"On Paper" vs "Real Life"

Sometimes things aren't as straightforward as they seem.

This is the chart I drew up for the lace weight scarf (you can click on it to make it bigger). I wanted to repeat the pattern once, and to use markers to help me keep track of where I was at. On paper it was pretty easy to indicate where the repeat should fall. It could go where the red lines are, or where the green lines are, or really at any of the columns in between.

So..., looks simple, put the markers where the lines are (red or green, take your pick). The problem is that, because these lines at some points fall between a decrease and its corresponding increase, I invariably came to rows where the marker ended up between two stitches needed for a decrease, and had to stop and slip stitches around to reposition the marker. It was fiddly and annoying.

I finally figured out that if I placed the marker as in Row 1 of the chart below, it would sort of automatically "float" into the indicated positions on subsequent rows.

I still have to manually move the marker over one stitch on row 19, but it's easier than doing it two or three times per repeat, and at least the move doesn't come in the middle of a decrease.