Shops We Love

The Emma Maye travels the inland waterways of England and Wales, bringing yarn and other crafty goodies to customers along the way. Crewed by Colin and Carole Wareing, this year the Wool Boat will be returning to Sta ordshire and for the first time will be heading up the Macclesfield canal to the edge of the Peak District around Whalley Bridge. “We may only be a small shop but we have a good range of yarns, patterns and accessories, and take great delight in bringing our boat into villages and towns where all the local yarn shops disappeared years ago,” says Colin. “Knitters, crocheters and crafters can come aboard to view our stocks, and we get to meet some lovely people from all over the country.”
According to Colin, the Wool Boat attracts a rather unexpected set of
younger customers. “We are seeing younger boys who have developed an interest in knitting and crochet through craft clubs at school, and they prefer to visit a boat rather than go into a conventional yarn store. We also get a lot of crafters who love to come and discover the texture of our yarns without making a trip to a shop that’s miles away, or risk ordering yarn unseen from the internet.” This summer’s cruise will carry a full range of yarns from basic acrylics through wool/acrylic mixes to pure wool, mostly James C Brett’s branded yarn. “Brett has recently launched some new variegated colourways in its Cotton On range, a cotton/acrylic mix that is great for crocheting. Another new introduction is Legacy, a DK weight superwash wool that feels great.”
But Colin and Carole support independent yarns as well. “We will also be taking some more ‘Lazy Kate’ yarn. Kate is a local hand spinner and dyer who is based close to our mooring in Lancashire, and who creates unique skeins of yarn.” You can see Colin and Carole at the Burscough heritage group’s
Heritage Weekend boat gathering on 21–22 June at Burscough Wharf, before they set off for their summer cruise. But as Colin says, if you
happen to be strolling along a canal,keep an eye out for the Emma Maye.
“If you see us out and about feel free to flag us down, and if you feel you haven’t any ‘sea legs’, all our display stock is in baskets that we can bring
ashore for you to inspect!”
Call 07931 356204 or check www.thewoolboat.co.uk for more.