I've been knitting for a few weeks and do it a lot (I could start a whole thread on what the draw is - what the attraction might be - and how addiccting it is)!  But I keep screwing up.  Slipped stitches, crossed stitches, accidental increases even while knowing how to start the row properly (though I think I might be getting better in that regard), etc.

What's the most frustrating is that I am not usually able to stop the mistake in process - or sometimes when I see it in process I don't even know how to go back to fix it even though it just happened!  And then of course sometimes I see the mistake after the fact - not just in process.  Ugh!  I have friends who just grab my work and go "oh, yeah, here" and then they go bibbity bobbity boo and it's all back to normal.  Will this truly come in time, or do I have to go take some class or get a tutor who can literally take me through the steps of common mistakes?  I've seen some videos which have helped although the "fixing" the mistakes portion is pretty hard for me to grasp.  Still not ready to give up though.   Not just yet!

FYI I'm doing the double cast-on which I learned from youtube, and the continental method (I'm left-handed) which I also learned online and that seems to be going well with the exception of these issues.  I recently learned how to pearl, though don't know how to do it using the wrap/tension (of either hand, actually)!  I figured out how to do stockinette and rib plus of course just the straight knitting.  I want to learn how to cast off, next.  I have several started swatches.   I finally went and bought some big fat needles and chunky yarn - having become convinced it might make things easier - and am making the world's biggest and ugliest scarf - or at least I'm telling myself I'm going to go further than a swatch this time!

So now I have size 8 metal, circular needles and appropriate yarn (which I learned on) as well as size 10.5 circular and matching yarn (yet to use) and size 13 gigantic long bamboo needles and super chunky yarn for my crazy scarf. 

I'd also like to learn how to slip the first stitch so that I can have a nicer edge - although I've yet to figure out when I would slip it as a knit versus a pearl.  And I'd ALSO like to learn how to have an edge all along the entire perimeter of a stockinette scarf so that it won't curl up all over the place.  I can figure out how to make a ribbed edge in the beginning and end of the entire scarf (short ends) of course.  I'm assuming for the long sides of the scarf, I could just count in the same amount of stitches at the beginning and end of each row?  Would that work?  E.g. if the first 5 rows of the entire scarf (short end) are ribbed, then that would mean I could make the first 5 stitches and last 5 stitches 5 sets of stitches each, too?  Well, one day maybe I'll use markers...maybe that would help?  So far I don't count.  I just go to the end then start over and keep going, and if it looks like it's widening, I decrease by stitching two loops at once!  Although I seem to be needing to do that less which is great.

Oh god - I wrote a lot - sorry and hanks for reading all this!