i have been learning how to knit for a few months now and have completed a very basic 'garter ridge' scarf. you can see a few flaws but that's to be expected with a newbie. however, i didn't let that stop me. i then received a skein of cotton from my MIL and started to work on a washcloth. well, the pattern was a little confusing and i really wasn't ready for all the 'repeat rows 10-15 3x's and then go to step 4 and then repeat that 12x's'...so i lost count. it was starting to look like the picture at least! so, i unravelled it. (not a good habit to have) she also gave me a book w/some stitch patterns to practice with. so now i've worked on the basics some and i am still liking it! 

i have limited supplies of things so it makes for not a lot to accomplish. i only have a few sizes in needles and some scratchy acrylic yarn so i don't want to really do anything big and fantastic until i have some nicer yarns. i do like the needles i have. my faves are my circulars (aluminum). they are soooo cool/easy to use, they look intimidating, but i think they are so nice to use. you can just slide your work to the middle and it keeps all nice and safe-like. simply wonderful!

my favorite site to drool at for knitting needles/accessories is probably Lantern Moon. they offer some of the greatest needles, bags and carrying cases. my dream yarns would come from Blue Sky Alpacas. i pretty much want ALL of the yarns they sell. you wouldn't believe how soft it is! my IRL friend Ali has a few knitting patterns on their site. this woman is talented! she's got her own knitting blog too called 'skeins her way'. she recently finished up this amazing shrug. hop on over and check it out!

kpixie and purlsoho are a few more fun sites to get lost in for awhile. then there's the standard Lion Brand stuff and JoAnn Fabrics, but they are kind of like the 'Walmart' of the knitting community in my opinion. don't get me wrong, they've got some good stuff. (confession: i think i may be turning into a yarn snob!)

what happened was i started out on Walmart acrylic yarn and some cheap needles and let me tell ya, it's great to start at but once you get a taste for real fibers and nice needles...oh, ho, ho...you don't wanna go back!  now, you can find some decent needles (i don't recommend plastic) and they do have some basic cottons that work really well. and there are some fun pattern books for washcloths.

well, i've got to get back to my stockinette stitches for a baby hoodie i just started...but i'll share that another time...