I think I want to become a Cont. knitter

ecuzzacrea · 01-19-2006, 02:22 AM

am i nuts to try and learn a different way?

it just seems so much faster. 2 girls at my knitting group do it and it seems that once they got the hang of it it's much faster and easier on their hands.

am i just imagining that?

i've been knitting for about a year and am still very much a beginner.

what do you all think?

LM Needle Fanatic · 01-19-2006, 08:23 AM

Go for it! I'm not fast at it yet, but I've been knitting for decades (yikes!) and when I did socks for the first time last month I did it conti and am now working a sweater conti. You might get a few strange aches and pains in your hands but it's just from using different muscles. Stretching the hands and fingers helps a lot.

ella · 01-19-2006, 02:26 PM

Definitely try it! Even if you don't completely switch to continental, it's useful to know for color knitting and to give your hands a break. I use both continental and English, and I love being able to switch off! It has really saved me from some pain, and its just plain fun :D

Sara · 01-19-2006, 02:28 PM

It's good to know both. Especially if you aspire to working with several colors at once. I thought conti was pretty easy to pick up and it's the method I prefer.

silveridger · 01-19-2006, 05:22 PM

Agreed, it's good to know both ways. I started out throwing because the person I learned from knit that way. Then I took a class and was the only one NOT planning to learn Continental: I figured, why not? If you pick a simple project with lots of plain knit and purl (like something from "The Knit Stitch") and commit to finishing the whole thing the new way, you'll pick it up pretty quickly. The economy of motion is what attracted me.

Kilgore_Trout · 01-19-2006, 05:35 PM

yeah go for it! I'm really glad I switched. It only took me about three days of conti knitting before it felt really comfortable. I still find doing cables easier with throwing, but thats it..

misstialouise · 01-19-2006, 08:53 PM

Definitely give it a go.

After knowing how to knit one way for about 20 years, the switch wasn't that hard.. and I'm so glad I did!!!

ecuzzacrea · 01-19-2006, 11:17 PM

awesome!

i'm going to just practice some different stitches on a couple of squares one of these days.

i'm sure with Amy's videos it should be a breeze - i

those videos.

rebecca · 01-20-2006, 01:17 AM

I switched not too long ago, I guess about 6 months ago..WOW! Anyway, it was a pain to begin with and I said, well, I'm just gonna stick with throwing..then I found that I was naturally knitting conti when I had decided to go back to throwing...LOL!! As time went on I picked up speed...especially purling..can u believe THAT?! I was amazed, to say the least!! I am a very, very fast purler

! I will switch if my hands get sore from conti knitting and, generally speaking, I still knit English on dpns (bc I'm much, much faster); but, this, too, may change

EDIT: I could never have done it without Amy's assistance...but, this is funny, I didn't avail myself to the online videos, bc I'm always here to chat...I learned from Amy, yes, but after a dear friend gifted Amy's cd (the older and the updated version...a very, very good friend

) to me!! Amy is a MOST EXCELLENT teacher