A Nice Letter from a Scleroderma Patient

I just received this nice letter from C.  I recently donated quite a few hats to Scleroderma patients.  C. is almost finished with a transplant that she is receiving as part of a clinical trial.  I am anxious to hear about the results and will post more information as soon as it's available!

Taylor,

Thank you for what you are doing. I am a Scleroderma patient from________. I just received several of your hats from my fellow Scleroderma patient and friend. It was a really bright spot in an otherwise tense and challenging time. Thank you!

I am in ________, participating in a clinical trial for auto-immune diseases where I'm getting a stem cell transplant. I'll be here for two months. It's cold! I'm losing my femininity as I lose my hair. I'm worried how my family and friends will treat me as I "get ugly" during this process. Your adorable hats let me feel like myself! It's not my blond hair, but it is a chance for my face to shine and not be overwhelmed by the odd baldness. It's wonderful!

I believe attitude is everything while undergoing stem cell transplant. I'm doing fine on that front! Now you are part of that.

Winter Hats are Here!

Hi!
I'm preparing to deliver a large hat shipment to the office of Sabina Wallach later this week!  Please email me at shelleygerber1@gmail.com if you are in need of a hat!  I have lots more and would love to send one to you.  As always the hat and shipping are free to anyone who needs a hat.
Happy Winter!
Taylor

A Special Project

I started looking at colleges last year and found Armed RevolutioKnits through the Clairemont Colleges site.  Here is a bit about them from their site:

"Armed RevolutioKnits consists of students of the Claremont Colleges who have decided to express discontent with the maltreatment of women worldwide and promote positive social and political change through the art of yarn bombing.

We are reclaiming the art of knitting from its normal domestic connotation and transforming it into a display we hope can change the world and empower women.

Yarn graffiti is similar to regular graffiti in several ways. Most graffiti attempts to reclaim a public space for artistic and political expression and bring color to areas where there is none. Unlike other forms of graffiti, however, yarn graffiti (“yarn bombing”) does not actually damage property and can be easily removed. It’s also an art form that is generally associated with the domestic, so its use as graffiti is a twofold social provocation.

People may be surprised by the yarn graffiti disrupting the world around them, but we feel that this is the purpose of graffiti in the first place. Our yarn graffiti interrupts the normal environment by adding color and texture and by bringing to the surface issues that we feel should be discussed. Just because we don’t necessarily want to see something doesn’t mean we shouldn’t acknowledge that it is important. We do not want to be offensive or accusatory, but would like to promote a dialogue about the issues that we raise."

At the end of last year, I helped out the people at Armed RevolutioKnits with a couple of projects.  One project involved knit/crochet hearts and was geared toward raising awareness about women's heart health.  The other project involved knit/crochet "ties" and promoted women's involvement in government.  I donated hearts and ties that I designed and created and I also posted information and hearts/ties around San Diego.  I am featured on their blog right now.  Have a peek!

http://armedrevolutioknits.wordpress.com/

Here are some photos of my work:

I'm looking forward to continuing to work with Armed RevolutioKnits this year and in the future!  

Taylor

Summer Donations

Today, 30 hats were delivered to Dr. Sabina Wallach's office.

Last week, I visited the University of Toledo Medical Center and had surgery to implant a cardiac loop recorder.  It will help my doctors decide how to proceed with my treatment.

The summer is speeding by!

Taylor

Hats for the Homeless

Today, I'm sending off a box of hats to Hats for the Homeless in Hackensack, New Jersey.

Thanks San Diego North Coast Knitters Guild!

Thanks to the San Diego North Coast Knitters Guild, 103 beautiful hand knit hats will be donated to those in need!

Today I had coffee with Linda, who is head of philanthropy for the San Diego North Coast Knitters Guild. It was great to see her again and get to know her a little bit better. She brought 103 hats that will be distributed across the nation by Téte â Téte. Each one of these hats was knit by a kind person who wants to help others and I am grateful for every single hat. The hours that it takes to choose or create a pattern, pick the yarn, carefully knit and finish each hat show that a lot of care goes into each and every hat. I know that the people who receive the hats will be even more grateful than I am for each knitters generous donation of their time and energy.

March 2012

Dear Friends,

It has been a while since I have posted, but I wanted to let you know that the hats are still being produced and donated on a regular basis. My friend Emily and I started a club of students at my school to increase donations because the demand has been so great. The club has not donated any hats yet, but watch future posts for more information. Currently, we are teaching knitting/crochet to students and holding planning meetings.

The number of people with cancer will never cease to amaze me and I am so grateful to be in a position to help in this small way.

Please feel free to contact me if you are in need of a hat or would like to help knit (or donate a a hat or hats) to those in need. The hats are always provided free of charge and shipping is included. I can also provide yarn to anyone who would like to knit or crochet for us.

tete.a.tete.hats@gmail.com

Taylor