In Lieu of Knitting Group..

I was very, very ill last night. So knitting group was cancelled. Thus, I decided to post some helpful tips for beginners.

Choosing a project
You've mastered the garter stitch, so now what? It's not enough to launch into knitting with a set of needles and a ball of thread--you've got to have a project in mind. It should be what you want. And as Donna commented in a previous post, it doesn't have to be the "first scarf" that everyone deems you must do. Kathryn chose to make leg warmers because those sounded fun to her, and she's well on her way to being finished. My first project was a scarf--but only because I wanted to give a friend a scarf for Christmas.

In other words, choose a project that you desperately want. It should still be fairly simple, but it can be a scarf, a bag, a set of leg warmers--just because you're learning doesn't mean you have to be stuck on never-ending rows of the garter stitch. Again, Donna's post (as referred to above) offers some helpful insight. Choose something you actually want to make!

Of course, that being said, you should still find something manageable. Don't jump in for that massive afghan--you'll lose interest before you've finished. (That's why a scarf is usually a good choice because it is a fairly quick project). I recently advised one of this group's fledgling knitters to attempt a purse. Simple, small, easily made, and it incorporates all sorts of useful skills without being too boring (or taking too long) or being too complicated. Even I, as a more experienced knitter, get bored on projects that take too long--I had a rug that took me a while to finally accomplish (sheer desire carried me through that one--that rug is so freaking cool), and I have yet to finish a knitting needle holder because I was bored to tears of doing straight stockinette stitch for thirty inches. I think I'm at about twenty-six, so I really should just finish it...

Choosing a yarn
Pick a color you'll like. Pick something that feels nice. But DO NOT pick anything that looks like it'll separate or snag. You'll regret it. You may want to avoid "novelty yarns" at this juncture, unless it's ribbon yarn. That stuff is pretty nifty (I've never knitted with it, but it looks really cool). Until you have some experience wielding a set of needles, snaggy yarn only causes tears. In fact, my current project is with a fine cotton (nice feel, nice color) that drove me nuts at first because the strands like to separate. If you're not cautious, you'll end up piercing the strands and knitting extra stitches or knitting stitches that do not look very neat.

Once you get a feel for types of yarns (I will do a more detailed post on this later), you can find all sorts of nifty yarn peddlers online--just click on any in the sidebar! (I really should get a cut for advertising for them, right? right??) I like Knit Picks for their value and quality--they offer some nice yarn for an inexpensive price.

For the veteran knitters among us, what was your first project?