August Yarn Store of the Month

We are excited to have Snug & Spun as our August Yarn Store of the Month. Liz taught herself to knit from a Klutz kit when she was a kid. Her mom was a fiber artist that knit, spun, and quilted. When high school made life busy, it got in the way of her craft, but she picked it back up in the last 5 years. As she was knitting a project she wanted a very specific colorway for a project. She dyed her own yarn with avocados pits and peals. Loving the outcome of the color and the project she continued to play with color and dyeing.

When a move granted more space to crafting she started working with acid dyes. Dyeing resulted in too much yarn on hand. Offering mini skeins to The Yarnery to potentially sell, helped her realize the potential to share the joy she was finding in color. She started finding craft and fiber shows and has grown into larger festivals, opening the options to even more colors. 

She started her dyeing adventure doing tonals and solids. This has morphed into low contrast and variegated yarns and she is currently working on a new semi-solid technique. These yarns have lots of character and reads as a solid from a distance, but has depth and dimension when you look closely. 

You have likely met Liz and her yarns at Yarnover and she will be a vendor again in 2026. She has recently changed her yarn bases from a nylon/wool blend to a silk/wool blend. These new yarns are sourced in the US and keep the same price points as the nylon blend with an extra luxurious feel.

Liz is working on a whole new collection of yarns that will be released at Seattle’s Flock Fiber festival in the beginning of August. Watch for the updates on her website. She also has many variations of her yarn stocked locally at The Yarnery and Warm and Wooly

Liz has created patterns in her knitting adventure and suggests: Which Way Cowl with the great new silk blend yarns it will be a joy to knit and wear. There is also Retro Stripes Cowl

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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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