My design work can be seen in Knitty, Stitch ‘N Bitch Nation, Stitch ‘N Bitch: The Happy Hooker, Get Hooked, and Knitscene, among other publications. I enjoy designing and writing patterns to crochet/knit fun, basic items that can be easily embellished and styled to suit your personal taste. Some of my independently published crochet patterns are formatted with written and charted instructions that walk you through the pattern row-by-row visually, so that what you have in your hands looks like what you are instructed to do in the pattern (this is something I hope to continue doing; it’s a lot more work on my end, but I think the results are worth it).
I started designing my own pieces because I was having a hard time finding patterns I liked (that was several years ago, pre-Knitty and all that – I don’t have that problem now!). I started writing patterns because I didn’t want to do production work, and because I love seeing the modifications and variations people make when working with a pattern.
It appears that I am well on my way to becoming a sort of Great-Aunt Mildred, with pots of tea and handknit dishcloths and jars of pickled vegetables. Great-Aunt Mildred is a bit like your famous Great-Aunt Martha S., except hauling around a great big handbag, less organized, and using a much louder and wider range of colors. Not quite as much fun as my dear, departed Great-Aunt Mary (big and loud: big sunglasses, big jewelry, big heart, big daiquiri, loud caftans, loud colors, loud voice). She crocheted many, many afghans while watching her daytime stories. I miss her.
The easiest way to get in touch with me is by email (mail[at]mkcarroll[dot]com); it may take several days for me to get back to you, though. If it’s been longer, please go ahead and email me again – I get a lot of it and some can get lost under a heap of other things. The most effective way to contact me is to attend an Aloha Knitters meeting (although that is going to have to wait until I move back to Honolulu from Pago Pago). I am also on Ravelry (mkcarroll) and on Twitter (mk_carroll). There is, I am told, an etiquette involving Twitter (and other networking sites) in which one is obligated to ‘friend’ or ‘follow’ anyone who ‘friends’ or ‘follows’ you. However, I procrastinate, get a long list of “so-and-so has added you” and wind up staring at my computer screen late at night wondering who so-and-so is. If you’d really like to have me ‘friend’ or ‘follow’ you in return, sending a short note along helps tremendously, especially if I know you or have met you but don’t recognize your screen name (and your profile has been set so only friends can read your info). The unrecognized screen name + private profile happens pretty regularly to me, and I’m never quite sure if there’s a really polite way to send a “hi, do I know you?” message.
When in Honolulu, I’m an active member of the Honolulu branch of the Aloha Knitters (we crochet and spin too!), spending Monday and Thursday evenings at Mocha Java Cafe, proving that there is plenty of stuff you can knit and crochet while living in Hawai’i. I occasionally blog about what I’m making, whether it’s a baby hat, vegan cinnamon rolls, or fried breadfruit.
