I hope that you love the handmade items that you find in my shop. If you know me, you know there's a story to be told. A few years ago, I inherited a carload of yarn from my grandmother Jane. Her two passions in life were cultivating new species of rhododendrons, and knitting Fair Isle sweaters. Growing up, we'd travel to visit Jane and Ray, and stop off for a few days at their house, which my bro
ther and I nicknamed "The Rhododendron Ranch". We'd visit the trees named for each grandchild (which gave shade to the rhododendrons beneath) and see someone else's sweater being knit from the black leather couch while football played on the TV. (Your sweater would have been finished long before your visit, and what fun is it to know what color your going to get ahead of time?)
After Ray, and then Jane, passed away, the Ranch was sold to a new family, and as these things go, the house was cleaned out. We packed my Honda Accord with two Singer featherweight sewing machines, one box of accessories, and plastic shoe boxes full of yarn. Then, my mom rolled down the windows and stuffed shopping bags full of more yarn into the sides of the car, "so it won't rattle". Since I wouldn't let her pack the car past the top of the seats, more yarn arrived in subsequent trips to Averill Park. Turns out, I'm a fair knitter, and not too bad at crocheting, either. Many of the projects I'm working on were inspired by different members of the family, so I've included pictures of them too. If you love handmade items made locally, I hope that you'll love my shop. You can also find me as Rhododendron Ranch on Etsy. I'd love to hear from you!
