Knitting adventures, or the lack thereof

Commonsense took hold of me a while ago. I was planning to dive right in and knit the pretty shawl (it is a lace type pattern in a lace-weight yarn) despite my lack of knitting experience. Then I thought about it for a while (trying to work up the courage to begin) and came to the conclusion that perhaps I should try something a bit more challenging than a dishcloth first.

So I have purchased a couple of skeins of 'Serenity' sock weight yarn in Paprika and am planning to knit a pair of socks. The yarn is beautiful- 50% superwash merino, 25% bamboo, 25% nylon. I think it is supposed to be a self-striping yarn which would be a bit fun!

Then I took the wrapper off the skein of yarn and read the knitting instructions and felt rather overwhelmed. Now I am working up the courage to begin the socks! There are all sorts of things about dividing stitches on needles and redistributing stitches and "slip slip knit".

I am determined to do this however. It will be wonderful to have pretty warm socks to wear in addition to more knitting courage with which to start the shawl.