I have done some volunteer work and knitting for charity in the past, but not much of it lately.  I'll tell myself that I need to give back and then quickly become distracted by my little monkies or any other number of daily distractions.  Riding the wave of community spirit inspired by our new president, I've decided to take the pledge.  Sadly, I know I may not follow through if I set my sights on going to a soup kitchen or planting trees; I just have too much going on at home at this point in my life.  However, I can knit hats and booties for newborns that aren't as fortunate as my own children, and I can make cards for soldiers serving overseas to send to their family.  These are both things that I can do from home with supplies that I pretty much already have on hand.  I can even enlist my older daughter to help with the cards teaching her a valuable lesson in the process.  So there, I've made it official and now I am accountable to anyone who may happen to read this.  I'm also making the call for anyone else out there to Take the Pledge.  The new Starbuck's campaign is asking for everyone to give 5 hours and I think that's reasonable.  If you stop into your local Starbuck's you'll even get a tall coffee in exchange for taking the pledge.  For additional information about ways you can help, check out these sites:  cardsforheroes.org, knittingforcharity.org, and pledge5.starbucks.com.

Sewing machine is in the shop.  Too much work and not enough TLC.  There's a 2 week back-up just to get an estimate - ugh!  In the meantime, I think I need to pick up a new knitting project.  I have a couple people in my life that are having babies this spring so I want to come up w/ something for them and then I want to make something new for my girls.  I don't even dare to dream about making something for myself.  That never seems to happen anymore.  C'est la vie.

I am excited to announce that Dimples Design is now in a new retail location: Union Rose in Portland, OR (www.unionrosepdx.com)  It's a truly lovely boutique full of locally made goods made by very talented artisans and crafters, and my mom and I feel very honored to be a part of it.

One more thing... here's the flyer for the Dec. 20 Solstice fair at Portland State University, near the Portland Farmer's Market.  Come check it out - it should be a lot of fun!

You can get more info at www.handmadenw.com

Hi all!  Just a quick note to let you know I haven't dropped off the face of the Earth.  It's show season and I've been a busy elf sewing, stamping tees, etc.  The wool felt brooches have been a success - yay!  After tomorrow I have a two week break from artisan fairs for Dimples Design, but I've squeezed in a few catering jobs.  I don't know when I'll have time to work on Christmas gifts... Good Grief!  I'll post pics from a show and any new product as soon as things slow down.  Happy Holidays to everyone!