Double Stitching, My Nemesis

I am done knitting both mittens for Anna!  The finishing part is turning out to be more difficult than the actual knitting, however.  I spent a solid 4 hours tonight trying to make a snowflake on ONE mitten using double stitch.  In theory, it seems very easy.  In practice, it was very tricky.  

Attempt 1:  I pull the yarn tight, and suddenly my stitches disappear!  What is going on?  Where did these stitches go- I didn't pull the yarn out, just tighter.  Apparently, this causes the double stitch to hide behind the real stitch.

Attempts 2-5:  Various problems including inability to count stitches, inability to count rows,  inability to stay in the same row, inability to follow a simple chart, and again, disappearing stitches.

Attempt 6: Perfection.  AKA, I'm tired and this looks pretty good.  

Actually, this does look pretty good.  I'm very proud of my first pair of mittens.  The insides could be a little better, and they probably won't be super warm, but they are cute and spring is coming.  Medium-warm mittens are perfect for spring.