Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Knitting Yarns

Has been brought to our attention that not everyone can see and load our site due to the high graphics..... you need highspeed ! We will list our yarns here for all to see. To purchase any yarns just send us an email at: cottagecraftangora@hotmail.com  We will contact you via email and bill you with paypal.

I will number the yarns so its easier for knitters to order !
***The average shipping cost per package is $9.00 to $12.00.
*** please note, yarns are in either skeins or balls....depends what we have in stock at the time of ordering

 Yarn number 1 :
Yarn number 1:
100% qiviut, available in a 2 ply lace, 22 gram skein - 160 yards or 3 ply as shown, 22 gram skein 100 yards. Color shown Navy, is also available in : Natural, cranberry red, strawberry red, Hunter green, Bright Bordeaux, Purple, Raven Black. $39.50 each.


Yarn Number 2:
100% Buffalo/Bison yarn. 2 or 3 ply, in natural chocolate brown as shown or raven black, navy blue.
 2 ply: 22 grams - 155 yards. $22.00 each
3 ply: 22 grams - 90 to100 yrds. $22.00 each
We also have this same yarn in a big 100 gram skein $90.00 each.


Yarn Number  3:
50% qiviut-50% merino. colors left to right: Hunter, blue slate, turkey red, purple, raven black, magogany, raspberry sorbet, egyptian red, bordeaux, navy blue, (the color on the end is no longer available)
22 gram skein - 160 yards, 2 ply lace, $15.00 each.

The same yarn above is also available in 50% Angora- 50% qiviut, $17.50 each.*** Please note colors are not exactly as shown as the different blends produce slightly different colors*** 



Soft Spun Angora is Back !
We first made this yarn in 2004. Due to our work load with the pure qiviut we had to give it a miss for a few years. Its back for good and will replace our 100% Angora until fall 2011. This easy knit yarn contains  80% Angora - 20% merino. 3 ply, like a sport weight, 50 gram skeins, 232 yards. 3.75 - 4.5mm needles ( for lacey projects use a 6 or 7.00 mm) Colors: (left to right) Raven Black, Turkey red, Bijoux Blue, Raspberry, Lavender, Wild rose. $15.00 each. More colours coming soon !  To see a Gorgeous sweater knit in this yarn check out this link:
www.canaryknits.blogspot.com/2008/03/le-lapin-noir.html


We will upload more yarns soon ! 

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Competition: win this smokering

Whatever you call it.....smokering, hood, snood.....its a very versatile garment that not only keeps you warm but adds a bit of glam ! You can wear it up over the head or pulled down around the neck like a scarf. Has an allover delicate lace design
We need a colour name for this yarn. The yarn is a new blend of 60% Qiviut-20% silk- 20% Bamboo. Lace weight 2 ply.
 Hand-painted in Egyptian red and Bright Bordeaux. The Silk and bamboo really make the colors Flash .....the qiviut adds wonderful softness and warmth.

The competition is open to everyone world wide.
To enter leave your color name suggestions in the comment section and we will choose our favorite name.
Name can be relevant to the actual colors you see in the yarn, flowers from Nature, names related to musk ox, qiviut, the Tundra etc !
Competition runs until 20 Th May 2011.
Best of Luck !

                                              Win this smoke ring
Date:21-05-2011
The winner of the smokering is 'Tamara'.....we thought the name ''Tundra Bearberry'' very fitting for this colorway. Congrats Tamara, please contact us by email with your mailing address !

Saturday, April 16, 2011

April competition winner..........

Winner drawn at random was '' Jennifer''...........please contact us at
cottagecraftangora@hotmail.com so we can ship you your yarns !

Thanks to all who took part !

Our next competition is a ''Name it'' competition. We have a new hand knit smokering design we are working on and need help with the name....be sure to enter ! Details wil be posted soon.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

qiviut sweaters

Just finished yet another 100% qiviut sweater....this one is sold and now on its way to its new home in Vancouver. I decided to knit this one with rolled edges to get that beautiful qiviut drape going. All edges are double cast off so there's no chance of stitches unraveling. Knit in fine 2 ply its just so yummy and soft as a cloud with that distinctive qiviut halo ! Qiviut is 8 times warmer than sheep wool and is so light and airy the knitwear is very comfortable to wear next to the skin. Available in Adult Sizes: small- $600.00, M-$640.00, L- $680.00, XL-$700.00, XXL-$740.00, XXXL- $770.00+ xpress shipping. Unisex design.

 The ladies sweater (not shown) comes with ( at no extra charge) a lace neck scarf attached to the sweater by way of knitted belt loops. I will post a picture of this when i get around to knitting it in a few days or so. The scarf drapes beautifully and there's no chance of loosing the scarf as it fits snugly through the belt loops. To order a sweater or a custom knit design please contact me at http://www.cottagecraftangora.com/ for more information.

The 2nd sweater I'm working on above is knit with 80% Qiviut-20% super white merino. Knit with 3 strands together = 6 ply on 5.00mm circular needle. I knit the bottom 3'' inches on a 4mm to make the edge stitches firm. Its very Thick and I'm sure it will be very warm. This design is an irregular rib and i think its just what this heavy sweater needs......the rib construction and the merino content will help it keep its shape and drape !
Not sure how much yarn this sucker will take....i dare not count.  I have balled  352 grams, the back and front so far measures 8'' and i need to go to at least 15'' inches up to the armholes. This baby is already sold and when finished will be on its way to Idaho. The customer bought this to keep him warm while riding his horse.

Will post more as the sweater progresses so check back Jim to see your sweater come to life !
So far so good......divided St's for back and front and I'm very happy with the yardage its better than i thought ! The sleeves are set in style and I'm DEC the St's at both ends for the arm hole shaping. The rose wood needles are very smooth (though not as smooth as the Addi turbos http://www.espacetricot.com/
 i knit English style so the knitting is Flying now.....cant wait for it to be done so i can stand back and look at my work, this sweater is gorgeous and I'm sure i will be making many more of this design !


Voila.....complete except for i want to add a hood. I think the hood should be knit in regular plain stitch as this will highlight the overall design of this sweater. One of the great things about an overall rib design is that it really holds its shape well, has gorgeous drape and elasticity to every inch. The sweater looks small but it magically grows on you the moment you get it on ! The rib design feels so comfortable to wear and makes a person look taller and slimmer. Will post the final picture after i add the hood later today.....wish this was mine, Winter is back. Were having Snow and wind again today 'soooo lucky i don't have to travel to work'


So we can say .......its complete. This sweater is sold and now on its way to Jim. To buy this sweater design contact me at the email address above with your size and color choice. Price $1,800.00

HOOD FAIL.........well i tried 3 different hood styles and didn't like any of them on this sweater and i suddenly realised why ? The hood should be all one with the sweater......a continuation of the neck line. For sure next time i knit this i  will suggest to the customer that we add a hood.

The Hat That was A Hood.......all is not lost. I had this rectangle left over.
10'' X 20'' so i turned it into a thick warm hat for hubby.
I stitched closed the seam along the short edge and turned up the brim section sewing it closed and along the length ways edge i gathered the top section on 4 strands of yarn so it would be strong enough to hold up to whatever he puts it through !
 The stitch pattern is: 5mm needles cast on 66 sts * k3, p3, k1, p2, k2, p3, k4, p4, rep from * to end. Row 2: k the k sts and p the p sts.
  30 minutes after this picture was taken he calls me from his Pied (foot) Dr's office and says ''er can i sell this hat''......the Doc wants it.......lets just say I'm not making another hat for him....the butcher might ask for the next one !