Animals are Loved at Winterbrook Farm and Fiber Mill!

We visited Winterbrook Farm and Fiber Mill in September, where we met Sally Harney.  Sally, her husband, sons (and their families), own many acres which make up the farm. It is nestled in the basin of Hogan Pond in Oxford.

Sally has a "spinner's flock" - a mix of sheep: Bluefaced Leicester, Romney, Corriedale, Finn, Shetland, CVM - as well as llamas and alpacas.  In truth, Sally is so kind-hearted that many of her animals were rescued by her with the support of her family.  She gives them a home and love.  She and her family will make 4,000 to 5,000 bales of hay each year and she will keep 1,500 of the bales for her animals.

Sally began the mill only about six years ago when she "retired" and became impatient waiting up to six months to get her fiber back from a processing mill.  Now in her own mill, she skirts, washes, dyes upon request, and cards customers' fiber with a turn around time of less than three months.  This fiber mill is not for spinning fiber into yarn, but processing it through a 1907 Ferber Davis carder into roving for spinners and felters.

Sally also processes her own fiber and uses it to make felted dryer balls, which she sells at the Maine Fiber Frolic and the Common Ground Country Fair.  At one point she decided to embellish her dryer balls which then became a lovely Christmas ornament.

We marveled at the energy Sally has, and we can only wonder what new things she may be doing, and the new animals she may be loving, the next time we visit.

If you need fiber processed, it may be worth your while to contact Winterbrook Farm and Fiber Mill.  We have no doubt that you will get the attention to detail that fiber people love!  Because of their busy life on the farm and mill, it is best to contact them through email at: winterbrookfiber@hotmail.com or call (207) 539-9991.

If you would like to visit the farm, you will need to call ahead.  We encourage you to do so in the summer because there are so many wonderful lakes to enjoy in that part of Maine, or take a road trip in the fall when the foliage is spectacular there. If you can't get to Oxford, you can visit their website www.winterbrookfiber.com or Facebook page.