Yarning for a Cause offers holiday comfort and joy

Volunteer needle workers of the Yarning for a Cause group have provided more than 400 hats to people in need ranging from preemie babies to sailors braving frigid seas. (Photo from Phaedra Mintun)


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Yarning for a Cause offers holiday comfort and joy BY KAREN ENGDAHL, The Shopper December 25, 2017 yarning Left to right Phaedra Mintun, Kathy Parks, Janice Izzo. Photo provided by Phaedra Mintun. SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – Over the past two years, the volunteer needle workers of the Yarning for a Cause group that meets every Wednesday evening at the Springfield Town Library have provided more than 400 hats to people in need ranging from preemie babies to sailors braving frigid seas. yarning Janice Izzo crochets a hat. Photo by Karen Engdahl. Phaedra Mintun, who started the group in the fall of 2016, says she has been crafting for charity for many years. “When my husband and I moved here from Seattle we didn’t know anyone and we both work from home,” she explained. “So I started this group in order to meet people and connect with the community.” Mintun says the library has been the perfect headquarters for the group, “People feel comfortable dropping in, visiting, and relaxing with each other while they knit or crochet. We make things for five different charities, so there’s bound to be one a crafter can connect with.” “We knit/crochet hats for the Santa Express, which hands out toys, hats, mittens, and other items to children in poverty stricken areas; Christmas at Sea, which provides hats to active duty serviceman sailing in cold climates; Knots of Love, which provides hats for cancer patients going through chemo; Preemie Project, which provides hats for premature babies; and Hats 4 the Homeless, a New York based group that provides hats and other warm items for homeless people” she explained. Mintun provides the patterns, hooks and needles, and yarn – each charity has very specific requirements for what brands and type of yarns can be accepted and what conditions it has been in, such as it can not have come into contact with animal hair or smoke – so there is no cost to participate. Mintun and other group members are also happy to teach anyone who wants to learn how to crochet or knit. yarning Phaedra Mintun with charity-specific yarn supplies. Photo by Karen Engdahl. “It’s a fun way to spend an evening, we sit and chat and make hats. The world is crazy, so it’s nice to sit in the beautiful, cozy, library and relax and do something good. We often talk about the importance of handmade goods and how knowing someone spent the time to make an item for another human in need can make a difference in someone’s life. We send a lot of hopes and love with each hat,” Mintun says. Janice Izzo, who has been a regular member of the group almost since its inception, says she learned to knit and crochet from her grandmother and feels good about carrying on the tradition of making things by hand. “It makes a difference,” she said, “when people know you took the time to craft something unique just for them.” Yarning for a Cause meets every Wednesday evening at the Springfield Town Library and welcomes new members at any