One of the best knitting sites that I've found is ravelry.com. I highly recommend joining there. Knittinghelp.com is also very useful.

Needle material is really all about preference. The first needles that I used were bamboo, and I would recommend them to beginners. less

Knittinghelp.com is really good, but I'd also go for a book. Stich n' bitch is a good, one with some nice patterns and good instruction on a lot of techniques. I use a lot of metal needles but wood and bamboo work just fine. It's really just personal preference. It's the yarn you need to educate yourself about. Don't waste your money on acrylic shit. Make sure to get 100% wool/alpaca/cotton/ang ora/other natural fibers. It's a good thing to be picky about yarn. if you don't like the yarn, you will never wear the garment. less

Knittinghelp.com is really good, but I'd also go for a book. Stich n' bitch is a good, one with some nice patterns and good instruction on a lot of techniques. I use a lot of metal needles but wood and bamboo work just fine. It's really just personal preference. It's the yarn you need to educate yourself about. Don't waste your money on acrylic shit. Make sure to get 100% wool/alpaca/cotton/ang ora/other natural fibers. It's a good thing to be picky about yarn. if you don't like the yarn, you will never wear the garment. less

I have to disagree with you about acrylic being shit. It is great for making purses, caps, scarves, toys and blankets. The only acrylic brand I would not recommend for scarves, caps and blankets is Red Heart Super Saver since it is kind of scratchy but it is perfect for making purses and toys like stuffed animals. I suggest for caps, scarves and blankets to use Caron Simply Soft, Vanna's Choice, Bernat Satin or Hobby Lobby's I Love This yarn. If there is not a Hobby Lobby near you they have a website you can order from. link

For garments I would not use acrylic. I made a mistake and crocheted myself a sweater made out of acrylic. My husband hand washed it in cold water and let it air dry over night then he put it in the dryer on low. The sweater stretched out ridiculously huge. I suggest using 100% wool for sweater or natural fibers like bamboo or cotton for garments.

I agree with another poster about what type of needles being a personal preference. I prefer Knit Picks' Zypher, Harmony Wood and Nickel Plated needles. I only prefer bamboo in the smaller size needles. Since the big needs made of bamboo make my hands hurt for some reason. My hands will feel like they are stinging. The Lion Brand plastic needles are also great. I love the Lion Brand plastic needles for the larger size needles.

Like another poster said Ravelry.com and knittinghelp.com are great sites. On You Tube there is a channel called very pink knits which have tons of knitting videos all of her videos are helpful. If I need help learning something new with knitting I always check out very pink knits on you tube. less