Continental Knitting Lesson ~

At the Sewing Expo we took a class on continental knitting by Becky at the Gita Maria shop (if you stop by her website, there is a picture of exactly what her vendor booth looked like!). The class of 30 ladies learned the knit stitch on Lantern Moon "Palm" wood, size 15 needles and we had a blast for 45 minutes! She is a patient teacher and it seemed that all of us "got it" by the end of the class. At the end of class, someone asked if she could show us the purl stitch, and she said that she is not well versed in the purl stitch, as all of her designs in her shop use only the knit stitch. Her "show special" was Lantern Moon Palm needles for $14 (with pictured instructions for continental knitting) and I think all 30 of us went back to her booth after her class so we could keep practicing! The needles are lovely and warm in one's hands while knitting, plus they are a great teaching aid for continental knitting!

Continental Knitting Class

My sister & I are taking a Continental Knitting class at the Sewing Expo in February. According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia here is some information on Continental knitting:
Knitting with the yarn in one's left hand is commonly referred to as Continental knitting, German knitting, European knitting, or left-hand knitting. Unlike English knitting, the yarn is held in the left hand; the motion of bringing the yarn forward with a needle held in the other hand is thus sometimes known as picking. Continental knitting is preferred by professional hand-knitters, as it is the more efficient method, requiring the shortest number of specific hand-motions per stitch.
Continental-style knitting, being associated with Germany, fell out of favour in English-speaking countries during World War II; its reintroduction in the United States is often credited to Elizabeth Zimmerman.

I can carry the yarn in my left hand while doing Fair Isle (taught to me by Ann Bourgeois from Philosophers Wool at the Sewing Expo a few years ago) or 2 color knitting (shown here in my hats) however I do not know how to purl this way, so I am looking forward to some hands on learning!!!