Lesson 1: In the Beginning...

In the beginning, there was something. That something could be anything. I am referring to something a little different though.
Before you can knit any stuff, you must learn how to make a stitch. I shall teach you.
This is going to be a spread out thing meaning I am not going to tell you everything about knitting in one post, because frankly, I don't know everything there is to know. But, I encourage you to follow along and read the lesson posts. I will put up new lessons regularly that will hopefully not confuse you to the point where you wind up in vegetative state.
K you need to know basics before you even pick up your needles (this may be boring, but it's super important so just hang in there). I guess first I will define some key terms. Sorry that this sounds so much like school...

Yarn: Spun thread used for knitting, weaving, or sewing

Fiber: What the yarn is made of. There are a gazillion fibers. Some are combined to make blends. Ex: cotton, alpaca, acrylic etc.

Weight: How thick or heavy the yarn is; the fatness of the yarn. Bigger yarn=bigger stitches

Gauge: How many stitches you have in an inch. It will change depending on the needles you use and the weight of your yarn. Gauge is extremely important!! (when I start talking about swatching it will all make sense)

Cast on: This is how you start knitting. It makes the foundation and gets you started on your project. There are a couple different methods to this.

Bind off: This is how you end knitting. It creates a secure edge so the knitting doesn't unravel.

Stitch: Each individual little stitch is separate but connected to all the other little stitches. They all look like little "v"s.

Skein: Ryhmes with rain. A bundle or ball or roll of yarn.

Ok so now that you know all that boring word stuff you can learn something that is quite important: how to read a yarn label! Bet you thought I was going to say how to actually knit.
The Red Heart brand has really easy to read labels. In the pictures there are the most important pieces of information. The first is the yardage and gramage (is that a word?) of that skein. It is important because you have to know how many skeins you will need for a project and the pattern you use will generally tell you how much yarn you need by telling you the required yardage.
Next is the weight. That is the little black and white picture of the skein of yarn with the number 4 on it. This number referrs to the weight of the yarn. It will range from 1-6 with 1 being the skinniest. 4 is medium or worsted which is about in the middle of the scale.
There are also little drawings that tell you about how to care for the yarn. Whether to iron it or not, and stuff like that. Some nicer yarns don't have that but they will more often than not tell you if it is machine washable and so on.

Ok I guess that's all for the basics. I just realized that this post is super long. Oh well. Now go forth and knit! (or wait for the posts that tell you how to do so)

On the right in the red strip there is weight in ounces and grams.  Many  yarns of lesser quality have patterns that you can make with that type of yarn.

The white boxes from left to right: the weight, recommended size of knitting needles and gauge you will have with that size, recommended crochet hook size and gauge you will have with that size, water temperature, machine washable or not, and a do not iron symbol. 100% acrylic is the fiber content.