Melodi, all I have in my small town is Walmart and Hobby Lobby. They don't do special orders. When we had a little knitting shop, I ordered a complete set of the longer stocking needles and they were only available in bamboo. I also got at that time, a couple of sets of the longer size 0, 1, 2, and 3 regular needles that I can't find in town. The little knit shop didn't last long. I couldn't give them any more business because the air conditioning was too icy in the summer and I self-quarantine through flu season. I would have loved to take a beginner's knitting class.
I've learned a lot from your posts about the stockings, and the photographs really help since I can't read knitting instructions beyond K and P.
Guess I can keep plenty busy knitting basic things, so I may not ever be able to learn any of the more interesting and attractive stitches. But I have tons of yarn and I can make plenty of things that will help keep people warm if this weather keeps getting colder. Next fall I may be making a sister a couple pairs of knitted long john bottoms. Will do the same for a special sister-in-law, too, if they,by some tiny chance, decide to move here to Arkansas to be warmer than where they live in Iowa.
Thanks for all the important things I've learned from you. I think I can even knit a heart pattern now, just from seeing that picture you posted of the sweater you are (sort of) working on. I bet a lot of patterns would be easy to do, if maybe set out first on graph paper...even patterns with multiple colors.
OK graphs are EASY, you can even sometimes get free (or nearly free) "knitting graph paper" off the internet and print it - that's a good idea because knitting distorts the pattern some, but for small patterns it really isn't required - charted knitting is DEAD EASY in the round, especially if you don't go over 5 to 7 "skips" in the pattern colors or if you do (like I do on the main parts of the art sweaters) you just twist your yarns around each other in the back and/or "catch" the yarn every five stiches or so in the BACK of the design.
Lots on Youtube - much easier to do than describe.
OK, again unless you have a serious allergy; I would perhaps get a few circular needles and sock needles at Wallmart (over time) even if you don't care for them much as they will a really good investment, here I pick up the cheap ones at Lidle's and Aldi almost every time they have them in; I give them away as well as store them - they are not the best but they do the job and I don't worry if they break.
On "fancy" knitting, I am a huge fan of "looks complicated/is really easy," artists (textile and otherwise and we ARE ARTISTS - that is everyone here) tend to come in two types: people who LOVE complicated and get bored easily if they are not challenged, and those who like good results but do boring really well and prefer easy to complicated.
I come into that second group, even most of my really impressive projects (the art sweaters etc) both in weaving or knitting are basically pretty easy, some of them like the large Yoke designs on the art sweaters involve a lot of knitting markers and twisting in the back of the yarns; but otherwise it is just a matter of doing one color for a few stiches and another color for a few stitches rinse repeat (and almost never do more than two colors in a row with occasional excpetions like the V's on the heart sweater).
Also - 99 percent of all knitting patterns (including lace) are combinations of KNIT and PEARL; if you've got those down, you can do almost anything; now somethings are just too complicated for me to enjoy - I avoid complicated lace patterns (but simple ones can look really nice) and I avoid Intersasia (I can do it, I have a vest with the Altimera Shaman Cave painting on it, but I did that about 20 years ago and never did another one lol).
But your all set (it sounds like to me) to do some wonderful simple graph work with your own or designs you can find for free on Ralvelry; I made my husband the "Deathflake" hat last year, he's lost it down but he loved in and that pattern is free! It is also fun because even he didn't notice under the tree that it wasn't just a snowflake hat until I told him to take a second look, then the skull jumped out at him - I had to buy the black yarn to make it but it was worth it!
Wallmart has (or at least had last time I was there a couple of years ago) wonderful selections of acrylic yarn at good prices, I used to bring suitcases back for baby clothing and to give to friends; or make items that I wasn't wearing next to my skin. If you don't have a problem with polyester, they might be your best bet for making items like leggings and over-sweaters if you are on a tight budget - not as warm or long-lasting as wool but they also make great hot water bottle covers and covers for tea pots (which keep the tea warm in a cold climate, I always though they were silly as heck until I moved here).
Finally, there are two or three books you can look for at the library, they MIGHT occasionally have at Hobby Lobby and/or you might get a friend to order for you, they are:
Knitting Without Tears (if you have only one book this is it) by Elizabeth Zimmerman (and anything else by her but this is the basic one).
A Knitter;s Handy Book of Patterns by Ann Budd - (she has several but again this is the BASIC one)
In my opinion, every household that Preps should have at least these two books along with some basic sizes of knitting needles and some yarn, even if no one is really "into" knitting yet; the first book has all the basics with EASY to follow instructions and pictures - everything from sweaters (in the round in any size) hats, socks, scarves etc is covered.
The Handy book of patterns book has instructions for nearly EVERY size and every gage (from 7 stitches to the Inch to 3 stitches to the inch) for all the basics: hats, tams, mittens, gloves, vests, socks and sweaters.
The only downside is the sweaters are flat but that might be easier if you have to use homemade needles and most are easy to convert to knitting in the round if you already know how to do that (and those instructions are in the other book).
If you can only have two knitting books those are the two I would have; along with anything else by both authors you can find new, used or in the library (and copy the patterns out of).
Hope that helps and it sounds like you are already to keep your loved ones warm even if things go "South" for a while.
Oh and I almost forgot, I know both Wallmart and Hobby Lobby usually have several versions of the various "knitting stitches encyclopedias" usually they are not that expensive (paperbacks) and they have lots of knit and pearl designs (along with some graphs in some cases) that will keep you happily able to vary the knitting on your "basic things" and feel like you are the best fancy knitting on your block (and you probably will be).
Besides, there are people like me that like basic; I can't stand a lot of the "edgy" knitting designs in a lot of current magazines and online; I am delighted that young women are knitting and I'm happy for them to make such items for themselves; but give me a good basic sweater, mitten or sock pattern any day and I'll put cats or Star Treck spaceships on them if I want to be different.