Crana Knits workshop is situated in Buncrana, County Donegal. Buncrana is situated on the stunning Inishowen Peninsula. At the tip of the peninsula is Malin Head, Ireland’s most northerly point.

Crana Knits was established in 1979 and at it’s peak, Rosaleen had over 500 hand knitters working for the company from their homes. Today she retains 50 knitters across Ireland.

In the early days Rosaleen travelled the length and breadth of Ireland with suitcases of clothing, taking orders and selling to stores. She also put her own stamp on Aran through ClannArans – a brand of sweaters designed around Irish and Irish American clan names.

At the same time, Rosaleen came on the radar of international designers who ordered eclectic woollen creations from her for the catwalks and boutiques.

Crana Knits has written patterns for international fashion designers, Christian Lacroix and Jean Charles de Castelbajac and JW Anderson named Rosaleen a ‘genius knitter’. She also supplied a baby shop owned by Susie Hilfiger. “Tommy Hilfiger and his wife Susie would have been down here quite often. If they had a gift they wanted to give anybody, they would come to me for a sweater,” Rosaleen recalled.

Derry-born actress Roma Downey, star of Touched by an Angel, is also a big fan of Crana Knits. She wore a sweater in a winter scene of the popular series and has championed the company on social media.

Some of Rosaleen’s most creative patterns were written for the catwalks, and even worn by the designers themselves. “The last big designer I had was Jonathan Anderson. We actually knitted a baby suit for him,” Rosaleen said.