Hello Yarnies! <3
I have a confession to make:
I am guilty of owning a ‘vegemite accent’.
Aussie slang doesn’t come much thicker than this! On top of that: I slur my words, I mumble and talk super quick! According to my English family, I am “precious and speak quite ‘Australian’” v( ‘.’ )v
With that in mind, I noticed a new yarn sensation breaking out all over Instagram: Scheepjes! After seeing so many amazing amigurumists working with this beautiful line, I just had to have it! With the upcoming Quilt and Craft Fair in June of this year, I knew this was my chance!
So, I mentioned a few blog entries ago how I met Nicole and Shelby. What I didn’t mention was how I asked Shelby if she stocked the ‘sheep-i-jeez’ branded yarn, in my most thickest vegemite accent ever! It wasn’t until days later, I realised just how erroneous my pronunciation was… Poor Shelby, she has so much self-control! I remember her smiling sweetly and showing me the yarn, without so much as a giggle!
Long story short! When I think of Sheepjes, I think of Hermione as she corrects Ron on the pronunciation of Wingardium Leviosa in Charms Class...
With that out of the way, I really want to talk to you about Scheepjes Cahlista!
The Cahlista range certainly holds up to its name. It means 'beautiful one', and beautiful it is! This range is 100% unmercerised cotton, 10 ply aran weight.
If your unsure what mercerisation is, it is the process which makes cotton smoother, and more silky (usually giving it a sheen). Un-mercerisation is cotton closer to its natural state, meaning that it is fluffier, softer and feels beautiful to touch.
However, with Scheepjes Cahlista you are essentially having the best of both worlds as it is a 'double-gassed' product. This means that it is passed over a naked flame - twice! - to singe away any stray fibers to create a super smooth yarn which glides as you work.
Are you drawn in by moody colour, that is rich and dramatic?
Or do you prefer brights, brights and more brights! So much so, you may need protective eye-wear???
With the Cahlista range, it really doesn't matter! Because there are 99 colours to choose from.
My biggest flaw as a human being is that I am indecisive....And it's like Scheepjes said 'you know Reneé, we have your back! Here are 99 colours to choose from!' And Reneé lived happily ever after!
And if you're indecisive like me, then I'm positive that Scheepjes has your back too (。・ω・。)ノ♡
Mrs Nicole Yarnish offered me a pretty little bag of Cahlista to play with. And play with it I did! (or have been....or continue to play with).... whatever way, I haven't put it down since.
I am loving this yarn. It feels strong. I am a tight crocheter and maintain a tight tension (a must when making amigurumi). I really tried to stretch it, pull it and manipulate it on my hook, to see what it would do. And I was pleasantly surprised, it held up pretty well! No breakages! ( ´ ▽ ` )b
This yarn also promotes an 'optimized' twist', which reduces splitting. I only experienced a little spitting, but that was when I was using a very small hook. When I moved up a size, everything worked fine.
In case you're wondering, these were the colours I chose to play around with. This is where Reneé lives, in this colourway, right here....
The saturation of colour is also really lovely. The colours are rich and dynamic, and pack a lot of punch. It's so hard to capture this on camera but when you hold a ball of pink yarn you know you are holding pink yarn (if that makes sense!).
Also, the colours are identifiable by a simple number. This means it can be easily paired with its matching colour across another yarn range within the Scheepjes family.
Now in stock at Yarnish!
If you missed my blog entry and WITB by Nicole, we have great news! The Cahlista range is now in stock and you can purchase it here!
This also includes the huge colour pack featuring a total of 109 balls of yarn.
Oh I almost forgot!
Scheepjes is actually pronounced 'sh-kep-ee-yeh'. To be truthful, the English language doesn't actually carry the sounds used to pronounce such beautiful Dutch words. So it really isn't our fault we cant access this part of our vocal range, because we simply don't use it. Although, we might have to start doing some exercises so that we can sound as posh as we feel when knitting/crochet with this yarn ♥‿♥
Wikipedia have an awesome audio file, so you can listen to the pronunciation here.
I hope you enjoyed this feature entry!
Happy yarning <3
Reneé
xxx
✌.ʕʘ‿ʘʔ.✌
I can’t wait to give Cahlista a whirl! Pun intended! (>◡<) Loving the audio clip – I so wish I could say Scheepjes properly!!(⌒▽⌒)
Awesome blog post Reneé (as always).