The pattern book lists Georgia Vincent square as one of the five most challenging squares and I must agree. So far, the Georgia Vincent block has been the hardest block I've encountered while knitting the Great American Aran Afghan It wasn't because I found the pattern difficult to understand or the construction confusing (knit in the round in the same manner as the Jay Campbell block.) Rather, what I found hardest was the actual execution of some unusual stitches the pattern calls for. But part of that difficulty was my own fault.

The pattern includes "inc2" "dec2" "dec4" "Make Bobble" and "Decrease Make Bobble". Excepting the Bobble directions I was sure I knew how to execute these stitches. Increase one, would be a regular inc, knit into the front and back of the stitch, plus an extra knit into the front once more. Dec2 and Dec4 would be the decrease of my choice but decreasing a larger number. So I did what seemed natural to me. By the time I got to the very center of the square my hands were in pain, not serious enough to stop when I was so close to finishing, but enough to complain to anyone who would listen...cats, husband, probably sent out an email or two... It was at the very end of knitting this square that I discovered my own carelessness. Since bobbles can be executed many, many ways, and I had no idea what a "decrease make bobble" was I stopped to consult my pattern. What I discovered was that the unusual increases and decreases probably weren't as hard on my hands as I made them be. Each one was extremely different than I had assumed. I could have kicked myself, especially because I was literally five bobbles away from completing the square. I looked over my work and carefully inspected the pattern. My hard-on-the-hands version looked almost identical to the picture (at least I think it did) so instead of completely frogging my work I finished the bobbles and called it "good enough".

A couple of other tips I would like to share:

- After round 26, you start knitting the lacy section. I'd suggest counting your stitches after every round at this point. You'll be on double points by that time and have very few stitches anyway, but I think taking the time to count is well worth it because it's easy to make a mistake with all those increases and yarn overs.

- Don't assume that the last row of the chart is the end of the knitting on this block. Go back to the written instructions for special instructions on how to secure the remaining stitches.

Despite my painful mistakes, I enjoyed the act of anticipating this block and the little challenge of interpreting unfamiliar chart symbols. And I think the finish product is pretty spiffy too!

Next block: Meredith K. Morioka