I'm knitting Swatch #9 of Level 1 (K2tog and SSK decrease) and my instructions (REV 04/02/07) say "Use K2tog decreases at the right selvedge and SSK decreases at the left selvedge..." Shouldn't the K2tog be at the LEFT selvedge and the SSK be at the RIGHT selvedge or am I completely turned around? The stitches won"t slant correctly with the angle of the decrease as written, correct?

You're right that SSK slants to the left and K2 tog slants to the right and if you want the decreases to be symetrical you would want them the other way around. There may be a reason the instructions want you to do them the it says.

Rather than looking only at what the directions say to do for an individual swatch, take a look at the entire group of swatches devoted to decreases. Notice that Swatch 7 is labeled "blended decreases" and has you do it the way you're talking about -- so that they lean toward the area getting smaller. Now look at the label for Swatch 9, which is "full fashion decreases." There are a number of reasons why a knitter might choose to lean decreases away from the area getting smaller, rather than toward it. Sometimes the point of the swatches is to expose the knitter to methods she/he may not have tried before. So rather than always working your decreases the way they are worked in swatch 7, because "that's the way you're supposed to do it," you may find that there are times when it is preferable to do it the way they are done in swatch 9. I made many discoveries about stitch behavior from my Level I swatches. Swatch 11 in particular was quite a learning experience. It was so ugly, I was sure I was doing it wrong, so after three or four tries, I moved on to swatch 12, thinking I would come back to swatch 11 when my knitting improved. It was knitting both swatches and comparing them that taught me what the point of the two different swatches was.

I have found that each swatch has a teaching purpose behind it. Rather than just following the directions and moving on to the next swatch, I have learned to stop and think about what the point of each swatch is. I have also found that even if I didn't "need" to look anything up for a particular swatch, it was worth confirming what I knew in two sources. Looking things up always leads to learning something new or different.

Rox is right. Those decreases are full-fashioned rather than blended. They're not wrong--just different from what you're used to. If you go to the On Your Way to the Master's articles, you'll find two articles on decreases that Arenda wrote for Cast On. They'll clarify further.

I actually printed out a copy of each article that had to do with hand knitting. I then placed each of them in a binder so that if I needed to look something up it was easier and more convenient to look in my notebook. And I found that some aritcles that would seem to be for later levels had information that was useful for level 1.

I thought the same thing when I got to swatch 9. But I can follow directions when forced to! Once I finished, I really liked the look the swatch had, and can see using it in the future.

This Masters class is definitely an eye opener. I'm not sure I will EVER finish, but my knitting sure has improved.

I urge you all to keep plugging (knitting) away on that Level I. Probably I am the LONGEST 'not finished yet' student. I go back to before Offinger and they do not have records that go that far back....Not proud of my 'record' SOMEDAY I will finish. The Committee has added SO much to the requirements, finishing will take longer, I'm sure. My Way To The Masters has been interrupted by a couple of shoulder boo boos and those 14 'Grandchildren Afghans', now only three to go, new baby 5-hours plus blankets and lots of dishcloths. I surely enjoy ALL of you, my extended Knitting Family and really wonder when I do not see a post for a LONG time. It is time for the squash soup and curling up with a new or old Project. Happy Holidays. Grace, Love and Prayers. God Bless. Thanks to John and Baa Baa for their kindness.

Hey Max, I was clearing out some old papers and found my Level II that goes back to 2005. Actually, I think this was an up-date set of rules since I recall finishing Level One before 2002.