stitch n' pitch

At a recent Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game, I glanced at the big huge score/message board and noticed an announcement about something called "Stitch 'n Pitch." I saw the word "knitting" and quickly scribbled down the phone number of the person to contact. Soon I learned that the Pirates are participating in the nationwide baseball-meets-needle-arts event where knitters, crocheters, needlepointers, cross-stitchers, etc. bring their projects along to show off and work on during a baseball game. It's the marriage of two pasttimes! Splendid!!

I got my tickets and promptly missed all of the pre-game festivities associated with the event because I was on my way back from camping and then cleaning up after Joelle. But I did manage to stop by the area where there had once been various yarn and supply stores showing off their wares and projects. And, although there were no more vendors left around, I did get my Stitch 'n Pitch bag.It was filled with lovely presents......including some yarn from Valley Yarns (the line from WEBS), which very seriously makes me much more apt to buy some yarn from them (go marketing people!). There's even enough Amherst yarn to make a little black and gold scarf - appropriate for supporting Pittsburgh sports teams or, in my case, the house of Hufflepuff, into which I got sorted.

I did also watch part of the game. I even saw two home runs! And, when I had to go, I realized I needed a picture of the Stitch 'n Pitch event, so...There are a few of the nice people I met. Everyone had just set down their projects, and a bunch of the crew left to seek shade because it was HOT and very sunny. (In addition to my goody bag, I also got a slight sun-burn.)

In other knitting news, I got this tin double-pointed needle holder in the mail yesterday from Woolworks, Ltd.

and look, i even cast on the second sock!

These things are so simple and so useful and so awesome. I saw them in the latest issue of Vogue Knitting and thought, "I have to have those!" (Please see my previous post, "want vs. need" for why I don't really HAVE to have them!) I don't know why nobody else makes these - they are so awesome! I contacted the sweet people at Woolworks and they said they'd ship one out before my trip to Europe. I was planning to use the holder to keep my pointy little sock needles from poking things in my luggage in between flights, but it looks like now I will have a little bit more trouble even being able to bring my knitting on the airplane. Still trying to figure out what to do about that...and what to do on my trans-Atlantic flights!