Hello crochet friends!
Today, I am releasing a new pattern, and this is probably the pattern I’m the most proud of. To do this pattern justice however, I have to tell you how it was conceived and what it represents. I hope you’ll take the time to read Greg the Care Bear’s story, and, if you can, that you will share it with friends and family to raise awareness for cancer.
The idea for Greg the Care Bear started in September 2020. I had recently discovered a new Australian yarn store called Yarn Artistry and had subscribed to their newsletter. With that, the owner was offering a couple of cute Australian animal patterns and I made the little koala straight away. Carla, the owner, and I started chatting after I shared my make on social media and we got along very well straight away. Carla was very open about her story and struggle with the passing of her husband in 2017. Through our conversations I discovered a very caring and beautiful human, so when she told me that she wanted to create a pattern to help other people going through what she had, I was very keen to be part of it. This also came at a time when my grandma was going through her own journey battling uterine cancer, so I was particularly touched to be asked to be part of such a project. We worked together on the design for our Care Bear and named him Greg in memory of her late husband.
In 2021, life got in the way of this project for both of us. I had just had my second baby and Australia was going through more lockdowns that were quite hard on both our mental health. Sadly, Carla had to close her Yarn Artistry business too, as she had to prioritise her well being. Towards the end of the year, I did find some time to finish my prototype and take pictures to include in the pattern. Finally, after a long while, the pattern was ready to release on the 28th of February 2022, in time for Rare Disease Day.
As you just read, this project has taken some time to come to fruition but I am incredibly proud of the results and so is Carla. We hope that you’ll like making your very own care bear, for yourself or for a loved one, and that it will bring you comfort and hope when times are tough. Most of the proceeds from the pattern sales (I’ll just deduce the taxes and other fees that come with selling it) will be donated to Rare Cancer Australia. If you’d like to make a donation to this charity, I’ll also include the link below. Thank you for reading our story, and thank you for the words of support we have already received about Greg the Care Bear, it really means the world ❤️
