Kay Wegner, owner of Hillcrest House Fiber & Yarn in South Bristol, stands in front of shelves of yarn in her store on Monday, Nov. 17. Wegner has curated a collection of yarn from local farmers and artisans, along with specialty yarn from around the world. (Christina Wallace photo)
For artist and lifelong fiber enthusiast Kay Wegner, all yarn tells a story.
In October, Wegner opened Hillcrest House Fiber & Yarn, at 161 Ridge Road in Walpole, a shop selling specialty yarn from local artisans along with yarn from around the world.
Wegner said that each skein she sells is deeply connected to people, places, and meaningful experiences. Some of her yarns are sourced from local farmers, hand-dyers, or artisans she has met and developed relationships with.
Other connections are familiar, such as alpaca yarn brought from her son’s family in Peru or yak wool from a family-owned business in Tibet.
Wegner said her artistry grew from traveling the world with her family. Her husband, Gary Wegner, worked as an astronomer with his career taking their family around the world to Australia, South Africa, England, and more.
Wegner said she used these opportunities to learn different crafts and be creative in each location, eventually falling in love with hand-dyeing wool and silk, which is where she said her love of fiber stems from.
“I got really interested in fiber design using a Japanese method called Rozome, which is wax resist,” Wegner said. “You make and you keep taking away and adding layers of color and design. I really became interested in that sort of Asian influence in the art world.”
Wegner sells her hand-dyed pieces in her shop, along with buttons handcrafted by her daughter, Kristen Wegner, from materials such as baroque pearls, conch shells, and rosewood.
Wegner said her travels also inspired her to continuously explore and evolve her creative practices across various mediums and gave her the experience to explore other creative uses for yarn.
The idea for Hillcrest House Fiber & Yarn traces directly back to Pine Tree Yarns in Damariscotta and its longtime owner, Elaine Eskesen.
After hearing that the Eskesen would be closing her store after 35 years, Wegner thought about taking the business on herself.
“I sort of wanted to carry on with having a place for local and specialty yarns,” Wegner said. “I thought maybe we should do something out here on our property.”
With the help of her husband, she spent the summer building and curating her shop.
“When I started searching more for local yarn, it’s just amazing who is up some of these roads,” Wegner said. “There are people growing sheep and dying and making their own wool … and so I have this network now of local people.”
The name Hillcrest House Fiber & Yarn comes from the historic property on which the shop now stands, once known as Hillcrest House. Wegner discovered that the farm dates back to around 1796–1805 and had operated as a farm stay about a century ago, where people could stay there for $1 a day.
The previous owners preserved artifacts and photographs from that era, including century-old images of the farmhouse and surrounding fields. Wegner chose to honor the lineage of the land with the shop’s name.
Wegner said that for her, creating items with yarn is a very personal thing, giving her a connection with the items she makes.
“When you make something, I always feel not just pleased that I made something, but also there’s some spiritual connection,” Wegner said. “We have enough waste, so I think if you’re going to do a project and make your husband, your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your child, your mother, somebody’s something, if you use a really nice wool, it warms them in so many ways.”
Wegner is passionate about working with wool, both for its environmental benefits and its practicality.
“Wool itself has so many wonderful qualities,” Wegner said. “It doesn’t burn, so it’s not flammable, it naturally repels odor and bugs … it decomposes naturally.”
As she settles in, Wegner is already thinking ahead. She hopes to host small workshops, especially when the weather warms, and to return to dyeing wool in her onsite studio. For now, she’s just happy to be part of the local fiber landscape.
“Everything in here now has a story,” she said. “I just want to be a place where people can show their things and be able to sell them.”
Hillcrest House Fiber & Yarn is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. For more information, call 603-727-2278.
