Hotness Top Update 3 - Just keep Knitting

The sweater is almost finished. I actually had to knit the front section two and a half times before I got it right. Maybe it's the time of year and all the distractions of the holiday season but I couldn't maintain my concentration, so mistakes kept happening.
I am working on the lace section right now so, I am taking my time. I only want to have to work it up once... knock on wood.

I do not Knit Weird

I've been told I knit weird.  I see how other people I know knit, and I have noticed two things:

1. The technique I use looks nothing like their technique.
2. My way is a heck of a lot faster.

My final product looks no different than your typical knit item so, you would think that a faster way to complete a piece would be wildly embraced but nothing could be farther from the truth.  To make matters worse every How-to knitting book I've ever seen says that my way is wrong  and that my stitches face the wrong way i.e. are "twisted".  I guess you could say I'm a twisted stitcher *groan.

Anyway until recently, I thought I was the only freak that knit this way but thanks to the internet I've discover that there are other  twisted stitchers out there.  I've even learned that this style of knitting has a name - Combination knitting.  If you are from North America, England or Europe most likely the style of knitting that you use is called Western No Cross.  There are two ways to do this the most common in England and North America is called "English".  The English hold the working yarn in their right hand and wrap the yarn to make a stitch.  The other western style is called either "Continental" or "German" depending who you ask.  It is exactly the same as English except the continental knitters hold the yarn in their left hand and pick at the working yarn.

Being that both English and Continental are called western I'll bet you've already guessed that there is also a style called Eastern.  Bingo!  I am not exactly familiar with this style accept to say that, the movements are in the opposite to those of the western style.  

So what is Combination then?  It is kind of  like a knitting love-in.  It uses some aspects of both western and eastern knitting techniques.  I like to think of at as taking the best of both worlds.  

Don't You Hate it When your Stitch Count is Wrong!

Still working on my Hotness Top sweater.  I had finally made it to the section where the lace pattern stitches were to start but I must have messed up somewhere because my stitch count is way off.  I'm talking about 10 stitches!  There is no way to fudge this one and keep going  I'm going to have to frog at least part of my work.  That's what I get for not counting as I go.