May Meeting Recap – Here comes summer!

What a great meeting we had with Alasdair Post-Quinn! His creativity with structure and stitches is absolutely amazing. Alasdair shared his passion for double knitting – including using that stitch creativity to include cables, colorwork, intarsia and entrelac. WOW! is all that I can say! He is stepping back a bit in his creative journey and shared the hardships over covid that included losing his house and his wife losing her job. Alasdair has all of his books for sale on his website currently at marked down pricing. (There are no additional discounts as he will not be reprinting them.) His focus moving forward will be on Ravelry and his website falling blox designs (www.double-knitting.com). You can also find videos online for help on knitting his amazing designs.

The current books on sale include: Double or Nothing, Extreme Double Knitting, Parallax, and Wuxing: 5 Elements.

 

Volunteer on the MKG Board of Directors!

Kendra is finishing off her commitment to the MKG as Secretary on the Board of Directors. A volunteer is needed to take her place starting in August, with a three-year commitment. Your responsibilities would include taking notes at the board of director meetings, sending out the format for meeting slides (you do NOT create the slides for the monthly meetings), and working with the librarian on acquisitions for the collection of MKG books at Textile Center.

Questions? Contact Meg Duncan or Kendra Hyland at president@knitters.org or secretary@knitters.org

 

Yarnover member registration is officially open! 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 answers 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.  Since this video was made, we have added a second way to enter your information if you are paying by credit card. At Payment Method you will find a drop down menu & can choose either PayPal or credit card. We will demo this at the May meeting.

We are also opening up the call for Yarnover volunteers. The Guild and Yarnover are 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!

YARN STORE OF THE MONTH!

We are excited to feature Ewetopia as our June Yarn Store of the month. They are such a great local resource as they are a yarn store and a mill! Owner Kathryn is a lifelong knitter and sewer who started hand spinning in college. When she finished college she found out the local yarn store in her hometown area was closing, she decided to take the plunge right out of college to own her own business. She was excited to return to the area and create a shop that could feature unique items that set them apart. They take local to a whole new level as Kathryn became a fiber farmer and was having her Cormo wool processed and sold in the store. As she learned that side of the business she also worked with local farmers to acquire their wool clip and process that for an expanded line of local wools.

As Kathryn found more local wool she wanted more control and flexibility over the processing and milling. A building became available in LaForge near her sheep and she took that as a sign that it was time to grow. At this point her mom Lisa got involved with the business and focused on the store while Kathryn set up the milling.

Kathryn has continued to find great ways to expand both local wool varieties and unique ways to bring color to yarn. She loves taking wool fleeces either white or colored to dye in the fleece to create really unique yarn and color. Check out their Sustainawool, Ridge Sport or Ridge Fingering to see all of the great colors from local Midwest wool. Even though Kathryn is a fine wool fiber farmer she loves exploring all of the different sheep breeds and finding a great fit for the wool.

If you haven’t met Ewetopia at a fiber festival and are looking for a wool experience. They are having a Mill Open House, June 20th from 10 am to 4 pm. They will be showing off their new expanded mill space and all of their fantastic yarns.

Ewetopia Fiber Mill: 637 North Mill Street, LaFarge WI

Ewetopia Yarn Shop: 102 South Main Street, Viroqua, WI

Upcoming dates for Knitting Around Town:drawing of a sheep knitting

Tuesday, June 23nd – Ramsey County Roseville Library

6:00 to 8:00 pm – 2180 Hamline Avenue North, Roseville in the community room

 

 

Sip and Knit for June!

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

Unmapped Brewery 

Dates: June 20th – 10 am to Noon

Address: 14625 Excelsior Blvd, Minnetonka 55435

Venn Brewing

Date: June 6th- 10 am to Noon

Address: 3550 East 46th Street, Minneapolis 55406

 

 

 

Curating your Stash? Donate to the MKG!

Has the love for some yarn faded with time? Liberate yourself by donating to the Guild!

We need yarn (full skeins with labels) for the November yarn sale and next year’s auction.

Contact service@knitters.org to arrange a donation.

 

I just returned from a 10-day trip to Iceland on a knitting excursion with Helene Magnusson, the Icelandic Knitter. It was absolutely breathtaking to hike through the wilderness, take a soak in a geothermal hot spring (in the middle of nowhere!), walk the Red Sand Beach, and of course – hike to the cliffs to see the puffins and seabirds nesting. What a start to summer! It was a bit of a shock to come back from 45-50 degrees to 88-90 degrees! The amount of fun adventures to be found here in the Midwest this summer are not to be missed – farm open house tours, knitting in public day, and MKG events, both online and in person. I hope that all of your summer plans include a bit of adventure and of course, knitting.

cheers-

Meg Duncan

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.

Jean

Vice President

(Term 1, Year 2)

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

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 2)

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 1)

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 2)

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 2)

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 1)

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 1)

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

Kendra

Secretary

(Term 1, Year 3)

Kendra lives in the Twin Cities and learned to hand knit from her mother in middle school. In the last few years, she has also learned crochet and machine knitting. Kendra enjoys knitting items to donate and challenging herself with new techniques. She prefers knitting in the round with colorful yarn. (she, her, hers)

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Meg

President

(Term 1, Year 2)

Meg grew up surrounded by makers. Her mom, a master quilter, former Home Ec teacher, and 4-H club leader in Duluth, taught her to sew, embroider, and cook. She won a trip to the State Fair as the Dress Review Princess at 13! Another MKG member taught her to knit continental style 15 years ago. Meg can’t sit still and NOT be knitting, embroidering, rug hooking or sewing. Favorite thing to knit? Mittens! She loves taking classes and learning new things – absolutely amazed and inspired by all the amazing knitters in the guild! (she, her, hers)

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finchgirl

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