I frogged it (pun intended) for the last time last night. I CO 35 stitches, took out my post-it notes and methodically used it help my eyes follow the correct row. I also made mental notes every row to remember that: PURL sides are the RIGHT SIDES, right sides are read right to left on the chart, KNIT sides are the WRONG sides and these are read left to right on the chart. It took me about 3 hours to complete. Once I got past the first few rows of the body, where you need to knit 3 consecutive double increases within 6 rows, I found my groove. The pattern became more symmetrical. In hindsight, the tail really screwed me up when I was misreading the pattern, because it curves to the right on the right side. By the time I reached Mr. Turtle's arms, I knew I was home free.
By the way, I found a great tutorial on YouTube on how to do the Central Double Increase. Also, one of my friends mentioned that she likes to place a safety pin on the right side of her work to help her remember - thanks Tamara!
I wonder if I can adapt this to a ladybug for my daughter?
Very glad the safety pin/marker idea worked
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