Thanks for that video! I love seeing the different ways that people knit. I learned to knit from my sisters-in-law seven months ago. They knit continental, so I do too. But I’d like to learn English as well. The thumb method in the video is cool, though. It looks like a nice combo style. 
I’m a lefty and started with crochet, where the yarn is in my right hand, so english was more natural. However, I did learn conti for fair isle so I could hold one color in each hand.
:rofling: I think that’s so funny coz sometimes when I make myself do conti to go a bit faster (a wee bit) I HATE IT TOO and get mad at myself for making myself do it.
Of course other times I just breeze along with it and everything’s ok.
I also find being able to switch back and forth relieves the tension that starts building up. COOKWORM I wish I could show you coz it took me a long time to get it then one day it just clicked and became easy. If you’re ever out my way I will show you!
Well, I used to knit tight as well, but with gaining speed, I automatically started to knit looser. Now I can adjust my tension (I worked with fixations and you can’t knit tight at all with this, it worked for me). When I take my right hand from the right needle, I hold the stitch with my left hand, so nothing falls off. I even manage to keep the needle in the same place while my right hand is off the needle, but don’t ask me how I do that. It’s just natural.
I’m trying to loosen up my knitting as well, because it just hurts my hands too much if I don’t. And I want to knit for MANY YEARS! 
I purl on…not knit on, purl on. It’s the only way I can figure out how to do it. I can’t figure out the long tail way, or the single handed way. When you are self taught, especially at an extremely young age, you adapt something until you “officially” learn, which I never got around to doing. Now my adaptation is a bad habit. Bummer! My cast off is so much tighter than my cast on that squarish garments (blankets, etc.) are NEVER square. They are (searching for the right word here,) trapezoidal.
I have many bad knitting habits to unlearn. That’s one of the things that drew me to Amy’s videos. I need to see/watch someone who knows how - do all the things that I do wrong - the right way.
By the way, thank you for the encouragement Shandeh (and others.)
My knitting is just plain perfect … for me. 
It keeps me happy and sane:heart:, and I make pretty little things with lovely little yarns. I usually have even tension, but sometimes I don’t, I mess up often, and can fix it usually. I try new things, but love the tried and true, I don’t do color, and my lace is messy. I do a mean sweater, but haven’t attempted a sock. I’m as fast as I need to be. I could tell you I knit conti - but after all that, do you care? :teehee:
:teehee:
All I can say is speed doesn’t matter. Knitting isn’t a race. I can knit fast enough for the only one who really cares-me. I get the job done well, so :shrug:
Well, that was waaay off topic for this area of the thread :teehee: All I can say is, Monidew, you’re a great knitter, no matter what you can/can’t do!
I’m an English knitter (and a pretty new knitter, too). I [I]can[/I] knit Continental, but it feels awkward for me. The thing I like most about English knitting is that I don’t have to look at the needles to knit…I can watch movies or TV or the cat…whatever. In fact, this afternoon, I sat in the chair with my eyes closed and just knit for a little while…so relaxing!!!
I think Conti knitting looks very graceful. I would like to get better at it for Fair Isle, but otherwise I am perfectly happy as an English knitter.
I tried purled cast ons for a while - it turns out like the crochet CO - and found they were looser than any other I’ve ever done. So loose I even used a needle size smaller than I needed for the body. Maybe you could try that.
I’m a new knitter - and learned English style - but the “race” is on for me - I’m knitting a sweater for my toddler daughter, and she hit a growth spurt - I’m afraid by the time I finish it, it will have to be for her little sister (due in 3 weeks!) - I’d switch to conti, but I’m such a slow learner… and I enjoy knitting to relax! Talk about stress. LOL
On a side note, is one or other style better for carpal tunnel?
I always knitted English, holding long straight needles under my right arm and just having a light grip on the left.
I decided to give Conti a go when I wanted to knit hats and now, if I’m using a circular needle, it seems natural to stick the yarn in my left hand.
When it comes to DPNs, I use English - I couldn’t take out enough insurance to cover all the breakages and damage to the windows and walls if I tried Conti with the pins. First time I used those little spears, I almost took my husband’s eye out and harpooned the cat. :whoosh::thud:
I just had to ask BostonBecca today what style I knit with so I could watch the right videos. I guess I knit English!
English here 'cos I taught myself from one of those little kits. I would like to learn continental just to have other options, but it is not on the front burner. I also like the rhythm of throwing the yarn (even tho I don’t use a grand gesture to do it). I actually feel so relaxed when I am knitting I get sleepy.
On a side note, is one or other style better for carpal tunnel?
Either style can give you problems. It’s repetitive motion that can causes it. Most carpal tunnel symptoms are due to overused, tight muscles in the arms, and also in the neck from looking down or holding your head in the same position for too long. These tight muscles can put pressure on your nerves and blood vessels giving you the CT symptoms, or will stay contracted and cause tendonitis. Always a good idea to take breaks while you’re knitting, stretching and moving your arms, neck and shoulders.
Somewhere along the way, I seem to have almost unlearned English. It’s how I was taught, but I always had a lot of trouble purling (always absurdly loose). Conti fixed that problem, but I miss the rhythm of English and wish I had been more diligent about forcing myself to learn to purl English.
One quirk for me is that I tend to knit English when I use Red Heart Super Saver yarn (which I still think is a good option for baby blankets–it really does get softer after washing). It’s soooo thick and stiff that my hands begin to ache when I knit Conti with it. Luckily the blankets I’ve made with it have been all knit stitches, so I don’t have ugly, loopy purls to deal with. When I’m using wool yarn, I have no issues with Conti. Weird, huh?
Joe
Continental is just more comfortable for me, when I knit English, I find the yarn doesn’t really feed through my fingers as well as it does when I knit conti. That’s why I decided to hold both colors in my left hand for Fair Isle.
I just found this thread, and I’m fascinated that it’s such a big topic. I’ve read books where knitters have been approached on their commute and actually rebuked for how they knit! How lame!:rollseyes: I knit English, but learned Conti. It’s great for Fair Isle; but can someone tell me how to manage more than 2 threads at a time??:?? I also try to teach both methods so someone can use what works best for them. I had a friend who learned English, but when I showed her Conti, she just took off with it. And vice versa for other friends. “To each his own”
Well, this is how I hold my yarns for Fair Isle, if that’s what you needed to see:
//youtu.be/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=326-FBq3fvs
(not my hands, just a vid I found that shows how I hold my yarns)