Saturday 22 October 2011

Colour My World With Cashmerino

I spent a couple of hours during the week doing a stocktake on my Baby Cashmerino Yarn....I love this yarn and it's primarily the staple yarn of my little business Dover & Madden.  A couple of reasons, firstly the colours, secondly the softness and last this yarn is machine washable.

Anyway the reason for the stocktake being that I'm going to be making my little Dover & Madden Exclusive  Cashmerino Striped Earflap Hats into limited edition colour runs.  It's been an idea for a while but while my shop remained fully stocked I kept getting orders for the same hats and therefore I couldn't introduce any new colours....fantastic but frustrating at the same time....and I will be honest, it does get very boring for me when I'm knitting the same colour hats all the time.  So some of you may know that my Etsy shop is very understocked in anticipation for a few new items and colours coming up.  Here are a couple of my favourites...






















and this is my other favourite....Blue and Green should always be seen!






















So getting back to my point...a stocktake was needed.  The wholesaler had sent me an updated colour chart and I needed to look at my colour palette and find out where the gaps in colours were.  It's a very hard struggle....2 reds....do I need 2 reds....3 shades on navy etc etc....the thought process in my head swirled around, and just because I like the colour does everyone else....so in the end I made a few executive decisions.  I will have to add a few extra pinks and purples....I think I will add in a really dark navy and the really dark brown, I need a soft purple, and another orange and I think I'm covered.

I haven't put any colour combos together because they remain top secret.....until they're introduced but here are some pictures of the stock I've got and there is more to come!!

The neutrals....I don't know why I've included cream here as it will never appear as a colour in a Cashmerino Striped Earflap Hat....I don't mind it on it's own, but I won't use it striped with a colour such as pink & cream or blue & cream...I'm probably alienating a whole market here but in my mind it just lacks a little something, it's boring and a little predictable.....and I love my baby stuff to be full of colour.  Black might get a run somewhere along the way.


 


















The greys....my favourites and the new dark charcoal grey just floats my boat.  Grey is a colour that suits baby skin, and these greys are soooo pretty, I use them a lot and I expect to use the new dark charcoal many times...it looks fab with some of the blues.






















The blues...and there is a lot of them....and looking at them all there really does need to be that very dark navy.  There are a couple of new blues in here and some of them do have a grey tone so could match in well with the grey tones.






















Purple....I'm missing the really soft silver mauve so that will have to make it in .... I love purple and it's a colour that suits me....I find it's not a popular colour that Mum's put on their bubs....I could be wrong but I was told it was a bad luck colour.....maybe it's an old wives tale, someone might be able to clear that up for me.  Purple is a colour that no matter what your skin tone is you will find a shade that suits you....that also goes for yellow....no other colour has this ability....I always thought I couldn't wear yellow...I have to wear a soft buttery yellow....not a canary yellow.






















Pinks....not one of my favourite colours but I use it a lot....I'm tend to like the soft muted pinks and the purplish pinks rather than the bold  hot bright pinks...a few more pinks are coming....






















I'm a big fan of brown in knitting....and the new mustard shade I'm loving....as you can see it's missing a really dark brown as much as I love the milk choc brown...so that's on the way.






















The soft lemons, apricots, oranges and red....my least favourite colours....unfortunately the bright orange, second from the right is a deleted colour, but I have a small stash of it, so I will use it as a highlight colour, it's a beautiful orange and it's such a shame it's gone....and there really does need to be a bright yellow, but DB does not do one....shame really, so mustard will have to suffice.






















And lastly my absolute favourites....green.  I love all shades of green, although personally I don't wear a lot of green because it doesn't really suit me, although I do have green eyes....I can wear apple green but not much else, shame really...but loads of shades here and just three more to come....jade green and a soft khaki and a pale mint green.






















So there you have it....so much colour....the fun stuff is putting them together to make hats....I won't share that with you that's a surprise.  The sneak peeks will be over on my Facebook page.

Here's a question how many hats becomes a limited run?...here are my thoughts

NB to 3M x 1
4M to 9M x 2
10M to 18M x 3
18M to 36M x 2


Let me know what you think....leave me a comment.

Till next time

Vicki x

6 comments:

  1. Hi Vicki, your hats are so beautiful, you are so talented, keep up the great work! I do knit a little bit myself and wonder where are you buying this yarn from, love the colours.

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  2. Baby Cashmerino is readily available in most good yarn shops or online...my preference for yarn stores are listed on my blog under the heading "Love a Good Yarn" most of those stock Debbie Bliss yarns...and thanks for the lovely comments.

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  3. Thanks for a prompt response! You mentioned that your "wholeseller" sent you the colour chart, I would love to buy one too as I would love to knit a blanket for my bestfriend's toddler. I think it would be easier to decide on colours if I have a sample. Also, does any of the yarn seller offer any discount if a buy a larger quantity (for a blanket)? Sorry to bother you with all these questions ;) thank you in advance!!

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  4. Most retailers and online sellers will have the colours available in this yarn. As far as discounts go that is a question you would need to ask the retailer. Good luck with the blanket.

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  5. Hi Vicki,
    The limited run question is a hard one! I do a limited run of a style on the basis of the fabric I have (most of it being bought overseas whilst i travel i can only bring so much in my luggage). I like to make 3 per size per style. I also like to keep my collection fresh. Your hats are divine, i made sure my grandson had one when he was born, he got lots of comments this winter.

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  6. I know it is a hard question...I think I'll just start and adjust numbers as I see fit...I've added you to my blog roll...such a gorgeous blog you have, and I was swooning over those photos of Crotia....I took myself off to Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia a few years back...beautiful place and beautiful pics brought back memories....note to self...overdue for an overseas holiday!!

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Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment, They are all read and very much appreciated. Except for spam, they're reported to blogger and google+ Vicki x