Wool Week with Woolyknit!

So tell us a little bit about Woolyknit and how the store came about?

The Woolyknit store came about when Roger Shepley, owner and spinner, was working with me on developing a British Naturals handknitting range. We were working in the warehouse one day, and I was cooing over his British wool as usual. We discussed our shared idea of running our own wool emporium in the heart of the Pennine: somewhere that traditional skills could be shared and passed on through the medium of wool and crafts. If I’d won the lottery I would have bought one of the old mills to get crafting going again in the Saddleworth area - luckily I met Roger instead. It was only a matter of time before the hand knitting range we were developing found a home in a ground floor unit, and we set to work.

Why did you decide to move the store to Warth Mill in Oldham?

The location was perfect for us. We are just off Wool Road - need I say more? Diggle is on the Yorkshire-Lancashire border and the mill was originally a fulling mill which provided the felted woollen fabrics for great coats in the First World War. It’s next to the canal, there’s lots of free parking - two minutes’ walk and you’re on the hills with the sheep themselves! We are even writing our own “walks from Woolyknit” flyers.

What made you decide to open the café as well?

The café was always part of the plan, but Rome wasn’t built in a day! We didn’t let the grass grow though, and we were busy working with DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) within weeks of the store opening. In order to truly develop Woolyknit into an attraction that everyone could enjoy, we needed a café. It needed to reflect the local, fresh, homemade feel we felt woule be the Woolyknit food ethos.

Our managers Adele and Ruth create and deliver amazing homemade food, just as we had always imagined. The smells are incredible and the food tastes fantastic. The café also works in its own right as a resource for local residents for meetings, parties and events. Community is at the heart of all things Woolyknit!

What do you think it is about knitting that brings people together?

It’s the honesty and love that goes into crafts and handmade things that naturally brings people together. Then like-minded people who love to share and enjoy their crafts are bound to talk to each other and share their knowledge and experiences.

What is it about British wool in particular that is so special?

For me only natural fibres make the grade. I love the natural colours and the textures we have in our British wools. Plus, I’m a sucker for tradition: Aran, Fair Isle, and especially the fishermen’s gansey sweaters of the East coast. The hours of labour and skill reward the knitter with something which possesses longevity, quality and eternal beauty.

Roger’s family were farmers in the past - his sister still lives in the farmhouse. The name Shepley is means valley of the sheep. My heritage is also deeply rooted in the traditional skills of the herring girls of the East coast. My great grandmother followed the boats from Dunbar down to Lowestoft and would have knitted as she waited for her husband and brothers to come in. In a way I was born to knit just as she was!

The first large piece I crocheted was a shawl for my great grandmother made from proper wool in 1969 when I was five. She used it every day of her life after that, and died aged 104 in 1999. 30 years of daily use and it was still going strong!

What’s your favourite time of the knitting year?

It’s definitely now. For years I have made my own Christmas presents and I love as a designer to get out all my special stash and design one off beautiful things for my friends and family. You can let your hair down and create something totally unique for each person.

How are you celebrating Wool Week?

We had a making and doing festival on in the South Pennines on 5-6th of October. On the 6th we had an extreme knitting event and had about 100 people over the weekend! Our British wool garden will also be on display throughout wool week at the mill. We can’t wait!

To find out more about Woolyknit and what it has to offer, check out their website.