Those of us who knit, or do anything creative, really, know about the amazing powers that such activities have in our lives. They're calming and centering, they give us something to focus on besides our own problems and sometimes give us a way to help others and express ourselves that we wouldn't otherwise have. These things are important to us, but they're even more vital to people in prison. The Edmonton Journal recently wrote a great story on arts programs in prisons, from poetry classes to origami and knitting classes. Inmates say they're glad to have a chance to create something beautiful and express themselves in an environment where they wouldn't otherwise be able to.

In charity news, a Connecticut woman has been knitting hats for babies for 12 years, one craft group in Australia has whipped up 147 squares for the Wrap with Love campaign (which makes blankets for the homeless), and a New Zealand group has knit nearly 600 hats for babies in India.

Finally, sometimes the stories that come up when you search for knitting news online are a little funny. Case in point, this item on the trial of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, which describes his wife, Patti, sitting through the trial "knitting her 'prayer shawl'." Of course we wouldn't put prayer shawl in quotes, because we know that's a real thing, but it just goes to prove that dedicated knitters will knit anywhere.

© Kate Pullen

Welcome to Day Five of Start a New Hobby Week here at About.com. Have you found a new hobby to try yet? I'd love to hear about it.

If not, here are some more beginner articles on hobbies ranging from crochet to pottery, dance to painting. Enjoy!

• Model Trains - Where Do I Go From Here?
• Cross Stitch - Candlewicking Basics
• Collectibles - Start Collecting Movie Memorabilia
• Painting - Start a Hobby Week: Understanding Color Theory
• Dance - Before You Buy Dance Wear
• DIY Fashion - Junk Jewelry for Beginners
• Resources for Learning the Double Crochet Stitch Crochet
• Miniatures - Begin Woodworking in Miniature
• Beadwork - Free Beading Patterns
• Pottery - Beginning Hand Building Techniques and Projects
• Rubber Stamping - Start Digital Stamping

Most passionate knitters will tell you that they're in it because they get to play with really nice yarn. Or maybe that's just me. Knitting itself is a wonderful hobby, but when you throw in really luscious yarn, it's even more of a pleasure.

New knitters might not understand why one yarn is nicer to work with than another (we won't say better, no judgments here), but different fibers have different properties that make them good choices for different things.

Cotton yarn, for instance, is strong and cool, making it great for hard-working dishcloths and summer wear, but it gets heavy and stretchy when wet, so it's not so great for things you might want to wear or use at the beach.

Wool yarn, of course, is warm (it doesn't have to be scratchy!) and has great memory, meaning you can stretch it out and it returns back to its original size and shape, making it great for things like hats that need to stretch and cling. Of course, unless you use superwash wool, you can't wash things made with wool in the washing machine, either.

Beyond these basics there are a ton of different kinds of yarn, from bamboo to recycled silk, corn to fiber made from recycled soda bottles. There's always something new to try (I have yarns made with sugar, camel hair, angora and many others in my stash!) and more to learn about this most basic of raw materials that helps fuel the knitting obsessions of so many.

A swatch of Stockinette eyelets, © Sarah E. White.

Just off the needles yesterday is this swatch of simple Stockinette with eyelets every fourth row, worked in pretty Patons Angora Bamboo. I'm trying to decide if I have enough for a little top (or even a dress) or if I just want to make a knit bodice and then sew on a fabric skirt. Some math will be involved, and I'm putting that off for now, but I do like the look of the swatch.

If you see the strings peeking out from the back of the swatch and are wondering what I was up to, that's the cheater's way to make a circular gauge swatch without really knitting in the round. I know from experience that I don't have the same gauge in flat and circular knitting (most people don't because they have different gauge on their knit rows than they do on their purl rows) so working a swatch like this gives me a much better idea of what my gauge will really be when I work the project in the round.

So, what's on your needles?