pick up and knit 11 stitches down left side front neck edge. k8 from front st holder. pick up and knit 11 sts up right front neck edge knit 18 from back st holder ,dec 1 st at center 47 sts.

do I start with the sweater facing me and pick up from my left side? using the yarn i left there? do i do all this with 2 needles?

thanks so much for your help

The L and R front are as you're wearing the sweater. So with the RS facing you start at the L shoulder, pick up down that neck edge, knit the sts on the front neck holder, pick up sts up the other neck edge, then knit the back neck sts from their holder. You can do this on straight needles, though the sts may pull a little going around the curves the first row or two.

thank you very much