In over my head

I thought I had a pretty good handle on this knitting thing. All scarves, fingerless gloves and hats have come out quite well, but I apparently have hit my peak. I found a pattern for a beautiful sweater, read the instructions and thought, "this isn't too hard. I'm going to give it a shot." Well, this is how far I got:











Doesn't look to bad, right? In fact, it even fits. Unfortunately, I got to the slightly more complicated parts of the instructions, and now I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. Part of the problem is that I just don't understand the instructions. The other part is that I started this sweater months and months ago, then didn't work on it for about 6 months, and then picked it up again last week. I think I mixed up the front and the back. I also think I put the stitch markers in the wrong places, so now the pattern makes no sense to me. So, for the 3rd time, I am completely starting over. I spent an hour last night ripping out the entire project. I haven't given up completely yet, but I'm beyond frustrated. I don't like feeling stupid, and this pattern is making me feel stupid.

So that's how my day started, in knitting hell...