Since 2004, Meg Gregory and her husband, Brad, have owned and operated the Black Sheep Creamery in Chehalis — raising and milking their dairy sheep on a nearby farm. Whenever it was time to shear their sheep, the couple didn’t have a use for the wool, so they burned it. Nowadays, there are fewer fires on the farm as the shorn wool is cleaned, dyed and spun into yarn to be bought by local fiber artists.
“We sheared our first sheep in 2001 and I probably burned the fleeces until about 2008. I had a friend that said ‘you shouldn’t do that anymore,’” Gregory said.
Since 2015, the couple has operated the creamery and their Ewe and I yarn shop, utilizing their sheep in two separate ways, out of one location in downtown Chehalis. Gregory works with two people who dye the wool and a portion of the shop’s yarns are sourced from Lewis County locals who raise sheep, alpacas, goats and Angora rabbits — passing their wool along to Gregory.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused Gregory to have to lay off all of her employees and run the store by herself full-time. Fortunately, prior to the pandemic, Ewe and I had been working on establishing an online shop and were able to get it up and running early on. Through the online store, Ewe and I has sold and shipped yarn internationally, Gregory said. The shop carries numerous types of yarn in various styles and colors from about 25 different vendors including some based in Japan, Turkey, Brazil, China, Britain, Germany and many from the U.S. Local fiber artists also stop into the shop regularly to stock up on supplies.
“We have a local contingent that wants us to survive the pandemic so they come in often — they’re great,” she said.
Gregory said that August through December are usually her busiest months since people start spending more time indoors and get back into knitting, crocheting or spinning. She said sales have dipped since the start of the pandemic but there has been an increase in the number of people who have taken up spinning — the skill of transforming the fluffs of wool into thread and yarn.
Although knitting or crocheting is a great activity to do at home, the thing the local community of fiber artists is missing is the social aspect of being able to meet up at Ewe and I and work on their projects with a group of friends — enjoying their hobby together — but with high COVID-19 cases numbers, those gatherings are risky.
“I have a lot of people that come in and they’re just sad but I can’t be that place. Especially with my clientele — a lot of them are older,” Gregory said.
Gregory said she is hoping to be able to host virtual knitting circles in the future to revive the social interactions and project sharing that has been lost due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“There is no end to people’s creativity. I love the excitement of creating something and being creative,” she said.
Ewe and I and Black Sheep Creamery are located at 566 N Market Blvd in Chehalis. Knitting needles, crochet hooks, other supplies and yarns in dozens of colors and styles can be purchased in-store or on Ewe and I’s website — www.eweandiyarns.com. The Chehalis yarn shop can also be found on Facebook and Instagram @eweandiyarns.
