I don't even know what style of knitting I do! I taught myself from a book back in my early 20's and picked it up again 2 years ago when my Grandmother was in the hospital. The rest of the family was crocheting dish cloths for the nursing staff. I can't crochet, so I stocked up at Jo-ann's and started knitting them. Needless to say, my Grandmother got GREAT care! Everyone wanted a dish cloth, so the staff checked in with us frequently.
To form the stitch, I use my arm to wrap the yarn around the needle. My Mother-in-law somehow holds the yarn in her left hand, and catches it with the needle to form the stitch. I watched her do it only once last year, and it completely confounded me. She told me I was doing what she calls "Twisted Knitting." I burst into laughter, as I've definitely been called "Twisted" before. But this is the way she originally learned to knit as well. She got very frustrated with how slow it was to move the yarn each time you switched between a purl or knit stitch, so her Grandmother taught her how to hold the yarn to grab it with the tip of the needle in a specific way for either a purl or knit stitch. All of my husband's family are rather recent immigrants (1920's) from Germany and Portugal, so this may very well be "Continental Style." I'll have to ask her about that. At this point, if it can increase my speed, I'll try anything. I've got a lot more knitting to do in the coming months.
I guess as with much in life, It Depends 
