Survey: Honolulu Yarncrafting Workshops

Do you live in Hawai'i? Would you like to help me out? I'm drafting proposals for knit/crochet/spin/yarn dye workshops in the Honolulu area, and I'd like to be able to narrow down my focus as well as have something to show potential event sponsors. Filling out this short questionnaire (4 multiple choice, 2 short text) would help a lot! I won't share your name or email address with anyone without your permission, and you can remain anonymous if you prefer. 

If you have any questions, there's a section in the questionnaire for that, or you can email me (info@mkcarroll.com).  

Link Roundup

How Knitters are Human Computers - a guest post I wrote for the Codeacademy blog. Back in January, Codeacademy promoted an API course with the tweet “You wouldn’t knit your own sweater. So why code your own map?” While I certainly wasn’t the only person to let them know I found it offensive, I may have been the first (or only?) to reach out and say that I thought it was a missed opportunity, and why Codeacademy should be reaching out to yarncrafters instead of dismissing them. I'm glad that Karen Baker, Codeacademy's Community leader, agreed and gave me the opportunity to write this guest post. I'm also thankful that LeTonBeau, Daniella Nii, and Megan of Stockinette Zombies answered my tweets for help and made sure my post was accurate and comprehensible. 

The Crochet Project - have you been looking for a crocheter's version of Knitty or Twist Collective? Check out this collaboration by Kat Goldin and Joanne Scrace! This online only, bi-annual crochet collection features gorgeous photos of projects done in lovely yarns, with seasonal themes (Spring/Summer 2013 theme is botanicals, the upcoming Fall/Winter theme is Woodland Whimsy). 

Knit Edge issue #3 is live, with a (mostly) crochet edition of What We're Reading, an article about the Yarnbombing Los Angeles CAFAM Granny Squared installation, and a pattern for the Thousand Petals scarf designed by Ryan Hollist that combines variegated yarn, double-ended Tunisian crochet, and short row shaping. 

If you're looking to celebrate mango season in the Honolulu area, our family farm is producing an especially good crop this year - juicy and flavorful with a nice smooth texture. Follow me on Twitter (@mk_carroll) or on Instagram ​(mk_carroll) for delivery updates. This year most of the crop is going to Kokua Market. Short FAQ: although we don't use any pesticides/insecticides/fertilizers, we aren't labeling our fruit as such. We have no control over what our neighbors do, for starters, and third-party organic certification is not worth the cost for us. We don't ship off-island, and we're only selling to a small group of retailers - if you want to buy our mangoes, please check out Kokua Market. The mangoes are Hayden varieties.  

Kim Werker's asking craft bloggers to take a photo of their workspace in its normal state for her #nogloss project - you can see a pic of my desk at home (and I think I'm currently winning at "most clutter"). 

Range of Ghosts | On My Bookshelf

Although this blog is primarily about yarncrafting, the bookshelf in my office/studio is much more varied, as you can see in my Goodreads bookshelf. Much of what I do as an editor, writer, and designer is informed by what I read, so while Range of Ghosts has no yarncrafting in it, it's really resonated with me and with a book proposal that I've been drafting out. 

Range of Ghosts (Eternal Sky, #1)Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I got up early so that I could finish reading this book while the house was quiet and I could be alone with it, and I'm glad I did. After reading the last page, I sat with my coffee and just sat and explored how deeply satisfying I found this story, and thinking about why.

There is a lot for me to love in this book - the worldbuilding is excellent, and the storyline is smoothly paced. What I love most about it, though, is that this is a well-written story in which I can picture myself as an ordinary person. This is the kind of book that I ached for as a kid, and while things have changed some in sci-fi fantasy writing and in me, that ache has lessened, but I hadn't realized how much of it was still there until it was eased a bit by Range of Ghosts.

For some thoughtful reading on Orientalism in fantasy:
It is known: Game of Thrones, the Orient, and Conventional Wisdom (Stokes, Overthinking It blog)
"Consider the the rival powers in Westeros. The Starks are fatalistic, duty-bound, honorable but kind of unsophisticated. The Lannisters are appetite-driven plutocrats. The Baratheons were markedly varied, but the surviving one is driven and joyless, having perhaps inherited the Stark “hat” now that there’s not a Stark head left to wear it. The Martells are given to plotting and sexual license. We know less about the Tyrells, but they seem to value chivalry and court culture: consider Loras’ prowess, consider the splendor of Margaery’s entourage and weddings, consider how much more talented the Tyrell fool Butterbumps is than any of the other fools we’ve met.

Now, consider the rival powers among the Dothraki. Was it Khal Jommo’s khalasar that valued chivalry? Were Khal Ogo’s people the least trustworthy? Did Khal Drogo’s have a unique worldview shaped from their long tradition of cultural exchange with the Free Cities? Or are all the khalasars exactly freaking the same, because that’s how it works when you’re an oriental other in speculative fiction?"

The Big Idea: Elizabeth Bear (part of The Big Idea series on John Scalzi's Whatever blog)
"There have always been exceptions, and this is changing, but too many fantasy worlds traditionally have not only failed to step outside of Tolkien’s worldbuilding, but don’t question the Eurocentric view of world history so many English speakers (I can’t say “the majority,” because I believe at last check India has more English speakers than most of the rest of the world) are given in grammar school. We speak of Alexander the Great, after all–and the terrifying Mongol Hordes. But the roles of Alexander and of Genghis Khan in history are not actually so very different."

View all my reviews
Range of Ghosts
by Elizabeth Bear
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