I go to a Friday knit night here ; http://www.beauknitsltd.com/ Beauknits
They have NOT seen my halting 20 stitch cast on practice project that I ripped out because it's "only knitting" They have only seen me do this :

Which I was crazy enough to do twice.
Pattern available here. Hat for a Boyfriend
I admit, the Plymouth Yarn Boku
was damned fiddly and kept splitting when I was knitting it.
and they saw me work on this;
Pattern here Helmet Liner
So it's weird being the only male to show up Friday's (until recently) and being taken for an experienced knitter.
If they only knew ;-)
If they only knew when I get trusted to look at screwed up knitting and see where the mistakes where. I was most honored when I was asked for a second opinion.
I love the fact that I was accepted into this circle; also I am NOT AFRAID to take on new projects.