Andrea learned to knit from her mother when she was seven years old, not knowing that their style of knitting was different from the one used in America and different from the European one as well. When she came to the USA in 1991, knitters were constantly intrigued by the way she knit and she then, after researching the subject, named the style the Portuguese style of knitting. For the last 16 years she has taught this method in the US and abroad: how to knit with the yarn tensioned around a knitting pin on their shoulder or around their neck, among other classes. Andrea has published three technical DVDs on the subject and in 2010 she self-published her first book, Portuguese Style of Knitting: History, Traditions and Technique.