COMPLETE AT LEAST SIX ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING THE TWO STARRED. 1. Find someone locally who knits to show you the basic stitches. If you don't have anyone locally, try using http://knittinghelp.com's videos to learn. Be able to demonstrate the following: casting on, the knit stitch, the purl stitch, increasing a stitch, decreasing a stitch, and binding off. 2. Assemble the tools you will need to knit something. Talk to knitters, online or off, about the differences in needles (sizes and materials they're made from), and try them if you can. Find some yarn of different types and try knitting with each. Make a page in your journal about your preferences, and explain why you like them. 3. In your journal or on a piece of cardboard, paste in a sample of yarn made from different fiber types. Where do each of them come from? What are the characteristics of each? How do they differ? Where can you get them, and what did each of them go through to be made into yarn for you to knit? 4. Do some research into what Local Yarn Shops (LYSs) are in your area. Take a day to visit them, and note the differences in each. Write down your favorite one, and why you liked it best. If you don't have a LYS in reasonable distance, go online and find some yarn shops you like. There are hundreds online for every kind of knitting you might want to do. (some are listed in the downloadable journal, too.) Which ones do you like the most? What kind of things do they sell that you might want to make? Start a Knitting Wish List in your journal. 5. Demonstrate your ability to perform knitting skills by picking some yarn from your list (or your shelves) and making a long scarf for someone you love. Design a "Handknit by _______" tag, and give it to your intended recipient. 6. People sometimes knit for charity. These opportunities can be online, local, or world-wide. Make a list of five charity knitting opportunities that you might like to participate in, and schedule the time to get involved.

7. Part of the joy of knitting is the community surrounding it. Find some "knitblogs" (or, knitting weblogs) and some podcasts (http://noipodrequired.com will tell you how) that are about someone's love of knitting. There are ten of each listed in the companion journal to get you started, or a websearch would get you there. Make a review log in your journal of which you liked best and why. OR: start a knitting blog or podcast of your own. 8. Research the history of knitting. When you know a little more about where it came from, write a myth that explains where knitting came from, and illustrate it. 9. Design your dream sweater. It doesn't mean you need the skills or materials to make it yet, but design the elements that would make it the perfect sweater for you. Make sure to note those elements around your sketch. See if there is a pattern that comes close to your dream sweater. List it on your sketch, and what modifications you would need to make. 10. Knitalongs are projects online where a lot of people do the same pattern. Search for some current or past knitalongs, and make a list of FIVE that you might want to participate in someday.

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