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Knitting is an incredibly fun and diverting pastime during the winter months, and produces some excellent gifts for the holiday season. While knitting plain garter stitch scarves and dishcloths is easy, fun, and fast, there are many fun patterns a knitter can learn to spice things up! I, personally, have recently become interested in the skill of lace knitting, and have experimented with a variety of the free patterns available on the internet. Unfortunately, many of these patterns have complex notations that seem to assume I already know what I'm doing, and I just end up getting very frustrated and putting kinks in a lot of expensive yarn.

So, what's the solution? I was fortunate enough to run across KnittingHelp.com, an amazing website that answers all of your questions, without making you feel like the one idiot who missed the knitting memo.

My favorite part of this website is the Knitting Glossary, which can be found at http://www.knittinghelp.com/vi deos/knitting-glossary. The glossary explains all of those tricky symbols and terms which pop up in knitting patterns, and gives you clues about how to work tricky stitches. For some of the more confusing explanations, videos are included as well! I'm a visual learner, so this was a total lifesaver for me. The videos show two needles very slowly and clearly working each type of stitch, with a friendly, patient voice explaining what's going on.

Just in case the extensive and video-illustrated knitting glossary isn't comprehensive enough for you, KnittingHelp.com also contains friendly community forums, full of active, experienced knitters who are more than willing to answer your questions, or guide you to a website that will. The forums are good for more than just assistance, though, this is also a place where knitters share free patterns, advice about yarns and designs, and ideas for projects.

Do you buy or sell knitted goods? Then there's a whole section in the forums just for you, which also includes a 'swap' section, in case you're looking to get something new without shelling out any cash. This forum is a great way to meet people with similar interests online, and a great place to get inspired for crafty projects in the future.

Want to get in on the action but don't know how to knit? Don't worry, if ever there was a website from which to learn the ins and outs of knitting, this is the place to do it with no trepidation or intimidation. If you happen to prefer crocheting, KnittingHelp has a place for you too! Although the crochet portion of their forum is not quite as active as the parts for knitting, it's still a perfect place to get ideas and assistance for your projects, from a friendly, experienced group of crafters, so check it out!

Learn more about this author, Cecelia Lawson.
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