Cable Gram Blog
Great Guild Getaway Design Contest 2020
Calling all Minnesota Knitter's Guild designers and budding designers! The Minnesota Knitters’ Guild wants you to show off your knitwear designer skills! We are looking for a pattern for the MUSE2320 Fiber Co. yarn that will be given to everyone who attends the Great Guild Getaway. If you’ve never designed before this is a chance to give it a try, and if you’ve done lots of designing, this is a chance to show the Guild what you’ve got!
A printed version of the pattern will be given away to all attendees of the GGG. A pdf version of the pattern will be available to all MKG members through the Exclusive Patterns page of the Members' Area of the website.
Pattern Requirements: We are looking for a pattern for either hands or feet that uses the GGG exclusive colorway. The pattern should be workable by an advanced beginner to intermediate knitter. Appropriate items for this collection include: mittens, gloves, fingerless mittens, arm warmers, legwarmers, and socks.
Yarn Details: One 100g/437yd hank of MUSE2320 Fiber Co “Whippoorwill” fingering/sock weight, 85% SW Merino/15% nylon yarn. The special Getaway colorway is a subtle but rich variation of tonal platinum grays with a very light speckle of gray and ice blue called Repose.
Prize: $200 or Free Registration for the Great Guild Getaway
(Registration includes a double room for Friday and Saturday night as well as meals. Any additional classes, services, or purchases incurred during the Great Guild Getaway will be at winner’s expense.)
Deadlines: Submissions Due: May 19, 2020
Submission Requirements: One paragraph written description, sketch of design, and designer contact information. Also include a swatch or a picture of your swatch showing any special knit textures or patterns using a yarn of similar weight. Patterns should be original and not be previously published anywhere. Download a sample submission.
Submissions can be emailed as a pdf or word document to membershipmkg@gmail.com or delivered in person to Kathy Lewinski at the April or May Guild meeting.
Download a pdf with all the details and rules.
Yarnover 2020 Sold Out Classes
Here is the list of classes that are sold out or close to selling out for Yarnover 2020. We will update it as things change.
Updated 2/29/20 12:18PM
Sold Out Classes
- Brioche Pastiche: 2 Color Brioche in the Round - Michele Lee Bernstein
- Cozy Your Way to Colorwork - Mary Lou Egan
- Bohus Stickning - Susanna Hansson
- Stranded Knitting: Unlocking the Secrets of Locked Floats - Kyle Kunnecke
- Portuguese Style of Knitting — Basic Skills - Andrea Wong
Classes with less than 5 seats
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Herringbone Braids and Beyond! Braided Wristlets - Michele Lee Bernstein
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Confident Substitutions - Jeane deCoster
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Needle Felting Steeks - Gretchen Funk
- History, Methods, and Styles of Lace Knitting - Franklin Habit
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Fixing Mistakes with Keith, The Perfectionist! - Keith Leonard
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Short Row Fun! - Keith Leonard
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Downside Up Socks -Sarah Peasley
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Portuguese Style of Knitting — Stranded Knitting - Andrea Wong
If you would like to be put on the waiting list for a class, please email Becky at mkg.yo.reg@gmail.com
MKG 2020 Service Projects
It's a new year and that means new service knitting projects. 
This year we are knitting for three organizations which have been suggested by members and chosen by the Service Committee. All donated items are due by the November 2020 Guild meeting. Our January guild meeting will give everyone a chance to hear more from each of these organizations. Watch your email and Ravelry for details.
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA – 100-year-old organization that serves refugees, unaccompanied children, and survivors of human trafficking in Minnesota
Knitted item needed: Warm hats for infants, children, teen family members receiving services and resources in the transition to a new life leading to economic self-sufficiency. Any fiber is welcome, but machine washable preferred
ASERACARE HOSPICE – serves hospice patients in their homes
Knitted item needed: Fingerless mitts for adults to keep hands warm, any soft, warm fiber
BRIGHTER DAYS GRIEF CENTER – offers counseling and grief support groups for adults that have experienced the loss of a family member
Knitted items needed: Shawls, scarves, wraps or softies for adult, teens and children who have experienced the loss of a family member. Any fiber is welcome.
We have links to pattern ideas for all of these projects on our service knitting page.
We also have a service knitting event, Crafting Warmly, coming up at the Minneapolis Central Library on Sunday, January 26th. We need teachers to help teach knitting and as well as donations of warm weather accessories. More details are available here.
If protecting animals, and knitting with unique yarn, is something that interests you, there is also a service knitting event on February 1st at the Textile Center in support of the International Wolf Center in Ely, MN. You must sign up for this in advance. Get all the details here.
Knitting with Wolves
Guild members and all local knitters are invited to participate in a unique service knitting opportunity benefitting the International Wolf Center in Ely, MN. You must email Chillon Leach at chilloncleach@hotmail.com to reserve your spot for this event as there is only a limited amount of this unique yarn.
Spend an afternoon knitting mitten cuffs with handspun wolf undercoat fur novelty yarns provided by members of the Weavers Guild of Minnesota’s Whorling Spinster spinning group. This is a rare chance to knit with yarns created from the International Wolf Center’s ambassador wolves’ hand groomed undercoat fur. (All government and IWC approvals have been attained for the collection and product creation from IWC’s captive ambassador wolves’ annually shed undercoat fur.)
Finished mittens will be donated to the IWC. They will be included in the annual online silent auction, March 13-22nd, raising money for the Wolf Care Fund. All proceeds go directly to funding the ambassador wolf care fund initiatives. This will be the 3rd year in which we’ve participated with wolf undercoat fur products, garnering thousands of dollars by doing so. Your name will be in the product description for all to see your handiwork and to purchase! Auction bidding and final sales of wolf undercoat fur products is only legally allowed to those living in the United States.* The IWC has been given a 4-Star Charity rating by Charity Navigator.
PLY Magazine’s “Fur” issue will be released March 10, 2020, with an in-depth article, creating extra exposure for this year’s online auction.
When: Saturday, February 1st, 2020 noon - 4:00pm (Allow <1 hour to create 2 full cuffs from a selection of handspun colorful Aran/bulky weight wolf undercoat fur yarns.)
Where: Textile Center Spinning Room
What to bring:
- One finished pair of adult size (S/M/L) handmade wool mittens, any color(s), any style, without cuffs, for you to knit added ribbed cuffs using hand spun wolf undercoat fur yarn.
- Size 6-10 DPNs or circular needles, scissors, darning needle
- Optional: matching wool yarn to double knit with wolf yarn for a thicker, coordinated cuff
As there is only a limited amount of this unique yarn, please email Chillon Leach at chilloncleach@hotmail.com to reserve your spot. Also contact Chillon with any other questions.
*Due to government regulations and approval needed for working with this endangered species’ fiber, all items will be finished and donated on site. All wolf yarn remnants will carefully be collected to be used in other finished products. Limited wolf yarn amounts available.
MKG Gift Memberships
Stuck for a gift for a fellow knitters? How about a membership to the Minnesota Knitters' Guild!?
To purchase a gift membership, contact Kathy at membershipmkg@gmail.com with the name and email address of the person you would like to buy the membership for. We'll set everything up and you'll receive a printable certificate you can give the recipient.
You can also pay for a year membership for a current members!
Yarnover FAQ
As registration for Yarnover 2020 draws near, we thought it would be a good time to answer some of the questions we receive in the Yarnover survey and in person.
The Marriott works so well, why is Yarnover moving to the Crowne Plaza for 2020?
There were some changes in the sales staff at the Marriott and the new sales person unknowingly gave the Yarnover weekend to another group.
We hope the new location will work just as well and that there won't be too many hiccups from moving.
Why was the Crowne Plaza in Plymouth chosen as the new location? Why can't Yarnover be in St. Paul, Minneapolis, south of the city, etc...?
Finding a location to host Yarnover is no easy task. We need sixteen separate classrooms, a large space for the vendor market, and a place for attendees to eat lunch at the very least. Finding enough classrooms is the hardest part. On top of that, we'd like places people can sit and knit and free parking. Then take into consideration, that we would like to keep the costs for Yarnover attendees where they are. We looked all over the Twin Cities area and the Crowne Plaza was the one place that could fit all our needs and still fit in our budget.
Why does Yarnover cost so much?
Yarnover costs are right in line with other similar knitting conventions, plus we give extras like lunch with class registration, free bingo, a free Marketplace entrance, free parking, free class changes, and a free Sunday speaker. This is a cost comparison that we put together before the 2019 convention.
Some people have asked why the dinner costs $50. That cost is not just for the food. We also need to pay for the speaker, room rental, and a/v equipment. You are paying for the whole evening.
Just know that the Guild is not charging attendees more than it costs to host Yarnover.
It is also worth noting that Yarnover is completely run by volunteers, not professional event planners, so there are no administration costs. These people meet year-round, giving up so much of their time, to make Yarnover happen and to make it as good an experience for everyone as they can. They do it, because Yarnover and the Guild are important to them.
Can't we just move back to a school and make Yarnover cheaper?
We'd really prefer not to take Yarnover back a step. There is so much that is better about being in a hotel/convention type setting; adult seating in classrooms, the teachers and out-of-town attendees are able to stay on site, the Yarnover dinner is in the same location, ability to have the Guild meeting on Sunday with one of the teachers as the speaker...
Can we have two days of the Marketplace?
Oh, we would love to be able to do this, but it is cost prohibitive at this point. It would cost thousands of dollars to get the space for another day and that would have to be passed on to attendees and vendors.
It seems like there are fewer vendors at the Marketplace.
There have actually been the same number or more vendors at the Marketplace each of the past couple of years. We did have a large empty space in 2019, because a vendor who had reserved a large spot had to cancel last minute due to a family emergency. It was too late to find someone else to take the spot, so we decided just to make it an area to knit.
I didn't like my door prize/swag bag.
We're sorry that something you won wasn't to your taste. After talking to some people, there seems to be a misconception that the door prize/swag bags are chosen and purchased by the Yarnover committee. All the prizes and giveaways are donated. We contact hundreds of companies every year and luckily they have been very generous. Plus, all of the vendors donate a door prize. We have been able to give over one-hundred door prizes away each year, as well as prizes for the Yarnover Shawl Contest and Yarn Bingo, at no cost.
As for swag bags, Yarnover is a big event with over three-hundred paid attendees, it is not easy to find someone who will donate that many items. Knitting Fever donated over three-hundred skeins of yarn and booklets last year, which allowed us to give something to every Yarnover attendee. If it were not for their donation, we would not have had a swag bag for everyone.
One thing to know, none of your Yarnover fees go towards purchasing giveaway items. While we would love to have some sort of special Yarnover item to give everyone every year, we don't think it is worth raising fees in order to be able to pay for it.
The food...
This is a hard one, because we just can't suit everyone's tastes. Some people have really liked it and some people haven't. We do our best to pick menus for lunch and dinner that will make the most people happy and fit within our budget, but we are never going to make everyone happy with hotel buffet catering.
Over the past couple of years, it is also harder because so many people have dietary requests. Having the event at a hotel, has allowed us to fill many of those dietary requests, but please keep in mind we are not picking the menus for vegetarians, diary-free, gluten-free, etc..., the hotel has set dishes they use for these.
* Yarnover 2020 registration opens Saturday, January 11th at 8:00am CST for members who have paid their MKG dues for 2020 by midnight December 31, 2019. General registration will open on Saturday, January 18th at 8:00am CST. Find all the Yarnover information here.