Chicagoland Craft Collective Meeting - 12/16/09

Wednesday was another great Chicagoland Craft Collective meeting. I learned how to make a really cool papercraft - an ornament that was 3D! Its on my tree now.

As you can see above, there are some very talented people in the Chicagoland Craft Collective that I highly recommend people come and meet. They have talents across the board from fiber crafts to paper crafts to sewing to embroidery to beading and jewelry, and there are professional sellers that are part of the group as well as the head of Craft Critique and talented crafters a plenty!

Next month we are going to do needle felting and I'm super psyched for it! I've had a kit at home and wanted to know more about how to use it, but I was going to wait for the class in April at the Westmont Public Library - so this is a lot sooner!

I'm working on a test crochet for a friend-designer on Ravelry that's turning out really cute. I horribly had to start over due to poor yarn choice on my part, but its starting to come together again. Anyway, will update more when I get the Black Raspberry Hat done - its about darn time I released that pattern! ;-)

an Institution is ending in Chicago ...

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For Immediate Release 25 Mar 2009

For confirmation contact Mary Beth Sheehan (773-393-8687)

RE: SOUTH SIDE IRISH ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE PLANS FOR 2010

Let this release serve as notice that the South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee is not planning to stage a parade in its present form in March of 2010.

This decision was not arrived at lightly. For 31 years, this parade was a staple of the Beverly/Morgan Park and Mt. Greenwood communities – a celebration of faith, family and heritage that was cherished by thousands. Founded in 1979 by the Hendry and Coakley families, it was intended to instill in this community an appreciation for the Irish heritage that so many of its residents share.

This parade was an eagerly anticipated annual event which celebrated families, many of whom have created decades long traditions that we hope will endure. But what began as a neighborhood parade is now an event of international proportions. More than 300,000 people typically flock to the Beverly area each year, and the sheer volume has become more than the neighborhood can reasonably accommodate. With these numbers comes a collection of issues that strain both the host community and those individuals charged with effectively managing the crowds. Additionally, the amount of resources required to launch the event has become overwhelming to the community.

The Committee would like to thank the tens of thousands of parade faithful who supported this event for more than 30 years. The multigenerational families who turned out along Western Avenue each year, along with the fine organizations featured in the Line of March, were the essence of what made this parade so special. We would also like to thank the Chicago Police Department for the effort they put into managing the ever-growing crowd while working to maintain the dignity of the event.

While we regret the need to alter such a fine tradition, the Committee feels that suspending the South Side Irish Parade in its present form is the just and responsible thing to do. It is our hope, however, that this will not mean an end to the neighborhood’s annual celebration. The Committee will work to create a series of alternate events that will return us to what the parade’s founders had in mind – a neighborhood-friendly celebration of Irish heritage. Please look for news of our plans later this year.

Thank you for your support,

The South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee

New Job, New Crafting

Hello all!

As I mentioned before I started a new job in September. I think I grossly underestimated the differences in timing required to do proposals on this side of the business.

In a perfect world, on the architecture side, I would spend about three days putting together everything that everyone wrote for a proposal. Sometimes I got it down to one and half by working an insane amount of overtime and really rushing it. And that's with a team of three working on it. And then I'd send it off to print and be on my merry way.

On the other side, there's not only the time spent writing, there's also the time spent writing for subconsulting, and time for printing (since my new job isn't stupid enough to spend $4K/month on outsourcing). I'm looking like more at a week. And that's with overtime, a lot of the time. I was disgusted to find I had spent an entire day on subproposals this past week!

Anyway, that's enough ranting - onto the crafting!

I started Jeni's scarf on the train out of Paton's SWS in plum. I've been really pleased at so far how its worked out - the color changes are nice, and the initial scratch factor of the yarn has pleasantly worked itself out as it tumbles around my bag. For those of you who are interested, it is the "One Skein Tapestry Scarf" on Ravelry. I think I entered the project...

I had heard many bad things on Ravelry about SWS, but I got the yarn for free, so I said what the heck. Jeni has been a very good friend and dance teacher and I wanted to make something nicer than usual. Of course, now I have to figure out what to make Jason, but that's doable, right? ;-)

C.

Funny Email...

Yesterday a friend of mine sent this out. What a hoot! While I'm not a dedicated Cubs fan, I do live in the Chicago area so I pay some attention to what they're doing on a yearly basis.

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Just to keep everything in perspective .... twenty major events that have occurred since the Chicago Cubs last laid claim to a world series championship...

1. Radio was invented; Cubs fans got to hear their team lose.

2. TV was invented; Cubs fans got to see their team lose.

3. Baseball added 14 teams; Cubs fans get to see and hear their team lose to more clubs.

4. George Burns celebrated his 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 100th birthdays.

5. Haley's comet passed Earth ... twice.

6. Harry Caray was born....and died. Incredible, but true.

7. The NBA, NHL and NFL were formed, and Chicago teams won championships in each league.

8. Man landed on the moon, as have several home runs given up by Cubs pitchers.

9. Seventeen U.S. presidents were elected.

10. There were 11 amendments added to the Constitution.

11. Prohibition was created and repealed.

12. The Titanic was built, set sail, sank, was discovered and became the subject of major motion pictures, the latest giving Cubs fans hope that something that finishes on the bottom can come out on top.

13. Wrigley Field was built and becomes the oldest park in the National League.

14. Flag poles were erected on Wrigley Field roof to hold all of the team's future World Series pennants. Those flag poles have since rusted and been taken down.

15. A combination of over 40 Summer and Winter Olympics have been held.

16. Thirteen baseball players have won the Triple Crown; several thanked Cubs pitchers.

17. Bell-bottoms came in style, went out of style and came back instyle; disco did the same.

18. The Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox and Florida Marlins have all won the World Series.

19. The Cubs played over 14,000 regular-season games; they lost the majority of them.

20. Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Oklahoma and New Mexico were admitted to the Union

There is such a thing as TRADITION! :)