Texting mitts and Qiviut Yarn Giveaway for June 2013

This Months gorgeous little selection 226 grams of yarns spun into 2, 3, 4 ply some pure qiviut, some blended and some white pure cashmere.

We have been very busy lately working on qiviut knitwear building stock for the coming Fall season and with lots of my own projects too...... there's just not enough hours in the day !

When out and about on my travels quite a few customers have asked for the Texting mitt pattern with the picot edge and leafy cuff. The mitts take about 45 grams of yarn so this little lot above could make 5 pairs.

Who would you knit them for ?

Leave your entry in the comments section, 1 winner drawn at random.
RUNS FROM 18- JUNE 2013 TO 30 th JUNE 2013.
open to knitters world wide.

The pair shown above is knit from 100% magical qiviut in Raspberry and natural.

I used 2 strands of 2ply held together and our 3ply for the natural leafy border cuff.

Total 44 grams- 260 yards.

To Knit The Texting Mitts You will need:

 any of the 2ply lace yarns shown above,(knit 2 strands tog)

1pair of 3.5mm-US SIZE 4 straight needles,

1 set of 3.5mm- US SIZE 4 D.P.N's

3 st markers.

Wool needle.

TENSION: 7sts = 1'' inch

X

8 rows = 1'' inch

I knit very loose so you may have to go to a 4mm if you consider yourself a tight/firm knitter !

With 3.5mm begin to knit the mitt. 

Cast on 44 sts, join to work in the rnd, pm, and knit 24 rnds.

NEXT MAKE THUMB GUSSET:

1: k19, pm, m1, k1, m1, k1, pm, k to end.

2: and every alt rnds knit without inc. 

3: k19, sm, m1, k3, sm, k to end.

5: k19, sm, m1, k5, m1, sm, k to end.

7: k19, sm, m1, k7, m1, sm, k to end.

cont inc every 2nd rnd until you have 12 st bet markers.

On next rnd, k19, remove marker, slip 12 sts onto waste yarn or st holder, remove 2nd marker, turn work INC 2 sts, turn work back to (RS) and continue to knit around back to 1st marker.

continue knitting in rnds until work measures 6'' inches long from cast on edge.

PICOT EGDE:

k1, *k2tog, yo, k1; rep from *back to beg.

Next rnd knit all sts including yo's and work a further 8 rnds for the turn back of the Picot.

sew picot edge down inside of mitt.

Thumb: with D.P.N's pick up the 12 sts from the waste yarn and 2 edge sts, so you have 14 sts for the thumb. join to work in the rnd and k 12 rnds, bind/cast off all 14sts.

Sew in any loose ends, make a 2nd mitt.

The Leafy Cuff:

 with 3.5mm needles and a 3ply yarn or 2 strands of 4ply held tog k3 pattern repeats as shown below then sew onto the cast on edge of mitt. 

CAST ON 8 STS.

1:(RS) k5, yf, k1, yf, k2.

2: p6, inc in next st, k3.

3: k4, p1, k2, yf, k1, yf, k3.

4: p8, inc in next st, k4.

5: k4, p2, k3, yf, k1, yf, k4.

6: p10, inc in next st, k5.

7: k4, p3, k4, yf, k1, yf, k5.

8: p12, inc in next st, k6.

9: k4, p4, yb, sl1, k1, psso, k7, k2tog, k1.

10: p10, inc in next st, k7.

11: k4, p5, yb, sl1, k1, psso, k5, k2tog, k1.

12: p8, inc in next st, k2, p1, k5.

13: k4, p1, k1, p4, yb, sl1, k1, psso, k3, k2tog, k1.

14: p6, inc in next st, k3, p1, k5.

15: k4, p1, k1, p5, yb, sl1, k1, psso, k1, k2tog, k1.

16: p4, inc in next st, k4, p1, k5.

17: k4, p1, k1, p6, yb, sl1, k2tog, psso, k1.

18: p2tog, cast of next 5sts using the p2tog as 1st stitch, k1, p1, k5.

rep these 18 rows another 2 times, then cast off the 8 sts, sew onto cuff with right sides facing together, then make another leafy cuff and you got a pair of lovely open style mitts perfect to gift.....who would you make them for ?

ABBREVIATIONS:

k=knit, sm= slip marker, pm= place marker,

yo= lay yarn over working needle to make a loop st.

 inc= increase by making a stitch, knit into the front and back of the next st to make a new st.

alt= alternate rnds.

(RS) = right side.

k2tog= knit next 2 sts together to form a single st dec.

dec= decrease.

 psso= slip next st from left needle to right needle without working it, then knit next st on left needle, then slip the slipped st over st jus worked.

yb= yarn back to knitting position. 

please let me know of any typo's......Thank you !

Once you haveplaced your entry here...Pop over to my Shetland wool blog. I am hosting a Shetland wool blanket post and need the name for my sampler blanket design......will be adding new blocks to the post over the next few days.... 

www.shetlandwool.blogspot.com 

 

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 !

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 !

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?