Mill Ends Giveaway For December 2014

100% pure Magical Qiviut Bobbin ends.....LUSH !

Finally got most of our Christmas RUSH orders sent off, been making lots of pure qiviut sweaters in the light worsted weight 3ply Magical Qiviut...... I tried one of the sweaters on. They are VERY SOFT BUT VERY' VERY WARM, TOO WARM FOR ME !

   I may have more time to work on the blogs & finally make some items for myself !

This month its more mill ends. This lush lot (shown at the top of the page) is mostly 2 ply lace weight yarn in their Natural state

but i could hand dye them for whoever should win to any of these colours below:

 Colours are (Clockwise) Bordeaux, Burnt Orange, Raven Black, Arctic Red, Slate blue, Arctic cherry, Turquoise green, Arctic Blue, Purple, Turquoise.

Now because the yarns are from several batches there will be a shade difference in the finished dyed yarn, some will be dark & some will be a lighter shade ! To enlarge any image just click on it.

To enter the December giveaway tell me what you would knit with the yarn & What colour you would choose - Natural as they are or hand dyed !

Open to everyone, runs from December 1 st to December 31st 2014

One winner drawn at Random.

Merry Christmas♥

Qiviut-Queen-Shrug giveaway September 2013

The-Qiviut-Queen-Shrug giveaway.

Its nearly fall, time to haul out the sweaters full of yarny soft goodness and because its that time of year i Love to have a Shrug handy just incase i'm feeling chilled !

What could be more simple. A Provisional cast on, knit a rectangle(side to side construction), make some increases for body, then some decreases, then pickup and knit all the inside edge rows to form a lovely soft rib, finish sleeve edges with a cute stitch design, sew up seam and your done

Have decided to add some 100% Magical qiviut in our Natural 3ply to the edge of sleeves just to make it a bit more special !

  As you can see this one is nearly finished. Just need to pick up inside sts for rib.

For mine i'm using 'Arctic Lights' colourway but you got options go here:www.cottagecraftangora.com/qiviut-queen-merino/4557554607

to see my updated page of qiviut-queen-colours and choose what colour you would like your shrug to be knit from. At the end of the month 1 winner will be drawn at random and i will send you a shrug in your colour choice and size.....ready to gift or keep for yourself !

 Sewing up seams,

 I used to work for a knitwear designer back in the 80's and my job was to sew up all the garment seams. I developed my own method that i follow so that every time i work by hand the seams are so perfect.
My Method:
*I always use a sharp wool needle so the stitch goes exactly where i want it to go.
*I always use the same tension throughout.
*I always place the both sides of knitted fabric between my thumb and index finger to make a straight line that has the edge protruding a 1/4'' inch.
*I work only 1'' inch at a time and Always put in the same equal amount of sts per inch.... Voila perfect seams !

RUNS FROM: 2nd September TO 30th September 2013
To Enter This months giveaway simply tell us in the comment section what your colour choice would be and what size you require. 1 winner will be drawn at random. Please only 1 entry per person. Open to everyone world wide.

SIZES:
S/M, L/XL. This is a close fitting garment.
17 colours to choose from.

Best of Luck♥

Qiviut-Queen yarn & Mill ends Giveaway for May 2013

All Natural Qiviut-Queen Yarn & mill ends lot

This months giveaway is for the lot above 275 grams in 2 & 4 ply's sweetly soft. The mill ends are blends of qiviut/merino and qiviut/angora rabbit, some little skeins of pure qiviut all from the bobbin ends that we spin almost daily. Been knitting a lot lately with the qiviut-queen. It has a delicate soft handle and makes for wonderful socks, mitts, scarves, hats, shawls and even sweaters. The yarn has plenty of twist so the socks stay perfect and intact !
Here's a Tundra Fern scarf i knit from the qiviut-queen in Raspberry colorway. To buy the Tundra fern knitting pattern go here:
www.cottagecraftangora.com/knitting-patterns/4557008232

And more socks....

To see more of the qiviut-queen colors here:www.cottagecraftangora.com/qiviut-queen-merino/4557554607

Been working on a new Top down sweater too from the qiviut-queen but its not ready to show yet because i'm busy test knitting my Brae shawl design....knit from shetland and qiviut yarn. Got to make sure my pattern is perfect ! Sold out of the pattern and all our 100% qiviut at the Toronto knitters Frolic....was a fun day....but an exhausting day met some wonderful fibre-holic-friends !  

The next show for us is Twist....right here in quebec ! a wonderful weekend at a lovely hotel with great food, great wine and great company !

To visit their site go here: www.festivaltwist.org

What would you knit or crochet with the 275 grams of yarn ?

Open to everyone world wide.

Runs from : 04- May 2013 TO 31st May 2013

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

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 !