Team Yarn was started in memory of Cheryl Slater.

Drop off hats, scarves, shawls and afghans for cancer patients

Want to donate to Team Yarn - Head Huggers in memory of lifelong Isanti County resident Cheryl Slater, but don’t have time to drive down to the Twin Cities?

Team Yarn organizers have made it easier for Isanti County residents to donate to their cause. A donation box has been added at the Century 21 - Moline Reality office at 202 Main St. S. in Cambridge. The office is open Mondays to Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you're planning to drop by on Saturday, please call 763-689-3593 to be sure the agent hasn't stepped out for a real estate showing.

"We believe in supporting community organizations, like Team Yarn and the Harbor Room, and are very excited to make our office available for these generous donations," said Carrie Gibbs of Century 21 Moline Realty. "Many of us have been affected by cancer and organizations such as these help families cope and find peace."

Feel free to drop by handmade hats, scarves, afghans, and shawls. Items should be handmade, new, washable, free of smoke and pet hair. Please bag your items together, and include your contact information in case Team Yarn has any questions.

All items will be distributed to hospitals and local organizations to support cancer patients here in Minnesota.

Team Yarn is a satellite group of Head Huggers, a national organization. It was started by former Isanti County residents Amy (Slater) Pass and Tesha M. Christensen Pettit after Amy’s mother, Cheryl Slater, passed away in October 2012.

Slater was diagnosed with Merkel Cell Carcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer, in December 2011. “She began chemotherapy in the winter of 2012, and we quickly learned that a head without hair grows cold very fast! Cheryl was blessed to receive handmade gifts of hats and scarves from family members and the cancer support center in her hospital to keep her warm,” noted Pass.

“Each gift was received with gratitude and was deeply appreciated. It's amazing how meaningful such a simple gift can be.”

Team Yarn made its first donation to the Harbor Room at the Cambridge Medical Center in January 2013. The February donation will go to the Richard M. Schulze Family American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in Minneapolis. In March, donations will be presented to the Children’s Hospital of St. Paul. Find patterns and more information on the group’s web site: http://teamyarn.blogspot.com.

For more information, email Amy Pass at amyinthewind@gmail.com.

Here's to you - the fabulous folks who showed up at our February meeting.

Again, I have to just say a giant THANK YOU to everyone who came to the Team Yarn meeting this month! I was overwhelmed with the beautiful items turned out by this group, and by the way many of you have spread the word to family and friends! When I left my house Sunday morning to come to the meeting, the yarn box was nearly empty, and the donation box had a small but respectable pile of 15 hats & a shawl. I came home with 35 hats in the box, 3 shawls, 2 scarves & 2 pairs of mittens!!

Tuesday afternoon, I received another package in the mail from my cousin-in-law, Connie Miller, adding 3 more hats to the stash...

Thanks to all of you, the box is nearly bursting!

And we have enough yarn to keep us busy for a good long time! Thanks to Deborah Peterson and Jenn Johnson for more yarn donations this month! I don't have photos of nearly all of it because a large portion went home with Team Yarn members on Sunday. I'm sure we'll see that yarn next month all worked up into beautiful items!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Team Yarn!

There is now another way that you can contribute to Team Yarn! If you don't knit/crochet/sew, and you'd rather not try to select yarn to donate, you can now donate funds directly. This saves on the cost of shipping yarn to us. It will also allow us to have funds available for promotional materials and occasional shipping costs. The link to donate can be found on our Facebook page. 

https://www.facebook.com/TeamYarnHeadHuggers?sk=app_117708921611213&app_data

An encouragement to Team Yarn that Amy received in my email recently from a woman who had cancer at the same time as her mom:

**Team Yarn!! What a wonderful adventure that is. You are helping so many people that need something warm and cuddly during a stressful time. I am sure I have seen some of your donations in the Harbor Room. I still stop in there from time to time. For years now, I have been crocheting, mittens, hats and scarves for needy children in our local communitys. Crocheting is relaxing for me. It is a blessing to me, knowing that I can give back in some small way.

**Keep up the great "Team Yarn" journey helping cancer patients. GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!
~Shirley

Today, on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, Amy and I met with the OLLI Knitting Group.

This is the first in our promotion efforts to draw in more craftspeople willing to be part of Team Yarn. (If you know of a group we should visit, or a place to hang a flyer, please let us know!)

Marian Eisner's husband, Rick, is battling Merkel Cell Carcinoma. She is in the red sweater (and was knitting a very fun scarf!)

Amy tells the OLLI Knitting Group about Team Yarn, what we're about and how we came to be.

The OLLI Knitting Group has been meeting unofficially for about 10 years, but it has officially been a part of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of the University of Minnesota for the last couple years. The group meets at the Shir Tikvah at 1360 West Minnehaha Parkway in Minneapolis once a month.

Today, there were 8 women there, knitting together. They didn't know each other before joining the group, but have found they have many interests, such as travel and politics. Their friendship grows during each month's meeting.

They bring their own various projects to the meeting, and it they are stumped, they find it's a great place to get help.

Seeing each other's work also inspires them.

(As they told us about themselves, I found myself hearing a description of what I want Team Yarn to be for its members.)

The ladies have knit for a large part of their lives. Some years, they've done more. During others, they've been too busy to keep up with their hobby. But they all find themselves able to focus on the craft now.

Trying on one of Team Yarn's finished hats...

The scarf Marian Eisner is working on.

The OLLI knitting group members enjoyed passing around the items we brought, admiring the work and trying hats on.

OLLI members hard at work on their own knitting projects.

Our brochure. (Let us know if you have a place to distribute brochure and flyers!)

We were invited to visit with the group by member Marian Eisner, whose husband Rick has battled Merkel Cell Carcinoma for a decade. Thanks so much, Marian, for the chance to present our cause to another group of women who might want to be part of Team Yarn!!

Learn more about the OLLI Knitting Group here:
http://www.cce.umn.edu/Osher-Lifelong-Learning-Institute/