#I tried Ravelry but tbh it's not very chat-friendly if you are a beginner. I did meet some great people there but it's too formal for me

[deepspaceclawstation]

I see you have taken up knitting and are looking for people to chat with about it! I have been knitting for much longer than I have been crocheting. Are you knitting English or continental? (If you don't know what that means, it's basically "Which hand do you hold the yarn in?") I grew up knitting English (yarn in hand holding the active needle, big motion to wrap it around the needle) and have tried knitting continental (yarn in other hand, small motion with the needle to get it to wrap) but find that it messes with my tension, so if you're having trouble with tension that may be part of it. I actually sort of half gave up on the crochet sock pattern you sent me and have instead appropriated some of the sock yarn I bought to knit mittens for my son for this winter. Knitting generally takes a lot longer than crochet but I like how smooth and soft the end result is. But also I do more crocheting than knitting now because in a house with two cats and a toddler I don't want to leave a project on knitting needles for too long.

Thanks for reaching out! I have a very inconsistent style as of now but I think I lean more towards the Continental style. Or maybe an amalgamation of the two, because I hold yarn the Continental way but actually throw it around the needle instead of moving the needle itself. And that's while doing knit stitches, while doing purls I use my right hand (the one with the needle picking up stitches).

I did try the English style but that makes me slow down a considerable amount and I can't seem to get into a rhythm that way. Tbh I think the Continental style works out for me better as it is similar to how I hold my yarn while crocheting. I did look up YouTube videos on this topic but for the moment I think I'll just stick to practicing swatches till I find a comfortable position.

Sorry to hear about the socks but hey, what counts is that you were able to make good use of the yarn. Mittens in sock yarn must be so cozy! That heel was a bit weird wasn't it? I have another sock pattern I want to try (this one does the heel first!) but I just can't muster up the courage to start something so complex (for my skill level).

"Knitting generally takes a lot longer than crochet but I like how smooth and soft the end result is." That's exactly why I wanted to learn knitting! I ordered a large quantity of acrylic which was soft to touch but worked up quite stiff after crocheting (do you remember I asked you once for tips for a baby blanket? I meant to use it in that project.) So I bought some no. 6 knitting needles and the yarn is a lot more suitable for knitting it seems because the swatches are coming out great. I'm now planning to make this blanket for the kids instead but I'll probably start it after I'm done with the pink shawl.

I hear you about keeping knitting projects safe! When I had just started, sometimes when I had less than five stitches on the (not active?) needle and I moved my hand to wrap the yarn, those stitches just slipped right off :( Which sucks I guess but I learned very early on how to pick up missed stitches so it worked out well? This doesn't happen now but I'm still apprehensive of having so many active (unsecured? I should really get my terminology straight) loops. I generally use my needle connector as a perfunctory stopper for added security.

I'm on my 7th swatch now and it's fun! It's mostly knit and purl combos till now but I've looked up some interesting stitch patterns and I'm waiting for the holidays to get started on some of them. I'll probably keep bugging you for advice now that I know you knit too so look forward to that 😂