Job search and crocheting simultaneously!

I've got too many projects working at once and yet that doesn't seem abnormal to me. Right now my life is in chaos across the board.

November 5, 2010. This is an important date for me. Not as a crocheter but rather as a graphic designer. It was the day that I lost my job working at a major newspaper in the Detroit Metro area due to outsourcing to the Philippines. Wow! I know...I was shocked too. At first I thought well I'll give myself 2 weeks off to do all of the things I never had the time to do before. That went by very fast. Then I set to work trying to find a new job. Geez, let's see who's hiring right before Christmas and in the midst of the worst depression since the 1920's....no brainer right. 

Flash forward to October 31, 2011 and I am still unemployed. My husband and I decided to move from Michigan and down to Florida which is where we originally met. We moved in with his parents and are trying to start over again. He luckily still has a job but after 100's of resumes I'm still out in the cold. I've been a graphic designer for over 25 years. I'm good at what I do, yet after all of the resumes and online portfolios sent out I can't even get an interview.  Every morning I get on my computer and spend about 2-3 hours searching all of the jobs for graphic designers, printers, publishers, desktop publishers, magazines, etc. 

I've decided to go back to school to learn web design. If I had web design experience I believe my job search would go a lot faster. It's the new wave of the future. Actually it's already a wave that is taking place via, smart phones, iPads, etc. It's the major way this global society communicates. So that will be my new venture after the first of the year. 

This is where the crocheting comes in. Sometimes I get so frustrated that I just have to step away from my computer and do something else.  My crocheting projects calm me down, make me one with the yarn, and keep me from pulling the hair out of my head!!!! 

I sit and crochet in peace with my dog nearby. When he was a puppy he liked to get in the middle of my projects and sleep. I had to put crocheting down for the whole first year of his life because I didn't think it would be very cool to weave dog hair in with each project! HA!  Now he's older and knows to stay over on the other side of the couch etc.

Discovering this blog thing and talking about crocheting is really a big release for me. I'm used to deadlines and being creative every day. No two days were ever the same. Now I feel like I'm starting my whole life over at 50 and my crocheting is helping me to remain even keel.

So as a result I have been crocheting up a storm in the past 2 months. The more projects the better. I have to take advantage of the time because when I get a job again I happen to be one of those people that is married to their job. (My husband hates that part!).

I started this afghan project a few weeks ago. I put it down to work on something else but now I'm back at it.

 

 

 

This pattern is called Primrose Lane Throw. It's a Red Heart pattern. You work it in sections and then sew it together.

 

 

Then I finished a project for a girlfriend who is having her first baby. I saw a pattern for a papoose which is something I had not seen before. I don't usually do baby items. I love afghans but thought I'd give it a try. I loved it. So now I'm making another papoose.

This is the start of a new papoose. I'm using a Bernat Baby Blue yarn with another sparkle yarn stripe throughout. This pattern is quick and easy. Shells and Front Posts. 

For the baby project I made a ski hat which turned out so cute. Yesterday I saw a teenager wearing a ski hat that was crocheted but it had fur on the front and it inspired me to want to make a ear flap, hunters cap, mohawk combined hat. Do you think there's a pattern for that one? Something tells me I'm going to have to make one up. I've never made a pattern before so this should be interesting! A lot of trial and error coming my way. But if I succeed believe me you'll hear about it!!

I found this pumpkin color over the weekend and this furry yarn so this is what I'm going to attempt the Ear Flap, Hunter Cap, Mohawk hat with. Did I mention the only ski hat pattern I have to start with is for a newborn. Should be interesting!!!

While I was searching for patterns I came across this magazine I've had stuck in one of my yarn baskets for quite a while. It has the Sunny Spread pattern in it. Apparently my dog has loved the pattern too because as you can see he's taken a couple of bites out of it!!!

I went to grab a pen this morning to write an idea down and lo and behold I grabbed a crocheting needle instead. Love it!!!

Well I've done my job search for the morning. I applied to 4 more jobs. Resumes sent, portfolios sent. Please, somebody hire me!! I won't disappoint you!!! Now I'm off to straighten up the house and get started on figuring out the pattern for my Winter Warmer Hat masterpiece!!! You'll see!

My new project!

I have wanted to start a blog about crocheting for a long time. I finally decided to do it. So let's have a conversation about crocheting! Let me introduce myself to you. I'm Valerie Rehrman. I've been crocheting for nearly 40 years. That means I started around 11 but I started taking it seriously about 15 years ago. It's my favorite past time. I'm never far from a ball of yarn!!

I usually do afghans but lately I've been branching out and doing baby items and novelty items. It's been a lot of fun. I get tripped up on some stitches but I try to work my way through it. I've ripped out projects 2 and 3 times just to learn a new stitch!!

Let's start talking! What are your favorite yarns? What are your secret tricks!! What do your projects look like? Do you have a big collection of hooks? Have you started collecting patterns from the internet? We have a lot to talk about!

Let's start a Crocheting Conversation!

This is my favorite project. It's called Sunny Spread. 

An apply cozy!!!

This is a project I just finished for a friend who is having a brand new bouncing baby boy!