Tonight it is a real pleasure to share the talent and skill of another Roving Crafter with the world. World meet Carrie, aka ctawq on Ravelry.

Carrie is a true multicraftual crafter with decades of experience in crochet and knit. That’s on top of a whole career providing custom sewing for interior designers. I’ve known her for years and I’ve never seen her make anything that wasn’t perfect. People throw the phrase “attention to detail” around a lot these days. In Carrie’s case, it’s not just a phrase. It’s how she crafts.

I had a hard time choosing which of Carrie’s projects I would feature. There were too many! I whittled and whittled and got it down to …oh… maybe a dozen.

Let’s start with her Rose Fillet Afghan. Isn’t it gorgeous? Here is the note she made on it’s ravelry project page:

I started with a flower from a Mystery CAL that I liked then went off on a bunny trail and ended up with this afghan.

Yeah. Sure. That happens to me. I accidentally create a family heirlooms all the time.

Back in the land of reality…She made this afghan for the Manchaca United Methodist Church Annual Craft show. Let me be clear here. Carrie made this afghan and gave it away to be auctioned.

She gave all of these away too:

The two on the ends are crocheted versions of the Wedding Ring Blanket. They went to very happy (and I’m sure grateful!) couples. The three in the middle went to charity auctions.

Last year, for varieties sake, she offered a knit shawl at the annual auction.

She made this Rendezvous, pattern design by Lily Go. It sold nearly $300 in raffle tickets. One of the ladies who tried for it and lost immediately commissioned Carrie to make one for her.

Would it surprise you to learn that she donated the fee for that commission? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Would it surprise you to learn that she made that adorable little gingerbread man too? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Not all of her work goes to charity. Some of it goes to this little guy:

That’s what her grandson wore home from the hospital. Its almost as darling as he is. Almost.

Occasionally, every now and then, she’ll keep something for herself. Like this Omelet Shawl which she the first knit she made “after twenty years of not knitting”.

It would be easy to feel at little jealous, a little envious of Carrie. Easy, until you meet her that is. Her drive for perfection doesn’t come from a need to be the best or have the best. She’s driven by a love for the people who will wear what she makes. It’s why she gives so very much of what she makes away. When you meet her, that love shows. When you see her work, that love shows.

So, if you’re in Austin, Texas this weekend (here is my big, big, super-duper sales pitch!) you should make the time to go to the 39th annual craft show at the Manchaca United Methodist Church at the corner of FM 1626 and Manchaca Road. It’s this Saturday and Sunday. They’ll have food, and gifts, and hand-made stuff. And this:

It’s a Mirabelle Texture Sampler Shawl by Zehava Jacobs and it’s Carrie’s offering this year for the auction. Go and see if you can win it (for me). The funds raised go to support local and international missions. The shawl would make a wonderful gift for someone special (like me).

If you can’t get to the craft show, you have another chance to meet this wonderful lady because she teaches classes at The Knitting Nest.  Perhaps that would be even better than winning the shawl at auction. You could learn how to make one yourself from someone who has mastered both the art of knitting and the art of being human.