a wonderful experience for knitters. It has long been our desire to offer a club to bring our creations to even more knitters and we are so excited to present the JANe Garden Club!

Many thanks to Wendee of Hazel Knits for her continued support of the JANe concept!

Cyber Monday + Massive Shop Restock = Funday!

Just wanted to let you know that my Shop is fully restocked! More bags than I have ever before offered at one time - so exciting :)

In addition, there are 9 Limited Edition Holiday bags now available in both One Skein Bags and Sheepie Sacks. These are Very. Limited. In fact, I just listed them last night and already a couple are down to the last one...

And finally, I'm jumping on the Cyber Monday Madness Train and offering Free Shipping on all orders  (US residents only) today and tomorrow (deal ends at midnight PST on 11/27). The coupon code to enter at checkout is CYBERSHEEP.

Pot O' Gold at the End of the Headband, er, Rainbow

Right. So just when this poor little blog of mine thought it could relax and retire- Surprise! Here's a new post! And I cannot think of anything even close to a clever transition so why don't we just jump in.

My kids are celebrating St. Patrick's Day at school today and all week G had planned to wear green ribbons in her hair because her school uniform is decidedly not green. However, last night I received an email from her teacher saying that today was a Free Green Dress Day- no uniforms required. G was very excited but decided, somewhat inexplicably, that this wardrobe change required a change of plans for her hair as well. That, since I'm wearing green, mama, I need something other than just a green ribbon in my hair.

O-kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, not sure of the logic there but far be it from me to figure out the inner workings of a six year old mind. Being the pushover I am *ahem* I said sure, I'd come up with something shamrock-y, St. Patrick's-ish for her hair. Probably a headband of some sort.

Here's what I came up with:

Not too shabby for a spur of the moment project and - BONUS - I had everything on hand to make it (please excuse the iPhone picture, I'm shopping for a new camera).

Voila! Fun, festive Pot O'Gold headband and one very happy 6-year-old--- all achieved in about an hour while catching up on Project Runway All Stars, no leprechaun magic required.

Send in the Sprinkles!!

But ONLY if they are the non-rainy variety.

Thank goodness we are finally experiencing a few sunny, dare I say, Spring-like days here in Seattle. It has been 196 days since we hit 66 degrees, today's predicted high temperature. A loooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnng time. We haven't hit 66 yet but at least it was a nice enough day to break out some short sleeves (for G at least) and a picnic lunch in the backyard.



Yesterday, while mostly sunny, just wasn't as nice although that might have been due to the bloody noses, migraines, and overall blahness that invaded the house rather than the weather.

The kids and I all needed a pick-me-up and I knew exactly what it should be: Emergency Baking!

G & M both love to assist me in the kitchen and I love baking so I knew a good time would be had by all but I made sure that the recipe added a little silliness to the mix- just in case. I needed to make sure all the resident grumpopotami were kicked to the curb. Luckily I had seen a recipe that fit the bill to a tee only the night before over on Pinterest.


CAKE BATTER BLONDIES.

Ooooooooh yes. A little crazy but we were in dire need of food decorated with rainbow sprinkles.

I gathered up the ingredients. In perfect Murphy's Law fashion the only ingrediant not in my cupboard: the rainbow sprinkles. One quick trip to the market later we were ready to go.


While I don't mind making more complex recipes with the kiddos, this recipe was great because everything could be dumped into one bowl and stirred.

Into the oven for 30 mins. Beware. This deceptively short time frame may feel like 3 hours with some little person asking every two minutes, "Are they ready yet?"

A (very) few hard won minutes for cooling and, Voila!



Cake Batter Blondies. Yum.

If you are interested in making these for yourself, the recipe is here at Girl Meets Life.

You know you want to make some... The 50+ repins I got in under 24 hours when I pinned this on Pinterest says that I am not the only one craving more cake batter and rainbow sprinkles in her life.

More Bright Green Fun. No Fur This Time.

Yesterday I committed a Cardinal Sin of Pacific Northwest Parenting. I promised my children an activity without checking the weather forecast first. Overcome by the stunning appearance of the sun and a temperature above 60 degrees, I lost my head and committed to making an afterschool trip to the zoo today so we could see the new dinosaur exhibit.

And then today we woke up to this:


Cold. Dark. Dreary. Drippy.

I love my children as much as the next parent but it has been a long winter and I just could not drag myself outside in this kind of weather again. Nuh uh. No how. No way. Not happening.

Anticipating Dual Meltdowns of Colossal Proportions, I spent the morning brainstorming for something, Anything! that would Distract and Deflect my impending doom.

Thank God for the Interwebs. My bacon was saved (again) by the Crafty Blogosphere.

And so, I acquired this:


Yup. Bright green pool noodle.

And some black duct tape with racing style flame on it.

Perfect combination.

What? You haven't always wanted a bright green pool noodle and flame duct tape? What is wrong with you people?

Okay, okay. What if I... Cut the noodle in half? Lengthwise.


No?

Alright then. Let's take the cut noodle and the duct tape and add

• a shoebox
• cardstock
• double stick tape
• bamboo skewers
• letter stickers
• wrapping paper

---
and heck, some crochet thread for good measure.



Are you with me now?

Well, you should be because this odd jumble produces a pretty cool (and cheap)



MARBLE RACE TRACK!!

My kids always love the marble tracks we see in stores or other places but I don't know if they would ever play with them enough to justify the expense- some of those wooden sets are Expensive!



This is a quick and dirty imitation which happily keeps the kidlets entertained and occupied! Hooray! (I know G doesn't look terribly pleased in that picture but she was intent on digging her marbles out of the little purse she keeps them in and was not at all interested in making nice for the camera)

All the credit for this brilliant idea goes to Amy of Serving Pink Lemonade who posted this craft as part of the Summer Soiree Craft Camp for Kids over on Home-Spun Threads.

I changed the project up a bit, deciding I would duct tape my tracks together- no way MY children were going to be gentle enough to keep the tracks together with just the "flag posts" (and besides, if you are making a race track, you might as well find an excuse to use the crazy flame duct tape). I used bamboo skewers instead of toothpicks for the Start and Finish Banners.



I added some racing flags because I'm crazy like that and seem to have a penchant for adding layers of complexity to things. And lastly, I covered my shoebox in some silver wrapping paper I had lying around to give the whole thing a more finished appearance.



All around winner. The kids are pleased so I'm pleased.


Now I can cook dinner in peace.

Ready. Set. GO!

A Few Days Late and a Frame Short

When it comes to holidays, I usually have grandiose plans concerning what I am going to do and how I will decorate. My mind's eye creates stunning displays throughout the house and pictures how the whole house will come together in a Martha-esque manifestation of all things festive.

In reality? Not so much.

Oh, I usually get something done but since having kids it is usually more along the lines of: Oh dear! (____fill in the blank holiday___) is 3 days away, I should really dig something out and throw it on the mantel.

I feel terrible about this because G is really into holidays and is always bugging me to decorate for them. Oh, well. One more thing for her therapist to mull over in twenty years.

This Easter was no different. I had plans aplenty but a total lack of execution. Even the wreath I shared with you remains unhung because I cannot find an appropriate home for it. Aside from this minuscule little display on the aforementioned mantel, our house was adornment free.


Which isn't to say I didn't try. I did make the wreath after all.

I also did a little stitching:


This little Peeps inspired pattern is available for free on the DMC website. I did change up the embroidery thread colors somewhat from the recommended ones using the following instead (all DMC numbers):

• blues - 799, 3325
• yellows - 725, 727
• pinks - 603, 605
• purples - 208, 209
• black - 310

I only got to this point in the project before the actual arrival of Easter


but I went ahead and completed it a couple days ago, a miracle in its own right since normally the unfinished project would have lingered until next year. Go me!


It still needs to be finished and I think I'm going to put it in an embroidery hoop using this tutorial but I'm still debating round versus oval hoops. I'll share it with you when it is all done.

You know, maybe before next Easter.

Bounced Out

I think I'm still recovering from last weekend. It wasn't too crazy but still feeling like we crammed a lot of things into a little bit of time. I mean, how hard is it to go out to dinner, hunt for eggs, attend a birthday party, go out to dinner, dye eggs, open Easter baskets, go to church, go out to brunch, and then cook a big Easter dinner?

I must be getting soft.

We were lucky enough to have Papa (Todd's father) come visit for the weekend and celebrate Easter with us so that added to the overall excitement level.


Continuing tradition, we went to the Bunny Bounce at the zoo which, due to the gorgeous weather, was crazier than it has ever been since we started going four years ago. I think this was the first year it didn't rain or threaten to rain and the weather certainly seemed to be trying to make up for past ickiness.


The kiddos had a blast and G managed to fill her basket to overflowing


while M was a bit more methodical in his egg gathering.


There was some additional silliness


And even a sneak peek at the soon to be opened dinosaur exhibit.


Given the boy's obsession fascination with dinosaurs, I suspect we might be back at the zoo in the very near future.

Spring in the Kitchen

This week, G had her snack day at preschool. Translation: I had to come up with a snack food that was: small, portable, not too messy, appealing to G the food snob, had not previously been taken into school for snack by G (see previous food snob comment), and wouldn't cause issues for any major food allergies in the class. Oh, and G wanted it to be "fancy like a treat" because it was almost Easter.

Clearly graham crackers were not going to cut it.

Luckily, I hit upon the idea of making decorated pretzels and G was amenable. Thank goodness because I had nothing in the idea tank if the pretzels were nixed.

The great thing about these candy/chocolate dipped pretzels is that they are very simple to make (though not fast) and the kidlets can help out (to say nothing of my lifelong love of white chocolate covered pretzels though I am sure that played no role in my decision to make these).

After much consideration, G picked a color scheme of white with Spring colored (pastel) sprinkles. The materials were purchased:

pretzel logs, candy melts or chocolate, and sprinkles

And the helpers assembled:

The assembly is pretty straight-forward. Melt the candy coating according to the package directions. Then dip- I use a 2 cup measuring cup so I can easily tilt the coating to get better coverage (I think a bowl is too shallow).

if I make this photo somewhat smaller than the others will it hide the fact that is is blurry?didn't really think so but thought it was worth a try.

And sprinkle (I have a set of breading pans that are great for this kind of thing- I think only a third of the sprinkles ended up on my floor instead to the usual half):

We lay our pretzel outs on wax paper or parchment lined baking sheets to dry. If it is warmish you can tuck them into the freezer or frig to help things along.


Voila! The pretzels were a big hit and G was a very happy camper.

Which means I'm a happy camper.

And now I have 5 weeks to figure out what our next snack will be...

Bright Green Fun Fur. Really.

So earlier today I put my knitter's cred on the line when I posted this on Twitter:

It's okay, I'll give you a minute to recover.

*
*
*
*

Better?

Good.

What good could possibly come of such a skein of yarn? Actually, quite a lot.

Ack! No! Don't close your browser. Truly, it is Okay...

Provided, of course, that you don't let it within a country mile of your knitting needles. Some background: Earlier this month I went on a lovely retreat with my fellow Purly Girls and I took this picture at Fort Worden, our retreat location, in Port Townsend.

I adore daisies. To me, they are the epitome of Spring. And believe you me, we could use a little Spring here in the Pacific Northwest. I won't bore you with the weather stats but April has been something of a drag.

So, to recap: I love daisies, I need Spring, and there is a horrible skein of novelty yarn involved here somehow. Oh, yes, I almost forgot. I also have an obsession with wreaths at present that is quickly approaching epic proportions.

I know, I know. Where I am going with this?

Right here:

Turns out, Fun Fur might make for dreadful knitting but, in the right colorway, it makes wonderful grass. Which only goes to prove that everything has its place, even eyelash yarn, scary as that is to contemplate.

I wish I could pretend that I am terribly clever and came up with this idea all on my own but alas, I am merely a very good copycat. I found the original over on Capture the Details.

I love the pop of color this very simple project provides but sadly I have no idea where to hang it. I walked around my house for twenty minutes this morning trying to find the Perfect Spot. Didn't even find one that is Merely Adequate. sigh In the end I took down a picture and hung the wreath in its spot just so I could get a picture. This does not bode for the other wreaths I have lined up to make.

I also learned that my house, as much as I like it, is not a Blogger's house. The window placement is not ideal for taking pictures in natural light. Oh well. Photography is hardly my thing anyway. But it would be So Fun to take gorgeous photos of all my wreaths (you know, the ones I'm crafting in my head and then hanging in my fantasy house that is Just Perfect for hanging wreaths).

Do you think I could use my Wreath Adoration to justify a remodel?

Me neither.

Apropos of Nothing...

When you haven't written anything in... well... forever, there just aren't enough segues in the world to make it less awkward and so today I give you:



PILLOWCASES!

Because really, why not?

As usual, I am late to this sewing trend but I finally jumped on the bandwagon and made four fun pillowcases for the kidlets. Thomas the Tank Engine for M and Princesses for G- no surprises there are there? These match blankets I made for them a year ago Valentine's Day.


I wanted to make some non-character cases as well so I picked up two prints from Kate Spain's Central Park Line (I love this line like a crazy person):


And the super cute Rush Hour from Alexander Henry's Monkey Bizness Line.


Sadly I forget who makes the dot fabric. And also sadly, I forgot to iron the pillowcases before photographing them. Oh well, that's just the kind of two-bit blogging operation we've got here. I should also mention that the Rush Hour and Central Park photos are of the pillowcases folded, so you are not seeing the correct proportions... but, you get the idea.

And yes, for you eagle-eyed sewists out there- I did not take into account the directional nature of the car print before I cut the fabric. Meh. My husband is always telling me to accept good enough and not worry about perfect. I let it go... but I made sure I cut the Thomas fabric correctly!

If you would like to make pillowcases of your own there are an unbelievable number of tutorials out there and I feel like I read them all but in the end I used the technique in this video and I am very pleased with the results. It wasn't a difficult project and not even too time consuming.

Coming Full Circle

One year ago today as we were driving from the Buffalo airport to my father-in-law's house in Rochester I received a phone call telling me I had breast cancer. It was shocking.

Today, happily, I am cancer-free (as far as the medical professionals can tell- nothing is ever a sure thing- but I prefer to see the glass as half full). A status that is, in it's own way, shocking. After months of treatment and surgery and everything else associated with a cancer diagnosis, I am now "normal" again, thrown back into the routine of life as if nothing of note happened in the last year. I am grateful for normal. I strive to be nothing but medically boring from this point forward... but it is odd in a way.

One month you are, as they say, battling cancer - in the "fight of your life." And then... just battling the everyday rat race.

Maybe my feeling of oddness is due to my approach to cancer. I tried to see it, not as a battle, but as something I had to do, had to get through, had to check off on the To Do List. I tried very hard (too hard my family might tell you) to keep my life as close to normal as possible despite the chemo and everything else. And so the whole thing feels a bit surreal. Did I really have cancer? Was it only 4 months ago I had surgery?

As I shepherd the kids to their activities, as I go to dance rehearsal or my knitting group, as I do all the mundane little things that make my life, well, mine, cancer is hardly even a thought in my head. Which is, as I said above, a Very Good Thing... I'd hate to have to deal with the alternative and I am thankful every day that I do not.

I am also grateful and thankful beyond what is possible to express with my own meager words for all the love and support that was given to me and my family over the past year. I may not always have responded to all the emails, cards, notes, gifts and whatnot but know that I read them over and over, I appreciated every word and kind gesture.

I had no idea my net was so vast. It is humbling to consider.

I would like to send out a very special thank you to my parents. In addition to all the other support they lent, my mom spent five weeks with us in May & June when I had surgery helping me recuperate and wrangling the kiddos. I know I wasn't an easy patient and I am so thankful you were here. And Daddy, thank you for loaning her to me for so long- I know it was hard for you to be without her for so long (I'm guessing the only other time my parents have been separated for so long was when my father served our country in Vietnam).

I know many of you wanted more blog posts over the past year and I wanted more too but it just wasn't in the cards. At first, treatment seemed boring: had chemo, kinda tired, doing ok- and I didn't want to bore you with it. Then, when things got, um, more interesting I was tired and frankly the details, while medically interesting, really would fall under the TMI category. So I didn't blog.

But here I am. One year later. And I wanted to say something. Mark the day as it were.

So, yes. I am doing very well indeed. I feel healthy and happy. Thank you for helping me get here.

In fact, I feel so good that at the end of the month, in a mere 24 days, I will be participating in the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure with two of my wonderful friends from MOPS, Wendy and Alisa. That's right, I will be walking 60 miles over three days in order to help raise money to find a cure so that someday, blog posts like this will be a thing of the past. You were all so very supportive over the past year but I am going to push it and ask you, please, to once again support me by donating today. My goal is to raise $3000 and I am 28% of the way there.

My 3 Day Walk Donation Page

Thank you again to everyone- I truly could not have gotten through the past year without you!

Better Lucky Than Good

Or maybe I should title this post "Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop"...

Since I last wrote, I've had chemo treatment #1 and #2. And I have to say, I feel okay. Shockingly so, all things considered. Now, I by no means feel normal but it certainly could be much worse.

As I sat through my first treatment, my fabulous sister Betsy at my side, every horror story I'd ever heard or read about the side effects of chemotherapy played through my head. I wondered when It would kick in- would I feel bad right away? That night? The next day? How sick would I be? And the honest answer is not yet and not very.

Please note, I just knocked on every wood item in my sewing room.

So far I have been very, very lucky. I'm tired. My appetite is about 2/3 what it normally is (not necessarily a bad thing) and I feel nauseous from time to time but by resting, napping and using the anti-nausea medications my oncologist prescribed I have been able to get through it in an almost normal fashion.

And I am so very grateful. I know the effects of chemotherapy are cumulative, getting worse as treatment progresses so to be able to start in a place that is not-so-bad is definitely something to be thankful for, even if it does, in some monstrously perverse way, make me feel like a bit of a chemo-fraud: "Hey look at her, thinks she's a chemo a patient! Why, she hasn't thrown up once."

I'm weird, I know. But this whole cancer episode has such a feeling of unreality for me I think maybe I am looking for some physical touchstone to say, yes, this is really happening. I don't know... Or maybe I am just weird, worried I don't have the right cancer street cred.

If I do lack cancer cred, I have my wonderful oncologist to thank. He's put me on treatment protocol where I have treatments every week for twelve weeks. Most breast cancer patients have treatments every 2-3 weeks. The thinking is that with more frequent but smaller doses of the drugs, the side effects can be somewhat minimized. So on Fridays I go in and get an infusion of Adriamycin and then I take Cytoxan daily orally (pill form). When I am done with this twelve week treatment I'll do 4-6 treatments of another drug- the name escapes me right now.

You'd think that I could simply be grateful the plan seems to be working and that I feel pretty good so far. But no. I worry. I admit, I'm a worrier. I wonder if I'll wake up tomorrow and just feel horrible. I mean, I have Cancer for goodness sakes!!!!! Shouldn't I feel wretched by now? If you read more than two or three posts on almost any breast cancer forum you'd think so... and so, as I mentioned at the beginning, I am sorta-kinda waiting for the proverbial other shoe to put in an appearance.

Yes, yes, I know. I should avoid the crazy forums. But honestly, even the forums you think are going to be normal and un-alarmist and possibly even educational dissolve before your very eyes into a puddle of crazy. I've lurked on a few breast cancer boards (yes, I know! I shouldn't Google... but really, it's Todd's fault- he Googles and sends me links) and frankly, I can't hang out there much. The Drama! Seriously. I cannot take it. I think this might be my own personal oddity again.

I know many (most?) people see cancer treatment as a battle, a fight for their life and I understand the reasoning behind that- you are after all, trying to save your life. Makes perfect sense. And I think that is where the drama stems from. After all, saving your life might be thought of as a Big Deal.

Me?

I just cannot get that worked up. Treating and beating my cancer has just become another task on my To Do list. A serious task, no doubt. Clearly a bit more pressing than say, taking out the recycling, but not as urgent as feeding my rapidly-descending-into-hunger-induced-crankiness kidlets dinner (and for the record, the last 5-10 minutes before dinner when you are fervently willing the food to Just. Cook. Faster! before your children really do turn into blood sugar deprived demons is clearly the Tenth Circle of Hell that even Dante was to afraid to explore).

Some days I think, What is wrong with me? Shouldn't I be more upset? Impassioned? Pissed? (Insert appropriate entry from the thesaurus here)? But then Matt grabs a toy away from Gwen or someone spills something or Gwen yells from the bathroom that she needs to be wiped for the 400th time that day and I have to get over it and move on with my life.

So yes, this Friday is treatment #3 and I'll probably feel a little (or maybe a lot) worse next week just as I felt not quite as good this weekend after #2 as I did after #1. But that's okay because I'll be able to check off another box on the To Do List. One step closer to checking off the really big box.

Better Living Through Chemistry

Throughout our marriage, when one or the other of us has been sick and needed to take some medication, Todd and I have always made some joke or statement about "better living through chemistry". I'm not sure where the phrase originated... I have a very vague notion that is was a tagline in a commercial for some chemical conglomerate at some point... you know, one of those ads where they show you all these things you use daily and then at the end there's a tagline and the name of some company you've never heard of that, I guess, makes some component of all those products. I've never really understood the point of that type of ad but whatever- it's their advertising budget.

But reminiscing about commercials of yore is not where I was going with this post.

Sound the trumpets, I finally have a treatment plan! I've actually had it for a couple days but I've been busy trying to get my ducks in a row and so the poor blog has been neglected.

As I believe I mentioned in a previous post, I am going to be bucking the usual breast cancer treatment trend (surgery then chemo or radiation or a combination of the two) and will be having chemotherapy first followed by surgery. For those of you who like to be able to throw around fancy medical terms, this pre-operative chemo is more properly called neoadjuvent chemotherapy.

And I start on Friday. Two days from now.

Cue small freak out.

Do you want all the nitty-gritty details? Hmmmm. I wonder if I can explain all this without heading into novella territory?

I'll try- bear with me.

So, if you were paying attention (see, I told you there would be a pop quiz!) you might have noticed that I called my cancer "triple negative" in an earlier post, but I did not explain what that meant. Let me do that now because it figures prominently in my treatment.

Triple negative means that my cancer is ER, PR, and HER2 negative.

Um, yeah. That makes it clear, thanks Katie...

Here's the translation:
ER - Estrogen receptor
PR - Progesterone receptor
HER2 - Human epidural growth factor receptor

Breast cancer can be positive or negative for each of these receptors. If you have ER+ cancer, for example, estrogen will fuel the growth of the cancer. On the other hand, if you are negative for a certain hormone sensitivity your cancer is unaffected by the presence of that hormone. In recent years, great strides have been made in developing new drugs that target cancers that are positive for these hormones. Drugs exist now which essentially block the cancer cells from getting access to these hormones which encourage them to grow and reproduce. These drugs are far more targeted than older drug therapies which go after any fast growing cells (your hair, the lining of your stomach). As a result, the newer targeted therapies have improved the chemotherapy experience for patients with hormone sensitive cancer (don't get me wrong, it's still unpleasant, it's just not horribly unpleasant).

Following so far? If you are, you might realize that I am negative for all three of these little receptor types. This is fairly uncommon, in fact, only 15% of all breast cancers are triple negative.

So what does that mean? It means, that instead of a "nice" targeted drug therapy I get to have what I like to call Bazooka Chemo. Take out everything in it's path, say buh-bye to your hair, hope you like feeling nauseous chemo.

Wheeeee! Fun!

Can you tell I'm looking forward to this?

Now admittedly, I am being a bit harsh. Even though I will be having some serious toxins pumped through my body these are not the bad ol' days of chemo. There are much better coping mechanisms available to chemo patients: anti-nausea medications for example, and white blood cell boosters to help prevent or lessen fatigue.

In fact, I thought the white blood cell booster sounded pretty fabulous until the nurse explained to me that it is a DAILY INJECTION!!!! Have I mentioned my fear of needles? Yup. Daily. So I can either go to the clinic every day or I can learn to give myself the shots.

Yes. This was the part of the appointment where I wanted to run screaming from the room, bury my head under the nearest pillow, put my fingers in my ears and sing "La la lalalalalalalalalala".

I shocked myself (and, no doubt my poor mother who held my hand through many a teary near fainting experience with needles in my childhood) and learned to do it myself. It took me three or four preps to do it but I did.

Admittedly, there was a third option: have Todd give me the shots but let's be serious, love him though I do, he is a bit of a bull in a china shop. No way in Hell is he getting in the same zip code as me with a needle.

But even armed with all of these helpful things to lessen the side effects, it isn't going to be a picnic. And while I am excited to be making progress toward ridding myself of all the nasty buggers I would lying if I said I wasn't apprehensive about the chemo.

Tomorrow afternoon I go in to have my Port-o-Cath placed. I'll be under conscious sedation for the procedure so I'll be pretty loopy the rest of the day. Hopefully I'll be too fuzzy to dwell on the fact that I'll be pumped full of some nasty chemicals the next day.

So, yeah. Treatment starts in less than 48 hours... kinda' freaky. And this time I'll really pushing the boundaries of better living through chemistry because, let's be brutally honest, for me, it's living through chemistry.

Making Strides...

Unfortunately, I don't mean that I am making strides towards having a definitive treatment plan, you know, the kind with starts dates and that kind of semi-important stuff, although maybe (pretty please with whipped cream on top) more information along that line of things tomorrow.

No, actually I am talking about the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event. I guess events, plural, would be more accurate. Making Strides is a series of walks held across the country by the American Cancer Society to raise money and awareness for breast cancer.

My "baby" sister, Betsy, decided to participate in the walk in Raleigh this coming weekend (October 3rd) as her way to feel she was "doing something." I think it has been really difficult for her, being clear on the other coast and not really feeling like she can help. I know I would would feel much the same way if our places were reversed.

I've heard from many of you back in NC and I know Betsy would love to have some walking partners so I'd like to encourage any of you that have flexible plans for the weekend to consider coming out and walking with her (sorry for the last minute notice- I'm a bad sister and didn't get this written until now... twenty lashes with a wet noodle for me!). There is no registration fee to participate though you are encouraged to make a donation and/or raise funds.

If you cannot participate yourself but would like to make a donation Betsy (and the American Cancer Society) would love that as well.

Here is a link to her personal Making Strides page where you can glean a bit more information about the event, sign up to participate, or make a donation:

Betsy's Making Strides Page

For those of you out here in the suddenly rainy PNW with me, there is a walk this weekend in Bellevue which I am considering participating in myself though I won't be making a final decision for a couple days (see above referenced lack of information from medical team making my life difficult to plan *ahem*). And for you Californians, there are several upcoming events during October depending on where you live.

Anyway, just something to consider as we head into Breast Cancer Awareness Month (holy cow! is it really almost October? good grief.)

Not Sick. Sort of.

Cancer is weird.

In so many ways, I am no different from that person I was four weeks ago when I stood in the shower and felt a lump where there shouldn't be one. Yet so much is different.

Medically speaking, I have a disease.

Disease = Sick

I don't feel sick. I feel perfectly fine. Well, not perfectly fine, I mean, let's be honest- the 30+ extra pounds I've been carrying around since hatching the kidlets isn't exactly making me feel like I can conquer the world but it only is a slight damper on things- I still feel pretty darn good. Certainly not sick. Just like maybe I-should-cut-out-the-late-night-snacking-and-climb-on-my-elliptical-every-now-and-then-for-goodness-sakes fine.

If I had say... bronchitis, could I get up tomorrow and go for a run around Greenlake? Probably not. I have cancer. Could I get up and go for a run around Greenlake tomorrow? Most likely, aforementioned 30 pounds and hatred of running not withstanding.

Cancer is odd in that (in many cases) the disease itself doesn't make you feel debilitated (at least at first, obviously late stage cancers are a whole 'nother kettle of fish). Instead it is the treatment that can make you an "invalid". For just a second, in your mind, imagine a cancer patient.

Got the picture?

Is your patient bald?

I know in my mind she is. Isn't that odd? Cancer doesn't make you bald. Chemotherapy makes you bald. Not everyone who gets cancer has chemo and yet that bald head remains as an icon of cancer.

Where am I going with all this? I don't know... just stuff that's been running around in my head this week. I had 25 minutes to kill yesterday while I was in the MRI machine- the mind wanders.

Ahhhhhhhh... she mentions the MRI. That is why you are all reading this- to see how the MRI went, right?

Well, all of you except for the few poor souls who might actually expect there to be knitting on a knitting blog. For you, hang tight, I'll have something for you in the next post assuming no medical bombshells between now and then. For my sake, I hope there is knitting in the next post. I've had just about all the medical bombshells I can handle for now, thank you very much.

So back to the MRI. My MRI and ultrasound did get moved up a day early- many thanks to all of you who sent cancellation vibes out this way, it worked.

The actual procedures are really very unexciting (MRI- cramped, LOUD, did not like the IV contrast as it felt really cold and icky going through my veins; ultrasound- gooey gel combined with fuzzy pictures you can't understand without silly amounts of school) so I'll spare you the gory details.

The interesting part is the results. And, at least at first glance, the results look good. The ultrasound did not turn up any oddities in my lymph nodes and the initial scan of the MRI images showed no new areas of concern. I still need to get a final read of the MRI but for now I am cautiously optimistic.

I won't lie. I was incredibly nervous going in yesterday. I'm not sure if I've ever been that nervous before... maybe when I auditioned for NC School of the Arts but I'm not sure. Yesterday was the first time in this process where the news was not worse than I expected, and that was a Very Good Thing. I'd like to say I'm excited but since I don't have the final-final read, I'll just go with cautiously optimistic for now.

And so, now I can move on to treatment. To chemo.

I can be that bald person.

Even though the prospect losing my hair Freaks Me Out...

(like a really, crazy all out of proportion freak out: please oh please God- I love my ponytail! you can have my boobs but leave me my hair)

Get a grip, Katie!! It WILL grow back. So I can be that bald person. I can even be sick. Because sick and bald mean I'm making progress and progress is what it is all about.

Patience is Not My Virtue

I am an impatient person.

Did you hear that? I think I just heard my parents snort in amusement/understatement on the other side of the country.

It's somewhat ironic because I am also a terrible procrastinator. If there is something I need to do, say the dishes or a paper or some other potentially unpleasant task, I'll usually delay before getting around to it. Not so if it is something I want to do. In that case, woe to the person holding me back.

I bring this up because I am now at the end of Day 2 of the Great MRI Wait. As I wrote in the last post, I had hoped to get squeezed in at the end of the day yesterday (Wed.) and as it turned out they did have an appointment for me. Unfortunately, there was a small insurance snafu and the clinic couldn't get authorization for the MRI.

NOW, before someone starts spouting off about the nation's health care system, let me say that this snafu was the result of someone not doing his job and no matter who runs health care: private companies, the government, Lollipop Guild or Martians- there will always be a moron in a cube somewhere not doing his job.

Thankfully everything has been cleared up and I am all authorized to go lay in a big loud tube and hold very still (not my strong suit) while people take pictures of my innards- wheeeeeeeeeeee. good times.

However, the imaging clinic is now fully booked for the week. And so I wait.

Impatiently.

Make that IMPATIENTLY.

Or even IMPATIENTLY.

I am scheduled for my MRI and ultrasound next Wednesday. In the meantime, while I fidget and tap my foot, my coordinator is checking for cancellations every couple hours and will reschedule me if some thing opens up. I really hope there is a cancellation because I'm not sure I can make it to Wednesday.

I guess while we're all sitting around twiddling our thumbs I can bore you with some more medical stuff.

In the last post I told you that I'll be doing chemo first followed by surgery but I was too tired to explain the treatment approach, let me see if I can explain it now. Bear with me, I need to work through some information first...

... and take notes, there may be a pop quiz.

I think almost everyone is familiar with the term "Stage", as in, "She has Stage II breast cancer." Stage is based on the size of your tumor and how far your cancer has progressed or spread in your body starting at Stage 0 (a very small tumor or precancerous mass) to Stage IV (spread to multiple organs). A term you may be less aware of is "Grade."

A quick explanation before I explain Grade: breast cancer can be in Situ which means it is contained within the duct or gland it began in or invasive which means that it has broken through the bounds of its original duct or gland and is spreading into the surrounding tissue. If left untreated, an in Situ cancer can become invasive.

Grade is a term which is used to further describe invasive cancers. It describes how your cancer cells look compared to normal cells when under a microscope. The more closely a cancer cell resembles a normal cell, the less aggressive it is:

• Grade 1 - cancer cells appear almost normal, are generally "neatly" arranged and are not growing quickly; my medical oncologist described these as "lazy cancer"
  
• Grade 2 - the cells appear somewhat abnormal but still maintain some semblance or organization
• Grade 3 - the cells look abnormal, are disorganized (my medical oncologist described them as chaotic), and tend to spread and grow rapidly

If you remember from my last post, my cancer is Grade 3- lucky me.

As a result, is is probable that there are already cancer cells elsewhere in my body right now. Mind you, these are cells, not tumors (don't freak out) but a few stray cells here and there, kicking back and waiting to be evil. I suppose, if I am honest, there is the possibility that there are other tumors- otherwise we wouldn't be doing the chest MRI and lymph node ultrasound- but for now we'll be cheerfully positive and assume there aren't.

One last key piece of information- have I lost you yet? In my last post I referenced my Ki67 "score". Let me quickly explain this measurement. Ki67 is actually a marker that is present in cells that are actively growing and dividing but is not found in resting cells. A Ki67 percentage or score tells you, if you are looking at 100 cancer cells under a microscope, how many of them are actively trying to duplicate themselves at any given time. In my case, it's 85- anything above 26 is considered high. I'm trying to explain to my cancer that it has no need to be such an overachiever but thus far, it is ignoring me...

As I am sure you have gathered, the combination of an aggressively spreading cancer and a quickly replicating one is not ideal (don't try this at home kids!). Thus, in addition to treating the actual tumor in my breast we also need to address the potential presence of cancer cells in other areas.

The only treatment option that targets cancer cells everywhere in the body is chemotherapy. Radiation and surgery both only target specific areas. In order to make sure all the cancer cells are wiped out, I need to have chemotherapy.

I am choosing to have chemo first because this approach gives any stray cell less time to decide to become active. If the little buggers are floating around I want them eradicated before they decide to join the party.

In addition, postponing surgery until after chemo will actually be helpful in determining if my treatment is effective. By leaving the tumor (for now) my oncologist can actually track it and see if the chemo is working- if it is, the tumor should shrink, or at least not grow. If that doesn't happen, we know the course of treatment isn't effective and we can switch to different drugs. If the tumor is removed, you don't have a benchmark to measure against and you are basically assuming (hoping) the chemo drugs are working. Personally, I'm all for having hard evidence, hence pre-op chemo.

So that's the plan...

OK, I suppose I should go at least pretend to try to sleep even if all I'm really doing is staring at the ceiling while sending cancellation vibes to the MRI gods.

Good night!

A Long Day

I didn't sleep well last night so forgive me if this post isn't terribly coherent- it was a long day and I am really tired.

Before I jump into some details I just want to express my deepest gratitude to all of you who have expressed your love and support. It means a great deal to me to know that you are all behind me forming a web of support that stretches across the whole country. The fact that some of you offered to get on a plane to come help me blows my mind! As I said to a couple close friends of mine over the weekend, "I love everybody!"

As I mentioned last night, today we met with my treatment team at SCCA: medical oncologist, surgical oncologist, and radiation oncologist. We were there for five hours with a one hour break. It was long and we are awash in information. I'm going to try to keep this relatively short because a) I want to go to sleep and b) I don't want to put you into a medical-ese induced coma.

So to start, the good news is that as it currently appears my long term prognosis is quite good. The bad news is that the next 6 months to a year is going to suck. All things considered, I'll take a crappy year in return for a positive prognosis.

The Medical Details...

If you get your kicks looking at medical terms here are the details (if you don't, just try not to let your eyes glaze over too much):

• Cancer type: invasive ductal carcinoma (about 80% of all breast cancers fall into this category)
• Cancer grade: Grade 3, unfortunately this is the most aggressive grade of cancer
  
• Cancer stage: as yet unknown (more on this later)
• Other info: ER, PR & HER2 negative (also known as a triple negative)
• Ki67 Rate (cell proliferation rate): 85, this is really high (scale 1-100) and means my cancer is aggressive and can grow quickly

What It All Means...

Basically I have an aggressive form of cancer but it should be very treatable. It appears that I found the cancer early and given the aggressive nature, that is, as Martha says, A Very Good Thing. I do say "appears" because all the data is not yet in. I still need to have an MRI and an ultrasound of my lymph nodes before they can determine my cancer stage. The physical exams today did not turn up any additional lumps or bumps but the imaging will help determine if there are any additional masses in my breast or if the cancer has spread to additional locations (left breast or lymph nodes). SCCA is trying to squeeze me in for an MRI and ultrasound tomorrow but if that doesn't work out it will definitely be Thursday or Friday. If they find anything odd with the imaging they'll do a needle core biopsy right away. Fingers crossed that that is unnecessary! Once this last bit of information is known the doctors will assign a stage to my cancer.

Moving Ahead...

While decisions are final until all the information is gathered, in terms of treatment, I think will be taking a slightly different approach to things. Instead of having surgery and then chemotherapy, I am opting to have pre-op chemotherapy followed by surgery. I'm also going to have genetic testing done to see if I have any of the three breast cancer mutation markers (they can currently test for) as that might also influence my approach to surgery (the how much to remove question). This will be done this fall while I'm having chemotherapy.

I was going to explain all the how's and why's and what's of my treatment tonight but I find I am fading fast... I need to prop my eyeballs open at this point. Instead, I think I'll say good night for now and get back to explaining tomorrow.

For now, suffice to say that I left my consult with a very positive impression. I feel I am in extremely good hands medically and emotionally I know I have all of you cheering me on... What more could a girl want?

If you want a bit more explanation of the gobbley-gook in the medical details section, here are a couple links:

Seattle Cancer Care Alliance - Breast Cancer Facts
Word List via BreastCancer.org - a mini dictionary
Diagnosis Explanations via BreastCancer.org

Good night!

Unexpected.

I'm not sure where to begin. I've rewritten these first couple sentences seven or eight times now.

They aren't getting any better with practice.

I wanted a nice lead-in, to break the news gently but words fail me and I can't.

I have breast cancer.

I was diagnosed two weeks ago after finding a lump the week prior.

And to answer your question, I'm okay. I am really doing alright. Shocked? yes. This was not something I really worried about much. Skin cancer I worried about since I am fair skinned and my grandmother had it. Breast cancer was a distant worry after a whole host of other medical conditions. After all, we have no family history of breast cancer and I am, in the breast cancer realm, fairly young. But overall, I am feeling pretty calm.

I had a little meltdown yesterday in church (hence the tweet for those of you who saw it on twitter or facebook) but I am feeling better again. I have been overwhelmed by the expressions support and love I have received, I am so grateful for the kind thoughts and prayers.

I don't yet know the extent of the cancer or what my treatment will be. I find out more information tomorrow (Tuesday) when I go in for a five hour consult with my treatment team.

I anticipate writing more regularly as I go through whatever this journey brings me... after writing a bazillion emails and messages this past week to various family and friends I appreciate the concept of a central location for information dissemination.

Fear not, my crafting friends, that this blog will turn into a medical drama... there is still plenty of knitting and sewing to be had... and, frankly, medical terminology makes me squeamish.

So, yeah. That's my news. Sorry to be a downer. But it's going to be alright. It will.

And ladies? Make sure you are checking the girls!



PS. I know I owe a follow-up post regarding the malaria net fund-raising ($1400!!!!!! Y'all are A-Mazing!) with pictures and the giveaway winners but I was waiting for Father Crispin to return so I could have the whole story. He was supposed to be back two weeks ago but ironically, Fr. Crispin contracted malaria while he was in Kenya so he only just got back. I ask you to be patient for a little while longer and I will share everything about this awesome project soon.

Absolutely Stunning!

I don't have time for a real post today but I wanted to stop in for a moment to say

THANK YOU!!!!

Our little malaria net fundraiser has been successful beyond our wildest dreams. We have raised $1255.60!!! That is 251 nets. Unbelievable. Our priest was stunned and overjoyed when we saw him on Saturday and we told him the total (at that time "only" $1000).

I am overwhelmed by your generosity and concern. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

More later but right now I have to go intervene before the little ones bring the house down around our ears!

My New WIP: Preventing Malaria

As you know, I try my best to keep this blog fairly light. I rarely tackle anything remotely hard-hitting preferring instead to attempt pithy comments and amusing banter. However, something has come to my attention recently and so, here, in my first post after a long absence I am going to do something serious, something I actually HATE doing. I am going to ask you for money. Not much money, but money nonetheless. Believe me, I know this is a tough time to open your wallet but I hope the you will read on and you will help. I know it's a long post, please indulge me :)

My husband, Todd, and I are trying to raise $500 in the next week to help our parish priest and native Kenyan provide 100 families in rural Kenya with anti-malarial mosquito nets for their children. Right now, when times are tough economically you can still help, even a small donation of just $5 - roughly your daily triple, non-fat, caramel machiatto - can buy a mosquito net that will keep children safe from malaria carrying mosquitoes.

Much has been made throughout the blogosphere of the generosity of the knitting and crafting community. I am hoping many of you choose to donate $5 for a net (and hopefully more), but please donate what you can, any amount puts us closer to giving a family a life saving tool. It’s important to note that 100% of the money we raise will go directly to buying the nets. No overhead, no wasted donations. Just money to save the lives of poor children in rural, western Kenya from malaria.

Why Are We Doing This? A Little Background

Todd and I belong to St. John’s Parish here in Seattle where a year ago Fr. Crispin Okoth, a village priest from Kenya, became our parish pastor. Fr. Crispin has been a wonderful addition to our lives. Listening to him preach and share stories of his life in Africa has been touching and a powerful reminder of how privileged we are to live in the United States. He is a joyful man, an even humbler priest and a selfless humanitarian. The last is not surprising given that Fr. Crispin hails from the rural, poor village of Bar-Kowino in Western Kenya outside the town of Bondo.

Father Crispin at St. John's School

Bar-Kowino has a little more then 4,000 residents, not a single paved road, and only a simple medical clinic in the nearby town of Bondo without a full time doctor. According to Fr. Crispin, the average “house” is a hut where all the kids of the “house” sleep together on the floor on mats.

This is a poor community that can use all the help it can get and where a little help goes a long way.

The Kenyan Goes Home - to help his Mother and Village

Fr. Crispin’s mother is ill and so he tries to go home as much as he can which, given the cost and distance, is only once or twice a year. When he has the chance to go home, Fr. Crispin likes to not only help his mom, but also do what he can do help his village. Fr. Crispin is well aware that very rural areas are often over-looked by the Kenyan government and international charities due to the logistics of getting to remote locations. So he takes it upon himself to cut through the red-tape to bring whatever assistance he can to his village.

One of the things that is near and dear to his heart is the fight against malaria. Priests are often surrogate care-givers in rural, poor areas of the developing world. And, as such, Fr. Crispin has done his fair share of acting as a medical proxy. Unfortunately that has meant holding way too many children in his arms as they suffered and died from malaria. All told, more then 50,000 (!) children die form malaria in Kenya every year. For comparison, there is a global swine flu epidemic that has dominated news cycles and public attention yet has killed less then a 1,000 world wide. How is it that we yet overlook the tragedy of malaria, horribly deadly but easily preventable? No one should die from malaria.

When the subject of malaria came up in a recent homily, Katie & I were both struck by the horror of so many children needlessly dying. One of the most effective ways to prevent malaria is to have children sleep under medically treated mosquito nets. And even better they are cheap solution- only $5 each! It truly only takes $5 to keep mosquitos form infecting and possibly killing a household of children because, as Fr. Crispin told us when we asked, all the children can sleep together under one large net on their sleeping mats. Both of us had heard of large charitable efforts like the one run by the NBA to help provide malarial nets, why did that not have a greater impact? The answer is two-fold. First is simply the scope of the need for the nets, Africa is, after all, an enormous, highly populous continent. The second reason is logistics. It is simply easier to distribute nets in more urban areas. The further from a population center you are, the less likely your are to have a net. Sadly, you are also far more likely to have less access to health care as well, not a good combination.

After several dinner table discussions, Todd and I agreed that we would try to help Fr. Crispin help his community back home by providing him with money to buy nets for his village. We set a (we hope) reasonable goal of raising $500, enough money to purchase 100 nets. And now we need your help. Your donations will have an immediate impact. Fr. Crispin leaves for Kenya on July 26th and will be distributing the nets to the neediest families as soon as he arrives. We need the donations by the 22nd so Fr. Crispin can order the nets in Nairobi for pickup when he arrives. Again, all the money donated will be used to purchase the nets. So please, help us help the children of Bar-kowino.

Remember, $500 = 100 families protected. $5.00 is not very much money and here is a situation where you can truly get a lot of bang for your buck.

And, if the knowledge that you are saving lives is not enough reward for you, I am sweetening the pot. If you donate, I will put your name into the hat for a yarn giveaway. Not a knitter? Don't worry, non-knitters who win will be gifted a handmade item. Here are the details:

1. Head over to the little Chipin widget on the right hand side of my blog.
2. Donate! (THANK YOU!!!!!)
   
3. Email me (dancingsheepnw [at] gmail.com, pm me on Ravelry (dancingsheep) or comment and tell me you donated (I'm not sure how much tracking Chipin let's us do so this will let me know who's donated). When you donate, your name goes in the proverbial hat.
   
4. After the donations close I will hold a drawing and give away the following:

For Knitters, 4 prizes:

• 2 skeins ShibuiKnits Sock in Pagoda plus a notions pouch made by me
  
• 2 skeins Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton in Sand plus a notions pouch made by me
• 3 skeins Malabrigo Worsted in Emerald plus a notions pouch made by me
• 1 skein Malabrigo Lace in Cuarzo plus a One Skein project bag made by me

For Non-Knitters (3 prizes):

• a handknit hat and baked goods (TBD based on the winner's preferences)
  
• a pair of fingerless gloves and baked goods
  
• a cosmetic bag made by me and baked goods
  

I hope you all can help us with this new project.

Thank you for your help and consideration,

Katie & Todd