The Mets and local needle arts stores sold more than 800 discounted tickets for last night’s game against the Braves, when people from all over the metropolitan area gathered to knit, crochet and embroider in the stands.
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“The rhythms of baseball fit the rhythms of needle arts,” Barbara Paley, marketing specialist for the National NeedleArts Association, said yesterday.
The Stitch N’ Pitch program had its unofficial start in 2005, when retail needle arts stores in Seattle began a program at Mariners games, Paley said. The national association facilitated the nationwide expansion of the program last year, with 15 major league teams involved.
The Mets, new to the program this year, are one of 25 teams that scheduled days for needle arts enthusiasts this season. Patty Parrish, executive director of association, said in a recent telephone interview that her organization had unsuccessful discussions with the Yankees.
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Stitch N’ Pitch is merely an extension of a long history of large social groups meeting to work on needle arts projects. There are social gatherings around the world, often called Stitch ’n Bitch groups, for knitters and crocheters to meet and chat, needles in hand.
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With Stitch N’ Pitch, Major League Baseball teams can reach out to people who need more than a game to stay interested. One of those was Debbie Stoller, who said in a telephone interview last week that she usually rooted for whichever New York team was the most successful and had never been to a baseball game.
The slower pace of baseball makes it more suited to this type of event than other sports, but apparantly the Portland Trail Blazers have hosted a similar event in the past. Does anyone know of other sports teams who have hosted "knitting nights"?
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