Basic Arithmetic

So I was knitting away on row 29 of the leaf lace shawl. At the end of each repeat (after frogging)of trying row 29 one more time, I kept coming up with 2 fewer stitches than the pattern says. What is going on? I painstakingly counted the stitches in my row again, counted all the increases and decreases in that row again, and each time came up with 65 not 67 stitches. I thought something was wrong with me. I mean, I'm in grad school you'd think I could count to 67 and even past it, right? Well, maybe not.

So I brought my problem to the knitting wizardess at my not so local TC SnB group. Together we pondered, wondered, and brainstormed possible solutions. Certainly the pattern couldn't be wrong- could it? There were 2 sets of instructions- a chart (oh so scary what am I supposed to do with that?!) and written stuff, like :k1, p1, etc. I used the written stuff. So, low and behold when the Wizardess Kelle worked her magic using the CHART the solution was discovered. I am assuming that this isn't much of a problem to the more experienced chart-friendly knitters, but for me it was a major snafu. I even got to the point where it thought about *gasp* giving up until I was "more ready for the task." So now, back at home I once again googled the leaf lace shawl,this time inserting the word "correction" into the googling field. Voila- someone somewhere posted about the one mistake in the first edition of the pattern- only one mistake- and yes, it was my issue with Row 29.

I have learned to use the 'net as a knitting resource, and for nearly every project sometime along in its journey to and along the needles each gets googled. It helps me find out what's wrong in patterns, what people didn't like about a garments fit, and countless other things. So why didn't I do that on this shawl? Next time I'll know. But for today Kelle and I can rest knowing that we definitely are not crazy, and that knitting patterns, like all of humanity have their own personality, quirks and all.

BTW- this morning at 8am I went to the dentist for the twice annual culturally sanctioned torture that dental hygienists call "a cleaning". All went well, I survived, no cavities, plus I was praised for having "healthy gums" and for "taking good care of my teeth." Yay- and I past the polygraph- when they ask "How often do you brush your teeth?" They always seem to ask that while having some big thing in your mouth that makes an answer impossible. And, "how often do you floss?" I think this question is the biggest joke, since once they're in your mouth they know exactly how many times you've flossed since your last visit, as well as the calendar date and time of the day you flossed. I asked about this on my visit, they admitted that they already knew the answer, yet they continue to ask since "you can always improve on your brushing and flossing." So go home and floss your teeth today! And be glad you don't go to "Meanstreet Dental" in Eagan, MN. Well, unless you do go there and have had good experiences. The name sounds frightening. My dentist caters to cowards- it's on their sign, so they are used to dental-phobic individuals, which is me for sure.