Ripple Throw Progress Report: feeling the burn

During the first couple days of February, I chained for this (252, + 3 for turning) and lost count in the process more times than I can even remember, made it through the foundation row twice (I would say this took about two and a half to three hours each) only to discover at the very end of said row that I had either miscounted during the chaining process or somewhere at the very beginning of the foundation row. As the pattern is easy to grasp once you're through it a few times, I don't believe I messed up anywhere in the middle, but it was impossible for me to tell. So frustrating! I ripped it out twice! I gave my poor hands a break for a couple of days, thinking there was just no way I could continue to work on one row for three hours only to have to rip it all out again.

Last night I made another attempt, taking it super-slow. As the pattern calls for multiples of fourteen, I simply chained fourteen, paused and ticked it off on a list, then carefully chained another fourteen, checked off again, forever and ever amen, until I had done this twenty times -- for a total of 280. (Then, of course, +3 for turning.) By sheer luck, it seems, I both chained the correct amount and began the foundation row correctly. By the end of the first row, I was so excited that I had the required one chain left over that I bounced in my seat.

Now that I'm on a roll, every subsequent row has gone a lot faster. The dip of the "valley" and rise of the "mountain" are much easier to spot once you've got a good wave going.

Despite the progress, I'm still quite worried that this third and fourth row (in a shade off creamy off-white) is somehow incorrect. I may find myself ripping it all down to the foundation white again, which I at least know is correct!