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.

International Coastal Cleanup

Satchel and I had a great time at the ocean clean-up yesterday. We spent a few hours with our neighbors and friends at a beach in Seattle, called Alki Beach. The beaches closer to us had an overwhelming volunteer turnout, so we went across town to a beautiful area (of many beautiful coastal areas here in Seattle) to help out.

The photos are of Satchel and Solomon playing at the Golden Gardens beach and Deception Pass beach two and four weeks ago. Yesterday, it was a bit colder with light rain, but with a lovely rainbow rewarding us at the end of the clean-up. And, Solomon was at his soggy soccer game, with Coach Dad.

Satchel, our neighbors and I enjoyed the soggy beach air and foggy views while we picked up a sadly unbelievable amount of cigarette butts (at least 75% of the garbage!), band-aids, bottle tops, plastic and styrofoam bits with our gloved hands. My conclusion from the day was to wish that tobacco manufacturers could at least make rapidly biodegradable cigarette butts, if not be responsible for funding beach cleanups. I left filled with a subtle satisfaction of helping our ocean habitat, but feel scarred by the highly selfish practice of smokers who think it's OK to treat sidewalks, planters, roadways and beaches like their personal ashtray.

Thanks to Stefany for letting us know about the cleanup and including us in her travel group to and from the site.

Back to sewing today!

Mittens, hats and gloves have arrived!

Hats, mittens and gloves are here in plenty of time. Sizes and quantities are a bit limited, but that makes the handmade quality all the more special.

My favorite are the mushroom mittens. I already sent my new niece this two-piece set and the matching blossom slippers (the matching slippers will be on the site soon!).

Mongolia on NPR this week

The photography is beautiful. However, the story is about serious struggle in Mongolia. The NPR week long series is titled Global Financial Crisis Hits Mongolia and tells the story of sheep herders. It is more important than ever to support fair trade practices and the entrepreneurs in Mongolia. Listening to today's story has further deepened my commitment to supporting fair trade and earth-friendly practices in Mongolia.

The artists who create felted wool slippers and other items for Satch & Sol include those who herd their own sheep and those who buy wool locally from their neighbors and herders within Mongolia.

The NPR piece today also touches on environmental concerns and the situation caused by overgrazing of cashmere goats. I had heard of this issue, but had not understood its significance until now. I had associated cashmere goats as "bad" and sheep and other types of goats as "good", but now know why. Cashmere goats eat the grass from the root, which contributes to the decline of grasslands to desert. Sheep and non-cashmere goats eat the grass without destroying the roots, thus allowing for sustainable re-growth. Demand for cashmere by Chinese factories has caused many herders to unnaturally offset their herd balance in favor of non-sustainable cashmere goats.

At Satch & Sol, we love felted wool - that's sheep's wool. Occasionally, felted wool includes wool from non-cashmere goats and from camels. Satch & Sol will continue to support sustainable herding in Mongolia through demand for non-cashmere, luxurious, soft felted wool slippers.

Thank you NPR for this great series. Thank you Seattle neighbor Joanne for telling me about the NPR series!

Weekend = Sewing

Weekends are a great time to catch up on sewing. Labor Day weekend is no exception, especially with our very winter-like chilly rainy weather today. I am sewing tags, sewing slipper embellishments, sewing unique adult size slippers for local fundraiser sales...and, recently, sewing buttons and thread felted wool animals to make ornaments.

Made from slipper scraps, the lovely felted wool creatures have arrived! Here in Seattle, I sew a unique button and thread to each animal so it is tree-ready. Of course, the thread and button can be easily removed and the creature can stand on its own.

My new favorite is the elephant, but it's hard to steer away from the woolly grey billy goat. The recent arrival of the felted wool animals from Mongolia inspired my family to go to the Woodland Park Zoo this afternoon. The snow leopards (native to Mongolia) were our favorites today.

Eco Fashion Show

Last month, Satch & Sol participated in an eco-fashion show with other members of Green America.

The show took place in Deer Lodge, Montana and was accomplished by Anna Hermann of Herman's ECO Inc.

Thank you for including Satch & Sol, Anna!