Knitting and yarn has always been a big part of my life. I learnt to knit at a very young age and once it was in my life it never left! It was a hobby I worked on regularly throughout my childhood, and which in my teenage years became something I rarely went a day without. Now, almost 30 years after my grandma first taught me to knit, I run FOLK yarn studio in Lowestoft, and I still can’t believe this is my job! 

In April of 2018 I reached out to the online yarn community for the first time, posting a video podcast to YouTube. At the time I was in my late twenties, had a very young child, a job that didn’t excite me, an obsession with knitting, and absolutely no one to talk to about it. I didn’t have an in person knit group, had no idea how to connect with one, and in truth I was a Lonely Knitter. So I named my channel The Lonely Knitter, filmed a video on my phone sat at my kitchen table, and pressed upload. 

That was the start of my journey into the knitting community, and I could never have imagined what the next few years would bring. I dipped into knitting pattern design a little, in January of 2020 I used Kickstarter to launch Crafter’s Balm, an all natural hand balm bar, and in the summer of 2020 I started to dye yarn as The Lonely Knitter. I have been lucky enough to visit and vend at yarn shows around the UK, to make friends with so many wonderful folks from our community, and in 2022 I held the first East Anglia Yarn Festival (EAYF) in a hotel in Norwich. 

I was blown away by the response to EAYF. Not just locally, but with vendors coming from all over the UK and visitors from all over the world. The show is now an annual event in March, held over a weekend at The Norfolk Showground Arena. Please feel free to visit eastangliayarnfestival.com if you’d like to see more! 

In March of 2023 after a conversation about trying to bring local fleece to EAYF and find a way to support British wool and local farmers I decided to look into creating an East Anglian yarn. Something unique and special. A non superwash, no air miles, locally grown, british industry supporting yarn. It took a long time for this idea to become reality, and in March 2024 at the third EAYF I launched FOLK, an East Anglian Yarn. Head over to the FOLK page for more on that story!

In early 2024 it became clear that my small business had taken over our home. Between dyeing for The Lonely Knitter, storing all things EAYF and now adding FOLK yarn into the mix we were struggling, and it was time to find a new home for all things work related. 

FOLK yarn studio is this last step, a studio space to dye in, to be a hub for all things EAYF and a home for FOLK yarn. I hope to move in and plan out the space to accommodate room for a knit (and crochet) night, as well as potentially open to the public a few times a month and offer a few fun bookable activities! This tucked away little studio, just a short walk from Ness Point, the most easterly point of England will be up and running as soon as I can manage and I plan to document the journey and get back to YouTube by sharing it all with you as it happens!