My attempt at a vacation

Well, I thought I would share with you all what it's like for an Etsy knitter to attempt two measly days away from the office. On Friday morning we had all the best intentions to leave the house by 11am for a leisurely drive to Key West, me using the term leisurely in the loosest way possible, considering we have to strap down an unwilling 20 month old and somewhat willing four year old for a three hour drive. Instead of packing the night before (NO - knitting all night again!), I was trying to pack an hour before we left, this with two kids hanging on both legs, AND finish up about five orders AND get them packaged AND attempt to sneak out to the post office when they're not looking. Never combine half filled suitcases with sneaking out on young children even for five minutes - it brings up all sorts of abandonment issues and then there's lots of crying.

At about noon we were still nowhere ready and then I suddenly remembered our poor pup Pepper. Who would take care of him? Luckily, and please take me up on this fantastic recommendation - Miami has a service called Cageless Boarding - where your dog gets to spend the weekend with a fanatical animal lover who showers him with treats and walks and love and a soft bed to sleep in - and no kennel. Love it!

I packed a whole suitcase of supplies just for knitting (how many items can one person possibly knit in two days???) and attempted to knit the whole way down to the Keys. But my youngest in the back was having no part of that, and has proven to us that she is an actual descendent of Houdini - managing to wriggle out of the tightest carseat known to man. So I spent the last hour coming up with the most ridiculous ideas ever to keep her distracted and partially restrained.

On our first night I was so thrilled to be out of my house and in a public place where people actually HAVE FUN I had one too many rummy fruity things and that blew a whole night of knitting. Oh no! So the next morning I sent the kids to the pool with their dad and then worked as fast as humanly possible, knowing full well that he can only handle those two adrenaline junkies for about 20 minutes before he makes up some excuse to bring them back to me. As in, "she told me she needs to go poo poo". Hon, the kid poops in diapers - she's wearing one - what's the problem??? But who can resist the look of sheer desperation in a man's eyes - especially when the welfare of your children is at stake? So that's the end of knitting for the morning.

In the afternoon I threw all caution to the wind and allowed the girls to (gasp) watch Spongebob Square Pants while I snuck in some stitches. Happy to report, that square yellow dude is not half as offensive and horrible as I've imagined him all these years.

In the evening we ate all kinds of things we shouldn't have, like too much shrimp, frozen key lime pie on a stick dipped in chocolate, and retired home with belly aches and only a marginal desire to knit. But little people refused to sleep and a wedding party going on outside our hotel room kept everyone awake until late late late, so another night of knitting was blown.

In short, tomorrow I believe I'll be packing up my suitcase of supplies, as I'm pretty sure no knitting will get done in the car as I wrestle same 20 month old for the ride, and I'll be happy to see my comfy couch, pleasantly organized supplies, and hopefully an early kiddy bedtime so I can get back to the grind. Better luck next time!

Golden Brown Bowl Cocoon

This cocoon is such a great standard, and this particular yarn is so soft, stretchy, easy to wash, and comes in a thousand colors. Lord knows, I've got a room full of it to prove my point.

Leslie Ober shared this pic of her take on this cocoon:



Hillary also shared what she came up with when she had two adorable preemies in the studio:

Surprise Me Hats

I think I've knitted about a thousand Surprise Me hats, and I'm like a bad boyfriend - once they're out the door, I forget what they look like! But occasionally a gracious customer will send me a picture, and then I get all teary eyed (not really) - so here are a couple to look at!

Hillary sent me this one:

Organic Cotton Cocoon with Fluffy Brim

Okay, so the one I have posted in Etsy is the blue organic cotton, with white fluffy brim, but Melissa R. custom ordered the macadamia color with cream brim, and shared her photo with me. How snuggly is this???

Dreaming of Christmas

Just today, my four year old said "I wish it was Christmas", and I thought well, I do too. In fact, it's time to start thinking about Christmas knits. Last month I did some traveling and along the way remortgaged the house (don't tell the husband) to pick up these gorgeous yarns.

When I look at these I think:

dreamy

sparkly

ethereal

magical

All the things that Christmas should be. I started thinking about photographs of babies wrapped in something knitted with these yarns, and sent on a Christmas card to all their loved ones scattered around the globe.

Better get busy. Coming soon to Click Knits on Etsy, so stay tuned :-)

Loose Knit Cream Mohair Cocoon

This lovely mohair cocoon just can't go wrong, and Stacy of Set Free Photography has graciously shared the three pics above. Don't you just want to snuggle that baby?

And here is Melissa R.'s photo of the same cocoon - thank you Melissa!

Pink Newborn Blanket Wrap

My first customer appreciation photo! I'm excited to share this lovely photo from Laura Farris Photography of my pink mohair wrap. Isn't this a lovely shot? Thank you Laura!

Here's another from Gina in California - so sweet!

Welcome!

So seriously, here at Click Knits I have NO TIME for such silliness as blogging, since my every waking moment is taken up with knitting knitting knitting. But recently my wonderful and trusty customers have been sharing their photos with me showing both my knits and their photo skills, so I want to share them. Here. With you.

And in the event the world stops revolving, and I actually have an iota of time to blog, I might share some Click Knits news from time to time.

How about now? Both kids are sleeping (whoa, that's a miracle - shouldn't I be too???), and the house is quiet (another earth shattering miracle).

First, I am partnered with the most fantastic photographer, Laura Brett, who does all the pics you see in my Etsy shop. She's a little freaked out right now after finding a four foot snake on her patio. Get this, her trusty hound Sadie was sleeping in the sun, and the snake came slithering over her dog, who never woke up!

Oops, I'm digressing.

Anyway. Laura and I get together from time to time and exchange new knits and ideas. She rushes around like mad and does her photo thing, and I sit around like an expecting dad and tap my foot impatiently and wait for new pictures of my latest knits. Hurry up Laura!

But this week we were talking about Christmas. Christmas??? That's right folks. It's only June, but those Christmas sessions are booking up fast, which means all you photographers out there are going to be needing nice new shiny props. So this would be the space to watch for any news of upcoming new and exciting Christmas Click Knits!