{"id":45310,"date":"2023-08-24T11:48:53","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T15:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelandmark.com\/?p=45310"},"modified":"2023-08-24T11:48:53","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T15:48:53","slug":"crocheting-leads-to-hand-made-fun-for-holden-woman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/2023\/08\/24\/crocheting-leads-to-hand-made-fun-for-holden-woman\/","title":{"rendered":"Crocheting leads to Hand Made Fun for Holden woman"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ken Cleveland<\/em>
\nLandmark Correspondent<\/em><\/p>\n

HOLDEN \u2014 \u201cI make all kinds of items, and always say there is something for everyone,\u201d Denise LaRoche said.<\/p>\n

Her crochet work ranges widely, including \u201cfun stuffed animals\/characters, dream catchers, reusable cleaning items, succulents and hangers, fun hats, magnets, key chains, and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Set up at local spots such as the Sterling Street Market and the Milk Room in Rutland, she has turned her hobby into an avenue to share with others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started when I saw my mom making beautiful blankets, baby items, and more. She taught me when I was about 8 years old, and I only really made little blankets for a long time. It was not a common hobby at (that) age, so I didn’t really tell many people that I did it. But I’m very happy now that she had taught me,\u201d LaRoche said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got older, I wanted to make gifts for friends and family, so she helped me learn how to follow patterns. I can knit and crochet, but crochet has just stuck with me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been crocheting for about 27 years now, and love to see how far I have come and keep trying to perfect it. I also now work with felt details, and that has brought it to a new level of detail. I have had inspiration from patterns, online pictures, customer requests and more,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Her booth shows off the variety of items and styles possible with crocheting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy all of it and can’t keep up with ideas and what I am making. There are just so many fun possibilities. I think I really enjoy animals and characters, and I’ve even done a few animals to look like family pets,\u201d LaRoche said.<\/p>\n

She crochets a lot, but the shows keep her busy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most challenging for me is trying to keep making enough items for shows. It takes a lot of time to make that many. I also have two boys, 3 and 8, who keep me on my toes, but they love what I make, and I love being home with them even when it gets crazy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do an online academy with my 8 year old, and he loves it. We have so much freedom with it, and met some great friends. I get to be home working and seeing how far my things have come,\u201d LaRoche, who lives in Holden, said of the balancing act.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe name Hand Made Fun was the idea from my husband. He said I make fun hand made things and called it Hand Made Fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

LaRoche started selling in about 2016 in a local shop \u201cto the best woman, Lori at Serendipity in Hudson. She helped me get to where I am now, and I will always be grateful for her kindness and encouragement,\u201d LaRoche said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am in local craft events in the surrounding towns and have also had a great start with shows at the Sterling Street Market with Jane (Morgan). She is also another wonderful woman I have had the ability to grow with.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am now hosting craft fairs as Hand Made Fun Events, where I can have myself and many other talented local crafters to have a great spot at the Milk Room Brewing Company in Rutland. I have a few shows left that I post on my Facebook page under Hand Made Fun. I want a great spot at a decent price to grow and connect and hopefully grow sales for everyone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

LaRoche might be busy crocheting as she mans a booth.<\/p>\n

\u201cCustomers and browsers seem to love the details I put into my work, and I am usually making a project at my events. I make sure I put everything into what I make and my whole setup at shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope I can continue to grow and become a great local business that gets and gives support to the community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to also host events that give back to local families, shelters, and hopefully more in the future. I owe so much to my mom for being the best. She is my best friend and one of my biggest supporters, also my friend who has helped me through it all who lives in New York with her family, so phone calls are the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her family helps out as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have family that help find cool yarn and help at events. They send pictures and ideas as well, and have helped a ton. I have a lot of family and local support to thank, and hope to have more as I go. I hope to teach classes soon and share the fun of crochet and what you can do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ken Cleveland Landmark Correspondent HOLDEN \u2014 \u201cI make all kinds of items, and always say there is something for everyone,\u201d Denise LaRoche said. Her crochet work ranges widely, including \u201cfun stuffed animals\/characters, dream catchers, reusable cleaning items, succulents and hangers, fun hats, magnets, key chains, and more.\u201d Set up at local spots such as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45313,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}