The ninth annual Wool and Fiber Expo is today through Sunday at the Roland E. Back at the Powell Convention Center
23 vendors will be on hand and 12 classes will be offered at the event showcasing products that people would be hard pressed to find anywhere else but these vendors.
“This is the event’s ninth year and it just keeps getting better,” said event organizer Susan Childs.
The show began as an opportunity for local farmers to sell their sheep and alpaca wool, Childs said. He expects about 1,500 participants this year.
“We have a large contingent of weavers, quilters and spinners here on the coast and I wanted them to be able to access the raw product when they needed it,” she said.
Her own experience as a spinner at the Furnace Town Historical Site outside Snow Hill “was many years ago,” she said.
“I got the idea (for the classes at the expo) when I was waiting for an appointment at the doctor’s office and I was knitting — the girl next to me said she would love to learn but all the classes available were during the week. Our classes have been very well received,” Childs said. .
Some of the classes include “Beginner’s Road to Successful Knitting,” “Felted Soaps,” “Beginner Counted Cross Stitch” and “Beginner Needle Felting.”
Classes range from $15 to $59.50 and are offered multiple times on some weekends.
Childs said that over the years, the event has attracted new farms and vendors “from as far away as New York.”
“I’m really excited about the variety of vendors we have this year — there are two wood turners, a yarn shop that closed its doors but is bringing (its) products to our area, there’s a vendor that reclaims yarn and sweaters found at thrift stores. Since, there used to be a store in Baltimore that has closed but brought in their quilting fabric to sell by the yard. I could go on.”
“It’s a must-attend because it only happens once a year and the products that are available can’t be found anywhere else here on the coast.”
Admission to the Wool & Fiverr Expo is $4 for one day. It’s $5 for the weekend. For more information or to see a list of vendors and classes, visit https://woolandfiber.com.
