On Saturday the HH and I headed to the town of Windsor, Maine to check out the Maine Fiber Frolic. This was my first time attending any sort of festival like this and for a $5 admission fee, I’d say we got our money’s worth. 🙂
Old buildings and carefully built stone walls greeted us as we walked through the entrance of the fair and from there we were able to walk around several more structures on the grounds before checking out the main event… the fiber festival.
There’s a reason homes were built small in the old days… Think of all the firewood you’d need to chop {and dry} just to keep warm during the long Maine winters.
And all the meals you’d have to prepare over an open fire {indoors and out}.
The main draw of the fiber festival wasn’t the location though… It was the wool.
We’re talking tables and tables and TABLES piled high with bags of fleece. It was crazy. I had no idea raw fleece was so expensive {or maybe this was a hot deal, I’m not sure}.
People were walking around with {or rather a lot of husbands were walking behind their wives carrying} multiple bags of the stuff. It was pretty wild.
I have no idea what kind of sheep this came from but I couldn’t help but think this color combination would make a beautiful sweater for someone.
Everywhere you looked there was fleece.
We even found angora rabbit fur for sale. 2.7 ounces for $27. Interesting.
I wonder how long it takes a bunny to produce that much fur.
There was even a sheep herding demonstration.
And oodles of booths selling you guessed it… yarn. 🙂
The Tidal Yarns booth was my favorite though, I really liked the earthy colors of her skeins.
If I was a knitter, I would have stocked up for sure.
Baaaaaa.
Besides the bags of fleece, the second biggest draw at the Maine Fiber Frolic was the used equipment area. There was a line to get inside that was about 70 people deep when we first got there.
Everything from spinning wheels to looms were there {and lot’s of them too!}.
There were even some rug hooking frames as well. If I didn’t already have the one I bought off Etsy this past winter, I would have snatched up this used folding frame for sure.
The Maine Fiber Frolic. It was a good wholesome family friendly event. There was a ton to see and we learned a lot and it was the best $5 we had spent in a long time.
Summer has arrived! And there are so many cool festivals and places to check out. We’re already looking forward to the next one on our calendar. 🙂
How about YOU? Are you planning on attending any festivals or events this summer? Are you a knitter? Do you card or spin your own wool?
Have a great tuesday everyone,
~Mavis
Jeanine says
That rug hooking frame is a steal! Great for large rugs! I would have bought it!
Mel says
I don’t do any knitting or anything, but we often went to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival growing up, which was always a lot of fun. I think it’s usually in May, so it’s probably done for this year.
Marianne says
I am a knitter and enjoy some of the “smaller” festivals – like the Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival at the very beginning of October. Having been to Rhinebeck Sheep & Wool Festival in New York (also in the fall) several times – it’s just *too much* for me. Too many people crowding into the interesting booths for me to be able to shop the way most knitters love to – take their time handling skeins of wool and parsing out color combos.
The smaller festivals are much less stressful from a sheer crowd standpoint and have equally as interesting vendors.
Nora says
Angola rabbits produce 4 shearings per year – the yearly yield was ~330 g (males) up to ~420 g (females) in the 1935 and now is around ~1240 g (males) up to 1430 g (females).
My greatgrandfather had some and my mum got pullovers from their wool 😉
Nora says
Angora not Angola! Sorry, this is the stupid autocorrect at it’s worst – obviously…
Karen says
Yes, I used to card and spin wool which was lots of fun, but am allergic to wool and can’t wear it as clothing. End of spinning hobby for me but I have gone on to do other colonial crafts.
Lainey says
This past weekend was the peach festival here in northeast Louisiana. It was deliciously wonderful! Next weekend is the watermelon festival and then the catfish festival in about 4 weeks. Yummy!
Diana says
I used to raise Angora rabbits and goats for wool. I bought an ashford spinning wheel and would spin lots of yarn. I took a weekly three hour class where we all got together to spin and share wool. Dyeing the wool was my favorite part. Now I get fleece from my neighbor who has alpacas. My wheel is currently at my daughter’s house as she wants to see how much she enjoys spinning and if she should get a wheel. I have a feeling I will never see it again!
Linda Sand says
Our daughter once lived on a farm that had sheep; llamas, and rabbits. She learned a lot about washing, carding and spinning wool. They only did the washing once, though, choosing to send the wool out for washing after that. 🙂
Catherine says
I’m a weaver and have the same Schacht loom featured in one of the pictures.
Linda Head says
I went to fiber fest here in Indiana one yr. It was great so many wonderful colors and all kinds of wool. Another yr went to a mini wool display at a reenactment. It was fun. They had some spin fluff made out of plastic bottles. I used to hand spin. Mostly I have felted. Still have wool down in my basement.
Ju says
Clara Parkes’ book, Vanishing Fleece, is about turning raw wool into yarn using American farmers, factories, dyers, etc. Her story telling is top-notch. She also does a wonderful job on the audiobook narration. HIghly recommend.
Terri Lindeke says
When I was single digits, the neighborhood gang ended up at a neighbors home on the next block. Older couple lived there and the husband was blind. He still provided for he and his wife by looming fabric. All by hand, and somehow he knew which color thread was which, and made the most beautiful fabrics. It was very fascinating to our young minds. I was in awe of his talent.
Seeing these looms took me right back to that time
Eliza says
Too funny – we were there on Saturday too and when I got to a big rug hooking stall I was like hmmmm I wonder if Mavis knows about this festival! Glad to see you got there too! I’m a knitter and spinner and occasional dyer so felt very at home there.