She CAN be taught!!

Yesiree Bob! I checked my last ball of Noro and low and behold...look carefully now...Two segments of purpley-pink!


So I says to myself, "Self, that doesn't look right; I bet you there's a knot," and unwind I did until...



A lovely little Noro Knot.





While I can obviously be taught (at least some of the time), I do, however, still need some help with the skill of reading.





Did you know that when a pattern reads, "Repeat last four rows 14 times" (one of those rows included 2 decreases---one at each end---not rocket science), that a completely different amount of yarn will be required should you decrease a total of 14 stitches from the beginning of shaping, and then move onto the next set of instructions?





Did you know that failure to work the decrease at the end of the row where you worked one at the beginning of the row will mess you up quite a few rows later?





Did you know that when you stay up past midnight catching up on The Young and The Restless (poor Sharon), and reknitting all the knitting that you previously Frogged and Tinked due to above mentioned reading 'brain-farts' and the power goes out...that it's REALLY DARK!?
I MEAN PITCH!!





So this morning I completed the knitting of all the major parts of my Haliburton Noro, having to add more yarn to complete the last 1 & 1/4 rows and to castoff. Oy.
Gotta say again, I'm quite pleased with my attention to keeping true to the colour progressions (as much as possible).

With body and sleeves completed, I'm quite excited to see about getting this puppy put together, so I sit with the pattern.

I read the finishing instructions of the pattern.

I get more coffee.

I look closely, really closely, at the pictures of the sweater.

I read the pattern again; this time from the beginning to make sure that I didn't miss anything when I started this sweater a year and a half ago. I read it again and again and again.

I don't get it. It doesn't make sense to me.

So I do what any learned knitter/quilter/married person would do (because they too have 'been taught') who's been faced with similar frustrating situations.

I walk away.

I go take a shower.

I have an "AHA moment" in the shower, where suddenly the fog clears from all their convoluted instructions! I can put this puppy together!

All I have to remember is to trust. Trust and blindly follow the instructions exactly as they are written.

And prey.

But first, let us block.