Teaching myself to knit

I've decided, after several years now of crocheting that it's time to teach myself to knit. Mainly because I want to knit socks (Thanks Elizabeth Moon for constantly posting those progress reports on your blog, it's extremely inspiring). Not to mention the numerous other beautiful patterns I keep seeing. This is no slur against crochet. From the moment I first tried crocheting, it felt right, and I plan to keep it up.

Anyway, I've tried learning to knit at least twice before - once as a kid, and once again in the last ten years or so (after I started spinning). The last time I gave it a very brief try was last year - didn't even go a day before giving up.

This time though, I'm going with a different book. Last time it was the Dummies knitting book, but this time I'm going with one that a former co-worker recommended several years ago: the Stitch'n'Bitch Knitters Handbook. At the time, the store didn't have it in, but did have the Crochet book, so I went with that with quite a bit of success.

The recommendation was backed up today by the two workers at my local yarn store, so I decided to go for it. Enough talk about learning to knit, it's time to actually go through with teaching myself.

So, I'm working on trying to remember how to cast on. Which I seem to have succeeded at, although right now it's driving me a bit nuts (second try). First try ended up too tight, and I have the feeling that the second try is going to do the same thing. I'd go to a larger needle set, but I'm working from a miscellaneous collection gifted to me from a couple of different sources. As a result, I've got a lot of fine and medium (many of which have no size markings) and then it jumps to quite a bit larger. Guess I might end up doing some poking around at the Salvation Army Thrift Store next time I'm there.

Of course, that issue doesn't help with the bad habit of the loop I'm working with slipping off the needle every now and again - usually taking the next stitch with it too, which slows me down even further.

Still, I'm remembering how to cast on, which makes me happy as the only method at the beginning of the book is the one I've been told is the long-tail cast on: Debbie Stoller calls it the double cast on.