Susan Crawford Launches FUBC Shawl Kit Using Ghyll Lancashire Wool

Vintage knitwear designer, historian and author Susan Crawford has been open over the last 18 months about her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, which ended on Thursday 12th October with her last oncology injection.

To thank the charity Cancer Care, who supported her and other local women going through the same ordeal, and to raise awareness for breast cancer, Crawford has launched a FUBC Shawl Kit for £65, £15 of which will go directly to Cancer Care.

Image courtesy of Susan Crawford

What makes the kit extra special is that the wool comes from her 70-year-old neighbour Jeffrey's herd of Lonk, the only truly local sheep to Lancashire. Crawford took the 2016 clip and worked with four of her favourite dyers, Old Maiden Aunt, Skein Queen, Countess Ablaze and The Knitting Goddess, to create four exclusive colourways for the kit.

Crawford herself designed one of the shawl patterns for the kit with the other coming from her friend Tess Young. There are less than 100 kits available in each of the four colourways. Here are the four to choose from:

1. Susan Kit Dyed By Old Maiden Aunt

Image courtesy of Susan Crawford

2. Jo Kit Dyed By The Knitting Goddess

Image courtesy of Susan Crawford

3. Victoria Kit Dyed By Countess Ablaze

Image courtesy of Susan Crawford

4. Karen Kit Dyed By Skein Queen

Image courtesy of Susan Crawford

But that's not all that the kit contains. If I tell you that the BC part of the FUBC acronym stands for breast cancer then there are no prizes for guessing what the F and U mean. Along with the patterns and wool kit buyers will also receive the Knocker Jotter - a 200 page journal featuring photographs of 16 women, including Crawford, who are part of Cancer Care's online group Phoenix. The portraits show them sharing their scars, both physical and mental.

Image courtesy of Susan Crawford

Says Crawford in her newsletter: 'These 'Scarletts' as they became known wanted to share their personal experiences of how cancer, and particularly breast cancer, attempts to strip women of their physicality, their visual identity. Through the portraits they wanted to take back ownership of their bodies, and to be proud of who they had become.'

The kits are on sale at Susan Crawford's website here. Each kit costs £65 plus £3.35 P&P within the UK (overseas postage available for an extra charge). Don't forget that the kit is the only way to get your hands on the 2016 clip of Ghyll!

Want more stories about Susan Crawford? Read these previous blog posts:

• Review of A Stitch In Time Vol 1
• Get Knitting For Christmas Jumper Day
• Thoughts On Austerity And Knitting