"Oh, look at these beautiful things," stated navigator Diane Vogel as we dropped off 101 hats at St. John's Hospital on Sept. 25, 2017. "Thank you so much!"

She pointed out that they will use the hats at the Look Good, Feel Better events, where they also distribute wigs and scarves for people fighting cancer. "Women love it," Vogel said. They get a chance to try things on and bring them home. The event is offered 6 times a year  (every other month) through the Healthcare system, three times at St. John's and three times at Woodwinds.

Read more about our past donations to St. John's here. 

On Sept. 20, 2017, we dropped off 100 hats at the University of Minnesota Cancer Center. As the staff looked through the boxes of items we brought, one said she had been there for 28 years. "I've never seen hats this great!" she praised.

"These are outstanding," exclaimed another staff member.

Before we dropped off the items, Amy and I grabbed the chance to visit fellow Team Yarn member, JoAnna Keocher, who was waiting for her second round of chemotherapy to begin to treat the leukemia she was diagnosed with in August. As we walked in, she put down her loom, eager to look through the batch of new yarn we had brought her to work with.

As we walked away, this staff member was already beginning to distribute hats to the patients on the floor.

We were thrilled to see JoAnna Keocher at our September meeting, in between her chemo treatments. And she brought us hats to donate! While she's sitting in the hospital, JoAnna is keeping her hands busy making hats on a loom. When staff ask what she's up to, she says: "Making hats for cancer patients!"

In all, you completed 44 items -- 31 hats, 2 blankets and 4 shawls. Nice work!