Lesson 4: It Kinda Looks Like Gravel

Well you already know one of the major stitches of knitting so I guess you might as well learn the other. This one is not easier or harder just different. It is called the purl stitch and it kinda looks like gravel.
You can start doing this stich after doing rows of the knit stitch; starting a new knitting piece is not necessary.



To start you have to put the point of the RH needle into the first stitch on the LH needle from top to bottom (with the knit stitch it's bottom to top). Hold the needles in an X with the RH needle in front.

Then wrap the yarn around the RH needle from left to right over the front of the needle on the left side








Bring the LH needle over the top and to the front of the RH needle.

Slide the stitch off the LH needle and tighten the yarn a little. Don't pull too much because it will be super hard to do the next row. See it's simple! Just like with the knit stitch you have to practice this one definitely. The yarn should still be in the front of the work after each purl stitch. Practice this stitch for a few rows or until you get pretty good at it so that you can be ready for the next lesson!! If you have any questions about this or any other stuff on the site leave a comment on the post and I'll get back to you on that.

Happy knitting :)

Ps. These aren't my pictures because I was having a lot of trouble with my camera (that's why I haven't posted anything in a long time) so I used Google images to find them.

Ravelry

This week I wanna talk about Ravelry. This is one of my favorite websites! It has a ton of different shtuff for knitters and crocheters alike. There are a gazillion patterns for knitting and crocheting, this thing called "stash", projects that other people have done, a library of patterns and books, and more too.
The stash is where you can log different yarns you have in your stash at home. You can enter the specific name and brand of the yarn and color and even where you bought it and for how much. You can put a picture of the yarn too. Then, you can look at the yarns other people have and they can look at yours. This is really helpful when you are just looking for some type of yarn for a project but you don't know what one to chose.
You can have friends on the site too and send messages to other members. There are different groups for charities and just plain fun on the site too. If you see someone who has yarn in their stash for sale you can buy it over the internet and even sell your own yarns. People also put patterns and links to patterns too. There are free ones and some you pay for but there are filters and stuff so you can search for specific stuff. 
So you may think that this website sounds like the bomb (that would be because it is). There is a down side though :( Just kidding there is no down side! It is always free too unless you want to buy a pattern. So go forth and knit! Here's the link: Ravelry.com