:River Colors Journal: December 2014 - Knitting Tips Blog
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River Colors Journal

Tuesday, December 30, 2014
 

New year, new neighborhood!! January teasers from Rachel
The start of a new year is always an invigorating, motivating feeling full of new goals, fresh starts, and mindful resolutions.  For us knitters, crocheters and creative souls that often translates into organizing and going through all of our stashes of yarn and supplies in order to make room for new ideas and projects.  Or sometimes it's about resolving and finishing all the things that have been waiting around for a year.... or two!  The latter of the two is the one that is topping my list! But also on my goals for the New Year is to continue my journey of exploration around our amazing city that seems to only become more interesting over time.  These inspirations for the Colors of Cleveland project have swept in a new breath of fresh air for my love and engagement with my hometown, and I cannot wait to share more of them with you in 2015.

On that note, January starts out with a bang in one of my personal favorite neighborhoods.  It's vibrant, it's diverse, and it's constantly evolving, so you can expect colors to reflect this profile.  Someone could leave me in this area for days and I wouldn't run out of things to do.  And if I was not already a resident of Lakewood, it would probably become the neighborhood I would choose to call home. I will leave you with some clues and facts to ponder upon until yarn pick-up day!!

This urban neighborhood is home to 9,000 residents and provides all the amenities one needs all in one area

This neighborhood has attracted migrants and immigrants since the late 19th century from Germany, Hungary, Ireland.  The employment they found was mostly at the docks, mills, distilleries and foundries.

By 1978, this area was known to have residents from more than 15 ethnic groups, now including Hispanic, Asian, and Native-Americans.

James A. Garfield, the 20th president of our country, served as a pastor at one of the Christian churches here.  Also, James Ford Rhodes, millionaire Pulitzer Prize winning historian, was born and raised here, and his brother's landmark mansion is nestled in the heart of this neighborhood.

USA Today recently named the area one of the ten best places to bar hop around the world!  It was sharing the list with other fabulous places like Dublin, Ireland, Austin, Texas, and Rio de Janeiro.  And there are for sure a wide variety of spirits to choose from.

Speaking of bars, let's talk about food.  You can be in this one tiny place and have many cuisine choices at your fingertips.  Mexican, French, Thai, Vietnamese, Vegetarian, Middle Eastern, Puerto Rican, Southern/Soul, Caribbean, Irish, and many more! Isn't this just a great piece of information to know?!

The oldest indoor/outdoor market is housed here and was originally known as The Pearl Street Market.  Architecturally it is built in the Neo-Classical/Byzantine style and cost $680,000 to build.

Also located here is one of the country's largest urban farms.  It includes a farm, a retail stand, and a community kitchen on a six acre city parcel.

Houses Cleveland's first and only hostel

I hope this provides you with some interesting food for thought as you enjoy the rest of the holidays and prepare to ring in the New Year.  The Cleveland Colors yarn will be here before you know it!  And I wish everyone a year of discovery, creating, and generosity!




Tuesday, December 02, 2014
 

It's December! Neighborhood Clues from Rachel
It's hard to believe, but December is already upon us, which means holiday festivities and finding perfect little gifts for the special people in our lives are topping our schedules.  But for the Colors of Cleveland club members, it also means that it's time for some teasers!  For this month I decided to change things up a bit and forego the photo clues and try some neighborhood history and trivia.  Let's see if any of you CLE lovers can guess where we are this month!

-  This neighborhood draws more than 1 million people annually and also contributes $43 million in local economic impact every year.

-  Five of its architectural gems were constructed in a surprisingly rapid 19 months in the early 1920s, inspired by a combination of Roman, Greek, European Baroque, and Italian Renaissance styles.

-  And for art buffs, inside one of these buildings is the stunning mural painted by famous artist James H. Daugherty, The Spirit of Cinema In America.

- This neighborhood is proud to be the headquarters for Cleveland radio stations WCPN and WCLV, TV station WVIZ, and also for DANCECleveland.

-  One of Cleveland's many talented chefs has created a must see dining destination inside a space which originally housed one of our city's premiere jewelry stores, founded in 1861.

-  Also gracing this neighborhood is a Victorian-era treasure which includes two nine-story buildings, a glass skylight covering over 300 feet of space, and was considered to be one of  the first indoor shopping malls in America when it was built in 1890.


Hopefully these clues give you something interesting to think about while you are anxiously awaiting your December yarn!!  I think you are going to love this one, and it has a special surprise included from us to you in the spirit of gratitude and giving!

 Being a knitter and creator, I cherish all things hand-crafted by the wonderful local artisans we have access to in our city. So for all the special people in my life I'll be headed out to explore some art and craft shows to purchase unique holiday gifts.  Here are just a few that will be heading my list of places to shop:

-  Cleveland Bazaar's 10th Anniversary Holiday show for amazing handmade art and gifts.  It will be taking place at the 78th Street Studios on December 13th and 14th.

-  Also at 78th Street Studios will be their next upcoming Third Friday, where you can wander and meander through all the galleries, studios, and spaces to enjoy shopping, music, food and libations under one umbrella.  I have found fabulous gifts here every year!!  The next one is December 19th.

Happy shopping everyone!  Cannot wait for you all to pick up your December package!