Crafty Ladies continues to be a very active group at Holy Cross. In 1973, the church Council approved HCLC participating in the Community Christmas Bazaar and a group of women began working just in the fall to represent our parish at this event. In 1982, the group had grown and they decided to meet year round, only breaking for the summer, sharing their talents and interests in crafts and needlework, and thus being able to help provide for unbudgeted needs at HCLC...and Crafty Ladies was born! The caring fellowship and loving support this group offers continues to be its biggest asset. All women of Holy Cross and friends are always welcome to join us.

We started 2002 with our annual “cupboard cleaning party” - what we can’t use for bazaar projects, we donate each year to other’s groups at Holy Cross, and the Valley Memorial Thrift Shop. We met on the first and third Tuesdays through May, working on our own projects or bazaar crafts and sharing patterns and ideas. Our last meeting in May, we again enjoyed breakfast together at Poppy Ridge in Livermore, followed by a visit to our local craft shops before recessing for the summer.

In September, we began meeting weekly as we prepared for our Holiday Bazaar. The 2006 Holiday Bazaar will be hold on Friday and Saturday, November 3 and 4, with the late sale following both services on Sunday, November 5, in the Parish Hall. All money we make goes right back into non-funded needs at Holy Cross. Recently we have purchased new window blinds for the kitchen and paid to complete the new overhead lighting fixtures in the kitchen. Crafty Ladies also purchased two large food warmers for the Fellowship Committee to use for church dinners. Finally, we paid for a new heavy duty stapler for the church office.

We have two ongoing projects which Crafty Ladies funds during the year. We provide rosebuds and place them on the organ in honor of new babies born to members of our congregation. Carole Kehl and Marilyn Schell are responsible for providing this service. Our other ongoing project is the purchase of materials needed to make the napkins presented at baptismal services in our Parish. Ronnie Kiefer prepares the napkins for embroidery, and along with her dedicated group of volunteer needle-crafters in our congregation, they make sure we have a constant supply of the embroidered napkins for our growing Parish. We thank all who help make the lovely napkins, which add a special touch, that is very meaningful to the families of those being baptized.

Another outgoing service project at HCLC is the knitting and crocheting of hats of donated yarn for the homeless in San Francisco. Carole Thorngate and Joyce Brooks knitted more than a 100 hats this past year! This is including the hats they knitted for the gift packages the Luther League passed out to the homeless in December.\

Special thanks to the congregation for its continuous support, and to Marilyn Schell who served as our treasurer, and for all the “Crafty Ladies” who share in this ministry. We thank you.