You could knit hats and booties for preemies for charity. Just google for some patterns.Here’s one site with some patterns.
I learned to knit in grade school but I never learned any of the fancy stuff. I tried to teach myself crochet but I only ever managed to make a chain and I once managed to complete a crochet border on a knit baby blanket. I’d like to take a class on both because I’m pretty sure I have some bad knitting habits and I would like to learn some of the fancier stuff.
I shot you an email with the info I have, Alice.
Hope that helps. 
Currently I’m sitting and listening to a book while I knit one of these for my son’s Easter basket. It snuck up on me it seems, meant to have a couple done by now. So I have to knit them during my busy week coming up. It’s not taking too long though.
There is a book for knitting socks with two circular needles called something like “Socks Soar on Circular Needles” (I don’t remember the author, but should be available at any yarn store). I used it to learn how to knit socks, and it was pretty easy & self explanatory.
You can do two socks at once with the technique, but it doesn’t work for me.
Nope. Never learned. And if I tried, I’d have a big tangle of yarn with a cat in the middle of it. 
Okay, now I really want to learn to crochet so I can make one of these .
I’m a self-taught knitter and socks are the most challenging things I’ve done (I used this tutorial and now I’m a regular sock-knitting fool). I’d like to try a sweater but when I look at patterns I get all intimidated and frightened by the instructions, not to mention I can’t afford to buy several skeins of yarn all at once, but oh, that wool is lovely. I’ve only ever used the acrylic Red Heart stuff.
I just bought some needles. Curse you, Alice! I will poke you in the summer (hopefully at that Thai place).
Knitpicks.com had a pattern for a Calliope shell. I googled the name of the creator (Jolene Treace) and e-mailed her, and she was able to help me over some of the bumps, including one section on the shoulder that had a misprint in the pattern.
It turned out lovely, and I’ve gotten lots of compliments on it. If you’re just starting out, try a shell or a vest or something without sleeves…some of the sweaters involve set-in sleeves, which can drive even an accomplished knitter to stab knitting needles into something besides yarn.
Well, I’m practising. However, I’ve discovered that I can’t purl unless I do it with my left hand (I’m right handed and knit weirdly, according to the book I just took out of the library).
I need an adult. Or an Alice.
So, when ever you do stockinette just do it in the round - no purling required.
Inspired by interest in Sock Assassins(and the feeling that it is not fair to my assassin to send a box containing sock yarn but not much knitting), I ventured into a Local Yarn Store this week, and departed with some nice wool yarn which is co-operating much more than the stupid cotton stuff was. I have 3 or 4 inches of knit 3, purl 3 rib, some vertical and some spiral. It fascinates me that in the straight part of the ribbing, the knit parts stick out, and in the spiral part, the purl parts stick out. But I do think the sock will fit my foot when it is finished.
So now my goal is finish sock 1, find a pattern for a sock which appeals to me which has an actual heel in it, buy more sock yarn, knit a sock for practice including the heel bit, sign up for sock assassins, knit second sock with a heel, then knit sock 2 from the present pattern.
(I’ve also made marvelous progress on the second half of the scarf. It helped that I worked on it over the weekend, when I just didn’t feel like casting on anything, and also helped that I swapped my annoying plastic needles for the metal ones I’d been using for the sweater, which is stalled until I get inspired to cast the sleeve on again.
I am not a big fan of casting on. It takes me too many tries to get the right number of stiches on my needle, then transfer appropriately, and then knit and purl them in the right combo).
There are some lovely free patterns out there, and Knitty has a basic sock recipe where you measure your feet and put in the numbers, or Yarn Harlot has her sock recipe up online too. And there are lots of pretty ones that aren’t too hard. 
The first kit from Year of Lace will be here soon! Amy said maybe Saturday or Monday, so I’ll probably be rushing off work Monday night for that… even though I don’t intend to start right away lol. I have some things I want to finish first (like the stole I’m 1/3 done… or the half complete Montego bay scarf which I am taking with me on the bus. If Velociraptor sleeps, and I don’t, I can maybe get some knitting of that in).
You need to go to that knitting group I was pimping - because it’s fun, and someone may be able to help you.
I know–It’s mostly just deciding on ONE pattern that is a problem, plus the fact that the last time I looked at sock patterns, I was overwhelmed by the number of ways one can construct a sock (Toe up or top down, on dpns or circular needles, etc.) At least now I think I’ve decided which way I want to construct my next sock–dpns, top down.
Well, and having time to knit the sock(s).
alice, does it look like this?
I purl eastern uncrossed (except for lace - for lace, it’s a pain because I don’t knit that way). It keeps the lengths of the purl and knit stitches closer to equal and I like the way it looks.
This year, I’m trying to finish things and use up the “of course I need to buy this, I’m sure I could use it in so many ways” yarn. And I’m also trying to give some of it away. That’s resulted in not knitting as much, there’s a reason I paused on a lot of those projects. I need to finish things up.
I have it mastered. Well, ok - I still purl all stabby and weird, but I worked up a sample that has stockinette, garter, basketweave, ribbing, increasing, decreasing, and cables. Pictures? Why, of course.
If you are in Ravelry [size=1]and all us uberKewl kids are , you could wander the groups to find Hat Attack and the previously mentioned Sock Wars III.
And, just to get you all hot and bothered, I knit one of these in about three hours. ( probably would have done it in about an hour or so, but something called LIFE kept intruding.)
Another very good tute site is Knitting Help It is where I learned the basics. Continental is the way to go Yeah, I know, there is NO right or wrong, but I’m surrounded by zee Germans…and it is more fluid. Zee German’s. Zhey know efficiency, ja.
My first sock is almost done–if I didn’t have to keep ripping stuff out where my spiral ribbing mysteriously straightens itself out, I’d be done. (And there was that dropped stitch issue-- I think it was the first time I’ve noticed a dropped stitch that dropped multiple rows. A skillful knitter might have been able to retrieve it without ripping, but I had this fear that I’d knit at least one row after dropping the stitch, and would mess up my spiral rib pattern. I do think that the smartest thing I did in picking out yarn for this sock was picking out this nice varigated yarn. I can tell by the color if something is wrong with a stitch. (usually).)
That’s adorable!
I signed up for a Ravelry membership and I’m waiting. My AWESOME friend has given me her username and password to poke around until my membership is approved.