Acronyms and other Oddities Sometimes new members or those "lurking" in sections where they don't usually participate have questions about the acronyms and some of the terminology they see in our forum.  So we've tried to bring together a summary for everyone. (If you see one that you can't find here, please leave a note for KathyMorgret and we'll add it).

An Acronym is a set of initials used as a shortcut to express phrases, including emotions, ideas, etc.  Acronyms are popular because they cut down on the number of keystrokes required to convey a name, idea or feeling.  Sometimes it can be fun to guess what they mean!

Let's start with the old standby acronyms.  If you've been online for years, you may want to skip this part.

AFAIK =  As Far As I Know
AFK =  Away From Keyboard
ASAP =  As Soon As Possible
BFN     =  Bye, For Now, AKA (Also Known As) BBFN
BIL =  Brother-In-Law (plus associated acronyms for   Sister/Son/Mother/Father etc. -In-Law
BRB =  Be Right Back
BTW =  By The Way
FHP =  Forum Home Page (Site Home)
FWIW    =  For What It's Worth
G,D&R   =  Grinning, Ducking, and Running
GMTA =  Great Minds Think Alike
IMHO  =  In My Humble Opinion [or Honest - the speaker is so seldom humble] The truly honest often use IMO <g>
IMWTK = Inquiring Minds Want to Know
LMK =  Let Me Know
LMS =  Let Me See
LOL =  Laughing Out Loud
NYE = New Year's Eve
OIC  =  Oh, I see!
OOTB  =  Out Of The Box
OTOH  =  On The Other Hand
PITA  =  Pain In The, er, "Acronym"
RAK =  Random Acts of Kindness
ROFL =  Rolling On the Floor Laughing
ROFLOL =  Rolling On the Floor Laughing Out Loud
RSN  =  Real Soon Now
TLA =  Three-Letter Acronyms
TTFN =  Ta-Ta For Now
TTYL =  Talk To You Later
TTYS =  Talk To You Soon
WYSIWYG =  What You See Is What You Get

Here are some that may not be so widespread, but you'll see them in our forum:

DH =  Dear (or Darn or whatever fits the moment) Hubby
DD =  Dear Daughter
DS =  (well, you get the idea)

And some that we still use in spite of having all those cute smileys available:

<bg> =  big grin 
<EG> =  Evil Grin       
<g>  =  grin. 
<gg> =  giggle (or a double grin)    
<ggg>  =  a really big grin        
<GGG>  =  a really REALLY big grin       
<s>  =  smile
<vbg> =  very big grin       
<veg>  =  Very Evil Grin 

The following are acronyms used almost exclusively by crafters:

RR =  Round Robin.  Participants work separately on a design or kit or whatever, then pass it along to the next person to work on it.  Usually the first one to work on the piece ends up with the finished the same piece at the end.  Example: JNRR (Just Nan Round Robin).  Or a sampler, as seen here.  This one was stitched by Beverly Marchetti and her many friends in the Stitchery section of the old crafts forum.

 SAL =  Stitch-A-Long.  Participants work on the same project and share tips, techniques and their progress on line, using a common chart, designer, or theme. They give each other plenty of encouragement to get the project finished.  Example: MarBek Stitchalong.  This sample was stitched by Andrea Atkinson in the "A Needlework Story" stitchalong in 1997.

UFO =  UnFinished Object. This is another, like RR, which you will see all over the forum. Stitchery Section has UFO days on the second weekend of each month to inspire participants to finish their projects.

FUFO =  Finished UnFinished Object - one that got pulled out of the closet and finally finished.

OATer =  One At A Timer, a person who does one project until completed before starting another (rare! <g>)

"Frogging" refers to undoing your work, i.e. "rip it, rip it."

WIP =  Work In Progress

The following are sorted by the section(s) where you'll see them most often:

STITCHERY:

BF = Blended Filament, a thin, single-ply metallic thread that can be used alone or combined with other threads and yarns to produce a subtle  sheen.  See  http://www.kreinik.com/HTML/threads/metallic_blending.html 
CCS =  Counted Cross Stitch
EGA = Embroidery Guild of America
ELF Days = the 24th of each month, dedicated to stitching on holiday projects.
L&L = Lavender & Lace (designs)
LNS = Local Needlework Shop
LTD = Liz Turner Deihl (designs)
o/o = over one stitching, i.e., the stitcher goes over only one thread per stitch
TIAG = Told In A Garden (designs)
TW  = Teresa Wenzler (designs)

KNITTING & CROCHET (along with SPINNING & WEAVING):

AS =  Alice Starmore (another designer)
CSM=circular sock machine, an esoteric type of antique knitting machine currently enjoying a renaissance of popularity
KF =  Kaffe Fassett (designer)
KM =  Knitting Machine
LYS =  Local Yarn Store
MK =  Machine Knitter
TCGA =  The Crochet Guild of America
TKGA =  The Knitting Guild of America

Mostly SPINNING & WEAVING:

CHG =  Chattahoochee Handweavers Guild (see their link under Partners on the menu to the left)


CW =  Complex Weavers - the sample here is by Lillian Whipple - you can see how fine it is by the penny at the bottom of the picture.

EPI =  Ends Per Inch (Warp Density)
HGA =  Handweavers Guild of America, sponsors of:
MAFA =  Mid-Atlantic Fiber Association
OHS =  Ontario Handspinners & Weavers
PPI =  Picks Per Inch (Weft Density)
SS&D =  Magazine published by HGA
TW =  Tablet Weaving
TWIST =  Tablet Weavers' International Studies and Techniques
WPI =  Wraps Per Inch (describing the diameter of handspun yarn)
YPP =  Yards Per Pound, another measure of yarn size, in use by spinners, weavers, and the textile industry

STAMPERS:

COTM Card of the Month.  Here's one by Joan Petty from January 2001, on a Valentine's theme.

SEWING & QUILTING:

Charms = Squares 6" or smaller, that quilters swap.
Fat Quarter = a 1/2 yard cut of fabric, cut in half, so the final piece of fabric is 22x18 inches approx.
HQ = Hand Quilting
ME = Machine Embroidery
MQ = Machine Quilting

Then there are the fairs, conventions, festivals, etc. -

CATS = Creative Arts & Textiles Show, which is held around the country at various sites and times, with classes, a mall, etc. Emphasis on CCS and other forms of stitchery.

MDS&W =  Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.  One feature is the "Sheep to Shawl"  (STS) contest - here's Tina holding up the final shawl from the CISter entry in 1992.

S&W =  Other states have Sheep & Wool Fests, aimed at shepherds and spinners, but many weavers and knitters attend as well, and you'll see them referred to with the two-letter state name in front of the S&W.   The NYSS&W (New York State Sheep & Wool Festival), however, is usually referred to around here as "Rhinebeck".

Stitches = annual workshops at several US sites sponsored by Knitters Magazine

LUNASEA =  Another spinning/weaving fiber fair, by the sea <g>

CONVERGENCE = a biennial gathering for spinners, weavers, and other fiber artists, sponsored by HGA.

SAFF =  SouthEast Animal Fiber Fair

SEFF =  SouthEast Fiber Forum

SOAR =  Spin-Off Autumn Retreat (sponsored by IWP)

And a couple of the many craft magazine publishers:

IWP =  Interweave Press, which publishes many magazines for the fiber crafts, including Knits (IWK), Piecework (PW), Spin-Off(SO), HandWoven (HW) and others.

Taunton Press = publisher of Threads, Fine Woodworking, and others.