What did they win?

Here is a picture of our lovely grand prize winner and her new stash.

Kay our Grand Prize Winner

 We also drew 14 first place prizes from the finisher cards. Check out the goodies in this basket!

Thanks very much to all our sponsors who helped make our prizes amazing!

Thank You

A BIG thank you goes out to the awesome knitters, crocheters and needle artists who participated in the Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop this year. 

You raised $4,880 in cash and 5,700 pounds of food!

AMAZING!

Donations at Needlework Unlimited

We all couldn't be more proud of our very generous fiber community!

Food Bank Partners

We are excited to be partnering with local food banks in our areas again this year!

 Remember to bring a food shelf donation item or $5, to each shop to receive your charm.  Each shop has 500 charms this year, more than double what we did last year!

Thanks in advance for your participation.  Fiber junkies are a generous lot; let's fill up the food shelves!

Amazing Threads - CROSS in Rogers/Maple Grove
A Sheepy Yarn Shoppe - White Bear Lake Emergency Food Shelf
Coldwater Lakeside Yarn - ICA Foodshelf
Crafty Planet - Senior Food Bank, a service of Eastside Neighborhood Services
Darn Knit Anyway - The Salvation Army; Grace Place - Somerset, WI 
Double Ewe - Centennial Community Food Shelf
Lila and Claudine's - Mahtomedi Food Shelf
Needlework Unlimited - Joyce Methodist Food Shelf
Shepherd's Choice - ACBC Food Shelf
Skeins - Emergency Food Shelf Network
Steven Be - Emergency Food Shelf Network
3 Kittens Needle Arts - Neighborhood House, W. St. Paul
Yarn Garage - Emergency Food Shelf Network
Yarnery - Second Harvest Heartland

Yarn Garage

The sisters from Lila and Claudine's aren't the only sibling shop owners on the hop.

Welcome to the Yarn Garage.

"We are a full service - yarn, knitting and needlework station located in Rosemount, Minnesota. The Yarn Garage is owned and operated by Steven Berg & Monika Oeltjen, a brother and sister team who were both trained in this craft by their mother.
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Monika Oeltjen & Steven Berg have dubbed themselves, “The Stitch Mechanics”, as they are always helping knitters and the needlework challenged. They are a brother and sister team, who were taught many types of needlework from their mother as children. They come from a strong background of knitting and crocheting, as well as embroideries, macramé and any other trendy craft.
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Their credits include creating knits for Hollywood celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston. Local projects include the Lori Line Christmas Concert accessories, the Macy's (Daytons) Eighth Floor Holiday show. Together, Monika & Steven have put a modern twist on some great old traditional crafts!

Knitting and crocheting are the “Hot Trend” right now and Steven and Monika have made these trends extremely fun by teaching with novelty yarns and thick needles, giving projects a unique personality, Chunky Funky!
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Monika & Steven have the technical background to help students at any age and any level and encourage each to work at their own pace with a project of their choosing. Parent and child team participating is a favorite of theirs. Join them for an exciting season of creative needlework.
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Monika & Steven started the Yarn Garage in 2003 as the roving, gypsy yarn and fiber art studio. Their private knit nights have become all the rage. Make sure to schedule a private night at the Yarn Garage."

Lila and Claudine's

The sisters tell the story of how Lila and Claudine’s came to be.
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"While we were sitting on the stairs to the lower level of 86 Mahtomedi Ave, a friend said “Why don’t you open a yarn store here?”  After swallowing hard,  our response in unison was we could never do that.  There was just no way.
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But the seed had been planted and over the next few months the yarn shop began to take on a life of its own.  Yarn was ordered and shelves were filled.
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Then magically, we opened the doors of Lila and Claudine’s Yarn & Gifts, named after our grandmothers in March, 2009.  And we have been blessed with the most awesome customers ever since.  Thanks to all who have supported us.  We are having so much fun."
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Kirsten (Sister) & Polly (Sister)

A Sheepy Yarn Shoppe

21 years and counting; Marj, the owner of A Sheepy Yarn Shoppe, reminisces.

"Knitting was part of the college scene during the 50's and 60's, so that is where I begin the journey.

Living in Argentina, South America for 11 years introduced me to the wonderful world of Llama, Alpaca, Guanaco and Vicuna as well as great wools and pima cottons. My years in the corporate world here in the US allowed sporadic knitting, however, my passion really began when I decided to buy the Sheepy Shop in White Bear Lake in 1991. (Now called A Sheepy Yarn Shoppe).

When I retired from corporate in 1992, I was able to dedicate more time to my "retirement business". Turns out it has become more than a "retirement business" - it has become a great adventure and passion.

We will celebrate our 21st anniversary in May of this year, thanks to a very dedicated staff. It is very rewarding to be part of a knitter's journey as they challenge themselves in discovering new patterns and designs. This stress relieving hobby has exploded in recent years as we discover the creativity inside of us, just waiting to be released. And, who doesn't need a new, hand knitted sweater?"