I was sitting around with Clara Parkes and Cat Bordhi in the food court and we were talking about which "Sex in the City" character we most resemble (I'm totally Samantha, while we agreed that Clara is, like, so Charlotte except when she gets all Miranda) when this lady walked by with a big plate of soba noodles and Cat said, "I wonder how those would knit up?" and wandered away and while she was trying to persuade the lady that her lunch would make a kickin' pair of lacy socks, Clara and I accidentally rummaged around in her bag and found this.
And my dears, just wait until you see the centerfold.
Sports News
No, seriously.
I have word that it's not too late to get tickets to this year's Chicago edition of Stitch 'n' Pitch. That's a baseball game plus knitting. The "White Sox" will play the "Tigers" on Wednesday, August 6, at 7:15 pm.
You can get ticket forms at these places:
- Arcadia Knitting (Chicago - North Side)*
- Loopy Yarns (Chicago - Loop)
- Three Bags Full Knitting Studio (Northbrook)
- My Sister's Knits (Chicago - South Side)
- Chix with Stix (Forest Park)
- String Theory (Glen Ellyn)
- Wool and Company (Geneva)
- Windy City Knitting Guild*
A portion of the proceeds from every ticket will go to the Night Ministry and the Helping Hands Foundation.
No, I won't be there. I'm afraid that living within screaming distance of Wrigley Field hasn't done much to alter the sense of helplessness and despair that overwhelms me when I contemplate spending a couple hours held captive in a stadium seat.
And while we're on the subject–this is a lifelong, very personal shortcoming. It has nothing to do with being gay. I wonder how long it'll take for that stereotype to die?While hanging around with Tom I've undergone a crash course in baseball and football, because his best gay friends are all sports nuts–the scary kind who own season tickets and quote stats and wear weird necklaces made out of buckeyes. They've all made the effort to learn the difference between merino and cashmere, and have listened attentively to Knitting Camp stories, so I feel it's only polite to respond in kind.
There has been progress. A couple weeks ago at Crew I successfully deduced that:
- the game on the screen was baseball and
- the Cubs were "at bat," and
- the guy holding the "bat" had just "struck out," and
- this was not a nice thing for the Cubs.
G-O-C-U-B-S-G-O.
Look, not everyone goes into the screamin' meemies from getting to attend a baseball game in person! For someone who had no interest and didn't have much incentive to learn about the game, you have done really, really well! Go Cubs indeed!!!
ReplyDeleteAs someone who was forced to suffer through two years of Little League, I can't say that I have a deep and abiding love of the game, either. My great-grandfather,of whom I am the third namesake, played semi-pro, though, so it's been something of an inescapable reality in our family. I can't abide watching it on television, but I do find that I enjoy actually going to see a game live and in person. Admittedly, it's more about the cultural experience than the game itself, but it can be quite fun. Especially minor league games where they have between-innings entertainment to keep people coming back.
ReplyDeleteThat's real growth!
ReplyDeletePersonally I would rather play than watch, so sitting in the stands holds little appeal (or here in Columbus, with fans ringing cowbells in my ears). Needless to say I don't watch it on the telly too often either.
ReplyDeleteSo Tom's friends are Buckeyes, about the most rabid species of fan. You have no choice but to learn from exposure.
On a happier note my sister will be visiting Chicago in a couple of weeks and had asked for a list of LYS so she can bring me yarn/fiber as a souvenir. Your list will definitely get her started.
D*mn! I'll be in town (yours) Aug. 17 - 22 and thus will miss the SnP. Anything else I shouldn't miss?
ReplyDeleteWhere's the subscription form for Cat PEOPLE???
Hmmmm - that's a stereotype I hadn't known about - maybe because I spent so many years living near Boys Town & was quite aware of all the rabid sports nut gay guys. Anyway - going to a baseball game (Cubs anyway) is not so much about the game but more about getting outside on a nice day & eating hot dogs with friends/family. I used to take my daughters at least once or twice a year when we lived within walking distance. And once they were school age, they went with the John Merlo (former 44th Ward Commissioner if you aren't familiar with the name)group every summer. We still go occasionally (rarely to Cubs games since they've gotten so pricey) altho none of us are really what you'd call fans (maybe fair weather fans?).
ReplyDeleteBut, but, you can go and hang out with knitters, what could possibly be better? Pictures of knitters in the wild would make cool endpapers for the 1000 knitters project. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI am a Cubs fan. I am impressed that you have listened to your guy and his friends and learned a bit about the game. My husband is a lifelong Cubs fan and I come to the game through him. I enjoy going to Wrigley (although I'm not a screaming mimi), mostly, as mwknitter said, to enjoy the day outside. It's fun to watch the people walking around (you could blog on that full time if you went to Wrigley for even one game, Franklin), and to watch some young men in great shape run around in front of you in pursuit of a flying baseball. I'm taking my knitting to the ballpark for the first time on Wednesday (probably under the protest from DH), and I intend to fully represent!
ReplyDeleteGo Cubs Go indeed!
Is Tom supposed to be Annie Sullivan? Growing up, other kids read about Helen...I read about Annie and her brother Jimmie and the Police Gazettes they'd read at the orphanage. Annie was my hero.
ReplyDeleteNow Franklin's my hero! (Suddenly I hear Cameron saying, "Ferris Bueller you're my hero!)
Baseball is the perfect sport for knitters. They've even named some of their teams after socks.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Lori that those guys wearing weird necklaces with Buckeyes on them are some of the most rabid of all sports fans! I happen to only be a fan of Buckeye football myself!
ReplyDeleteI have attended a few baseball games in my past, but most of them were spent simply walking around the stands, eating and chatting with friends! That was a AAA game, so not nearly as crowded as a Cubs game would be, but it was still a great place to socialize!
Baseball? Pah! Now, let me tell you about cricket ...!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the laugh-out-loud magazine cover. Good to the last word.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in sixth grade, we were all taken to a Cubs game ("we" being all the sixth graders). it was some sort of reward for being on safety patrol around the elementary school. A dozen or so years later, I went to a baseball game in Tokyo (if you think it's a big deal in the U.S. ...).
So I've done baseball, and if I were going to be a fan I'd be a Cubs fan. Knitting would likely improve the games, if not the seats.
Now if the Cubs were playing Stitch N Pitch instead of That Other Team, I could go with my mom since I'll be visiting her. She'd drive from northern WI to see her Cubbies. I'm not sure she's forgiven them for putting in lights. They've been her team since the '40s, although she doesn't wear anything more fanatical than Cubs jerseys. And caps. And a beach towel. And she has a bobblehead of...
ReplyDeleteI have had zero interest in sports ever since I can remember. I always carry earplugs for noisy situations. Maybe with earplugs and a pattern for a seat cushion it might be bearable.
ReplyDelete(ouch - I didn't intend that pun, and now I can't bring myself to remove it.) Maybe you could knit a bear cub for Abigail.
I am now determined to invent a sock knitted from the shin out...
You are so hilarious -- I really wish you were able to post each and every day! But I'm also glad to hear that I'm not the only person "willing" to forego a "good time" because the thought of being imprisoned in a huge mass of people terrifies me. I used to live in NJ and occasionally go into "the city" for events -- but I was always terrified I'd get stuck there and never get out.
ReplyDeleteI can sympathise completely. My best friend LOVES basketball and will talk about it at every opportunity. I could not possibly care less about sports, so he's taken it upon himself to explain crap like how they hire basketball players for a ton of money and whether or not so and so has too many fouls or something in the hopes that someday I will remember something. No dice, so far I've just given a couple players strange nicknames.
ReplyDeleteA good friend of ours has a sure fire way to get one out of any sports conversations. Whenever someone expects you to contribute you look very interested and ask "Now is that the one with the round ball or the pointy ball?" Done, and you can finally get back to your knitting.
ReplyDeleteI was at stitches and scones this weekend, ordering up some "Franklin's Panopticon" in worsted weight when Molli the owner says to me "You know, Franklin was here...." she said you mentioned the 1000 Knitters and she meant to be all over it but she let the ball drop. She said she was too slepp deprived with her little one and she couldn't think straight, etc... and feels very badly about it.
ReplyDeleteShe was very sorry to not have made contact. And she is really a nice person, so I hope you come back some day.
That said, I can't wait to get my yarn and knit with your new colorway.
It was your "buckeye" comment that gave it away. People from Ohio are just crazy when it comes to sports. I know. I married one. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteBut on the plus side, hot dogs taste best at the ball park!
HAH! Oh how I relate! I grew up in a college football town whose population doubled when there was a home game. I know some very lovely sports people, but my choice is to forgo that scene. Being in grade school and dealing with the empty beer cans and after game mess left on my street made a deep impression on me. I still have no clue how the game works, and I plan on staying that way. I'm able to handle other sport arenas, not sure if it's the same for you- but good for you on overcoming that duck-and-cover reaction!
ReplyDeleteI totally hear you. I am SO sick of people assuming that all Canadians love hockey. And, yes, I'm talking about other Canadians.
ReplyDeleteBlurg. NOT!
my stitch-n-pitch game is august 5 - florida marlins at phillies.
ReplyDeletelast year we had over 1500 people turn out; this year I will be in the stands with the spouse and some of my SnB group members.
and I do happen to like my baseball (even though sometimes my team pisses me off soooo bad...)
GO PHILLIES!
smooches to u!
Love the magazine cover, and kudos to you for at least trying to understand the baseball jargon. My husband talks to me about stocks a lot, wants to show me charts and graphs and yucky stuff like that. It makes me feel too much like I'm in statistics class, but I try to listen politely and nod at the appropriate times. Patience is a virtue we must all cultivate in greater quantity, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteSo, how much is a subscription? For some reason when I'm feeling like I've gotten too deep into the geek end of knitting and can't find my way out, Cat helps. I think it's the being totally over my head part. I wish my brain worked like that.
ReplyDeleteBut then, when she explains it in person it all makes perfect sense - until you lose the instructions and try to recreate it on your own.
"I was sitting around with Clara Parkes and Cat Bordhi in the food court and we were talking about..."
ReplyDeleteNAME DROPPER!!!
;)
I can't wait for the Prius pattern - a new car is coming into my life in the next 6 months and it would be so much fun to knit it! I wonder if the light nature of Alpaca yarn might make it even more fuel efficient.
ReplyDeleteYou slay me.
I used to live 2 blocks from Fenway Park and never went to a game for the same reasons you stated. And I LOVE the book, maybe even better than the Remote. Well, not better, as much, as much but more but the same cause they are both wicked pissa cool.
ReplyDeleteThe last time I was in Tiger Stadium, I was six and had a fever.
ReplyDeleteThese days I hear they have a train to the stadium. Can I take the train (you can knit on a train) and skip the baseball part?
Although I confess to some nostalgia for Ernie Harwell broadcasting on the radio. If I could get recordings of old games and play them in the background, ah, then it would really be summer.
I go I get to be a Cat-people and learn how to knit with 1/2 circ? Enquiring minds (aka process knitters) need to know!
ReplyDeleteWhat's baseball? And who cares?
let me correct that and show that I am actually borderline literate:
ReplyDeleteHow do I get to be a Cat-people and learn how to knit with 1/2 circ? Enquiring minds (aka process knitters) need to know!
What's baseball?
"...wear weird necklaces made out of buckeyes."
ReplyDeleteWhat are buckeyes?
Aww, Franklin, you're just not approaching the whole thing properly. You go to the game for the FOOD! I've made a study of it, and it doesn't matter which guys are hitting the ball with their sticks....hot dogs taste better at a ball game than anywhere else in the world. And you know, we Wisconsinites eat more sausages at our Brewers games than anyone else in the world do anywhere for anything. (Also - you can now get all manner of food at ball games, besides the usual peanuts and Cracker Jacks. Would you believe *mountain oysters* at the baseball games in Colorado???) Gives a whole new meaning to "ball game".............
ReplyDeleteDude, you're Samantha?! Lucky Tom! (Maybe.)
ReplyDeleteI was a competitive swimmer from ages 8 to 18. (Go, Dana, go!) You can imagine that I might have a little chip on my shoulder about football and baseball and baskeball and all the other sports that actually got funding while we had to sell candy bars and have car washes every year just to buy new suits. (Don't ask me about the new uniforms the football team got every year.) Yeah, high school was 20 years ago and I'm still bitter. So, I don't pay much attention to anything that happens on land, especially if it involves a ball. (I lived in Pittsburgh six months before I figured out that the Pirates and the Bucs are the same thing.) I did grow up in IL, however, which does somehow put an abiding interest in the welfare of the Cubs into your blood, whether you want it or not. However, I'll take Michael Phelps in a LZR any day over some dude who spits and wears knickers!
I can KNIT my next Prius? That Cat... one never knows what she'll come up with next. :-)
ReplyDeleteNeither my hubby nor I "get" the sports thing, whether it's football or baseball. I have issues with the amount of money that is spent on professional sports while so much else in this country (like education and the arts) go begging for funding. I could go on and on but I won't. Thanks for the Cat Bordhi cover though -- it was a riot!
ReplyDeleteI do NOT get all Miranda! (And if you dare say I'm Marianne I'll scream. I'm Ginger, darn it.) As for the magazine, I thought we'd agreed not to let that Cat out of the bag...
ReplyDeleteAlwen, dear - not only is there a train to Tiger Stadium, there is a whole new stadium. Sadly, the old one will be torn down. The new one is actually quite nice.
ReplyDeleteI'm always rather shocked when the boyfriend comes out with some random sports trivia. He hates sports of all varieties, but swears when you are a boy, forced to hang out with other boys, you pick some things up. Myself, everything I know about football came from one of those Mattel games.
I am sympathetic to your sports-hating plight. I myself would have to take the short bus to any given sporting event unless knitting officially is accepted as part of the Olympics... I will also not know any sporting stats anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteLove the Cat magazine! And if anyone has ever had the great pleasure of meeting Cat you know that not only is this mag cover very nearly true, but that she is the best sport with the cutest sense of humor ever. She will totally come up with a sock that starts at the shin now just to mess with you!
ReplyDeleteOh honey, if you fall for the Cubs you will be heartbroken forever. Just ask George Will. However, if it breaks their curse of never having won a World Series since 1908, then more power to 'em!
ReplyDeleteI can tell you that going to a live game is much better than watching it on the idiot box. You get to people watch, you get to see the players do things you don't see on the idiot box, and you don't have any commercials or commentators. Get a hot dog and a beer, siddown and knit to your heart's content. Look up occasionally and listen to the crowd. You'll have a great time.
Oh yeah. Bring a seat cushion. The seats are hard on the hips.
Yerrrrouttathere!
(How does one cast on for a car engine?)
Do they let you be an American if you don't like baseball? I have the same thing up here in Canada with a less than active interest in hockey. I'll go if you let me sing the anthem.
ReplyDeleteIf it makes you feel any better, I am not gay and I do hate baseball. Even the Los Angeles Stitch and Pitch with girlfriends that I rarely see is not enough incentive to make me go. Not even if they try to bribe me with new (and free) yarn.
ReplyDeleteStay home. Do something you enjoy.
A great deal of useful information for me!
ReplyDelete