Mother Masha Golberstein couldn't resist this pigtail hat made by Aurora Pass for her little boy during our visit on Friday, April 3, 2015. 

No, mama, no hat!

Mama achieves success - briefly - while he's preoccupied with cartoons.

When he realizes there is a hat on his head, off it comes!

Two-year-old Hillel was getting his kidney dialysis treatment during our visit. 

Hillel is being treated at U of M Masonic Children's Hospital in Minneapolis (formerly named Amplatz) and had recently flown in from his home in Israel. 

Hillel is waiting for a kidney transplant, but needs to be free of infections first. Two of his siblings also have kidney issues, specifically vesicoureteric reflux (VUR).

With my son's recent kidney troubles, I found the visit to be heart-breaking, but it was encouraging to meet such a strong mama and her adorable son. The family is in our prayers.

Click here to view past donations to the U of M Amplatz/Masonic Children's Hospital.

Our donations in March totaled 32 gorgeous, handmade items. We're focusing on quality these days, not quantity.

Linda has taken on the new challenge of knitting more, and Tesha and Amy are both working on large projects. So while the total number is a bit lower than in other months, I think the amount of rows stitched is more!

 Happy while we work...

In February 2015, you amazing volunteers donated 59 hats!

And this month, half of the photos were taken by my assistant photographer, Josey. Enjoy!

The kiddos made fish prints during craft time at Silverwood.

Barbara Hart lives in Alabama and has sent us hats once a year since Team Yarn started. This was her 2015 shipment - 8 hats and a scarf! THANKS, Barbara!

Ann has attended our meetings in the past but hasn't been able to make it out to see us recently. So, she popped her hats in the mail, and I received them last week. THANKS, Ann!!

 

We brought 125 hats and 20 pairs of mittens to the Ronald McDonald House in Minneapolis on Friday, Jan. 30, 2015. 

This was our second donation to this important resource for families here in the Twin Cities. We couldn't take a tour because we had little kids with us, and they're pretty serious about germs and illness prevention, but we did have a nice chat with Emily about all the features of the Ronald McDonald House.

Emily mentioned that there are several room sizes available, depending on what a family needs. They are like hotel suites. Some hold up to 10 people! They're used by extended families. While sometimes it's just a parent and a child, other times aunts, uncles, grandmas, siblings and friends stay to help out.  

The average stay for a patient at the Ronald McDonald House is 3 to 4 months. The Minneapolis location has one of the longest average stays of a Ronald McDonald House. This is because so many kids there are transplant patients.  The Minneapolis House is bigger than the Rochester location.

Shuttles are offered from the House to the various hospitals around. In Minneapolis, there are also smaller Ronald McDonald Houses inside Gillette Children's Hospital and Minneapolis Children's Hospital. This spring

There are big kitchens on the main floor of the House, and many local people and groups donate food and kitchen supplies so that everything at the House provided free of charge. 

As shown on the mural, there's a big play area and a house dog named Eddie.

Plus, there's a school on site! There average 7-15 kids in the one-room classroom. The school teacher works with the student's teachers from back home on lessons. Plus, some work is done online. "Even if she has five second graders, they might all be doing something different," said Emily.

ABOUT THE RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE

See more about the Ronald McDonald House and past donations here: