HELP! Confusing lines of instruction

[Corrseye]

Hi, I'm new here, and am in need of help with a line of crochet instruction (part of a Whinney the Pooh toy pattern).

 

The pattern works in rounds.  By the end of Round 1 I have 6 stitches on my round and the 1st stitch of the 2nd round marked.  Here is the round 2 instructions:

3sc in next sc.  ch 2.   skip next sc, 3 sc in next sc. 9sts and one ch-2

 

OK, most of it is easy, but what does " 9sts and one ch-2" mean?

 

There is a similar instruction in round 3 which says, "finish off: 11sts and one ch-2"

 

Can anyone help me please?

[HerterCrochetDesigns]

It appears that those are stitch counts after the period in the pattern. So "9 sts and one ch-2" is how many stitches you should have after finishing your round.

[SunnyInDenmark]

Yes, these are just telling you how many stitches you have in your round.  After Round 2, you should have made 9 sts and a ch-2 space.  It's just to help you count and make sure you have followed the pattern correctly so far.  So, at the end of Round 3, you should have 11 sts and a ch-2 space.

[Avon Lady]

To help you, you could just draw parentheses around those words.  That will make it less confusing as you read the pattern.