“A sleighful of unique, handcrafted Christmas ornaments once again adorn the big Hearts and Hammers evergreen in the front window of the Island Athletic Club in Freeland. Donated by professional and amateur craftspeople from South Whidbey, the ornaments’ sale will help pay for the cost of home repair materials to be used on the annual spring Hearts and Hammers workday.This year, local artists have donated a huge array of holiday decorations that showcase the talents and varied mediums that have made the Island well known as an artist’s community. There are ornaments from painters, weavers, jewelers, sculptors, potters, glass blowers, and wood carvers, as well as multi-media creations that combine materials and techniques. Junior Girl Scout Troop #259 also has again contributed, making ornaments of colorful fabric and cork gingerbread figures. The sale begins is under way now at the Island Athletic Club on Highway 525 just north of Freeland, and will continue until the day after Christmas. IAC is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m.-9 p.m., Saturday 8- 6, and Sunday noon-8 p.m. All proceeds go directly to Hearts and Hammers, a local volunteer effort to repair and maintain for free the homes of people physically or financially unable to do so themselves. On the first Saturday in May every year since 1994 hundreds of South Whidbey folks have painted walls, patched roofs, cut back brush, and done all sorts of chores for their neighbors. The materials for the May workday are paid for with money raised through donations and fund-raising events throughout the year, such as the Christmas ornament sale. Last year, the ornament sale alone raised enough money to help improve the homes of two or three of the 34 South Whidbey families served by Hearts and Hammers. “