Here’s how this works: A while back, I announced “The Carnival of Knitting”. Anyone who writes a knitting blog article can submit their favorite one. I then discuss the various articles and post links. I reserve the right to skip some submissions, in case, well.. you know… they are smutty or something. I’ll announce the next Carnival soon!

Now, for “The Carnival of Knitting” entries.

Niki — who as you can see has an eye for color– shows us how to hand paint yarn with Kool-aid. Pretty nifty, especially if you have kids who you don’t trust to handle possibly toxic dye.

KnittingNutter describes the challenge of designing a sock. She finds it difficult enough that she nows says “My respect for pattern designers is now insurmountable.”

Well, if designing were easy, I would get to write haikus for so many interesting “creations”, right?

But, then there are some really great designs. And it’s too bad I didn’t run this carnival before Easter because Scribbit shows us A Handknit Easter Bunny. (And matching hand knit booties, sweater and a full hand knit easter bunny ensemble.)

But you know, if you don’t design knitting patterns, you end up having to read knitting patterns. And that means understanding acronyms. Well, Kim has a post that explains all the knitting acronyms appearing on knitting lists. And she is thorough — you’ll even find “blog carnival!”

Anastacia Knits shows us her works in progress which seem to consist of many unfinished socks. Anastacia also tells of a knitting disaster. (Don’t click here if you are faint of heart.)

Oh. You clicked? I guess I should have warned you. . .

But if you think Anastacia is a bit sock crazed, you should read about the sock crazed beastie at Jen’s.

Catmum shows off some beautiful Pomatomus socks! (Which, we hope did not involve any of the accidents experienced by Anastacia!)

And now, for beauty see Kate’s shawl! (She fully describes the blocking, and tells you where to find the stitches. Many appear in Barbara Walker’s various “Treasuries of Knitting”– but Kate will explain all! )

Lucia (that’s me) submitted her Jenny Shawl Calculator post. You can create a pattern using yarn in your stash!

Noreen is covering little journals with book covers knit using spools instead of needles. Cute idea!

Colleen tells us how hard it is to buy yarn in Tampa. She found alpaca yarn on line from Alpaca direct. (I like Taiga’s Alpaca– I do think online is the way to go when you are buying alpaca for hand knitting.)

Karen of “Live thePower”, discusses how she loves the process of knitting more than the product. (Don’t we all? Well, actually I love both.)

Lorraine Anxiety ended describes the panic of holiday knitting. (She observes that much of the anxiety is self imposed. Yep. It’s amazing how often “busy, busy” people are busy because they take on self imposed practically useless projects and then scury around finishing them. )

Buy organic, who actually does not knit, submitted Bamboo Knitting Yarn a nice article at their site promoting organic products.

Out of curiosity, have any of you used bamboo yarn? Is it nice?

That’s the Carnival! Now, I’d like to plug someone else’s carnival and let you know when my next Carnival of Knitting will take place.

Those of you who like carnivals, remember that mega(k)nits edited the last “The Yarnival”, which is run by Eve so you can submit to that carnival from time to time!

My next Carnival of Knitting will be published in two weeks: May 14. If you’d like to be enter a post, visit The Carnival of Knitting submission form.

© lucia for The Knitting Fiend, 2007. | Permalink | 9 comments
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The next topic is:

How to participate

Step I: Blog about knitting.
Blog on topic by the deadline. Please insert this html link at the end of the article:
Submitted to <a href="http://www.thedietdiary.com/blog/lucia/492" >The Carnival Of Knitting</a> ²

Step II: Help me find your article!
After posting your article, inform me of your entry one of two ways. You only need to do one of these.

1. Easiest for me: Visit The Blog Carnival “Carnival of Knitting” entry form. Fill it out!
2. Easiest for you, email me (that’s lucia at thedietdiary.com) directly! Please include the “The Carnival of Knitting” in the title.

I will read all the articles, and write an article summarizing and linking to each and every one! (I will, of course add a few words next to the link, just as I did for :

1. “The First Carnival of Knitting”.)
2. “The Second Carnival of Knitting”.)
3. “The Third Carnival of Knitting”. (Failed Carnival )
4. “The Fourth Carnival of Knitting”.)
5. “The Fifth Carnival of Knitting”.) (The “Instapundit Linked me Carnival!” )

Due Date: April 20, 2007.
Summary Article will appear on or before April 23, 2007.
Carnival Name: Carnival of Knitting.
Topic: My Knitting
Who can enter: Any blogger who posts about knitting, crocheting, spinning, or weaving, and posts on topic.

Caveat: I reserve the right to ignore and not link to any post for any reason. (My intention is to ignore any that are not on topic, contain porn, or which might violate the terms of my agreement with my hosting company. However, since I don’t know what anyone might submit, I reserve the right to not link for any reason at all.)

I’m going to write one. So, please join me, and write your own.

© lucia for The Knitting Fiend, 2007. | Permalink | 12 comments
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There are the yarn loving pets.

Some, like Erika’s Kimble and Brady, hunt stash. Hearing, any activity in the yarn stash area, they rush to the room saying “I heard yarn. I smell yarn. Is this it? It doesn’t smell like yarn. Where’s the yarn?”.

What do yarn detecting cats do with yarn once they find it? That depends. Itgirl reports her cat, “Beans likes to play with the fun yarn.” In contrast,
Kylie’s cat just steals it. Then, what does she do? Who knows?

Maybe these yarn stealing cats will escalate to yarn destroying beasts like Whit’s “Spot”. Or even more horrifying, turn into yarn-a-holics like
Tammy’s cat.

Imagine arriving home to this:

“I came home to the sight of Rosco laying on the couch, drunk on yarn! His eyes were glazed over, he was breathing long & shallow, you could HEAR the pur from across the room, I SWEAR to you all, he was smiling! There was an evil satisfied grin on that cats face!!! “

So, cat owning knitters, beware. Don’t let yarn loving cats get hooked. And dog owners, beware as well. Dog owner and knitter RubyPlaid reports:

“This is Shannon. I never knew this until I went home for Christmas, but she likes to chomp on yarn.”

Scary! Luckily, there are some “at peace with knitting and yarn” pets.

Karen’s well behaved cat graces the weaving loom by just snuggling up and sleeping. Similarly, Jen’s assorted pets all live in harmony with knitting:

The pets know that when I pull out the knitting it’s time to settle in. Jack likes to lie down nearby and enjoy my nearness. Wyatt knows it’s going to be awhile before we go for that walk. Ed knew that the string was going to start moving and making that delicious noise. They gather around. They all lie on my knitting bags from time to time.

There are also benevolent guiding hand type pets:

Eileen describes Rascal:

“He’s my supervisor, sitting next to me and watching every move I make with the needles. Never hesitating to correct my technique with a brief swat at them or a tug at the yarn. What a guy”

La’s cat also helps with knitting– when not hiding under curtains! And surely, guidance is Ashe’s goal:

“Ashe, my friends, is a prankster, a comic, an acrobat, a friend to children, and a lover of knitting, not so much the yarn (as my other cats are partial to), but the movement of the knitting needle.”

Or, maybe he is truly is one of the “interferes with knitting pets”. After all, there are other knitters who report ways pets can interfere with knitting. Knits with Cats tells us she will not be joining “The Knitting Olympics”, in part, because: “… the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show falls on 2 evenings during the Olympics, which is another chunk of time I’d lose to something else I love! “

Bood luck in the show! But, before showing your dog, check out the “hand knit wearing pets”.

Dog sweater models include Lindy, Sue,and Popcorn’s dogs and Sourire’s currently invisible dog.

If you can bear the horror of seeing a cat modeling a dog sweater, visit Elizabeth’s knitting blog. (Yes, the cat looks just as angry as the one shown in a bunting, here. Well, at least neither cat had to model this which I hope will grace a poodle or chihuahua. )

Hat modeling cats can be seen at Jeanne’s blog K3tog!

Though, we know that there are also “I covet your knitting” pets. Here Chris shows us his lust for socks by refusing to budge during a picture taking session

But, sadly, there are also, “I reject your knitting” pets. Gail, who having knit her cat a Kitty Pi bed, now laments: “I knitted it with love, out of Big Kureyon, but does she use it? Nope. “

Lucky for Dee’s her dog Biggs appreciates his hand knit “Darth Maul” blanket! Teresa shows us how her pets Dot and Sade inevitably nestle right in to the pile of sweaters she clearly knit just for them!

Because, as we know, no matter what type of pet we have, we do everything we can for them. Knitting and pets go hand in hand.

That’s the end of The Sixth Carnival of Knitting. But guess what? I’m going to make “The Sixth Carnival Of Knitting, my submission to “The Carnival Of Crafts”! With luck, her readers will read about our pets, and my readers will read about sewing, tatting and crocheting pets!

© lucia for The Knitting Fiend, 2006. | Permalink | 8 comments
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Yes, today’s carnival is about the venerated custom that results in blog titles like:“Knitblogging III – Christmas is a’coming and there’s yarn in the air,” and “Christmas Knitting,” (which begins,”Saturday was horrible.”)

And which spawns posts like: “Slightly Frantic Christmas Knitting”.

And later hatches posts like: “Christmas Knitting Finished!!!”, or more enthusiastically, “Drumroll Please”, “Christmas Knitting Finished!”

Yes, holiday knitting is merry! Usually.

But alas, the season also result in titles like: “Unfinished Objects 2005″ or “Christmas Knitting” which begin, “Well, I didn’t finish all the Christmas knitting that I wanted to.”

Sigh. . . Let’s not think about that!

Many knitters do finish their Christmas knitting and with panache. Elaine, unable to find a cute doll, knit her grandaughter a baby doll, which she revealed at her blog just before Christmas! (If you like adorable, click to see it. Plus, she finished even more stuff!)

Seeing the zillions of things she and others finished, I am green with envy. Worse, I realize I’m a knit-slacker. Did I knit a special doll? Mittens, socks, hats? Whatever might be perfect for a friend or relative?

No. Instead, I surf blogs and discover, sitting in her home not 30 miles from me, knitgirl, a practically brand new knitter who knit tons of scarves, observing, “The best way to beat the cold Chicago winter is a warm fluffy scarf. “

Yes, a nearly newbie definitely outdid me! (Since I feel outdone, I’ll quibble and observe, that a scarf is a good way to beat the Chicago cold. But it’s not the best way. To achieve “the best” you need to add Swedish meatballs and Aqua Vit! But, I wouldn’t doubt knitgirl ate and sipped something warm while knitting those scarves. )

Yes, I could imitate Elaine or Knitgirl, but I don’t. Maybe I’m worse than a slacker; maybe I’m just one of the “Knitting Humbugs”?

I can’t help but feel a bit of shame at the thought. . . But this thought brings me some cheer:

At least I’m not the only one!

Knitting Humbugs are everywhere and post titles like: “My Solution to Christmas Knitting”, “Freed From Christmas Knitting.”

Yep! We Knit-Scrooges have found a way to avoid the whole festive knitting scene! And even non-Scrooges understand what, or, more precisely, who, causes knitting humbuggery rise up at Holiday time. It’s the ghost of Erika’s Great Aunt!”

Erika reminds us of the misery caused by holiday knitting gone bad:

Our family has a long history of Bad Knit Gifts. I had a great aunt (my grandmother’s sister-in-law – that’s a great aunt, right? Oh, who knows) who, for reasons unknown, one year knit up a huge batch of the ugliest hats in the world.

I can’t help but shudder when I read that because a similar ghost chained to unknit balls of yarn and double pointed needles haunts me in my dreams. To avoid walking the earth as “Erika’s Great Aunt”, (I) always resolve to avoid holiday knitting, but in the the end, I can’t quite do it. I knit one sweater, and finished it just in time to put it under the tree.

When I finished, I poured my self some eggnog, and visited Karen’s blog. There, I saw A Christmas Cat worthy of Freya’s sleigh and enjoyed knitting poetry, which began:

Karen the Holiday Knitter
Took some time to write some prose
And if you saw her knitting
You would even say it grows.

Luckily, it looks like Karen finished her poem and her knitting. I know the rest of you finished too.

Now, let’s all go plan our projects for the New Year! and wish you all Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
You would even say it grows.

© lucia for The Knitting Fiend, 2005. | Permalink | 5 comments
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As you know, I’ve been obsessing about socks lately. I more sock articles than you can shake a stick at; my official entry was my mismatched sock haiku.

So, here I am knitting sock after sock after sock… and I announce a carnival topic on sock, and what does Erika say:

I haven’t yet felt the urge to knit socks.

She gives her reasons. I read her reasons; to the consternation of Crones of the Craft everywhere, they do not include “fear of turning a heel.” And because her reasons have nothing to do with fear, I suspect it’s going to be a long time before Erika knits socks.

She just doesn’t want to knit them. And, if she doesn’t want to knit socks, why should she? I didn’t knit my first pair until I’d been knitting 20 years.

Yet, I suspect, if Erika keeps knitting she will eventually knit some socks. Someone near and dear will long for closeness that comes from wearing something inconspicuous knit by a loved one; and socks will sprout to fit their feet.

As Karen who knit socks for her mother observes:

Nothing says love more than a pair of hand knitted socks.

Of course, socks do say love. They also say “I knit.” Imagine Lori’s glee when she took her son to her LYS and he picked out sock yarn, which she reports he may be planning to knit up himself! (Hey, knitting socks also says “I love Mom’s family traditions!” )

But you know, knitting socks also says “I love to figure things out.” Sarah, who looks like a fairly young knitter has figured out socks, knitting and finding neat patterns. In fact, she seems to have found something called a “pattern generator” to create a pattern for her socks. Fancy that!? (Hopefully, she won’t find the directions confusing. Hopefully, if she does, she’ll know to email me a question!)

One thing, I know for sure, Sonja won’t need to ask questions. She’s a pro at knitting socks and bangs them out by machine. You can see several pair knit from Lorna’s Laces at her site! It’s 10 F where she lives and she needs the socks. (I should get my machine out and bang out several pair myself!)

So, as you see, there are plenty of knitters, young and old, male and female, beginning and advanced, knitting and blogging about socks.

Good thing! It means The Fourth Carnival Of Knitters has more entries than the Third!

But, I need to inform readers, I’m cheating. I wanted to have a longer Carnival, so I added some who didn’t actually enter. Anyway, I couldn’t help myself. The fact is, I can be scatty and lose track of emails. So, I wasn’t sure I might not miss one of the entries. To make sure I didn’t miss any Carnival Entries, I entered “Carnival Knit Socks’ at Technorati.

Imagine, what I discovered?

Sharon knit her guy socks using Opal yarn and managed to use all three magic words in her blog post. Two are here:

I’d love to knit him a pair of socks in “Carnival”

She didn’t really mean to enter this carnival, but how could I leave her out?

Socks being what they are, and “carnival” turning out to be a variety of sock yarn, other people were also using the words “sock or socks” “knit or knitting” and “carnival” in a single post. Yes indeed:

Kaitlin at Sassy Stitches frets about how to distribute the stitches on her socks:

I had to call Lisa last night to be sure that it was okay to have the stitches distributed unevenly between the two circular needles (it is!)

Michelle noted that her knitting schmoo has knit many things, but

one thing she has never made is socks.

So, Michelle is determined to expand her schmoo’s horizons and has sent her a sock knitting care package.

Yes. Hand or machine knit socks, and sock care packages say both “I love you!” and “I need to warm my tootsies.” And this wraps up The Fourth Carnival Of Knitting!

© lucia for The Knitting Fiend, 2005. | Permalink | 5 comments
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© lucia for The Knitting Fiend, 2005. | Permalink | 5 comments
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How much of a failure was it? I got ZERO entries!!! Zero.

Due to wine-spillage-on my keyboard, which de-activated my blogging nearly all Friday, even I didn’t write up my ugliest knit item!

So, believe it or not, THIS entry is “the carnival”. It lists zero articles because there are zero entries!!!

That’s what I get for
1) Forgetting to re-post the announcement both Mondays before the “event” and
2) Making the deadline the Friday after Thanksgiving!

It was either due to those to things . . . or. . .maybe … No one who visits my site ever knit anything ugly. (That was the topic.)

But, I persist in believing these Carnivals can be fun, so I will propose “The Fourth Carnival of Knitting!”.

Topic: Knitting Socks.
Due Date: December 9, 2005.

That’s correct. You can write anything you want about knitting socks. Full directions for entering are on the announcement page. (It’s easy. You write on topic sometime between now and the deadline. You tell me. The directions are long because there are 3 options to communicate your entry to me.)

© lucia for The Knitting Fiend, 2005. | Permalink | 4 comments
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