Woot.

This is probably the third year in a row that we haven't done our usual getaway that we used to do this time of year. We just don't have the money.

And looking back to when Girlfriend got out of school in June, I'm wondering where the heck the time has gone.

We did manage to go to the beach this past weekend along with just about every other individual living in Southern California.

I knit a hat.

The sand didn't bother it.

My fingers didn't get sweaty.

And if sunscreen got in it, it'll wash out.

I'm one of those.

I'm also one of those who gets a little twitchy when strangers come up to me and ask me if I'm crocheting. I don't know why it bothers me so much because I like to crochet too, but I'm KNITTING. I can honestly handle just about every other question in the universe (except for when people walk up to me, look at Girlfriend and ask me if she's mine). I will admit that certain comments/statements are a different story, however. The ones that bother me the most are:

". . . Is it just me or (insert some subtle sarcastic anything here). . . ?"

". . . Am I missing something or (insert some subtle sarcastic anything here) . . . ?

"How cute is that?" (Shouldn't it be: "That's cute." or "Isn't that cute?") This phrase will work with just about any adjective and is equally annoying to my ears.

"Squee."

"Woot."

The worst thing about these statements that bug me is that they happen a lot in the knitting world. As in:

"Is it just me or does your stitch count on the ruffle section have an incorrect number?"

"Am I missing something? I ordered your pattern .12 nanoseconds ago and it still isn't in my in-box."

"That hat pattern on that fake newborn baby: How cute is that?"

"Loopy Ewe just added new stock! Squee!" (Woot works here, too.)

Okay. You got me on a so-so day. It has been a doozy.

But the good news is: The weekend is going to be Temari Ball-tastic.

BTW: No, it's not your imagination. Someone's hair is on that ball. And it isn't mine.

Comments

[Nancy]

I don't get squee. I agree that sounds dumb. But then again, I remember "cool" and then followed by "hot" and then there's "awesome"; "like" is another one. So... each era has its sayings that are done to death!
I'm showing my age.....

[Melissa]

my SIL and I demonstrated (knitting) at the county fair last weekend ~ we were sitting side by side, both using circular needles and the comment of the day? ...

"I see...one of you knitting and one crocheting ~ my wife does both, too, and she's pretty darn good."

huh?? ~ Melissa

[Tina_R]

I too don't get the "squee". Is it supposed to be short for squeal? If it is then why would an adult squeal? That is the question.

Also why is what's good called bad? Guess my age is showing!

Yes and the telling me I'm crocheting when I'm knitting, as Melissa said "huh?"

[Linda Cannon]

I understand about the questions. My kids were always taller and bigger than the other kids, which elicited all these strange questions. My husband was a redhead so for the first 8 yrs of his life no one knew he was ours. I was a strawberry blonde.
I hate positively hate being asked if I am crocheting if I am knitting which I do 97% of the time.

[Belinda]

I don't mind woot but squee should be removed from the english language. At the very least, adult women should stop saying it!

[flossie]

My mother is Pakistani but my father is a big white guy, and apparently when we were little, people would refer to her as the Nanny and ask her where our Mother was when she dropped me and my siblings off at school. That was 30 years ago. It surprises me that this stuff still happens.

[Wendy Stackhouse]

The one that strikes me dumb is when I'm spinning...on a spindle and someone says "She's weaving..." What the heck?

[Barb T.]

I don't get squee either, and pardon me if I am a total curmudgeon, but I am sick to death of every tom, dick, and harry telling me about their 'wee' knitting project or their 'wee' one or their new 'wee' little bag--redundant!!!
If you hail from Scotland, fine, but I am of a mind that I hate the word now; sorry Robert Burns!

[diane]

Anyhoo makes me shudder, along with the squees and woots. Also the people who ask me - "are you irish from ireland?"
Grrrrrr

[Seanna Lea]

I dislike the questions about my crochet (it is knitting), but even more I dislike the questions about what I am knitting. I have had an entire seamless sweater in my lap as I work on a sleeve or a button band and had people ask me if it was a hat.

WTF?

[Ashley]

Here's mine, and I'll get ready to duck, "gifted". You were given a patern, yarn, whatever, not "gifted" it. Someone gave it to you. They did not "gift" it to you.

Thanks. I feel better now.

[Linda]

I just discovered your blog and you are very entertaining. My particular buzz word dislike, other than buzzword, is "sweet" with an extended long e sound. "sweeeeet" Your pitch must go higher on the e sound. I want to slap people who use it. Sqee I get because I know grown women who squeal. I think they assume it is cute. But you know what assume makes.

PS: Is there a way to purchase more than one of your patterns in one transaction? There are four I like but making a separate transaction for each is putting me off.

[Leticia]

"I was like knitting the other day." Place match under butt and light, see me flinch and explode! Hearing the work "like" in every sentence is more than annoying.

Response to crochet question: Why yes, I love the 2 needle croceht!

Re the "Squee" Two of my favorite dyers/knitters use it all the time..so Squee!

[Barbara]

Yes, adults who insist on sounding like they're stuck in their tween years is as annoying as fingernails on a chalk board.

As a strawberry blond with two dark-haired parents, I was about 4 years old the FIRST time someone asked me if I was adopted.

I thought about it a minute, and replied, "No, I'm Presbyterian."

[Dana]

I am in agreement on squee, woot, and any type of passive-aggressive communication. It's one thing to politely ask a question--"I thought I had ordered correctly; did I do something wrong?"; it's another thing altogether to passive-aggressively imply that the person on the other end of the email is in the wrong under the GUISE of politeness.

[Norma]

Wee = overused word

Acceptable: "I'll have a wee bit of whiskey in my coffee, if you don't mind."

Not Acceptable: "I'm knitting a sweater for my neighbor's wee baby and it is just soooooo adorable with the wee little yoke, and the wee little buttons. I think I'll make some matching wee booties as well as a wee bonnet to go with it."

[Cambria Washington]

My mother is blond haired and blue eyed, and my step father was a big, 6'2" cowboy boot wearing, bald headed white guy with a beard. I am biracial, and everyone assumed that my parents had adopted me rather than the truth (that one of them MIGHT be a step parent). Fun time growing up.

[Eleanor]

Only thing worse than "How [cute] is that?" is when the answer is, "That's TOO cute!"

Seeing those lovely yards reminds me of our green grass in our place, same with our green mountains. Yes! Good choice of color. great post.

[Gillian]

I get this sort of thing all the time because I ride the public bus, and people apparently think that the young woman sitting quietly and minding her own business is fair game for (annoying) conversation just because she happens to be knitting. Only 95% of them ask what I'm crocheting. Unless I actually happen to be crocheting in which case someone invariably asks me if I'm knitting. (I say "no, I'm not" and return to business...)

@Norma - "wee" used that often is perfectly acceptable if you're Scottish. Just sayin' ;-)

[donna lee]

I haven't been to the beach once this year and that's unheard of for me. It's just been too hot/humid and the beach gets so darn crowded I can't stand all the people sitting so close to me.

Squee irritates the hell out of me and I'm with whomever said "gifted". Give, gave, given are all perfectly acceptable words. The only time I've been able to understand "gifted" (other than when talking about one's children, all of whom are gifted of course) is when you are "re-gifting" something. As in, giving it as a gift a second time.

I'm turning into a curmudgeonly English Major.

[Maureen J]

I actually am a genuine curmudgeonly English Major, and just about everything annoys me these days. I remember when the nightly network news was often the final word on whether a usage was correct, but then, the newscasters in those old days were first journalists and knew and loved the language.

I know that American English is an evolving language, but lately it's been in a steep downhill plunge.

[Wendy]

I don't talk about it too much, but I'm an English Major, too (one of those formerly in an Honors Program, ha) and most things don't bug me, like I said, but wow. You're right, Maureen J, steep downhill plunge. I will say; however, that I don't hear my least favorite of all time too often anymore, which is: "As it were."

[gale (she shoots sheep shots)]

I loved this post. Squee, woot, and let's not overlook crazypants ,awesomesauce and adorbs, too. Why do adult women want to sound like 5th graders trying to get invited to the best sleepover???
I probably shouldn't complain. I tell people things are cool, or awesome, all the time. But that's cool, right?;-)

[Erikas Castro]

Yup - I've had people ask me if I adopted my daughter...total strangers. One even asked after I finished breastfeeding her. :/ My husband is hispanic and very dark, and I'm fairly light. My second is almost blond. I just love when people ask you stupid questions like that. Even if I did adopt her, it's none of their business.