I'm a new knitter! Come along with me as I discover the land of knitting - Knitting Podcast Ep. 1 

Lovely to see someone excited about their new knitting journey. I'm not an accomplished knitter by any means, so I can still relate to all the joys of each new acquired skill. One podcast you might enjoy is A Lovely Yarn. She is also near the Pittsburgh area so maybe you can meet up at some point. I use both wooden and metal circular needles - depending on the type of yarn involved. Interchangeable Chiaogoo's are a bit of an investment but have proven worth the cost in my opinion.

Hi Renee! I am coming back from the future to watch your first episode. 😅 I love your enthusiasm! You may already have the answers you sought, but just in case… Straight needles: Even though I mostly use circular needles, I do have a collection of mostly inherited straight needles that I will use for narrow projects knit back and forth, like a scarf or a “sideways” knit hat, waistband, etc. Circular needles: When I was getting started, I bought fixed circular needles from a local yarn store as I needed them. ChiaoGoo Red Lace became my favorite because of the memory-free red cables. I eventually bought a set of ChiaoGoo Twist interchangeable needles, which have been a game-changer for garment knitting and a lifesaver for a large circular blanket. I really like that you can buy a set with just the small or just the large needles if you don’t want to invest in a full set. If you are mostly knitting with needle sizes 4-8, for example, the small set is a great place to start. You could also buy the individual tips and cables rather than a set, but the set includes an organizer/case and toolkit. Ball winder: I have a swift and winder from Fiber Artist Supply. There was a learning curve with the setup, but they included helpful tips and have a video on their website for reference. Winding the yarn twice seems to make it easier to pull from the center. I also like to put the cake in a “yarn cozy” when I pull from the center, to keep it from falling apart as it gets smaller.

Hello, Everyone! My apologies that I mentioned my Booktube channel TWICE in this video. I meant to delete one and then I didn’t. Ugh. Sorry about that! I’m embarrassed.

I use all different kinds of needles, including straights. Go with what suits you and the project you’re doing! I love your reading channel and am looking forward to following your knitting channel Very Pink Knits is a really good resource for all levels of knitter

Hi Renee. Ive just subscribed a couple of minutes ago and I binge watching your previous episodes. Im a left handed knitter and handstitcher. I show on some of my episodes how I knit as a keft handed knitter. All knitting patterns are for right habded knitters and I found it difficult to follow graphed only patterns and most US designers. I learnt to knit at 6 years sitting in front of my Dad so Im also a mirror image knitter. I didn't realise this until I started knitting when I retired a few years back. Its tricky but I think I have it now..hopefully. Best wishes and enjoy knitting xx

Such a sweet video! My tips: I knit with circular needles 99% of the time. I have two sets of interchangeables - one with wood tips and one with metal. Mine are from Knit Picks. Metal is slippery-er, which is nice if you want to knit quickly, or if your yarn is toothy/grippy. The wood tips are nice if the yarn itself is slippery (very smooth or has silk content, for example). But when you're just beginning, use whatever makes you happy! Berroco Vintage is a great yarn to start with - pretty colors, relatively affordable, soft. For yarn cakes, it's nice to have an umbrella swift and ball winder if you get more into knitting (and yarn buying haha). Any ball winder will make a cake that is center-pull, but you can also pull the yarn from the outside of the cake. I prefer to pull from the outside because pulling from the inside can occasionally cause tangles, and at some point, the center collapses, which can cause more tangles...but if it works for you, go for it. Lots of people pull from the center.

Renee- another beginner, - (and on your reader site from get go- ) so, will look forward to the needle question -see you again, this is fun!! Ginny

I am also left handed. I have been knitting for a long time. I don't have any trouble, BUT I have learned when I go to RU-vid to learn a new technique I have to open many videos to find ones that are easy for me to follow. Sometimes, I have difficulty when they are right handed and 'showing' me what to do.

Lovely first episode. Your knitting looks great- nice even tension! I use interchangeable needles whenever possible. I have both wooden and metal and even some square needles supposed to be better ergonomically). If you are thinking of an interchangeable set, I suggest you buy a few different individual tips to try out before making the pricey investment of a whole set….okay- off to catch up on your other videos😀

I think people call knitting videos episodes because most of the knitting community here are doing podcasts and therefore they talk a lot about episodes. Though I don't see any harm in calling your videos episodes if you want to :) I'm super exited to follow your journey, I've knitted for over 15 years and I find the point of view of beginners in everything really refreshing and interesting! At first I was surprised when you told you're already knitting all kind of patterns but it it makes sense. It's a lot more interesting to see a pattern forming and it motivates you so much more. About needles, I would suggest trying both metal and wooden/bamboo needles and to see which you like more. Your preference can change when your tension gets more even, mine at least did. At the beginning I preferred wooden/bamboo needles because they had better "grip" of the stitches but now that I'm more used to knitting I prefer metallic needles because the stitches move easier. So if I were you, at first I'd buy new circular needles when you need them, some in metal and some wooden/bamboo and see what they do feel like. When you know which you prefer I'd buy one or two interchangeable needles and see if you even like them. They're also different with how it feels to knit with them. I don't know if you need a full set. I don't have a full set even after all these years., only from 3mm to 6mm tips (I'm from Finland so they're marked differently) with different lengths of cables. I don't really use bigger needles so if I ever need them, and if I do, I'll just buy that size of tips.