Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again. (Franklin P. Jones )

I have cookies to eat. Lots of yummy cookies, thanks to the Cookie Exchange with my knitting group last night. I made my Nana's Magic Cookie Bars to share. I got to bring home snickerdoodles (all gone already), oatmeal raisin (hmmm), gingerbread (awesome!), cranberry bread (wonderful!), Scotch Shortbread (a favorite!), and (totally)Heavenly Cookies. The kids are asking for dinner, but I'm full from snacking on cookies all day.

The cookies have been my consolation for the sweater knitting this afternoon. I finished the front, and seamed the shoulders today. I just have to do an easy ribbed collar, seam the sides, and a quick border on the armholes. I figured I would get to cast on a new project after dinner.

It turns out that the ribbed collar wasn't as easy as it sounded. It took me four tries to pick up the right amount of stitches around the neck. Actually, the fourth time I was still three stitches off, so I just did a few evenly spaced decreases when I knit the first row. After all, who was going to ever know? After knitting six rows, I stopped to admire my work. The collar was looking really big. It turns out that I should have used the smaller-sized needles. So I pulled the collar out and tried again.

This time it only took three attempts to get the count right. And after knitting four rows, the collar is starting to look really nice.

Too bad I picked up the stitches on the wrong side. Do you think anyone will notice that my collar folds to the inside of the sweater?

I'm going to go eat another cookie...