It's working...

The two thousand socks knit along seems to be working on me. I've become more conscientious (or maybe just more compulsive) about knitting these socks since joining the knit along.

This afternoon I helped a friend choose yarn to make her very first hat/knitted garment. She chose this color of Malabrigo yarn for the bulk of the hat and a grey angora for a bit of contrast.

Usually, when I teach someone to knit, I have them first make a gauge swatch, or a book mark. This way, they can learn to cast-on, knit, purl, and bind off all in one session.

[I know that it's a lot of stuff to absorb in one lesson, but I find that getting a person to do each of those actions while I'm available to answer their questions allows them to experience the complete feel of knitting. I've noticed that when I've taught someone to both knit and purl pretty much at the same time that they get good at both fairly quickly, but that when they only do knits for a long time they have a harder time learning to purl.]

After that, I have them knit a hat, scarf, or mittens (flat). This method seems to work well. Last week, though, I let someone choose a sweater as a first project...then I let her sally forth and choose her own yarn...I'm feeling guilty. For some reason, I didn't have the heart to tell her to begin with a simple accessory. She picked the actual knitting up very quickly, so I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed that all goes well. We've begun knitting together every Monday, so at least I'll be around to help.