Moms Cabled Mitts Pattern

Thanks to Sheri at The Loopy Ewe, this pattern is in hot demand. Many people not on Ravelry have been wanting to get their hands on it. This isn't the tidiest way to get it out there, but it is quick! Sheri has also created a row counting worksheet to help everyone out. Enjoy! (And please excuse the bizarre text editing... apparently blogger does not enjoy text being copied and pasted!)

Mom’s Cabled Mitt’s

Size Large modeled by me.

Materials: 130ish yards of a heavy worsted weight. Examples were knit in Karabella Aurora 8, Black & Lorna’s Laces Shepherds Worsted, Red Rover.

Needles: US size 5 (3.75mm)

Gauge: 11 stitches and 14 rows per 2 inches

Size: Womens S/M (M/L) – The M/L is longer, but no bigger around. The pattern stretches plenty to cover both sizes.

Notes: This pattern was knit in the round on double pointed needles.

K1 – knit one

P1 – purl one

M1 – make one

PM – place marker

SM – slip marker

Ribbing Row

P1, (K3, P2 - 3x), K8, (P2, K3 - 3x), P1

Cable Row

P1, (K3, P2 3x), Cable Twist, (P2, K3 3x), P1

Cable Twist

Slip 4 stitches to cable needle, hold to front or back, knit 4 stitches from needle, knit 4 stitches from cable needle, continue in pattern around.

**I made these with mirrored cables. You can do this easily by holding the cable stitches to the back on one mitten and the front on the other. Or if you just want them the same hold to the same (front or back) on both.

Directions:

Cast on 40 stitches. (I use long tail cast on – you want it to be stretchy)

Join to begin knitting in the round.

Knit 5(6) rows of Ribbing Row

Knit Cable Row

**Knit Ribbing Row 8x(9x)

**Knit Cable Row

**Repeat these 9(10) rows for 18(20) rows, it’s time to start the thumb shaping.

Thumb Shaping:

For this pattern you will have an “assigned” mitt for each hand because you want the cable on top of each hand. So you will be putting a thumb on opposite sides of the cable for each mitt.

Right Mitten:

Prep Round: P1, (K3, P2 - 3x), K8, P2, K3, P2, K1, PM, K1, PM, continue in pattern to end.

**Rnd 1: Knit in pattern to marker, SM, M1, Knit to marker, M1, SM, knit in pattern to end.

**Rnd 2 & 3: Knit in pattern

Left Mitten:

PrepRound: P1, K3, P2, K1, PM, K1, PM, Continue in pattern around.

**Rnd 1: Knit in pattern to marker, SM, M1, Knit to marker, M1, SM, knit in pattern to end.

**Rnd 2 & 3: Knit in pattern

**Repeat these three rows until you have 13 stitches between your markers for the thumb.

Knit 2 more rows in pattern.

Knit around in pattern, when you get to the thumb stitches, place them on some waste yarn and cast on one stitch in it’s place. (I used backwards loop method, do as you choose!)

Knit 7(11) more rows in pattern. (There should be 5(6) rows of ribbing at beg & end of mitts bef/after the cable at either end of the mitt – in other words they should mirror one another)

Cast off loosely in pattern!

Now you need to go back and pick up the thumb stitches that you have on waste yarn. You will also want to pick up 3 stitches in the gap at the top of the thumb. (This could be more or less… just make sure there are no gaps.)

Knit 4(5) rows.

Cast off loosely!

Viola, gorgeous mitt’s!

This pattern is copyright protected

© 2008 Jessica Jensen

All rights reserved.

http://artistjess.blogspot.com/

This pattern is for your personal, non-commercial use only.

You are not allowed to make garments from this pattern for sale anywhere.

You are not allowed to mass produce this pattern or garments made from it.

A Link

For me, there has always been a link between my hands and my heart. And in this difficult year the connection has been deep and apparent to me. For most of the year I was literally locked up in the hospital with Miss E. Away from Hub, away from Miss N. We were a family split in half.

During this time I tried to find ways to connect with Miss N. I tried to keep a connection between us. I tried to let her know I was still here... still thinking about her and loving her. It was hard. It was bitterly hard. She hurt. I hurt. We all hurt. We have been free of hospital stays for four months now. But the scars are there. After our initial stay (34 days/nights) I would leave a card, a note, a drawing... a little present for Miss N at home in my dresser. If we ended up in the hospital more than a few days Hub would sneak it out onto her pillow while she was brushing her teeth. It was a way for me to be at home with her. For the first eight months Miss E was inpatient over 50% of the time. That is a lot of time to live apart. Miss N now carries every single one of these notes and drawings with her every time she parts from me even if only for a few hours. On one hand, I love that she does this. I totally get it. The small gifts are forgotten, but the things made with my hands, the words written from my heart, are treasured by her. On the other hand... it is heart wrenching. I know the scars she has. I know the fears she has. And the fact that she clings to these things so dearly exposes them.

During much of this time I would have her blanket with me. I started it before Miss E was diagnosed... but it proved to be the perfect timing. Most nights after work Hub would pick up Miss N and they would come up to visit at the hospital. If I had been working on the blanket, she noticed. She would light up. She would go home for the night with a smile on her face and say "Now don't forget to work more on my blanket!". It was a connection between the two of us even when we were apart.

Now, it's certainly not as flashy as the new Nintendo DS she got spoiled with today. But I know that she will treasure it. I know that it spoke love into her heart far more than any other gift can.

She has had quite a fifth year our Miss N. Just ten days in she became a sibling survivor. In her 5th year she faced issues most adults have yet to face. She grew an astounding 4-1/4 inches! (and is in the midst of another fierce growth spurt) She ate a ton... there were many comedic moments when we'd be offering ANYTHING to Miss E... begging her to eat... and in the background you could hear Miss N "I'll eat it! Can I have some?! Please?!". She learned to read. And she made us so very proud. Life handed her a lot. But she handled most of it with more grace and understanding than most adults do. On this her sixth birthday... my hope and prayer is for a year entirely different from the last. For her to have a year of just being a kid! I love you Miss N!

What I CAN do

We are fast approaching the year mark from the date of Miss E's diagnosis. From the first moment I knew her life was entirely out of my hands. I've done my best to walk along side her, to comfort her, to assess her constantly and get her help when she needs it. But there is always that desire to do more. And yet, most of the time it feels like my hands are tied. I can't simply eliminate bad foods from her diet or from something she is allergic to. She needs help that is so big and complicated I don't even understand most of it. That's a hard place for a parent. You want to be the one to fix everything, to make everything ok, to protect and shelter your child from any and everything that could harm them. And in this circumstance I really can not. I must place her firmly in Gods hands and pray that he would let us keep her just a little longer. I know in my head that that is really the case with both of my children. They are His, not mine. They are only mine to care for for a little while. Living with a child with cancer really makes you face the reality of that.

A little over a week ago I became obsessed with knitting her a pair of socks for her to wear to her procedures last week. Procedure day isn't fun. Miss E hates being sedated and I hate to watch. There is something so utterly unnatural about it... it just goes against the grain of my being. Unfortunately it's a regular part of her treatment. So much so that I have lost count of the number of times we've been in that room. At a certain point I realized I'd sort of crossed the lines of sanity with the sock obsession. It doesn't take long to knit her a pair of socks, she has tiny feet. But my desire to have them done before procedure day was a little too fiery. I then realized that something inside of me felt like if I could do this, it would make us both feel better. That somehow having these socks on her feet would make me feel like I was able to do something to make her feel more at ease. And she adores her 'mommy socks'. She's always gotten cold but now is much more likely to do so. I think she loves her 'mommy socks' because they're all made of wool and keep her chilly feet warm. (Miss N on the other hand... strips off all her clothes any chance she gets. She is seriously hot blooded!) So knit away I did... and when I mentioned my crazy thinking that somehow these socks would make procedure day better for both of us my husband said "It will.". God bless him. He gets it.

I've finished up several other knits... much more interesting knitting-wise, but less attached to my heart... lace ribbon scarf for me, handspun baby sweater with some of my very earliest yarn, more socks for E, and another Nancy Bush pattern - this time for Hub. Miss N's blanket is also done... just two more days until I can give it to her! That project and it's recipient deserve their own post.

Knit Candy

Miss E in her new Handspun Pixie Hat!

Sometimes, you just need some quick projects to come off the needles. Lately it seems like I've been slogging away on some bigger projects and I needed a break. Enter three really adorable kid knits!

Miss E in her new Flamingo Ruffle Scarf.
If you ask me it looks like it belongs to Cindy Lou Hou! And look at how long and thick her hair is getting!

This yarn was leftover from the girls Flamingo Hats that I knit last year. I don't think I ever blogged about them. A friend sent the yarn with solids dyed to fit my girls personalities... matching, but not quite matching. It was in my cabinet with my patterns and it kept falling out. Finally I'd had it with the yarn falling out on me and decided to just knit the darn scarf I'd been thinking of! I don't know why I waited so long!

And last but not least, Miss E modeling Issac's Hat knit with Handspun.

Issac is the son of a good friend. Not only does this friend go to our church, she is also a nurse in the peds oncology unit where we have literally lived for almost a year. Her son turned two this week and he has a nice big round head... this kind of hat looks completely adorable on such a boy!

I knit Miss E her new Pixie hat after Issac's hat. I used her head to base the sizing on and she really liked the hat. She wanted one with "piggy tails" too!

Two of these projects are knit with my own handspun. I learned that it's important to do that because you really don't know the quality of yarn you are getting until you actually knit some. Lately I've been thinking I was getting great yarn... it turns out I've actually been over spinning my singles a bit. There are rough spots in the yarn where it's got too much twist in it. Lesson learned: Knit your yarn!

Fresh off the wheel...

This is Selah, Over Coffee on Superwash Merino. She's very beautiful. I wound her into this crazy unruly hank though so she isn't shown to her full beauty.

There are things good and bad about this spin. Good... I got the yardage I wanted - 7.5oz, 438yds. After many tries I CAN get something near a 2 ply worsted weight! Bad... this fiber was just plain weird. It wasn't combed smoothly... or something. Drafting was tricky and I really had to pay attention. As a result it's not nearly as even as the last yarn I spun. I'm not sure yet if I'll try to use it for the project I had intended. I think the uneven qualities might make it more suitable for something else. That's always the gamble with spinning your own yarn. And quite honestly, isn't the unknown part of the fun?!

Psst... I FINISHED Miss N's blanket! And yes... over a month before her birthday! I have to weave in ends and then sneak it out for some pictures. And... I bought a zipper for my sweater. I just have to get up the guts to sew it in. Nothing like a nip in the air to motivate you to finish long languishing projects!

The Way to Miss N's Heart

Make it pink.

Make it girly.

Make it by hand.

Put these three together and you get a very happy, giddy, silly little girl who feels loved.

I forced her to wear the blue pants today. She wanted to wear hot pink. Pink, from head to toe... everyday...

Pattern: Old Shale Scarf
Yarn: PlumKnit 80/20 Merino Cashmere
I only used about 40g of yarn, gave it a serious blocking and it ended up just the right length.

Bad Blogger hearts Nancy Bush

I'm not really getting back into the groove of blogging yet. Caring for the special needs and getting to all the appointments of a child fighting cancer plus tackling the new project of homeschooling a kindergartner (and surprise a preschooler wants in on the fun too!)... plus just regular life stuff... equals a very busy and overwhelmed me.






However... I just finished a project I want to share. I started out trying a simple sock, a popular new pattern, but it just wasn't doing it for me. RIP! So then... I searched my patterns for one that matched the cast on stitches and ribbing so I didn't have to fully rip out because that 1x1 twisted rib was looking sharp! What came from all this was a challenging project that I am very proud of! I love Nancy Bush. I think I need to own all of her books. While Knitting Vintage Socks is not the flashiest of books, of the sock books I own it gets used the most. Nancy knows how to put together both beautiful and practical patterns. This was a very enjoyable knit that turned out fantastic! And now... I actually own a pair of socks that won't be the brightest pair in the room.

Pattern: Childs First Sock in Shell Pattern by Nancy Bush
Yarn: The Woolen Rabbit, Sock, Ebony or Raven... can't remember... but it's gorgeous!

It's been said...

... that knitters are some of the best people around. And I have to agree. While I have met the occasional non-friendly one, the good seeds FAR outweigh the bad!

So there's this knitter, Sarah, who's blog I've read for the past few years. We've exchanged a few messages back and forth now and then... nothing big really. Recently she started working on a blanket made from sock yarn scraps. She was in need of more purple. Well, if there is something I have an abundance of... it's sock yarn scraps! And I really have a thing for the purple socks. Last winter I realized I had I think four pair of purple socks... and one purple shirt. A little out of balance. Anyway... I knew I had a bunch and no plans for them so I offered them to her. No biggie. While I was at it I threw in a skein of purple yarn because... well... do I really need another pair of purple socks? Not for a while. Plus, she's an avid sock knitter and this is one of my favorite sock yarns and I don't believe she'd tried it yet. Must get her addicted too right?

First off, she heartily thanked me several times on her blog. For scraps! No big deal, really! And then... over the weekend something very special arrived in my mailbox. An absolutely gorgeous Swallowtail Shawl in none other than the Hazel Knits yarn I had sent her! And it has beads. Hematite even. (The shiny gray ones that remind you of gray purls, one of my favorites.) It's perfect! It's as if she knew me intimately. I never thought I'd fall for such a thing but I'm in love. It's gorgeous. I keep petting it... especially the beaded part. I can't wait to find an occasion to show it off! Candlelighters Christmas Party perhaps? Go take a look on her blog!

But mostly, I'm blown away by her kindness to a stranger. I mean really, that is what we are. It was extremely thoughtful and kind and it really touched me. Unbeknown to me until just yesterday, September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. (I've been too busy fighting childhood cancer to know what month to bring awareness!) What a fitting time to receive such a kind gift from someone I hardly know. Sarah, thank you so much.

Knit Parade

Getting back into the habit of blogging... how about a knit parade? The past couple of months I've had lots of time to knit, but none to block or take pictures. (ie I've been locked in the hospital) Here's a few knits I managed to block and wash this week besides the troublesome sweater. More are awaiting their turn later this week.

Basic Socks - But I dyed the yarn! Thrilled with the outcome!

Helena in Hazel Knits Artisan Lively, Lime Granita

Sweet Mama Small Sugar Seamless Infant Kimono, Sugar Bubbie Gaia Worsted in Bodie

SO... grosgrain ribbon may help my puckering sweater you say? How does that work on the button hole side? Maybe I can find my info if I google...

Help!

I finally completed a sweater that fits me and it's cute too! Problem... the button pucker. As you can see it's even puckering when laying flat. I tried to straighten it out before I took the picture but I couldn't! You can imagine how the problem compounds when I put it on. What's up with this?! Do I need the buttons that stand up off the fabric? I tried sewing them on somewhat loosely but that doesn't seem to have helped these buttons. Also, they pop out regularly when it's on.

I haven't seen this happen except on sweaters that were just too tight. And although I have put no 10 pounds since I started knitting it (Darn that sleep deprivation, hospital food and all that sitting around on my arse!) it's still loose enough that it should be behaving this way.

So this is for those of you with experience here... HELP PLEASE! :)

ETA: I have already washed and blocked the sweater. Nice thought though Hattie! I already tried getting bigger buttons. Maybe I need even bigger. The button holes seem really stretchy though. Maybe the problem is in the stretch of the yarn?

Charlotte May

For the past seven or so months I've mostly been knitting socks... plain old stockinette. Boring things not worth blogging about. My brain is too exhausted to deal with much outside of my daughters treatment and care. The plain knitting is soothing. However, my grandmother, Charlotte May, has her 80th birthday tomorrow. This is an occasion to commemorate.


This grandmother can sew, paint, knit, crochet, embroider... she can do anything. And it's always perfect. She's the little voice in my head when I'm working on a project and am tempted to leave a mistake. 'Grandma wouldn't do that... she'd start tisking me if she saw that.' And when I was a kid my mom left us at her house a lot... until the wee hours of the morning many times. My brothers would be put to bed in her bed while I was put on the couch behind her cutting board for sewing. She'd sit there in her rocking chair sewing, crocheting or knitting... watching late night news and then Johnny Carson... "patiently" waiting for my mom to come get us after whatever unsavory late night activities kept her out. What my mom was doing was not lovely and those were hard times. But I have been thinking about them a lot lately. I've been thinking about my Grandmother and how she sat there working with her hands while enduring hard times for much of her life. And that's what I've been doing... sitting and watching over my daughter who is named in part for her. Watching, waiting, enduring... working simple projects with my hands to soothe away the anxiety and fears... giving me SOMETHING I could do while I watch and wait. It is a gift I feel she passed down to me. Another thing that makes me think of her... my hands. I have her hands. So as I watch my own hands I can see hers.


I wanted to make her something special. Something that would stretch my skills. I decided upon a lace scarf. This was a definite challenge given that I am exhausted in every way possible and I've never knit lace! But I wanted to make that effort for her. Given the circumstances I am amazed I was able to accomplish this. As far as my exhausted self can tell... there are no mistakes. And that is exactly what I was striving for. She would not leave a mistake... and I wanted to make something flawless for her.

So as life takes it's up's, down's and turns... I have this gift from her. And I hope this small gift will show her what a special gift she's given to me.

Miss E today wearing a new pair of those boring socks I mentioned... she loves them.

There is knitting in Leukemia Land

My sweet girl helping me knit Grammy some birthday socks during yet another week in the hospital. Knitting... goes everywhere!