Happy Holidays from Caron!
For us, the holidays have become special, not because we recieve gifts, but because it is a time of year to be generous and thoughtful of others. The holiday spirit of giving seems to lift all of our hearts a little and lets us know that we are a family that is more united by what we share than divided by our differences.

To help you celebrate your generous spirit (and we know that knitters and crocheters are some of the most generous folks out there), we've collected a list of several ways you can use your stitching gifts to benefit others. We hope this list is helpful to you and that—even by contributing in a small way—you will indeed have made the world a better place. What better way to celebrate the holidays?

Rwandan Knitting Project—A program near and dear to our hearts, the program, founded by our own Cari Clement, sends knitting machines to Rwandan refugee camps where widows of AIDS and genocide are trained to create garments, learn business skills and form co-ops to knit for a sustainable livlihood. We are delighted that the program is featured in the new book: Knitting for Peace: Make the World a Better Place One Stitch at a Time by Betty Christiansen.
Operation Homefront—Soldiers stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo are exposed to winds and bitter cold during the winter months. Riding in open trucks and humvees, they often encounter sub-zero wind chills. You can knit hats and helmet liners that may just make their very difficult task a little easier.
Save the Children—Save the Children’s State of the World’s Mothers 2006 report highlighted simple, low-cost practices that could save newborn lives — like warming their heads with a knit or crochet cap. So they teamed up with the Craft Yarn Council's Warm Up America Foundation to put out a country-wide appeal for hats for premature infants. The website gives you free patterns and lets you track the progress of the program.
Ellie's Angels—Begun in 1989 by Ellie Handsel, the orgainziation seeks to help thousands of men, women and children, as they struggle with life and death issues.
Afghans for Afghans—Inspired by Red Cross volunteers in prior world wars, this program collects garments and blankets that are shipped to Afghanistan to help the population through the cold winter months.
Newborns in Need—A nationwide organization, Newborns in Need provides handmade garments, hats, blankets and more to babies born prematurely. Their website lists an urgent need for "preemie clothing from size 2 pounds and up to 4 pounds."
Warm Up America—An incredibly successful program, Warm Up America gathers 9" x 9" squares from all over America; volunteers join the squares to create afghans and blankets that are then distributed to the needy. To date, over 250,000 afghans have been distributed. A wonderful way for the new knitter or crocheter to contribute.
OnePixelataTime.org—When you want to take a quick break from you busy stitching, drop by this ingenious website that raises funds for breast cancer research. It only takes a minute to help.