Potomac Beads/iTry Studios Yarn Store of the Month

Basic yarn store info: Name, Location, Hours of operation
Potomac Beads/iTry Studios, 518 Broadway, Alexandria, MN 56308 Tuesday-Saturday 10 – 5

Tell us about your team or would you like to highlight someone special?
We are a two person team – Deb Kerr & Kyle Anderson. Deb grew up in New York State and Kyle grew up in St Cloud. We met while teaching in State College, PA. Kyle – 7th Grade English, Deb – Math and instructional technology. We moved to Alexandria in June 2015 and opened the store July 8, 2015. It’s our retirement project.

What yarn do you stock that you feel doesn’t get the attention it deserves?
We don’t have any unusual yarns but we do some hand-dyeing. Our yarns are named Bad Dog Yarns and feature our bad dog Baxter on the yarn label. He is quite a lovable bad dog.

What class offerings do you have coming up?

We offer our classes by request. We teach beading, silver-smithing, crochet, knitting, wine-making, copper enameling, metal stamping, acrylic pour painting, …. People tell us what they’d like to learn and we create a class for them.

What is your favorite sample?

One of our most popular samples is the Make a Million Shawl knit from a gradient set and a 100g skein of Malabrigo Sock. People ask to buy it regularly. We also have an awesome beaded felt hat in the window that is not for sale – it was beaded by a Native American named Tawney Cole. Deb won it in a raffle and we just love it. So does everyone passing by.

   

Do you offer a  MKG discount of frequent buyer club?
We have a rewards program available to everyone.

 

Other than shopping, what are the best ways we can help support your yarn store?
Please visit us when you come to Alexandria or are passing through. Alexandria has a nice little downtown.

 

Is there anything else you’d like us to feature? 
We are a drop site for the guild’s service knitting donations. We also have a soft spot for education so we regularly donate to the local Empty Bowls event which is run by students at the high school as well as other school related charities.

Recent Posts

Service Knitting Special Project Alert!

The Service Knitting committee is looking for a few more volunteers to work on a special project for St. Luke’s Maternal and Child Health unit. If you’re interested and want to learn more, please email the Service Director at service@knitters.org.

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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 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

Thyra

Marketing Director

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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Open Position

Yarnover Committee Chair

The Guild is currently looking for a new Yarnover Chair. If you are interested or have any questions, please contact our president Meg, president@knitters.org

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Ravelry

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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Melissa

Technology Director

(Term 1, Year 3)

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

Nikky

Membership/Programming Director

(Term 2, 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 1)

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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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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Rose

Treasurer

(Term 2, Year 3)

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

Kendra

Secretary

(Term 1, Year 2)

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 1)

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