knitting blogspeak

Are you new to the knitting blogsphere and a little overwhelmed, dazed and confused? This might help. Certainly the links will give you a lot to think about.

BLOCK - A knitting must.

CASHMERE - The motherload of fibers.

CLAPOTIS - The ‘IT’ project of last winter. It’s by Kate Gilbert and can be found at Knitty. I haven’t made one - yet.

ETSY - This an online store where crafters can peddle their goods. Several independent yarn dyers sell their wares on Etsy.

FEED READER - A program that lets you know when blogs update. Great because you can see several blogs at once. You can subscribe to the feed of many blogs by adding the blog’s feed to your feed reader.

FO - Finished object.

FROG - To rip back, as in rip it rip it. I first heard this in use listening to Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, but I’ve found out since that it’s a term that’s long been used in sewing.

GAUGE - Stitches and rows to the inch. Also, very hard to get.

LYS - Local yarn shop. I don’t know why this took me so long to figure out.

MEME - In blogspeak, a group of questions or idea posted one one blog that and spread from blog to blog. Many memes in knitting have included knitter’s tastes, personal interests and reflections on the past year.

MEN WHO KNIT - A rare breed of knitter. Mainly distinguished by their gender and their tastes in knitting for themselves, though they often knit for others.

NOVELTY YARN - For example, eyelash.

PODCAST - These are a sort of radio show for mp3 players (or your computer) and because of the ease of doing it, many amateurs have their own shows. There are quite a few good ones out there. The most popular appear to be Cast-On, Lime and Violet and Math4Knitters.

SHEEP - pl. sheep. 1. A white fleecy animal that likes to live in a flock. 2. A knitter’s best friend. 3.Someone who follows patterns blindly. (It’s okay to be a sheep. Remember, sheep are cool.)

SOCK BLOCKER - This is not a football term. It’s an actual board (generally made of plastic, wood or metal) that is sock shaped and is used to block your sock.

STASH - A hoard of unknit yarn and works in progress. Depending on the age, there may be buried treasure. May contain more yarn than the owner can knit in a lifetime.

SWAG - Cool loot, sometimes gotten for free as a bonus gift. Sometimes used to mean hip knitting accessories.

SWATCH - A collection of unblocked, half-knit squares that are supposed to help a knitter determine the gauge of a project. Additionally, the knitter may hope to someday make a swatch Afghan or swatch potholders. Master knitters save them and pin them to project notes in nice notebooks (or so I’ve heard).

WIP - Work in Progress.

YARN DIET - An attempt to lose stash weight by giving away, selling or knitting up yarn in your hoard. (See stash.) This generally results in your wallet getting smaller instead of your stash.

YARN PR0N - Where the pr0nographer in question uses yarn as a model. Generally, the yarn in question is something knitters lust after. Sometimes the yarn is set against interesting backdrops.

WEB ZINES - In knitting, the big ones are: Knitty, MagKnits and Yarnival. It’s best to do a google search on Yarnival, because different people ‘host’ each issue. I’m also fond of Knitter’s Review. Recently Chiagu has popped up. For a bigger list, click here.