As of Dec. 31, 2016, you wonderful people have fashioned 3,092 items that have passed through Team Yarn and gone on to comfort those battling cancer and other illnesses.
Let that sink it.
It's an amazing number.
It represents far over 3,092 hours. Some of those items have been small, very small. Premie hats. Others have been ample blankets that took hours and hours and many skeins of yarn to create. The items that come through our hands are all the shades of the rainbow and we're always amazed at your creativity. And the quality.
You do good work, Team Yarn volunteers.

At our December meeting the week before Christmas, you brought in 117 hats and 1 blanket. This number includes the 75 hats Sandi Fischer dropped off at our Cambridge drop-off site at Century 21.

Isn't this little ring handy for cutting yarn?

While this isn't something we'll donate through Team Yarn, Tesha models a fun bun hat created by Sandy for a friend.

When a call comes to us that someone is sick and could use a hat, we do what we can. Sometimes we hear about a need through a friend or relative of a Team Yarn team member. Recently, Amy's aunt let us know about someone: the daughter of a dear friend of hers is going though cancer treatment. And so we sent a box off to New York.

Shawl and matching hat by Linda

One of the red hats & one of the red/white/green hats by Linda Krannich were shipped to New York

"You guys came right when it got cold," said Shelly Rollie of the Humphrey Cancer Center in Robbinsdale. "Perfect timing."

We arrived on a chilly winter day on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016 with 105 hats, 3 blankets, 1 shawl and 2 cowls.

"Thanks so much!" said Rollie. "You guys are making a lot of people happy and warm."

In March 2016, we dropped off items at the Maple Grove location of the Humphrey Care Center. Read more about that here. The Humphrey Cancer Center, part of North Memorial Hospital, is currently treating or following more than 20,000 people diagnosed with cancer. Hope Chest Breast Center continuously receives a 100% from patient surveyed on their willingness to recommend the care program and site facilities.

A long car ride prompted 11-year-old Jordy of Spring Lake Park to learn how to crochet.

He's been attending Team Yarn meetings with Grandma Linda Moore of Fridley since we began in 2013. When he took a roadtrip to Iowa, he wanted something to do in the car. His grandma started the hat for him, and handed it over when the expansion rows were done and he could concentrate on putting one stitch in each one that was already there. He started off doing single crochet rows, but when he decided he wasn't moving fast enough, he switched to double crochet. "It's fun," stated the 11-year-old boy, "especially when you're in the car and have nothing to do."

He donated his first hat, a green hat with a brim, to Team Yarn in November 2016.

"It's good to help the community and be nice to other people and do good deeds," Jordy explained. He plans to keep crocheting and donating the hats to Team Yarn. We can't wait to see what you create next! It's wonderful to have you on the Team, Jordy!!

Jordy modeling one of his Grandma Linda's blankets at one of his first Team Yarn meeting

In November, we remember the brave soldiers who have stood tall for our country, and we bring those who are ill hats and lapghans. On Nov. 2016, we brought 47 hats, 14 blankets, one shawl and one cowl.

We always make sure to fashion ample lapghans and blankets, following the advice of Julie Quinn, who worked as the Voluntary Assistant at the VA Hospital in Minneapolis until her death 1 month after our 2015 visit. We want to make sure no one's lap is cold!

Meegan Johnson praised the beauty of the donated items, expressing her thanks on behalf of the VA.

This was our fourth donation to the VA Hospital in Minneapolis. Read more about past donations and the good work done at the VA here.

In November, it really was too chilly to sit outdoors, so we claimed a spot in the coffee shop at Silverwood to sip, chat and share. You brought in 52 items, including a hat from 11-year-old Jordy! (See related post here.)

Linda Krannich of Vadnais Heights found us by doing a Google search on Chemo Caps and local charities. She found the Head Huggers web site, and from there, our local branch. Linda began making hats when her ex daughter-in-law was diagnosed with cancer. Linda made five of them, but then her daughter-in-law didn't need any more. "I have so much yarn at home," Linda told us when she dropped off a pile of hats. "This is a great way to use it."