Could I give a different perspective on the "cause" type fabrics & quilts? Unless someone requested one from me I would never make one. I am very active on a large breast cancer discussion board & many women there are, with good reason, vehemently anti Komen, pink ribbons & pink breast cancer awareness month. One woman commented after Christmas about getting all kinds of pink ribbon stuff for presents. Just what she wanted...to be constantly reminded, plus to be treated like all she is is a cancer patient.

Fibromyalgia is also represented by purple ribbons

wikipedia has a page that lists all the colors and what they are used to represent that may be very useful as well !

They list Diabetes awareness as Grey or half grey half light blue !

Too expensive to produce for a limited audience. PURPLE represents all cancers, btw.

sandy

i happen to agree with you. While people mean well, I would not want to receive a bunch of "ribbons". I really hate the commercialisms of cancer esp breast cancer in October. I wonder what retailers spend on. " pink" check out bags, etc for a cause. Donate those funds directly to the research IMHO. I am "aware" of breast cancer. I have friends who have been diagnosed and/or died from it.

i am guilty of making an breast cancer spa bag for someone. I machine embroidered designs on it meant to uplift and encourage. In retrospect.....I am not so sure that my well meaning gift was a positive gesture. The recipient, to this day, "Defines" her life around her diagnosis. Now I know that my gift has nothing to do with her general personal outlook but I also did not know her that well at that time (five years ago ) and I have since witnessed her negative outlook on what she had gone through. And really, life in general. She is cancer- free but has other health issues that also drag her down. She is also a vey private person. I secretly hope she threw my gift away.

Know your recipient really well before you make/give them cancer related items and what their attitude toward such "celebrations" may be. My 2 cents.

Sandy

Same with pink ribbons on grocery items, football shoes, etc. My personal favorite was a few yrs ago when the Red Socks made Mothers' Day all about breast cancer. Very festive. :(

There are "wear your disease on your car" people and those who are the opposite. So, unless I was making the quilt for a clinic, i'd want to be sure about my audience.

hugs,
Charlotte

It's not just the "wear your disease on your car" thing. These charities spend most of their money on "awareness" but poor education as to what that means, and a very small percentage of that money going to research for a cure for metastatic breast cancer. The statistics on survival have barely budged for decades. Point of fact, most breast cancer is not found by screening mammograms. It is found by diagnostic mammograms on women who have found an abnormality themselves.

I wonder if anything is donated from the manufacturers making the "ribbon" collections.

Hugs,
Charlotte

Charlotte, even if a percentage is donated, the problem is what percentage of that total goes to research? I think everyone is "aware" by now.

Well, that would explain why it's not cured after so much money is thrown at it. :(. Maybe the awareness idea, as translated into fabrics, stickers, etc, makes more sense for the lesser known diseases, not the ones thrown at you all the time. Although it escapes me why anyone with a serious illness would want a quilt about it for themselves or for family members. It hardly seems like a cheerful conversation starter. But there are others feeling differently.

hugs,
Charlotte

This site doesn't have fabric but it is a list of what each color represents. Most of the colors represent many different diseases and/or social issues.

http://www.disabled-world.com/disabi...ss/ribbons.php