Knitting with friends

I started knitting around 2 years ago. The first person we met when we moved to Boise was the girlfriend of a guy who was in training with my husband. They stayed with us for a couple weeks while closing on a house and as a thank you, bought me my first knitting lesson. Over the last two years I've gotten closer with that girl. Our boys deployed and we knit together. They broke up and we continued to knit together. No matter what's going on we can sit together and talk about our projects and life. It is the gift that keeps giving. That friend is moving this weekend. I'm very sad to see her go, but very excited for this new opportunity in her life. And while I'm losing a knitting partner, in the coming days I'll be gaining a few more.

Recently, through knitting hats for new squadron babies I've had some other ladies share their desire to learn to knit. I look forward to sharing this thing that has given me such joy. I wanted to share my going ons of this week trying to prepare a little to teach these ladies. I felt when I started that there was so much I didn't understand. I need to see examples of what you're talking about to fully grasp the concept of what I'll be doing. Below I've shared a few of my swatches and if you're a new knitter I encourage you to visit Ravelry and check out all the patterns there are out there. It's not just our grandmother's hobby.

 Stockinette Stitch 

Made by knitting on the right side (RS) and purling on the wrong side (WS)

example: Row 1 knit; Row 2 purl

In the Round (circular needles): Knit all rows

 Notice how this fabric curls on the ends.
Let's say you're knitting a scarf. If you have stockinette stitch at the edges it will curl some.

Garter Stitch

Knit all rows

 In the Round: Rows alternate from knit to purl.

This fabric will look the same from the WS as it does on the RS.

Ribbing

Here's an example of ribbing. This is made by alternating knit and purl stitches
on a single row and continuing that pattern on other rows.

The bottom of this swatch is made by knitting(K) 2, Purl(P) 3, K5, P3,K2 

the next row (WS) would be reversed - P2, K3, P5, K3, P2 

An example of how two simple stitches can make something that looks more complex

This last one is just a current project I'm working on, my first fingerless mitts.
This is a little more difficult (not by much) with the use of a yarn over (an increase)
and two decreases (SSK or slip slip knit and K2tog or knit two together)