My Oh MY - A Blissful Night at Safeco Field

Wow!!! What a great time we had at Stitch 'n Pitch on Thursday night. Hope you were there! Debbie Bliss did a fabulous job of throwing out the First Pitch and then spent two hours in our booth greeting her fans and siging books. She and her daughter Nell are both just lovely people and I really enjoyed getting to know them when I attended Tea With Debbie Bliss at our Bellevue store last night. (More about that in a later post!) Here's a few pictures you'll enjoy - click on them to see a larger image.

The line to purchase books and meet Debbie stretched down the concourse for about two and a half hours. A LONG line formed before Debbie even got back from throwing out the First Pitch!

Speaking of First Pitch . . . Debbie knitted her own baseball mitt so she would feel yarnie comfortable throwing out that First Pitch. The Mariners were quite impressed! Sorry my picture's a bit blurry. Guess I got a little excited. :)

The Mariners posted a fabulous backdrop for picture taking with Debbie, which she readily welcomed. This scene was repeated over and over with happy fans. The woman on the right started an incredible Fair Isle project for her Tote Bag Challenge project. You'll see that in an upcoming blog post.

Nell, Debbie's daughter is in the middle of this fun photo sporting one of the "Knitting is Bliss" T-Shirts we wore in the booth. Nell is just charming, has a great sense of humor and was always delighted to answer questions while her mum was signing books. "Do you knit?", we asked her last night after Tea With Debbie Bliss at our Bellevue store. "Oh, no, " she replied. "I let Mum do that!" She does know all about it though and was a great help in the booth as well as at the Teas.

That's it for now, but watch for more posts about our Teas With Debbie, the Tote Bag Challenge participants (oh, my, SOOooo cool) and a bit more about the booth. If you were there, you know how amazingly fun it was - if you missed it, you can enjoy the game and the Tea with me through posts!

~ Annette

Stitch 'n Pitch Update - Let's Play Ball!

Just a few more days until the best baseball game of the year - the 6th Annual Seattle Mariners Stitch 'n Pitch Night at Safeco Field! This year it's the Mariners vs the Rangers on Thursday, August 6th at 7:10pm. Here's a few updates:

• We have just a few Stitch 'n Pitch tickets ($15) and 'purchase with purchase' Goodie Totes ($4.99 + tax) available at our Everett and Outlet on 4th stores. Hurry - this is really your last chance to get tickets and totes from us. You can get tickets at the same price from the Mariners, too, but the opportunity to purchase a Goodie Tote is only available to those who purchase tickets from a Pacific Fabrics store and they will not be available at the game.

• But, once you have your tote, you can collect a cool prize from me when you come to our game night booth and bring me your completed or still on the needles project made from one or more of the items you found in your Goodie Tote. We call it the Tote Bag Challenge and it's very popular every year. I really look forward to seeing your creativity! The prize this year? A ball of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran and a pattern to go with it. Donated of course by Knitting Fever Inc., distributors of Debbie Bliss Yarns. And, if your project is actually done, I'll have an extra gift for you, too!

• Debbie Bliss is VERY excited about coming to the game, signing your books and meeting you! She's bringing about 50 models with her and you'll see some of them at the booth. To see all of Debbie's amazing work and have a chance to hear about how Debbie began, how she designs and ask questions, come to Tea With Debbie Bliss on Friday, August 6th. You can still purchase tickets for our Bellevue or Everett stores online, by phone or in person at the stores.

• The newest Debbie Bliss book, The Knitter's Year will be available at our Stitch 'n Pitch booth and at both of the Teas. We pulled a few 'yarns' to get it here - it's not actually available in the US until September!

• Are you feeling Lucky? On game night, listen for the Mariners Lucky Row announcements and you could win a Pacific Fabrics tote full of cool stuff donated by Martingale Publishers, Debbie Bliss, Lantern Moon, Pagewood Farm, Lion Brand Yarn and more. I just love the generosity of our suppliers. It's great to know we're working with such good people and they really deserve your support!

• The Moose! I've checked with the Mariners and they will be ready to hand out that cool Knitting Moose Bobblehead at a table near our booth when the gates open at 5:10pm. Hurray! The Moose is available only for those who have tickets in the Knitter's Section so be ready to show your ticket and get there early. This is a WHILE SUPPLIES LAST ONLY giveaway.

That's the latest! I.ll keep you posted if more info comes in - see you there!!!

~ Annette

Stitch 'n Pitch Tickets & Totes Are Here!

Hurry into one of our stores this weekend to get your tickets for the 6th Anual Seattle Mariners Stitch 'n Pitch Night ($15 each) and 'purchase with purchase' Goodie Totes ($4.99 each)! They're going fast, so don't delay! What's Stitch 'n Pitch? The biggest, best and most fun event of it's kind in the whole country! Invented by the Seattle Mariners and sponsored by Pacific Fabrics & Crafts, it's a night for knitters, quitlers and stitchers of all kinds right at Safeco Field. You'll love sitting in the Knitter's Section stitching with fellow enthusiasts and shopping the fabulous booths from local yarn shops on the Third Concourse. At the Pacific Fabrics booth (can't miss it, it's the largest one there), you'll find Debbie Bliss ready to greet you and sign your book purchases after she throws out  the First Pitch. Don't miss it, baseball and stitching are a great mix!

When you purchase your ticket at a Pacific Fabrics & Crafts store, you'll have a chance to purchase a tote full of great yarn related tools, books and patterns from our wonderfully generous supporting partners for just the regular price of the tote. Your tote this year contains a Debbie Bliss magazine and Debbie's book Simply Home donated by Knitting Fever Inc, distributors of Debbie Bliss Yarns, Dreamweaver Designs book by Elsebeth Lavold donated by Euro Yarns distributor of Elsebeth Lavold Yarns, a collectible pair of circular Addi Needles donated by Skacel Yarns, a pair of Bamboo Knittting Needles donated by Clover Needlecrafts, a great yarnie tool donated by Boye, a cool Handi-Tool for stitching repairs donated by Susan Bates and a lovely Mariner-y colored skein of Fun Fur donated by Lion Brand Yarn. Pretty cool! Want to say thank you? Look for these brands when you're shopping for your next project and at our game night booth.

You'll also find a great retro Stitch 'n Pitch T-Shirt given to us by the Seattle Mariners and info about our Annual Tote Bag Challenge. Make (or at least start) a project using one or more of the items in your goodie tote, bring it to the booth to show to me and I'll give you another lovely gift from Debbie Bliss. I'll have more info on this for you next week - but I can tell you that you'll love it! And as a gift from Pacific Fabrics - if you're project is actually done, I'll have another gift for you, too. I'll look forward to seeing you at the game!

Don't you just love this adorable Knitting Moose Bobblehead? While supplies last, you can show your Knitter's Section Ticket at the Mariners table near our booth and take this yarn loving guy home with you! Gates open at 5:00 pm and remember the Moose will be available WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

~ Annette

You're Invited to Tea With Debbie Bliss

We are excited to host internationally known knitter, Debbie Bliss, at our Everett and Bellevue stores on Friday, August 6th. Join Debbie for tea and blissful treats as she presents a Trunk Show from her books, chats with you about how she started, what she does and how she designs, answers your questions, then signs your books! The menu at Everett will include Iced Tea, Mini-Scones with Devonshire Cream and Raspberry Jam, Fresh Fruit and Nutella Cheesecake and along with your Tea at Bellevue, you'll enjoy Fresh Fruit, Cucumber Sandwiches and Blissful Cookies. Yum! I can hardly wait.

Best of all, you'll have an exclusive chance to purchase Debbie's newest book, The Knitter's Year and have Debbie autograph it for you. I've seen the book, it's amazing and it will not be available anywhere else in the USA until September. But ... through a special arrangement with Knitting Fever Inc. Debbie's wonderful yarn company, we will have it for you at the Tea!

Pre-registration of $10 per person is required and you'll be able to enjoy a 10% discount on your purchases on the day of the tea. You can click here to purchase a ticket online for the Everett Tea from 1 - 3pm or click here for the Bellevue Tea from 6 - 8pm and get your ticket today. Tickets are also available at the stores or by phone. Click here for store location information. See you there!

~ Annette

A Blissful Announcement

GREAT news for yarnies!!! Knitters and stitchers of all sorts, mark your calendars! Knitting and yarn designer Debbie Bliss will be our special guest at the 6th Annual Seattle Mariners Stitch 'n Pitch Night on Thursday, August 5th at Safeco Field in Seattle. Debbie is flying in from London just to throw out the First Pitch and appear in our game night booth for book signing and chatting. We plan to have her visit a couple of our stores while she's here, too. Stay tuned for details as we get closer to August. We are soooooo excited that Debbie is coming! Watch our email newsletter, our Facebook page and right here to find out when tickets will be available in our stores.
~ Annette