Hilary Booth... of course!

When the weather turns to spring (if ever so briefly) and the boys start playing the national pasttime again. So my default icon is a curly W for my Nationals. Our home opener was a delight. Bryce Harper can hit as many home runs as he likes. If this season is remotely like last year I will be pleased...

Football has returned. The Washington Redskins played in the extra preseason game known as the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio. It was sweet seeing Art Monk and Darrell Green take their places with the other greats. Coming from behind to win was even sweeter. I know preseason doesn't count for anything, but it's nice to wake up with good things to talk about with the Skins and our three quarterbacks than nothing! I'm a little worried about the run defense, but it is early.

In baseball news, longtime Braves announcer Skip Caray died in his sleep.

So now I'm moderately more awake. I did try to take a few pictures, which are here.

( We need the comebacks, the rallies... )

Sorry, I need to do the baseball dance of joy! I had checked the schedule earlier and it looked like it'd be Millwood vs Mock, but instead the Nationals are starting Tim Redding, one of the bright spots in our rotation. I've been delivered from minor leaguer hell. I'm sure he'll be an okay starter eventually, but Mock's first start was not encouraging. Redding, on the other hand, been pretty solid so far. *crosses finger & raps wood for good measure* Now to make sure I've packed everything I need, since I'm not sure I can make it home and back to Navy Yard after work. Needles, thread, hoop, spare batteries? Oh, yes and my ticket! I'll be the one in the Nats cap. *grins*

So Sunday afternoon I went to my first needlework class at the Scarlet Thread. I'd wanted to take one, but could never find one in my skill bracket. Then I saw the newsletter about the upcoming biscornu class featuring a pattern inspired by "Take me Out to the Ballgame." What could be better? Combining my love of baseball and a curiosity about putting together biscornu.

What are biscornu? Near as I can figure, the term comes from the French and has various meanings. It's an oddly shaped pin cushion/ornament/fob/doo-dad created by stitching two pieces of fabric together. Instead of getting a square, you get biscornu. There's a great online tutorial translated by own_two_hands showing all the steps. Being one of those visual types who needs someone to show me how things work (and generally terrified by finishing/sewing techniques), this seemed like an ideal course.

The full piece is shown on the Scarlet Thread website or conversely My Ordinary Needle's blog. The instructor was Donna LeBranche. The kit came with the class and I will start tackling that before I go to the Stitch N Pitch next Friday, if only because the teacher is going, so I can ask tech support questions. She's a big baseball fan of the Red Sox persuasion. She was even interviewed by the Washington Post's Dan Steinberg at last year's Stitch N Pitch event.

Since we wouldn't have time to finish the full biscornu, the teacher created a mini version with "I Heart Baseball" on the top and a diamond eyelet on the bottom. The heart was done in a Rhodes Heart stitch. I'd never done either of the two specialty stitches. I ironically had an easier time with those than the backstitching. Except for the part where I was stitching on the back of my fabric... oops. At least I hadn't done much yet.

Then came the fun of attaching the two pieces of fabric together with a whip stitch. Once you get the hang of it, it's really easy. I can definitely see why you need the squares to be exactly the same. Otherwise, it'll never work out right.

( I Rhodes Heart Baseball Biscornu )

"Where is the one place in show business where amateurs aren't out of place?"
"The starting lineup of the Pittsburgh Pirates."
-- "Who's Minding the Asylum" Remember WENN

Baseball is clearly taking the place of football and tennis for stitching time. Nationals are 2-0 for the first time since 2003 as we beat my Mom's Phillies yesterday. We keep it all in the National League in my family. It was rather odd though as an old Braves fan to hear Don Sutton doing color commentary on MASN network's Nationals coverage. Who knows how long this will last, but it's kinda nice to hear good things about Washington sports teams for a change.

So I finished the Ink Circles May 2007 freebie using MLI's Needlepaints 2011/2010/2008. I'm still not sure if I picked the right shades of purple. One shade feels a little off somewhere.

( Finished Ink Circles freebie )

Crossposted on cross_stitch and Blended Leg, my needlework journal.

I requested some icons from my favorite football and baseball teams from littledupont and they're ready. So if you like the Redskins, Braves, Nationals or University of Alabama, you're in good company. Good thing I still have icon slots. They're taking requests too.

*whimper, whimper, whimper*

Braves lost. Oh well, baseball season is officially over for me.

The silliest things make me laugh today. Street musicians are a quirky feature of the our dear Metro, from the African-American electric guitarist singing James Taylor to the bagpipe player at Union Station. There used to be a string quartet that played at Crystal City I enjoyed listening to.

Two violinists were playing at the Metro Center stop when I left for home, playing some vaguely familiar classical music. On my way down the escalator, they started up another classic tune. It was perfect for today's pomp and circumstance -- "Take me Out to the Ball Game."

Singing along, I realized that for the first time in my life, I could actually "root root root for the home team". They even won, beating the Diamondbacks!

Now if everything worked out so well...