Why does my machine stop mid-cycle?

Why does my machine stop mid-cycle?

I can hold onto the knob or jam something behind it and it will continue but it has progressively gotten worse. It stops about the same place everytime, toward end of wash going into rinse and now sometimes during rinse. From what I've already read and the fact that this is the only malfunction, I think it may be the timer. Is that right and can I, a handy layman, fix it myself?

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