competition winner

And the winner is: Darcys Knotty Knitter.
Darcy wins 3 skeins of Arctic musk ox blend in her color choice raspberry ripple. Congrats ! And thanks to all who took part.....the clear winner is the Egyptian red.
We would like everyone to know how we choose at random: as the comments come in we write the name down on a little post it note paper and slip it in a bag that we have hanging on the office notice board. The day after the competiton i get someone passing through ( business partner, kids, customer)to pick 1 out......so its fair for all who enter.
The next competiton is planned and will be posted soon.........Egytian Red SOCKS !

Buffalo/Bison Blanket

Another little treasure complete ! All knitters love that feeling you get when you have completed another project and you just know EVERY ST is PERFECT.....I know this blog is supposed to be about 'Qiviut' but Buffalo
 is another little Luxury i allow myself to indulge in.
100% Pure buffalo, Fully dehaired so the blanket is very soft and oh so cuddly ! Designed this one with natural buffalo and navy blue, has raised stitch design on some blocs and plain knit sts on others  and at this moment its on its way to its new owner in Arlington VA. ''I'm sure your gonna love it Liz''. Blanket measures 54'' X 75'' but has a 2'' inch border all around. The buffalo has a wonderful soft spongy feel to it. I tested it by wrapping it around my shoulders and you could feel the heat starting to generate within 60 seconds.
This blanket is $ 950.00 usd and includes xpress shipping.

Easy Knit Gloves

These are real easy to knit ! I used the 3 ply Arctic musk ox blend in Navy, Raspberry, hand painted teal and navy and a new hand painted color consisting of all the above colours, 4 colours in total and i may have enough yarn for 2 pairs !
Knit on 2.75mm D.P.N so the construction is firm and close fitting.

The only patterns i could find were vintage style calling for a total of 7 needles.....way to complex and annoying so i thought i would design an easy pattern using only 4 needles and holding sts not in use with waste lengths of yarn. Much simpler, easy to work and No Tangled needles to make you scream ! Follow the tension suggestion below and if you feel that you need them larger or smaller simply go up or down a needle size:

Tension on 2.75mm = 7 sts=1'' inch X 9 rows = 1'' inch
The picture above shows the thumb sts on waste yarn just before i close the gap.
***Remember when knitting in the RND (round)...Always put extra tension on your 1 st of every needle to prevent an ugly ladder/gap forming***.

I will add the pattern and more pictures as i go along, i hope to be able to show different segments in detail so you can easily knit these for yourself !

I would say the only sticky bit of this pattern is separating the sts and holding the sts not in use and writing the text in a clear easy to understand manner !

If this is your 1 st pair of gloves its probably better to knit them using a single colored yarn and trying the gloves for fit as you go along.

The Pattern:

You will need 75 grams -3 skeins of Arctic musk ox 3 ply yarn.

1 set of 2.75mm D.P.Needles.

3 lengths of waste yarn-worsted weight or small stich holders.

3 st markers.

ABBREVIATIONS- rnd=round. sts= stitches, sm=stitch marker,dpn=double pointed needles, sm=slip marker. Beg= beginning.

Make Cuff:

With 2.75mm dpn and your main colour cast on 44 sts, join to work in the rnd, pm knit 1 row.

Next rnd: k2, p2 for 6 rnds, then k 1 rnd.

 change to raspberry: k2, p2, 6 rnds Raspberry, k1 rnd.

Change to main colour, k2,p2 for 7 rnds, k1 rnd. Rib is complete.

With Navy k 5 rnds.

With main colour knit 6 rnds.

THUMB GUSSET:

Join on Raspberry and at the same time make thumb.

RND 1: k 18 sts, PM, m1, k1, m1,k1,PM, continue knitting rnd.

RND 2: and all Alternate rnds- knit without shaping.

RND 3: k 18, sm, m1, k3, m1, sm, k rem sts.

RND 5: k18, sm, m1, k5, m1, sm, k to beg.

Change to main colour: RND7:k18, sm, m1, k7, m1, sm, k to beg.

RND 9: k18,sm, m1, k9, m1, sm, k to beg.

RND 11: k18, sm, m1, k11, m1, sm, k to beg.

Change to navy and turquoise.

RND 13: k18, sm, m1, k13, m1, sm, k to beg.

Next Rnd: knit all sts to 1st marker, remove marker and put the next 13 sts for thumb onto waste yarn.

Next close the gap, knit putting EXTRA tension on the sts to close the gap. Palm Section:

Continue knitting around for another 5 rnds with navy and turquoise yarn.

As you can see from the picture above there is ample room to try the gloves on so you can get the best possible fit.

Change to hand painted yarn and knit another 6 rnds, again try the glove on for fit. After completing the next 6 rnds the work should reach the base of the beginning of your fingers.

Change to navy and knit 2 rnds.

, at same time inc 1 st each end of all 3 needles

Next make fingers:

With navy yarn, k across needle 1 and knit 8 sts onto needle 1 from needle 2. The rem 8 sts on needle 2, slip them onto needle 3 so you now have 48 sts on 2 needles that are parallel to each other.

 DO NOT BREAK YARN !

See below

Take 2 lengths of waste yarn and remove 18 sts from the end of 1 needle so you have 6 sts remaining, repeat for other needle. At this point i like to change to bamboo needles for the fingers, the bamboo is non-slippy so there is no chance of dropping sts when working in the rnd on a few sts!

With Thumb gusset facing to the right side begin to knit the index finger. k 4sts onto needle 1, 4sts each onto needles 2 and 3, put extra tension on the 1st of each needle so its nicely closed. Knit about 15 rnds and try on the glove, the knitting should come just over the tip of index finger.

Next: Break yarn leaving a 10cm tail, load wool needle and run through the 12 sts, close tightly and sew in loose end to inside of glove.

Change color for middle finger or not !

begin cast on  by leaving a 10cm tail (this is used to sew gap between fingers when glove is complete). Rep as for index finger, picking up a total of 12 sts and knitting this finger to same length as index finger. Rep for the ring finger too.

Pinkie-small finger: You should have 11 or 12 sts remaining (me, sometimes i have 12 and sometimes i have 11) ! You should have 12, if not, inc 1 st by picking up a loop between finger gap. Knit as for other fingers trying the glove as you go along and knitting till it reaches the top of your wee finger and close in the same way as other fingers.

Next: turn glove inside out and sew in all the loose ends by weaving them into same coloured rows.(i prefer a really sharp darning needle for this as it slips into the pearl sts neatly.

Thumb:

divide the 13 sts onto 3 needles and inc 1 st on needle 1. Knit as for fingers trying on as you go and finish in the same way sewing in the loose end.

Go make another glove !

January Competition: vote for your favourite colour

We LOVE Colour and want to know what is the most popular....Vote for your fav Arctic musk ox blend colour from the options above, left to right: hunter, slate blue, turkey red, purple, raven black, mahogany, raspberry ripple, Egytian red, Bordeaux, navy blue and Azalea.... Winner will be chosen at random and will receive enough yarn in your colour choice to make these EASY TO KNIT gloves.
This competeition runs to the 20th febuary 2011, open to knitters and Non-knitters world wide.

Competition winner

And the winner is : Alison H.
With her entry ......Aulavik, Arctic Lichen, Sitka, McKinley, Taiga. Alison please contact us so we can ship you your prize......
Alison wins the skein of 'Artists Hand yarn' and the gorgeous soft lace scarf......congratulations petal !

Thanks to all who took part.

We have more Monthly competitions planned so Become a follower of our blog to see at a glance what were up to !
this months competition is already planned and will be published within a day or two.....so check back.....
'Happy Knitting New Year'

Artists Hand scarf...the giveaway

This is the lace scarf  knit from 'artists hand yarn' as part of our competition . Is knit from yarn number 1, measures 10'' X 52'' and is just so lightweight and soft, complete with a beaded slide that you can remove. Enter the competiton below for your chance to win this scarf and a 100 gram skein of this Gorgeous yarn !

yarn giveaway-win a skein of 'artists Hand' yarn

Here at cottage we are asking for yarn color name suggestions for our new 'artists hand' yarns 90% Qiviut- 10% Merino. To enter choose a name for each of the 5 yarns above, leave your suggestions in comments section and the person with the 5 best names wins ! To make it fair for everyone it will be my business partner who decides which entry wins
As this type of yarn is sooo special we would like the colour names to reflect the yarn content....think Qiviut - Musk Oxen - Tundra -Arctic Circle....flowers of the Tundra....check out Google and see what you can come up with !
Competition is open to everyone....world wide, closing date: December 31st 2010.What you win: 1 -100 gram skein of artists hand And a lace scarf 52'' X 10'' knit from 'artists hand yarn' the winner will be announced on this blog new years day( if i havent got a massive hangover...lol)...get your thinking cap on !

Shrug knit from musk ox yarn

A very simple way to construct a shrug is to knit the basic rectangle shape. this very versatile garment when knit from 100% qiviut or qiviut blends makes a wonderful back and shoulder warmer that's whisper light. You can easily knit your own shrug in any type of stitch design simply by knitting a rectangle shape.Measurements: S: 38'' X 20'' inches deep. M: 42'' X 22'' L: 46'' X 22'' XL: 50'' X 24'' The garment is knit length ways, casting on the sts for the left arm and knitting until you reach the right arm. To find your size, measure how long you want the sleeve to be X by 2 (for both sleeves) and then measure across the width of your shoulders/back or measure the width of your fav sweater. Once complete stitch the arm seams closed 2.5'' inches short of arm pit.......Voila

musk ox -fingerless gloves

''Going mad for teal''.....Knit from 100% musk ox yarn. I knit these with 2 strands of our lace weight yarn together on 3.75mm straights for the long cuff section & then changed to 3.75mm D.P.N for hand & finger section.....small project can be knit over the weekend. Added a sprinkling of beads as i'm a big bead fan !

I found this colour quite by accident. The gloves were supposed to be 'slate blue' but i added too much dye so i ended up with Teal.....loved the colour so much i had to get some teal nail polish & a gorgeous teal eyeliner. As i'm a big fan of Betsey Johnson i found a pair of froggy earrings in teal too. Teal is the colour this year.....even hollywood stars are mad about teal.....love it !

Arctic musk ox Blend cardigan Pattern.

Knit from our new Arctic Qiviut blend of 30% Qiviut- 20% Merino- 20% Silk- 30% Baby Alpaca- at $7.95 per 25 gram skein its a Luxurious little bargain. I knit this on a 3.5mm and used our 3 ply. I am pleasantly surprised with the results, the sweater is so soft warm and the fit is wonderful- close fitting and not too bulky in size XL.Perfect to wear with a thin t-shirt or a cute Cami-top. The colour is a natural sort of oatmeal. I don't usually go for this type of colour but this has a special sheen to it and the baby alpaca adds halo. I didn't want buttons for this so i opted for a single sterling silver clasp i bought from a silver dealer in Israel ....still hasn't arrived as yet ( i buy from Israel as much as possible to score Heaven points)

Old Shale Stitch or feather and fan pattern has been around since Victorian times.... makes for an easy knit stitch on the run. This pattern is so easy. Even if you have never knit a cardi before you can do this. The is similar to a short sleeved cardi  from http://www.flossyanddossy.blogspot.com/. Wendy, is a designer of everything Vintage and has Oh so cute wiggle

 dresses at a very reasonable price for her quality workmanship. flossy and Dossy also manufacture wedding dress at very reasonable prices. Check her out and grab yourself a little something special.

Tension: Over stocking st on 3.5mm needles -24sts X 27 Rows = 4'' inch square.

The overall measurements are: Length-back-24''. Width - 21''

Sleeves: length - 19'' - Width at top of sleeve -17''

Width at Front: 22'' includes the front bands/ribs. These measurements are approx; and are based on my knitting tension and the garment after blocking.

You will need :

1 pair of 3.00mm needles , 1 pair of 3.5mm needles, stitch markers, wool needle,

15- 25 gram balls of Arctic blend 3 ply by http://www.cottagecraftangora.com/

Clasp or buttons to close at collar.

The pattern:

With 3.5mm cast on 130 sts then follow this pattern throughout for the back.

1: (RS) Knit.

2: Purl side.

3: K2, * (PM)-place a marker, K2 tog ( 3 times), YO, K1 ( 6 times), K2tog (3 times).Rep from * to last 2 sts, k2.

4: Knit.

Repeat the above rows until work measures 15'' inches long ( no stretching). Next, change to regular stocking st on the next knit row, work until back measures 17'' inches long.

Under arm shaping: Cast of 5 sts at the beg of next 2 rows. then DEC 1 st each end of the next 4 rows. Work straight until armhole measures 9.5'' inches deep. Shape shoulders: cast off 6 sts at the beg of next 4 rows. then cast off all rem sts purl side.

Right Front:

Cast on 76 sts. Work as for back keeping pattern correct, shape armhole, cast of 5 sts on the beg of next knit row, then 1 st at the beg of next 4 rows. work until armhole measures 6'' inches then shape neck front by casting/binding off 15 sts.Next DEC 1 st at neck edge every other row until armhole measures 9.5'' inches. Next cast off 6 sts at shoulders edge every other row 2 times. cast/bind off remaining sts.

Left front:

Same as right, reverse shaping.

Sleeves:

With 3.5mm cast on 58 sts. Follow pattern as set and place markers between so you always know where your at. Work on the 58 sts for 6 pattern repeats, then inc 1 st each end, work another 2 full pattern rep then inc 1 st each end again. Continue to inc 1 sts each end every 2 full pattern repeats.(that's 4 rows = 1 pattern repeat). Continue as set until work measures 10' long(without stretching).

Next change to stocking st. continue to inc 1 st each end every 4 rows.When work measures 17'' long inc 1 st each end every 2 rows until 100 sts, cast/bind off purl wise.make another sleeve.

Next :lightly press and steam all edges using silk or wool setting on iron. Sew up all seams.

Front bands: With (RS)  facing you, 3.00mm needles pick up & knit 136 sts from right front and K 2, P2  for 6 rows, cast off in k and p sts. Repeat for other side. You may find that you want a wider band, simply knit more rows till you happy with the width of the band/rib !

Neck: with 3.00mm needles pick up and knit 130 sts, k2,p2 for 6 rows, then cast/bind off knit and purl wise.

Please let me know if there are any errors......have fun !

  

100% Qiviut cabled cardi- part 2:

Ok so i have started the Left Front and boy is it going fast working on 4.00mm's & only 73sts & 2 cables. I love doing cables so much that i can't put it down. The back of the sweater weighed a total of 95 grams so the fronts should take at least 10% more.....this means with all my odd ends of batches i should have enough to finish the cardigan. The left sleeve is now finished & i have started the right. I can't wait for it to be done so i can weigh the whole thing to know exactly how much yarn our new pattern will require ! At this stage i'm enjoying every st.........but what color should i dye this ? At the moment i'm into Black, Purple & Raspberry !

Coloring a Qiviut sweater is quite nerve wracking......i just know i'm going to be stressed all the time its in the pot even though i kind of know what i'm doing. The pieces of knitwear have to be dyed before stitching them together this allows the dye to get even coverage, the bands have to be knit after dyeing so we need to add enough yarn to the dye pot too, but what color ?

Qiviut cabled hat & mitts

Hand Knit from 100% Qiviut, i knit theses with 3 strands of 2 ply together.....they are so soft, thick & warm. This set is sold but i can make more. The set above sells for $260.00usd Or knit them yourself....patterns on our site at www.http://www.cottagecraftangora.com/

Qiviut-Merino sweater-construction

I couldnt resist.....i just had to get into the new bags of coloured qiviut.I sneaked out of the mill(i was supposed to be carding angora rabbit fibre) with an armful of yarn and just had to find a quiet place so i could decide what to make with this yarn.I have always wanted a qiviut sweater......but the natural brown-ish grey would never do.I love color.........armed with my copy of Sheila Mcgreggors ''Traditional Fair isle knitting'' i sifted through pages and pages of what appeared to be very complex fair isle designs......i don't have time for complex.......my knitting time for design is composed of  a few minutes here and there! I settled on this boxy design and thought i would incorporate about 6 different colours into the sweater and this sweater will be affordable and easy to knit while using max amount of colour.
I will post pics of the sweater construction at each stage........the actual end design is not yet determined......i will get the feel as the knitting moves along. The yarns used so far are: Natural qiviut brown for the (MC) with hunter green, purple, raspberry and slate blue.
Finished the sweater and was sold before i got a chance to take a picture. At a Trunk show a customer Purchased it 'right off my back'.......I was thankfull i had showerd that morning OMG !

Qiviut-silk hand warmers

I wanted to remake these for the longest time. Several years ago i made a pair of long hand warmers from 100% Angora and they were really well received so i thought i would re-write a pattern for them made from qivisilk.It's very nice to work with.....soft and slippy.Again,i am knitting them with 2 strands of qivisilk together......makes for quicker knitting. I started them on 4 D.P.N but changed to 3 needles to make the pattern go easier.I am still knitting the wrist section and i want to make them quite long.....maybe almost elbow length and i still haven't decided if i should make them all over lace right down to the fingers....you know....across the palms too! Or should i stop the lace at the section just before the thumb insert?

100% Qiviut cabled sweater- sweater construction-part 1:

Today i just had to start a new Cardi,this one will be a roomy XL size. Knit from 100% Natural qiviut. I'm writing the pattern as i go along for 6 sizes. The yarns are from 3 different batches of Qiviut-there's only a slight variation from batch to batch but never the less...the variation is there so i'm trying to work out what will go where.....its an awful lot of work to rip out if i get it wrong !The rib is a 2x2 & is knit on 3.00mm's for 2.5'' inches, changed to 4.00mm for the body. All the back section is knit in plain stocking stitch....all the business will be in the front with cables and lacey bits & 3 buttons to close. I'm having musk ox horns deliverd soon so they can be sent off to an artist who can make buttons (i want to keep the qiviut theme True so the buttons should be made from real Musk ox horn)....your probably thinking how the heck can she get musk ox horns ? Well i buy them from the Inuit. Musk oxen are food for them people(there's no Walmart where they live ! I really wanted to knit this cardi in Raven Black but because i have to work in the mill or studio during the day i can only hand knit in the evening......knitting black in the evening is not good for my eyes so i settled on making the sweater in natural qiviut & then i will dye the completed sweater....if i have the nerve...... after all that work ! Can't wait to start the fronts.....stocking st is soooooo Boring.

And the back is finished....... I like this pic better as it shows the true color of qiviut

cabled Qiviut socks-take 2

So,i have the 1st sock complete and have started the second sock on the straight needles.Still haven't got the pattern into the computer but i will get to that later today.The yarn is soft soft.These will be perfect house socks and i'm not giving them away or selling them.......it's time i kept something for me!

The cable design is knit on 4.5mm straights and then all the sts are transfer to 3.75mm D.P.N

The seam is on the inside leg so no ugly uneven sts are ever seen.The toe is finished in kitchener stitch and again it's perfect.When i come to write and sell the pattern for these....i'm guessing it will be 10 pages long......oooee that will be quite costly to mail or i may just make it an email pattern. So far it looks like it will take 3-4, 22 gram skeins to complete because i'm using lace weight qiviut and knitting with 2 strands together.I will get my daughter to model the socks when they are finished and try to get a better shot of the actual cabled sts.

I think the 1st picture taken outside shows up the cabled sts better!

cabled qiviut socks-50% Qiviut-50% Angora

Sorry about the image quality..........the sun is flooding in my studio

100% Qiviut House socks

And they are finished,i even finished the toe in kitchener stitch (for the 1st time ever)..........i was a right pussy when it came to knitting socks.......absolutely terrified at the thought of sock knitting.The toe is just so tidy and smooth.......i think i'm in love with sock knitting all over again.My next project will be a 50% qiviut with 50%angora.This time i will do a fancy cabled border for the rib of the socks and make it longer and more luxurious............where's my needles.

100% Qiviut socks-ribbed top

These socks are just as soft as a cloud......pity they are not for me! I'm making them with a 4ply 100% qiviut and knitting on a 3.5mm D.P.N.I'm sure they will be super warm and comfortable to wear as ''house socks''.The rib is a nice k2,p2,and measures 7''inches long. By the time i'm done they will have used approx; 55 grams of qiviut........not bad yardage!

100% Qiviut king size bed cover

I really enjoyed making this Blanket and would love to do it again.This was a custom made order going to a couple in Texas.......they will be warm! I machine knit the whole blanket in 3 sections and used my new linker machine to put it all together and added a sturdy rib around the whole perimeter and again used the linker......i love that machine.......it makes finishing so much easier and neater.Made from 100% pure qiviut the blanket measures 90''X 90'' and took 960 grams to complete.This was the largest project i have made todate from pure qiviut and it put a big dent in my yarn stash!