Are you looking for a way to be more involved in the Guild? We have quite a few opportunities currently available.

Programming Director - This MKG board position is responsible for coordinating the programming for the monthly Guild meetings. They are the main contact for the meeting speakers and trunk show vendors. Once we can have in person meetings again, they are also responsible for setting up the catering for the yearly tea and picnic. We currently have programming booked through September 2021 giving our new Programming Director a good head start. They will set a yearly programming budget. Board members meet virtually the first Tuesday of every month at 6:30pm to discuss Guild business, as well as, attending monthly Guild member meetings. Board members serve a three year term and can serve two terms in the same position.

Yarnover Committee Chair - This position oversees the Yarnover committee in planning and hosting the yearly Yarnover convention. In conjunction with the committee members, they source and book a venue, hire teachers and speakers, and choose class options. They are the main contact for the Yarnover teachers and speakers. They work with the Guild treasurer to create a Yarnover budget. The Chair schedules the committee meetings which are typically monthly, keeps everyone organized, and keeps the MKG board and members up-to-date. While this may sound like an intimidating position, there is already a Yarnover committee in place and the members have worked on past Yarnovers. A few members of the board have also offered to serve on the committee. A lot of systems for how Yarnover is run are already in place and we have also already booked the venue for 2022. There is also the possibility of having co-chairs. The person for this position likes to plan events and is organized.

For both of these positions, please do not feel like you have to have the teacher contacts. The Guild has many and most others are also available online. If you would like to discuss either please contact Kathy at presidentmkg@gmail.com

Write for the Guild's website - Have a story about a project or knitting related trip? Want to share a tip or trick? The Guild would love to share your knitter's story on our website. Please contact Kate or Melissa if you have an idea.

Edit meeting videos - We could use someone to edit the videos of our meetings, cutting out breaks, adjusting sound levels, etc... before they are published. If you are interested please contact Kate.

Dawn designs to create accessories that fit into our existing wardrobe.  Many of her designs are free and for those of us with a large stash of leftover sock yarn, Dawn is the queen of the shortie sock, great for leftovers.  She has some great hat and shawl patterns as well. 

You can check out her patterns on Ravelry.

She has a website with her patterns and some adorable artisan ceramic pins

beWoolen

Shop Phone 763-205-0380

11444 Marketplace Drive N

Champlin, MN 55316

Mon - Thurs  10am - 8pm
Friday - Saturday  9am - 6pm
Sunday  11am - 4pm

Just off Hwy 169 and 114th Ave, next to Cub Foods

 

 

 

 

 

Tell us about your team or would you like to highlight someone special?

 

beWoolen is owned and operated by longtime besties: Angel Randall and Michelle Como. Friends that met through a shared love of knitting together, laughing together, and then had the dream of opening a store together. In 2019, it was time to make it all happen - and things fell into place so smoothly; it was like the universe telling you a big resounding YES! We conceived of the ideas and the name in early summer; and by September the dream was realized in our Champlin location. Of course, we had no clue what 2020 was about to serve up. The silver lining: Through a lot of hard work, we launched our website last April, and organized our thoughts into a weekly newsletter to share with our customers.  With the support of our exceptional community, we were able to expand our store in 2020: doubling our size by adding space for Classes and gatherings. Our store is wonderfully accessible - shopping space and class space are all on one level; with extra chairs for those that need to hang out while shopping is underway.

 

 

What special yarn and products do we stock?

We have worked side by side with a longtime friend and hand dyer to create our own line of yarn; currently it is available in two bases: 

beWoolen DK - a 100% merino super wash wool with a generous 280 yards per skein. It is wonderful for everything:  from sweaters to hats to baby blankets, we are just thrilled with the reception that this yarn has received. 

 

Last summer, we brought out our beWoolen Twist fingering - 100% super wash wool in a 2 ply twist and 480 yards of hand dyed shades that mix and match to create glorious works of hand crafted art.

 

In addition to our special yarns, we are working with a fantastic and talented local resource to handcraft a selection of gorgeous beWoolen Totes, drawstring bags, and more. We like to mix and match natural materials in wool, cotton, and linen to make these special and of the highest quality.

 

We have curated a selection of yarn at ALL price points: check out the full variety on our website. We like to carry all the colors in the lines we choose to stock to help our stitchers craft the projects of their dreams.

 

 

 

What class offerings do you have coming up?

The demand for class has been high; currently we are scheduling classes for Learn to Knit, Learn to Crochet, Intermediate Learn to Crochet, Tunisian Crochet, Yoke Sweaters, Colorwork Christmas Stockings, and Fireside Tweed Poncho. We host several Knit Alongs and a few social stitch times too: we recommend calling us to reserve your spot for all in store gatherings. We can take special requests too! We add classes frequently - we post about them on our Facebook page in the events section.

 

 

 

 

Are you offering virtual classes?

 

We offer social Zoom time; all of the details are in our newsletter with links to make it easy to join us on Monday eve’s with Miss Janel, and every other Wednesday evening to knit socks with Miss Chhristine. 

 

We are hosting the upcoming Malabrigo Temperance Shawl KAL both in store and virtually: Monday eves starting in April from 6-8pm. We have a few spots remaining for in-store knitting. We can have an unlimited number virtually via Zoom.

 

 

At this time, we are scheduling class in store. Our large classroom allows students to have their own table to work at - fireside with a complete kitchenette. 

 

 

 

 

Do you have any upcoming trunk shows or other events?

 

We love to spotlight our vendors as well as designers, and have trunk shows OFTEN - the best way to know what we are featuring week by week is to sign up for our newsletter. For instance, we have been featuring local designer Cori Eichelberger’s KnitWords items along with her latest blanket design: Pump up the Plaid. 

Even if you didn’t know you needed a blanket, you find yourself selecting colors to make one of your own. We are hosting an in store KAL as a result. 

 

We have trunk shows and samples on display from all of our major vendors: Rowan, String, Tahki, Cascade Yarn, Malabrigo, and Wonderland Yarn. We hear over and over from our customers remarking on the vast array of samples we have here - we love to show endless possibilities for the yarns that we carry.

 

 

 

 

 

What is your favorite sample? photos encouraged

 

This is a tough question - there are so many things to love about different samples! One of our favorites is our beWoolen Made Me Do It Luxe Wrap,  with five skeins of beWoolen DK, it is large enough to cuddle into with a fringe twist ending. It is very thrilling to have fellow knitters work up your pattern and see their smiling face when they visit your store with a finished item, or share it on social media. We LOVE seeing the creativity everyone brings to the table. 

 

 

 

 

Do you offer a MKG discount or a frequent buyer club?

We offer a Yearly Stitch Club Membership - for $75 you receive discounts on yarn, needles, notions, and a few freebies. You also receive an exclusive skein of our hand dyed beWoolen yarn along with a pattern: the first year we featured beWoolen DK and a cowl pattern; this year we are featuring beWoolen Twist Fingering and a scarflette to knit. Once you have accumulated $500 in sales at our store, you will unlock 10% savings on all your regular priced yarn, needles and notions purchases. You can join Stitch Club at any time.

 

 

 

 

 

Other than shopping, what are the best ways we can help support your yarn store?

 

Of course, shopping is always wonderful; in addition follow us on Facebook and Instagram and share the word with fellow yarn enthusiasts!

 

 

 

 

Is there anything else you'd like us to feature? ie: are you committed to providing extra benefits to employees? are you involved with a local charity? are you committed to being green?

 

The most important aspect of owning our store is helping our community come together - it does not matter if you live near or far from us, we want to support you in your craft.

 

With guidance from the wonderful Laura Menssen, a longtime Knitted Knockers ambassador - we kicked off a Knitted Knockers Campaign in support of Breast Cancer. Our initial goal was to help knitters donate 50 pairs of Knockers to be distributed in MN, and nationwide. Well, our community really came out in a full support of this endeavor and we received well over 400 pairs of knockers. It was AMAZING! We continue to be a drop off location for Knitted Knockers. 

 

Have you heard? Laine publishing is coming out with a new book of patterns by Anna Johanna. I will be ordering it soon. You can read an interview with Anna here.

Colorwork patterns are very popular with MKG members and we've added a lot of great books with all types of color work patterns. You can explore the collection by going to the Textile Center Library website and searching the catalog by keyword, title, author or designer. It's easy to set up curbside pickup of your library books and you can request up to five at a time.

The Kofteboken book added to the collection recently (it's being cataloged now so give it a week or two before searching for it in the catalog) has generated a lot of conversation since our February meeting. I will probably purchase volumes 2 and 3 this year, too, given that there's so much interest.

Please don't hesitate to contact me (librarianmkg@gmail.com) or leave a comment here if you see a knitting book or magazine out there that you think should be added.