Yarn Crawl: Blue Heron Knittery and Iowa’s Norwegian Roots

Sarah Iversen and Onita Mohr are the proprietors of Blue Heron Knittery, a yarn shop located in the heart of downtown Decorah, Iowa. The shop specializes in fair-trade yarns plus supplies for knitting, crocheting, spinning, needlework, and felting. These two love to cook up regular events that encourage and celebrate the knitting community: WIP Wednesdays prompt customers to share what’s on their needles, Thursday Craft Nights are a draw at local food hall The Landing, and Finished Fridays encourage customers to enter a drawing by showing off their finished projects for the chance at winning a prize. The yarn shop also cross-promotes classes and webinars with Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School, which is just down the street.

With all of this outreach happening at the shop, we sat down with Sarah and Onita to find out more about the yarns they carry, their classes, and what they’re most excited about.

Some of Blue Heron's samplings include kits, notions, patterns, and, of course, lots of yarn.

Farm & Fiber Knits: Tell us about your shop and what makes it special.

Blue Heron Knittery: Blue Heron Knittery has been a LYS in Decorah, Iowa, since 2007. We have a friendly and knowledgeable staff that enjoys helping people find just the right yarn for their projects. Knowing that fiber arts are not one-size-fits-all, we have a large variety of yarns in a range of price points. Along with yarn we carry some weaving, spinning, needle felting, and cross-stitch supplies. We are fortunate to be in an area where fiber arts are valued. Decorah is a destination place for tourism and for yarn shoppers, since there are fewer brick and mortar yarn stores in existence today.

FFK: What is the most popular yarn in your shop? What do customers love about it?

BHK: When customers walk in, they see a wall of incredible hand-dyed fingering yarn. Fingering-weight yarn is extremely popular, especially in wool/nylon blends. One skein can be knit up into a pair of socks, a hat, a pair of mittens, or a shawl. There are a variety of hand-knitted samples in the store showing great projects using one or two skeins of fingering-weight yarn.

Fingering-weight yarn proves to be some of the most popular yarn for Blue Heron's customers.

FFK: What colors are your customers most drawn to?

BHK: Projects and colors are very personal. We have people come in who say they only make dishcloths, or only socks or blankets, or prayer shawls or sweaters. We love the challenge of helping them find yarn options for their projects. Weavers come in looking for the Norwegian weaving yarns that we carry. We have quality yarns that will meet almost everyone's needs.

FFK: Do you carry any local-to-you yarns? Tell us more!

BHK: Local yarns and local dyers are great fun to work with. Plum Prairie Farm supplies us with a local yarn that is raised and processed entirely in Minnesota, just across the border to our north. Their yarn is a fingering-weight Babydoll/Finn cross in natural colors (white and gray). We also carry yarn by dyer Shelby String from Ankeny, Iowa; most of their yarn is fingering weight as well.

Yarn from Prairie Plum Farm in Mabel, Minnesota.

FFK: What techniques are your customers most interested in learning?

BHK: Our classes tend to be more one-on-one. A customer will contact us about getting help or learning a new technique and we try to set them up with an instructor. We do work closely with the local Vesterheim Norwegian-American museum, which offers a variety of fiber arts classes both in person and online.

Get a closer look! Click any image in the gallery below to open it in full-screen mode.

FFK: If someone comes to visit your shop from out of town, what's one must-do activity you always recommend?

BHK: What should you do in Decorah? Vesterheim Norwegian-American museum is at the top of the list. The third floor has a very nice exhibit of textiles. There are hiking/biking trails and parks (Dunning Springs is a must see). If there is time, a trip out to Seed Savers Exchange is a lot of fun, walking through the gardens and then purchasing heirloom seeds to try growing at home. Decorah also has a nice selection of restaurants and microbreweries.

FFK: What are you excited about now?

BHK: What are we excited for? Sweater Weather!!

Owners Sarah Iversen (left) and Onita Mohr (right) are ready for sweater weather!

Visit Blue Heron Knittery in Decorah, find them on Facebook at blueheronknittery, or shop online at blueheronknittery.com.

Do you have a favorite local yarn shop? What is it that makes it special? Share your ideas via our email address.