August Meeting Update – and a look to fall!

At our August meeting we enjoyed hearing about yarn choices from our featured designer, Alison Green. 

During her eleven years as a designer for Berroco Yarns, Alison Green had the opportunity to design projects tailored to a diverse collection of yarns. She shared what kinds of considerations were at play, how the characteristics of different yarns informed her work, and how she approached the question of “What does this yarn want to be?” She also discussed how she chooses yarns for her current work as an independent designer, and how knitters can successfully select yarns that will best suit their pattern, or find the perfect pattern to show off a specific yarn.

Find Alison’s designs on Ravelry at https://www.ravelry.com/people/alisonknits and on Instagram as alisonmaragreen.

Yarnover is quickly approaching! There are lots more options when you register for Yarnover this year with classes on both Saturday and Sunday, as well as, LYS presentations on Saturday. Of course, this means the registration form has more options and more questions for you to answer as you go along. We’ve created a YouTube video that walks you through the process, so you can be ready to go. It also includes some tips on making sure your registration goes through with no problem. Watch the video here.  

The Guild, including Yarnover, is completely volunteer run.  That means we need the help of our members to make our events run successfully. If you have a few hours to spare on Yarnover weekend, please sign up here.

Watch for teacher and class information on the social media posts from the marketing group!

Additional volunteer opportunities:

Fall Fest at Gale Wood Farms October 3 & 4

Holiday Market at the Textile Center: December opportunities

Knitting Around Town!

  • August 24th, 6 to 8 pm Ramsey County Roseville Library 
  • Check the MKG calendar for upcoming dates!

Zoom Knit-n-Chats: 

Thursdays: September 3rd & 17th, 7-9pm

Sundays:  September 6th & 20th, 11am-1pm

Sip and Knit for August!:

Knit and socialize with your fellow MKG members! Service Knitting donations are accepted as well.

Unmapped Brewing

Dates: September 19th – 10 am to Noon

Address: 14625 Excelsior Blvd, Minnetonka 55435

Venn Brewing

Date: September 5th  – 10 am to Noon

Address: 3550 East 46th Street, Minneapolis 55406

Service Knitting News – donations needed   

Hand knits for our partners:

  • Jack’s Basket, Bridge for Youth, Hats & Mittens

Yarn :

  • Full skeins with labels – all kinds of yarn, from basic to fancy
  • Even one special skein for the auction will help!

Donation logistics:

  • Any in-person event (Sip & Knit; Knitting Around Town)
  • Yarnover! We’ll be there all day Saturday
  • By appointment: service@knitters.org

August Yarn Store of the Month

https://snugandspun.com/

Regular Yarnover Vendor

Great Local Dyer

US-sourced silk/wool blend bases

 

September Meeting Information:    

Socks with Beth Kirkpatrick

September 15th, 2026 @ 7:00 pm on Zoom

Fall is almost upon us and that means MORE KNITTING! As we snuggle in with heavier projects, hot beverages and opportunities to wear our heavier knits, please consider knitting for others. Our Service Committee is always willing to collect items. Bring them to any in-person event, including Yarnover. 

Need yarn for service knitting? They will also have that available or email service@knitters.org.

Warmly,

Jean Gross

President, Minnesota Knitters Guild

 

Recent Posts

Our spinning demonstrations are sponsored by Get Bentz Farm. 

Theresa Bentz of Get Bentz Farm, Northfield, MNAfter growing up in the city and suburbs, the owners of Get Bentz Farm felt a need to be closer to nature and to be more connected to where their food came from. 

In 2014, they found a farm house for sale and later that year they decided on and purchased their first two Icelandic sheep. 

Once they had a good size flock they began marketing the amazing meat and wool. Initially, they found that many mills in the area do not process dual coated long wools, which slowed down their growth in yarn, but they did find a great market for wool filled bedding products and batting for spinning. 

Today, they have a variety of yarns, batting and roving as well as finished products like dryer balls, sheepskins, and wool bedding. Most recently, they opened their own Get Bentz Wool Mill as well as their own line of yarn – Badgerface Fiber.

Sherry

Vice President

(Term 1, Year 1)

Bio Coming Soon

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Ravelry TBA

Andi

Newsletter Editor

Andi (she/her) learned to knit from her mom over 40 years ago. She remembers going to MKG meetings in college when they were held at St. Kate’s, her alma mater. She knit on-and-off again for a while, and really dove back into the craft in 2015. She is also a quilter. She enjoys traveling and her husband is happy to stop at a yarn store or to look at sheep while on vacation. She and her husband live in the St. Paul area, both enjoy their respective crafts, and also going to the State Fair multiple times a season.

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Judy

Yarnover Committee Chair

From one of her mother’s friends, Judy learned to knit a pair of “paputki,” which are simple Polish house slippers.  Somehow this gave her the confidence to knit her boyfriend a cabled pullover sweater for Valentine’s Day which was graciously accepted and has lived in the bottom of the bottom drawer of said boyfriend’s dresser for fifty plus years.  Though she has made a few sweaters since then, she mostly knits blankets, scarves, hats and toys.

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Ravelry

Thyra

Marketing Director

(Term 1, Year 3)

I grew up watching my mom knit. She tried to teach me as a kid and I never enjoyed it, but after finishing college I found myself with extra time and no hobbies. In the last 20 years I have dove in all the way and love to learn new and challenging techniques. As my fiber love has grown, I have also started raising sheep in order to go from sheep to sweater. I love interacting with the sheep who have big personalities and learning to process and spin the wool has been a great adventure.

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Maria

Technology Director

(Term 1, Year 2)

Maria learned to knit from her grandmothers nearly 20 years ago and knit off and on through her teenage years, but really got hooked during graduate school. Since then, she has embraced the "never not knitting" mentality and has been spotted knitting on backpacking trips, on a seaplane, and at concerts to name a few. She has also just taught herself to spin. Maria is a recent transplant to the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats, and they enjoy hiking, running, and embracing the Minnesota lake culture.

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vrantisus

Nikky

Programming Director

(Term 1, Year 3)

Nikky was first introduced to knitting in 2012 when her visiting sister-in-law taught her the basics of casting on and the knit stitch. A few weeks later, she learned how to purl from her mother-in-law. From there, it quickly became a passion and she has taken on each new project with a desire to expand her skill and discover new techniques. She loves a good mystery (knit-a-long) and knits way more shawls than a single person can wear in a month.

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FroggyGirl72

Deb

Service Director

(Term 1, Year 3)

Deb learned to knit in the early 1980s as a happy by-product of Hill Street Blues fandom. For a couple of years, she and a gaggle of other students met weekly to watch the show, and one of those friends was always knitting. As it is with so many knitters, that friend was enthused to teach someone else. Deb has been knitting ever since and particularly enjoys playing with colorwork and knitting sweaters. She is constantly astonished at the skill, enthusiasm, and generosity of MKG members. (she, her, hers) (See our Service Knitting Page for more information about our current projects and donation process.)

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Meg

Membership

(Term 1, Year 2)

Meg learned to knit in Bloomington, Indiana at the age of 7 or 8 when her Aunt Anneke who worked in a local yarn shop had to take her along to work. Now a St. Paul denizen, she follows in the tradition of her grandmothers Pauline and Cornelia as a passionate knitter of sweaters. She loves colorwork, bright yarn and meeting new members. Meg is an extrovert and is always happy to connect!

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dotmeg

Kathryn

Treasurer

(Term 1, Year 2)

Kathryn taught herself to knit in grad school, which is a terrible time to pick up a highly addictive hobby! She has since taken many classes, learned from master knitters and explored numerous techniques like brioche, double knitting, bead work, and more. She always has at least four projects on the needles but mysteriously, her yarn stash never seems to go down. Her favorite projects are shawls and socks. In addition to knitting, she does some crochet, tatting, spinning, and weaving. She was inspired to volunteer for the Guild after her first Great Guild Getaway and is excited to give back to this community of incredible knitters!

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KDBren

Julie

Secretary

(Term 1, Year 1)

I learned to knit & crochet as a child, having a craft addiction disorder for all the other crafts as well. Knitting fills me with happiness through continual learning, using all your senses, the joy in gifting, and meeting & sharing the journey with others who always inspire me. In the event of a zombie apocalypse, I'll be boarded up in my LYS, hopefully with a grocery store connected...

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jedigirl

Jean

President

(Term 1, Year 1)

Jean Gross has had an interest in all things fiber since, at the age of 5, her mother gave her fabric scraps to keep her occupied. She is fluent in knitting, crocheting, tatting, embroidery, sewing, quilting and spinning, thanks to her mother, Janice, and grand mother, Clara. But Jean’s favorite thing to do with fiber is help others to explore its possibilities. She has taught at the Iowa State Fair, Des Moines Library, Freedom for Youth, the Des Moines Knitting Guild, Shepherds Market, local yarn shops and also teaches privately. Jean has served on several non-profit boards including FiberSmiths of Iowa and the Des Moines Knitting Guild. Jean lives in north central Iowa with her husband, Dave, and faithful canine, Rolo. She has published several knitting patterns.

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Jtgross

Kathy

Webmaster

Kathy has always been into crafts, but didn’t teach herself to knit until after college. She really got hooked while living in San Francisco when a friend opened a knitting store. To pitch in, Kathy started knitting up fun (and odd) things for window displays, as well as teaching classes. In the last couple of years, she has started designing her own knitting patterns (many of them available for free on Ravelry!) with toys and mittens being her primary obsessions. (she/her/hers)

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katbaro