Tuesday 15 March 2016

Gourmet wool on the menu!

We all love the coming of spring - longer evenings, warmer weather (hopefully!), bobbing daffodils and the first lambs gambolling in the fields. I saw my first of the year a couple of weeks ago near Pentlow in North Essex - some little Jacob's sheep, so shy I am afraid they hid behind their mums when I tried to take a picture! So it's an appropriate time of year for one of my favourite British yarn companies, Blacker Yarns, have launched a gorgeous new all-British wool blend in both DK & 4-ply Tamar Lustre Blend. They send me a little bit to try, coincidentally in pretty much my favourite colour.

The list of ingredients - Teesdale, Wensleydale, Leicester Longwool & Cotswold - is really a gourmet menu of British wool. (Think of it as the woolly version of a dish from great Cornwall's famous chefs Rick Stein or Nathan Outlaw). It's very versatile, making a lovely smooth stocking stitch and very well defined lace.


It would work well for both garments and accessories, though some might find the woolly texture a little uncomfortable to wear for a long time right next to the skin. I think the 4-ply, for instance, would work really well in a simple garter-stitch triangular shawl. The DK would be the ideal substitution for Blacker's limited-edition Cornish Tin yarn (now sadly no more!) which I designed my Cornish-pasty-themed Croust Mitts for.


so far I've only made a swatch or two as an amuse bouche - but it's already inspired me to start thinking up a few full-scale new design feasts!

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