Stitch & Rivet

Makers, get those application photos ready! Patrons of craft, start a swear jar for stocking stuffer money!

Come Join 40+ amazing artists/makers for the 20th annual HOLIDAY HEAP Craft Fair presented by the Charm City Craft Mafia! Help us celebrate 20 years of Holiday Heaps!! Shop handmade and local for all your holiday needs on Saturday, December 12th from 10am-4pm at 2640 Space, 2640 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21218. FREE and family friendly!

Artist/Maker Vendor applications are now open!!!
Apply Here: https://tinyurl.com/HolidayHeap2026App

Applications must be submitted by 11:59 pm on Sunday, August 2nd. No late applications will be accepted. If you have questions about the application, reach out to [email protected] well before the application deadline. Accepted vendors will be notified by August 14.

**Please beware of scammers that like to post comments on social media and FB events. Never contact these people or send them $$$. You can only apply through our online application form, and we will only contact applicants through our official email [email protected]. If you have questions or concerns about your application, please email us directly.

**Early Bird Tickets will be available in November!!!

Join the Holiday Heap 2026 Facebook Event, follow us on Facebook And IG for more details to follow as we get closer to the event or visit http://charmcitycraftmafia.com for full up-to-date information

I am so excited to be at this event!

We're ONE WEEK away from the annual Old Bust Head Spring Market !! 🐌🍓

Join OBH + our favorite vendors for a day of local shopping + good beer & food. Plus, it's Mother's Day Weeknd so you might as well do a little gift shopping for mom while you're at it.

BABY GOATS (12PM-5PM)

BEER RELEASE
Spruce Tip Ale (Draft, Keg Sales Available)
Orange Julius Imperial Sour (Draft, Keg Sales Available)

LIVE MUSIC
The Walkaways 4-7pm

FOOD TRUCKS
Bratworks, Jackleg Pizza

CONFIRMED VENDORS
Beads by Becka, Bejeweled Era, Bunny's Bloomers, Cakebee, Candy Stone Caverns, CapWorks, Dryad Cookery, Elk Run Alpaca, KMPressed, Love Bridges Pottery, Phoenix Artisan Soaps, PIMH Designs, Stitch & Rivet, Sweet Delights by Farmstead, Sweet Dove Crochet, The Driftwood Home, The Old Man Woodworks, To Bee & Co., Uncle Brian's Hot Sauce, VANY Beard, Wooden Shoe Bakery

Here in the studio, I have been working to be ready for show applications, and getting ready to have yet another absolutely not life-threatening, but still needs to be handled, surgery. I am not totally sure what November Katie was thinking when I scheduled both of these for this winter, but I am confident that May Katie will be so happy it is all done and behind me. This time? I am having a throat surgery, and it is a throat surgery most commonly performed on kids under ten years old. Late bloomer, I guess. A duct that created my thyroid that should have closed as an embryo did not, and it has given me some trouble a few times, most recently last summer. The bummer? The only fix is removing it surgically.

So far, 2026 has been all about removing things that no longer serve. Normally, I would aim for that on a more metaphorical level, but this year we are going anatomical and practical, I guess.

I will be out of the studio for all of next week, and maybe part of the following week? Not entirely sure, and it will depend on how I feel.

If you have had a pediatric ENT surgery as an adult and have any advice, I am all ears. Most of the information I can find about the recovery is geared towards little kids, and while I do love a popsicle, I wouldn’t mind hearing what made other adults feel better.

If you are of the medically curious persuasion, I am having a surgery called a Sistrunk Procedure. If you are not of the medically curious persuasion, I suggest not googling it, because only the gnarliest version seems to exist online (mine is not that crazy, I promise).

New work, including these coasters, will hit the website in March. Until then, workshop tickets are available now.

Wish me luck and popsicles, and I promise not to post pictures. Hopefully this is going to be the last time I tell you about this kind of stuff, because this account was supposed to be about leather goods and my derpy cats.

I am bringing back the incredibly popular SNOW DAY GAME. Read on for all the rules. I love snow, so I hope we get a lot of snow and no ice 😬

The Rules:

• Comment and predict how much it will snow at my house. Once it stops snowing on Monday, I will measure in the middle of my front yard with a sewing ruler. Will it be windy? Will the snow blow around and not accumulate? I have literally no clue; this is fun, not meteorology; make a guess!

• Price is Right rules apply ( Bob Barker, help me if you are too young to know that reference), so the closest *WITHOUT* going over wins. Nothing smaller than 1/8 inch increments.

• Final predictions must be made no later than one hour after it starts snowing (and no editing comments, don’t be a jerk, I take screen shots)

• If more than one person predicts the correct answer, the first person who made that prediction wins.

• This game is on both Facebook and Instagram, but only comment on one or the other so I can keep track of who guessed what.

• What’s the prize? I will send you something from my current collection (probably a clutch bag or wallet), and what I send you will be a surprise, just as the amount of snow we get will be a surprise! But also BRAGGING RIGHTS.

• You must be in the US and follow this account to win, Canadians and friends from across the pond are welcome to guess, but the international shipping would be a nightmare.

• This has nothing to do with Meta or its subsidiaries, and there is no cash value.

• Without getting tooooo specific about my address, I am in Buckland, VA, near The Winery at Sunshine Ridge Farm, about halfway between DC and Shenandoah National Park. The winery is on Google maps.

Share or tag a friend or whatever; this is supposed to be FUN.

Hello friends,

About a week ago, I made a big step to improve my health and underwent a total hysterectomy as definitive treatment for some big, stupid fibroids. I am recovering well, taking lots of naps, and thank everyone for giving me the ability to take a couple of weeks off and rest. I didn’t want to make anyone concerned before I had the surgery, but now that the pathology is back and clear, and I am feeling alright, I figured I should let you know why I am taking an extended hibernation this year.

70% of white women, and 80% of Black women will develop fibroids before the age of 50, and since I am about to turn 46, I was on the anemic cool kids list, and I was ready to remove myself from that list.

I had my surgery with Alexis D. Light, MD at Virginia Hospital Center, and I cannot say enough good things about every single member of the medical staff. From the person checking me in and finding socks big enough for my giant feet, to the CRNA making jokes as she zonked me out, to the kind nurses who made sure I was calm going into surgery and that when I came out made sure I was okay to go home. Everyone was great. The best part? This physician’s office was willing to listen to my concerns, check out what was going on, and help me get it handled (and believes in anesthesia for biopsies, iykyk).

I probably should have had this surgery years ago, but my previous doctor blew me off, and I convinced myself I was fine. If you feel unheard or blown off, give yourself the gift of finding a new doctor. It is a life-changing experience.

I found Dr. Light through the spreadsheet. Although I was not looking for birth control, I figured the Venn diagram of doctors who listened to their patients about definitive birth control would probably have a significant overlap with doctors who were willing to listen to their patients about ditching a problem organ.

I will be back in the studio towards the end of next week, and although I will be on light duty for a bit, I am looking forward to figuring out 2026 and beyond, now with more energy, less heartburn, and one less troublemaker in my life, and in the year 2026, who couldn’t use one less problem.

I have heard from more than a few people they are interested in having an industrial machine. This is a great price and if you are in the DC area, you can pick it up.

Another year older, another year full of lessons. Thanks for joining me for year 22 of Stitch & Rivet. Year 23 will have more lessons, more challenges, more of everything good and everything not so good. I have made it this far; I don’t plan to quit now.

I hope you can look back and find at least one good moment or one good day in 2025. It sure was a year for the memory books, and I continue to be surprised by my lack of imagination about how things are going to go.

The cats say thanks, I say THANK YOU, and I am excited to see what we can push through this year.

Now is the time of year when I usually have a thoughtful post about the past year, and this year, dang y’all, it was hard. It was hard for me, it was hard for you, and it has been hard on the collective us. Do I have a kind and thoughtful way to tell a year to get in the rearview mirror? Not really. So far, the 20s have been a challenge, and not just for me.

All of that said, I am taking an extended break at the beginning of 2026, in part to do some serious redesigning, since a lot of the materials and supplies I have been using are either hard to get or no longer available, and in part to replace some equipment that after a lot of hears of trusty service, deserves a respectful farewell. . I am deciding to look at all of this as an opportunity to redesign, rather than just a massive pain in the well, you know.

I am also taking an extended-extended break to catch up on some life tasks. More about that later, but know it will be great to have it all finished.

With all of this said, there will be a January Sale with details in the next newsletter, so if you want first dibs, get on the list.

If you and yours are celebrating this week, I hope the time together is affirming and joyful. If you are just enjoying a day off before the end-of-year grind, I hope the coffee is strong, and the general public is behaving itself.

As always, thank you for being here, and Happy Holidays, y’all.

Xo
KS

Earlier this year, I got an email from a guy I (kind of) knew who was thinking of opening a leather goods store. I answered a few questions, talked a little shop, did a virtual high five, and figured that would be the end of my involvement.

Months later, I got a stockist inquiry, and I learned that was not just an idea; it was a real thing, happening…now. Matt and his team of supporters and family have made a beautiful shop faster than anything I have ever seen, and it is thriving.

I am so thrilled to finish out 2025 in his store, doing a little pop-up and probably slinging some belts alongside his team. I hope you will come by and see us this Sunday, check out his shop, and say howdy and happy holidays.

This coming weekend is the last big multi-day weekend for S&R events. I am beyond excited for Holiday Heap in Baltimore, .sewingco and Holiday Market in Hyattsville, and of course, Homegrown Holidays continues at the