October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I have known several women who have had to deal with this, and I am convinced there is nothing nice about it.  I can’t imagine anybody who is NOT already “aware” of Breast Cancer.

I am sick to death of “Pink Ribbons for Breast Cancer”, too.  I understand why pink was chosen, and I am okay with using pink because breast cancer is predominately a female cancer, but men get it too.  And pink evokes (in my mind, anyway) visions of oh-so-delicate ladies, suffering with this disease.  But everywhere I turn I’m facing all these pink ribbons, everyone claiming “buy my [product] with a pink ribbon or lid or boxtop and we’ll give $X.xx to cancer research” or some such thing.

Among the women I know who have had to deal with breast cancer, I can’t picture any of them as frail, fragile, delicate, or any of those things.  If caught in time, they have rallied through treatment.

But they are not the cancer.  They are strong, vibrant women who have fought long and hard to make it to the other side of survival.   They are wives, mothers, daughters, girlfriends, bosses, employees, friends.   They have interests, people to see, things to do, reasons to keep on living.  They are defined by their character, not their disease.

Even more, they are still sexy, sassy, sensual.  They don’t need pink ribbons to remind them of the cancer, or the days, weeks, and even months going through all sorts of dehumanizing treatments.  In some cases those days are part of their life still, but for many of them those days are part of their history, and they are reclaiming their lives.

So, instead of “pink ribbons for breast cancer awareness”, I give you a couple of bold and strong colors. These were originally dyed as custom orders to individuals, and as I was looking at them, they “spoke” to me.

Naughty Reds for those willing to reclaim their sensual parts and remember they are fully and freely WOMEN — women with passion, women with feeling, women with a deep desire to love and to be loved.   This is a single-dye red-on-red layering technique that dyes up to help remember the deep passions in Life.

and

Sassy Green for those whose inner core wants to be outside doing and being and feeling and enjoying Life as it happens.  Like the Naughty Red above, this is a single-dye layered technique designed to instill enthusiasm for life even in the midst of disease and recovery.

Both of these colorways are available to order on the Custom-Dyes page at the regular prices.  I’m not going to discount these for any special promotion.   BUT if you send me proof of a donation made in October 2012 for one of the many breast cancer donation sites I’ll give you free shipping on these two colorways.    I do NOT want your credit card or other personal financial info, just proof that you, in your name, gave a donation in this month to a charity of your own choice.  In this way, your donation goes to the program where you want it sent, and it goes directly there without me interfering with that.   (Also, those who have chipped in to buy me a cone of yarn, you also get free shipping on these two colorways; be sure to remind me, in case I miss it.)

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