eNewsletter
November 2012

Prayer Shawls from the Heart Book

In the past ten years, every month you have received our newsletter with a needlecraft-related article. I have tried to keep these articles on topic and not anything about me or my life. This month, I want to break my rule and talk about a private matter. I hope you do not mind!

In January 2011 my only sister was diagnosed with brain cancer. The news was devastating for everyone in the family, especially her children. The doctors gave her a few months to live, and even with chemo therapy and radiation, she did not have much of a chance.

I tried to be there for her as much as possible. In fact, the whole family came together, to make these last few months memorable. We lost her on July 29, 2012. She went through different therapies and used experimental drugs, even though she knew they might not help her. But she wanted to contribute to help others who might be diagnosed with brain cancer in the future.

Last year, I came up with the idea of self-publishing a book of knitted prayer shawls and donate part of the proceeds for brain cancer research. I discussed the idea with my sister and she loved it. So I talked to several of my friends and asked them to help me in this endeavor. Each one agreed to knit a shawl. Lastly, I contacted three yarn companies (Coats and Clark, Bernat, and Plymouth yarn) and they all wanted to contribute and donated yarn for the shawls. The knitted shawls were ready by January of 2012. My sister and two other friends who were fighting cancer or survived it modeled them. However, by that time, my sister’s health took a turn for the worse and the project was put on the backburner.

Now, the book is ready for its second round of editing. I am hoping to have it ready for the Holiday Season. You can see the photos of the shawls and models by following the link below and let me know if you like to pre-order the book please let me know and I will inform you when it is ready for distribution.
http://www.craftland.com/ixvf.htm?p=books.htm

Nazanin S. Fard

Needlecraft University