Maine Fiber Frolic welcomed many on rainy weekend

WINDSOR, Maine (WABI) - It’ll take more than rain and chilly temperatures to keep folks from Windsor this weekend.

Despite the weather, the annual Maine Fabric Frolic was a popular place.

Catawampus Farm and Fiber Mill Owner, Janet Beardsley said, “The Fiber Frolic is the lot of local farmers, local dyers, it’s really supporting main farms and main independent businesses we can sell as a fiber farmer. We can sell our wool or mohair or alpaca raw straight off the animal. There’s a fleece barn here and you can sell it that way or some of us will process all the way to spinning fiber ready for spinners to use for will process it all the way to yarns.”

Fiber enthusiasts near and far turn out every year for the event.

Some are habitual knitters and crocheters, and some are first-time fabric artists.

Beardsley said, “We do sometimes have people who have come from out of state, they’re on vacation. I remember somebody who was from Long Island, who came in with a celebratory trip because she had just survived a really serious illness and she wanted to buy fiber and make herself a sweater to remember. You know, there’s nothing better than having a sweater that you made from an animal that was raised in Maine”

In addition to fleece and yarn, folks kind find equipment, sheep and rabbits from farms, fiber educational resources, and even plants for dying fiber.

Festivals like this are a great way to bring the community together and for you to see the actual source of your fiber.

Jo Eaton works with fiber and has been selling her crocheted works since 1972.

She’s enjoyed coming to the Frolic over the decades as a vendor, a customer, and as part of the community.

“It’s all about fiber, and color, and flowers, and celebrating Maine. So my work is about celebrating what we have here. And what’s really interesting about the Fiber Frolic is there were people standing in line in the rain yesterday waiting to get in and you know that’s real dedication. It’s, it’s sort of a lifeblood of the community. And there’s a lot of people here that you get to know just through this event. And so it’s sort of like an annual gathering family party type thing, like a family reunion. It’s like it’s a yarn reunion,” said Eaton.

You can find more information about the festival at https://fiberfrolic.com/

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