cables - the basic rules

I'm knitting my third pair of Stulpen gloves, and I've figured out a few things about cables and working with cable charts.

For all the cables I've worked thus far, you always

1. Knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches.

2. Pass knit stitches over purl stitches.

Huh. So if I highlight all of the symbols that indicate a front cross, I can glance at the chart to see if I'm crossing in front or behind, and the cable tells me everything else. A doorway of comprehension has opened in my brain!

cables

Last night I finished my 3rd pair of cabled mitts, and I've been going through Barbara Walker's First & Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns, trying to decide on my next cable pattern. Evidently, cables are addictive. I now have to buy Cables Untangled, because this Ravelry project uses a stitch from it.

For someone who really doesn't like cables, I'm getting awfully interested in them.