Stitch and Bitch is good for the cool patterns. I learned from " the idiots guide to knitting and crocheting" and my coworker who helped me figure out what I was doing wrong.
There are videos on the net that can supplement your book knowledge.
The S’n’B technique sections are ok, and the patterns are good, but I think the basic “how to knit” instructions are a little lacking.
My mom taught me how to do a knit stitch when I was 8 - but she didn’t know any more than that, and handed me a book. I learned how to knit from there and have been for 20-something years now.
My biggest problem is the short attention span. I’ll start something and go at it until I’ve done the interesting part, and then find that there is more yarn and other patterns that I’d rather start up than go back to the one I originally started. I have more half-done projects than I ought to.
I absolutely adore knitting, but developed bad enough arthritis in my thumb joints that I had to give it up some years back. I tried picking it up for awhile after having surgery on one hand, but alas, the other hand still gets far too painful so I had to put it down again. I’m determined to knit up all the lovely yarn I got in Ireland some years ago, however!
My favorites are nice complex cable patterns. For some reason, I just adore twisting those little cables around to make these beautiful patterns. I’ve got one sweater I knitted in a soft blue alpaca that is a favorite.
But my best project ever was what I call my Yosemite sweater (so-called because I tested it out for warmth when camping at Yosemite, where it came through with flying colors). It’s a tree of life pattern knit in a regular worsted on size 2 needles. Weighs about 20 pounds, but man, is it WARM. In fact, I love it so much that as we were evacuating for Hurricane Ivan this past fall, it was the only warm item of clothing I grabbed on my way out the door – I couldn’t even imagine having the patience to knit it again, especially since the tree of life pattern was one that I simply could not ever properly visualize so had to follow the pattern every single freaking row all the way through. (With Aran patterns, I can learn them the first time through and then only check patterns for increases/decreases.)
One technique I learned that I love to use for knitting scarves is double knitting, where you cast on twice the stitches you’ll need, then slip every other stitch as if to purl each time as you’re going across. So it ends up double thickness, with knit side out on both sides. It’s especially good for scarves because they don’t curl up. Plus, of course, they’re extra warm. And if you knit a pattern in, the pattern is the same on both sides. Very attractive and surprisingly easy to do.
This is a good site for free videos, if you have a high speed connection.
Let’s see, I’ve been knitting for three or four years. My mother and my grandmother taught me – my grandma bought me my first needles (pearlized black #8s) and Mom taught me to cast on. I started to knit because I wanted to make some Elizabethan stockings for myself. I learned to knit in the round on DPNs, so I just giggle whenever someone says it’s super-difficult.
I have a tendency to get bored with projects and abandon them. I’m also an experimental knitter, so I hardly ever follow a pattern to the letter. I like “recipes” for knit items better than I like patterns.
The project I’m proudest of at the moment is a hat I knit for my kitten Gus. He ate it.
Is there a Michael’s near you? They offer classes on the weekends. For about $10, plus the price of supplies (yarn and needles, in my case) you’ll get a real live teacher who can help you get started.
Hey, I teach beginning knitting at a Michael’s here in Denver! Thanks for the shout-out, Ivylass.
My mom taught me to knit about 3 separate times in childhood and college, and I never finished anything (or even got very far on anything) until about 3 years ago when I decided I wanted to make a scarf for my boyfriend for Giftmas. I picked up my mom’s old needles and a skein of Lion Homespun and I knitted that right up. For a good year, I knitted only scarves in Homespun and learned to crochet in a circle, so I made hats to match. Then, someone taught me how to switch the yarn between the needles so I felt OK about purling. Since then, I’ve made all kinds of things, but mostly small things like hats, purses/bags, kitchen linens (potholders and wash cloths) and scarves and shawls. I almost always just make up my own projects and rarely use a pattern, other than to get ideas. The biggest and most time-consuming project I have made to date was a Big Bad Baby Blanket from the SnB book, though I thought the recommended yarn would be silly to use for a baby blanket, since you can’t machine wash it. I used a microspun variagated baby yarn in bright colors and I think it looks fabulous (finished it a month ago, but my cousin’s baby is not due til the end of December). It took about 30 hours and I felt so accomplished afterward!
Since the baby blanket, I’ve made 3 scarves, 1 tote bag, 1 hat, and my Very First Sock (I have used circs before but this was my first foray into DPNs and I think I got the hang of it). The completed socks are for my sister for Giftmas and are in pink and grey baby alpaca on size 2 needles. One of my cats, who never bothers my knitting or yarn, has decided that the baby alpaca is the best thing since sliced catnip and I have to be careful to keep both the yarn and the finished Sock 1 out of reach. I needed a break from tiny yarn/needles after sock 1 and so I’m nearly finished with another scarf (it’s going quickly, in Lion woolease Thick&Quick). For Giftmas, I need to finish Sock 2, the scarf, a matching hat, another tote bag, a fancy purse, and if I have time, some wrist warmers from a pattern I have yet to devise. I also got some more yarn to make more socks, but I don’t know if I’ll have time to make them into giftmas presents.
Someday I’ll get to doing a sweater, but my boyfriend has yet to find a pattern he really likes for a sweater (he’s been promised my first sweater. Yes, I know about the boyfriend curse, but I’ve knitted other stuff for him and we’ve been together 3.5 years, so I don’t think a sweater is going to break our relationship). I actually taught him to knit last winter and he, a lefty, figured out continental style on his own. I tell my students in my beginning knitting classes that if I can larn a 27 y/o left-handed guy to knit, I can prolly larn them to knit. 
If there isn’t a Michael’s near you, look for specialty yarn or sewing stores. They often have classes, and even if they don’t, I bet you there are yarn junkies there who would be glad to teach you.
We started a knitting ministry at our church earlier this year, and it’s really been great! We’re using an article titled “Knitting into the Mystery of God” as a model (there used to be a link to the pdf, but it’s not working now – just google that term and you’ll find lots of stuff). Basically, we knit shawls for people in need (physical or spiritual need) and pray for them as we knit. When a shawl is done, we pass it around and everyone prays over it, for the recipient. Sometimes we know who it’s going to, and sometimes we just donate them to the local cancer care center and let them decide who needs it most. We give a card with each shawl, letting the recipient know that we’re praying for them and that we wish them peace (in a very, very non-preachy way). It’s pretty free-form, the way we’re doing it – if you have an unrelated project you’re working on, that’s cool. One of the best things about it is that it’s an interesting assembly of women who do this – we have a couple of jr. high girls, I’m the youngest adult woman (at 26), my mother-in-law is doing it with me, and there are some elderly women who can’t come to our get-togethers, but are knitting from home. It’s a wonderful gathering and it’s been good to get to know people I wouldn’t otherwise have known. And I’m knitting a lot more frequently now, since we meet a couple of times a month and I don’t want to look like a slacker! 
And, I have this great resource now, if I need help or want to learn something. We just have a great time.
Well, it’s a crochet story.
My friend really got into knitting and crocheting and it looked really nice and cosy and she made some really cool stuff as well. So I asked her to teach me.
Of course I wanted to make something nice, so I picked some really fluffy lovely grey mohair wool. Big mistake. I struggled on for a few hours but kept getting hopelessly tangled up as mohair is not the easiest for a beginner. Then my flatmate came in and asked what on earth I was doing. “I’m crotcheting”, I replied. He took one look, pulled a face and said “It looks like a rat.” And it did. And I stopped and have never tried again.
Fair play to all you knitters, but I’ll read a nice book instead. And my friend is still knitting and crotcheting more than she can possible use so I get the cool stuff anyway. 
I’ve started another scarf for myself (the Alien Illusion from Stitch and Bitch) and ordered the yarn for my very first sweater ever. :eek:
Hold me.
Hm… no Michael’s near me, but there is a Jo-Ann Fabrics. I’ll have to go down there this week and see if they offer classes too, maybe I can ask for some classes and materials for Xmas.
I’m knitting as I read this. I offered to make scarves for anyone who actually reads my blog, and so far I have two requests.
I’m doing one for my roommate in dark green chenille using a basketweave stitch. It’s pretty cool; you can’t see the individual stitches, but the little boxes pop out. I’m excited about that.
I bought yarn and another set of needles this weekend for my friend. The yarn is maroon and sparkly, with little red pom-pon-y things throughout. I think I’m going to do a thermal underwear-type stitch.
When I go home over winter break, I’m going to have my mom show me how to do yarn-over and slip stitches so I can do some cooler stuff. My mom uses friggen huge needles (size 15). I prefer smaller ones–I’m doing my roommate’s scarf on size 7 and my friend’s scarf on 10.5. I can’t stand to knit on larger needles; I like my stitches to be tight.
I tried to knit ONCE. It took me weeks with many pull-outs and restarts to make one hat.
I crochet, my grandmother taught me when I was quite young, and I’ve only now just learned that I hold the needle wrong. That’s what I get for witnessing someone else do it (who isn’t my grandmother).
Slip stitch: insert needle as if to (purl or knit). Slip off needle without wrapping yarn. Bingo, slip stitch. It’s like knitting with no work.
I have learned how to knit three times now, and forgotten as many times. I would love to be able to knit, but I can’t seem to keep it in my head, and I have so much other stuff to do with my evenings that I haven’t gotten 'round to trying again. Maybe I should before my kids get too big to wear the adorable things I could make…
But my 17-yo sister has recently gotten into knitting, and I think it’s neat.
So, can anyone explain the recent popularity of knitting? It’s made a big comeback, and half the teenage girls I know knit! I’m happy about this, I think it’s a great trend, I am just not sure how it happened. Is it the retro 70’s thing?
Partly retro, partly a reclamation of domestic arts lost to the feminist movement. Knitting was women’s work and became taboo when women’s lib was at its height, now, it’s being reclaimed as a fun, relaxing and damn productive hobby.
It’s better said in Stitch and Bitch.
I usually hate being in on trendy things, because people assume you’re doing it just to be trendy. I learned so I could make stuff for my new nephew and be the cool aunt that makes him skull sweaters and hats with alien heads on them. I hated the “stitch and bitch” knitting circle thing because I tend not to get along with women very much and I hate hate hate cattiness and these things tend to engender that kind of relationship.
From what I’ve seen, though, these groups are hip young women who get together and talk about everything but the nasty gossip that I’m trying to avoid. I think knitting is a centering and calming activity, which leads to talk about other, gentler things.
Just my two cents on the subject.
Ahhh! Thanks. I wish I had known it was that easy. Cool.
I didn’t even know that knitting was the hip new thing. I don’t know any other girls my age (college-age) who knit. I just hate when I’m cool even though I don’t try to be. I’ve been knitting for several years now (just not well), so I can always claim that I was into it before it became cool.
I doubt you’re holding it wrong. I’m not as familiar with crochet, but off the top of my head, I can think of at least four ways to hold knitting needles - none of which are wrong, and all of which will produce exactly identical work. (One of those ways is natural and comfortable for me, one of those ways is extremely uncomfortable for me, and does weird things to my tension, and one I’m not familiar enough with yet to know whether it will work for me or not.) Not to mention the number of ways I know how to hold the yarn.
It really is one of those things that is “different” not “right/wrong.” And if the way you’ve been doing it works for you, your grandmother was right.
My mom knitted a dress for my Barbie when I was a kidlet. I think it was the only thing she ever knitted. She taught me to cast on and make a knit stitch. I played with knitting for a while, and then gave it up.
I started knitting again in college (early '70s). I’ve knitting on and off ever since. The last couple of years, I’ve knitted a good bit. I knitted the lace shawl I wore in my wedding. Pictures here and here . I have a (mostly) knitting blog at Knitting, with Dogs.
Knitting is kewl.
Oh my god, Archergal. That stole is gorgeous! Do you have any pictures of you wearing it?
I love lace. It’s amazing that something so many holes in it can be so substantial.