I made two practice swatches. The blue was made when I was trying to follow the instructions in Leisure Art's The Knook Kit. The purple was made following instructions I found on a blog - Jen's Hooky Place.
Using The Knook Kit instructions I kept my hook pointed down and didn't yarn over. It was easy enough, but with close inspection it looks like the knit stitches are twisted. I'm pretty sure I didn't follow the purl instructions correctly, but reading them over and over I don't know what I did differently. I think if they extended the instructions a few more steps I would have understood better. So..... I hit the Internet to read instructions on a couple of other blogs, and You Tube to see the videos. 
Jen's instructions on her blog Jen's Hooky Place were a little confusing - I learn better visually. So I found her You Tube videos and finally got it. Trying it her way, I think this looks more like knitting. More like crocheting, I had my hook pointed up and I used yarn overs to pull the yarn through the loop. To purl, I understood that you have to start with your yarn in front, but I what I didn't see in the Knook Kit instructions, was that you're supposed to enter the loop from the opposite side. Not right to left, but coming in from the back / left before pulling the yarn through. Or, you can twist the stitch so you can enter the opposite way than the knit stitch. Jen's tip is to hook the loop with the hook first - making it easier to insert the hook from the opposite direction. Hard to explain in writing - that's why the videos are a "must see". With the Knook in the kit, I found the hook a little too narrow to grab the yarn. I'm not sure how I'm going to resolve that - maybe I'll try to file it down some. Now I'm ready to start my first test project - I think the wash cloth in The Knook Kit booklet. Hopefully with this project I'll get more comfortable with the knook and my tension will improve.
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