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jennywhite
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
595 Posts |
 Posted - 04/08/2004 : 12:15:09 PM
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I was thinking about this very question the other day and I couldn't figure out a definitive answer. The beauty of knitting is that it's a craft of the masses (as Debbie Stoller says in her book), but is knowing how to knit enough to make someone a knitter?
I was thinking about it again before my class started so I asked some of my classmates (most of whom are not knitters) and they said that a knitter has to have some proficiency in knitting techniques and what not.
I think that to be a knitter you can know how to only knit, purl, CO and BO, but you have to consider yourself a knitter. But that makes the "knitter" definition so very variable... but maybe that's what's great about this craft.
Any thoughts? All this thinking on my own just makes my head spin.
~Jenny
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fillyjonk
Permanent Resident
1127 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2004 : 12:24:13 PM
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I agree that it's a matter of consideration.
I had a friend tell me the other week "I know how to knit but I'm not a 'knitter' like you are" meaning that she knows the basic skills but doesn't use them often, whereas I always have a project (or five) going on.
I also know a number of people who learned to knit and who know how, but the knitting bug didn't "take" for one reason or other.
I think it's a self-selecting thing - I wouldn't deign to say someone was "not a knitter" because they didn't knit "enough". I'd expect they would apply the label of "knitter" to themselves or not as they saw fit.
I consider myself a knitter, of course, but then maybe "knit obsessed" is a better tag for me. (I always have at least one project on the needles, a big chunk of my 'entertainment' budget goes to yarn and knitting books, it's a good day when a new issue of a knitting magazine is in the mailbox, I try to knit at least a little bit most days). |
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Jane
SustaYning Member
USA
4296 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2004 : 12:24:31 PM
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2 sticks + string x desire = knitter.
Jane
(on the end of
Long Island, NY)
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fillyjonk
Permanent Resident
1127 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2004 : 12:32:06 PM
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How 'bout:
if you think about knitting more often than you think about s*x
(and I don't mean Stash Enhancement eXperience) |
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caramel93117
Chatty Knitter
USA
322 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2004 : 12:50:59 PM
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I think that definitely qualifies, Fillyjonk! LOL!! :D
Melissa
"Take your needle, my child, and work your pattern--it will come out a rose by and by. Life is like that...one stitch at a time taken patiently."--Oliver Wendall |
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XavierMusketeer
Chatty Knitter
USA
114 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2004 : 12:59:36 PM
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I think we could come up with a whole list of "...you might be a knitter" categories like Jeff Foxworthy's "...you might be a redneck" jokes.
Like, "If you look at someone's sweater and mentally knit the pattern...you might be a knitter."
"If the first ads you look for in the Sunday paper are the yarn sales...you might be a knitter." |
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fmarrs
Guardian angel
USA
9776 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2004 : 1:47:51 PM
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If you grab yarn instead of duct tape, you might be a knitter.
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Luann
Permanent Resident
USA
2611 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2004 : 2:27:57 PM
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If you are trying to learn crochet but you keep forgetting to move loops *off* the hook, you might be a knitter.
Luann
Knit and let knit! |
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GFTC
Permanent Resident
USA
6331 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2004 : 4:29:43 PM
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| If you have been caught in an elegant store's dressing room, down on the floor, measuring a sweater and writing down the measurements on your hand, you might be a knitter. |
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geekgirl
Chatty Knitter
USA
220 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2004 : 5:11:04 PM
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I think the first dream I had in which I was knitting was when I knew I was a knitter. Now, I often dream of knitting- maybe because I don't get enough time awake to do it!
-Wendy |
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Tam
Permanent Resident
Australia
2810 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2004 : 6:42:43 PM
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If you can't remember ever not being a knitter then you are definitely a knitter.
Happy Knitting,
Tam in Melbourne
http://au.f2.pg.briefcase.yahoo.com/lillysmum2002
2004 Stats: 7 FOs, 2 WIPs
Women are like tea bags - you don't know how strong they are until they are in hot water. |
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prixby
Chatty Knitter
USA
156 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2004 : 1:20:49 PM
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Ok, *embarrassing moment alert*, if you find yourself staring at a female co-worker's ample bosom because you're trying to decide whether her beautiful feathery purple cowlneck sweater is handknit and if it uses short rows to fit her bust, you might be a knitter. (I keep waiting for her to wear the sweater again so I can ask her, but for some reason she's been avoiding me.)
prixby
Life is what happens while we're listening to music. |
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jennywhite
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
595 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2004 : 1:47:25 PM
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LOL prixby!! classic knitter moment!
If you give up going out to eat with your friends so you can buy more yarn, you might be a knitter.
If your stash takes up more room than your wardrobe, you might be a knitter. |
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Licensed2Cook
Permanent Resident
USA
3554 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2004 : 1:50:22 PM
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I think it's when you start imagining slipping a sweater or other knitted item on anything you happen to be looking at, a building, parking meter, tree, squirrel or whatever.
Dee |
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RoseByAny
Permanent Resident
USA
12598 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2004 : 3:20:43 PM
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Hysterical - and I just found this website today:
http://www.bellaonline.org/Article.asp?id=755
My favorite is: When you have insomnia, you can't count sheep because the thought of all that wool gets you too excited.
But seriously I think it is a matter of self-description. It's not just knowledge of the process, or knowledge of a certain level of the process. If you choose to do it for enjoyment, for stress-release, or fun... if you see someone in the store and can tell she's wearing a handknit sweater, and ask if she made it, then explain that you're a knitter... you are.
"Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color. Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense, and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable."
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Marg in Mirror
Permanent Resident
Canada
3204 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2004 : 5:47:20 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by jcc28
2 sticks + string x desire = knitter.
I think the main ingredient in that formula/recipe is "desire"...that leads to practice (aka 'addiction'  ), which leads to proficiency! 
-- Marg in Calgary
TLWKOTB
http://knitsonthebus.blogspot.com |
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sallyjo
Permanent Resident
USA
2401 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2004 : 8:36:03 PM
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BF says; you know you're going into withdrawal when the dust bunnies start looking attractive.
happiness is highly underrated |
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gonzs
Chatty Knitter
USA
207 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2004 : 04:12:38 AM
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quote:
Hysterical - and I just found this website today:
http://www.bellaonline.org/Article.asp?id=755
Amie, thanks for that website.  Funny! My favorite was:
You know you're a knitter (author used words "fiber fanatic") if
"Your kids are named Kaffe, Cashmere, Aran and Intarsia."
Not my quote, of course. Credit to Eva Owsian!
Sue |
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MijTink
Chatty Knitter
USA
240 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2004 : 07:05:29 AM
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If you are shipwrecked and using two sticks and hemp for something other than building a fire, you might be a knitter.
Jimbo
I'm being held prisoner in a huge yarn factory. Please send help!!! Umm, er, ...in a few years or so. |
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sallyjo
Permanent Resident
USA
2401 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2004 : 3:30:54 PM
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If you use 00DPNs in your voodoo doll, you might be a knitter.
happiness is highly underrated |
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RoseByAny
Permanent Resident
USA
12598 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2004 : 4:34:53 PM
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Guilty today of this one - "if tears are streaming down your face from the very moving Easter sermon, and you're also wondering what yarn made the sweater in front of you, you might be a knitter"
"Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color. Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense, and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable."
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