53 fibre arts vendors from across the Maritimes gathered to sell wool, yarn, tools for weaving and rug hooking, knitted creations, and more.
On September 5th and 6th, the annual Fibre Festival, WoolstockEAST, brought together crafters for a market and live demonstrations. The community event is hosted by Sisterhood Fibres and took place at the Pictou County Wellness Centre in New Glasgow.
Many artisans at WoolstockEAST see the full process of creating textiles from sheering, carding, dying, spinning, to finally weaving wool into a finished product.
Exploring and teaching the different steps of this craft is what inspires volunteer Kathleen Gray.
Gray found “her people” while attending a basket-weaving workshop hosted by Sisterhood Fibres. This is her third year volunteering for WoolstockEAST and she describes the event “like coming home.”
“It is joy, it is positive energy, from the quilts surrounding, which really set the tone, to all of the beautiful products and supplies that we all need as artisans to do the things that we do,” says Gray. “The energy is reviving — it fills me with inspiration.”
During a recent creative slump, Gray felt encouraged to knit a “sisterhood shawl” following the free pattern on the WoolstockEAST website. Gray knit the shawl using yarn from producers across the province. Gray says she rediscovered her joy of knitting and while weaving together the colours and textures.
“All of the women who have touched and created these fibres, that have now become yarns, that have now been knitted into literally the sisterhood shawl, fills me with so much joy. Now that I can wear it, it’s almost like I’m wearing this mantel of strength and creativity and all of the color-joy and all of that connectedness, so it just feels beautiful.”
Innovation and exploration through fibre arts is also important to volunteer Claire Keigan. Keigan is the niece of Faith Drinnan, owner of Sisterhood Fibres, and has been involved in WoolstockEAST from the beginning.
For people interested in fibre arts, Keigan says to just do it.
“Just play and explore your curiousity,” says Keigan. “There’s so many ways to express yourself.”
Keigan explained that there are many areas of expertise to explore in the world of fibre arts, from weaving to rug hooking to cyanotype.
“You really want other people to experience this “happy to be alive” stuff,” says Keigan.
Keigan celebrates the work her aunt has done to facilitate and legitimize the value of fibre arts.
While some may consider knitting and other crafts as mere hobbies, Keigan notes that many of our everyday comforts come from the hard work of fibre artists.
Keigan says that her aunt has encouraged many artisans to believe in the value of their craft and to see fibre arts as a legitimate way of earning an income.
Having a space that recognizes the skill and value of fibre arts knowledge has “definitely changed people’s lives” says Keigan.
Denise Bekkers, owner of Mas Wool Co. in Antigonish, is a long-time knitter. Bekkers started her business when she could not find a high quality of wool for spinning yarn. Bekkers now has 18 sheep and loves processing the wool through cleaning and dying.
Bekkers has been selling wool at WoolstockEAST for three years.
“It’s so nice, everybody has the same mindset,” says Bekkers. “Everybody here is interested in wool and crafting and stuff, and it’s so much fun.”
Alongside the fibre market of vendors, the festival includes demonstrations led by artists on skills like dyeing fibres, wool carding, and wet felting.
Visitors at the event expressed excitement and inspiration from attending the demonstrations and looking at the crafts from vendors.