Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer
Suzanne Ross learned the art of knitting at age nine from her mother and rediscovered her passion for it when her own children were in sports. It proved to be a great way to keep her restless hands busy while sitting in bleachers for hours on end. After honing her skills for about six years, she decided to share her skills with others. Today she is an instructor with TriDistrict Community Education, a partnership of ISD 197, ISD 199 and South St. Paul Public Schools. Community Ed offers dozens of low-cost adult enrichment classes ranging from cooking to exercise to creative arts. Classes are hosted in each community – West St. Paul, Mendota Heights, Eagan, South St. Paul and Inver Grove Heights – and new ones are regularly added.
“Knitting is one of my big passions,” said Ross, who has been teaching for 12 years. “I just love the creativity of it. It fills me with joy, and I wanted to share that with other people.”
She offers a 4-week learn-to-knit course each fall, as well as various project classes throughout the year, including a hat knitting class each January that focuses on a different knitting technique. She also designs and publishes patterns for purchase and enters her afghans in state fairs, a few of which have earned her blue ribbons. Over the years, she and her students have created hats, socks, dog sweaters and many other crafts, but perhaps most importantly they’ve woven a tight-knit social circle.
“We do social get-togethers through the summer where we knit in the park on a beautiful evening,” said Ross. “Sometimes we’ll meet at a coffee shop and just hang out and knit and talk. You can knit and talk and have a good time, where some hobbies and crafts you can’t necessarily do that… For me it’s really relaxing. I love working with the colors and textures and I think knitting is a great hobby because there’s so much variety to it.”
Among the classes she teaches, her favorite is called “Studio.”
“It’s an open forum where all skill levels can attend and bring whatever project they’re working on, are stuck with, or would like to start,” she said. “It’s really great because every person there is doing something different, and we all share and talk.” Studio classes are typically held Tuesday evenings for five consecutive weeks and the total cost is $35. The next session begins March 12. Registration is open but is limited to 14.
Most of her students are older although some have been in their late 20s or early 30s, with some mother-daughter and sister duos. Her classes are typically held at Two Rivers High School but are occasionally hosted elsewhere.
Each TriDistrict city has its own coordinator, and they collaborate to offer popular classes in each city at different times throughout the year.
“We regularly receive inquiries from new instructors throughout the year but we encourage more to come forward,” said ISD 197 Tridistrict coordinator Lisa Grathen. “The essential qualification we value most is an eagerness to teach and share your passions with our community. You do not need a degree or certification, just a genuine desire to spread your interests and knowledge.”
Over the past two years, about 550 people have participated annually in TriDistrict adult enrichment classes in West St. Paul, Mendota Heights and Eagan, and Grathen expects about the same this year. She said the most popular classes are knitting, adult lap swim and water aerobics, estate planning, pickleball and dance classes for couples. She also noted that the Makers Market Craft Show held at Two Rivers High School in the fall has become increasingly popular and supports Tridistrict’s family programs throughout the year.
“We are excited to offer a couple of new courses [this year],” said Grathen. “Intro to the Power of Story: Norse and Celtic Storytelling Series is an online course that spans three sessions, inviting participants to explore ancient tales to connect with their self-narrative and foster intentionality. Another new course we are offering is linocut printing, on Thursday, March 21, a simple yet artistic method for creating prints that can be reproduced on various surfaces such as wood, paper, and fabric.” The Power of Story course is tentatively scheduled for March 7.
TriDistrict Community Education also offers youth enrichment programs in each community. Classes are offered in sports and recreation, health and safety, study skills and more. Additionally, Community Ed also offers before- and after-school care programming at elementary schools, and early childhood family education for families with pre-K children. For more information, call 651-403-8313 or visit tridistrictce.org.
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