On evenings and weekends, Linda Rosenbaum of Clarion can often be found cuddled under a blanket. Interestingly, this is not because she’s relaxing with a good book or her favorite show curled up on the couch. Instead, she is hard at work with multiple skeins of yarn crocheting some rather complex blankets.
Rosenbaum, who grew up in the Nashua area, said her mother taught her to crochet when she was young. “I would get excited when I was finally able to crochet a chain and then even more excited when it was finally straight,” she stated.
Over the years, Rosenbaum said she made a few baby blankets and the odd afghan but didn’t really take much time to pursue the hobby. Rosenbaum, who is a registered nurse at Iowa Specialty Hospital, said Dr. Mike Whitters advised her that she needed a hobby where she could relax. At that point, she started to pick up crocheting a little more steadily when she would make hats and blankets for babies at the hospital and her own grandchildren.
Through the years, Rosenbaum’s blanket-making hobby has really evolved. She began making them for fundraisers, raffles, and as gift requests. Rosenbaum laughs when she tells the story of making a blanket for a fundraiser for the Clarion Fire Department years ago. When her husband Gene, who is a Clarion Firefighter, saw it, he decided he needed to keep it.
Rosenbaum says that her blankets have become much larger and more complex over the years. Some contain many colors of yarn, wording and logos. To crochet such things, she explains that she uses patterns that she mostly makes herself. She started out using many sheets of regular graph paper, coloring in and counting squares and then taping the whole thing together to form the mock-up of the blanket. She adds that these days, she uses a little more technology as she makes use of Excel spreadsheets and occasionally a phone app that can help create patterns. Depending on the blanket, which could be as large as a king-size, Rosenbaum said the whole process can take from 30 to 90 hours.
If you look at some of the many blankets she has created, there are many special ones she points out. She has made multiple breast cancer themed blankets, team logo blankets, several for fire departments and many more. Rosenbaum said one of her favorites is a Punisher blanket with a large skull on it that she made for her brother when he retired from special forces.
Her husband Gene says he of course likes the fire department-themed ones and a blanket Linda made for Rick Smith’s cancer benefit a few years ago is one of his favorites.
Rosenbaum said she plans to continue crocheting away her nights and weekends since she enjoys the hobby so much. “I just love to do it,” she emphasized. “Even though I occasionally get frustrated and have to rip out stitches, I find it to be stress relieving.”
Though she is still a dedicated nurse, she also says the idea has been rolling around her head to make the blanket-making a bit of a side business. Time will tell. For now, Rosenbaum will stay cozy under a blanket, even as her fingers are flying.
