P/hop has asked me to introduce my pattern – Jacqueline.

One of the runaway successes of p/hop has been the Cranford mitts pattern – 600+ projects showing on Ravelry. I’ve made a number of pairs and have knitted them while manning the p/hop stand at Knit Nation and in my breaks while volunteering at the Olympic fencing test event.

In fact I’d not worn fingerless gloves or mitts for years until I was introduced to Cranfords, and now I can’t live without them. But I like to have my wrists covered so started thinking about longer mitts and when I wanted to make a gift for a friend this long cuff design was the obvious way forward.

And because I wouldn’t have been inspired without the Cranfords, it was obvious to me I should write up the pattern for p/hop. Well, that and having spent a day as a volunteer in the MSF office and seen and heard first-hand the importance of its work.

The Jacquelines’ ribbed cuff can be shortened or folded to the length you want, the palms are smooth and practical, and the cable design is a little like an Argyle sock design. It’s made up of very simply two stitch cables so is straightforward even if you are new to cables. In my tests it looks best in a single lighter colour.

Mainly I hope you enjoy the pattern and that it inspires variations and other fingerless mitt ideas.

That’s the great thing about p/hop, you raise money by being creative with a recipient in mind (you, family, friends) rather than hoping your squares really end up in a blanket somewhere in the world.

So I wish you happy knitting and warm wrists.

Bronagh

Imagine my delight when I woke up to the following tweet this morning

After some twitter based detective work I discovered the lovely Gerard Alt, of long time p/hop supporters IKnitLondon, had been on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme talking about knitting on TV. The main topic was THAT JUMPER from the top Danish crime drama The Killing (or Forbrydelsen) but he also gave our Cranford Mittens pattern and the talented Jane Lithgow a mention. Thank you Gerard.

So if you’ve found your way here from the Today programme, welcome!

We’re a knitting fundraiser for the incredible and inspiring emergency medical aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières MSF (Doctors Without Borders). You are more than welcome to download any of our beautiful knitting patterns. All we ask in return is you make a donation to MSF/DoctorsWithoutBorders based on how much pleaseure you’ll get from your knitting pattern. It’s as simple as that.

If you already know about us but missed the radio item you can “listen again” here.

As always you can follow us on twitter @msf_phop and get the latest news about MSF’s life saving work at @MSF_uk

Clare aka Dragonflyknit is guest blogging about our current Cranford Mitt-a-long. Take it away Clare….

It has been fun this September to participate in another Ravelry knit-a-long for p/hop of Jane Lithgow’s wonderful Cranford mittens: fabulous to knit and to wear, and also very popular gifts. I signed up on August 3^rd when littlelixie suggested the idea, and began planning which yarn to use. Fellow Ravellers signed up to the knit-a-long quickly grew to twenty-eight, and more have joined in along the way. (It’s not too late to join us! Click here for the Ravelry thread).

Right, a confession: I already had a pair of Cranfords on my circular needle, so I had to get the knitting of these completed in order to cast on a new pair on September 1^st. However, the darning in of the ends of the pair I was knitting in August is not yet done, so my plan is do so this week. Thus by 30^th September, I will in fact have completed two pairs = two donations to P-Hop!

As ever, being part of a knit a long has been a very rewarding experience: it is such a pleasure to see the fabulous yarn and colour choices made for the mitts, and to check in frequently to see how my fellow knitters are progressing. It is also great to see the kindness, encouragement and assistance being offered to knitters who ask for help because the Cranford pattern presents them with the opportunity to learn new skills.

Thank you for sharing your experiences with us Clare. If you’re not a Ravelry member here are a few of the gorgeous pairs of mittens that have been made. Thank you to everyone in our Ravelry group who has shared their photos.

Extra repeats of the main pattern make for very elegant Cranfords as knitted by OneHandKnits. ©OneHandKnits

DarthKnitty aka Sefronia throwing some Gagaesque shapes with her coordinated Cranfords. ©Sefronia

Another fine pair by ©Crobbles

If you’ve blogged about the Mitts you’ve made we’d love to read about it. Please leave your comments and links to your blog below.

Tempted to join in? Please do. The official deadline is 30th September but as our knit-a-long is for fun we won’t mind if you’re knitting Cranfords into October, Christmas or 2012…

Speaking of Christmas check out this fun and festive pair made by Snail Hannah

Festive Cranfords by © Snailhannah

Happy knitting and as always thank you for supporting Médecins Sans Frontières.