Nov’ 21 Meeting Wrap Up

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Thanks to Betsy Preston for stepping in last minute and giving us a presentation on colors and choosing colors. I know I learned some good tricks.

We had a great time with our trunk show guest Theresa Hill of Ewe-Nited States of Fiber. Theresa is not only a yarn dyer, she is one of our far-flung Guild members. You may remember she won our first every Yarnover Shawl contest with her Papillon Shawl.

Theresa has offered us a discount code at her shop from November 16-21. Use the code yarnover2022 for 15% off!

The Good Stuff Auction

Our 2021 Online Auction is currently open for bidding. We have 92 lots of beautiful yarn available. The auction is open through 9pm CDT, Saturday, November 20th. The lowest bid was set to cover shipping, so there are no shipping costs after your bid. Yarn will ship out before Thanksgiving. We had a questions about where the yarn comes from and where the funds go. The yarn is mainly donated to us. We get so many donations and lots of it is not appropriate for our service knitting projects. We had some especially big donations this year at our drop-off events of high quality yarns. The funds made will be used for the service committee as needed, renting the Textile Center for drop-offs, buying appropriate yarn for service knitting, incentive charms, etc… We also use the funds to pay for other Guild activities.

Yarnover

The Yarnover brochure is almost ready to go public! We’ve just been waiting for a few more items to finish it off. Everything just seems to take a bit longer these days. Registration will not begin until January 22nd. We will be requiring that those who go to the dinner or take classes be fully vaccinated and provide us with a vaccination card. We feel this is safest for everyone and what many of the teachers have requested. As for other restrictions for Yarnover, health and safety protocols (masks, social distancing, capacity restrictions) will be implemented on an as-needed basis based on the local conditions at the time of Yarnover. We understand that pandemic conditions can change very rapidly, and we are committed to tailoring our safety strategies based on what is required and recommended at that time.

Yarnover Grants

Yarnover is an expensive event to host and we know it is also expensive to attend. We realize that there are people who would love to go, but the cost makes it impossible. The board is please to announce that this year will be giving out two Yarnover Grants to people couldn’t otherwise attend. These grants will cover the cost of the Yarnover dinner and either a full-day class or two half-day classes. Applicants do not need to be members to apply and if they are not currently members, they will also receive a year’s membership.

Applications will be due December 31st, 2021. Watch for more details and the application link on the website.

New Website

We expect the new website to launch on December 1st. It has taken slightly longer than expected, but we are looking forward to a new website that is mobile friendly, ADA compliant, and offers us more usability. We will have a run through of the new site at our December meeting. We know change can sometimes be a little tricky, so we hope to easy everyone in. We’ll also be looking at the new Yarnover registration.

Just a reminder to tag your knitting photos with #mkgshowandtell on Instragram. Our new site will feature those pictures on the front page!

Mini Skein KAL

Our Mini Skein KAL starts Dec 1st. You can find all the details on the blog and there is already a little discussion on Ravelry. Winners will receive a $25 gift certificate to the LYS of their choice.

Upcoming Meetings

Since our December meeting falls on the week of Christmas, we will have an abbreviated meeting. We will go through the new website, have a short business section, and then have time for open discussion.

Our January meeting is a Service Knitting Kick-Off for 2022. You’ll heard about and from our 2022 Service Partners. We will also be recognizing our 50+ knitters from 2021.

February is our Annual Meeting. The board will give an update on how the Guild is doing and what plans we are working on for the future. We will also have our Mini Skein KAL show and tell and voting.

2021 Service Knitting Deadline

Our deadline for donations for 2021 is December 31st. We will not have another drop-off event this year, but you can contact Betsy to arrange drop-off or shipping of items.

Knitting Supplies for Afghan Refugees

3 Kittens Needle Arts in Medona Heights is collecting knitting supplies for refugees at Ft. McCoy in WI.

  • Any yarn (full or partial skeins) that are wool, wool blends, 100% cotton for washcloths, cotton blends. Please no 100% acrylic or anything that smells (e.g., cigarette smoke, pet odors, mildew).
  • Knitting needles and crochet hooks – needles can be mismatched singles, like a single straight or incomplete double point sets.
  • Any other misc. supplies are welcome such as tape measures, markers, bags, etc.

Drop Off Days:

Saturday, Nov. 20 and Tuesday, Nov. 23, 10am – 3pm

Library Update

  • Making Stories Issue 6 (fall 2021: Skyward)
  • Making Stories Issue 5 (spring 2021: Inside Nature)
  • Making No. 10
  • Pompom No. 39 (rhythm)
  • Shetland Wool Week Annual Vol. 7 (2021)
  • Stripes by Veera Valimaki

The Textile Center Library is open or you can order online and pick up.

Designer Spotlight – Renee Strouts

Deepa shared one of her favorite designers with us and you can read about it here.

If you have an up-and-coming designer you’d like to share with the Guild please contact Melissa.

Door Prizes

  • Renee Strouts Pattern – Bonnie Swierzbin
  • Renee Strouts Pattern – Trinity Mueller
  • Making – Dusk Issue Digital – Deb Parker
  • Making – Gifts Vol. 2 Digital – Linnea Geiger Hill
  • Making – Stories Issue 5 Digital – Mary Woods
  • Making – Stories Issue 6 Digital – Janette Marquardt
  • PomPom No. 39 Digital – MJ Rozendaal

Door Prize Show & Tell

Have you won a pattern from a featured designer or a digital download? Have you knit a pattern from one of our designer spotlights?

We would love to see what you’ve knit from those patterns!

Send a photo of your project, pattern name, yarn used, and any other information you’d like to share to Kelly.

We will share projects at upcoming meetings!

Give to the Max Day 2021

Give to the Max Day is Thursday, November 18th. Non-profits fundraising on that day have the chance of winning Golden Tickets, which are prizes on top of the donations they receive. You can donate to the Guild here.

The mission of the Guild is to promote interest, appreciation, education, and fellowship in the art of knitting.

This year’s initiative is to raise funds for educational grants to help our members who are interested in Master Knitting or other knitting certification such as tech knitting, teaching, fair judging, etc…

Donate at the $50 level and your membership will be renewed for another year. Donate at the $80 level and your membership will be renewed for another year and you will receive a skein of the retreat yarn from MUSE2320! You can also gift the membership.

Sunday Knitting Brunch

We’ve had a few questions about whether we will be starting Virtual Sunday Knitting Brunch again. Our plan is to start in January.

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Headshot of Roxanne RichardsonRoxanne Richardson is a knitting communicator who lives in Minneapolis. Her YouTube channel explores a variety of knitting-related topics, including knitting history and techniques, and she writes technical knitting articles for Interweave publications. She’s a certified master hand knitter and certified knitting teacher, and she can’t wait to answer your burning knitting questions.

Currently Open

Marketing Director

The marketing director position is currently open. For more information contact the Guild President, president@knitters.org

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Kelly

President

(Term 1, Year 2)

A visiting friend from Seattle taught Kelly the very basics of knitting (a twisted loop cast on and just the knit stitch) in 2008 before flying home. Turning to the internet (thanks knittinghelp.com!) Kelly taught herself through a lot of trial and error. Uncontent to keep knitting the scarf she’d started as her first project, she jumped into knitting a pair of striped mittens for her non-knitter, but very knitworthy, twin sister. Twelve years later the mittens are still in her sister’s glove box, and Kelly is usually horrified when she pulls them out and sees the mistakes she made using double pointed needles for the first time. Kelly loves knitting socks and is thankful for the many months of cold weather when she gets to exclusively wear her handknits. (she, her, hers)

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imkelliente

Kendra

Secretary

(Term 1, Year 1)

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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Rose

Treasurer

(Term 2, Year 2)

Rose learned to knit from her mother at the age of ten. She started knitting on the ends of small paint brushes. She continued to knit off and on through her teenage and young adult years and became a more avid knitter after taking a Norwegian sweater knitting class through community education. Today, knitting has become a passion and she knits for charity, herself, and her family her stash. She enjoys meeting other knitters and learning new techniques.

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tobel

Open Position

Programming Director

(3-year term)

This position is currently open. If you are interested in volunteering for the Guild board, please contact our president, Kelly, at the email me link below.

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Betsy

Service Director

(Term 1, Year 3)

Betsy never had patience for knitting, until she found herself spending a lot of time at little league games and waiting for the last kid to emerge from the locker room after swim practice. With her background in graphic design, stranded colorwork has a natural appeal. Not to mention the practicality of an extra layer of warmth. Betsy has recently begun publishing her original hat and cowl patterns, which are available on Ravelry. (she, her, hers) (See our Service Knitting Page for more information about our current projects and donation process.)

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FingerpressArt

Nikky

Membership/Programming Director

(Term 2, Year 1)

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

Melissa

Technology Director

(Term 1, Year 2)

Melissa has been knitting for 15 years. She loves socks and sweaters. She is a new member who hopes to use her marketing background to lift up the MKG. While she isn't local to MN, she really loves the atmosphere created by the Guild. Melissa and significant other Al enjoy traveling, wherein Al graciously offers to drive so Melissa can knit in the passenger seat. (she, her, hers)

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oneoftheminterns

Anna

Yarnover Committee Chair

While Anna learned to knit at some long-forgotten point in time, her commitment to the craft really began her freshman year of college. Sitting still has never been Anna’s strong suit, and giving her hands something to do while chatting with friends or watching movies in the dorm brought a sense of calm during this new chapter of her life. Once the sense of calm wore off (and no one else needed a scarf), she began trying new techniques, patterns, and projects, and until 2018 was primarily a self-taught knitter. After being intimidated early in her crafting, Anna feels strongly about creating a welcoming environment within the fiber community for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. She enjoys knitting and fiber traveling, test and service knitting, a good challenge (knitting or otherwise), and is likely to have at least 3 WIPs at any one time. She is also learning to spin and ply her own yarn! (she/her/hers)

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amturk13

A photograph of hands knitting green yarn against a black background.Project HandWork is an exhibit of photos by photographer Christopher Dykes. Using flash, a backdrop, and the infinite human variety, Christopher is collecting a series of images of hands at work in the fiber community. Manicures, hangnails, tattoos, wristwatches, cheap yarn, expensive silk, easy socks and exquisite lace all show the human diversity and the compulsion to create.

Yarnover attendees may have their hands photographed for a $50 sitting fee. Each sitter will receive an edited photo via email. The sitting fee goes to Help In Crisis, his local domestic abuse shelter. 

Anne

Librarian

Bio to come.

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soxanne

Laura Haave

Great Guild Getaway Committee Chair

Laura learned to knit in 2003 by taking a four-week class during MIT's annual January Independent Activities Period. The class project was a striped hat knit in the round, and since that time, Laura has been a big advocate of 1) helping other adults learn to knit for the first time, 2) hats as a manageable first project, and 3) circular needles for everything. She enjoys thinking about knitting and planning her next project almost as much as she enjoys actually knitting. Laura is highly motivated by knit-alongs and loves to knit in community. (she, her, hers)

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Birdette

Thyra

Newsletter Editor

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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Meg

Vice 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

Get Bentz Farm LogoOur spinning demonstrations are sponsored by Get Bentz Farm. 

After 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.

Mona McNeely been a certified Iyengar Yoga instructor since 2016 and has studied yoga since 2002.   

She has three grown kids and two, almost three, grandchildren. Her grandma taught her to knit when she was seven. She picked it up again in her early 20’s and hasn’t put the needles down since. She is also an avid spinner and has woven her share of rugs. In her spare time, she volunteers at a non-profit called We Can Ride where they use horses as therapy for people with disabilities. She also works full time as a Treasury Analyst for a fairly large company.  Somehow it all balances out.

Midwest Machine Knitters' Collaborative logo

The Midwest Machine Knitters’ Collaborative (MMKC) is a Minnesota based fiber guild established in 2011. We envisioned the Collaborative as a way to connect with other machine knitters who like to think (and knit!) outside the box. MMKC provides a forum to promote fun, interest, appreciation, education, inspiration, and camaraderie in the art of machine knitting. We welcome all levels of experience, as this is the best way to learn and inspire. We will all become better knitters through collaboration.  https://www.midwestmachineknitters.org/

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