Easy knitting patterns as the weather turns cooler

Looking for an easy knitting pattern or project? Do you knit, or would you like to learn? Maybe you knit a long time ago, but you want to get back into it?

As the weather cools down, my fancy always turns to thoughts of knitting! I've got a complicated cardigan on the needles, and a comfort doll intended for an AIDS orphan or child with AIDS living in Africa, but there's always that need for something quick and easy and satisfying.

(If you don't know how to knit yet, there are a lot of resources. Your local yarn shop can teach you the basics, or if you don't have a knitting friend or shop nearby, there's always the world of eBooks. I liked this learn-to-knit eBook for simple, clear instructions and lack of hype. I've also heard good things about the book Teach Yourself Visually Knitting, but I haven't been able to check it out yet. If you've seen it, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!)

The easiest things to knit are rectangles (or tubes, if you use circular needles--which I recommend, whether for beginners or experts). And what's the canonical knit tube or rectangle? A great winter scarf!

The most important thing about a scarf is to pick some luscious yarn. This is all about quick gratification, after all--some cheap pink acrylic from the craft store is not going to cut it! Get something a little nicer than you're used to--for the price of an ordinary scarf from Target, get two balls of a delicious yarn and make yourself something extraordinary.

You don't need a pattern--just cast on maybe 50 or 60 stitches and get going. If you alternate knit and purl rows, that's stockinette--nice drape, but it curls. (You can garter stitch the first 3 or 4 stitches of each row to keep it flat.) Garter stitch is knitting every row--nice and flat, but it can be a little "kindergarten" looking. Sometimes that's great and sometimes it isn't.

(If you want some more ideas that still fall into the "easy" category, check out my hipster knitting lens on Squidoo. Lots of fun stuff!)

Curl up with a pair of knitting needles and a ball of yarn. You don't have to do anything fancy--pick an easy knitting pattern, or no pattern at all like this one. Happy knitting!