We received this lovely card in the mail in December from Health East Cancer Care, where we dropped off items in June 2015 (click here to view the post on St. John's and the one on Woodwinds).

We can't wait to see everyone at our January 2016 meet-up as we mark the third anniversary of Team Yarn.

It's been quite a journey since that first meeting on a cold winter day in January 2013, a few short months after Amy's mom lost her battle with cancer. Since then we've come together to help those who are facing similar battles with cancer, doing what we can to ease their suffering.

We'll be at Silverwood on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016 from 1-3 p.m. Be sure to RSVP on our Facebook event page so we can be sure to have enough treats!

One room in Amy's house went from full to empty following our drop-off at the Children's Hospital in Minneapolis on Dec. 22, 2015, just in time to bring smiles to the faces of patients stuck in the hospital around Christmas.

Our boxes included 185 items.

There were 2 scarves,  5 shawls, 2 lapghans and a whopping 176 hats!

"It's hard for kids to be in the hospital at Christmas," Amy acknowledged to the woman staffing the front counter when we dropped off our boxes. "Yes, it is," she responded. "But this kind of thing really helps."

Children's was well set up to receive so many donations in December, and had racks lining the walls behind their front desk. They had already moved things out of there, but the racks will filling up quickly again.

The kids sure love the new cart we're using to bring the boxes in. Room for them after the drop-off!

Children's has some amazing activities throughout their halls for the kids (and adults) to check out. It's make the hospital a bit more fun.

By putting your hands inside this device, you make music!

For more on Children's, check our past blog posts.

Despite the busy Christmas season, you dedicated volunteers brought in 27 items to the December meeting, held the week of Christmas. We love looking over each other's creations at the meet-up, getting inspired to try different color combinations and patterns.

This was one way Linda used the ribbon that was donated to us the month before.

Brad had some fun trying on hats, testing out different ways to wear them! Option 1.

Option 2

On Nov. 25, 2015, we brought boxes and bags of red, white and blue items to the Veteran's Hospital in Minneapolis. There were a total of 42 items -- 30 hats, 11 lapghans and 1 shawl. Julie Quinn, the Voluntary Assistant at the VA Hospital in Minneapolis, said, "Oh, aren't they beautiful. Just gorgeous, you guys! Thank you for bringing them in."

As she looked through the lapghans we brought, Julie Quinn, the Voluntary Assistant at the VA Hospital in Minneapolis, told us they go to the palliative care unit. "When the vet leaves us, the blanket goes home with the family," said Julie. "When they come back they say, 'We just love the blanket. It reminds us of dad.'"

Some of the items will go in the comfort bags that patients receive. Our hats "make them exciting to give out to people," observed Jeannette, a volunteer specialist. Other items include canteen bucks, shampoo/conditioner, hand sanitizer, tooth brushes, tooth paste, slippers, snacks, little notebooks, pens, hairbrushes, and deodorant. Another special touch is the inclusion of directions for how to do hand massage, which is especially nice for those at the end of their life.

This was our third donation to the VA Hospital in Minneapolis. We have focused on making red, white and blue lapghans the past two Novembers in honor of Veterans Day. During our first visit, Julie let us know that lapghans are a need for the VA, and they often don't get lapghans that are large enough, so we focus on making these small blankets that will be sure to cover a vet's entire lap.

Click here to learn more about the VA and to see photos of our past donations.