Crocheters have a sense of humor?

[xaviera]

I stopped by my LYS yesterday to pick up some supplies. When I went to check out, I noticed the woman by the register wrapping up some super-bulky yarn. She said it was easier to teach kids with the thicker yarn, but the kids, of course, always want to work with novelty yarns like Fun Fur. The rest of the conversation went as follows:

 

ME: I don't know about knitting, but those yarns are hard to crochet. Like fun fur doesn't frog at all. [she looks at me like I have three heads] I mean, it's hard to pull the stitches out. The fur falls off.

 

[she nods with a blank look on her face]

 

ME: [realizing I lost her at frog] I am not sure if knitters use the same terminology, but in crochet "frog" means to pull the stitches out...

[she stares, blankly]

I mean, it's silly, but-you know-we "rippppit, rippppit".

[blank stare, followed by three seconds of silence]

HER: Oh, I get it! [she laughs, condescendingly] Wow, that's quite clever-very funny. I didn't know crocheters have a sense of humor.

[i stare, blankly]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

[climbs up on soap box]

Yea, so, as if I don't have enough of an inferiority complex with regards to knitting... You see, I tried to be nice to a knitter, and all I got was made fun of!: P

I (jokingly) told my fiance that I was going to bring this to the attention of the store owner... that she should put her employees through sensitivity training. I mean, one is not any less of a "fiber artist" if one chooses a hook instead of a needle![climbs off soap box]

 

^_^

[CatsCradleCreations]

:rofl :rofl "I didn't know...." :rofl :rofl

[Alosha]

LOL! Thanks for the smile

Alosha

[thecrochetdude]

You should have tickled her with some fun fur.

[goldi316]

That is hilarious! Out of the mouths of the ignorant...

 

Seriously, though, you should bring it to the attention of the store owner (unless of course, this was the store owner - could be possible). These folks really must get over their arrogance, and it would be helpful to point out that it's not a good idea to insult customers - it can affect sales! These shops are usually barely making it as it is. They need us, even if they DO look condescendingly down on us "lowly" crocheters. I think I would make it clear that if that ever happened again, I would be finding my yarn elsewhere to buy.

[threeolivemartini]

yeah .. who knew we could be so entertaining.. we are just a bunch of "hook totin' grannies" !! LOL

[Catana]

That's the funniest thing I've seen in quite a while. But I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry.

[RachelG]

That's the funniest thing I've seen in quite a while. But I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry.

 

My thoughts exactly!

[LibiLou]

I do both, I knit and crochet. I have to tell you that 1) crocheting is the harder to learn of the two arts. 2) crochet is the more flexible of the two arts. 3) People who crochet are a lot nicer than people who knit!

 

I used to post on another board and you were frowned upon if you didn't use the finest wool yarn (to which I'm allergic). Red Heart? That's like the slums!

 

Well, ya'll are much nicer, WAAAAYYYY more supportive and more talented, in my opinion!

[froggy]

Geezy Peezy!

[Tampa Doll]

I am still laughing. Okay, Okay, I confess I do both, but Crocheting is the best. I mean, how many sweaters and afghans can you use?

 

Now this is a pet peeve of mine in LYS's, Joann's and Michael's. Is it tooooooo much to ask that some one in the yarn shop, and/or yarn department know both? I bet if you go into the (sorry to you scrapbookers now) Scrap booking department, you can find all kinds of help and info. But stand in the yarn dept and ask a question about crocheting , and you get a look like you are speaking martin or Greek:thair .

 

Okay, said my peace, now time to get off the .

 

Loved your story and to add to Beth, "Give me a Rocker and my hooks any day".

[klouised]

That is toooo funny. I understand how you feel, though. I used to work at Michaels. I got hired because I knew so many different crafts. They put me in charge of several departments right away. I was in charge of Fine Arts, Framing, and the Craft Paint Department. They didn't have anyone that knew the Stitchery/Yarn area, so they were always sending me over there to answer questions. Basically, I was running all over the store, except floral, to help everybody. I got switched over to being the store decorator. That didn't change anything. I still ran all over the store, plus decorate the store and answer questions about the classes, and teach. Aarg! I absolutely LOVED the job, but they seriously needed to hire more people who knew about crafts. Out of the whole store, the only ones who knew anything about the items were me and the lady who did the ordering. She was a craft person, too. I never tried learning to knit. I've been seriously thinking about learning, though. If I ever get the time I will. I've heard a lot of stories about there being prejudice from some knitters towards us crocheters. What's the big deal? I don't understand it. Maybe someone can enlighten me. I'm stumped. Honestly, that second needle isn't all that. LOL. No, really, why is it?

[Clarencepcanine]

NO WAY! I taught myself to crochet I TRIED and TRIED to teach myself to knit....

 

--SarahC

 

I do both, I knit and crochet. I have to tell you that 1) crocheting is the harder to learn of the two arts. 2) crochet is the more flexible of the two arts. 3) People who crochet are a lot nicer than people who knit!

 

I used to post on another board and you were frowned upon if you didn't use the finest wool yarn (to which I'm allergic). Red Heart? That's like the slums!

 

Well, ya'll are much nicer, WAAAAYYYY more supportive and more talented, in my opinion!

[Patterngal]

Geezzzzzzzzzz really funny I think ........but then I have same problem when I am out and about in yarn stores........ohhh your crochet? Knitting is so much better and you can make so many things..........uhuh

 

 

g

[goldi316]

NO WAY! I taught myself to crochet I TRIED and TRIED to teach myself to knit....

 

--SarahC

 

Stop beating yourself over the head - you're giving me a headache!

 

Actually, I really believe we are born with a talent for either/or/both - or none! The interest often indicates the latent ability. It can lie dormant for years before the seed springs to life. That said, I don't think it's impossible to learn a craft you have no "latant" ability for, I think we are capable of learning anything we have a strong enough desire to learn, but when the natural talent's not there, it will not come as easily. Beyond that, there's really no difference, though.

 

But that doesn't make any one craft better than another, not by a long shot. I personally feel this snobbery is some kind of a sign of a developmental deficiency in the one exhibiting it! In order to feel better about themselves and what they do, they feel a need to put others down. It's a sign of lack of maturity (and age has got nothing to do with it - I've seen 3 year olds with more maturity than some adults!). Why knitters seem to exhibit it so often remains a mystery to me, though. Unless, maybe, we are seeing a new form of "teen snobbery" (I'm still smarting from those high school daze. Some of you may relate!). Maybe these are those same gals that belonged to the "exclusive" clubs, ran with the "in" crowd, and see knitting as part of that? I can see why they might think that knitting is "in", considering it's heavy promotion by the yarn industry over crocheting - we've beefed enough about that elsewhere on the board! So this snobbery may have been encouraged by that. Of course, this does NOT include those who are blessed to be able to do both! I have yet to meet a snob among the lot of you! But then again, you were probably not of the type to join "exclusive" clubs either, whether by choice or default!

 

Sarah, you might want to try some lessons from someone who knows how. I too think knitting is the harder of the two to learn, though that doesn't make it "better" either. I learned both many many years ago, took more naturally to the hook than the needles, and now I will have to start all over again with the knitting, which I do want to relearn. We'll see if I'm better at it this second go-round. That's when and if I can put the hook down long enough! But if I can swing it, I am hoping to snag a free lesson at the Stitches Midwest conference I am planning to attend in a couple of weeks. And I will be watching out for the displays of that prejudice, and calling people on their bs! :devil

[twoqtgirls]

You should have hopped out the door saying "ribbit...ribbit!"

[dogymom]

Next time you go in there, you could take her a gift. Like a DUNCE CAP!

[gavinsmom]

Now this is a pet peeve of mine in LYS's, Joann's and Michael's. Is it tooooooo much to ask that some one in the yarn shop, and/or yarn department know both? I bet if you go into the (sorry to you scrapbookers now) Scrap booking department, you can find all kinds of help and info. But stand in the yarn dept and ask a question about crocheting , and you get a look like you are speaking martin or Greek:thair .

 

I must say when I worked at AC Moore was when I learned how to crochet for just that reason I worked in the yarn and felt I should be able to help people more than I was.

[mythunderbird]

:rofl :rofl i know what ya mean. when i am yarn shopping i always get asked by the sales people oh you knit

 

i say well i do but mostly i crochet. they look at me like i am from mars. then i get the oh like afghans and doilies, and i say well i guess i can make those, but also purse, wall hangings(which i am making the statue of liberty right now) wedding dresses. christning dresses ect. i say well see here is the deal, what you can make in knit

i can also make with croceht. might look a little different but is just as nice if not nicer. then i show them my purse i made myself and i get oh wow, i didn;t know you could do that with croceht, and since i also teach crochet i always take the time to tell them about my classes and invite them to take one, which have had 4 people do just that, and then when they do learn they say i don't know why i thought knitting was better:devil and i say well it isn't better, but just as good. as i feel that if someone truly loves to do either i am not going to put them down for it. i do both and actually learned to knit before i learned to crochet. :manyheart

[The Shrone]

Thankfully the LYS in my town is owned by a gal who crochets and knits so she doesn't give me dumb looks. She also carries a great thread selection, and I think she does because she knows crocheters work with thread. I've been in LYS shops that cater toward knitters and I've gotten dumb looks or stupid questions asked of me because I tell them I crochet. One gal asked me what I would do with sized 10 thread and I said you make doilies with them. She had no clue!

 

If you're going to run a yarn shop you should have some idea about both knit and crochet, but apparently many shop owners feel you only need to know about knitting. That so irks me! I will only patronize the shops that don't sneer at crocheting.

 

~ Lori

[hudelei]

You know what struck me about the clerk's comment? Knitters talk about frogging projects too! I've seen it on knitting boards, heard it from my friends who knit ... Deb Stoller has a section about frogging your work in the first SnB book! Something tells me that the person who made that remark didn't know too much about knitting either.

[AuntyM]

Very, very funny! Loved the story!

 

Say, I didn't know that word "frogging" until I started reading Knitting Blogs (my favorite is Bron's Blog). Since then, I have been educating my friends who knit & crochet about some of the "new" terminology I've learned.

 

I'm fascinated by all the new yarns and supplies and patterns available, and I would have been "stuck" in my own little world, had I not ventured forth into the World Wide Web and expanded my horizons.

 

I love learning new things! Horray and thank you to all of you who blog and teach your readers about yarns, patterns and other treasures!

 

I knit And Crochet!

[creativegoodness]

"I didn't know crocheters had a sense of humor":eek ............

........... .......................... ...... ....... ....

[ttbookjunkie]

I completely agree crochet is much harder then knitting! Everything I crochet looks loopsided and just plain goofy. I am almost too embarassed to post pictures of my crochet projects but everyone (at least on this board) is so nice, I am sure no one will bust ribs laughing too hard at my crochet.

 

I also agree that crocheters seem to be more down to earth. I have been on knitting forums where people stopped talking to me because I use Red Heart.

 

Hurray for Crocheters and Crochetville!

 

Amanda:hook

 

I do both, I knit and crochet. I have to tell you that 1) crocheting is the harder to learn of the two arts. 2) crochet is the more flexible of the two arts. 3) People who crochet are a lot nicer than people who knit!

 

I used to post on another board and you were frowned upon if you didn't use the finest wool yarn (to which I'm allergic). Red Heart? That's like the slums!

 

Well, ya'll are much nicer, WAAAAYYYY more supportive and more talented, in my opinion!

[Cordelia]

I think probably every confessed or out of the closet crocheter has had something similar. Sad ain't it?

 

And I do want to learn to knit...I find several appealling knitted projects. For whatever reason I havent even mastered the beginning-ness of knitting.

 

Having said that I did talk to a few people about taking knitting classes and one comment that sticks in my head is "Oh you're gonna be a toughy to teach, you have that one handed hook brain" all in all thats not far from the truth however the tone was very much as if she said I was a leper. I also got the impression at one store when I gathered up several goodies, one of which was a 18.00 hank of linen, was asked what the fabulous fibre was intended for, when I said well I was thinking a bikini top but perhaps a rune bag with some beads, and when asked what size needles I was going to use said, I crochet, I was directed to some cheaper hanks and giving the impression my crochet was a waste of that 18 dollar hank. (That hank did indeed stay at that store along with all the other goodies I gathered up ) And the I got a 6 minute "kind" talk about how knit is for fashion and crochet is for more utility projects...

 

Anyhoo I still want to learn to knit but not sure I would "run in the knitting circles"...