After Noushin Sharif-Murphy of San Rafael lost her battle with brain cancer in July 2012, her sister was determined to do something to help brain cancer researchers find a cure for the disease.
Sharif-Murphy's sister, Nazanin (Nazee) Sharif-Fard of Novato, has been designing knitwear for publication for 20 years. She came up with the idea of designing a prayer shawl book and donating part of the proceeds to brain cancer research in a tribute to Sharif-Murphy, who was founder and principal architect of VMI Architecture of San Rafael.
"She tried to contribute to the world as much as possible," Sharif-Fard said of her sister.
Since she was unable to work full-time while taking part in taking care of her sister, Sharif-Fard shared her idea with her knitting friends, and they agreed to participate in the project. Marin County Knitters have donated their time by knitting shawls for a knitting book, with 50 percent of the proceeds going toward cancer research at UC San Francisco.
Sharif-Fard also received support from three yarn companies that donated to the projects. In addition, two other friends who were cancer survivors agreed to model the designs along with Sharif-Murphy while she was still feeling well.
Work on the book was halted while Sharif-Fard was helping take care of her sister. After a long delay, the book was published. It is available here.
"I feel extremely indebted to my friends who helped in this endeavor," Sharif-Fard said.
In addition to Sharif-Fard, the women participating in the project were Novato residents Parvaneh Hakimi-Sharif (the mother of Sharif-Fard and Sharif-Murphy), Diane Sack, Jane Cooperman, Marian Caldwell and Marcia Hammett (who recently moved to Riverside) plus Christine Bo-Linn of Belvedere. If you are interested in participating in future efforts, contact Sharif-Fard at nfard@craftland.com.
