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. I vote for creme brulee, and I would totally make a set of Meander hat, mitts and scarf!

  2. I’d name that luscious new shade Creme Brûlée and knit a large Luce Stellare with it. I like the name for spun sugar, but don’t think I would remember it without a lot of practice. See? I can’t even remember it well enough now….crocembouche! Aha! I had to toggle back to that page to find it.

  3. Crème Brulée! I would knit Anachronaut, Butternut Scarf and Filigree Stole. Too delicious to resist!

  4. Creme Brulee is one of my favorite desserts, so of course I’m voting for that! And once I’ve finished my “obligation” knitting, Luce Stellare is in my queue.

  5. I would pick Crocembouche (spun sugar). I would make a shawl but I am not sure which pattern yet. Thanks for the chance to win. I love your patterns.

  6. I’m also voting fir creme brulee. (And now I’mhungry for some even though it’s breakfast time here). I have a semi circular shawl pattern just bursting to get out of my head and into needles. This would so make ut happen. My little prototype is knit in a buttery cream colour too!

  7. I like the Crème brûlé name to knit the Meander set. I love the new color.

  8. I’m adding another vote for Creme Brulee. And I think I would knit a lacy shawl.

  9. I too like Amandine for a name. I think this would be gorgeous for a Woodfire scarf.

  10. I vote for ‘Almondine’, it makes me think of just this color! I would make a lovely shawl with it!

  11. I love Croquembouche. This yarn just looks yummy.

    I would probably knit a stole. Something to wear close to the face.

  12. I’m going with “choux” because I have a love of choux pastry. It’s so versatile…sweet or savory, filled or not. I think this yarn can be equally versatile!

    As for pattern…I think this would make an amazing pyro.

  13. Croquembroche! And I’m with Barb. I’d knit a “Leaving” with this yummy yarn. It would look good with my coloring, too.

  14. I like the name Almandine as it’s easy to remember. So many great patterns, but Volta would be lovely.

  15. I would call it Croquembouche. When I saw the photo on Instagram, it reminded me of liquid gold and that’s a little what spun sugar is like before it hardens. I would knit the Urbanza cowl I think.

  16. I like croquembouche ( spun brown sugar though ), thinking of it spun like cotton candy. So light and airy. I would knit a scarf that would be simple enough to wear every day with a touch of elegance so it could be worn for those special occasions. For fibers that precious I would have to come up with my own pattern.

  17. Croquembouche! I feel like I’ve seen tons of colourways called creme brulee already.
    I would knit a cozy cable and/or ribbed sweater to replace a store-bought one I have in almost this exact colour!

  18. Yes to a yarn called “Escargot”! Crème brûlée is much more elegant though.
    Croquembouche is just too hard to spell. I would like to make a Volta.
    While in the US we use the term Almandine, in France it is referred to as “Amandine”.
    Cheers,
    Nicole

  19. Crème Brulée! I would love to knit a large scarf or stole or perhaps the mystery garment. I’d have to save for awhile to do the garment though.

  20. Creme brûlée, of course! It’s gorgeous yummy. I would enjoy every minute of knitting a yummy sweater.

  21. It looks like Almandine to me! I would knit Luce Stellar with this beautiful yarn.

  22. One more wistful vote for Escargot…it goes better with the salt and pepper names of the previous colors, and besides…. snail shells are such a lovely color. It would be fabulous for the Abri hat and cowl set. (Maybe I should get going on the skein of Poivre I’ve been saving.)

  23. I vote for Almandine. I can’t imagine a better project for this yarn other than Volta.

  24. Before I even saw the list of names, Creme Brûlée popped into my head,

  25. Crème brûlée for me please!
    What I would knit with it? Volta, or a lightweight cardi …

  26. Creme brûlée (my favourite dessert). I think I’d knit the Volta- it would look like spun sugar, but I still prefer the name creme brûlée!

    I’m dying to know when that cardigan will be released- I have some tonofwool cormo heading my way that I think would look awesome in a waterfall cardi with some texture.

  27. I’m dying to know when that cardigan will be released- I have some tonofwool cormo heading my way that I think would look awesome in a waterfall cardi with some texture..

    Creme brûlée (my favourite dessert). I think I’d knit the Volta- it would look like spun sugar, but I still prefer the name creme brûlée!

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