Author: Rain Gilman

Now that cold weather is seriously here the hats & scarves from SB Knitters for the Homeless are essentials for well being and even survival.  Help us help keep our unhoused community members a little warmer this Winter. You can knit on your own and drop off “warmies” to Jody. Or you can join our cozy on the second Tuesday of each month. Our next gathering will be Tuesday December 12th at Pour Decisions. Remember that if you need yarn or knitting help between our monthly meeting, or if you’re new and want to get started NOW, just contact Jody.  Happy knitting!!

Join us this Saturday Dec.2nd at the Ballard VFW from 1:00pm to 4:00pm for a festive afternoon of creativity, barter, community and holiday cheer! The party starts at 1pm and bartering begins at 2pm. So walk, bike, carpool, or bus over and join us for some merriment. There will be free refreshments, live music and an excellent opportunity to gift in a more intentional & earth friendly manner.

We’ve got some beautiful hand-made and repurposed items for this year’s barter. There will be: baked goods, herb swags, holiday wreathes, Julekake (holiday Christmas bread), jewelry, hand blown drinking glasses & fused glass earrings, handmade soaps, pot holders, jams, fascinators, hair clips, pendulums, vintage slips, glasses holders, hand crafted note cards, plants and much much more! Even if you’re not bartering some items will be available for sale as well. So come have some fun with Sustainable Ballard while crossing everyone off your gift list.

It’s not too late to Register as a barter participant. This is open to the public as well with a suggested $5 donation to help cover costs of the event. We hope you will join us for this joyful annual event!

Ballard Sprouts is asking for your donations.

Here is a link to the SeedMoney page for SGGN where you can donate funds to support Ballard Sprouts:

https://donate.seedmoney.org/9407/seattle-giving-garden-network-2023The Ballard Sprouts project provides a headstart to the Seattle Giving Gardeners by starting seeds in a greenhouse in mid-February. We transplant and tend the plants and then in April donate the plants to the Seattle Giving Gardeners.  These gardeners will grow and harvest the food then donate the produce to the Seattle Food Banks or food needy people. These giving gardens are usually associated with a P-Patch but anyone can have a giving garden.

All the funds for Ballard Sprouts  come from the Seattle Giving Garden Network (SGGN.org).  Ballard Sprouts spends about $2500 each year and we donate around 20,000 plants to the Seattle Giving Gardeners. 

In 2023 we had a successful Sprouts pilot project at Heron’s Nest in West Seattle.  They grew and contributed over 2,000 plants and they plan to double that in 2024.

We have another Sprouts location that will start up in 2024 in the Beacon Hill Neighborhood with a goal of growing 5,000 plants.

SGGN funds all these locations, provides small grants to giving gardeners to improve their plots, and distributes seeds. SGGN is having a fundraiser through the SeedMoney.org Campaign that runs until December 14th. The SeedMoney Campaign provides a webpage and a donate button and all funds donated on the SGGN page comes directly to SGGN without any overhead.

 We invite you to donate now or anytime until December 15th.  AND share our work and this link with your family and friends and ask them to support Ballard Sprouts. $20, $30, $40 all make a difference.  SeedMoney will provide a bonus for the project with the most donors so please invite everyone to support this project.

Support Ballard Sprouts at:

https://donate.seedmoney.org/9407/seattle-giving-garden-network-2023

It never fails to amaze me what a group of people can accomplish when working together for a common goal. Over the past year Sustainable Ballard volunteers have gathered baked goods & Farmers Market produce for community meal programs and the Ballard Food bank. They have grown thousands of seedlings to be distributed to P-Patch giving gardens and food banks throughout Seattle. Our Knitters have made hundreds of handmade hats and scarves for neighbors in need. Free Letters home volunteers have connected hundreds with family and friends. Idle Free volunteers have educated drivers about the harmful impact of idling and what they can do to help keep our air clean. Edible Garden volunteers and hosts have shared not only their inspiring food gardens but their knowledge of how to garden sustainably with hundreds of neighbors this past Summer. Our Ballard Tool Librarians have provided access to tools and knowledge on how to fix/create/be self-sufficient.

Some of our volunteers dedicate hours weekly, others monthly or quarterly. We appreciate EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU! The fact that you choose to spend your time in this very busy world helping others demonstrates the power of community to create change. Sustainable Ballard is lucky to have you and our neighborhood is truly a better place to live/work/play because of YOU! Thank you for all you have done, do, and continue to do.

If you have not volunteered with us before, or it’s been a while and you would like to again, please Contact Us for opportunities. It’s a great way to get to know your neighbors, participate in your local Ballard community and create a positive & lasting impact for others.

Hello, Sustainable Ballard community! Have you harnessed the power of the Ballard Tool Library to bring your DIY dreams to life? We want to celebrate your creations! Share with us your tool-powered triumphs.

Please send us photos and a description of what you built! Your creations are not only inspiring to others but also a testament to the impact of our tool library resources. So, don’t be shy, share your projects with us today! Let’s showcase the incredible things our community can accomplish together. Send your photos and descriptions to Mack. Happy Building!

Also, please stay tuned for a new Tool Sale date. We hope to share this with you all soon. Thanks for your patience!

Calling all makers, creators and crafters! It’s that magical time of year and we’re excited to invite you to join this year’s Barter Fair and Holiday Party at the VFW on Saturday Dec. 2nd from 1-4pm. This is a great opportunity to bring your talents/skill to the table and trade for other wonderful items. Last year we had wreaths, jewelry, books, plants, food items, hand knit/crochet hats & scarfs, beautiful painted rocks and SO much more!

For those of you like myself who are either less creative or just limited on time don’t worry! It is also possible to purchase some lovely gifts for yourselves or others. This is really about gathering community together and marveling at all of our collective talents/ability. We have some really resourceful neighbors and it’s great to participate in a more intentional manner of consumption.

In addition to amazing bartering there will be treats, hot cocoa & cider, and good cheer. So please join us for an afternoon of fun with your neighbors. There is easy parking and bus access. Not too mention the opportunity to check out our newest addition to Ballard if you haven’t already been by to say “Velkommen” to Frankie Feetsplinters across the street at the Nordic Museum. He is part of Danish artist Dambo’s Pacific Northwest installation where each whimsical troll sculpture is part of an underlying environmental story.

As usual, we’re looking for a few good volunteers. If you would like to lend a hand for this fun event please contact Our Volunteer Coordinator for more details or Sign up for a volunteer shift here. We mainly need help setting-up, decorating, welcoming attendees and cleaning up when the fun is over. Even if you only have an hour or two to spare we would appreciate the help. We look forward to seeing you there!

Connecting Community Far and Near

Last week a Ballard Food Bank client wanted to know what our amazing Free Letters Home volunteer Paula was doing with a table full of cards. She spoke only Mandarin and so Paula communicated through her phone in English which would then translate it back to Lyu in Mandarin. She was so glad to get a choice and chose a card with a blossom to write to a friend, and then took another one as well.

Many food bank clients have used our stationary and postage to get in touch with friends and family and very much enjoy seeing us weekly and appreciate our cards and stamps. Please consider donating any extra or unused holiday cards you may have and forever postage is always needed. Cards and stamps  can be brought to Andrea’s house at 7713 11th Ave NW.

Also, if you have language skills and would like to volunteer for a shift please contact us at Volunteer It makes a big difference to someone when they are able to communicate in their first language. As we enter this season of giving, please think of all the ways you can improve our community by sharing your time and unique talent.

Ballard Sprouts is a volunteer project at a private Ballard greenhouse that starts seeds, tends them and then donates them to giving gardeners in Seattle.  These gardeners will raise the plants, harvest them and give them to Seattle Food Banks. Most giving gardens are located in Seattle P-Patches.  Here is a map of the location of the over 90 P-Patches in Seattle. The yellow highlights those P-Patches who picked up plants from Ballard Sprouts. As you can see, we do not have much coverage in south Seattle.  This is about to change.  This year we started a successful Pilot Project at Heron’s Nest off West Marginal Way in West Seattle. We had space in their greenhouse and we grew over 2,500 plants. We will continue and expand this in February 2024.

We have found another location on Beacon Hill just south of the VA. This enthusiastic homeowner with a greenhouse will grow up to 5,000 plants for donation.

If you have friends or family members in West Seattle or Beacon Hill who would like to spend quiet time in a greenhouse planting seeds, transplanting, and tending plants then please have them contact info@SGGN.org. We are looking for volunteers.

Meanwhile we are still looking for a backyard greenhouse in north Seattle where we can grow 5,000 sprouts. Here is a photo of 5,000 plants at our current greenhouse. We will no longer have this space after June 2024. If you or your neighbors or friends have a greenhouse please let us know at info@SGGN.org

We would be happy to invite them for a tour during our project that runs from mid February until the end of April.

For SB Knitters for the Homeless this is our peak season.  The accumulation from summer knitting has been delivered to the Ballard Urban Rest Stop and they are going fast.  Please get those needles going at top speed and remember that contributing any and all scarves, hats & mittens/gloves that you aren’t using (hand or machine made)is just fine!!  Let’s fill the basket at least once ASAP…

Join us in person at Pour Decisions Tuesday November 14th from 7-9pm or knit at home and drop off to Jody. It’s getting cold, dark, and wet! Let’s help keep our community members warm this winter.

****UPDATE*** We’ve had to cancel today’s sale due to weather. Stay tuned for a new date. Join The Ballard Tool Library for our Fall Tool Sale on TBD from 12 pm to 3 pm at Pour Decisions Taproom (just a 1 block North of Tool Library). 

Sip craft beers from Crucible Brewing, savor crisp ciders from Soundbite Cider, and score incredible deals on tools! This is your chance to upgrade your toolkit without breaking your beer budget! Plus, every purchase helps build a stronger, greener community right here in Ballard. Don’t miss out!

Have tools you’d like to donate to the cause? Please have all donations to the Tool Library by 7 p.m. Thursday, November 2nd. Message Mackenzie at manager@ballardtoollibrary.org with questions. 

Ballard Tool Library Fall Tool Sale
Saturday, November 4th, 12 pm to 3 pm 
Pour Decisions Taproom
8000 15th Ave NW

REMINDER:

Fall/Winter Tool Library Hours:

• Monday 5-7 pm
• Thurs 5-7 pm
• Sat 9-11 am