Behind the Curtain

Weekend Snapshot

This past weekend was one of the few times I've had nearly no work-related tasks on my plate. It was so awesome and yet I found I didn't know what to do with myself! Thankfully, those around me were able to help. Record Store Day filled most of my Saturday morning and then Donovan reminded me that the Circa Ceramics studio sale was that afternoon. I was able to find some awesome bowls to replace my sad little chipped and cracked Ikea bowls. After 7 years, I finally have some grown up bowls and plates.

The evening was planned with drinks with friends, but I unfortunately started losing my voice. Instead of walking in the cold and yelling over a band, I decided to stay home with tea and some knitting. (I finally started the neckline on the vest!)

Sunday found me in a poopy mood, but my throat was feeling much better, so I decided I needed to go out and wander. The day was quite nice, so the walk was a good way to get me out of the doldrums. I stopped over at Butcher & Larder and picked-up some of their Marrow Burgers I've been hearing such great things about. I'm planning on cooking them up for dinner tonight, so I'll let you know what I think.

On the walk back, I also stopped by a local bakery and picked up some sweets and cheese. When I arrived home, the light was so nice in my kitchen, I decided to make a little lunch for myself with my spoils. It was so tasty, especially topped off with the very latest beer C brewed up, a Special Bitter.

Sadie has a drinking problem.

I know the Special Bitter looks dark and the name makes you think its bitter, but it is actually sweet and light flavored. Donovan hates dark beers, but enjoys SB's. My favorite of these types of beers is Fuller's ESB (extra special bitters), which I would suggest anyone who thinks they don't like dark beers to try. If you do, let me know what you think.

So that was my weekend away from shop work and trying to steer clear of glowing screens. How was your weekend? What do you do when you are trying to stay away from the computer/TV?

Steeking Suspicion

Markers placed so I know where my sleeves ans steeks start and end.

Firstly, I want to thank everyone on their suggestions and input on interchangeable circular needles. You have all given me something to think about. I'm leaning toward getting a set for myself, though I want to see what projects I have lined up for this summer. If they all use needles I already own, I may just wait until next season to indulge. Or perhaps this is even something I can request as a holiday present? Hmmm...

I've started on the sleeves/arm holes of my Highland Vest (as I am calling it), but not after ripping back some. You see, this pattern calls for you to knit it flat when you reach the armpits. I went ahead and did this and then realized two things: A) I hate knitting flat on circular needles and B) My guage is very different between flat and in the round.

To be fair, I was aware about my gauge difference, I just thought I fixed it. Nope, I surely did not. So, I ripped back and did some research into steeking. I know this technique is commonly used for colorwork, but I really wanted to avoid knitting any part of the vest body flat. I did some calculations, rewrote the latter half of the pattern and have picked up the sleeves and neck using the bizarre steeking calculations I came up with. I do hope it works, but if it doesn't I can always rip back to before the steeks and redo the vest as the pattern is written. If it does work, I'll happily share my mods with you all.

1948 Westinghouse Ad

In non-knitting news this Saturday is Record Store Day! I will surely be visiting my local record shops and adding some new music to my current collection. The album I'm most looking forward to picking up is Vulture from The Hollows. I haven't heard a lick of this new album, but if it is anything like their first one, I'm sure it will be awesome. I'm also excited about the Numero Pop-up Shop happening at The Empty Bottle. Are you going out for Record Store Day? What releases are you excited about?

Chicago & Collaboration

This image and all other included in this post are by Carolee.

My friend Carolee came from San Francisco to visit for the weekend and it was just lovely. Carolee, Donovan, and I happen to be collaborating on a project together, so much of our time was spent over drinks and notebooks. It was so much fun to finally be in the same spot and bounce ideas off of each other.

Carolee only had a few days here before she had to drive off to another Midwest destination, but was able to see a few good things in the area. For those of you planning a trip to Chicago anytime soon, here was her list of seen items:
- Quimby's Bookstore (Wicker Park)
- Greer Chicago (Old Town)
- Nelson Algren's house (Wicker Park)
- LWA HQ (aka, Donovan's studio where we make Letter Writers Alliance stuff!)

And here are the places she feasted at:
- Hoosier Mama Pies (West Town)
- Owen & Engine (Logan Square)
- Bongo Room (Wicker Park)
- Bite Cafe (Ukrainian Village)
- Blind Robin (bar, Ukrainian Village)
- Small Bar (Wicker Park)

I always intend to write-up a little guide to Chicago to help people out in doing non-touristy things, but I never get around to it. Hopefully this mini-guide to what Carolee did in three days will fill the gap until I get around to writing a full blown "What to see & eat" post for Chicago.

Drink & Draw: The Original Billy Goat Tavern

Saturday Bonus Post because Donovan and I had an impromptu Drink & Draw on Wednesday. You can read why we ended up escaping to the Billy Goat on her blog. In this post though, we'll talk about the tavern itself.

Drawing by Donovan Beeson. Click to view larger.

Drink & Draw#2: The Original Billy Goat Tavern
Near Tribune Towers and Wrigley Building
430 N. Michigan Ave at Lower Level

I don't know how other Chicagoans feel, but if someone would ever invite me to the Billy Goat Tavern, I'd refuse, saying it was a tourist trap. Maybe it is, but not on a Wednesday night and not at this location.* We only saw locals, sports fans, and tired newspaper men. And that brings me to the history of the Tavern!

The original owner, Billy Goat Sianis, pouring a bottle of Blatz into the mouth of Murphy the goat. Image from the Billy Goat Tavern website.

What you see in Donovan's drawing (at the top of this post) is the head of a goat surrounded by newspaper bylines. The goat, you see, is important to Chicago history, for the original owner of this tavern is who brought the curse of the Goat upon the Cubs. Yup. You can read all about it on the Billy Goat Tavern site right here.

The bylines, well, the Tavern is located on Lower Michigan Ave. Let me repeat this, LOWER Michigan. Not where all the fancy shops and such are, but in the underbelly of the raised streets. What is located above this Tavern? The Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times buildings, making this a frequent after-work watering hole for Chicago newspaper columnists back in the day (as well as today). The bylines on the wall are the names of those columnists who were regulars. Names are still being added to the wall, as our bartender Bouchaib told us, he just added a writer last week who is from The Reader.

Finding the actual tavern is a bit of an adventure. If walking up Grand street, you should find it quite easily, but if you are already on Miracle Mile, you'll have to find the stairs down to Lower Michigan. The Chicago Bar Project has good directions on finding your way.

We weren't very adventurous with what we drank while here, but we had a great time talking to our bartender and chatting with each other.

Round 1
K) Rye whiskey on the rocks
D) The Horny Goat
Citrus rum, lemon-lime soda, and cranberry juice.

Round 2
K) Bloody Mary with a beer chaser
The bartender asked me what I wanted in the Bloody Mary, making a nicely tailored drink. I wasn't expecting the beer chaser or the bottle of Tabasco, but it was a welcomed surprise.
D) The Horny Goat, again.

Tips:
• While they have a full bar with many whiskies, don't expect to be able to order any cocktail you want. I tried to get an Old Fashioned, but they were out of bitters.
• If you like rum, try their Signature drink, The Horny Goat.
• The Tavern is more of a sports bar, but without all the noise. It is very bright in there, so if you are looking for a dark place to hide, move along to another bar.

 

*I did walk by the Billy Goat located at Navy Pier and it was a mad house. Please note that this location is totally geared toward tourists, while the original location...not so much.

Drink & Draw: The Matchbox

Donovan, Dillon, and I have decided to embark on a drinking adventure. Twice a month we will visit a new-to-us bar and drink and draw.

Well, Donovan and Dillon will draw. I will chat-up the bartender to find out the wonders of the drink, record what we drink, and then write our findings. Sometimes our friends join us for a round or two; their drink choices are expressed next to their initials.

Our first bar to kick off this adventure is...

Drawing by Donovan Beeson

The Matchbox 770 North Milwaukee Avenue Chicago, IL 60642
Details: The smallest bar in Chicago. There are only 18 stools to park your butt and the bar space is a 460 sq ft triangle. The bathrooms are positioned in the narrowest point of said triangle, so if all the seats are taken, you may have to ask the person in the last stool to get up in order to get to the restrooms. This only adds to its charm.

Why go here then? The Matchbox only has one of the best stocked cocktail bars and home to some amazing signature drinks.

First round
DB) Rum & Coke
DY) Daiquiri
KZ) Old Raj Gin & Tonic
JC) Manhattan

Thoughts: I don't know why we went for these lame/safe drinks in our first round. We were obviously out of our minds, but thankfully were set straight when I asked for the best drinks of the bar. Old Raj is a gin that has saffron in it. I was told to order this by a saleslady at LUSH. While I wasn't disappointed, there are certainly better drinks to be had at this bar.

Second Round
DB) Sidecar
Brandy, Cointreau, lemon juice, powdered sugar rim
DY) Gin & Jam
Fresh lemon, gin, dollop of black raspberry jam, and a splash of soda water
KZ) Maple Leaf
Rye whiskey, lemon juice, and maple syrup

Thoughts: All of us agreed that the Sidecar is hands down one of the best Sidecars we've ever tasted. Absolutely amazing. The Maple Leaf is also very good and is a drink I will return to this bar for. Dillon complained it was too sweet, but Donovan and I agreed that the lemon juice cuts the sweetness to a softer flavor.

Bonus with both me and Dillon's drinks was that the bartender left us the shakers with the leftover mix. This gave us two full drinks for the price of one. Well, thankyouverymuch!

Third Round
DB) Pineapple Gimlet
We were too caught up in conversation to write what was in this one.
DY) Sidecar
Dillon was jealous enough of Donovan's sidecar that he got it for this round.
KZ) Gin Blossom
I unfortunately was too excited about this drink to write down what exactly went into it. The searches I did online brings up conflicting recipes.

Thoughts: The bartender was telling us that the various Gimlets they offer is one of the biggest draws to the bar. While we agreed that this Gimlet was good, it paled in comparison to the Sidecar. Donovan suggested that next time she would get the Pineapple Gimlet first, then get the sidecar to finish the night with.

Drawings by Dillon Yothers

Bartender's current favorite drink:
The Last Word
Equal parts Gin, Maraschino liquor, Green Chartreuse, and lime juice
(Recipe from the Chartreuse website)

Tips:
• Due to the size of this bar, go early on the weekend or choose a weekday. During the summer they have outdoor seating, but all other seasons it is just the 18 stools and then standing room only afterward.
• Ask to see the specialty drinks list
• Get the freakin' Sidecar
• Don't try chatting up the bartender until your second or third round. She is super busy and tends to be more friendly after she's seen what your liver can do.

Our next Drink & Draw will be in two weeks, but we havne't decided where yet. We will report back our findings.

Uppercase Magazine Giveaway

Because of our love for all things pigeon, we will be giving away the current issue of Uppercase magazine this weekend at our Letter Social!

What do you have to do for a chance to win the current issue? Show-up this Saturday and write a letter with us. Here is the info:

Sat., March 3rd • 3pm - 6pm
Read/Write Library
914 N. California | Chicago, IL 60622

Hope to see you there!

Clippings Behind the Massacre

Image of the first set of killers arriving at 2122 North Clark street. From Bill Helmer's book "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre," via My Al Capone Museum

Most of use are aware of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, which took place on February 14, 1929. It was the first time the public was exposed to the real and true violence behind the Chicago mob. Since we just passed it's anniversary I thought I'd post some interesting newspaper/magazine images revolving around the event.

Jack McGurn in court. Image from Life Magazine.

Jack McGurn, Al Capone's right hand man, is said to be the man who was responsible to carrying out the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. McGurn was a regular at the Green Mill, a speakeasy run by Capone, and my all time favorite bar. (The Green Mill website has an interesting write-up on this mobster.) Even though witnesses saw McGurn entering the building where the massacres took place, he got off thanks to a very pretty blond.

Jack McGurn's girlfriend Louise Rolfe, also known as his "blond alibi." (Image from Life Magazine.) She later married McGurn so she couldn't testify against him, then left him when he ran out of money during the Depression. McGurn was gunned down in 1936 while he was in a bowling alley. Due to a "Valentine" left in his dead hand, many suspect it was revenge for the Massacre in '29.

 
Here is an image from that same "photo shoot" as represented in True Detective Magazine (March-April,1931) as found on My Al Capone Museum. Looking pretty sultry. To the right is the front page announcing McGurn's murder in the Wisconsin News.

After the massacre's building switched hands several times, the structure was demolished, but not before the brick wall with the bullet marks was saved. Above is a satellite image of 2122 N Clark St, which Russell Lewis overlaid an image of the 2122 building plan as it was in 1935. (Image from the Chicago History Museum blog.) George Paley purchased the bricks and after displaying them in his bar & grill for 5 years, he sold off the wall brick by brick.

The massacre wall section that was sold is shown in pink highlight in the illustration above. I'm unsure of the original source of this newspaper photo/illustration, but it comes from My Al Capone Museum, which is run by a historian who owns one of the original bricks from the wall and who has extensive information on the Chicago mob of the 20s.

Should you be interested in seeing the bricks from this wall, the remnants are now housed in the recently opened Mob Museum in Las Vegas.

In looking through the many newspaper clippings revolving around this event, I am struck by the interesting illustrations, diagrams, and half-photo drawings. This is something that is lacking in news today - the evidnce of the illustrator's hand. A drawing on top of a photo to break down the events of a few seconds. I found them all fascinating.

More St. Valentine's news clippings can be found here.

Renegade Round-up

I've finally got around to photographing part of my haul from Renegade two weekends ago. Here are the things I purchased:

+ Folding bone, beeswax, & cards from Bison Bookbinding
+ Butter my butt & call me a biscut postcard from Yeehaw Press
+ Tea towels & cards from Nourishing Notes
+ Two small plates from Circa Ceramics
+ Knot ring from Georgia Varidakis
+ Best Wishes Greeting, stamps, & a more from The Small Object
+ Cocktail recipe cards and cookbook markers from Tartella.

I'm lucky that I got to get out behind the booth for the hour that I did, but I still missed a bunch of vendors! What did you buy at Renegade Chicago?

Turn Off

Reread this to remind myself to get the hell away from the computer and enjoy summer. The original zine is sold out, but it is available as a free pdf.

I mentioned a few posts ago how I am very aware that summer is drawing to a close, which means winter's death grip will be soon upon Chicago. I am trying to squeeze as much as I can from this lovely weather while it lasts and have been away from glowing screens as much as I can be. Here is some photographic evidence of the things I've been doing:

Finding and enjoying hidden pockets of nature in the city.

Exploring the library shelves and taking chances on new books. Reading them outside.

Embracing new-to-me technology with a nice cup of tea and coffee cake. The Hendrick's gin tea cup is a present from Donovan and is great for lazy afternoons. (I got a Kindle as a birthday present and love how many public domain books are available for it.)

Noticing interesting placements in the museum, such as this eternal conversation taking place between the two paintings on the far ends.

Taking advantage of member perks, such as lounging in the outdoor member's area reading and soaking in the sun during an art break.

Not shown (because I was having too much fun to photograph): Lovely picnic in the park with my husband, wandering around my neighborhood and discovering I have three small parks nearby I never knew about, and drawing odd architectural details that I find around Chicago.

The last activity makes it horribly evident just how out of practice I am with real-life drawing. But like everything, I just need to keep doing it and I will slowly get better again. Getting back to sketching has also made me realize how much my drawing style has changed. I'm lean less on graphic lines and am more interested in shadows carving out shapes for me.

Chicago Fair Fun

Hey everyone! Donovan & I will be at the Renegade Fair this weekend with our 16 Sparrows and Letter Writers Alliance goodies. We will also have a typewriter and stamps on hand, so you can write a letter right there and then. We'll even mail it out for you.

Here is the fair layout - we are in Booth 242, west of Wolcott Avenue, on the South side of the street (Closer to Damen). Click to view full size.

Let me know you read this blog and I'll give you a free little gift. So, stop by and say hello!

Division Street in Wicker Park, September 10 + 11 from 11am – 7pm! Free-to-attend. See the Renegade Website for more.