shop update!

Posted on Posted in Bare Naked Wools, book reviews/events

when we presented our first piece from winter ensemble 2017—the volta shawl by susanna IC, we sold out our stock of cabécou brillant sport in a wink—especially in the sel gris shade.

the shawl was such a hit that it caused a run on cabécou skeins and shawl kits and many who wanted some but did not see it in time for the grab.

and when we released the urbanza hat and cowl by elena nodel, where cabécou sport is cleverly paired with kent DK in an unexpected contrast of crisp and soft, we didn’t even have the featured sel gris shade on hand for the kits.

first, a box of the sel gris—gorgeous, taupey/silvery gray. each batch is slightly different from the last, because they are made from different lots of undyed fleece, but this one is a pretty good match for the last one (though not exact).

and the other box was filled with a brand new shade, shown above.

you might remember that when david and i went to the michigan fiber festival in august, i had a chance to attend the judging of the mohair fleece show, where i learned so much about choosing the fiber that goes into our cabécou and chebris yarns.

i can’t tell you enough how grateful i am to the farm producers and professionals in the fiber industry who take the time to talk to me about the raw materials that go into our yarns—this is invaluable to me and ultimately, to you, too!

i shopped this show and spotted a number of award winning fleeces from one farm, so i made a beeline for that producer and explained that i was looking for a larger quantity of colored fleeces for yarn production. he took me back to his booth, where he had a good sized store of them.

while we were hungry to get our hands on some silver and black fleeces, these were mostly reds—which is mohair speak for browns and tans. the bags held every color from silvery rose gray to toasty brown and i shopped as if it was 1999, all the while texting with our mill owner carrie; i was so afraid of buying fleeces that weren’t the right thing, haha.

great fiber is directly related to good health and diet in an animal—when we see soft shiny, strong fiber, we know our producers are well loved and taken care of. these fleeces were really lovely and of a consistent quality—the fair judge to handed them several blue ribbons, so we figured they were a good bet for us; only the best for you!

fast forward six months, when we are past the production of our club yarn, smoothie, and finally the mill had some time to make more cabécou sport. carrie was very low on gray fleeces for this run, but had those bags of browns i scored in michigan. into the carder they went and what came out is nothing short of spectacular!

this new shade is a tawny, shimmering gold, pale and buttery; barb nearly swooned when she saw it and instantly claimed  a sweater quantity (it really does look fantastic against her skin and hair!). we leave this yarn unwashed after it’s spun to tame the bloom, making it easier on the knitter while working, but when it’s washed—holy halo, batman! it blooms like crazy and doesn’t stop.

blended with silk and shiny coopworth wool for triple lustre, each fiber catches the light as they escape form the yarn shaft in bloom.

but we need to give this color a name and that’s where you come in. as you might have noticed, our cabécou shades are all named for fine french foods. we came up with a short list of possibilities and we want you to vote and help us out—if you leave a comment by 9 pm EST on monday 3/6, with your vote and tell us what you’d knit with it, we’ll pull  a name and send one lucky winner three patterns of their choice!

ok, here is the list:
Almandine
Croquembouche (spun sugar)
Crème Brulée
Choux
Escargot

tell us which one you like best and what you would knit with it!

consider this light-as-air version of the luce stellare scarf from my lace lessons book; knit on size 8US (5.0 mm) needles and using two skeins of cabécou sport in the poivre shade. big enough to be a stole but also a lush scarf to wrap around when the winds blow.

if lace isn’t quite what you have in mind, how about a version of the meander hat, scarf, and mitts set by irina dmitrieva?

or knit an abri hat and cowl set to match the volta shawl; this pattern includes notes on changing the yarn weight and stitch counts so you can easily adjust the size and weight of the pieces.

and if you’ve been holding out for a garment, you are in luck—here’s a hint at something delicious; this soon to be released beauty was held back from the bounty of ensemble so we could make a special feature of the design. knit in cabécou or chebris sport, we are looking forward to showing it off soon.

cabécou is brought to you by hardworking midwest reds like these two—support your regional producers so we can continue to bring you excellent yarn choices. and don’t forget to vote!

74 thoughts on “shop update!

  1. Amandine. I like what I see with that mystery piece. To be honest…anything Knitspot, love all the patterns.

  2. Anne, I adore you for many reasons, but for today “holy halo, batman!” did the trick, made my Monday a lot better!
    I just bought some of this in case it runs out of stock, also made my Monday better.
    I vote for Almandine!

  3. Creme brûlée. And of course I’ll be knitting that new shawl collar sweater…yum yum. That yarn is wonderful.

  4. I’m going to have to go with Croquembouche, because I think it captures the luminosity better than creme brûlée (also my favorite dessert). I’ve already ordered enough for Volta!

  5. Almandine! I would knit a volta and a luce stellare! I have wanted to knit luce stellare since I saw the sample at the booth at Indie Untangled, and volta is on my short list of must-knit designs (which because of knitspot is extremely long and getting longer every day!).

  6. I pick Croquembouche and I’d probably knit the Volta. If you remember, I was at Allegan while you were buying these fleeces and I remember how excited you were to buy it.

  7. Creme Brulee! Yarn as luscious as the dessert. I would live in a sweater made from it.

  8. I vote for Croquembouche (spun sugar) and I would knit luce stellare with it.

  9. Almandine. I like the combination of the name and the shape of the motif in the luce stellare scarf. It would probably make lovely fingerless mitts too!

  10. Croquembouche! Because I think it sounds like a word that is fun to say:) ( never mind that I don’t know how to say anything in French:0)
    I might knit the Volta pattern with it. I love the texture in that shawl. But really, any of Anne’s shawls would showcase the yarn well.

  11. Croquembouche is probably the best description of it, but I like Creme Brûlée too. Can I vote twice? 🙂 And I would love to knit either the Meander mitts or that teaser of a sweater at the end of your post!

  12. I vote for the name “creme brulee” for the new yarn, and I would *love* to knit the Luce Stellare shawl/stole with it. My favorite thing to knit is a big, juicy swath of lace 🙂

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