Seattle Stitch
N' Pitch Hello to everyone! This is Mary from America's
Knitting and I am reporting on the Seattle Stitch in
Pitch here in Washington state. As you may know, I live
on Bainbridge Island, which is just across the water
from Seattle. Now, I've been to the SNP event in the
past as a knitter, and always enjoyed myself with my
friends. This year, I participated as a vendor.....with
my friends. I had all kinds of help and we had all kinds
of fun. Again, perfect weather for this summertime function,
and America's Knitting was well received. On the baseball
front, we played the Tampa Bay Rays and the Mariners
beat the Rays 2-1. I hope that you all enjoy the pictures
we took. PLAY BALL~
Minnesota
Twins Stitch N' Pitch The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was packed
on Sunday, July 20th to see the Minnesota Twins take
on the Texas Rangers. Amid the crowd was an enthusiastic
group of knitters, crocheters, and other needle arts
aficionados cheering on our hometown team. We were
looking forward to a lot of action after the last two
high-scoring games, not to mention our own Justin Morneau
winning the Home Run Derby. Unfortunately, the Twins
fell zero to 1, with a homerun by the Rangers in the
sixth inning, ending Scott Baker’s perfect game.
The needle arts folks took it in stride as we kept
busy working on our projects, while encouraging our
boys on the field.
The
Stitch N Pitch table was attended by familiar faces
such as Steven Berg, from the Yarn Garage. His mother,
Christa, who owns a yarn shop in Wisconsin, was also
in attendance.
Three Kittens representatives were also there to talk
about our favorite topic. In the crowd were several
groups, including several ladies in pink who drove
in from St. Cloud. We enjoyed our Stitch and Pitch
visors, and were even willing to look silly and turn
them inside out and backwards to rally the Twins in
the last innings, but alas, it did not work. Well,
maybe next time!
Kristi from Lakeville
Minnesota
San
Diego Padres Stitch N' Pitch It was an absolutely perfect day for a ball
game. My friend and I completely stuffed ourselves
with ball park beer and food and I managed to knit
a few blanket squares. The Padre's lost, but that's
ok because I am a Mariners Fan! I missed the table
with all the goodies, but Liz gave me her her ball
cap and I probably couldn't have fit another ball of
yarn in my bag anyway, I came prepared!
Brandi from San Diego~
Tampa
Bay Rays Stitch 'N' Pitch
Being a guy it may be unusual that I know more about
crocheting than baseball. But I grew up in Germany
where soccer is the most popular spectator sport -
and baseball is practically unheard of, so I guess
I have a good excuse.
Initially I didn’t want to go to the Rays Stitch & Pitch
event, since multitasking crocheting and watching a
baseball game at the same time seems contradictory
to me. Heck, I can’t even have the TV on when I crochet.
It was only because I took over someone else’s ticket
from our group that I did actually get to go. And since
one of my other hobbies
is photography, I was busy taking photos for most of
the evening. Still, I brought an alibi crochet hook and
some thread, but never touched them the whole evening.
We
got there two hours early. Six of us carpooled in a minivan.
That way we didn’t have to pay for parking. After going
in we didn’t waste much time and headed straight for
our seats to make sure we’d get our goodie bags.
The pre-game activity already had me shooting away
with my camera. It’s quite interesting to see what
all is going on before a game and to see how ad-overloaded
it is in the US. The evening had an 80’s theme, every
once in a while you saw some women dressed as teenies
in screaming bright colors pop up from the bleachers
and dance to old 80’s hits.
Oh, and there was a game too. Since I know next to
nothing about baseball, I can only tell you that the
home team won. After the game the group “Kool & The
Gang” concluded the 80’s program with a free concert.
The acoustics weren’t ideal from our seats though and
so we left after a half hour.
All in all an interesting evening with new impressions.
Georg Oehl
Tampa
Bay Rays Stitch 'N' Pitch On June 21st. the Tampa Bay Rays hosted their
annual Stitch 'N' Pitch. A small group of friends (some
from as far away as West Palm Beach) and I took the
drive out to St. Petersburg to attend. This was my
first Stitch 'N Pitch event and I have to admit that
I was very impressed, deciding minutes after walking
through the door that this will definitely become an
annual event for me!
It was a cool and rainy day outside, but inside Tropicana
Field there was not a drop of rain to be seen, thanks
to the dome. We were immediately handed a pair of Rays
sunglasses upon entering the stadium. Once we made
it to our seats in the 200 section on the left field
side we were given our Stitch 'N Pitch goody bags.
They pulled out all of the stops here, as the bright
yellow
goody bag held 2 skiens of yarn, 2 crochet hooks,
a set of size 9 DPN's, emoryboards, some buttons,
a very nice Lantern Moon bag, as well as an assortment
of magazines, patterns and fliers for local yarn
stores.
There were a few vendors on hand selling discounted
yarns, and other accessories. All the people there
were very friendly, and their merchandise was gorgeous,
it was hard to walk away empty handed. (Of course we
didn't!)
Once in our seats we saw a big sign on the jumbotron
that it was 80's throwback night. The Rays would be
playing as the St. Pete Pelicans (since the Rays themselves
were not around in the 80's) and the Houston Astros
were wearing their 80's uniforms. Shortly after the
first pitch everyone dug into their bags and pulled
out their current projects. Looking around I saw people
of all ages, working with a sea of colorful yarns.
The game itself was very exciting with the Rays winning
on a walk-off single by Gabe Gross. But there was still
more excitement to come as we were treated to a concert
by Kool and the Gang following the game.
It was a great night of baseball, knitting, and even
music! I can't wait for next year!
Wendy
Barlow~
D.C.
Stitch 'N' Pitch
If anyone asks, it's difficult, but not impossible,
to juggle beer and yarn. Just ask any of the knitters
in attendance at Friday night's Stitch 'n' Pitch at
the Washington National's new ballpark. Knitters and
other crafters from across the District and from Maryland
and Virginia poured into the Outfield Gallery, spanning
five sections along the left field line, to watch our
home team take on the Texas Rangers in interleague
play.
The night was a rare June jewel, with a clear sky and
temperatures in the mid-70s. A touching tribute to Nats
fan and NBC journalist Tim Russert added a sobering moment
early in the game before everyone was pulled into the
action as the Rangers took the lead in the second inning.
The knitters, trailing our socks, scarves, and other
WIPs, were well taken care of before and during the
game. Event organizers had a room down a couple of
flights where ticket holders could learn about a
variety of yarn- and thread-related crafts -- from
spinning to embroidery. They also had swag for us.
Outfitted with cheery red bags emblazoned with the
Nationals' curly W, Stitch 'n' Pitchers and Muggles
alike were treated to an exciting night on the field,
as well as in the stands. As an orange moon rose
over right field, the Nats continued to squander
opportunities, frustrating fans across the park.
The team trailed into the eighth, when the Nationals'
right fielder, Elijah Dukes, tied the game with a
solid shot that fell into the Rangers' bullpen. After
a second running of the renowned Presidents' Race
(Abe Lincoln won both times) and an additional, but
no less rousing, chorus of "Take Me Out to the
Ball Game," Dukes again came to the plate, this
time with the bases loaded and two down in the bottom
of the 14th. Coming through with a clutch hit, Dukes
won the game with a line drive that skittered into
left field. Although the 11:45 end time was too late
to permit the traditional Friday evening firework
show, I don't think any of the knitters who stayed
until the end (by then outfitted in handmade sweaters,
shrugs, and shawls) missed them. And we'll definitely
be back next year, needles in hand.
The
3rd annual Los Angeles Dodger Stitch 'N Pitch
baseball game. Last night I attended the 3rd annual Los Angeles
Dodger Stitch 'N Pitch baseball game. What a fun way
to spend an evening. Sitting in the stadium seats with
hundreds of other fiber friends knitting and crocheting
while cheering on the Dodgers. Even Don Johnson, Miami
Vice TV fame, was in the "house". Unfortunately,
I could only see him on the jumbo TV screen.
Filled up on Dodger dogs, popcorn and beer and tried
not to drop
stitches while wearing our Dodger blue Stitch 'N Pitch
baseball caps. To make the evening even more fun, the
Dodgers beat the Rockies, 8-1. Had a great time and
look forward to attending next year too. Wouldn't be
summer without Stitch 'N Pitch.
