"Jeopardy!" champ spins a yarn: Hannah Wilson's perfect Chicago day
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Hannah Wilson stands at her store, "The Dropped Stitch," in Andersonville. Photo: Courtesy of Tyler Core
Chicago has had its share of "Jeopardy!" champions over the years, but Hannah Wilson may be one of the most popular.
State of play: Wilson, who had an eight-show winning streak in 2023, participated in the show's Invitational Tournament last month. She lost in a nail-biter.
- Her success on the show helped her open her craft store The Dropped Stitch.
What they're saying: "My wife and I used some of my prize money to put a down payment on a condo in Andersonville, a neighborhood which had everything except a good yarn shop," Wilson tells Axios.
- "Now I spend all day knitting, meeting fellow crafters in my neighborhood, organizing classes and workshops, and getting newcomers set on their way. It's pretty great!"
Zoom out: Wilson, who was the third transgender woman to compete on the national quiz show, is well positioned to take advantage of the closing of the national craft store Joann.
- The Dropped Stitch is now one of only a handful of dedicated craft stores in the city.
Since Wilson is now an Andersonville celebrity, we wanted to find out what her perfect day in Chicago would look like:
🥯 Breakfast: "When I want to give myself a treat before opening my store, I head down the street to JB's Deli and grab a breakfast sandwich (everything bagel, toasted, with bacon, egg, and swiss cheese). Usually I just grab and go, but today I stick around, read yesterday's Sun-Times, and contemplate the meaning of the "One Of A Few Jewish Delis" sign in the window."
🦜Morning activity: My friend Loren (who is a talented nature photographer) has taken me on some amazing birdwatching walks recently, and I've learned that one of the best places for birding in the region is right in Chicago: the Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary. After getting my fill of warblers and thrushes, I make sure not to miss the absurdly acrobatic purple martins living in the cluster of birdhouses in the northwest corner of the harbor."
🌮 Lunch: "All that nature made me hungry, so I'm walking to Uptown for a plate of juicy birria tacos at Birrieria Zaragoza. Two or three of these bad boys covered with onions and cilantro and washed down with a tasty broth will set me up until dinner, and it's fun to sit at the window counter and watch the world go by."
📚 Afternoon activity: "I love hunting for forgotten classics and out-of-print oddities at used bookstores, and luckily this city is full of great ones. I'm spending all afternoon on a used-books crawl across the city: Armadillo's Pillow in Rogers Park (overstuffed, eccentric), Heirloom Books in Edgewater Glen (organized, intellectual), Uncharted Books in Andersonville (with their secret back room and excellent vintage paperback collection), Ravenswood Used Books (mazelike, encyclopedic), and finishing up at Open Books in Logan Square, a literacy nonprofit where I spent some time volunteering during my post-Jeopardy mini-retirement."
🍜 Dinner: "I dozed off in the upstairs armchair at Open Books and miss my dinner reservation, so I Divvy back to Uptown and get Thai food at Immm Rice and Beyond. Gai Tod and a bowl of pad see ew (I'm a spice wimp! Sorry!) with that good char on the noodles, yes please."
🎷 Evening activity: "I walk a couple blocks down to catch the early set at the Green Mill, the only venue in Chicago where you can stumble in on any random night and wind up grooving to an Australian guy who happens to be the world's best jazz flugelhorn player."
🧶 Afterparty: "I'm too sleepy to stay for the second set, so I take the Broadway bus home and crash on the couch with my knitting and an episode of "Columbo." Goodnight!"