My Hero

There are all kinds of heroes. All kinds of people doing all kinds of good, brave things. Sometimes one step at a time. Last weekend my sister was one of the more than 3,200 participants who raised $7.5 million in the record-breaking 2008 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer San Francisco. I don't know what motivated this mother of three young children to commit herself to a two-day walk, covering 39 miles. When she first registered she was a stay-at-home doing occasional substitute teaching and had the benefit of a live in au pair. But as the day of the walk drew closer her training was hit with a double whammy. She went back to teaching full time AND lost her childcare help , without even a mother to help her out (remember my mom was here and then in England, gone for two months.) Her training suffered, but she persevered. Last Wednesday, just a few days before the walk her training session totaled 9 miles. How was she going to walk the requisite 26 for the first day with another 13 to follow? The rules of the walk stated that the minimum $1800 in donations must be given before the walk begun, so the money was in. In fact she surpassed the minimum and hit $2200. She didn't have to walk it all to raise the money. She could have opted for 13 miles each day so she could pace herself. She could have stopped at any time and got given a ride back to where the walkers would sleep that first night. But she did none of that. She walked it. All. All of it. By herself. I'm so proud!

Monday is her birthday. A special birthday and I wanted to make her something, well, special. But she's a little hard to knit for. Poo-pooed all of my ideas. And then I thought (but didn't tell,) a bag. She likes bags. She has some cool bags. She won't complain it doesn't fit or it's not her color, or that she doesn't have anywhere to go where she will use it. A bag is great idea.

Just in case she looked at the blog, I dubbed it the Black Project. But it's more than that. Or it will be when I get it done.

Noni's 9 to 9 to 9 felted evening bag is now the Lindy Lu Lu Felted Evening Bag. I'm about half way through the endless stockinette.

One flower down, four more to go.

And then of course the felting, and lining and adding the handles. But I still decided to show it off. And show her off. Because she's my little sister. And I'm really proud.