The ablet works just like an abacus. This is your one's column. And this is your tense column. To count your rows just slide the beads. One, two, three, four, five, and so on. When you get to nine roll all the beads back up to the top and move the first bead in the tense column. Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, etc. When you're knitting you don't even have to put your work down. Just use your needle to slide the bead. As you can see the beads stay in place even when you shake it around. The ablet, simple, clever, beautiful.