As I've been getting myself ready for the Pink Ribbon 5K and the Pink Ribbon Fit Fest Dance Party, I've been all about cross training.  If I must say so myself, my strength training has been going great!  These may look like whimpy three pound weights to my human friends, but with each bicep curl I'm lifting 3x my weight.  Pretty impressive for a stuffed bear, don't you think?
I love tucking my ear buds underneath my A Cause for Crafting Headband and cranking up my playlist when I hit the gym.   Do you want a headband to keep your ear buds in place while you work out?  Click on the Etsy Shop link on this website and see how you can get yours and support the Hurwitz Breast Cancer Fund at the same time.

Bearfriend convinced me.  I'm doing the Pink Ribbon 5K at Baker Park  in Frederick. Maryland.  It's on the first of October so I have five weeks to train.  This smash-nose bear does everything with gusto, so early in the morning you'll find me running.   I love being out there at the first glimmer of dawn when there's hardly any traffic.    I feel like I own the streets. 
I have my A Cause for Crafting headband to keep the sweat out of my eyes.  I have my GPS watch.  What I don't have is a pair of running shoes.  I asked the humans for shoes and do you see what they gave me - doll shoes!  Do I look like a doll?  I'm a bear.  I'm a proud, running bear.  I can't run in these things.  I may have to just give up on shoes and just run bare paw. 
Want to sport A Cause for Crafting headband like smash-nose bear?  Visit our Etsy shop by clicking on the page link, connecting through the shopping guide, or finding the Cause for Crafting shop on Etsy.  There you will find the details and will be able to make an online purchase.  Remember the headbands are donated and each purchase supports the Hurwitz Breast Cancer Fund.

The following conversation was overheard in a backyard located somewhere in Maryland.
"Hey bearfriend, how did your nose get smashed?"
"Playing soccer.  I got tackled one too many times."
"There's no tackling in soccer.  You get tackled in the other kind of football."
"You do in my league.  Those preschoolers are brutal."
"Maybe you should stick to a 5K or a dance exercise party.  The Patty Hurwitz Breast Cancer Fund is hosting a 5K on October 1st and a dance exercise party on October 8th."
"Sounds perfect.  I already have my Breast Cancer Awareness Headband from A Cause for Crafting.  The proceeds from my head band go to the Hurwitz Breast Cancer Fund so wearing a headband is another way to support a good cause."
Get your pink sports headband by clicking on the Etsy shop tab on this site or find us at Cause for Crafting on Etsy.

This is a blog post about winter hats made in Vermont so there should be fake snow.  Right?
Sorry. We don't have any fake snow to remind our readers that the cold weather will come, as always.  The signs are here already.  Children are getting their backpacks and outfits ready and heading back to school.  The dusk is coming just a bit earlier every day and the end of summer sales are over.  It's time to start thinking about our fall and winter wardrobe. 
A Cause for Crafting has the perfect addition to your cold weather gear.  We have hand-knit, Vermont-made hats in both adult and children's sizes .    Purchase of a hat will warm your heart as well as your head since each sale benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Click on our Etsy Shop link to see the hats we have available!

If you are looking to garner compliments in the gym....

and your form leaves something to be desired....

we have the item for you.  We are introducing 2 new sports headbands.  Our pink, breast cancer awareness headbands will make you look good even when your athleticism fails you.  These two new headbands are raising funds for the Patty Hurwitz Breast Cancer Fund.  Click on our Etsy Shop link to see the details and purchase one for yourself

As I read my digital subscription to the New York Times on my iPad, an article caught my eye, "Sewing for the Instagram Generation."  It described the New York headquarters of the McCall's Pattern Company, a company founded in1863.  Not only has the company survived, but as the article says it finds itself "newly fashionable."  I'm glad to hear the art of sewing is alive and well.  Change may be the only constant in life, but there is something timeless about creating with fabric and stitches.    Just two short weeks ago, while my grandchildren were visiting from California, I was able to share the creative pleasure of sewing with my grandson and granddaughter.  They pored through my collection of scraps until they found just the right pieces and together we created drawstring bags.  I guided their hands as they fed the material into the machine, just as my mother and grandmother guided my hands.  The machine we used may be newer than my mother's old Singer, but the satisfaction of creating with cloth hasn't changed a bit.
P.S. They did a great job on the their bags.