It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October and this year it is also the first anniversary of the death of the mother of my daughter’s best friend.  I unfortunately didn’t get to know her very well before she died as the girls had only been together at school for a little over a year. My daughter’s friend and her dad have coped incredibly well and I feel honoured to have been there to help.  But I want to do more. I don’t want others to have to lose their mother, wife or daughter. 

For my small contribution to the cause, I have designed a Foundation Paper Piecing block.  It’s the iconic pink ribbon (an international sign), symbolic sometimes of loss and sometimes of success.  This block is free to download here. 

I would like as many of you lovely people as possible to make this block in October and share it on social media with a link to how to check your breasts such as this to make others aware.  I have tried to make this catchy with the slogan ‘Make + Share = Aware’ in the hope more will social media users will pay attention and join in!

I would like you to tell your sewing friends and get them to do the same.  Just doing this will be enough but if any guilds or groups would pool their blocks and make a quilt that could be auctioned or raffled or donated to someone in need that would be amazing. 

If anyone would like to donate any money for using the block, I have set up a Just Giving page.  This money will go to Macmillan nurses in the UK as that is the charity that our friend wanted any money, raised in her memory, to be donated too.