Some "hey, how about that!" factoids about knitting....

The earliest knitted artifact is a sock found in Egypt dating back to somewhere between the 3rd and 5th centuries. It is believed that they were made with one needle.

The earliest knitted items found in Europe are from the 13th century and were made by Moorish servants of the Spanish court. They were all knitted in the round and cut because at the time, no one had figured out the purl stitch!

Stockings with purl stitches and lacework started appearing in the 16th century.

Men were the first to knit as an occupation since women weren't allowed to make money.

Fair Isle was developed in Scotland in the 17th century.

Aran cabled designs weren't invented until the early 20th century.

Knitting came to China with Russian refugees after the Russian Civil War. Chinese camel drivers would pluck hair off their camels and spin it on the move using a drop spindle and then knit on their travels. When they ran out of yarn, they would pluck more hair off their camels and carry on.

Qiviut is yarn made from the shedded winter coats of muskox. In the spring, it is hand gathered from the tundra where it fell. Because of it's labour intense collection it is the most expensive yarn in the world but also one of the softest and warmest.

European shepherds walked on long stilts so they could watch their flocks and see distant predators lurking. They also carried a tall stool so they could sit with their stilts on and knit a few rows while they were at it.

Kitchener Stitch or Grafting is named after Lord Kitchener of Khartoum who, during WWII promoted knitting socks with grafted toes for the Red Cross.

George Washington Carver, known for being an accomplished botanist, revolutionizing peanut farming and for being a former slave, was also a knitter. Taught by his slave owner, Susan, Carver recycled string and burlap for his knitting, and even dyed much of his own thread.

Every hardcore knitter would agree with Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury 1945-1961 who said "Knitting is a distinct virtue. It's reflective and repetitive. Whenever you are engaged in doing a purely repetitive thing, your mind can reflect upon life."

Madame Defarge in a Tale of Two Cities represents one aspect of the Fates. She knits, and her knitting secretly encodes the names of those people she will have killed. The Fates used yarn to measure out the life of a man, and cut it to end it.

Many thanks to Wikipedia contributors and lots of other bloggers for these tid bits!