Because when I get really frustrated with something (like last night, when I became dismayed and felt like I might never understand Hindi sentence structure, which I possibly never will, except for explaning the size of a room and its furnishings, and possibly children), I pick up the knitting and it feels like I’m not frustrated any more for a while. I carry a pair of socks-in-progress around with me at all times, because I am frustrated once a day by something, and it’s a great remedy. I think this might be why I never finish the Socks of Eternity. Although 2×2 rib is mind-numbingly dull, it’s also brainlessly easy, and when I can’t do something it’s nice to have something I can do right every time.
Seriously. That’s what scarves are for, right? And hats. I’ve got a list.
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About HappyGoth
By day, I'm a graphic designer. By night, I'm a knitter. I'm doing my part to keep Hotlanta stylish.
I imagine that if you don't already understand the title of the blog, you're probably confused and perhaps slightly annoyed, but never fear - I do have a reason (and it's a good one). Having gone to hear Stephanie Pearl McPhee, and then having been inspired to blog about knitting, I found myself wondering what to call the blog. I recalled a conversation I had with Mouse and the Chicken Goddess about why it is a Bad Idea to anger knitters - this conversation was following SPM, aka the Yarn Harlot telling the assembled throng about Those Who Do Not Understand Knitting and Therefore Belittle It Much to the Chagrin of Others, or TWDNUKTBMCO, which is not the acronym she used but is the one I'm using because I forgot hers - that is, we are numerous and we all have very pointy sticks, easily transforming into an angry mob.
Therefore, knitters = angry mob.
knitters = angry mob 
Yep, those are some of the reasons why I knit too. I also knit for the social aspects, since I’m in a knitting group that meets every 2 weeks. They keep me from taking myself way too seriously.
Vaibhav,
Aha! “Bahut!” I had it right to start with, then second-guessed myself. I feel smart, if not very wise. Bahut dhanyavaad!
The answer to PS 1 is no, but he understands when I practice. Like, if I say “nahi” or “haa” or “matlab” or “kya”, he gets the gist. To his credit, he did learn cuneiform in college. And he speaks a little French. And he’s a Physicist (which gives him a pass, in my opinion; the math involved mystifies me). He is learning to cook Indian food, though, and is very patient 🙂
for #2, I thought about it, and then realized it was a gigantic answer, so I dedicated a post to the answer. It might be more information than you wanted to know…
Laura
adhik –> more
bahut –> a lot of
so it becomes ‘bahut dhanyavaad’…
‘more thanks’ is not quite the right usage but ‘lots of thanks’ or ‘thanks a lot’ is very fine..
vaibhav
PS: Is ur husband too learning hindi? *just curious if it could get into your blood, the hindi bug that is 😉 *
PS 2: Why are you learning it so earnestly Laura, again jus curious.. : )
Vaibhav,
Yeah. I figured I’d do something like that. I commented to the husband later that I felt that I screwed up the gender/word order on something, but I wasn’t sure what. The books I have don’t go into a lot of detail on where to put modifiers; I have been guessing for the most part. This helps make some sense of it.
adhik (bahut?) dhanyavaad! yah bahut madad hai.
Laura
Laura,
Awesome. You are going just great.
Notice a little correction in the first statement though:
You said: ‘dhanyavaad! tum accha likhti bhii ho!’
The ‘bhii’ here is a lil misplaced. As it is now, it would mean as if you were trying to say something like: “you dance well, you sing well and hey, you write well too” whereas you just wanted to say “You too write well”. Also, when you say ‘likhti’ (ending in ‘ee’ sound), you make me a girl; it should be likhte (to sound like ‘say’ in the end)
So considering the above, it now becomes:
‘dhanyavaad! tum bhii achha likhte ho!’
And for this, I have to say a thank you to you 🙂
carry on..
vaibhav
Mouse,
I’m using a combination of things. These are they:
Teach Yourself Beginner’s Hindi, by Rupert Snell
Teach Yourself Hindi, also by Rupert Snell
(these are a combination of books and audio CDs. I am using the CD from the first book to practice pronunciation, and then the second book to learn the language. I had started with the first book, but it jumps right into complex sentence structure without much explanation of how it works. I have gone back to the first book.)
and also
Teach Yourself Hindi Script (ABSOLUTELY INDESPENSABLE – use this first, as the pronunciation of the words will be much, much clearer if you can read the script. The phonetics are irritating if you rely only on the transliteration)
And whatever Hindi dictionary you like best (I’m using the Teach Yourself one, but each book has a small glossary in back)
I hope this helps. I’m glad I’m not the only one doing this; it makes me feel less weird about it!
Vaibhav,
You have made my morning.
(1): dhanyavaad! tum accha likhti bhii ho!
aur (2): mera aslii naam Laura hai.
And, true to my comments about rooms and furnishings,
yah kamraa thandaa hai!
(which I realize is a total non-sequitur, but I am very proud to be able to use it; mera sabdkos accha hai)
-Laura
Girl,
A hindi compliment and a hindi question for you (and if you are able to understand them, or at least make out which is which, you aren’t all that bad with the hindi language, I would say 🙂 )
(1) tum accha likhti ho .
(2) tumhara naam kya hai ?
Vaibhav
I’m sure you probably have mentioned it before but.. What are you using to learn Hindi? I’m very interested in learning and wondered what method you were using and whether it was ‘working’.
Some people do drugs. Some people knit.
Knitting is so much warmer.