NatCroMo 2015, March 23: Karen McKenna

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National Crochet Month:

Welcome to Crochetville’s third annual Designer Blog Tour, taking place all throughout March 2015 in celebration of National Crochet Month (NatCroMo). Each day on our blog, you will find 1) in-depth profile posts for two crochet designers, with a link to their blogs so you can see what specials (free patterns, discount coupon codes, tutorials, etc.) they may be offering for NatCroMo, 2) a daily giveaway post with entries open from 8:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST the following day, and 3) during the last week of the month, daily posts from a Crochet Guild of America board member. Join us each day for a new surprise!

Today’s Posts: Karen McKenna, I Hook Design | Rohn Strong, Rohn Strong Designs | Daily Giveaway | Halos of Hope Hat Collection | Complete Designer Schedule

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Karen McKenna, I Hook Design

Crochetville is very proud to have designer Karen McKenna of I Hook Design with us today, March 23, as one of the featured designers on our 2015 Designer Blog Tour in honor of National Crochet Month (NatCroMo).

Karen has been a professional member of the Crochet Guild of America for just over one year. She says becoming a member of the organization is the best thing she has ever done for her crochet career.

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Three Truths and a Lie:

Take a guess as to which of the following statements isn’t true. We’ll try to let you know which statement is “The Lie” somewhere in this post. If we just can’t work it in, we’ll post the truth at the bottom of the post!

  1. Karen is a member of Mensa.
  2. She got married in Hawaii.
  3. Karen has lived on both coasts, in Washington and Florida.
  4. She grew up in New Jersey.

 

Karen’s Designs:

If you’re not familiar with her work already, we’d like to share two of Karen’s designs with you.

Silver-Barefoot-Sandal-Karen-McKenna
Silver Barefoot Sandals, available in the book Formal Jewelry, published by Leisure Arts

These barefoot sandals are perfect for beach weddings, pool parties and prom weekends down the shore.  Made using single crochet and pre-strung beads with silver elastic cord that is usually available in beading section of most local craft stores.

arched_fingerless_mitts_medium-karen-mckenna
Arched Cuff Mitts, FREE pattern on the Cascade Yarns website

Gorgeous fingerless mitts made using Cascade Yarns Heritage 150 Paints.

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About Karen:

Getting Off to a Good Start

Karen’s grandmother Sophie taught her to crochet when she was only nine years old. The first project she made with her grandmother was a hat made from five granny squares. Karen has been crocheting steadily since 1996.

A Design Career Is Begun

Karen was the only crocheter in a knit group that met in Poulsbo, Washington. She received lots of encouragement from the other members, who were all knitters. She sold some of her finished items from her own designs locally. Then she submitted a design to Cascade Yarns and sold her first pattern. She’s been hooked on selling patterns ever since!

Karen’s Specialty

Karen really enjoys designing practical items, especially items that an be used in different ways. The Purple Mountain hat found in her book, Elegant Fashionable Chic Accessories to Crochet, is also a cowl.

Sources of Inspiration

Karen finds her main sources of inspiration in fashion, nature, and colors.

Her Greatest Crochet Accomplishment

Karen says her greatest accomplishment to date is having her first book published by Annie’s: Elegant Fashionable Chic Accessories to Crochet.

 

About Her Design Process:

It never starts the same. Sometimes it starts with the yarn that says “make this with me”, sometimes it’s a fashion inspiration, or out of a need.

 

Fun Story from the Crochet Industry:

Nothing specific, but just attending the Knit and Crochet Show/Crochet Guild of America conferences is so much fun!

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Advice for New Crocheters:

Ripping over and over again never stops, but you learn from each rip. Challenge yourself to new stitches and techniques, it will do wonders for confidence.

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Some of Karen’s Favorites:

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  • Favorite Hook: Amour by Clover and ChiaoGoo Flexible for Tunisian
  • Favorite Yarn: Cascade Yarns Heritage line (150, regular and silk) and Venezia line (worsted and light); alpaca blends and cotton blends
  • Favorite Thing to Crochet: Gloves and mittens

 

Visit Karen’s Blog: NatCroMo FREEBIE Sneak Peek

elegant-fashionable-chic-accessories-karen-mckenna

You will definitely want to visit Karen’s blog post today! She will be offering two giveaways, each for a signed copy of one of her books: Elegant Fashionable Chic Accessories to Crochet published by Annie’s and Formal Jewelry published by Leisure Arts.

Visit_Karen_Blog

 

Find Karen Online:

Crochetville: auntkaren4 (must be logged in to see profile)

Ravelry: auntkaren4 (must be logged in to see profile)

I Hook Design Blog: http://ihookdesign.blogspot.com

Ravelry Designer Page: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/karen-mckenna

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ihookdesign

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ihookdesign

Instagram: https://instagram.com/ihookdesign/

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/1/106527793640313442808/posts

The Truth:

Karen is NOT a member of Mensa.

 

Additional Blog Tour Information:

Icons via icons8.com and iconsmind.com.

 

50 thoughts on “NatCroMo 2015, March 23: Karen McKenna”

  1. Sadly, I am not a member either! lol Thanks for showcasing such a great designer. I love her work. I will be stopping by her blog. I have entered, followed and shared. I need the Boutique yarn, I am out! Plus, i have never used it before so what a gift! Thanks for sharing, loving #NatCroMo!
    ~Crystal
    http://krystlewv.blogspot.com
    Crochet, A Day In The Life

    Reply
  2. Those mitts are really cool! Better than fingerless but not quite as “touch screen restrictive” as a full-fingered glove. Very cool!

    Reply
  3. I thought you were a new designer to me, but I have had your arched mitts in my library forever on raverly 🙂 and love the name of your shop! *it’s my name on raverly!

    Reply
  4. The jewelry designs are beautiful and so different than a lot of other crocheted jewelry. Glad to have met you on this blog tour.

    Reply
  5. It’s always a pleasure to see someone who loves what they do and are so down to earth! Yarn Artists are among the most incredible people out there.

    Reply
  6. I’m glad your experience with crocheting with a knitting group was a good one. I went to the local knitting group that meets at the library once. I was working on a tunisian blanket that I needed to finish so that was what I took to work on. They were snobby and told me to come back sometime IF I actually wanted to knit. I haven’t been back!

    Reply
  7. I love the fingerless gloves you make and plan to try the pattern on Cascade Yarn’s site. I hope to find some other things in your Ravelry list too 🙂

    Reply

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