Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 2 of 3 1 2 3
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
A
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
A
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
I like "knaggle" myself. BTW calling it a nonce-word is sort of beside the point. If you're looking to apply a name to an as yet unnamed idea, do you really care if it is brand new word or a recycled one? Once it acquires the meaning it isn't a nonce-word anymore.

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
of troy Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
yes, hydra they were!

but wool, like many things, has changed.

wool garments were valued for their durability, and coarser wools were more durable, and the same goes for spinning, harder (tighter) spun, (worsted vs mule) are more durable too. wools produced from coarse fiber, hard spun, were (are!) itchier.

softer wools,(like merino) looser spun (in the US these were called 'Germantown' (from Germantown PA, where there were many mills that spun wool in this style) always existed, but they are less durable.
(germantown wools were often specified for baby's stuff, they were softer, (less itch) but less durable (but then babies aren't climbing trees, or working in a feild, or doing other activies that wear out clothing!)

nowdays, while most fibers (wools, and other natural or synthetic fibers) are still spun worsted, but the actual fibers are finer, and softer (and less durable!).
but since few who wear them are fisherman, or feild hands, or doing any sort of hard work, it doesn't much matter!

Knitters can still find 'hard wearing wools', but in general the market is saturated with soft wools. even sock yarn is made from merino, (and not always spun super tight!)

as little as 50 years ago,it was cheaper to knit a sweater than to buy one, but nowdays the wool (or other natural fiber) needed to knit a sweater cost about 5 times more than the average purchase price of a sweater, (and about twice as much as the purchase price of a hand knit wool sweater, produced commercially.)

so hand knitting is an expensive way to produce garments!
(knitters buy yarn at retail, manufactorers buy yarn at wholesale, knitters (in US and other industrial area) have higher wage expectations, so even machine made knit good are expensive, (third world contries comp 'hand knitters' pennies per hour, so a hand knit sweater from china cost less to produce than the same amount of wool costs (at retail) )

there are interesting words about knitting(and google knitting, and you'll find more than 50% of the time, the word is not used in a 'fiber' context, but 'bones knitting' or communities "knitting" (coming together) or in some other way!

(google "of troy" + knitting and my blog comes up on the first page of results!)

Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
How about a sockful of knitters?


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
of troy Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
i submitted the suggestions from here to the knitting board last night, but by then, most thought "a knot of knitters" was the best choice.

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
A
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
A
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
I wonder what you would call a group of candidate words?

Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
A shudder of nouns.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773
D
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773
Helen: Maybe there's no exact word, but you might try entering in OneLook reverse dictionary as follows:

crowd of knitters


dalehileman
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
a spool of knitters.
a treadle of knitters.
a needle of knitters.
a skein of knitters.

I like skein.


formerly known as etaoin...
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Yeah, but you live in Vermont.

Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
How about a pick of knitters?

Page 2 of 3 1 2 3

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 676 guests, and 4 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5