Amy Artisan

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

(Luke 2:1-20, NIV)

Merry Christmas to you & your family from Amy & the Artisan family!

It’s that time of year when many of us are frantically finishing up the hand crafted gifts that we plan to give. In a few days, I will reveal what Artisan Knits were under the Christmas tree this year. In the interim, I wanted to tell you about the latest installment in Kate Jacob’s Friday Night Knitting Club series…Knit the Season.

As the title suggests, the story is set in the end of year holiday hustle and bustle – starting just before Thanksgiving and going into a New Year. In the midst of “all” that the holidays bring, the women of the club are faced with many other events…celebrating Christmas with the family or pursuing an internship…continuing to run the yarn shop or signing on with a European designer to manufacture your products…planning a wedding in the midst of family discord…getting caught up in capturing children’s memories versus experiencing the memories…and more…

Once again, Kate draws you into a circle of friends. Grab a mug of coffee or tea and settle in to catch up with friends and enjoy the holidays with them in New York City and Scotland. As I was reading my advanced copy, I was brought to tears as Dakota and her grandmother were knitting – the memories of Grandma teaching me to knit and then me teaching Mom to knit last Christmas Eve at Grandma’s bedside made that a very poignant scene.

As with the other FNKC books, Kate includes some of the recipes and patterns from the story at the end of the book. In fact, I have a feeling that the knit garland in the book will be adorning my tree in the coming years…

Kate has been touring in support of this new book. She was in Chicago in November, in fact it was on my birthday – it made for a fun birthday celebration with good friends to have dinner at a favorite restaurant and then attend Kate’s reading.

Kate’s publishers have once again provided me 2 copies of her book. This hardcover edition is beautiful in it’s red metallic book jacket – like a holiday present. So, let’s have another contest. Take a moment to share a favorite holiday memory with your family or your “own FNKC friends” in the comments for this post. The contest will run through the New Year’s Day.

I look forward to hearing your memories!

The first year I lived in Chicago, we had an Artisan family Thanksgiving up here. In the years that followed, after Grandma moved in with Mom & Dad it was easiest for me to head home for the holidays. This year, the Artisan family once again celebrated Thanksgiving at my home here in Chicago. Since Rebecca had the whole week as a vacation from teaching, the family loaded up the car on Monday morning for a road trip and arrived mid afternoon on Tuesday. For the most part, we didn’t have plans for the time together – other than just having fun.

In September, Dad & I had conspired for an early family Christmas present while we were all together at Thanksgiving. South Pacific is an Artisan family favorite musical…when I saw that the revival tour production would be in Chicago over Thanksgiving I immediately snapped up tickets. So, on Wednesday evening as the interstates were clogged with people trying to get on the road to their Thanksgiving destinations we took side streets out to Rosemont for a wonderful evening at the theater. It was a wonderful production & throughout the rest of the weekend I’m sure each of us was humming from the soundtrack at least once or twice.

(The ancient Treo doesn’t take the best pictures these days…)

On Thanksgiving morning, the turkey breast went in the crock pot to start cooking as we watched the parade. Throughout the morning, we cycled through the kitchen prepping a lot of vegetables for our side dishes – I don’t think that my knives and cutting boards have had that much of a workout in a long time. As the afternoon progressed, delicious smells filled the house & before long it was time to sit down to our Thanksgiving table.

The menu was simple and delicious: Turkey with the Artisan family dressing; Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Toasted Hazelnuts (quickly becoming a Thanksgiving dinner staple!); Roasted Rainbow Carrots; Butternut Squash Apple Cranberry Bake; “the” NPR pink cranberry relish (first time making it – a great addition to the table!). We paired the meal with a delicious wine that we tasted on our family vacation to California in July. We had a pie recipe lined up for dessert but decided to just enjoy the boiled milk sponge cake that Mom had brought – the pie is now on the Christmas menu.

We did a bit of holiday shopping but managed to avoid the insanity of “Black Friday” when we were out and about on Friday. Each year we joke about getting up early but that is not an Artisan family ‘thing.’ Before we knew it, Saturday morning arrived and it was time for them to trek back home to Georgia. The car was repacked (all new acquisitions managed to fit) and I made them leftover turkey sandwiches for a midday lunch stop along the way.

As the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season begins, I’m thankful for an Artisan Family Thanksgiving here in Chicago!

The end of October meant that it was time for my annual Halloween trip to Texas to see my two favorite little girls. In addition to our “normal” fun of playtime, reading, crafts & more we also hosted a fun Halloween party for their little friends. Of course costumes were required for all. In mid-September when the girls were on their way to buy their Halloween costumes they called me and asked what I was going to dress up as. When I told them that I didn’t know yet and asked what they thought I should be, in unison they replied “A Fairy Godmother.” And just like that I knew what my costume would be…because how can you say no to these adorable little girls?!?

Reading is something that I enjoy year round; however, as the weather turns cool I find myself looking forward to the times when I can “hibernate” with a good book & an unending mug of coffee or tea. Just in time for these cooler times, Kate Jacobs is bringing out two books on November 3rd.

The first book was actually released last year and is now coming to paperback. The women of The Friday Night Knitting Club are back with more tales of friendship in Knit Two.

The first time I met Kate, we talked about the characters of FNKC and I asked if she had any plans for future stories about them. Her response was non committal. I told her then that I would enjoy continuing to read more about these women; however, that first book also did leave me satisfied with a complete story. What a treat it was last year to receive my advance copy of Knit Two and return to the world of these women.

This novel picks up 5 years after the end of the first book. As in real life, reading this story was just like “picking up where you left off” with friends that you haven’t been in touch with in a while. Knit Two is filled with new loves, new babies, new adventures – including Italian vacations – and more. As I mentioned to a friend, this was just a charming read of good fiction.

To celebrate the paperback release of Knit Two, Kate’s publisher has provided me with 2 copies of the book to share with you. So, let’s have a contest! Between now and November 3rd, leave a comment on this post. In keeping with the themes of the book, please share a favorite memory from a vacation or from your own “knitting circle” or other close circle of friends.

Also coming out on November 3rd is a holiday tale with the Friday Night Knitting Club women in Knit the Season. Stay tuned next week for a review of this delightful holiday tale and another contest.

Kate is out on tour to promote her books – if she’s coming to your city, I’d highly recommend taking time out from your schedule to go to a reading.