Technically, when I said I was ignoring the nupps, I meant that I was pretending they don’t exist for the purpose of calculating how many stitches were left, rather than intending to leave them out. The plan now, which may not have been the plan the day I wrote that post (I’m too lazy to check the date stamp) is to use beads in place of the nupps. I’ve got the beads, I just need to knit one more pattern repeat of the Budding Lace. Which makes me both nervous, excited and bored (I’m not usually a monogamous knitter but I’ve been knitting only Swallowtail since last Wednesday. Plus, my latest row contained 183 stitches–13 repeats of the pattern on each side, plus a few stitches on the edge and center. I’m ready to move on).
RE: the knitting a bigger shawl issue: I’ve already got plans. I’m knitting Shipwreck (from Knitty) (sorry, I’m too lazy to link today) starting in September. Got the yarn (three skeins sock yarn), the beads, and some of the needles. Need to buy more needles before September. And finish Swallowtail, so I don’t have two shawls on the needles at the same time.
It was easier for me to picture knitting properly when someone showed me. But I also have a little pamphlet that was meant for children that explains long tail cast on pretty clearly. If you’d like it, PM me your address.
For learning cast on I learned from Single Cast On from the video at knittinghelp.com:
http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/cast-on
and I then learned Long Tail from the TechKnitter, here:
I taught myself the basics of casting on, casting off, knit and purl stitches from knittinghelp. I definitely needed to see those videos to get the basics. I often reference her glossary when I am unsure what a pattern is asking me to do, and it’s been invaluable!
Techknitter’s diagrams and descriptions are the best for learning from pictures.
And I completely agree!
For the longest time I thought I was stupid because I couldn’t figure out stitches beyond knitting & purling - and it turns out I was knitting through the back loop the whole time, which explained guage issues I was having, anyway! 
And some random stuff:
If want to try some lace, but charts seem intimidating:
Branching Out. It has the instructions written out and also includes the chart, so you can either one. Now that I understand charts, I do find they far easier to follow than long, written instructions, but it can be confusing if you’ve never done it before. Also, once you learn how to read charts, the world of cables opens up - they’re way easier than they look.
For socks:
Silver’s Sock Tutorial
Again, it explains everything, and includes pictures that are actually clear & make sense, as well as great instructions for grafting, which a lot of people hate doing.