Unless you live under a rock, you know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  A year ago, I painted a piece for this cause, having no idea that I would become one of the 1 in 8 women afflicted by this disease.  My life changed on January 14th, 2019.  . . for better and worse.

Being so young, at age 40, I was pretty sure that I was going to die from this.  The majority of people diagnosed with breast cancer are significantly older than me.  So, I assumed that I must have it worse.  In some ways, I do.   Being thrown into medically induced menopause overnight really threw me for a loop.  I now feel your pain with regards to hot flashes!

But, I’m one of the lucky ones.  I have the most wonderful support behind me.  My dear husband, my family and friends and all the women at the shop, pulled me through the most difficult time in my life.  I don’t know how I would have run the shop if it weren’t for my girls. They are the best!

 Not to drone on about the details of my medical history, because that is encyclopedic at this point, but I do have a point.  It was detected early, and only because I went for my first mammo at the recommended age 40 (which now insurance is pushing to raise to 45 but that’s another topic).  There are many young women diagnosed with breast cancer each year.  And what’s terrifying is those numbers are increasing.  Most research is focused on the typical population dealing with this disease.  Young women . . .and I mean significantly younger than me . . .are dealing with this as well.  But it seems to get swept under the rug.

I stumbled upon a fabulous charity, Young Survival Coalition, that focuses on helping young women going through the journey of breast cancer.  When deciding where I wanted to donate the proceeds from “Stitch Pink,” I wanted to support a charity that helps people in ways that insurance won’t cover.

So, not only have I collaborated with Melissa Prince and Two Sisters Needlepoint on the three pieces for the fundraiser this year, I’ve decided that a portion of the proceeds of the sale at The Enriched Stitch (my retail store if you haven’t figured that out already), will be donated to this wonderful charity.

Melissa also designed “Paint the Town Pink” last year that I stitched for her.

Melissa is also a breast cancer survivor and was diagnosed at 39.  I won’t tell you how many years ago so you can’t figure out how old she is. LOL!

But wait . . .I’m not done!  I haven’t gotten to the best part yet!

Each week this month, we will be having a different sale or promotion at The Enriched Stitch.  This week, our canvas sale starts tomorrow and goes through Saturday.  All canvases will be 20% off and threads purchased for those canvases at the time will be 10% off.

I’ll post the blog later today with pictures of our canvases.

The next two weeks will also have special sales and promotions, but you’ll have to stay tuned for that.

Also, we’ll be offering a bonus third finishing sale.  All finishing dropped off or mailed in by November 9th will receive a 10% discount!  Most of our finishing deadlines for the holidays have passed.  However, we can still take flat ornaments with or without monogramming until November 1st.  Yep . . .you read that right!

I’m sure every one of you reading this has been affected by breast cancer.  Whether you have gone through this personally or watched a loved one go through it, none of us are untouched by it.  I’d like to say that we need to find a cure . . .and that would be the best option.  But, for now, we can help those in need.