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Help needed to fill bear bellies

By LINDA D. COLE and INGRID L. KOHLER
Published March 18, 2006

Among the many fascinating folks who populate Exchange Land is a small group of retired women dedicated to making Sojourn bears, cuddly stuffed animals they give to cancer patients. The group turns donated materials into cuddly friends that comfort folks in the area's hospices and hospitals throughout their treatment. Three of the ladies cut material and sew the bears together; twice a month they all gather to stuff the toys.

Or perhaps we should say that they used to stuff the bears. For, despite a good supply of cotton fabric, beady eyes and inquisitive noses, ribbon and yarn you didn't think they'd let the bears face the world without a warm knitted or crocheted sweater, did you?, the bear brigade is at a virtual standstill. The supply of polyester batting, the bears' innards, is depleted.

It's not difficult to imagine how quickly the batting must disappear. After all, a 20-ounce bag of it plumps out only two bears. And, while the group is more than happy to donate its time, purchasing materials can be difficult on retirement budgets.

If you can get the bear assembly line revving again with a donation of polyester batting left over from one of your craft projects, please call Evelyn Collins at (727) 398-0746, Larraine Huhta at (727) 392-6706 or Lillian Smith at (727) 559-0516 and they'll arrange to pick it up.

When Ann McCormack's home was burglarized, her red and white autofold cane was stolen. The blind woman, who lives in Port Richey, is understandably at a loss. If you can help Ann replace this loss, please call (727) 841-7878.

Betty Rivard of Dunedin wishes to make an old afghan pattern that requires a 3-inch-wide, hairpin lace crochet rack. She fervently hopes that someone in Exchange Land can point her toward one; she hasn't been able to unearth one in all of the obvious places. Betty may be reached at (727) 738-0121.

Remember the view finders we used back in the days before digital cameras? They helped us screen individual slides when we put together a slide show of our vacation fun for family and friends to try to get out of.

Well, Edgar and Dorothy Thompson of Pinellas Park aren't planning one of those events, but they need a view finder nevertheless. They had one, but it was lost during a move.

The Thompsons want to take slides from their collection to put on DVD, and it's a nuisance to hold each slide up to a light and try to determine its merits as a "keeper." If you can keep the couple from having to employ this tedious method, please call (727) 544-1539.

Attention all knitters and crocheters for good causes: Mary Failla of New Port Richey has two garbage bags full of yarns in different colors that you can claim by phoning (727) 375- 9190.

Sandy Bartelsmeyer, a resident of Southern Illinois who is wintering in Crystal River, thinks some of our Canadian readers may be able to help her on a project for a granddaughter who will be born soon. The baby will be a Canadian-American, and Sandy is making a quilt that reflects both heritages.

She has been trying to find a quilt block with "Winnipeg" or "Manitoba" in it. Sandy has researched all the block lists she can find, but since most of them originate in the United States, mention of those terms is scant. Please e-mail nann49@aol.com if you have one to share.

Deb Burke of Pinellas Park wants cookbooks, which she will pick up. Just call (727) 568-0846.

Doris Jones of New Port Richey needs to tap into your upholstery-cleaning expertise. She is very fond of her sofa, with its bright stripes of shocking pink, green and white, but the years have left smudges on it that need to be removed.

Sophia Burnett is looking for a pair of cafe doors, 36 inches wide by 42 inches high (height can vary a few inches). Please phone (727) 393-6976.

Send requests to Reader Exchange, Floridian, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg 33731 or e-mail cole@sptimes.com Requests will be accepted only by mail or e-mail. We will not run items that are for sale. Readers must agree to publication of phone numbers, including area code. ON THE WEB: An interactive version of Reader Exchange is available at itsyourtimes.com.

[Last modified March 18, 2006, 06:40:45]