My sister taught me to knit quite a while ago. She taught me to knit socks, not something most people would start with, but a useful and useable project to learn.
In my last visit, she gave me some yarns and suggested I make some scrubbies. What a great way to use up last bits of yarn! It's a great project to work on while watching tv, and eventually I hope to try and make some nice dishcloths as well. They'd make great wrapping for soaps and can be used as dishcloths or re-used as gift wrap. These scrubbies are filled with the mesh bags that many fruits come in, so not only are these scrubbies good for cleaning (I have one in my kitchen that works great!), they are a great example of being green (IMO, of course!)
Have a great week!