Knitting is formed by a series of loops pulled through loops to the end of time or to 'desired length'. By picking up loops and working in the opposite direction you are really picking up the concavities between the loops, and it is sheer unexpected witchcraft that stocking stitch and garter stitch will permit such an anomaly. Be grateful for this and don't expect anymore.

Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac: The Commemorative Edition (ed. Courier Corporation, 2010) - ISBN: 9780486479125