Friday, July 22, 2011

Stitch & Pitch 2011

This past Wednesday I,  along with hundreds of other stitchers and knitters,  attended the Toronto Blue Jays vs. Seattle Mariners baseball game at the Toronto Sky Dome (now known as the Rogers Centre).


"Stitch & Pitch" is an annual event for Stitchers and Knitters.  The tickets were only $20 for the 200 level.  We all received a goody bag upon entering, and there were some wonderful prizes as well.

I met up with Darlene, Andy and Eileen before the game to grab a quick bite to eat.  Eileen was camera shy, so she volunteered to take the photo.







We all stitched even though the seating was a little tight, the temperatures were at scorcher levels, and the game was quite exciting, with 5 home runs (one of the balls even ended up in our level just a few seats to the right of us).
 During the bottom of the second inning, the Jays loaded that bases and the mariners headed to the pitcher's mound to decide what to do next.  Needless to say they had 4 runs that inning.  The Blue Jays were on fire that night, winning the game 11 to 6.

"Ace", the Blue Jays mascot also visited us to bring attention to the "Stitch & Pitch" event.  The "Go Jays Go" banner behind him was knitted.  How amazing is that.


We all had a fabulous time.  Can't wait 'til next years!!!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Write a Review

We are adding a new feature to our website, www.gittas.comto give our stitchers a voice and make the website more informative,      "Write a Review"

Have you ever wanted to post a comment about a pattern you've been working on?  Good or Bad, it's all good!!  Well here is your chance to advise, excite and even warn your fellow stitchers !!!!

We invite you to write a review on any kit or pattern posted on our website.  Your comments can include your impressions of the presentation; ease or difficulty of following the chart/instructions and how you overcame & compensated; any changes you made to the original pattern; your impressions of the finished piece; and so on.

It's very easy,  just write down your thoughts and email these with a photo of your stitched piece to our webmaster.  The photo is optional, but if your piece is different from the original, we'd love to see it. 

My first review is on " Garden Fair" by the Courtney Collection.
(I first blogged about this pattern on May 27th).

Friday, July 8, 2011

Hooked on Biscornus

With my Canada Day biscornu all done, I had to figure out what to stitch on the long weekend.  If you haven't noticed yet, I'm hooked on these quirky little pin cushions.    So with all of you working on one over the weekend I wanted to stitch one as well.

Two years ago I had designed a Chair Necessaire set that was featured in "A Needle Pulling Thread" magazine.  Over 2009 readers of the magazine were treated to all parts of the set; a biscornu, scissor fob, scissor pocket, and the finishing instructions to the stitching tool organizer that hangs over the arm of your chair.  It is this biscornu that I took with me to stitch over the long weekend.  I stitched it as a gift for one of oldest friends; not that she's the oldest - we are BF's since grade 5.   With purple being her favourite colour,  I used "Old Maid of the Aubergine" a hand dyed silk and cross stitched on 32ct Belfast Linen, "Lilac".  For the beads I used Magnifica beads 10074.

For the top of the biscornu I stitched the entire design, and for the bottom half I only stitched a portion of the design for each corner.  I absolutely love this silk colour;  the colour variation has a subtle flow yet shows beautifully.

And here it is all finished, but my friend will have to wait until  her birthday in September.

For those of you who do not have a copy of the magazine, I am working on printing the set into a chart pack that should be available within the next few weeks.