Fixing an error

 In retrospect, I probably should have pushed harder to get the body part of the vest started over the weekend; I didn't quite finish the ribbing* and start on the body until this morning during the exam, and I didn't read the pattern carefully and I assumed the cabled part set-up was going to be p2 k4 p2 k4 p2 k4 p2 k4 p2 k4 p2 k4 p2 k4 p2, and I did that as the set-up round.

And then in the next round I had 10 stitches too many. And my first thought was, "I messed up during the cast on and couldn't tell because the ribbing was all the same thing" and started making plans to decrease my way over rounds to the right number but then realized that would look bad, and in frustration, I looked at the pattern and it's

 p2 k4 p2 k6 p2 k4 p2 k6 p2 k4 p2 k6 p2 k4 p2

which actually accounts for the extra stitches.

So I had to unknit a round and a half (so: close to 300 stitches) and that took up the remaining time. I didn't want to just take the needles out and try to rip back, I knew that would end in grief, so I undid it stitch by stitch. I didn't finish during the exam

So I took it home and did the rest tonight, and got the set-up round and the second round done; it's now up to the first cable round. And I give an exam tomorrow so I can work on it some there. 

It's not the most fun yarn to unknit and it got a little fuzzed when I did that but I don't think it'll be noticeable. 

(*ribbing is BORING to knit)

 It's a recycled nylon yarn (from water bottles) that I got at the late, lamented JoAnn Fabrics (And yeah, I'm still unhappy about private equity destroying them like they destroyed Borders' and some other good chains; where I live it's mainly big-box stores 'cos we're a lower SES area and there are  not a lot of people who do crafts, so losing them means a lot of resources I used are lost.

I mean, I still have the little local yarn shop (well, local a half hour away) but they mainly sell fingering weight wool, and their book selection is extremely small. And of course they don't have sewing supplies. And we have surprisingly fewer quilt shops now; several have moved far away from me or closed altogether. (In at least one case it was a landlord jacking their rent - tripling it! - and it gives me a tiny bit of petty joy when I am down that way and see that the building STILL hasn't rented. Suck it, greedy land lords)

And yeah, as I look at what's happening in the nation I grimly wonder what there will be left at the end of all the chaos; will we still have any nice and fun shops for supplies, or will it only be wal-mart? Will we be left trading the few things we have left from the before-times back and forth until they completely fall apart?

I dunno. Doesn't help that this week is the fifth anniversary of the declaration of a COVID pandemic and my university going all virtual. And yes, back then I wondered "will there be anything left to come out to?" and yes, a lot of places DID close down then - and I suspect more will now with the ongoing shocks. And I don't like it. I especially don't like it as someone with out spouse, kids, or nearby family; sometimes going out to somewhere like JoAnn's was my one solace to look forward to and if we lose all that, well, I don't know.