Dogs at the Park

Fellow Quilters,

When I was a kid, my parents enrolled my siblings and me in local house league sports.  During the summer, that sport was baseball or the somewhat easier softball.  I had a brief stint as a pitcher but was usually relegated to outfield where, quite honestly, I was more comfortable.  It was a terrific neighborhood sport, organized by members of our community, with most kids participating.  We made new friends and learned the value of working as a team.

By the time I went to university in Toronto, the city had a Major League baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays.  My classmates and I attended as many September and October games of the “boys of summer” as we could fit into our hectic schedules.  The stadium had a very large bleacher section and tickets for the “cheap seats” were less than $5.  How fun to watch an evening game when the stadium lights shone brightly on the grass-green field!  Sometimes we would splurge and buy the quintessential ballpark dinner of a hotdog and a beer as we shared in the excitement of bases-loaded grand slams.  The occasional ball even made it as far as our section!

In its brief 48-year history, the Toronto Blue Jays have made it to the World Series 3 times.  The first time was 33 years ago and they repeated the feat the following year when I was pregnant with Son #2.  I watched Toronto’s Series-winning game from a bar stool in my hotel in Houston – no beer for me that day!  Their 3^rd trip to the top was this season, last week in fact, after a 32-year hiatus.  Baseball fever spread all across Canada for the Jays, Canada’s only major league team.  Well, I’m sad to say that this latest trip to the World Series was not as successful as the first two – they truly gave it their best effort, taking the Dodgers to 7 games and losing the final game in extra innings ☹.  Congratulations to the Dodgers and hats off to my favorite team, the Blue Jays, for taking baseball fans along on their thrilling ride to the top.  I raise a glass (of beer, naturally!) to both teams.

To celebrate this Fall classic, I have a super-fun quilt block for you.  The theme of this month’s Quilt Block Mania blog tour is Dinner.  Because I had baseball fever last week when I was working on my design, I captured this in my Ballpark Dinner block.

Ballpark Dinner by Patti’s Patchwork for the November 2025 Quilt Block Mania

Yes, it’s a mustard-decorated hotdog!  If ketchup is your preferred condiment, feel free to substitute the yellow with red.  Here is the link to the pattern.  Yum!

You can check out the other dinner-themed blocks from my block-designing colleagues at these links:

Plate full of Love by Carolina Moore
Dinner Plate by Crafty Staci
Honey Butter Quilt Block by Ashli Montgomery
Mashed potatoes by Scrapdash
Ballpark Dinne
Warm Glow by QuiltFabrication
Dresden Turkey by Inquiring Quilter
Milk Bottle by Memory Barn Studio
Woven Hearts by Sarah Marcina
Texas Barbecue by Emerald Falls Quilts
Vase of Flowers by Due North Handmade
Dinner Themed Quilt Blocks
Pumpkin Pie Slice by Appliques Quilts and More

Did you play team sports as a kid?  By the time by sons began playing team sports, soccer had replaced baseball as the popular house league sport in our town.  Do you play team sports now?  I have a slightly older friend who played women’s baseball until just recently and loved it.  Please share your thoughts/experience – leave a comment below by November 12 and I’ll select one entry to receive a fat ¼ bundle.  You might inspire me to try something new or retry something old 😊

Cheers,

Patti