Hello, my long lost Xmarks friends! I have a story that wanted to share with you. I know some of you will appreciate this, and I'm proud to be a part of it.

Last May I received an email from a Marine Corps wife. Janine's husband had been in Iraq for 7 months, and meanwhile she had given birth to their first child, a little girl. She wanted to do something special for her husband's eventual homecoming, and was looking for some USMC Marpat camo. I was out of kilt making by that time, but I still had several yards of genuine USMC desert Marpat (from a little kilt barter I did with a Marine...) Anyhow, I thought this was a great thing, so I sent her a couple yards of fabric.

Last night I received a letter from Janine with the attached picture. Here's a little of what she said:

"I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for sending me the USMC material. My husband got back one month late so he didn't make it back until October. He was healthy & safe so that's all that mattered to me.

"I ended up making a skirt for me and a matching sundress for my 7 month old daughter. Those outfits really meant a lot to all of us. It made us stand out, and with my daughter and I wearing it, made really proud of being a Marine Corps wife!"

Nice!