Crochet artist from Texas launches business in Sioux Falls

Anna Flowers needed something to do with her hands.

The medical Spanish interpreter spent a fair amount of time in waiting rooms. She had to be at appointments a half-hour early.

“I thought about reading a book and then thought, ‘If they interrupt me, and the book is getting good, I’m not going to be happy, and I don’t want to have an annoyed look on my face, and I don’t want people to feel like they are an inconvenience,” Flowers said.

She also decided against playing games on her phone. “That would be a bad habit to start picking up,” she said.

Her sisters-in-law crochet, and she decided to give that a try. She watched a few videos and thought, “I can give this a try.”

She started making flat things – scarves and blankets – in 2018, while living in St. Paul. She moved onto gloves but still didn’t think she had the ability to make more complex projects.

Then, she and her husband moved to Texas, where she was a substitute Spanish teacher. Once again, she needed something to do between classes. She decided to try making bags and then made gifts for other teachers, experimenting with different stitches. She also made headbands.

“Then, I was like, what if I make a ball,” Flowers said.

She did. And then that turned into snowmen.

Turtles.

Elephants.

Octopuses.

Anything with a globe-shaped center was fair game.

After awhile in Texas, the couple decided it was too hot.

“My husband said, ‘Let’s try Sioux Falls,’ and we just fell in love with it,” Flowers said. “I wasn’t prepared for the wind, but I’m getting better at it. I made my husband a pair of gloves, and then I stole them from him. I heard the wind howling.”

After they moved to Sioux Falls, she began making dolls.

“People are like, ‘You must have made dolls forever,’ and I haven’t. It’s a lot of practice of basic stitches and flat work,” Flowers said.

She makes it sound so easy.

But then you see she has made the entire cast of “Frozen.”

“Elsa is my favorite. She’s very sleek and simple. You have to try to embody that ice,” Flowers said. She admits making the cape and hair was a little stressful. With Anna, she was able to practice her embroidery.

Her Olaf has a retractable head.

She also has made dolls that look like friends’ kids or grandkids.

“I love the gratification. I don’t have to make a whole big blanket. With dolls, I can make 450 arms, and then I have arms. Now let’s make some legs. And then you build up the torso,” Flowers said. “It’s become an addiction.”

It also has become a business. Knotty Flowers is up and running with an online store.

She blames — or credits? — other fabric artists and an employee she met at the Caille Branch Library while teaching a class on crochet. They encouraged her to sell her creations. “It had never even occurred to me,” Flowers said.

You can believe it when you meet her. She’s modest and passionate about what she does. She has a huge smile and friendly face, and you want to give her a hug the minute you meet her. She makes crocheting sound like anyone can do it and then astounds you as she shows you what she has made.

It’s fun and clever,and it’s hard not to feel happy when you see a little octopus on a keychain. It’s definitely going to make running errands more fun.

She sells through her online shop and in person. But she prefers that one-on-one interaction.

“People can touch the dolls and get a feel for them,” Flowers said. “I try to make people part of the process because they value the work a lot more.”

Plus, it really is all by hand. While you can knit with a machine, you can’t with crochet. “I think it’s amazing. It’s beautiful and intricate work,” Flowers said.

The shop has been open for about two months. She mostly is making dolls and blankets, an occasional bit of whimsy, like a bulldog someone requested. And she has been working on making flowers.

She also enjoys making patterns – and her Spanish allows her to use patterns she can’t find in English.

Flowers went to a Spanish immersion school in the Twin Cities, but she didn’t anticipate becoming an interpreter. She has a bachelor’s degree in biology and worked in a lab for a while. But she wanted more flexibility and turned to interpreting.

“I’ve slowly been pushed to be my own boss,” Flowers jokes. She uses her Spanish to translate patterns for people as well. “There are a lot of English pattern designers who want their work in Spanish, and I’m like, ‘I can do that.’”

She chose to call her business Knotty Flowers as a nod to her last name – Flowers – but also to give credit to the many knitters who supported her as she got started. She also credits her husband, a software engineer. “I don’t think I would have gotten as good as I am without his motivation,” she said.

She calls him the head of quality control – he helps make sure the items are solid enough to be sent out into the world.

“I love making things for people to cherish,” Flowers said. “I like putting love in all the work I do.”