Two New Knitting Skills

This neck, which will be awesome upon completion, is causing a bit of angst.  Oh, sure.  The exact same rectangles from the bottom edge are repeated here.  Having made ten of the little buggers earlier in the project, that part is just fine and dandy.

But the fitting into the mesh...another story all together.  Having come this many years down the knitting path there are a few things that are part of the skill set.  I can pick up stitches.  I can pick up and knit stitches.  I can work with live stitches from a stitch holder.

What I have never encountered is knitting the live stitches from a stitch holder while also picking up and knitting stitches in  between the live stitches.  Never even thought about it.  But, in order to get the correct number of stitches for the bottom of the rectangle, one must (after the first nine stitches are found) knit off sixteen stitches from the holder and - at the same time - pick up and knit four additional stitches.  Evenly spaced of course.  But you already knew that because you knit.  Right?

Thankfully the pattern suggests that the easiest method is the trusty Make On by picking up the bar between two live stitches.  I have a new skill!  Yeah for me.

The other new skill that I have gained during this first bit of neckline knitting is the ability to count to eighteen.  I think this one will come in quite handy in the future.