December 10 is shop for Anissa Day

Satch & Sol joins over 60 online businesses in Aim Low’s Shop for Anissa tomorrow, December 10^th. Anissa Mayhew, a popular mom blogger, suffered a severe stroke a few weeks ago. Anissa is mom to three, including one daughter with leukemia. This fund will help her family deal with mounting bills.

Twenty percent of December 10^th sales revenue will go directly to the fund created for Anissa and her family. Here is more information, posted by Cool Mom's Picks, about the one day shopping event.

Hence, 20% of every online order you place on December 10th will go to the fund for Anissa. Shop for the holidays and help Anissa Mayhew.

Busy Busy...Waldorf Faires this weekend

December swept upon me. My birthday is the last day of November, yet December always takes me by surprise. Satch & Sol has been happily busy. Tonight, I am preparing for two wonderful local Faires. There will be many beautiful handmade items at both Faires. Come see Satch & Sol for great sample sale prices.

Dec 5 - Bright Water School, Sugar Plum Faire, 11am-3pm, 1501 10th Ave E Seattle, WA 98102
Dec 6 - Seattle Waldorf School, Winter Faire, 10am-3pm, 2728 NE 100th St, Seattle, WA 98125

Seriously, I think I bought all my family's holiday gifts at these two events last year.

Enjoy the weekend!

Felt again for Halloween

This might be the last year for Halloween costumes made by Mom. Solomon (6) made his own adorable tree costume and Satchel (4) made an awesome super Satchel costume, but they BOTH insisted on specific super heroes this year for trick-or-treat.

Thank goodness for the library and a sticker book. I had no idea what Iron Man and Blue Power Ranger look like. I'm not sure how my boys know so much about these heroes since we lack a television and their schools don't have commercial action figures lying around. I think super hero knowledge must travel from kids-to-kids wherever they play! (I think Solomon really wanted an LED light shining from his chest.)

I hope they will get a lot of wear our of their costume PJs. (Thanks for the hand-me-downs Aunt Jody!)

Happy Halloween!

Local Shows

I love to support local schools and fundraisers. Satch & Sol will be selling certain styles at upcoming shows listed below. Check back because I will add more events as they are confirmed.

November 7 and 8 - St. Brendan's Craft Fair. There will be over 100 crafters at this annual event. Saturday 9am-5pm and Sunday noon - 4pm. 10049 - 195th Avenue NE in Bothell, WA 98011

December 6 - Waldorf Winter Faire at the Seattle Waldorf School, 10am - 3pm, 2728 NE 100th Street in Seattle, WA 98125

Local sales include sample items not shown on the website, as well as many items from the website, and all prices are reduced. If you would like to see a specific size and style at one of these shows, please email me (handmade@satchsol.com) with the specifics. I'll bring the item to the show for you to see and try.

If you would like to recommend another local Faire or show for Satch & Sol to attend, please email me at handmade@satchsol.com. Thank you!

Halloween reminiscing

As we completed Halloween costumes tonight, Solomon asked what his costume was when he was a baby. The truth is that he was brand new and tiny at his first Halloween, lying in a little light-up bed fighting jaundice and the billirubin count. I don't think that counts as a costume, but we have a photo of him in a bear hat next to a jack-o-lantern. He is yellow. The pumpkin is orange.

I love making costumes for my kids. I love that they make costumes themselves now, too. And, of course, we use a lot of felt.

Here are a few of my favorites from over the years, in no particular order.

Video from Mongolia

I wish I had video to share of the artists creating Satch & Sol slippers. I do not. However, I found this video of the making of felted ger walls on youtube. The heavy felted walls are MUCH bigger than slippers, so they are beaten down by dragging on horse back. Horses are not used in the felting of Satch & Sol slippers, hats and mittens, all of which are felted around a mold to be seamless. The similarities in the processes are the lack of electricity to beat the wool into felt, the small group work, and the fact that many of the artists live in gers themselves.

Someday, I'll record a video, if the artists will allow me to. Until then, I noticed several youtube videos about felting process and found them all to be very informative, espcially the ones showing Mongolia specifically.

Ebjoy!

Seattle sample sales upcoming

Satch & Sol will be selling samples of infant, child and adult slippers, as well as hand-knit sweaters, felted purses, felted animal ornaments and several other items locally this year. If you are local, please visit Satch & Sol at the following events to save on gifts:

* Wallingford Wurst Festival, September 25 & 26 - Please come for the bounce houses, rides, live music and the amazing bake sale. And, stop by the many craft vendors inside and outside at the fair. This event is fantastic for the whole family and benefits the St. Benedicts School which is located in my neighborhood. This festival has been going on for 27 years and is really wonderful.

* The Fun Fair to benefit Northwest Center Child Development Center, October 3, 2-6pm. Live music, Soundbridge story telling, kids drum circle, face painting, craft vendors, BBQ dinner, bake sale and more. This 2nd annual event is very fun. I have a child currently attending this school and LOVE it. It's located on Queen Anne, not far from the Fremont Bridge.

I enjoy participating in local fundraising events and fairs. Check the blog later this month for a list of more events for October through December.