Take me out to the ball game: Stitch 'N Pitch 2013.

Last year, I went to my first ever major league baseball game to knit in a stadium and obtain a novelty bobble head. Well, why not do it again? Two weeks ago, 10 friends and I took an evening trip to Milwaukee to watch the Brewers play the Oakland A's,

Sponsored by The National Needle Arts Association, the nationwide Stitch 'N Pitch brings together baseball and needle arts. Yarn vendors come to the baseball stadiums while knitters, crocheters, and quilters enjoy the game and partake in their favorite crafts.

The gals from Stitch 'N Bitch Madison braved the nasty wind and tailgated like champs before the game:

Kat, Andrea, Yours Truly, and Pat in full Sith Lord getup.
Andrea is rocking the death stare.

Despite the weather, we were in it to have a good time:

Pat shows off her 'I love to crochet at baseball games' shirt.

After eating dinner in a parking lot for the second time in my life (last year's Stitch 'N Pitch being the first), we grabbed our tickets and headed to Miller Park.

My ticket.

Then, we met the man of our dreams: this year's bobble head (a knitting hot dog). Since last year's bobble head was cross-stitching, my knitting pals and I were thrilled to see that the hot dog was knitting.

We bonded over our shared hobby
(note that I have a hand injury and have taken up finger knitting).

But then, he got a little naughty!

Anne C. managed to mellow him out.
Oh, and they dressed alike. 

Action shot of Anne C. knitting.

The Brewers weren't doing so well, but the gals were all smiles in the stands.

Andrea, Anne L., Kat, and Porter.

But this guy wasn't as smiley:

This Brewers fan was pouty when the A's took the lead.

Regardless of the game's outcome, it wouldn't be Stitch 'N Pitch without Andrea and me taking some ridiculous photos.

We aimed to pretend to slide down the glove,
but in fact, we WERE sliding down the glove.

Running with the Polish, Italian, and German sausages.

Fist-bumping the Mexican and American sausages.

Silly photos: check. Time to hang with our girls. Group shot:

Top row: Andrea, Anne L. Kat, Carol, and Porter.
Bottom row: Jane, Chris, Pat, Anne C., and Yours Truly.
Note: the smiling guy in the top right corner is our new friend, Tom.
He wasn't part of our group, but really wanted to be in the photo.

The game carried on, and we wound up tied at the end of the 9th inning. It was extended to a 10th inning and...

WE WON!

The excitement on Andrea's face says it all. After two years of Stitch 'N Pitch, I must say that my favorite part is the car ride to and from Milwaukee. I have some hilarious friends, and great things happen when we're confined to a small space.

For my coverage of Stitch 'N Pitch 2012, click here.

My evening with Bernie and the sausages: Stitch 'N Pitch 2012!

I will begin this post with an amazing video of my friend Helena dancing her ass off. I'll explain this later.

Stitch & Pitch Dance from Andrea on Vimeo.

I have lived in Wisconsin for a tad over a year, and in that time I've learned many things, including that most Wisconsinites love sausage. Therefore, it's completely rational that they'd dress adults up as sausages and have them race around a baseball field.

I had seen photos and heard stories of the famous racing sausages at Milwaukee Brewers baseball games, but there just hadn't been a good time to see them in person. But then, it happened: Stitch 'N Pitch 2012!

Sponsored by The National Needle Arts Association, the nationwide Stitch 'N Pitch brings together baseball and needle arts. Yarn vendors come to the baseball stadiums while knitters, crocheters, and quilters enjoy the game and partake in their favorite crafts.

Stitch 'N Bitch Madison sent 19 knitters to this lovely event, and it was definitely a moo-worthy evening. After my first ever tailgating experience (never thought I'd intentionally eat dinner in a parking lot), we proceeded to Miller Park.

The view from our seats. Don't ask me who the players are or what the score was.

I was there for camaraderie, knitting, and of course, sausages.

Let's start with some action shots:

Kelsey. 

Anne.

Yours truly.

The REAL action: Andrea catches a fly ball... of yarn.

And then the sausages came out!

The sausages rode Harleys!
Left to right: Mexican, Polish, German, American, Italian

Anne REALLY wanted us to get on the jumbotron, so she made us these fabulous signs:

We really do knit in a bar!

Despite our best efforts (including Helena's rockin' dance moves in the video at the top of this post), we didn't make the jumbotron. It's okay, though, because...

I met Bernie Brewer! Apparently this is a rare occurrence.

Now that Bernie and I were pals, it was time for me to watch the sausages race!

And it's the Chorizo for the win!

Never one to resist a good photo op, Andrea and I proceeded downstairs to get our picture taken with some sausage statues, including the winning fella.

Andrea is a runner, so she helped me establish the proper form.

It was quite a game! I did the wave, had a frozen lemonade, and made friends with a famous, albeit moderately creepy, mascot. It was time to head home, and unfortunately, it wasn't the Brewers' night. The Toronto Blue Jays won the game, much to the delight of my 3 Canadian friends. 

In addition to the photos, I'll always have a lovely memento commemorating this occasion:

My souvenir bobble head!
(The Polish sausage hard at work on a cross-stitch!)
This dude now lives on my desk at work.

One, two, three strikes: I'm out!

October poll results are in...

After 15 votes, the results are in...

Are you rooting for the Green Bay Packers?
Yes! - 6 votes
No! - 5 votes
I couldn't care less. - 4 votes

Perhaps this little guy was in charge of tallying the votes.

Show some love for buttery goodness and check out the November poll on the right!