Wednesday, May 27, 2009

take me out to the knitting game

So, last night's entertainment included about 450 homeschoolers enjoying a Rock Cats baseball game. I phrase it in exactly that way because, for me, the primary entertainment was the homeschoolers, while the game provided a fun backdrop. The kids and Scott, of course, bebopped around with assorted pals, seat-hopping to chat with everyone and making food/drink runs together. (Oh, and BTW, Long Trail Belgian White? Yum.) I, meanwhile, enjoyed a steady stream of knitters and old friends passing by and stopping for visits.

I knew it was going to be a knitting sort of evening when we rec'd a phone call at home with an emergency request for a size 2 DPN, STAT, for a friend who left one of her needles at home.

This, coincidentally, is the same friend who was knitting next to me at a Rock Cats game in the fall of 2008, when I was ALSO knitting a lace ribbon scarf out of Jojoland yarn. The scarf in the 2008 pic was chosen from the gift knits box a couple of weeks ago and I enjoyed the pattern once I got it in my head, so I'm making another one for the gift knits box.

Then a friend stopped by to tell me about the cotton top she's knitting for her daughter.

Another one stuck out her leg to show off alpaca socks she recently received in the very silly Sock Wars.

A long-time acquaintance stopped to chat and mentioned that she's having trouble with tendinitis from her knitting, so she's switching to Continental style and that seems to help.

The two homeschoolers who sang the Star Spangled Banner were decked out in handknit stars and stripes vests, knit in a mad dash by the socknitter in the first pic above. She made two of these in a couple of weeks. Crazy! (hm? what's that you're whispering? Terror Fish? Oh, yeah. Forgot about that. See, I know crazy.)
I shared a passing greeting with another knitter who has her own sheep and is also a spinner and teacher of crochet.

The midwife who was present for Leah's homebirth hung out for a visit too. She's not a knitter, but she's cool enough that we'll forgive her for that one flaw. :-)

When Jesse and buddies weren't watching the game, Jesse was playing with string of a different kind, having just rec'd an order of new yo-yo strings that needed to be broken in. (Yes, the kind he uses need to be broken in. You wouldn't believe the options and finer points of yo-yo strings for the serious player. Debates about these rival those between circ lovers vs. dpn users.)

Leah worked on a small project while watching the game. See the tell-tale yarn leash spanning from her left hand (holding project) to knitting bag on the ground? At the end of the evening, a conversation with an Artist Trading Card enthusiast/homeschooling mom/friend lit a spark in Leah's mind that has since led to swatching, graphing, and her first intarsia project, which is in progress at this very moment. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

For the Rock Cats, last night was a sound thumping of a loss.

For my family, everything about it was a win. :-)
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2 Comments:

Blogger ChristineMM said...

Wow 450 HS people!

We should have gone! Maybe next year. The timing was bad for our family this time around.

I'd liked to have been around so many homeschoolers.

Hopefully lots will go to the CHN conference in early June...

10:15 AM  
Blogger J said...

Debbie: Do you know if there is a pattern for the flag vest?

12:41 PM  

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