The generosity of strangers is truly amazing.

In last November, Amy received a package that had traveled halfway across the world. It came from Jeanne Gehring in Germany! (Jeanne is connected to Team Yarn through Amy's cousin's wife, Connie Miller.) Wow. The box was full of soft and beautiful hats and scarves made by several folks. THANK YOU!!

Jeanne from Germany

Then, on Dec. 3, a woman named Laura from Minneapolis contacted Amy and asked if she could drop off some yarn for Team Yarn! She left it with Amy's mother-in-law while she was gone, and Amy didn't get to meet her. But, THANK YOU, Laura! It is all such beautiful yarn!

 

Team Yarn - Head Hugger members donate 77 hats to the Harbor Room cancer resource center at the Cambridge Medical Center. Left to right: Jenn Johnson, Joselyn Pettit, Aurora Pass, Amy Pass and Harbor Room Coordinator Bonnie Gutzkow-Bowman. (Photo by Tesha M.C. Pettit)

Team Yarn - Head Huggers returned to the Harbor Room at the Cambridge Medical Center in October 2013 to donate 77 hats and scarves.

Many of the items were purple, in honor of Cheryl Slater, a lifetime Isanti County resident who died one year ago after battling a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Slater’s favorite color was purple.

Team Yarn made its first donation to the Harbor Room in January 2013. According to Team Yarn co-founder Amy (Slater) Pass, she wanted to give back to the Harbor Room since it helped her mother, Cheryl, when she was going through cancer. Pass credits the Harbor Room for inspiring her to begin Team Yarn.

“The people that come in to the Harbor Room are kind of in despair and going through a rough time. When they get a fun hat, it totally changes their day,” said Bonnie Gutzkow-Bowman of the Harbor Room. “Thank you, Team Yarn, for making all these beautiful hats. It means a lot.”

McCULLY SISTERS INVOLVED
Cambridge-Isanti High School 2000 graduate Susie (McCully) Haen, now a resident of Renville, Minn., learned to crochet this past year and made several of the hats donated to the Harbor Room. Her mother, Kathy McCully of Cambridge, taught her how to single crochet and her sister, Kelli, McCully, taught her the double crochet stitch during her first Team Yarn meeting in August.

“So far I have just made a lot of beanie hats, trying to learn how the different crochet hooks and yarn affect the pattern,” remarked Haen.

“I saw Team Yarn's Facebook posts throughout the year, and was inspired by the good work (thoughtfulness/love and talent) of the group,” explained Haen.

She was drawn to the group because of the hometown connection. “I thought it would be a nice way to give back to the community and nice to come together while doing so,” she stated.

Her sister, Kelli McCully, a 1997 CIHS graduate who resides in St. Paul, has been involved in Team Yarn since it began in January 2013. When asked why she is a part of Team Yarn, McCully stated, “I wanted to help provide comfort to those involved in potentially painful treatments.”

McCully learned to crochet just so she could join the group. She noted that every time she makes something, she tries to imagine what it would be like to go through what those battling cancer are going through. She hopes “that this small gift can convey my support and care.”

SHAWLS AND LAPGHANS
Over the next few months, Team Yarn members will focus on fashioning shawls and lapghans. To mark the first anniversary of Team Yarn, the shawls and lapghans will be donated to Our Lady of Peace: Home, Health and Hospice in St. Paul in January 2014.

“After the death of a loved one, certain possessions become keepsakes for those left behind, things like handmade shawls and lapghans. We would like to bring some last comfort to those who are dying, and also to the family members as they grieve,” observed Team Yarn co-founder Tesha M. Christensen Pettit.

“We’d love to see more people join the team,” said Pass. “We can use all the help we can get.”

Items should be handmade, new, washable, and free of smoke and pet hair.

TEAM YARN MEET-UPS
Team Yarn holds monthly meet-ups on the third Sunday of every month from 1 to 3 p.m. at Silverwood Park in St. Anthony, Minn. Locally, you can drop off items at Century 21 - Moline Reality, 202 Main St. S. in Cambridge on Mondays to Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Or, mail donations to: Team Yarn, c/o Amy Pass, 2536 18th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55404.

Learn more about Team Yarn at teamyarn.blogspot.com, follow on Facebook, or email amyinthewind@gmail.com.

CLICK TO VIEW STORY IN THE ISANTI COUNTY NEWS:
http://isanticountynews.com/2013/12/04/team-yarn-donates-77-hats-scarves-harbor-room/

Click here to view a story the Isanti County News ran when we launched Team Yarn:
http://teamyarn.blogspot.com/2013/01/team-yarn-featured-in-isanti-county.html

Did you see the Isanti County News last week? Team Yarn was featured on page 5. Be sure to pick up a copy, or check out the online version here: http://isanticountynews.com/2013/12/04/team-yarn-donates-77-hats-scarves-harbor-room/

Click here to view a story the Isanti County News ran when we launched Team Yarn:
http://teamyarn.blogspot.com/2013/01/team-yarn-featured-in-isanti-county.html

It was a small, intimate group at the November meeting. We're hoping to see more of you at the December meeting. And be sure to mark your calendars for the January meeting when we celebrate our FIRST ANNIVERSARY! Yep, Team Yarn has been around, touching lives, for one whole year. We're so grateful for all that everyone has done!

Small things done with great love.

Kelli is working on a lapghan. We're planning to donate a number of lapghans to Our Lady of Peace: Home, Health and Hospice in St. Paul, MN in January 2014 to mark the first anniversary of Team Yarn.

Post by Team Yarn - Head Huggers.

Head Huggers returned to the Harbor Room at the Cambridge Medical Center in October 2013 to donate 77 hats and scarves. (Learn more about the Harbor Room here and here.)

Many of the items were purple, in honor of Cheryl Slater, a lifetime Isanti County resident who died one year ago after battling a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Slater’s favorite color was purple.

Team Yarn made its first donation to the Harbor Room in January 2013. According to Team Yarn co-founder Amy (Slater) Pass, she wanted to give back to the Harbor Room since it helped her mother, Cheryl, when she was going through cancer. Pass credits the Harbor Room for inspiring her to begin Team Yarn.

“The people that come in to the Harbor Room are kind of in despair and going through a rough time. When they get a fun hat, it totally changes their day,” said Bonnie Gutzkow-Bowman of the Harbor Room. “Thank you, Team Yarn, for making all these beautiful hats. It means a lot."

The Cambridge Volleyball Team is selling these lovely shirts to raise money for the Harbor Room.

This bike from the Outdoor Edge is being raffled off for the second time. Dr. Patton won it earlier this fall, but then turned around and donated it back to raise even more $ for the Harbor Room.

This basket of goodies goes around to people in for treatments to provide them with something fun to do.

715.

That's the number of hats we have made in 10 short months. Wow.

This month, we had only about 5 hats prior to the October meet-up, and we were starting to panic. We shouldn't have. All you lovely ladies showed up with over 80 hats.

Susie learned how to crochet in just August, and arrived with 16 beautiful items. She's a pro already. That's been such a fun part of Team Yarn for me... Watching the skill of folks go from nada to amazing.

We value each and every one of the 40+ folks who have donated to Team Yarn in the past 10 months.

This month, items will be heading to the Harbor Room in Cambridge, a place we donated to first back in January.

Time has just been flying by. I suddenly realized I never posted photos from our September meet-up at Silverwood. While we had hoped to sit outside on the patio near the fireplace, a sudden drop in temperatures meant we were inside by the fireplace instead. (But hey! There was a fireplace in both areas!)

This month, 21 hats were dropped by at the meeting. We combined those with the items from August and donated 103 items to Woodwinds Hospital in Woodbury. See post here. 

You all amaze and astound us. THANK YOU!!

On Sept. 10, 2013, as Woodwinds Tour Coordinator Julianne Degenhardt looked through the hats and shawls Team Yarn donated, she said, “Folks are just going to love them.”

“These are just unbelieveable,” said Bridget Holmen, nurse navigator. She turned to Team Yarn Co-Founder Amy Pass and said, “Thank you for sharing your mom’s memory with us.”

“I know what it’s like to be in the shoes of someone giving care,” Amy responded. Because of that, she believes it is very important to give shawls, lap blankets and other items not just to the cancer patients, but also their family members and caregivers.

That’s exactly what happens at Woodwinds, and they go through prayer shawls in particular very quickly. All of their prayer shawls are blessed before they are distributed. “They are very much appreciated,” observed Julianne.

“People get very attached to them,” remarked Bridget. “Things go out the door as fast as we get them.” In particular, folks like darker colors.

“We appreciate everything you’ve done,” said Julianne.

“We have a very small staff here. Because we are so small, our patients really get to know us,” observed Bridget. That also enables nurses to have a pulse on who might really need a hat or a shawl. “Shawls and hats all help a patient on this journey,” Bridget said. “This gift you’ve given us is beautiful.”

My mom was just astonished when she was brought into the Harbor Room and told she could pick out hats, Amy recalled. “I remember her telling me about it.”

ABOUT WOODWINDS
This is the third year Woodwinds has received 3rd place on the list of Top 100 Hospitals in the United States.

Due to the high demand, the hospital plans to double its cancer unit in a few years and begin offering radiation services. “People love coming here,” observed Woodwinds Volunteer Coordinator Ivonne Norberg.

“There are lots of healing art therapies that are available at Woodwinds,” noted Julianne, including acupuncture, healing touch and essential oils.

“I was so fascinated by what I saw online,” Amy told Woodwinds representatives.

At Woodwinds, they recognize the value of music for the sick. A harpist plays soothing music in the infusion area some days. There’s a pianist in the main area of the hospital other days and students on violin. Those who want to perform at Woodwinds audition first, which points to their talent.

They also recognize the power of pets, and people are able to bring their pets with them during the day.

In the ward where patients receive their chemotherapy, there are no televisions and few disturbances. It is a peaceful area, a place with large windows, scenic views of the 30 acres around Woodwinds, and strategically placed bird feeders installed by Boy Scouts. Research has shown how beneficial it is to those who are sick to be surrounded by views of nature.

At Woodwinds, there is a large gazebo in the  healing garden, which is near the pathways that wind through the area. A labyrinth of a tree with two trunks helps calm those who walk through it.

Woodwinds Health Campus is a member of the HealthEast Care System, and is affiliated with St. John’s in Maplewood, a place we donated to earlier this year. See blog post here.

Learn more at http://www.healtheast.org/woodwinds.html

Woodwinds is located at 1925 Woodwinds Dr, Woodbury, MN 55125.