"So write a post," she instructed. "and make it Lutheran. You have until Friday."

Alright then. Far be it from me to argue with The Rebellious Pastor's Wife when she decides to host a Carnival!

(Whiny voice) I've just not been in a very "posty" mood lately. You know, with short days and cold and snow and blah blah blah....I'm sure none of this will be accepted as any sort of excuse.

There has been something on my mind tho, and at the core it's very Lutheran.

The Lutheran Logomaniac first introduced me to the concept of blogs and blogging, and encouraged me to start a blog. While he was enthusiastically pointing out his favorite Confessional Lutheran blogs, a little covert googling opened the world of KNITTING Blogs to me! My first blog was a knitting blog, and I currently have a team blog that focuses on knitting.

At some point in my knitting blog life, I was encouraged to submit my blog to the Big Blogroll O' Vark®™© I remember saying, "But it's about knitting, not theology." I was told that it's not about always talking theology, but that in living (and posting) out our vocations, we are Lutheran. That's the point of the Lutheran Blogosphere. I was skeptical, and I've never submitted my knitting blog, Pickin' and Throwin' to the Blogroll.

I repent.

My blog partner Yarnthrower (also Lutheran) and I often comment that so many of our favorite knitting blogs eventually turn us off by straying from talk of wool and stitch patterns, of new designers and patterns and yarn-stashes-that-threaten-to-take-over-the-house, and start talking about karmic rebalancing or the guy they're living with or how much they hate the patriarchy or how they joined Knitters Who Hate Bush or something like that. Just yesterday, I was listening to a newly discovered knitting podcast, and the host thanked her boyfriend for his encouragement. Then she said, "He hates when I call him my boyfriend. But what do you call a great guy that you've lived with for 15 years and who has...." I muttered, "Husband" and hit the delete key. (Yes, I talk to my electronics.)

Who you are and what you believe is going to show through, whether you're talking about theology, politics, your job, your family.....or your knitting! And it should. It makes no sense to WANT people to see that I'm a Christian except for when I'm knitting. It's not that I don't want to read a good knitting story by someone who doesn't share my beliefs and values, my "worldview." But there should be good blogs to read by people who knit during Bible Class, who knit sweaters for their husbands or wives, (yes! I know some guys who knit for their wives!) Knitters who may disagree with a President's politics or even with the man himself, yet still respect his office and at the very least don't hate him and profess to wish him dead.

Basically, a Big Blogroll O' Vark®™© for Knitters.

When I started this blog, I said, "This is the blog where the gloves are off (and the gloves may be baseball gloves, you can never tell!) I am a Confessional Lutheran woman, (I almost said “lay-woman”, but that’s redundant for a Confessional Lutheran!) I work with “Higher Things: Dare to Be Lutheran,” I listen to pod-casts of “Issues Etc,” and I am a rabid St. Louis Cardinals Fan. That’s just the short list of what may appear on this blog!! I’m hoping that sometimes there can be conversations that will help me at least be able to articulate and defend my beliefs more clearly. And sometimes just have fun! Of course, all of this doesn't mean that I'm GOING to spend a lot of time discussing these things, just that it's possible." That is still what this blog is about.

Because I dislike it when a knitting blogger posts about liberal politics or feminism or whatever, I believe that if I am going to say I have a knitting blog, that isn't the place for me to expound on Real Presence or the abomination known as "The Designated Hitter Rule." However, I would like to have a blogroll on the side of Pickin' and Throwin' which lists blogs of like-minded knitters. There's already a good start - The Rebellious Pastor's Wife knits, Favorite Apron and Homestead Lutheran Academy both knit, I'm sure there are more!

So here's a shout out - if you're a knitter or know a knitter or want to know a knitter....and if they blog, or you can encourage them to blog...or hey! Encourage a blogger to knit! Let's extend the excellence of Lutheran Blogging to the knitting world! Email me or leave a comment, and we'll get 'rolling!'

And feel free to stop on over to Pickin' and Throwin.....hey, I've already told the story of how I knitted a cow sling. You never know what farm animal I'll be knitting for next!!