A Funny Thing Happened on the Way through Lakeside: A Yarn About Yarn & Yarn Harbor

Last Friday when I wrote about March Twin Ports arts happenings I included a list of arts and crafts classes readers could take to learn new skills or refresh old ones. The last in this list was a link to classes on crochet, knitting, felting and weaving at Yarn Harbor in Lakeside. I had never been to Yarn Harbor, nor did I know anything about it. In fact, I didn't even know where it was or that there was such a place because when I first read the name I thought it was Yam Harbor, as in sweet potatoes.

Well, as luck would have it, I was driving through Lakeside when Lo & Behold, I see a nice sign on the front of a building that reads, "Yarn Harbor." Stopping seemed an absolute requirement. 

My grandmother kept herself more than busy knitting a whole array of clothing items and blankets for her 15 or so grandchildren. She'd begin right after the new year, producing hats, scarves, socks, mittens, all manner of practical things. I'm sure it was something most of us took for granted, but that did not deter her from this labor of love. 

My grandmother knit this. No, it is not for sale.

When I went to Ohio University she knit me a green and white sweater, the school's colors. And to this day I use one of the afghans she knit me, with its numerous messages that include a pair of hearts, a little row of buildings, a little house and the inscription "To A Friend's House The Road Is Short." 

The owner of Yarn Harbor is a friendly woman named Kathy Thomas. Kathy indulged this stranger who stopped in to take a peek and wished to walk around her store taking photos of her yarn. I hopefully introduced myself properly first. There may have been three or four women looking at yarn while I enjoyed the bright colors and the subtly woven blends. The rainbows of color brought to mind fabric artist Erika Mock's studio when she worked in Superior. The proximity of Yarn Harbor may have been a contributing factor in her move to Lakeside for a spell. 

Here are some of the photos I took inside Yarn Harbor. It's a homey little place, and as we all know, there's no place like home. 

www.yarnharboduluth.com