Baskerville Is Back! Plus Blacker Yarns, Countess Ablaze, Baa Ram Ewe & Kate Davies Yarn Launches

Baskerville is back!

Baskerville image courtesy of Kettle Yarn Co

Linda Lenovic, owner of Kettle Yarn Co, uses British Gotland fleece blended with Exmoor Blueface and silk to produce her own Baskerville yarn.

After months of waiting for the latest shearing to take place Baskerville is now back in stock in all seven of its hues.

Lenovic creates small batches of this slightly luminous yarn and once its gone knitters will have to wait until next year's fleece batch!

Baskerville is fingering weight and a 100g skein costs £24.


Blacker Yarns 2ply lace weight

Image courtesy of Blacker Yarns

The latest addition to Blacker Yarns' range is a 2ply lace Blue-faced Leicester yarn retailing at £7.80 for a 50g ball.

The range comes in 13 colours inspired by coral reefs. I haven't had a chance to do the squish test yet or knit up a sample square but Sonja Bargielowska from Blacker Yarns writes:

"Our BFL lace-weight yarn is worsted spun, meaning the yarn goes through an additional five processes in the mill to remove the shorter, coarser fibres. This creates a more luxurious yarn, with a sumptuous handle - it's no surprise BFL yarns are a firm favourite amongst hand knitters!"

The yarn is suitable for any lace knitting patterns including shawls and scarves.

Countess Ablaze restocks one-off lace colourways

Image courtesy of Countess Ablaze.

OAK stands for one of a kind and the Manchester-based knit dyer Countess Ablaze has restocked her online store with her latest delectable lace OAK skeins.

Her lace yarn base is a blend of British Bluefaced Leicester and mulberry silk (the yarn is spun in Peru, but I'm including it on the blog because the wool is British and it's dyed in the UK), creating a machine washable fibre that's suitable to wear next to the skin.

One 100g skein, says the Countess, is enough to knit a shawl or scarf. A skein costs £19 or £21 depending on the colourway.


Baa Ram Ewe's big balls

Image courtesy of baa ram dew

At the other end of the thickness spectrum Leeds-based yarn producer baa ram ewe is selling Big Balls in eight shades as part of its Autumn/Winter season launch range.

They cost a whopping £48 but for that you get a whole kilogram of English 56 dyed fibre, apart from the Ecru shade, which comes from Derbyshire Gritstone.

These are not spun yarn balls as we know them. The balls are suitable for spinning and/or felting at home, or alternatively you can use your arm or very large needles to knit the fibre into a bulky blanket.

Again, I haven't had chance to squish the yarn yet but the whole premise sounds like lots of fun.

Kate Davies' Aran Tweed

Image courtesy of Kate Davies

In an email to subscribers on Friday 14th July Davies teased knitters with the news that her forthcoming yarn launch will be Milarrochy Tweed, inspired by an old oak tree at Milarrochy Bay near her Scottish home.

She says that the yarn is being spun in Donegal with additional finishing in Yorkshire. Milarrochy Tweed is fingering weight and will be available in 12 shades of 25g skeins.

No images of the yarn are available yet, will it become as popular as her debut Scottish DK yarn range Buachaille?