July Yarn winners

And the winners drawn at Random are:

Fleurje Eliza  - sky & Bijoux

and  Vanessa - Natural

please contact me so i can mail off your yarn.

Smoke rings July 2013 Giveaway

The Falling Leaves Smoke Ring

just now it does not look much like leaves, after blocking it will magically transform.

The smoke ring is a wonderful versatile garment. Not only does it keep your head warm but also your neck too and if you make it large enough can provide

 soothing warmth to shoulders. It is one of my favourite fall and winter garments that i keep close at hand.

The Smoke ring originated in Europe during the Medieval times. They were known as a Wimple and most were made from heavy quality cloth fabric. 

I do not know when people started to make them from yarn.

Do you know ?

Smoke rings are just so stylish and look equally lovely draped around the neck.

They can be knit in a variety of yarns depending on the warmth and softness required.

Me, i prefer anything with qiviut. The softness and warmth is unsurpassed. Even yarn blends with only 10% qiviut provide a softness that you will not find in any other fibre or yarn so much so that the garment can be worn next to skin without irritation.

The yarn blend above is our qiviut-queen. 10% qiviut-10% cashmere-10% silk and 70% merino.

This months give away 2 winners drawn at random to win the yarn to knit the falling leaves smoke ring. Colour shown above is natural, all you have to do is tell us what colour you would choose from these colours here: www.cottagecraftangora.com/qiviut-queen-merino/4557554607

Open to knitters world wide, 

please only 1 entry per person,

RUNS FROM: 3rd July 2013 TO 31st July 2013.

TENSION: After blocking test piece Shown below 6'' wide X 3'' inches long.

I consider my self quite a loose knitter so you may need to test knit on a larger needle. 

To test your tension cast on 23 sts on 5 mm-US #8 and work 1 full pattern repeat then wash gently, block, dry,  measure and adjust needle size if required.  The smoke ring should have drape and be of a loose comfortable fit.

THE PATTERN- Falling Leaves:

*** at this stage i'm not sure how many yards are required probably 3 to 400yds***

with the correct size circular needle cast on 93 sts.

Join to work in the rnd, place st marker amd knit 1 rnd then begin pattern below.

1: (RS) k1, k2tog, k3, * yf, k1, yf, k3, sl 1, k2tog, psso, k3; rep from * to last 7 sts, yf, k1, yf, k3, sl 1, psso, k1.

2: and all alternate rnds knit all sts.

3: k1, k2tog, k2, * yf, k3, yf, k2, sl 1, k2tog, psso, k2; rep from * to last 8 sts, yf, k3, yf, k2, sl 1, psso, k1.

5: k1, k2tog, k1, * yf, k5, yf, k1, sl 1 k2tog, psso, k1; rep from * to last 9sts, yf, k5, yf, sl 1, k1, psso, k1.

7: k1, k2tog, yf, k7, * yf, sl 1, k2tog, psso, yf, k7; rep from * to last 3sts, yf, sl 1, k1, psso, k1.

9: k2, yf, k3, * sl 1, k2tog, psso, k3, yf, k1, yf, k3; rep from * to last 8 sts, sl 1, k2tog, psso, k3, yf, k2.

11: k3, yf, k2, * sl 1, k2tog, psso, k2, yf, k3, yf, k2; rep from * to last 8sts, sl 1, k2tog, psso, k2, yf, k3.

13: k4, yf, k1, * sl 1, k2tog, psso, k1, yf, k5, yf, k1; rep from * to last 8sts, sl 1, k2tog, psso, k1, yf, k4.

15: k5, * yf, sl 1, k2tog, psso, yf, k7; rep from * to last 8sts, yf, sl 1, k2tog, psso, yf, k5.

16: knit.

rep these 16 rnds until work measures 20'' inches long.

My daughter Kyanna

''Flower Bud Smoke ring''

This is the flower bud smoke ring...folded in half and to the left you can see the cable.

Here's the Flower bud pattern:

With 5mm - US Size 8 Circular needles cast on 109 sts, join to work in the rnd, place marker.

(Note on rnd 11 of every pattern row the last 2 sts and first 2 sts make a cable) To do this, k to last 2 sts, slip these 2 sts onto a cable needle, hold at back of work, remove st marker, knit next 2 sts, replace marker then knit the 2 sts from cable needle, continue the rnd incorporating the 2 sts just worked.

Rnd 1: k3, * yf, k2, p3tog, k2, yf, k1; rep from * to last 2 sts,k2.

Rnd 2: knit.

Rnds 3-6: rep 2 rnds above.

Rnd 7: k2, p2tog, * k2, yf, k1, yf, k2, p3tog, rep from * to last 9 sts; k2, yf, k1, yf, k2, p2tog, k2.

Rnd 8: knit.

Rnds 9-12 rep rends 7 and 8.....on rnd 11 insert cable as outlined above.

Rep the rnds above until work measures 20'' inches long.

Next, knit 2 rnds and then cast off all sts sewing in any loose ends.

I'm thinking of knitting another smoke ring pattern using the same yarn but i have this lovely Tundra green that i would like to try !

Best of Luck with your entry !

Winner from June 2013

The winner is Jody......please contact me so i can mail out your yarns !

Next blog entry will be posted soon all about yummie smoke rings and the new Falling leaves smoke ring pattern

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 

 

Mille ends winner for May 2013

And The winner of the qiviut-queen sock yarn and mill ends is Dragonxser

Please contact me so i can mail out your yarns.......Have fun !

 

Check back for the June giveaway.

100% qiviut socks with Heel and Toe knit with angora/qiviut blend yarn !

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

April winner- mill ends

And the winner is  Anastasia.....thanks to all for taking part.

Please contact me so i can mail you the yarns Anastasia.

Please check out our next blog entry for a 100 gram skein of qiviut queen yarn in a natural shade & more mill ends....a lovely lot of qiviut & blends they will all go lovely together.....shawl, hats, mittens, gloves, socks ! 

Mill Ends giveaway For April 2013

Another lovely lot........

Been having another clean out. This lot of bobbin ends weighs 230grams, a mix of 2,3 and 4ply. The white you see is pure cashmere.The grey is qiviut blends and the browns are wonderful 100% pure qiviut,  its a nice little lot. the yarns are unwashed so feel a bit yak as they are full of spinning oils and anti-static but i will wash them for you before i mail them. i really think this lot is just too perfect to dye !
            You could make a lovely shawl or scarf. Imagine knitting feather and fan stitch shawl and lining each colour up as you go along working just a few rows or even a whole pattern rep ! Could even start your christmas knitting early....a few scarves for loved one's !

The mill ends lot from last month giveaway has been dyed mahogany......

i love how the dye takes on a different tone and depth throughout and i hope our winner Kathy will send us a picture of the finished whatever she knits !!! that big skein of seasilk/qiviut has taken on an intresting sheen and Kathy requested two silvery looking skeins to be left natural...hope i got the 2 skeins she was talking about correct.

One winner randomly drawn.
To enter and win the natural lot of yarns shown at the top of this page just tell us what you would knit, scarf, shawl or whatever.
Runs from: 6th April 2013 to 30th April 2013.....best of luck !

Check out my shetland wool blog here:www.shetlandwool.blogspot.com this month we need your help to name our new shetland /qiviut yarn......the winner will be sent enough shetland/qiviut blend yarn to knit my new shawl design of leaves and cables, pop on over.....happy Spring time everyone ! 

Winner from March mill ends Give away

The winner drawn at random is Kathy Zelenka......she has requested her yarns will be dyed mahogany & a couple left natural.....congratulations Kathy your yarns will mail out on wednesday.

Next giveaway will be posted in a few hours.....more mill ends !

March giveaway- mill ends in colour

The two winners drawn at randon from the february draw are:
Jiminator and Bernie Holberg.....pls contact me so i can mail you your lovely qiviut yarn kits !

I thought i would offer something a little different this month.

Mill ends in your colour choice....

It's time for another clean out. In the basket below are wonderful soft yummie yarns in pure qiviut, qiviut/silk, qiviut/cashmere, qiviut/angora, qiviut/merino all in 2ply, 3ply and 4 ply's - 347 grams total !

I thought you could choose (if you are the winner) 1 colour from the yarns below and i will dye the whole batch in your colour choice. It will be fun to see the various shades of the same colour all in different hue's and tones...... the dye will make an wonderful colour variation throughout the batch.....you could make a unique artsy shawl with 347 grams !

Colour selections below.....select only 1colour !

 To biggy any picture just click on it

1: Hunter green,

2: slate blue,

3: Egyptian red,

4: Purple,

5: Raven black,

6: Mahogany,

7: Raspberry,

8: Turkey red,

9: Bordeaux,

10: Navy blue,

11: Azalea.

 

To Enter: simply tell us what colour you would choose. 

If you are the winner then i will dye all 347 grams for you in your colour choice.

Open to all worldwide.

Only one entry per person.

No anonymous entries......they will be deleted !

RUNS FROM: 02 March 2013 TO 31st March 2013.

Best of Luck to you all !

Tundra Fern scarf OR Smokering kit- february 2013- Giveaway

Better late than never ! Been just so busy making yarns and mailing yarns that i never got a chance to post the february blog entry.....its already the 8th....don't know where the times goes !

The Tundra Fern smokering (above)..... this is what i have done so far ! The colour is Hunter green. It's been so dark and miserable that i really need some nice green colour to lift my spirits.

And here's the Tundra fern scarf from the January kit giveaway........

Another chance for you to get a free kit in either the scarf kit or smokering kit.
In comments section simply tell us the kit you would prefer either smokering or Scarf and in what colour from the yarns shown below. ***Please note that the yarns shown are qiviut blends so they take the dye to a lighter shade. The kits im offering are 100% qiviut. Pure qiviut is much darker so the finished yarns are a darker shade too ! Please keep this in mind when you make your choice !

1: Hunter green,
2: Slate blue,
3: Turkey red
4: Purple,
5: Raven Black,
6: Mahogany,
7: Raspberry,
8: Egyptian red,
9: Bordeaux,
10: Navy blue,
11: Not available....sorry !

Two winner drawn at random,
open to knitters world wide,
1 entry per person,
FROM 8Th February TO 28th February 2013.

Winners of the Tundra fern scarf kit

And the 2 winners drawn at randon are :

Weaverville woolens and merianv......please contact me so i can ship you your kits.

Dont dispair if you did not win you still have another chance as we are going to run this scarf kit giveaway again and a Tundra fern smokering for the month of February......another 2 winners will be drawn at random again, the post will be up within a few hours !

January 2013-Tundra fern kit giveaway

 

The Tundra Fern scarf kit

 

Happy new year.....

Just a quick blog entry as i'm in the middle of knitting qiviut sweaters and the deadline has come and gone.

This months giveaway is for a scarf kit shown above....looks crappy because its not blocked and i'm just test knitting it on scraps of pure qiviut yarn, the kits i mail out will be so much better and contain New yarns from the same batch and the New pattern !

here's the yarn colour choice below

 

To enter just tell us what colour you would like to knit this scarf in :
1: natural-not shown,
2: hunter green,
3: slate,
4: turkey red,
5: purple,
6: raven black,
7: mahogany,
8: raspberry,
9: egyptian red,
10: bordeaux,
11: navy blue,
12: NOT AVAILABLE...... as the qiviut we are working on is too grey and does not take that light azalea colour.

2 winners chosen at random. 
From january 2nd TO 31st January 2013
best of Luck to you all !  

And here is the finished scarf !

Winner of December mill ends 2012

The winner drawn at random is ''pam the treadmill knitter'' pls contact us so we can ship you your yarns !

Check out our next blog post on January 2nd for a chance to win a 'Tundra fern Scarf Kit' in 100% qiviut....happy new year !

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 !