Building the Valley: The Shop on Grant weaves its way into the fabric of Vandergrift

Worn down by the isolation of the pandemic, Debora Greene opened The Shop on Grant last year as a way to connect with friends and neighbors in Vandergrift over her love of needlework.

“I was retired and I was just looking for something to do, mostly to get myself out in the community,” Greene said.

But that undersells just how much knitting and crocheting are woven throughout her life. In sixth grade, Greene’s mother scraped together a few bucks so Greene could get her first knitting supplies, giving her something to do during free periods at Catholic school.

“Voila — 50-plus years later I’m still doing it,” Greene said.

Greene had two other shops in the past — one in Greensburg that focused on custom framing and a second in Huntingdon that incorporated more yarn. The Shop on Grant offers both.

Since opening more than a year ago, the Grant Avenue storefront has grown in selection and popularity as a destination for knitters and crocheters. Greene, who runs the shop herself, offers a selection of yarn that varies in color, weight, brand and price, plus completed crafts sold on consignment.

She also runs periodic events such as Yak and Yarn on Wednesday evenings during the summer. As the name implies, it’s a pretty casual affair.

Participants are free to work on whatever they’d like, except the first Wednesday of the month, when Greene asks knitters to make chemo caps — tight-fitting, comfortable headcovers for patients with hair loss from chemotherapy. She also is becoming certified to contribute to Knitted Knockers, a Washington state-based program that supplies knit prostheses to women who have undergone mastectomies.

Cancer has left its mark on Greene’s immediate family. Her sister, Shirlee, has undergone treatment for breast cancer, and her brother, Jack, also is a survivor. Their parents both died of cancer.

“It’s just something that’s near and dear to my heart,” Greene said.

Greene has donated about 50 chemo caps this year to UPMC Hillman Cancer Center is Harrison, including 30 this month. Customers can help by either knitting chemo caps of their own or purchasing certain brands of cotton yarn from The Shop on Grant and donating it back, with 15% of the sale going toward the Harrison treatment center.

Besides Yak and Yarn, Greene runs knitting and crocheting classes for all skill levels, though beginner classes happen most often. Those are set to resume in August and focus on small projects for novice needleworkers, such as a scarf or dishcloth.

Working with yarn is famously time intensive — and a bit tricky at first — so most beginners don’t complete their projects that day. Greene welcomes participants to come back anytime if they need an expert’s eyes, one benefit of having a brick-and-mortar business, in her view.

“Having things so readily available online is wonderful, but there’s certain things that brick and mortar is so much better, as in coming and seeing the colors or feeling how the yarn feels,” Greene said.

Robert Buchanan, president of the Vandergrift Business Association, described Greene as a model business owner, and the shop as a model for how the borough can further rejuvenate its business district.

“When we talk about the revitalization of towns like Vandergrift, it is individual mom-and-pop stores like Debbie’s we’re talking about,” Buchanan said. “We’re hoping the whole town fills up with businesses like that.”

Lucky for needleworkers in the Alle-Kiski Valley, Greene doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon.

“I love this little community,” she said. “It’s just a wonderful place to live and work.”

The Shop on Grant is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Greene reopens the store on certain Wednesday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. for Yak and Yarn. To schedule a class, call 724-568-4509 or visit the store at 118 Grant Ave.