Knitting disappointment and some links

Inspired by my multiple successful crocheting projects I decided to plunge into knitting. My great grandmother taught me how to knit when I was 5 and even though I haven't knitted anything since then I was sure that 2 needles are better then 1 hook, and my work should progress at least twice as fast with the needles.
I started with a simple scarf:
(5 purls, 5 knits) repeat 5 times
it was flying off my needles. YEY!!!

Yesterday I wanted to knit something a bit more complex: how about this gorgeous shawl (picture on the left) from the latest issue of Knit1?
The pattern is marked as "advanced", but hey intermediate crocheter is an almost advanced knitter, right? So I casted on 5 stitches, knitted them, and started to untangle the world of yarn over's and sk2p's when after a 20th row I found out that my shawl looks nothing like the one on the picture.
I checked the instructions again, and yes, they do ask you to practice several times, since the pattern is rather complex. After my third attempt, I realised that I am doing something very very wrong. I re-read the instructions, made sure I understand what every abbreviation means, and finally decided to get back to basics and check if I am knitting and purling correctly.

This is when it hit me: all along I was knitting and purling WRONG!!! I was doing everything right, but instead of inserting my needle behind the front "leg" of the loop I was inserting it in the back ... and in the wrong direction.


All this to tell you that here are some useful links with videos of most common knitting stitches. I'll be practicing those for a while, before reattempting my gorgeous shawl!

Knittingatknoon

And finally, my personal favorite:
KnittingHelp - not only they have great videos and all the stitches in English and Continental style, the also feature the very comprehensive stitch glossary (with the links to the videos). I will definitely be referring to this one over and over and over again.

I am off to practice my knits and purls, and to check out some yarn stores later on today!
Happy knitting to all of you!