Tree of Life UU Knit Ministry yarn bomb park with scarves

Several members of the Knitting Ministry of the Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 5603 Bull Valley Road in McHenry, met twice a month at the church since last fall and knit or crocheted 33 scarves and seven. Each one was unique and a work of art.

In the dark of Monday night, Feb. 13, the eve of Valentine's Day, they took the products of their work to a playground by the Hillcrest Apartment complex in McHenry, home to many low-income families, and festooned the equipment, hedges, and trees with their handiwork. Each scarf came with a heart-shaped tag that read, "I am not lost. I was handmade for you. If you are cold, please take me." There was also a small button attached to each one that read, 'Handmade for you with love'."

Lisa Jacobsen, a longtime PADS volunteer and coordinator of the congregation's summer program for the homeless, Compassion 4 Campers, who helped organize the Knitting Ministry, said that the group, who sometimes called themselves the Knit Wits, just, "wanted to give as a loving act toward strangers."

The stealth attack was evidently successful. Sue Rekenthaler, another knitter, reported that all of the scarves were gone when she drove by the park shortly after 9 a.m. on Valentine's Day.

The knitters will be right back at it. They meet at the church at 1 p.m. on the first and third Thursday of the month and invite anyone to join them.

"If we meet at an inconvenient time for you, feel free to work at home and donate your hats, scarves, mittens, gloves or other appropriate projects to our cause. There is a box of yarn in the coatroom, feel free to take what you love for your project," said project coordinator Janet Burns.

For more information, call Janet Burns at (847) 542-7678 or the Tree of Life office at (815) 322-2464. Visit treeoflifeuu.org or www.facebook.com/UUMcHenry/.