In which I try to be smarter than the pattern, and it proves to not work.

A couple nights ago, I sat down after dinner for some relaxing and to work on the Laurel.  I figured it'd be a great pattern to just mindlessly enjoy after a long day, a great meal (pad thai cooked by my guy!) and a glass of wine while we relaxed on the couch.
I knit the first row of the pattern after the ribbing, with the increases pretty much where they should have been. Well- they were close to where they should have been.  Close enough that I didn't think it was a big deal.  After all, increases in generally the right spot are fine, right?
Then I tried the next row in the chart, and things began to get off.
Knits and purls weren't where they were supposed to be.  I told myself, it's just the pattern changing, it's fine.
So instead of stopping and looking, I just knit faster.  Because we all know that makes things better.  And right again.
After an hour and a half of knitting, more rows into the chart than I care to admit, it looked like a mess compared to the sleek, elegant look that normally evolves from a Jared Flood pattern.
Since this is indeed a gift, and I didn't want it to look like crap, I did the only thing I could do at 11 pm.

I pulled the whole thing back to the brim to start over. 

This time, I'm going to follow the pattern- EXACTLY as written.  Which you'd think I would have done in the first place.
*%^&.
In other news, I quickly got past the raglan sleeves on my Lavender Cardigan, and thus commences the endless (especially with the large floppy fronts) stockinette stitch to the bottom.

I really love how this is turning out, with beautiful soft and light yarn that the kittens can't seem to get enough of.  It especially feels good on my fingers after a training day in the climbing gym- soft yarn is a great antidote to rough calluses!  I'm going to be taking this one with me when I need mindless knitting until it gets too large to pack.
I'm hoping that in the middle of the body I'll think back to this happy moment, when I enjoyed the pattern and all the promises it offered.
Oh- and another birthday for a friend has snuck up on me, so today commences a frantic search for a cute pattern that I know she'll like... and a week and a half to knit it...