Welcome Aboard!
we're helen and mike, the makers behind Over the Yarnarm, a floating fibre-filled adventure built from a love of crochet, community, and creativity. I live and work full-time on a narrowboat with my husband Mike, travelling the UK’s canal network and trading at floating markets as part of a brilliant community of waterways traders.
Every item you’ll find here — from cheeky little gonks to vibrant shawls, tactile scarves, or crafting kits — is handmade with care, colour, and character right here on our boat. Nothing is mass-produced, and no two items are ever exactly the same. I don’t do beige. I do bold, bright, beautiful — and always made with joy.
What started in 2022 as a way to keep moving after a serious shoulder and arm injury has grown into a thriving little boat-based business. Learning to knit and crochet during recovery gave me purpose, peace, and eventually a new way of life. Now I share that joy through every stitch — and hope to inspire others to create along with me.
We’re known at markets as The Gonk Boat, thanks to my handmade crochet gonk characters who’ve become firm floating favourites. You’ll find us popping up across the waterways, but you can also shop online, grab a crafting kit, or join in as we launch tutorials and patterns to help you get making too.
At Over the Yarnarm, we believe handmade should be joyful, personal, and proudly individual. Whether you're a seasoned yarn addict or just falling down the rabbit hole of crochet, you're very welcome here.
💗 Let’s Craft a Life Less Ordinary
Follow our journey on social media, shop online, or come say hello in person at a floating market near you. Every time you buy from a small maker like me, you become part of our story — and I couldn’t be more grateful.
When we’re not busy hooking yarn into colourful creations, and even when we are, you’ll find us cruising the UK’s beautiful canal network aboard our floating home. Since 2019, we’ve been living the narrowboat life — first setting sail on our very first boat in the chilly December waters, and never looking back.
Our vlog, Our Souls Afloat, is headed up by Mike (with me chipping in here and there… usually at the tiller while he gets his shots!) and follows our adventures with our lovable staffy, Bailey. From peaceful morning moorings and bustling floating markets, to those “will we make it under this bridge?” moments, we share the highs, the hilarity, and the heart of our boating life.
We love bringing you along for the journey — not just to see where the canals take us, but to show the places and people that inspire our handmade creations. Every market stall, every stretch of water, and every cosy evening on board adds a stitch to the bigger story of Over the Yarnarm.
🎥 Hop aboard with us
Watch Our Souls Afloat on and see where we’ve been, where we’re heading next, and maybe even the exact moment a new gonk idea pops into my head!