On the September 12th weekend the sun shone down on the 31st Woolgathering held at Pinehill on route 202 in Hemmingford. A nearby field was filled with parked cars, and people meandered through the old wooden gate towards an alley of white tents.
The tree-lined laneway was a feast for the senses. The scent of Blue Moose Soap floated on the breeze. Under the tents, vendors displayed handcrafted objects such as paintings, jewelry, jams, baskets, and – of course – different articles made with wool.
“Woolgathering,” a term originating in the 16th century, described the collection of scraps of wool left behind by sheep in their pastures. The word has also been used to describe daydreaming, and the Pinehill Woolgathering certainly has a dreamlike quality about it.
Strolling among the tents one couldn’t miss Lylliane Le Quellec, an expert hand spinner and author of Tisser l’avenir. She introduced visitors to natural dyes and displayed an array of hand knitted articles. On September 27 she will give a talk in Lacolle on spinning, transforming and dying wool. For more information, see surlaroute.metierstraditions.com.
Ambling along the lane, side-stepping friendly dogs and their half-chewed dog toys, Anna-Maria Nicolou chatted to venders. She seemed relaxed and very happy with the turnout. “I’m glad to continue Sue Heller’s legacy,” she says. “I said that it would be the same, but different.” She is referring to Heller’s Roxham Woolgathering that took place on her Roxham Road farm for 26 years.
For many people Pinehill is not just about retail therapy. “Every year someone meets someone they haven’t seen for 20 years,” Nicolou laughs.
Beside the chickens and Muscovy ducks, Mary Sullivan served coffee from her café truck. Pinehill was her last “gig” of 2026, but she hopes to be back next year. Her next enterprise is Serenplicity’s Christmas Store that will take place at her home every Sunday in November and December. Sullivan is forever on the go: “I like things that are different and temporary,” she says. For details on her Christmas Store, go to the Serenplicity page on Facebook.
Pinehill Woolgathering is now over for another year. Nicolou smiled, “I said that I would do it for 10 years. I have five years to go!”