Victory!

This scarf is for my sister, Vicki. I'm not sure if she reads the blog or not, but if you are reading this, sis, I hope you don't mind that I brag about you a bit!

A couple of years ago, I made a Wavy scarf for sis in Ultra Alpaca. A year later, she called and said, "You know that scarf you made me?" Seems she liked it, but it shed a bit too much on her black coat, so she requested something a bit less, well, hairy.

So I knit her a Palindrome scarf using Plymouth Tweed. This year, she called and said, "You know those scarves you made me?" Now it seems that when she wears either of them, she gets an itchy rash on her neck. Hmm, possibly a bit of a wool allergy has developed. ACK!

So this one is knit from Plymouth Shire Silk, a lovely 100% raw silk yarn. Not super soft, but definitely warm (she lives in Spokane), and it shouldn't spark any allergic reactions or shed. We'll see! :)

This may sound like I'm complaining, but I'm not really. You see, I think my sister is one heck of a strong woman and I love her a lot. She's been through losing a spouse to cancer and she runs her own business in a male-dominated industry and is quite successful at it.

But her biggest challenge was facing breast cancer. She had surgery. She had chemotherapy. She had radiation. She has been through it all and still kept plugging away. I know it wasn't easy and at times seemed insurmountable, but she did it. She persevered. She survived. She's resilient.

And in just a few hours, when the calendar page turns to January 17, 2009, she will be celebrating her eighth year of being cancer free.

So here's to you, sis. This scarf pattern will go on sale Saturday night in your honor. I call it Vicki's Victory Scarf and 10% of profits from sales of the pattern will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for a Cure.

I love ya, kiddo.