I'm going through a bit of a knitted cable renaissance lately, and am really enjoying it. Ever since I started making them without a cable needle (more on that later) I'm super keen on them.
Are you tempted by cables, but are put off by their complex appearance? Ah, but they are all basically the same idea.
The image above in an excerpt from the Idiot's Guide to Knitting, and all of those cable variations is explained in the book. And if you can make a simple twist, you can make these cables.
Here are some more cables that are covered in the book: