Here at Blacker we thought it was about time to give our lovely stockists some love, find out more about them below!
Name: Isla Davison - now retired but a lovely person and we have retained this item for her views
Company name: BritYarn – United Kingdom - now closed
One of the joys of having our own mill, is that it gives us the freedom to experiment and try new things. For the last two years we've celebrated our birthday in September by creating a limited edition - one of a kind - yarn, and this year is no exception. Like all our yarns the development of Brushwork was an organic process, which began with the fibre.
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 courtesy 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
enquiries@thenaturalfibre.co.uk | +44 (0) 1566 777 635
