Too much floating not enough flitting?

The Flit and Float in the latest issue of Knitty grabbed my attention. (So did Shipwreck, but I know better than to go there!) The Flit and Float: So pretty, so light and airy, so intriguing. So complicated. So many charts and new techniques. But with warmer weather coming, I've lost my desire to knit in heavy wool, so this seemed like a good mid-season alternative.

I managed the Open Cast On with remarkable ease on the first try. The ruffles were simple, yet delightful. The picot bind off was a treat. Next came the bottom of the lace pattern, which also proved to be quite simple and very enjoyable. It uses double yarn overs. On the wrong side, you knit into the front of the first one and into the back of the second one. I was 18 rows into before I noticed that something didn't seem quite right. I looked closely to discover that the right side of the lace was the wrong side of the ruffles. I checked my directions - I clearly had started on the right side. I reviewed the charts. I'd followed that correctly as well. I thought perhaps I'd created a short row some where and frogged back to the beginning. I started off again and realized two rows into it as it was turning out what I had done wrong. The pattern says to add a stitch and follow the first row of chart A. It does not say to add a stitch and knit across the first row and then start pattern A!

Take two: I reknit the 18 rows and prepared to start back at the start of the pattern to repeat the chart 6 times, as the pattern says. Except, that's not what the pattern says. After two, three starts and puzzling about why it felt wrong, I read it again. It's possible that the words were changed after I read it the first time. But when I looked this time, it said to repeat rows 1 through 8 six times and then rows 9 through 18 once. Huh. Maybe that's why there is a big black line after row 8? (Duh).

Despite all the false starts and lack of discernable progress, I don't mind too much because the pattern is so gosh darned fun to knit!

The best part is that this pattern is the perfect showcase for some wonderful yarn my friend Holly Jo sent from Alaska. It's sock weight, but it begged to be made into a lace something or other.