Amy Artisan

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Category: Family (page 10 of 16)

From Head to Toe…and more

December 2, 2007 / / 13 Comments

As I mentioned in my last post – my Thanksgiving travels provided me the opportunity to start and finish a new winter hat and also finish up some socks.

Purple Purl Beret

From Head…The Purple Purl Beret…As I was packing for my trip home, I picked out a skein of Malabrigo in the Pearl Ten colorway from my stash & put it in a ziploc bag with my size 9 DPN needles – I figured I would improvise some sort of hat as I went along. A quick search on Ravelry pointed me to The Last Minute “Purled” Beret over at Knit & Tonic. I printed out the pattern & added it to my bag. Once I got to the gate, I cast on for the hat. As the afternoon progressed into evening my flight was canceled & the next flight was delayed for several hours. By the time I arrived in Atlanta over half of the hat was complete. This hat was a quick project to complete & has been in use every day since I’ve been back from Thanksgiving. The beret is very warm and doesn’t leave me with hat head when I come indoors. An added bonus is that this beautiful colorway compliments my Silky Summer Scarf that I made from the Brooks Farm Limited Edition III earlier this year.

MTM Socks

To Toe…My MTM Socks…My fourth pair of socks and the first “real” pattern that I’ve followed. And my favorite socks to date. I have often said that I’m a sucker for well named yarns – this yarn was one of those moments. I saw this Mary Tyler Moore colorway in the TV Yarn collection and knew that I needed it. I’ve always enjoyed the show – when I moved to Chicago over 8 years ago I remember an email from my Dad on the day that I flew up here where he imagined me throwing a hat in the air on Michigan Ave. as I walked into my new office. Through Ravelry I discovered the Ampersand pattern and thoroughly enjoyed knitting it – I will use it again in the future. On the foot of the second sock I accidentally went down to 23 stitches on the 2nd needle which caused the blue pooling towards the toe. The yarn was great to work with – I’m sure I will knit with it again (although I need to work through my stash a bit before picking up another yarn).

Silly Sis!

And More…Earlier this fall I finished up an iPod case for Rebecca and sent it home with Dad before I took a picture. While home, I managed to document the project. The flap is the “Grandma’s Favorite” dishcloth pattern – I used bits of Cascade 220 from my stash.

Over 2 weeks ago my sister had an encounter with a deer while driving home from school. When she called to tell me about the accident she referenced the scarf that I knit for her earlier this year. Being the silly sister that I am, when I saw a skein of Bernat Camouflage yarn in pinks while in Meijers I knew a simple scarf was in order. I cast on 25 stitches & worked the yarn in a K1P1 pattern until I ran out of yarn. The gauge and width of the scarf cause the camo coloring to knit into more of an argyle pattern. I don’t expect that this scarf will get a lot of use but when I saw the yarn I couldn’t resist.

First Snow 

Not only is the holiday season in full force these days – the handknit warmth season is in full effect here in Chicago. This weekend saw our first “real” snow of the year. As the snow moved through and changed to sleet and then rain it was “perfect” weather for staying inside and continuing to make progress on holiday knits. The forecast for this week looks very chilly – so handknit hats, scarves and wrist warmers will definitely be in use during the commute.

Holiday Transitions & Traditions

November 25, 2007 / / 9 Comments

Every year it seems like Christmas arrives into the stores and advertisements earlier and earlier. I had to chuckle when the Christmas commercials started in on Halloween evening – most households hadn’t yet sorted through their trick-or-treat loot before the focus was on the red and green. With this rush to Christmas it seems like Thanksgiving tends to get overlooked. The last week has been filled with Thanksgiving fun that served as a great way to transition from autumn into the Christmas season.

In the last couple of years, a day trip on the Saturday before Thanksgiving has been what transitions me into Thanksgiving and on to Christmas. For 3 years now, Kristy & I have spent this third Saturday over in Harbor Country and this year the fun tradition continued. When we first ventured over there it was to pick up wine gifts at our favorite winery – the last 2 years we have added to the list of “must do” activities. This year’s excursion started at Round Barn Winery and then a quick stop in the old-time Ben Franklin. Continuing down Red Arrow Highway we stopped in a favorite antique mall and then at Pomegranate Home – where the shop owner greeted us with “Hello, it’s been a while since you’ve been in.” (Sisters weekend in June) After lunch at Stray Dog, it was time to Sit & Knit. The entire time we were there the couches and chairs were filled with knitters – one woman was on row 3 of her first scarf ever when we arrived; cousins were working on assorted projects; Bill came in with a bag of knits and started to work on a hat for a niece and wow us with all the other beautiful yarns in his bag; a recent Brooklyn transplant picked up some bright yarn for a winter scarf and proceeded to cast on. All the while, Kim & Jack were the ever attentive hosts in the shop keeping the coffee coming and providing snacks to munch on. When our sitting and knitting was done, we proceeded down the Red Arrow Highway towards Michigan City – a few shoe purchases at the Bass Outlet and then some “serious” holiday shopping at the Meijer’s. As we prepared to head back to the city I turned on the “constant Christmas music” radio station and commented to Kristy that it was now ok to hear Christmas songs. The yummy cranberry shakes from Culvers (best.shake.ever) kept the holiday spirit going. We arrived back in the city after the Christmas lights had been turned on along Michigan Ave. so the holiday spirit continued. In keeping with tradition, we ended the evening by picking up Thai food and watching Love Actually while working on gift knitting.

The Lights along Michigan Ave.

The Water Tower & Hancock Building & a few holiday lights

On Tuesday afternoon I headed to the airport to fly home for Thanksgiving with the family in the ‘Ville. Over eight hours after I arrived at the Chicago airport I arrived to the Atlanta airport – however my luggage didn’t arrive until after dinner on Wednesday. Tuesday was definitely one of the most difficult travel days that I’ve had in all my years of travel. At the last minute my flight was cancelled (reason: unclear) but I was immediately booked on the last flight out; however, that flight was delayed over 2 1/2 hours. Thankfully my carry-on bag was filled with plenty of knitting to pass the time. I think that Malabrigo projects are becoming a Thanksgiving flight tradition for me – when I got to the airport I cast on for a new winter hat and over half of the hat was finished by the time I arrived in Atlanta.

Our Thanksgiving day was quiet and filled with family, friends and food. We often joke that our Thanksgiving tradition is being non-traditional. The definite tradition is being together; however, the menu can be varied. In previous years we have enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner at Benihana and at the Planet Hollywood in Washington DC. When cooking at home we will try out new side dishes – but 2 things remain the same: how the turkey is prepared and the stuffing/dressing recipe that we use. This year family friends joined at our table. A favorite brussel sprout recipe is becoming my traditional addition to the holiday menu.

Our Thanksgiving Table

While at home I knit several triangles for a new batch of Christmas trees to be gifted this year. These will definitely be a family production – Mom & Dad will take the triangles and transform them into decorated trees – pictures will be posted later. In keeping with a recent “tradition” Dad & I picked up our Christmas tree on Friday morning – I helped to get the hundreds of lights on the tree on Saturday. While none of us were up at the crack of dawn on Friday morning to begin our holiday shopping, a couple of hours on Friday and Saturday with Dad and Rebecca yielded some good progress on the gift list.

Before I knew it, it was time to re-pack my suitcase and head back to my home in Chicago. An early flight this morning brought me and my suitcase back to Chicago with no problems at all. Today’s airport and airplane time provided just the right duration to finish up a current pair of socks on the needles.

And so, Thanksgiving is over. Although, Thanksgiving is more than just a day on the calendar – it is a state of mind. So often I’m reminded of how many things I have to be thankful for: family, friends, experiences and more! In fewer than 4 weeks it will be time to head back home to celebrate Christmas. However, between now and then there are lots of things to “complete” on the path towards Christmas: decorating the house, finishing up the gift knitting (& shopping), hopefully some holiday baking, the company holiday party, holiday get togethers with friends and of course – just taking time to enjoy all of the magic of Christmas.

…stay tuned for a post with finished knits…

A Mano

November 13, 2007 / / 10 Comments

…Handmade…

As someone who enjoys knitting and other handicrafts, it is obvious that I’m drawn to the handmade in life. The last week has provided me with an assortment of A Mano moments.

Stacey's Peru Hat

A co-worked recently returned from a vacation to Peru that included home stay lodging. As a way for the host families to recognize their guests, the mothers knit hats for everyone. Not only did the hat provide a signal in Peru, Stacey is using her hat to keep away the chill here in Chicago. I was in the office on Wednesday and had a chance to see this beautiful hat up close & personal. In a word – wow! The colors are so vibrant, the colorwork is so perfect. What a great way for her to remember this great trip.http://www.amyartisan.com/images/birthday_dinner_close.jpg This handmade colorwork piece is definitely something to aspire to.

Celebrating another year!

Another year, another birthday. To celebrate my birthday on Wednesday evening Greg, Jen, Kristy & I enjoyed a fabulous evening at a new restaurant in Chicago – A Mano. We were ‘drawn’ to the restaurant because it was part of the Bin 36 restaurants that we enjoy, it featured Italian food and they made many flavors of gelato in house. The evening didn’t disappoint. This is a great place to go with friends and share items off the menu – in fact, all of the pastas can be ordered as half portions – all the easier for sharing. As the name suggests, the menu focuses on the handmade – from the starters of celery root salad, prosciutto, mole salame and a lamb meatball/eggplant pizza to the hand-cut pastas (gnocchi, lasagna Bolognese, pumpkin ravioli, pappardelle with boar & raisins plus  a mushroom risotto) to the gelatos (we sampled chocolate, vanilla, chocolate-hazelnut, pumpkin, mascarpone, coffee, and a cranberry-apple sorbet) everything was delicious. They have a nice Italian wine list and were helpful in pointing us towards a “new to us” wine that we absolutely loved – a white Pinot Noir. Instead of a candle in the dessert, they brought out half glasses of a rose’ prosecco for us to toast my birthday – I thought that was a nice touch. It was an all around great evening and we all agreed that we needed to come back again soon to enjoy more of the A Mano specialities.

A baby blanket for Kristina

The last couple of weeks have been filled with some secret knitting. This weekend it was gifted and can now be revealed. My friend Kristina is pregnant with her first baby so one my Artisan Baby Blankets was in order. The gender of Baby C is not known so I went with a gender neutral color combo that also didn’t fall into the traditional baby colors. This blanket was knit with Cotton-Ease in the Violet & Almond colorways held together on size 10.5 needles. This was my first time working with Cotton-Ease and it was a great knit – I think it will be able to handle the task of being a well used baby blanket. I hear that the blanket is in the bassinet awaiting the arrival of Baby C.

With the holidays just around the corner my hands will be very busy in the coming weeks with the assorted handmade gifts that I’m hoping to finish up. (Hmm…my sweater may be taking a back seat to other projects for a while…) I also hope to spend some time in the kitchen making some handmade Christmas treats to share. What about you – what handmade experiences are you having these days?

Picture Perfect

November 5, 2007 / / 9 Comments

This past weekend out of town capped off several weeks of fun activities. The title of this post sums up the weekend in so many ways: Picture Perfect!

Picture Perfect

On Friday morning I headed over to Michigan City, IN for a scrapbooking getaway weekend with friends. We had seen the website for the Picture Perfect cottage a couple of years ago & hoped that sometime we would be able to pull together a group for a weekend of scrapbooking fun. Late this summer we started planning & were originally booked for a weekend next May. Through some scheduling mix-ups we were lucky enough to end up with a fall weekend.

Picture Perfect

If you’ve ever scrapbooked, you know that you have a lot of supplies involved with it. My car was loaded up with supplies for 3 gals & then Jen & I headed over across the Chicago Skyway (Kristy would be coming later in the afternoon). Just after noon we all descended on the charming cottage & immediately said ‘Wow’ – it had a great layout for everyone to be working. Once everyone unloaded our bags & bags of supplies we “set up shop” and got to work.

My project for the weekend was completing the Mexico Mission Trip 1988 album that I had started planning 2 weeks ago. It quickly came together. It was fun to read through my “journal” entries from the trip & then expand on them as I built out the pages.

While the focus of the weekend was scrapbooking, everyone was free to do what they wanted. A couple of women brought their bikes and also did some Nordic walking. Others strolled through the charming development & over to the beach. Naps were taken as needed. I have a secret knitting deadline so I was able to make great progress on that. I had thought I might go to a few of my favorite Harbor Country shops but found the pull of this charming house was too great.

Picture Perfect

As we shuffled through our assorted iPods on the great sound system in the house (talk about an assortment of musical styles…) the conversations among us flowed from one topic to another. While pictures were cropped and pages completed, stories and anecdotes were shared. As we looked through our own albums and the albums of the others we were reminded of truly how blessed we each were – with family, friends, experiences and fond memories.

Picture Perfect

During the days, the autumn sunshine through the trees streamed in through an abundance of windows. In the evenings the overhead lights were well placed and ensured we didn’t have to work in poor lighting. In addition to the great space for working on our scrapbooks the rest of the house was well thought out to meet our needs. The five bedrooms & 3 baths comfortably accommodated the 10 of us. A full kitchen had everything we could need & the catering package supplied us with more than enough food for all of our meals (at the end we brought a lot of leftovers back to Chicago).

We joked that the time change meant that we would have an extra hour to work on our albums. Turns out it wasn’t a joke for some of us – 5 of us were up and sitting at our tables before 6AM on Sunday, sometimes you just wake up & can’t get back to sleep.

Picture Perfect Gals

Much too quickly it was time for us to pack up our cars, take out the trash and set the alarm code before leaving this charming getaway and returning to real life. We all agreed that it was indeed a Picture Perfect weekend and are already looking at when we can come back.

(more pictures here)

Together We Made Strides

October 23, 2007 / / 6 Comments
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
Think Pink!

Sunday was a beautiful day to participate in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk here along the Chicago lakefront. As the Knit Together team, Jennifer, Kristy & I raised over $1400 to help fight breast cancer. Together with more than 12,000 other walkers we raised close to $1,000,000 by walking.

The weather for the walk was warm and windy – the sun was shining brightly and the reflection danced across the lake. The walk route took us through some beautiful trees that were changing into their autumn best colors and also right up along the lake where the wind was rippling into lots of little waves. At one point along the route everywhere I looked I saw a sea of pink walkers winding along the paths – I turned to Jen & Kristy and commented on the big pink ribbon that was winding it’s way along the lakefront. There was definitely an excitement in the air during the walk – seeing all of the survivors walking with us was great.

Making Strides 2007

(larger pictures here)

Thanks to each of you who contributed to be a part of our team. When I posted about this walk last month my cousin, Ruth, left a comment on my blog that I want to share with each of you:

HI Amy— How fun to read about the Making Strides walk you will be doing. I am honored to know that you are contributing to a cause obviously near and dear to our hearts. Thank you for doing this for me and the thousands of other people affected by breast cancer. We are gearing up for the Komen Race for the Cure this weekend, and I am hoping that some day we won’t be continuing to walk to ‘find a cure’ as it is way beyond time that a cure should have been found. Until then, everyone’s help with raising awareness, early detection and contributing to the research brings hope…..hope that no one else will have to endure the painfully devestating news and treatments required to keep cancer from taking our lives. I overheard a woman the other day make the comment about how she was ‘getting so tired of seeing everything with pink ribbons’…. that it was ”overkill.” She obviously hasn’t been affected on a personal level, and I hope that she never will. I couldn’t believe her comment. She obviously hasn’t had to explain to her 4 and 7 year old kids what cancer is and why bald headed mommy is too sick to do the simple things with them. Thanks again for walking and working towards finding a cure. Although cancer takes many things from a person, it also provides an opportunity to realize the most important things in your life and to know that every minute, every day and every opportunity you are given is truly a gift. Thank you— from Russ, Nathan, Ellen and myself— we appreciate what you are doing. On the back of my survivor shirt for the Komen Race, there is a saying that I think is so appropriate…. “I walk for those who have walked before me and for those who walk beside me.” Thank you, everyone, for walking beside me, too.

Ruth & Family - 2007
Ruth, Russ, Nathan & Ellen
Race for the Cure 2007 – Toledo, OH

As I had mentioned before, last month I knit a pink scarf for the walk and attached all of my donor names to the scarf as a fringe. The weather was so warm that I couldn’t wear the scarf (who would have thought?) but the fringe hung out from my backpack & “waved” along the walk (see photo above). Now that the walk is complete, I am giving this scarf to Robyn – the friend for whom Jennifer walked this year. Robyn is currently in the midst of her breast cancer treatments and I think the scarf will serve as a hug from all of us.

Congrats to Julie for winning my blog team contest – a skein of Hill Country Yarns in the Breast Cancer Awareness colorway is yours.

I echo Ruth’s comment above – I hope that one day we will no longer have to be walking and raising funds for a cure. Until that day comes thank you for being a part of working towards a cure!

Hope starts with you and me!
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