What fun we had at our December meeting. While it wasn't our normal potluck and silent auction, we certainly enjoyed ogling the pretty yarns and samples from Sun Valley Fibers in WI and learning lots of new tips and tricks from Mary Lou Egan. I can't tell you how many times I thought why didn't I think of that before during ML's presentation! I look forward to being able to take her three hour tips and tricks class at some point.

By the way, don't forget the coupon code to use when shopping on Sun Valley's website, minnesotanice, to get a discount on your next order. 

Then it was on to the business portion of the meeting...

Winter Virtual Knitting Get Togethers - We will be launching these in January. Currently, we are planning on one of Sundays from 11am - 1pm and one on Thursday evenings. They will either be once or twice a month, we'll let you know all the details. These will just be social knitting times to give people a place to connect and maybe even get a little knitting help.

It's Time to Renew! - If you last renewed or joined before July 1st, your membership will expire on December 31st, 2020. We rely on membership fees for most of the Guild's income and we have not raised them in over a decade. If you have been enjoying the Guild's programming, use the Textile Center Library, or just want to continue to help promote knitting in MN, we encourage you to join or renew. PLUS as an incentive, we will have a prize drawing for lots of knitting related goodies from small businesses in January. Anyone who has joined to be a member through 2021 by midnight December 31st will be eligible.

Not sure if you need to renew? Sign into this website. On the Members' Area page click Renew My Membership. From there you can see when your membership expires and renew if necessary. Have a question or need help signing in? Contact Nikky.

Textile Center Fiber Art for All - The Textile Center will be holding a virtual Fiber Art for All Festival in February with workshops, talks, and a juried auction. They are currently looking for items for the auction and sponsorships. Find out more on their website. 

2021 Planning - The Textile Center has let us know that they are not allowing meeting room rentals through March 2021. Our plan right now is that we will most likely continue to hold virtual meetings until at least June with, perhaps, an outdoor meeting in July. We are still planning on some in person activities in the fall. The Great Guild Getaway is scheduled for October and Stitch 'n' Pitch with the Twins is scheduled for late September. We are also considering holding some of the meeting in the future virtually even when we can meet in person, especially in the winter when driving and parking are difficult. 

Service Knitting Drop-Off Event - Our November drop-off event was a huge success. We received 451 items for donation and 84 skeins of yarn. We were surprised by a reporter for WCCO at the event and featured on both evening and morning news!

2021 Service Knitting - Next year we will be knitting for The Range Center, Hats for the Homeless, and HatandMittens.org. The organizations need adults and children hats, children's mittens, adult fingerless mittens, and lap blankets. See more details and some pattern links on the Service Knitting Page. All three organizations will be speaking at our January meeting.

We are planning on drop-off events in April, August, and November 2021.

Featured Designer - Our December featured designer in our own Susan Rainey. While Susan has a lot of great patterns, it was her great last minute holidays gift patterns that caught our attention. Read more about her here. 

Give to the Max Day - Thanks to everyone who helped my our first Give to the Max Day a huge success! You can read all the details of how we did here. If you gave $50 or more and are eligible for a free membership, make sure to answer the email you received from Nikky to either redeem or gift your membership.

Door Prizes - We had lots of great door prizes this month and the winners were...

$30 Sun Valley Gift Certificate - Diane Mountford

Susan Rainey pattern of choice - Annette Watters

Susan Rainey pattern of choice - Alice Ableman

PomPom Magazine - Pat Keller

Amirisu Magazine - Sue Knipfer

Shetland Wool Adventures - Paula Denmaan

We want to wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season! We look forward to a brighter New Year full of laughter, community, great finished projects, and, of course, yarn, lots of yarn!

Are you looking for some last minute gifts to knit up for the holidays? Look no further than our very own Susan Rainey, the Designer Spotlight for December. While Susan has designs for all times of the year, her Holiday designs really shine a light on the gifting season.

She has designs for all the little ones on your list with her new baby Gansey and matching hat, but take a look at these hats and ornaments!

Susan has been knitting for years. We're so lucky to have her as a member of the Guild.

You can find Susan on Instagram @lv2knitmn, on her blog with her sister and on ravelry.

Basic yarn store info:

Harriet & Alice, 3922 West 50th St, Edina, MN (50th & France Shopping District), Tuesday-Friday 10am-6pm, Saturday 10-4pm, Sunday 12-4pm.  We limit the number of shoppers in the store at one time, but also have a space next door where customers can wait or even knit or crochet.  We also offer curbside pick up as well as on-line shopping. 

 

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

 

What yarn do you stock that you feel doesn't get the attention it deserves?

 

What class offerings do you have coming up?

 

Are you offering virtual classes?

 

Do you have any upcoming trunk shows or other events?

 

What is your favorite sample? 

 

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

 

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

 

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?

 

With everything that has gone on in the world this year, it's good to remember all the things we have to be grateful for, especially at this time of year. One thing I am grateful for is the members of the Minnesota Knitters' Guild. December marks my fifth month as the Guild's president and everyone has been so supportive and able to roll with the changes even when we've been forced to cancel events such as Yarnover and the Great Guild Getaway. Meeting virtually has been a learning experience for all of us and, while I miss our meetings at the Textile Center, I am grateful for how it has allowed our members outside the Twin Cities area to participate and how many of you join us each month. I am also always amazed at how many of you give of your time, skill, and yarn to make items to donate to our community service projects. Once again, the amount of items donated is just amazing. I'm grateful for a membership that cares about the community in which they live.

Since it is the time of giving, I wanted to create a pattern as my gift to all the Guild's members to say thank you and the Minnesnowta Hat was born. Minnesota Knitters' Guild members can download the pattern for free by signing into the website and visiting the Exclusive Patterns page. 

The pattern is for an adult-sized 22in hat and the pattern is written to for both fingering and worsted weight yarn.The crown of the hat is charted to create a large snowflake. Personalized it for yourself by knitting the ribbing in multi-colors, extending the ribbing for a folded brim, or even duplicate stitching MN in a different color.

If I don't see you at our December meeting, I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season. I look forward to good things in 2021! - Kathy