Quick and Dirty Knitter's Lingo

I joined Facebook last year. Prior to that, my only internet social network was Ravelry, a virtual knitting and crochet community. Imagine meeting thousands of fiber artists all over the world with the same interests in you (yarn, wool, knitting, crochet, you name it) on one site. They all know what frogging, swatching, and getting gauge mean, and totally get your utter disappointment on *just* missing an "update".

As an obsessed knitter, I often mention my knitting and current projects on Facebook (which incidentally, I LOVE because I am not tempted by anyone else's stash on the destash forum - my knitting friends, I know that you know what I mean). I throw out words, like frog and skein and stitchmarker. I neglect to explain because I figure that if the non-knitters don't know what I am talking about, and actually want to know, they will ask.

To help those who wonder and don't want to ask, or those that do ask and I haven't responded, here is a quick list of the words that I often mention on Facebook. By the way, if I've confused you, I apologize. I hope that you have figured out by now that when I write about "yummy yarn", you know that I mean this figuratively (I really do not eat my yarn) or that when I sadly post about having to "frog" my current project, all I mean is that I messed up in one way or other. Normally, frogging isn't a big deal...although I have been known to frog almost completed projects, which may sound crazy, even to my lovely knitting friends...

Without further ado:

Knitting: creating fabric using 2 pointy sticks and yarn

Crocheting: creating fabric using one hook and yarn

Gauge: the amount of stitches per inch

Swatching: knitting (or crocheting) a 4 to 10 inch square to see what your gauge is. Most often, this is done to make sure that your gauge matches the gauge of the pattern you are trying to make.

Elizabeth Zimmerman: One of the most well-known (if not THE most well-known) knitter in the English speaking world. Of course, this is my opinion, which seems appropriate, because she was very opinionated.

Top-Down Seamless Garments: Garments knit in the round, on circular needles, so that you don't have to seam the pieces together.

Circular needles: Needles connected by a cable, ranging in length from 12 inches to 60. There may be longer ones, but to use them would require a certain amount of patience...and insanity.

Skein: Yarn that is not wound into a cake. Most REALLY NICE yarns are in skeins. Therefore, you will not find any skeins of yarn at the big box stores...not that there is anything wrong with those yarns...

Cake: The form of nice yarn that is wound using a swift and ball winder. I guess the latter is called a ball winder because cakes really should be called balls. I just figured this one out...Anyway, after they are wound, they look like miniature sized cakes.

Swift: A contraption that looks like an umbrella minus the fabric that keeps you dry in the rain. When used properly, it helps the knitter (or crocheter) wind her (or his) yarn from the skein.

Ball Winder: No, this is not something you use when you are mad at your male significant other. It is something you use in conjuction with the swift to help you make those yarn cakes.

Stitchmarker: Circular devices that help you keep track of your place while you are knitting (or crocheting). These are made of bone, plastic, silver, stone, yarn. They don't have to be pretty, but it is more fun to knit (or crochet) if they are. Most knitters consider them little pieces of bling.