Ravelry
Ravelry is a free social platform for all things knitting. Pretty much every knitter I know is on there. It may seem a bit overwhelming at first, but once you get the hang of it, you will be obsessed.
On Ravelry, you will find loads of cool patterns, yarns, and designers. You can also join groups and chat with communities of people to help and inspire you. You can also create your own profile and organize projects. I especially like the advance search feature with lots of filters to help find the perfect yarn for each project.
If you’re not already on Ravelry, click this link and sign up now!!! It will be your most valuable resource.
Instagram is a wonderful place to spread love, encouragement, and joy. Telling a stranger on the other side of the world how awesome their knitting is fills everyone’s heart with goodness.
Instagram has been extremely helpful in connecting me to an expansive knitting community, patterns that get me excited, and yarn shops that I wouldn’t have otherwise known about. I suggest controlling your feed and not following just anyone. I only follow people and hashtags that bring me joy and inspiration.
Yarn
If you don’t have a swift and ball winder, click this link now and change your life!!!
Spinning your own yarn means that you can order from any shop online, anywhere in the world. It’s amazing.
I like to order test skeins here and there and slowly build my stash. I tend to lean toward fingering weight, and DK weight yarns as these two tackle most projects.
My all time favorite yarn shop is Stephen and Penelope in Amsterdam. I’m obsessed with West Wool Bicycle and Tandem. My second favorite is Brooklyn Tweed. I can’t get enough of Peerie and Arbor.
I also enjoy The Knitting Loft, Knit House on Main, Baaad Anna’s, and Eat.Sleep.Knit.
Designers and Patterns
As you explore patterns, you will discover that certain designers will sing to your heart, and inspire you to knit everything they create. Again, Ravelry and Instagram are wonderful places to discover inspiring designers.
Brooklyn Tweed is a wonderful resource for gorgeous and traditional design patterns. They offer a range of talented designers, my favorite being Jared Flood. He is a dream!
I also like bright, colorful and quirky. If this is your speed you MUST check out Stephen West. He is the Julia Roberts of knitting and I can’t get enough.
But there are a ga-gillion designers out there. I encourage you to take time to explore the ones that resinate most in your heart.
Help / Resources
I enjoy collecting knitting books. There are loads of options to choose that will greatly improve your knitting. If you’re looking for a knitting bible of sorts, I would strongly recommend “Vogue Knitting.” It has everything you’d ever want to know and is beyond helpful.
I would also suggest “The Knitter’s Book of Yarn” as there is soooo much about yarn and yarn production that is important to know.
“Norah Gaughan’s Knitted Cable Sourcebook” and “Mastering Color Knitting” are wonderful resources as well.
I often come across techniques that I need to see visually demonstrated. YouTube is the perfect source for helpful videos. I find Suzanne Bryan to offer the most helpful videos. I also find “Very Pink Knits” to have short and detailed tutorials.
Again, Ravelry is an amazing source for help. Post a question on the community boards and you will surely get a quick reply.