Resolve to learn: A new year, new skills

There's nothing like a new year to get you revved up to learn a new skill or (finally) take up that hobby. Here's a look at a variety of good-for-beginners classes being offered this month.

If you ambitiously bought a sewing machine or got one as a gift, you aren't going to get far until you learn how it works. Sew Time in Westbury offers a two-hour "Sewing Machine 1" class for $30 that teaches you how to thread the machine, work with various stitches and adjust settings. Participants will complete a pillow with a zipper. "We'll hold your hand and walk you through learning how to use your machine," says owner Susie Blumstein (store loaners are available if you're not ready to invest in a machine). The next classes are offered at 11 a.m. tomorrow and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (516-997-2702, sewtime.com).

Also consider: the three-session "Basic Sewing" course, which teaches students how to read patterns, measure people for garments and repair clothing ($100; meets Saturdays Jan. 7-21).

Here's the thing about learning to fly -- it's an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. To give you a taste of what it's like in the skies, Long Island Flying, which operates out of Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip, offers an introductory class for $115 that's taught by a licensed flight instructor. The hands-on experience includes -- gulp -- supervised time at the controls of a single-engine Alarus.

"After the class, you'll have a pretty good idea of whether you like flying a plane," says owner David Bragg of Islip. For a pilot's license, he estimates it takes 60 to 70 hours of instruction ($220-$260 for a two-hour class, 631-807-1373, longislandflying.com).

Did you recently get a new tablet, e-reader or smartphone? Several retail stores offer free how-to workshops to help you maximize the power of the device.

Serve home-brewed beer and suitable appetizers at this year's Super Bowl party. Lynbrook-based A la Carte Culinary Services is holding a two-session class, $179, on the basics of brewing beer. Owner Polly Talbott says students will break into groups, each focused on making a different type of beer. Everyone takes home a 12-pack assortment that includes a malty Oktoberfest, a dark-ale Porter, a Kölsch (similar to a pilsner) and a wheat beer. Additionally, the class will prepare beer-friendly snacks ranging from Buffalo wings to bratwurst. Sessions are 6:30-10 p.m. Jan. 19 and 6:30-9:30 p.m. Jan. 26 (516-599-2922, alacartecs.com).

Ever wonder how milk ends up as cheese on your table? The cheesemakers at Goodale Farms in Aquebogue are unraveling the mystery in a new class. Students start in the milking room where -- yes -- they can milk a cow. Afterward, the class moves on to the three-step process of making cheese: adding rennet to the milk, cutting and draining the curd and seasoning the blocks. "We'll have cheeses in various stages so students can see the whole process," co-owner Kevin Dunathan says.

The class wraps up with sampling of goat and sheep's milk cheeses and students will take home some cheese ($75, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Jan. 28, 631-680-7499).