I learned to knit from my grandmother when I was 8 years old. She taught me to hold the yarn in my right hand and to "throw" it over the right needle. That's the English/American way of knitting. Pretty much all "throwers" do it the same way; the only variation is how they hold the tension in their right hands.

Yesterday I officially learned the Continental/German way of knitting. The stitches are all the same, but the yarn is held in the left hand. Again, there is variation in how one can hold the tension, but usually it goes around the back of the left pointer finger. This method "picks" the stitches, so everything is much closer: you knit on the tips of the needles and you only have about an inch of yarn in play. There's a lot of variation in how people "pick" the stitches. I found http://www.knittinghelp.com/ very helpful for learning ways to "pick" the stitches and to learn the Continental method.

Continental knitting is supposed to be more ergonomic because the wrist is in a more neutral position. The teacher gave us some great stretching strategies and how to prevent knitting injuries from repeated movements. She also suggested switching between Continental and English methods to prevent injuries and to keep your mind more engaged.

I was a quick learner yesterday at the class because I've watched the videos about 15 times until I understood the coordination. I will be attending an Entrelac class June 1, and I'm a little worried because I've never done it at all. We'll see...

Happy knitting!