To Frog or . . . What is the Question?

The past week, I have spent a not so unconsiderable amount of time getting caught up with the online crochet community. Everyday, I find something new in the Ravelry community, whether it is a new group, undiscovered features, or new terminology.

Take for example, frogging. I wondered what a little green bug eater had to do with the fiber arts. Imagine my surprise when I realized that it means to pull out your yarn to undo stitches and, if you are unlucky, to undo rows. I had always called it *!%*&@!. Still, why Frog and not just Rip? Well, the Ravelry lexicon says frogging happens when you rip out your stitches, i.e., rip-it, rip- it, rip-it. And any items waiting to be frogged hang out in the frog pond. HaHa.

In the forums, there also is a lot of lingo bandied about:

• FO (Finished Object), the holy grail


• Muggle (non-knitter), which I daresay applies equally to all those non-crocheters out there.


• NoTN (Not On The Needles) which perhaps reflects those moments when we are without our hooks or needles (like when we're working, cooking, cleaning, etc!). Maybe there should be a NoTH (Not on The Hook) for crocheters like me but Law and Order fans might confuse this with talk of Chris Noth (detective Mike Logan).


• OTH (On The Hooks) or OTN (On The Needles), where, I suspect, "life" happens for most of us


• UFO (unfinished object), a stop over in that journey in search of the holy grail

But my favorite is SEX: when buying yarn = a Stash Enhancement eXperience. As my previous post shows, I have no problem in this department. But at this rate, I might soon reach SABLE -- that point where my Stash Acquisition [is] Beyond [my] Life Expectancy.