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!