May found us outside, enjoying the fantastic patio at Silverwood. We had some newcomers - WELCOME!! And chatted with others passing by about our work. It's always fun to spread the word. Feel free to invite folks you know to our meetings. We're friendly and we greatly appreciate all our volunteers!

In all, we collected 33 items in May.

Note how her outfit matches her project!! Again!!

Boys with sticks

There was an impressive array of hand-crafted items at our April 2014 meeting (held one week later because Easter fell on the 3rd Sunday). You are all amazing!! Thank you!!

We collected 50 items in April.

One of our youngest contributors: Lexi!

This month's project at Silverwood was to create a nature journal book, complete with pocket for tucking naturalist items into!

We have now donated nearly 400 items. Give yourselves a pat on the back. Wow! Isn’t that amazing and wonderful?!

Our fourth donation of 67 hats, scarves, shawls and other items went to St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood. It is part of the HealthEast Cancer Care Center. Team Yarn member Kelli McCully put us in touch with this hospital, as her father-in-law works there.

“I can’t even tell you how much the ladies appreciate this,” said Nancy Welty, a patient navigator at St. John’s. “They get all emotional.”

She added, “You guys are angels. We really appreciate this.”

Even in the summer the heads of those fighting cancer get cold. Wigs often scratch the heads, Nancy pointed out, and so patients wear hats year-round. Some even sleep in them.

The items we donated will be placed in baskets in the two waiting rooms frequented by cancer patients at St. John’s. “They can take as many as they’d like,” noted Nancy.

One volunteer makes prayer shawls that are given both to cancer patients and to their family members. (Would Team Yarn members like to focus on prayer shawls at some point? Perhaps this fall?)

As the snow began to fall outside, Maria Wood stated, “You guys are bringing some sunshine to us today.”

Our donations will join those in this basket in the waiting room.

Amy carries in a box full of your handmade items.

St. John's is located in Maplewood.

Look at these gorgeous items that are sure to bring comfort.

PATIENT NAVIGATORS

One thing that sets St. John’s apart is its patient navigator system. Each new cancer patient is assigned to a patient navigator at the start to coordinate a path through treatment. The Patient Navigators are supportive guides for both patients and family members. Their role is similar to that of a case manager at other hospitals.

Navigators are oncology nurses with added training in patient/family education and services. “We’re a familiar face,” explained Nancy.

Patient Navigators assist by:
• Making appointments with your care team (specialists, oncologists, etc.); combining appointments into one visit when possible
• Scheduling tests and treatments
• Answering questions and explaining medical information in a way that's easy to understand
• Suggesting resources or services
• Helping patients find ways to take good care of themselves

“We are a resource,” said Maria. They might help with appointments,  food assistance, and transportation to the hospital.

Patient navigators Nancy Welty (left) and Maria Wood.

We met two of the Patient Navigators during our visit.

Nancy Welty, RN — Nancy Welty is a Patient Navigator for breast cancer patients. She completed a bachelor's of science degree in communications disorders and an associate's degree in nursing at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. As a member of the Oncology Nursing Society, Nancy is interested in women's health issues and clinical research in breast cancer. She also serves as a facilitator of a breast cancer support group and a kids' support group.

Maria Wood, RN, BSN, OCN — Maria Wood is a Patient Navigator for cancer patients. She received a bachelor's of science degree in nursing from Clarke College as well as a certification as an oncology nurse. Maria has worked in many academic inpatient and outpatient settings, with a focus on hematology/oncology/bone marrow transplant. Most recently, she worked in an outpatient treatment area focusing on solid tumors. Maria is an active member of the Oncology Nursing Society, and her interests include patient education, cancer survivorship and a focus on patients with head and neck cancers.

ABOUT HEALTH EAST CANCER CARE
Cancer Care services are offered at St. John's Hospital in Maplewood, St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul and Woodwinds Health Campus in Woodbury. Health East Cancer Care offer both inpatient and outpatient services, including:
    • Leading-edge diagnostic equipment
   •  Radiation therapy
    • Chemotherapy/hormonal therapies
    • Surgery

Specialty centers and services at HealthEast include:
    • HealthEast CyberKnife Center
    • HealthEast Breast Care
    • HealthEast Prostate Care

SUPPORT GROUPS INCLUDE:
St. John’s recognizes that cancer can have staggering effects on families. And so, at HealthEast, care doesn't stop with patients. It extends to their families and loved ones with classes and support groups, personal counseling, genetic counseling and nutritional advice.

• Advance Care Planning
• Affirming Life - Stage IV Cancer Group
• Breast Cancer Support Group
• Caritas (Come and Receive Insight, Trust and Support)
• Genetics Support Groups
• Growth through Grieving
• Nurturing the Caregiver
• Prostate Cancer Support Group

The girls pose by Lucy at the front door to St. John's.

Kelli looks through a bag full of handmade items just before we donate them.

Amy chats with Nancy (left) and Maria during our visit on May 1.

As we leave, we shiver in the cold -- It started snowing! On the first day of May! What a spring we're having!!

Most of the handmade items from Team Yarn have been crocheted or knit in the traditional way - with hooks or needles. I noticed last month, though, that a number of the hats donated by the NE Metro Intermediate School District looked like they had been made with a knitting loom. This is also my 10 year old daughter's knitting method of choice, and we had a question about looms on our facebook page yesterday, too. So, I thought it might be time for us to tell you WHAT a loom is and how it works!

Knitting looms come in circles or rectangles and in a variety of sizes for making hats, scarves, purses, socks, and even sweaters. To make a basic hat, you wrap the yarn around the pegs twice. Then you pull the bottom loops over the top loops. Wrap the pegs again and repeat pulling the bottoms loops over the top loops. It is so simple, and basic hats require no counting stitches!

This hat was made on a loom:


I believe that these hats were also made on looms:


One of the tricks to looms is using the right yarn. We have noticed the bulky yarn works best or doubling up yarn to use two colors at a time. The pegs are a set distance apart, and they turn out a product similar to something that would be knit on super large needles. So, you have to choose your yarn accordingly.

If you look around online, you can find all sorts of youtube videos, blog posts, and patterns using looms. Some are way more complicated than others. As looms have become more popular, those creative knitters have developed more and more ways to use them.

A simple loom can be purchased for less than $10 at a craft store. If you're adventurous, you can also make your own!

Last night, Aurora & I also tried out another adventurous knitting method! The knitting machine:


We picked it up a the thrift store for $3. So, we figured that even if it was a disaster, we learned something without spending too much.

It took quite a while to figure out how to set it up, and the instructions we poor, but once we got it going, we churned out a baby hat in about 5 minutes!




Over all, I don't think I'd recommend this particular knitting machine. It was a little glitchty and dropped stitches every once in a while. There are certainly more sophisticated and expensive machines on the market, though, and the fact that even the kid version works relatively well makes me think that the more expensive grown-up versions may actually be pretty amazing! It was super fun to try!

Despite the glitches, Aurora turned out this much of a scarf in about half an hour last night (she learned how to watch for and pick up dropped stitches, too):


Finally, there's the crochet method that involves holding a sleeping baby WHILE working on hats. Complicated but satisfying...


P.S. If you happen to know of great websites for loom knitting instructions and information, please post in the comments!