December yarn giveaway...more mill Ends !

Another Lovely lot in need of a new home !

In this giveaway we have 383 grams  of yarn in 2ply lace, 3ply and 4ply.

small amount of 100% qiviut,

100% angora in lace,

big 100gram skein of qiviut sock yarn (45% qiviut) that went wrong. The nylon has made the colour go a bit streaky so was rejected ......you could die it a solid black & that would probably cover the streaks,

some red 3ply Angora rabbit yarn- 2 skeins,

black 100% qiviut 2ply- went wrong so was rejected !

A mix of some blends with cash & silk,

a bit of 4 ply sock yarn.

One winner chosen at random.
From: 01- December 2012 TO 31- December 2012.

As its almost Christmas....... tell us what you love most about Christmas !

We have monthly giveaways too on out Ravelry group.......join in, you may just wine some yarn.
Each month we will pick at random a member for a free yarn giveaway just for being a group member.

 Members who post photos of their FO's knit from ANY of our yarns will be in with a chance to win more yarn.....yarn will be awarded for beautiful projects !

here's the group link:  www.ravelry.com/groups/cottage-craft-angora-mill

My other Blog: www.shetlandwool.blogspot.ca
Just posted the December Shetland wool giveaway !

Winner of November giveaway...

Winner is ' Hearthkeeper in christ' congrats you won the lot of mill ends. To claim your prize please contact me with your details.

Thanks to all who took part.......we have another mill/bobbin ends giveaway so check back later today !

November: yarn giveaway- Mill Ends

More Mille Ends.....

Sorry for the delay posting this but i just had to finish all my christmas knitwear.
 Its all done and now i have more time to spend on the blog and ravelry group www.ravelry.com/groups/cottage-craft-angora-mill

Been working on the 'Infinity Lotus' scarf pattern and it turning out lovely.
http://www.theqiviutblog.blogspot.ca/12/09/septemberoctober-lotus-hat-kit-giveaway.
I will write the Infinity scarf pattern ASAP.

                 This month i decided to have a clean out more mill/bobbin ends.
Here they are:

This little lot weighs 425 grams. Mostly unwashed yarn but if i get time i will wash and dry them as they are so much softer after washing !
Contents:
100%Magical Tundra Qiviut 2ply- natural colors and a small ball of raven black,
100% qiviut in 3ply,
qiviut 4ply sock yarn-with 40% qiviut,
Artists hand 2ply,
100% angora rabbit 4ply- that bright pink yarn,
100% Luxurious Buffalo,
Arctitc qiviut wool blend 2 and 3 ply,
50% qiviut/merino,
50% qiviut/angora rabbit,
qiviut-queen merino 4ply.

To enter simply tell us in the comment section 'what you ADORE about Qiviut yarns OR Musk oxen'.

1 winner will be drawn at random and sent the above yarns.
From 17th november TO 30th November 2012.

yarn giveaway winners from september/october

sorry for the delay, total chaos at Work and Home....can't wait to move the mill to Ontario sometime in 2013(we hope) so we can hire more fibre nuts to help us !

Congrats to Sittin.n.spinnin and Kryss. They won the yarns to knit the hat and scarf in Gorgeous 3ply qiviut/merino blend.

Next giveaway will be posted the 7th November.....lots of mill ends in pure qiviut and blends.

And you may want to head over to ravelry in the next days because we will be posting a few giveaways there too at the www.ravelry.com/groups/cottage-craft-angora-mill


We will at last get going on our ravelry group.....don't miss out on the monthly giveaways for group members, random giveaways for Ravelers posting pics / projects of your knitwear knit from any of our yarns past and present yarns welcome and a special monthly draw for a Raveler who's project we feel deserves a special mention and gift ! 
Happy knitting ♥ qiviut-queen.

September/October Lotus Hat Kit Giveaway

The Lotus Hat.......

This months blog was supposed to be a scarf knit from 100% qiviut unfortunately we sold out of qiviut at the Kitchener/waterloo knitting show and the batch of qiviut we have just finished making  is almost all sold....mmmm not easy to plan anything in advance here ! We are buying another machine that will give us 1.5 Times more output so in 2013 we will have much more production....i look forward to that day !

              I opted to knit this months blog post from 50% qiviut-50%merino in a lovely 3ply.
This is the yarn

As you can see its a Gorgeous deep rich brown colour.....perfect for Autumn. The qiviut used  in this blend is a dark grey shade , i dyed the merino in a seal brown colour to blend it all together.

Not sure how much yarn will be required as i'm knitting not only the Lotus hat but the ''Circle Lotus scarf'' too.
This is the Lotus hat below knit from shetland wool, you'll find the free pattern here on my other blog : www.shetlandwool.blogspot.ca/p/knitting-patterns.html

 

The lotus Infinity scarf is just about to be cast on, i will write the pattern as i knit and include pictures in this post. One winner will receive the scarf pattern and yarn, another winner will receive the hat pattern and yarn .

Its almost complete will add the pattern soon and updated photo of the hand dyed finished scarf.....fancy a bright blueberry color !

THE COMPETITION DETAILS:

to enter, simply tell us would you prefer the hat kit or scarf kit,(i know its a little difficult to choose as the scarf pictures are not yet posted) leave you answer in the comments section and 2 winners will be drawn at random.
Open from september 17th TO October 31st 2012.

Readers will no longer be able to leave Anonymous comments......we found some people are entering more than once....not fair !  

winners of August giveaway !

Hello and sorry for the delay......we are just so busy taking care of animals, sheep, angora rabbits, dogs and many farm cats....all of them have nests of kittens (luckily the local pet shop takes all the kittens) ontop of keeping up with packing and mailing orders daily and getting ready for our next show.....i like keeping busy but this is crackers !

 Congrats to the following readers drawn at random have won :

Cgirlslife- lot #1

Julie- lot #2

Jennifer- lot # 3

Clarabeasty- lot# 4.

Please email me with your address so i can ship you our your gooodies.
I will mail out the lots on Tuesday  14th  September so please contact me ASAP.


Our next giveaway will be after the 14th and its going to be for 100% qiviut yarn in 3ply and some shetland yarn from my sister blog  www.shetlandwool.blog.blogspot.ca  please check back for a chance to win some lovely yarn !

August yarn and roving giveaway

This month i'm having another clear out in more ways than one ! I just finished cleaning out the end section of our barn to house our new sheep. The first 6 shetland sheep are here and they are so lovely.....i'm really looking forward to looking after them and spinning and knitting all that lovely shetland wool. we have been really careful in our quality choice so that the sheep will have soft strong fine wool for our new fair isle sweaters.....(here's my shetland blog) : www.shetlandwool.blogspot.com not much on the blog as yet but will post lots new stuff over the next few days and will possibly have one or two giveaways !  at the same time we are getting ready for 3 shows, packing yarns etc and have some mill ends in yarns and rovings for this months giveaway......Next few months sure will be busy !

The 1 st show is : www.festivaltwist.org  August 24-25-26, 2012.......this should be a fun show, i will be at the booth on 25th and 26th. A great weekend filled with workshops and crafty crafters. Yarn Harlot will be there along with Lexi boeger, Diane Gonthier, Lousie Lortie, Carol Secord, Tonia Weber, Janet Whittam, Jackie Ottino and 'the yarn bombers.....Les Ville-Laines.

The 2nd show is : www.kwknittersguild.ca/fair  Saturday September 8th 2012. 9:30am to 4:30pm
This is a fab show, one of the best in canada.....you got to come to this show ! It's a great day of just knitting relaited goodies......lots of great vendors all under the same roof....its a day to stock up on all your knitting stuff for the coming winter knitting months.......we even get a ton of American ladies coming to this show its that good !

The 3rd show is a new show for me ! The Woodstock fleec festival www.fleecefestival.com
At this show i will be selling lots and lots of Luxury rovings, batts with some yarns too. I will also have our new line of qiviut socks.......qiviut socks in many different blends and even pure qiviut for those who really need hot socks !

If you get the chance to attend any of the shows please stop by the booth and say hello  !



Also been Busy with Stock taking and spinning more yarns and oodles of lovely rovings, i have some mill ends and bits and bob's that are in need of a new home for this months giveaway.

Lot # 1 above contains: 227 grams of Angora rabbit, cashmere, Buffalo, qiviut, Mohair, Alpaca and Merino all in 2, 3 4 ply's.

Lot # 2 above contains: 240 grams of  Angora rabbit, cashmere, Alpaca, Buffalo, merino and some Mohair again in 2, 3, 4 ply's.

Lot # 3 above contains: 26 gram ball of pencil roving of 50% angora/50% Camel....its so soft ! and also has the 3 little bags of carded 100% grey Shetland wool, red 50% cashmere, silk blend and carded mix of 100% merino for felting or spinning. Will also include some qiviut mill ends in yarns or roving whatever we have on hand at time of shipping !

Lot # 4 above contains: 100 grams of 100% merino for felting or spinning and contains all the colors seen below. The merino is soft and felts really well ! We will also include some mill ends in lot # 4 too of qiviut in yarns or rovings whatever we have onhand at time of shipping !

will choose 4 winners at random: To enter simply tell us of a show, any fiber show that you have attended in the last 12 months.

Competition runs from: 6th August TO 31st August 2012. 

July 2012 competition/giveaway winner

Congrats to 'Injuneau' your entry was drawn at random......pls contact us with your
 name and address so we can get your yarns mailed off to you !
my email address: cottagecraftangora@hotmail.com

check out the next giveaway to be posted in a couple of days !

The Antonio Hat- July competition

 ( the 2 winners from June 2012 oddments yarn give away are:  Innersparkle and Nicole )

             Sombrero de Lana                                           

Staying again this month with the muskox and Anthonio banderas theme as we spun up some of the yarn from 13th Warrior Hides. Because the qiviut fibre is quite old/heirloom quality we have decided to use all of it in a blended type yarn.
We made a lovely NEW blend of 50% qiviut - 50% Cashmere.....sinfully soft and spun into a 3ply that's to die for.....it really is that SOFT !

                                          This is the Natural colored yarn

Despite the picture this yarn is quite light in color, a sort of oatmeal shade. The cashmere we added is very, very white and because of this the cashmere picks up the color in the dye pot long before the darker qiviut so you end up with slightly heathery colored yarns.....quite beautiful. To see colors go here: www.cottagecraftangora.com/decadent-yarn-new/4566148546

The Giveaway/competition:
To win the yarn to knit both his and her hats tell us 'the birth place of Antonio banderas' including Town and region, including the color yarn you would like to be sent (if you are the winner) from the colors listed on the web page using the link above ! Also includes the pandors stle bead and broach finding.

 One winner drawn at random from correct answers.

 Open to knitters world wide.

From : 2nd July 2012 TO 31st July 2012

The Antonio Hat pattern.

knit in the round, a simple plain rib stitch brim that is turned up and measures 3.5'' inches long so that when it is turned back it covers the whole depth of the ears properly.....ideal for cold Arctic weather Conditions.

The 2nd hat is a lacey design for a woman or knit another Antonio hat and add a bow detail. Both patterns included here. Will post more pattern details as the days progress !

You will need: 3 skeins of Decadent yarn 3ply DK weight, 30 gram skeins
(3 skeins knits both hats)
#4 US - 3.5mm circular needle
#6 US - 4.mm circular needle-40cm max,
#4 US - 3.5mm straights,
same size as above D.P.N's,
Stitch marker,
wool needle,
Pandors style bead,
Broach finding.

Tension: 24st = 4'' - 32 rows = 4'' on 3.5mm - US #4

cast on 102sts, join to work in the rnd, pm.
rnd 1: k1, p2 to marker
Rep the rnd above for 25 rnds for the turn up brim.

This is how much i have so far!

                                                     

      This picture above looks more like the true color.
Next: Knit 1 rnd. Then change to larger needles and then rep the k1, p2 rnds another 8 times, then knit 34 rnds in knit stitch. After this you will begin the Dec shaping as shown below.

I'm knitting this for my husband who has a large head so its best if you measure and try the hat on the intended recipient - you may need to knit less rows !
 Another thing with this yarn is that it has Little to No Memory, the correct fitting hat should be quite snug as it will stretch !

Dec Shaping:

Rnd 1:*K15, k2tog, rep from * to end

Rnd 2: and all alternate rnds, k without shaping.

Rnd 3: *K14, k2tog, rep from * to end.

Rnd 5: *K13, k2tog, rep from * to end.

Rnd 7: *K12, k2tog, rep from * to end.

Rnd 9: *K11, k2tog, rep from * to end.

Rnd 11:*K10,k2tog, rep from * to end.

Rnd 13:*k9, k2tog, rep from * to end.

Rnd 15:*k8,k2tog, rep from * to end.

Rnd 17: *K7,k2tog,rep from * to end.

Rnd 19:*K6, k2tog, rep from * to end.

Rnd 21: *K5, k2tog, rep from * to end.

Rnd 23: *K4, k2tog, rep from * to end.

Rnd 25: *K3,k2tog, rep from * to end.

Rnd 27: *K2, k2tog, rep from * to end.

Rnd 28: *k2tog to end, break yarn leaving a small tail, pull through remaining sts and fasten off, sew tail inside hat.

Voila....Antonio hat complete !

Lady version....with a bow !

To knit the bow...... on 3.5mm- US4 straights, cast on 14 sts,  k 18 rows garter, bind/cast off, pull
Pandora style bead onto center so it gathers, then stitch the bow shape to broach finding and attach to hat as shown.

Did not get time to knit a lacey hat because at the moment we are spending a lot of time clipping Angora rabbits when not spinning yarns. A lovely lace hat pattern that will knit to the same tension is the Lotus hat on ravelry, found herewww.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lotus-hat
I have knit the Lotus hat a few times to give as gifts and it really is a lovely pattern !

Winner will be posted on the 1st August.....check back to see if its you !

                                                     

winners of June oddments of yarn Giveaway

Congrats to ''Innersparkle And Nicole'' your names were drawn at random for the 2 lots of oddments.
Yes the movie was the 13th warrior....PLS contact us so we can ship you your yarns !

Thanks to all who took part.....and staying with the theme see our next blog entry/competition.

Yarn Oddments giveaway for June 2012

Managed to clean out another basket of Unloved yarns......a whopping 1,078 grams.

In this lot we got : 2 little bags of  100% qiviut 2 ply.

A ball of silk & angora in blue,

 Red scarf knit from 50% qiviut-merino-Rip this back to knit something new,

ball of 100% white/natural mohair,

under the ball of mohair is a knitted strip of 100% qiviut in 3ply,(this yarn was spun from hides that were seen in a Hollywood movie).....i got all the hides so have lots of this yarn !

Next to the ball of grey angora are some 100% qiviut knitted hat samples, there is enough yarn in them to make an adult size hat,

next to that some very nice white angora soft-spun 3ply,

3 or 4 other soft-spun angora yarns hand dyed,

 100% Buffalo 3ply and loads of smaller skeins and left over balls in 100% and some blends.


This month 2 winners will be chosen. I will divide the yarns equally in two lots.

Now for the question......in what movie do we see Tanned muskox hides being used ?
Clue Actor Antonio Banderas and the number 13.

Correct answers will be drawn at random and two winners notified via this blog.
Rules: Please use your Real name or Ravelry name so we can easily contact you if your the winner !
Open to all knittters worldwide !

Runs from 6th June-2012 TO the 30th June 2012.

May Competition winner

And the winner is Lysimachus. congrats to you. Please contact us so we can mail out your lovely yarn oddments !

Check back soon for another yarn giveaway !

Oddments of yarn giveaway for May 2012

                                          I'm on Vacation and knitting socks, lots of socks !
I have 6 pairs in total: 100% Angora rabbit in white and black, 100% qiviut for a customer, and 3 pairs of Regia sock yarns and the ones shown above.
The little Ankle sock above is knit from qiviut-queen-merino in rosewater and maple color.
The pattern is my absolute fav. Its from a designer called Janneke Maat and the pattern name is Nell.
You can find this pattern for FREE and designer on www.ravelry.com/designers/janneke-maat



                                                 ♥♥♥This months Giveaway ♥♥♥

Spring time and i love to knit socks.

This little lot could make about 4 pairs of qiviut stripe socks. The 2 ply yarns could be knit with 2 strands together and a single strand of the 4 ply to knit socks on a size US 0 - 2.00mm

A total of 340 grams of 2ply and 4 ply's with lots of yardage.
 If you were to win That could be 4 people crossed off your christmas list !

 Blends of 100% qiviut, 100% buffalo, cashmere/qiviut, qiviut/angora, qiviut/merino, qiviut/nylon/cashmere/Bamboo and a little bit of pure white qiviut remaining from my baby knits.

To enter simply tell us in the comment section ''who you would knit socks for''
open worldwide to knitters everywhere, one winner drawn at random.
From 3rd May 2012 TO 31st May 2012

March/April competition winner

And the winner is Noreen Redden. Please contact us with your info at cottagecraftangora@hotmail.com

I am currently on vacation until the 15th May but will ship out your buffalo yarns when i return to work.

congrats to Noreen we look forward to seeing your design come to life !

May competition is another yarn giveaway......please look out for that later today......we have some lovely blends of oddments to give with qiviut, silk, cashmere ♥yummy yarn!


************************************************************************************
UPDATE : 7th June 2012.
Sadly Noreen did not contact me. I tried several ways to reach her but i just couldnt find her. I waited 30 days for her to contact us and she never did so we decided to choose another winner to knit the buffalo shawl. I'm amazed that people enter competitions and then dont check to see if they won or not !

We chose the entry by Lise mendel, have been intouch with Lise and she will indeed be casting on within a week so we look forward to seeing her design come to life !

24th June 2012 update.......and here is the cast on by Lise.

The pattern will be posted soon and more update pictures !

*************************************************************************************

March & April yarn giveaway-Buffalo yarn

♥♥♥Cute Face ♥♥♥

Did you know Bison or buffalo yarns are almost as soft and warm as pure qiviut yarns. Not only are they a beautiful natural rich chocolate brown color that complements many skin tones but they have a Down Micron count of 12-14 which makes them very very soft and warm. Bison yarns can also be dyed to Navy blue or Raven black and unlike 100% qiviut, buffalo has SOME memory, developes a small Halo with age and becomes softer with age, is also non-allergic too. And some say they can be machine washed....though i would'nt want to try that !

This is a new fresh batch of 3 ply light(similar to a DK weight) buffalo yarns....gorgeous natural brown and just waiting to be knit up into something special .......such as a shawl !
Tension: 5mm-US8 18sts=4'' 100 grams = 420 yards 'ish'

What you have to do:

we want you to design a Triangular shawl pattern that will knit to our 3ply yarn. Using the yarn tension above as a guide design the ''perfect buffalo shawl''. It can be plain, Lacey, very open or closed stitch, a knit and purl pattern, use any size needle you want, possibly have a button closure inplace of the usual shawl pin, have a seperate knitted border.... whatever ......the only knitting rule is you must stay within a 200 to 250 gram weight limit with about 840 yards ish !

To Enter: write in comment section describing the shawl you would like to knit; type of stitch used in the design, size needles used etc,



COMPETITION RULES: Please read and understand !
By entering you are giving us permission to post your pattern design on this blog and/or our website should your entry be the winning entry. Your name will be posted as the designer.

Entering means that you will, should you be the winner, knit your design using the buffalo yarns we send you and that you will email us the pictures of the cast on and finished item so we can post them to this blog entry.

You must be the owner of the design you are submitting.

open to all knitters world wide.

one winner, so please be sure to post a real name or blog name and NOT anonymous as this entry will be deleted.

Deadline: 2012-03-08 TO 2012 -04- 30

Have Fun !

Buffalo shawl update below:

will post the pattern soon !

Winner- oddments yarn giveaway February

And the winner is Krystal. Please contact me so we can ship you your yarns.

I will clean out more baskets soon so you guy's will have another chance !

Our next giveaway is 100% Buffalo/bison yarn in a lovely soft 3ply !

Oddments of yarn giveaway - February 2012

Qiviut colors.....well here they are for a total of 654 grams. Yardage not known as they are a mix of 2 ply lace, 3 and 4 ply. Colors: natural qiviut, natural buffalo, lime, navy blue, red's, raspberry, mahogany, qiviut McKinley, bijoux blue, Bordeaux, all leftovers and in need of a home...
The yarns are 100% qiviut, 100% Buffalo, 50% qiviut/merino, 50% angora/qiviut, Angora 80% and a bit of a UFO there too knit from 4ply Tundra pearl.

What would you knit/crochet with this lot ?
1 winner picked at random - from 2012-02-02 TO 2012-02-29 

competition winner

And the winner drawn at random is Martine......please email us so we can mail your yarns !
cottagecraftangora@hotmail.com


February giveaway is for more oddments......check back to see what i have cleaned out of my baskets this time !

Oddments of yarn.......January 2012 yarn giveaway

Once again i cleaned out another basket....its a shame to have all that lovely yarn just sitting there doing nothing ! Someone is going to be sent this lot pictured above !
This is 330 grams (11.7 oz) mostly 4 ply, a blend of 70% qiviut-30%merino and some yarns are 35% qiviut with bamboo and merino in all natural colors.

To win this little lot simply tell us what you would make using this yarn......winner will be drawn at random, winner will announced february 1st 2012.
Happy knitting !

Competition winners- qiviut-queen-superwash merino

Happy New Year and the winners are :
 Jennifer,
Dinah and Tom,
 Tundra Gypsy,
Janice M. Biscoe,
Ginger

Please contact me via email with your shipping address. cottagecraftangora@hotmail.com
 Your yarn will mail out on the 20th january !

Thank you to all who took part and check the next competition/giveaway to be announced in a few days !