The calm before the storm

My progress on the Traveling Woman shawl has been steady the last couple of days, but I'm still only in the stockinette increase section.  I guess it makes sense that production seems to be slowing a bit, because each row takes me longer and longer to do.

Sorry for the cell phone picture.

I have about 10 repeats of the stockinette left before I start the part I'm a little nervous about: the actual lace bits.  I've read through the pattern several times, and it seems like something I can handle, but I can't help but wonder if I'll be totally confused when I get there. 

Charts don't help, because my brain doesn't work that way (apparently).  Words I get, I understand, but symbols on a chart intimidate me and all those little boxes can be confusing.  I did alright when I tried colorwork, but those weren't really symbols--the boxes were just colored in (or not).  I should probably practice at the chart-reading thing, though.