I wasn't going to respond b/c you've already received great advice, but I was thinking "what do I wish I had known before learning to knit". This is just ME, so take it or leave it... I went to my LYS where they offered a beginning knitting class, so that's how I learned. I wish I had been told that there are two destinctly different ways to knit. Continental, and English. I'll just quote a website on what the two styles are; "Continental vs. English knitting
One thing you will notice if you look at the above listed site is that there are two different ways to knit, known as continental and English knitting.
The procedure described above is known as English knitting. That's when you hold the yarn in your right hand and "throw" it across the needles.
Continental knitting is what it's called when you hold the yarn in your left hand. The knit stitch is formed in the same way, but instead of throwing the yarn you wrap the needle around the yarn (it makes more sense in pictures than it does in words).
Most people in America (and England, naturally) learn English style knitting. It's a great way to learn to knit and to teach children how to knit because it doesn't require as much fine motor skill as continental knitting does.
But a lot of people who knit professionally (yes, there are such people) knit continental style. Usually this is because they say that knitting continental style is faster and produces less wrist strain because you don't have to move your wrists as much as you do when you're throwing the yarn.
It can be helpful to try both ways (get comfortable with English knitting before you try to learn continental style) to find out which one you are more comfortable with and which feels good and allows you to knit longer and better and stick with that style." I wish I would have known this b/c I would have tried to learn continental (I still might) instead of English. The other thing I was told by my teacher is; Just pick any old yarn for your first project, b/c it won't matter, you won't wear it anyway.
Not true. Even if you knit a scarf for your first project, pick yarn that you actually like for yourself or someone else. Anyway, that's just me... HAVE FUN!!!!!
