Mittens inspired by a Midwestern Landmark with Laura Ricketts (Online)

The Naniboujou Fine Gauge Mittens were inspired by the fantastic dining room in the Naniboujou Lodge and Restaurant on Minnesota’s beautiful North Shore of Lake Superior. Just east of Grand Marais, the lodge was built at the end of the Roaring 20s to be a luxurious retreat club with founding members like Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey. When the stock market crashed in October 1929 many of the grandiose plans crashed as well, but the main lodge with its gorgeous dining room was nearly finished.

This dining room is a show-stopping example of color and artistic creation. Inspired by Cree Native American designs, painter Antoine Gouffe combined a multitude of clear, vibrant colors to create the wall and ceiling murals. 

Join us in an online class to knit this beautiful pair of fine gauge mittens in the vibrant hues of Rauma wool yarn. The stranded mittens are knit in the ribbing to the tip with decreases incorporated into the pattern.

Laura Ricketts is a knit and crochet instructor from Indiana, specializing in the knitwear of the Sámi peoples. After participating in a Nordic knitting conference, she began researching the contributions that the Sámi have made to the knitting community. She has toured the Sámi lands, visited museums and groups, and studied and written about many beautiful examples of Sámi knitting. As a former history teacher, Laura enjoys opening this world to others and has spoken or taught classes at Finnfest, Ingebretsen’s, North House Folk School, the National Nordic Museum’s Nordic Knitting Conference, American Swedish Institute, and numerous knit shops.

Vesterheim offers a 60% discount for in-person class tuition on a space-available standby basis to any resident living within 50 miles of Vesterheim. Students will be notified about the availability of an opening in the class 21 days before the starting date of the class period. Discounts do not include materials fees. If local area residents want a guaranteed place in a class, they must pay regular class tuition.