The Zimmerman Code

Is it knitting sacrilege to complain about an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern?

Her Baby Surprise Jacket seems like a happy little project, a kind way to ease into sweater making, until you get to row 7. Then all hell breaks loose. What defines a "ridge?" How and where do I place the stitch markers after I do the psso and k2tog (sorry about the knitting jargon. For definitions, check knitty.com)?

The part that confused me the most was "After 22 dec (90 stitches), work 3 rows even" I stared and stared at those words for what seems like an eternity until their meaning finally came into focus. Zimmerman means After I have done 22 decreases (actually 44, I suppose), then I work 3 rows even.

Apparently, I am not alone in my confusion. The Baby Surprise Jacket pattern is funky enough to have inspired someone out to create a pattern supplement and post it on the internet (Too bad I forgot to bookmark it). It's like, the pattern has Cliff Notes.

During lunch, I studied the pattern again and I think I figured out where I went wrong in my approach. Still, if anyone out there has advice about placing stitch markers, let me know.