Stitching Into February with Crochet Twin Cities

February may be the shortest month of the year, but for Crochet Twin Cities, it’s overflowing with creativity, connection, and colorful new projects. As winter settles in around us, our hooks are staying busy and our community continues to grow in the most inspiring ways.

Our February meeting will be in Bloomington at the Penn Lake Library.  Our meeting will be members only, due to the surprise re-stash special event.  Details about the meeting were sent out in the newsletter and are available in our calendar.  Yes, you can join at the meeting, to make things easier, please fill out an online membership form and plan to pay your annual dues ($24) in cash at the meeting.

I have to confess, I had big plans to write a blog about the fiber arts retreat I attended in January, and share
about the St. Paul Saint's latest project: The Minnesota Good Life Butterfly garden.  But time has a way of running away from me, so we'll have to talk about those things at our meeting on Saturday.  Hope to see you there!

Too cold to crochet?

 No, it's never too cold to crochet, but sometimes, it is too cold to travel to crochet.  If you follow us on social media, you've likely already seen the message that we have cancelled the fourth Saturday meetup for this month.  You can find the details on our Facebook page at: Crochet Twin Cities | Facebook.

Due to a surprise gift to our group, the February 14th meeting will be for formal members only*.   Details will be found in the monthly You are welcome to pay your dues at the meeting, if you haven't already.  *A formal member is one who has either paid dues, requested and received confirmation of a scholarship or is a lifetime member (member for 5 years or more and are retired).  

Our January meeting was a hit, over 20 members joined us online for Edie Eckman's workshop on Edgings & Borders.   We had great discussions about upcoming events for 2026.  There are always so many events to look forward to, Crochet in Public day, the Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop in April and the MN State Fair in August.  The Shop Hop recently announced the theme for 2026 is museums, it'll be fun to see how that translates to patterns and yarns.

Carla's completed projects from the retreat.

I attended a fiber arts retreat this past weekend. While the retreats are not limited to crochet or CTC, many of the participants are former or current members of CTC.  I can't begin to tell you how impactful these retreats can be.  In my case, I haven't done much crochet for most of the past year, and it was wonderful to be able to focus in on picking it up again.   Additionally, we have such great conversations, about a wide variety of topics (although we do tend to hold the line at political or divisive topics).

I look forward to seeing you in February, and I really hope you enjoy the surprise...I think you will.  It's not exactly a secret as we have discussed it at other meetings, but if you've haven't attended any meetings recently, you may want to make an extra effort to attend this one.

Wishing you the best in all of your endeavors, crochet and otherwise.  Theresa

Happy New Yarn! (oops, I meant New Year)

 
2026 is off to a great start! Edie Eckman will be teaching us Edging & Borders for our January meeting. The meeting will be virtual only, so everyone can stay home, warm and safe, but still gather online.

Our December meeting with Tamara Kelly was great fun, 17 members attended virtually. I think AJ wins the award for getting the furthest on his Edinburgh Evening Scarf.  Carla & Christa have some beautiful colors working up.

There will be a board meeting during the social part of the meeting, so please join us to help discuss plans for the upcoming year. One of the items we'll be discussing is the budget, and whether we want to add a 3rd professional class, more door prizes, or other ideas you may have. While only the board is required to attend and vote, any members are welcome to attend, share ideas, and vote. *Note: you must be present to vote, but if you have an idea to share, feel free to send it to us at ctclist@gmail.com, and we'll bring it to the group on your behalf if you are unable to attend or just bashful. 

A quick reminder, only members who are officially enrolled continue to receive the newsletter, so please be sure to respond when we reach out. To be a full member, you must fall into one of the following categories: lifetime member, paid membership dues for 2026, or have requested and received a scholarship for 2026. If you are a member who has moved out of state, please let us know whether you wish to maintain your membership going forward (as a courtesy, you can continue to received the newsletter and are welcome to drop in for any of our meetings or meetups if you happen to be visiting). 

Watch for tan email with the Zoom link and handout for Saturday's class with Edie.  The link was included in the Newsletter which went out last week.  If for any reason you missed it, please feel free to email ctclist@gmail.com, a copy will be sent to you. Or use your membership roster information to give reach out to me, your President.

Best wishes for a happy 2026!  I look forward to seeing you soon!

Elections, renewals and classes

Wow! 2025 has been quite a year!  From our January class with Edie, to the Yarn Shop Hop, County & State Fairs and finally to the Fiber Fest & Destash & Elections, we've had a good year! Our membership list is growing, with over 70 members as of November 2025.

Speaking of membership, it's time to pay dues for 2026. If you have already paid in October or November, you are good to go and will continue to receive the newsletter for 2026. 

Typically you would pay your $24 to the Treasurer or other board member at a meeting or meet up.  However, our 2nd Saturday meetings will be virtual only in December & January,  so we will not remove you from the newsletter list until after the February meeting. If you are unsure of your status, please feel free to reach out to ctclist@gmail.com.

I hope you enjoy the photos from our annual destash, and 3 featured Ravelry projects from members. 

Our 2026 officers & coordinators have been elected and there have been some changes.  The new line up

President: Theresa
VP: Brenda
Treasurer: Carla
Secretary: Gloria
Education: Veronica, Lori, Peggy, Kristy
Social Media: Lori, Bree
Newsletter: Lisa

Donations: Joy

MOA 4th Saturday: open*

Roseville 4th Saturday,: Bree

State Fair: Bree

Fiber Fest: Bree

Yarn Shop Hop: TBD*

The December & January classes/meetings (2nd Saturday) will be virtual only, details will be shared with members via the newsletter.  Note: the newsletter format is changing and it will be coming from new email address: lisabright9.2019@gmail.com.

In December, Tamara Kelly of Moogly, will walk us through her Edinburgh Evenings Scarf.  This pattern is great for learning foundation single crochet, linked stitches, and Chainless Starting Treble Crochet.

Then, once again, we'll kick off the new year with Edie Eckman.  January's meeting will feature 90 minutes of her Edging & Borders workshop.

Remember, only official (paid) members may attend the virtual only classes. Our dues are
really not a lot, considering everything you receive for them!  For just $24/year, you receive two virtual classes with professional crochet artists, opportunities to demonstrate at the State Fair and Fall Fiber fest, the incredible annual destash event, a monthly newsletter, hands on education & fabulous door prizes at our 2nd Saturday meetings and unlimited tips & tricks from our skilled & talented members.

Having said that, if you are a new to crochet, please don't hesitate to join us.  We love watching people develop their skill, gain new skills and learn new things.  From new stitches and techniques to new fiber mediums and tools, there's never been a more exciting time to learn a new craft & art form.

*Keep in mind, that if there are no volunteers to act as coordinator, the activity or event may be cancelled.

October 11th - I Love Yarn Day

I love yarn day seemed like a good day for me (Theresa) to return to CTC, I've missed the last several months due to family and personal health issues. We had 30 members and guests attend the October 11 meeting at the Edina Library.  It was great to see so many new faces and catch up with long-term members I've missed over the last several months!  There was a lot of great show and tell, and many suggestions for making color changes less visible.  

Our November meeting will be our destash, so a couple of notes: Only "official" members are allowed to attend the destash.  To be an official member, you need to have either paid the membership dues or been granted a scholarship or lifetime membership.  If you need a scholarship, please reach out to a board member.  Lifetime membership is granted to members who have paid dues for 5 or more years and are retired.   

We will also be voting on the 2026 officers and start planning for 2026.  Below is a current list of nominees, you are welcome to nominate yourself or fellow members for any of the roles listed. Keep in mind that CTC is strictly volunteer run.   If we don't have a member willing to fill a role, we may have to cut some programming. For example, our Ravelry group has not been updated in some time, we have not had anyone willing to act as the moderator for that group. If you are interested in learning more about any role, please feel free to reach out to a current or past board member for more information. 

Elected Role Nominees:

President: Theresa

VP: Brenda

Secretary: Gloria

Treasurer: Carla

Education Co-Chairs: To be determined

Volunteer Roles:

Newsletter: Lisa

Crochet for a Cause: Joy

4^th Saturday Coordinator: Trudy

Outreach (State Fair, Fiber Fest): Bree

Room Reservations: Gloria

Social Media

Blog: Theresa *guest bloggers welcome

Facebook & Instagram: Lori

Ravelry: Open

Yours in yarn,

Theresa (past-president)