Knitting Newbie

After many months of commuting back and forth to San Francisco, reading many novels (including the LOTR series, finally...), staring at my cell phone and feeling generally uncomfortable on the lovely BART trains, I've started to knit hats. I usually only participate in yarn crafts during winter months, but I figured my hats might turn out better if I practiced them all year. A formal apology to my friends who received lumpy blobs for Christmas (this year is looking up though!). I've made two simple hats so far and I've started a third one this week. I'm hoping to advance to more awesome patterns as the year progresses -- right now I'm trying to master the basic knit and purl stitches. Feel free to share any tips, stories or patterns!