Friday, April 26, 2013

It's the Little Things...


 
You're going to have to excuse me if I make a mistake here & the quality of the images, as this post is written strictly out of pure emotion & love & even as I write it, my eyes are still tearing up.
 
 
A few weeks ago, I saw a dear crochet friend post a picture of this beautiful little crocheted thread box with pretty little roses on it. I thought it was really beautiful & I thought my Mom would have loved one. It truly reminded me of the things she used to love & decorate her house with.
 
I contacted my friend Cara & asked her if I could place an order for one. I told her it was a gift for my Mom & I had planned to give it to her for Mother's Day. I told her Mom's favorite colors were peach, pink & purple & that I thought it might be a nice gift for her.
 
 
As I've mentioned before my Mom has Alzheimer's & I take care of her full time. I didn't know if she would like the gift or even understand what it was, but I still wanted to give it to her & tell her I loved her. If nothing else, I thought it would be something pretty for her to look at & something she might enjoy.
 
Well, the package got here today & I knew I couldn't wait for Mother's day to give it to her! I figured time for her doesn't really exist anyway & I thought it might make her happy. So I opened the box & I gave it to my Mom & her eyes cleared from the fog she usually lives in & she smiled. Not a fake smile or a glossy glazed over one, but a REAL honest to goodness Mom Smile! The kind I miss so much seeing every day!
 
I had no idea she would have that kind of a reaction. It just melted my heart & brought tears to my eyes. I grabbed my cell phone & I snapped a couple of quick pictures of her with the box.
 
I asked her if she knew where she wanted to put it & she pointed over to the Precious Moments figurines on the table that have always been her "special" things. So we put it on the table with them & she stood there & looked at it for a few minutes. Then she managed a "That's pretty" & she bent over to pick up the box again. I wasn't really sure what she was going to do with it, so I just kind of stood back & watched her for a second.
 
She shuffled back over to the couch where she sits with the box & she held onto it. I asked her if she wanted to put it on the arm of the couch where her little lamb she calls Fuzzy is & the little crocheted Angel I made for her at Christmas time. She nodded her head & she got this great big little kid smile & set it down next to the little lamb & angel.
 








At that point I knew she really loved it because anything she really cherishes or wants to see every day goes right there on the arm of the couch.

She picked the box back up again & gently touched the little roses on the top. She set it back down & she looked at it again & smiled. For the next few minutes that was the pattern; pick it up, touch the roses, put it down, smile.

A few minutes later, she looked up at me & she smiled again. She touched the roses on the top & said "that's pretty" again & then she looked at me once more & said "Thank you".

I just smiled at her & said "You're welcome Mom. I love you." She nodded her head & said "love too."

That is the most she's said to me in probably a week. At that point I couldn't hold back the tears & I just started crying & thought about what a wonderful gift my friend had made for my mom.
 
It may be just a pretty little crocheted thread box to someone else's eyes, but to me it's a beautiful gift that made my Mom really truly smile! It doesn't happen often, but when it does, its precious & I cherish those kinds of responses from her.
 
I sat there & thought for a little bit about how wonderful it is just to know that sometimes it's the little things that make her smile for real. So to my dear friend who made this beautiful box, I thank you. Not only for the box & the beautiful gift you made for my Mom, but even more so for the priceless Smile you gave her today.
 
I thank God I was able to capture it for real & that now this piece of my Mom is forever with me.
 
 
 May you all remember to cherish the little things.
 
God Bless,
 
Michelle K
The Perfect Knot.
 
 


Tuesday, April 23, 2013

The Perfect Knot Turns 1!





The Perfect Knot Crochet and More is Turning 1!

I'm sitting here thinking "Is that really possible?" Has it really been a whole year since I started The Perfect Knot Crochet and More on Facebook? Amazingly enough, it has been!

I'll be quite honest, this was never something I thought I would be doing; having a little business based off my favorite hobby (next to photography & my previous career as a professional photographer of course. :) ).

When it all came about, it was more or less something for me to do to help me keep my sanity & not go completely stir-crazy while I take care of my mom. (She has Alzheimer's & I am her full time caregiver.) I crocheted to keep myself busy & to give my hands & my brain something to do but to my surprise, people loved what I did & asked me to do more. So that got me thinking and the next thing I knew, The Perfect Knot Crochet and More started falling into place and becoming something I loved but never dreamed of!

I've crocheted since I was a kid & I've designed (but not written it down) pretty much ever since I can remember. When people started asking for the "pattern", it took me a while to be able to learn to "Write this down" when I did something, but over time, it's become second nature to write & work at the same time.

Over this last year it's been a fun & amazing ride & I am very grateful for it! I've been blessed with some amazing friends who help me test out my patterns before I publish them for sale, a great network of other businesses within the Crafting community who all love & support each other, and a way to make a little money to help my family all while doing something I love! The saying "If you love what you do, you'll never 'work' a day in your life" is very true in this case.

This week over at The Perfect Knot Crochet and More is one big giant party & celebration in honor of our 1 year Anniversary! I've got some amazing friends helping me celebrate! There is something going on every day until Sunday April 28th, 2013.
Come on over & check out the fun, prizes, sales, discounts & giveaways! You can see all the fun stuff here!

Special thanks to all the ladies participating in the Celebration! I couldn't have done it without you ladies. :)


I hope you will come on over to The Perfect Knot & celebrate with us!

Thank you all for your love & support & for making The Perfect Knot a fun place to be!

God Bless & Have a great day!

Michelle K
The Perfect Knot Crochet and More









Thursday, April 18, 2013

It all started with a Sunflower


As long as I can remember I've always loved Sunflowers! To me they are bright, cheerful and sunny and they have always brightened my day!
 
I remember one time as a kid being sick and my dad brought me a bouquet of flowers from the store that had Sunflowers and Roses in it. They were the most beautiful flowers I had ever seen and it instantly became my favorite combination of flowers! To this day it still is and it always makes me smile whenever I think about it.
 
So one day I'm sitting here playing with some yarn and thinking about the Sunflowers, and the idea came to me "I could probably make a Sunflower out of yarn."
 
A lot of my patterns come from just doodling around with either pen and paper or just shaping crochet stitches. So I started playing and disecting the shapes of a Sunflower and after a little while, the shapes and the math worked out and a pretty little (and I do mean little - only about 2.5" wide) came about. LOL Tada a Sunflower was born!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I sat there thinking "What could I use this for?" and then I thought about my friend Pam and her love of squares. This woman can literally make anything into a crochet square or blanket and she really loves it! (You can see her page Here)
 
So I played a little more and I gave it a shot and a little while later Sweetpea's Sunflower square was born! (Pattern available here)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Well me being proud of my latest creation, I shared it on my facebook page and the next thing I know I'm making a blanket for a custom order for it! I admit I am not a big projects type of girl, but it was for a friend and I knew it would make her happy and she would get a lot of enjoyment out of it so I agreed.
 
I started the blanket about the last week in January 2013 and I am getting to the point of it almost being completed and I am really getting excited to see it all come together!
I am going to post the photos below so you can see the progress of it:
 












Color Scheme for Squares for Throw













The first group of 20  Sunflowers

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


20 Squares completed
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


30 Squares Completed
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



50 Squares Completed
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And FINALLY all 80 Squares completed! Woooo Hoooo!
 
I completed all 80 squares as of Monday 4-15-2013!
 
I'm currently working on joining the squares and I should have it completed hopefully by the early part of next week.
 
I will do another post about the joining process and get the completed project done and do a post there.
 
Thanks for coming along with me on this journey as I build a Sunflower Field of my own for a special friend.
 
I hope to see you soon with a finished project!
 
I wish you all the best!
 
Have a great day!
 
Michelle K
The Perfect Knot
 
 

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Hi!

Welcome to The Perfect Knot Crochet and More! I'm your hostess with the mostess Michelle K!

I've been crocheting since I was 6 years old & designing since I was about 12.

Just this last year though, I decided to try writing out my patterns & sell them so that others could play in my tangles too.

I also do several other crafts that I hope to be able to share with you as well.

Welcome to my Tangled world! I hope you enjoy your stay here!

Thanks for stopping by The Perfect Knot Crochet & More!

God bless,
Michelle K AKA The Perfect Knot