100% Domestic Aran Weight Merino Wool in Soft Kettle-Dyed Colors
This yarn and this company is becoming a swift favorite among everyone who sees and touches it and hears the wonderful backstory behind it. I have met the charming owner and heard his story firsthand. Here is a bit from their website that helps to explain why I am so impressed with this company:
Cestari Sheep and Wool Company is a small family-owned and operated American manufacturer of knitting and crocheting yarn. The Cestari farm is located in Augusta County, Virginia where the sheep are raised for wool that is used in the yarn. The sheep are a Targhee/Columbia breed developed on Cestari farms to produce a luxurious traditional wool...
Cestari also sources Merino wool from reputable ranchers throughout the United States. Cestari is committed to paying fair market value for premium Merino wool to help ensure the future of American sheep farming and wool production. It is the hope of the Cestari team that those in the fiber community helps us by patronizing companies that support American sheep farmers.
Cestari wool is washed using a scouring process that keeps natural lanolin in the yarn and maintains the natural bounce and texture of the wool. The scouring process is preferred to the more contemporary carbonizing process because a carbonizing acid bath, done overseas, would burn out the vegetable matter, leaving the wool very clean but removing the lanolin and leaving the wool with less bounce and changing the original texture. Sometimes specks of easily removable hay or straw remain in our yarn; owner Francis Chester likes to say that if you put Cestari yarn to your ears, you can almost hear the sounds of life within it.
That last sentence just says it all.
