the new kid in town

Posted on Posted in spinning and fiber

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a brand new limited-edition yarn has landed in our online shop—the third installment in our mohair series. this is one spun with the kid fiber we purchased from john frett at pinxterbloom farm, along with the yearling for our chebris blends. cabécou means “little goat” and is the name of a tiny goat cheese from the midi-pyrénées region of southern France.

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we named our delicious version cabécou brilliant (or bright little goat) to celebrate its beautiful bounce and sheen, the result of blending three lustre fibers—romney, kid mohair, and silk.

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this yarn is a true silver gray and honestly, no photo can accurately record how shiny it is. not garishly at all, but instead a bright, burnished reflection of its own depths—which seem bottomless. sigh.

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cabécou brillant has a lot of the same character as our chèvre worsted which sold out so quickly last year, but this one is softer, brighter, lighter, and has more sheen.

it’s so new that we haven’t got any finished samples yet to show it off, but we will at our next popup shop—the michigan fiber festival (if it lasts that long). in the meantime, i’ve swatched up several types of stitch patterns to put it through its paces so i can give you a quick report.

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(wow, look at it glow—doesn’t that just beat the band?)

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the first thing i tried was a straight stockinette swatch on size 5US (3.75 mm) needles, just to get a beat on how big or small i’d need to go to achieve the optimum fabric. and i would say that for stockinette, it will perform well on a range of needles from 4US (3.5 mm) to 6US (4.0 mm).

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the fabric will be soft, airy, and relaxed with beautiful drape; a light allover haze will provide enough body and structure to support it so that it won’t stretch or sag from regular wear.

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nice as the stockinette fabric is, i really think this yarn comes into its own in a patterned fabric that has a mix of knits and purls. in the brocade swatch above, the foreground gleams in knit stitches while the background recedes in soft matte purl, giving the composition tons of depth and shadowing (swatch is worked in the motif from my crocus patch blanket, which will soon be available as a standalone pattern—in fact, we should do a kit!)

below i swatched the obstacles pattern, which has a more integrated mix of knits and purls, creating deeply textured hills and valleys that are well supported by the network of fuzzy fiber in the yarn as well as its natural springiness. the higher elevations in the fabric are further accented by a soft sheen that is almost shameless in the way it grabs one’s attention.

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david and i came up with a whole list of patterns we thought would suit this yarn well. most of our favorites fall into the categories of shawls, wraps, and blankets, but there’s no reason not to consider this yarn for a slouchy hat or lush cowl.

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with a generous 375 yards per four ounce skein, a couple of these will make a wonderfully sized wrap or small blanket; it would be a treasure as cradle me or hillflowers (and so easy, too). light as it is, it would be an absolute showstopper as a full-sized coverlet for the bed—maybe wheaten, hourglass throw, or sky ladder?

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(wow, look at those fibers catch the light; they are on fire)

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this batch is a limited edition produced from the small supply of kid mohair we were able to buy in late fall; while we are anxious to put it in our regular lineup, that will depend on if and when we can obtain the same quality fiber. we’ve been trying to catch up with john to talk about getting more but he’s a guy on the go.

in the meantime, everything we have is now listed in the shop—i hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we do. now the question is, what will i be knitting with my cabécou??

 

13 thoughts on “the new kid in town

  1. I was just thinking ‘Wheaten’ when I saw your first swatch. It is gorgeous and I’m thinking it would make a rather splendid blanket.

  2. Oh Anne, this yarn is so beautiful. What is it about beautiful fibers that grabs us?

  3. Anne another beautiful yarn and you know I just can’t resist anything gray. I gifted the wheaten scarf I knit and have just been waiting for the perfect fiber for a wheaten for me…this is it!

  4. This yarn is amazingly versatile–I have never thought of something with mohair looking so beautiful in a somewhat complex pattern.

  5. Ooooh I’ve been wanting that crocus patch baby blanket pattern for ages, but didn’t want the whole book, I”ll be keeping an eye out for it. And the yarn looks gorgeous, but darn that mohair! I’m sure it’ll be a huge hit.

  6. Another wonderful yarn…..started knitting with it already. I really like the glow it gives.

  7. Can’t wait to get my hands and fingers all over, around and through this delicious yarn!!

  8. I’m so excited! A Knitspot Popup shop at the allegan fiber fest! I need to put away more $$ than I had originally planned 🙂

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