Rachel's Photo (SABLE - Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy)

Rachel has entered our competition and submitted the wonderful photo below as an illustration of SABLE (Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy). Thank you, Rachel! Look at all that lovely yarn and, apparently, this is only some of what Rachel has!


This big time stash came to light when Rachel decided to separate the yarn she thought she might use in the short term from that which she has plans for in the longer term. She is now extending her yarn storage into the loft. She points out, however, that she can't yet compete with people who, having exhausted all other storage possibilities, have resorted to using the freezer! Are you one of those people? If so, why not get out your camera and share with us.

Thanks also to Beverley for providing the Yarn Forward's Knitting Tensions/Gauge link which differentiates between the different thicknesses of yarn and their relative gauges as well as comparing the US/Australian/New Zealand terminologies where they differ. Information like this is always useful so I've also added this link to the Knitspeak sidebar.

Katie's Photo (SSS - Single Sock Syndrome)

Thanks to Katie for our next entry in the "Win a Skein of Hip Knits Silk competition. It's a fab photo illustrating Single Sock Syndrome!


Funny about knitting socks. When I first got back into knitting earlier this year and realised everyone was knitting socks, I thought why? Why? Why? Why? Perfectly excellent socks are available in the shops for a fraction of the price it would cost to knit them and yet people are paying for relatively expensive sock yarn and spending hours and hours wrestling with four or five of those double pointed needle thingies to produce their own! However, I don't know whether I've been abducted by aliens and brainwashed or something but NOW I feel the irresistible urge to buy some sock yarn and haggle with the hedgehogs to produce my very own beautiful PAIR (not one - two!) of snugglies to cover my plates of meat! I must admit the fact that there are some splendiferously beautiful sock yarns around at the moment has something to do with it as well. Anyway, socks seem to be part of the initiation process on the way to becoming a "proper" knitter as is knitting a clapotis.

Come on guys, get those cameras out and get snapping. All you have to do is illustrate one of the knitting terms on the list in a photo. You'll see the list if you click on List of Abbreviations, Acronyms and Common Terms in the sidebar. Use your imagination. Be inventive! It might even be fun! And you may be the lucky winner of a skein of Hip Knits Silk!

Tari's Photo (Frogging It!)

Many thanks to Tari for allowing me to use the wonderful photo below which humorously illustrates the term "to frog" This is what Tari says on her blog. "With the Birch finished, I return to the Mermaid. I would have preferred to show some progress on this, but I had to face the unpleasant fact that the upsizing of needles was a mistake. I have no idea why I didn't stick with the original needles, I even made a swatch. Again I run into the problem of too loose stitches, and with a garter stitch pattern like this, loose stitches look really bad (it looks way better in the picture than it does in real life). Can you see the look of anticipation on that frog's face?"


I think we can all identify with the frustration of having to frog something that we've worked hard on. Hope it all goes well now, Tari, and thanks for being such a sport. Yours is the first photo to enter the competition and, if yours is judged the best, you may soon be the proud owner of a skein of Hip knits silk! Any more takers?

Photos Wanted!

I've added Stitch 'n' Bitch and Knit 'n' Natter to the list of definitions. As ever, comments are welcome.

*****PRIZE FOR THE BEST PHOTO *****

Come on campers, show some enthusiasm, please! Have a look at the list of knitters' definitions - can you provide a photo for the KnitSpeak blog to illustrate any of these definitions? One of you doing a HD (Happy Dance) after finishing a project or one of your enormous yarn stash to illustrate SABLE (Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy) or, indeed, a photo that is a good illustration of any of the terms listed. The person who submits the best photo will receive a skein of Hip knits gorgeous silk and you will be the judges!

Second Sock Syndrome (SSS)!

Thanks to Ruth (UK Handknitters) for suggesting a new acronym for our list (SSS - Second Sock Syndrome). I've defined this on the list as a reluctance to knit second sock after completing first one of the pair. This can be remedied by either knitting them both at the same time or by getting someone else to knit the second one for you! There's a two socks on two circulars tutorial if you fancy knitting them both at the same time, OR, if you'd rather someone else knitted the other one for you, why not join the Sock Knitting Exchange that has been set up by Little Lixie!

UPDATE - I've now defined Knitchick, Knitflicks and eXtreme Knitting. Any comments or suggestions are welcome!

Emoticons

As promised, here's a list of emoticons that can be typed. I suspect some of them may be a bit more useful than others! If anyone can think of, or create, any emoticons that are relevant to knitting, let me know and I'll add them to the list. Please let your creative juices flow!

LIST OF EMOTICONS

=):-)= Abraham Lincoln
>-< Absolutely livid!
8-l Amazement
:-Y An aside
0:-} Angel
:-ll Angry
:-C Astonished!
:( ) Bigmouth
!-( Black eye
C=:-) Chef
:-7 Cigar-smoker
:,( Crying
%-) Dazed
:-l :-l Déjà vu
>:-> Devilish
:*) Drunk
5:-) Elvis
:-( Frown
:-l Grim
:-I Indifferent
:-X Kissing
(-: Left-handed
:-} Moustached
:-# My lips are sealed
:-? Pipe-smoker
:-“ Pursed lips
[:] Robot
@}->-- Rose
*<:-) Santa
:->Sarcastic
:-/ Sceptical
:-@ Screaming
:-) Smiling, Hi
:-, Smirking
:-Q Smoker
:-M Speak no evil
B:-) Sunglasses on head
+-:-) The Pope
:-)8 Wearing a bow tie
{:-) Wearing a toupee
@:-) Wearing a turban
:-# Wearing braces
:-{} Wearing lipstick
8-) Wearing sunglasses
;-) Winking
:-O Wow!