Blacker Yarns Bonanza: Cornish Tin 2 + St Kilda Lace

Blacker Yarns is back with two more limited edition British yarns to tempt we knitters with.

The first is a rerun of last year's extremely popular Cornish Tin blend made to celebrate the company's tenth anniversary. Blacker Yarns has now turned 11, and has brought Cornish Tin back one final time, albeit with a slightly different blend. Says Blacker Yarns, of Cornish Tin 2:

"This steely grey woollen spun yarn is blended from a collection of the highest quality British fibres including Alpaca, Portland, Saxon Merino, Gotland, Jacob, Shetland, Black Welsh Mountain, Mohair, and English Merino. Tin 2 is a careful blend of lustrous, smooth fibres with slightly more bulky wools to create a lovely handle and give the yarn a delicate hello. The Gotland and Mohar fibres give the dyed shades a subtle pop of intensity."

The yarn is available in 100g skeins in both DK and 4ply weights. There are eight shades to choose from, one, named Levant Grey, being undyed. The price is TBC.

Cornish Tin 2 shade card

Last year I dithered around when it came to buying Cornish Tin, thinking it would be available for sale much longer than it was. This year I may well get in there early. I'm wanting to add the Hut 8 cardigan to my 'to knit' list and have my eye out for a 4ply yarn to knit it in. I already have a plethora of pink and grey cardigans but finding the right shade of raspberry has so far eluded me.

The Tamar range from Blacker Yarns is due to be refreshed soon. Isla from the BritYarn website told me that some of the original shades are like gold dust to get hold of now, but that a new batch should be available in September. I do like the Kensey and Shales Brook shades. The question is, however, should I stick with pink that I know suits me or go for a completely different shade? The other contender is Land Army Green from Susan Crawford's Excelana 4ply range.

The second treat for knitters that Blacker Yarns has up its sleeve is their St Kilda limited edition lace yarn in a collaboration with expert dyer Joy, aka The Knitting Goddess. Says the company:

"Blacker St Kilda yarn is a unique and rare homage to the Scottish archipelago and world Heritage site on the outer edges of the Hebrides. The islands' native Boreray and Soay sheep are two of the oldest and rarest of all the British breeds, so there is only enough wool to make a limited amount of yarn each year. These fibres and hand blended together with Shetland to create a beautifully delicate and textured yarn with plenty of bounce. Our St Kilda has a really grip, so it is exquisitely suited to lace knitting and textured shawls."

St Kilda shade card

Indeed, the lace yarn feels soft and smooth to the touch. Joy has dyed ten jewel-like shades, all of which pop with colour. For those who prefer their yarn in natural shades there are two to choose from: a silver, light grey Isle of Dun and a dark grey Stac Lee. St Kilda comes in 50g skeins and the price is TBC.