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Here at Blacker Yarns we try not to have favourites amongst the sheep breeds, but Gotland sheep do have a rather special place in our hearts. Perhaps because they’re the sheep Sue Blacker herself keeps?
We’re really excited to be launching a brand new colour palette in our 100% Gotland DK yarn on August 9th, and thought this would be a great opportunity to talk about this very special breed in more detail.
Images curtesy of The Saatchi Gallery
At the Mill we have been thinking about art - for reasons which will become very clear in the near future!
Lyonesse DK in Serpentine, Citrine and Aquamarine
We use linen in our Lyonesse yarn range – it adds great drape, crispness and strength to a yarn, but have you ever wondered how linen comes into being?
The Bluefaced Leicester is a noble breed, originating from selective breeding in the early twentieth century by Robert Bakewell, specifically hand-picked for their “blue faces”, referring to their very dark blue, almost black skin. The sheep themselves are friendly in nature, while their Roman noses provide an air of aristocracy.
As many of our avid readers will know, we have been working on a new Blacker yarn range, being launched this month! This is a permanent addition to our ranges, designed to complement the others, providing a further range of textures and fabrics, a luxurious feel and adding to our colour palettes. The colour cards are available right away and the full launch is on 23rd March, 2017.
We've recently been working with our customers on some case studies; these showcase different breeds and items which have been produced using pure wool (or alpaca) fibre. Follow the links below to read individual studies or go to our case studies page to view them all.
It is well known that the Boreray is at the top of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watch list and that the Soay is still at risk (though thankfully its numbers haven’t dropped in the past year). Due to the small size, propensity to shed and rarity of these breeds they are not usually spun into a yarn as the commercial viability for small quantities is so limited.
Image courtesy of Back Forest Flocks
Farming is both a very traditional and a very experimental and innovative activity. On the one hand, we are inevitably tied to the land and its attributes, whether they are constraints or benefits. On the other we have experience, science and happenstance to provide new ways of doing things – as usual necessity is often the mother of invention and, of course, most farms are almost entirely held together by baler twine!
The innovations started when moving from nomadic to pastoral and then to tillage systems and the first important innovations were the plough, followed considerably later by the mould-board to turn the furrows more effectively, and of course the rotation of crops to eradicate diseases and feed the soil. Originally we were all “organic” and it was only following the discovery that some intensive farming practices might be destroying the soil that the Soil Association and the current organic systems appeared during the twentieth century. This recent period has also seen accelerating innovation in terms of the controversial genetic engineering or modification and cloning.
It seems that this watery story is timely, though sadly not everyone is in a position to appreciate the sheer amount of water around the UK at present. Our thoughts are with those who have suffered flooding and those trying to keep their sheep from growing webbed feet.
enquiries@thenaturalfibre.co.uk | +44 (0) 1566 777 635
