It is Day 5 of the tour and it is Valentines Day! I love Valentines day and have celebrated it for years as a day to show my appreciation and affection for my friends (as well as my very best friend: my husband). So it is very fitting that today’s stop is to visit the talented and inspiring Karen Ratto-Whooley of KRW Knitwear Studio.
A little history for those of you that don’t know. I got started as a professional designer by taking an online class with Mary Beth Temple. The class was “Designing for Print Publication”, and our homework was to submit a design proposal somewhere. My submission actually sold. Surprise!
As part of that class though, Mary Beth recommended that we acquire a Mentor through the CGOA Associate Professionals program. Since I was already a member of CGOA I quickly followed her advice. Shortly after that Karen Ratto-Whooley and I were matched as Mentor and Mentee.
From Left: Me, Karen, Janet (in front), & the Lovely Sarah.
It was a perfect match, better than either of us could have anticipated. Karen says I was a super easy mentee. I think part of that was because we were so well paired. Very early on we could communicate in a sort of shorthand. So that sped up problem solving. Best of all, Karen has a knack for helping re-direct me (or kicking my backside) with a cheerfulness and constructiveness that is encouraging and supportive.
I graduated from mentee status awhile ago, but Karen is still an important voice in my work as a designer (as well as an awesome friend and colleague).
Karen is also an amazing crochet & knit designer, teacher, and publisher. She has numerous patterns available, check out her designer page on Ravelry to see the gorgeous selection, or head right over to Patternfish where they are all available for purchase. If you want to play with color-work in crochet or tackle crocheted socks, you definitely want to try out some of Karen’s designs.
And if you are a newbie to crocheting socks her book: “I can’t believe I’m crocheting socks” is worth every penny, or if you are a more experienced sock crocheter check out: “Crochet Rocks Socks”.
Mamas2Hands 