Queen Bee Knits

Knitting, Living, Loving, Baking, Tips, Tools and Idle Chatter

March. Already?!

Posted on March 1, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

February certainly flew by! This morning I woke up at 8:00 o’clock when my alarm went off … I could probably have slept longer. We were exhausted when we got home yesterday late afternoon. We got up in Denver just prior to 2:00am for our 5am flight – come to find this …

TSA in Denver International Airport doesn’t open until 3am but they suggest you get to the airport two hours before you are scheduled to board your flight. Our boarding time was 4:45. We got to the airport at 2:30 and not a thing was open. Ugh! AND TSA Pre-check doesn’t open until 4! Needless to say, we were among the first people to go through “standard” security. (And all of this was without coffee!) Once we were at our gate (after waiting for the trains to get running) we could only get coffee from a vending machine. What an opportunity missed – someone could have a small food cart with coffee and pastries or muffins or something and make a decent living! And the airlines could do a better job of communicating with customers on those early morning flights, too.

We started off a week ago with an overnight in Portland, Maine. Thankful we decided to drive down to Portland the night before our flight because overnight snow would have made the drive challenging. We took off after a de-ice around 5:30am and flew from Portland,ME to Baltimore, MD to Austin, TX to Reno, NV. Visited with my cousins and aunt and uncle who live there. My aunt is experiencing short-term memory loss and that was difficult to see. We’re going to have to do the travel so we can visit at least once a year. She is like my second mother to me and grandmother to my kids and it’s important to me that I keep the connection with her. On Sunday we toured the place where my aunt and uncle are living and then went out to Virginia City where the gold rush created the town way back when. There are original buildings and a lot of history there. In the right season there are gun fights in the streets and people dress in period clothes. We saw a couple of wild horses on a hillside on our way down the mountain. They also live in my cousins’ neighborhood! We had a big family dinner on Sunday night with my aunt and uncle, their two sons (my cousins) and their spouses and three of the five grandkids (my first cousins once removed?) It was fantastic to see them all and I look forward to going out again … and hope to be able to stay a bit longer next time! Getting to Reno was quite a challenge from Portland, ME. I’ll try from Boston next time. And we thoroughly enjoyed our visits to our western family!

Then we jetted off to Denver, CO to see our youngest and her family which includes our now 6-month-old grandson, Mac. Boy has he changed since we were there in September! He’s now a smiling, laughing, engaging happy boy and we loved spending time with the kids. We got to celebrate Amy’s 33rd birthday and Mac’s half birthday on Tuesday with carrot cake. I had an interesting time with elevation this trip, both in Reno and in Denver, but stayed well-hydrated and tried to get some good rest at night.

I brought knitting with me, of course, and did do some knitting on the way out. I have been working on my Thistle on the Moor vest and my second Ranunculus and I had a pair of vanilla socks. I’ve gotten most of the leg of the socks finished but I’m concerned they’re going to be too big.

I’m knitting Summer Lee’s I’m So Basic Socks in a sock set of Frabjous Fiber’s Mary Ann in a white/cream speckled main color with a teal cuff, heel, toe accent color. I like the hand of the yarn but the pattern told me to cast on 72 stitches for a 9″ foot circumference and I fear they’ll be too big – I always cast on 64 stitches for my socks on a US1. I’m going to put them on my leg and see how it fits before I go any further.

I worked on my Thistle on the Moor vest on the way out and I’m almost 2/3 done with the lace design repeats on the front. The rest of the vest is really simple stockinette stitch so it was good travel knitting. I am enjoying the Berroco Lanas Light yarn. It’s 100% wool but it’s not scratchy! I think it will bloom really nicely when I block it, too.

And I worked on my second Ranunculus. This one I’m knitting with Berroco Dulce in the gray colorway. It’s got a cotton core with alpaca fluff and the core has bits of peach and blue and maybe other colors but it’s very subtle. This version will likely be a more wintery version as compared to the silk one I made first. I’m not sure about how the yarn will hold up and I always feel like I have a bit of fluff in my eye but it’s very soft fabric and I’ve made good progress. I’ve gotten past the yoke and am working on the raglan increases and almost to where I will separate the sleeves. I have a very limited amount of yarn but I think it’ll be enough for at least 3/4 length sleeves. Time will tell.

I haven’t taken any photos of my knitting other than this one … taken while the baby was at his 6-month check up (getting four vaccines!) and the old folks and the dog enjoyed some time in the fresh air and sunshine. The weather was glorious but there’s no snow in Denver. I’m concerned for what that means for the summertime … this has been the least snowy winter in the last 40 years.

Today is for laundry and unpacking and settling back in. We are already missing the Reno and Colorado crew and can’t wait to get back out there. In the meantime, we have a week of “normalcy” and then I’m off to help my daughter with the granddaughter while her dad heads out to Las Vegas for work and mom is working, too! I’m looking forward to seeing the NYC family for a bit! My son-in-law was supposed to be going to Israel for a week, too. That’ may be cancelled because of the new war our government has entered into. Either way, I have to figure out if I want to drive my car, take the bus or train. So many options.

Gone knittng.

Swatching … for the Levitate Wrap

Posted on February 16, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

My mother had a Clivia plant when she was alive. When I saw one at the garden center, I had to buy it. I’ve kept it in my atelier, apart from my other plants, because it was covered in that white sticky buggy germy stuff and I didn’t want it to spread. I’ve bathed it a couple of times after spraying it down with water mixed with a little bit of castille soap and that seems to have helped. All of this love and care has finally paid off with a beautiful orange bloom! I’m thrilled.

I’m starting a new project soon and I thought I’d take you on a ride with me through the process. My daughter wants a wrap sweater and she’s chosen the Levitate Wrap by My Favorite Things (Louise). It’s a boxy cardigan with wrap styling. The Ravelry description calls for a DK + lace (worsted) weight yarns held double. Libet wants a charcoal grey or deep burgundy. I sent her an initial choice and she picked the Patagonia Organic Merino yarn with which I’ll hold a lace weight silk/mohair. I started the process, while waiting for more mohair lace to come into the shop, by doing a gauge swatch.

Did you know that most designers add an additional 10% to their yarn requirements for swatching? Thank you Bristol Ivy for that informational nugget. (I think it was Bristol … it may have been Lori Versaci or Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. But I digress … this time, because I don’t have my daughter to measure, I want it to be the exact measurement so it fits her. I didn’t want to take any risks. (More on that later in this post.)

I made my swatch in stockinette stitch as called for in the pattern. I cast on enough stitches that the swatch should be more than four inches so that I can measure the stitches in the middle away from any rolling edges. I didn’t knit a full six inches to measure the rows … I got tired last night after a bit more than four inches and bound off.

I measured the swatch: 16 stitches per inch and 23 rows. Close but no cigar. BUT we’re not finished yet. I have to wet block the swatch to get the bestest closest measurement of what the fabric will be like at the very end after the garment is blocked.

To measure the stitches per inch blocked I stuck a straight pin in at 1″ and at 5″ and counted the rows of knitting between the pins. Exactly 15. And because I was lazy about knitting the rows, I counted the full number I knitted between cast on and bind off and it’s just over the 22 rows. So, I’m calling it perfect – 15 sts and 22 rows is 4″. I’m on gauge.

The next question is, do I like the fabric? When I hold it up to the light, it’s quite open but when it’s flat on a surface, it’s very gray. The drape is nice, I like it. The fabric is soft (thanks to the merino) and the silk/mohair will give it some strength and “fill in” the open spots for warmth. I am very satisfied with the fabric. Now it’s time to wait for the mohair to come in and make sure the lots match color. I can exchange 2 of the 3 balls that I own for six new ones so that there’s no color change in the sweater. I can hardly wait to begin!

Meanwhile, I cast on a new project for the interim.

I’ve wanted to knit the Thistle on the Moor Vest by Carolyn Holbrook. I saw this vest on the Wooly Thistle podcast and I really loved it. It also gives me a chance to knit with another new to me yarn – Lanas Light by Berroco is 100% wool blend of South American wools made in Peru. I’ve been wanting to find a project for this yarn. Wish granted.

I didn’t swatch for this vest for a couple of reasons. First because it’s for me and I can try it on as I go. Second because it starts at the back and then goes to the shoulders and it’s not a lot of time to get this done. I know it’s going to bloom because it’s 100% wool. So, when I measured the stitches once I had a decent amount of fabric, I got 21 stitches over four inches (they wanted 20 for pattern gauge). I’m ok going with 21 sts as I’m pretty sure the yarn will bloom and be 20 inches when blocked. I’m knitting the 4th size with two inches of ease but I can also add a few stitches to the body once I connect the underarms if I’m worried (and I can try it on as I go.)

Theoretically, I would swatch this vest differently than my daughter’s cardigan. Why? Because this vest is knitted in the round where as the cardi will be knit back and forth. To swatch for this, I’d cast on around 30 stitches and knit them then slide the stitches back to the other side, carry a long piece of yarn behind the knitted fabric and knit across again. The strand of yarn at the back has to be long enough so that the swatch will lie flat … so it can be measured. One of these days I’ll swatch in the round and post about it, too. I’ll be continuing to knit this one as is for now. I’m working down to the point where it’ll be joined in the round and then I’ll maybe steam block it to see how it behaves. Yes, I’ll write about it … better than continuing with no blocking if I’m concerned at all.

Gone knitting!

Stockholm Slipover Report

Posted on February 15, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s another beautiful sunny day on the lake. We have lots of tracks on the far side of the boathouse and if we’d gone out the day we noticed them, we’d maybe know what they’re from. But we didn’t so the mystery remains. It’s kind of fun to wonder what it is.

I thought I’d report on my Stockholm Slipover end result. I can wear it but I’m not sure I’ll knit it again and I’m not sure why it ended up SOOOO big/wide. I quite literally could have made it without any underarm increases and it would have been a better fit (and a lot less knitting.)

When I blocked the slipover (wow! This photo looks crazy!) I thought it looked pretty good but when I tried it on the underarm stitches, almost four inches of them, were sticking out and made the vest look way too big. I pondered the situation for a bit, wore the vest for a day, and then decided that I wasn’t going to wear it if it didn’t fit better. So I pulled out my trusty needle and yarn and zipped up a seam using the blanket stitch method. The seam is invisible but now there is a tube of fabric inside the armpit. It’s not awful but I’m considering taking it one step further and sewing the seam once more on my sewing machine with a straight stitch and then a zigzag stitch to hold all the ends together and then cutting the extra fabric away. It may take me another month to decide what I want to do … meanwhile, I’m wearing it.

Yesterday was a warmer day than we’ve had in a while and we took a roadtrip (I posted about the trip yesterday). What I didn’t write about is that I wore a sweater that I’d kind of decided that I didn’t love and was ready to give away. In wearing it I decided that I’m going to put it into rotation again. It’s a bit itchy because it’s Icelandic wool but it should soften up with wear and washing. And it fits like a dream. And I really like the colors.

The pattern is Daytripper by MaryJane Mucklestone and I knit it in Lettlopi. I had originally said that I’d knit it differently next time (if there is a next time) but I’m not sure about that now. I like the length and I like the sleeve length, too. I just wish it was a little bit less itchy.

I wore it with my down vest and I was plenty warm … I could probably just have worn the sweater, frankly. I guess this one is staying and there are others I need to try again now to decide whether they stay or go. The ones that are going will be given to my students or to the homeless shelter. There’s nothing wrong with them other than I don’t love them and I want to keep making sweaters. So, some have to go – especially if I’m not wearing them! Someone else might love to wear them. Right?

My sweet hubby made us Eggs Benedict this morning for brunch. He made the hollandaise from scratch without so much as one curse word. It was delicious and I’d have liked to lick the plate. We don’t have this often but when we do … yum!

Thistle on the Moor Vest in Berroco Lanas Light

I cast on the Thistle on the Moor vest yesterday in the car. I got as far as starting the left shoulder last night. I have messaged the designer today asking for a schematic … I love a good schematic when starting a new project and as I go. I am concerned that the vest is going to be too narrow in the shoulders and across the back. I have wide shoulders (17″ is my shoulder to shoulder back measurement) and this is only measuring 14″. I know I need to add ribbing and it may block a bit wider but it would really be nice to know what the measurement is supposed to be – and I’ve measured my gauge and I’m good. The Lanas Light yarn is wonderful to work with and feels super soft in my hands. I hope I’ll hear from her soon.

Meanwhile, I’ll swatch for my daughter’s sweater, the Levitate Wrap by My Favorite Things in Patagonia and a lace weight mohair, Aerial. If I get gauge, I’ll have to wait for my mohair to arrive as we only had 3 balls in the store and I think I need six (150 grams). I can work on the second Rose City Roller, too.

Gone knitting.

Oops! I did it again.

Posted on February 14, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

Happy Valentine’s Day! Happy Galentine’s Day! Happy Palentine’s Day! Whatever way you choose to celebrate it, I hope you’re having a wonderful Saturday. My hubby and I have gotten to the place where we don’t do gifts on Valentine’s Day but we will exchange cards and we will find something to do together. This morning we had our coffee together (and a leftover donut from my class Valentine’s celebration) and then we went for a drive. I brought my knitting, of course!

We stopped first at Wild Oats market in Brunswick. I had thought it would be like a grocery store. Not at all. Lots of gifts and books and kitchen-y stuff and prepared foods. We looked around twice and then we chose a frozen lasagna, a turkey tetrazzini and a chicken tiki masala. Each of these will feed us at least one dinner. If we make a salad, we can probably make it four meals. And we had to try their desserts, right? he chose a (mini) chocolate peanut butter pie and I chose a key lime pie (also mini.) Their Iciardi Mini Print Vending Machine was right between the cashier and the dining room. You didn’t have to buy anything to access the machine. I started collecting these wonderful little prints from their mini print vending machines last year in August. We’ve found vending machines in four states so far and we’ve only started to visit the machines in Maine. Today we hit two locations and we took the back roads as much as we could. It was a beautiful day for a drive and we had fun.

Our second stop was at the Maine Beer Company in Freeport. We collected a few more mini prints there and we saw a couple of beautiful Golden Retrievers, too. I told hubby we could stop and he could try their beer flight but he wasn’t eager. So … off we went prints in hand. We have just started talking about what we want to do with the prints and we’ll probably frame some of our favorites for the kitchen, and I’d like to display some in my atelier. I’ve given a few away already and have another one to give to someone special this week. We have a couple of duplicates but they make me (us) happy as is their mission. We’ll be going out to collect more one day soon.

I cast on a new project in the car on the way down. I’ll be making the Thistle on the Moor Vest in Berroco Lanas Light, 100% wool. I bought a tweedy-lavendery-rosey-grey-ish color # 78117. I’ll be making the fourth size. I’m doing this while waiting for some lace weight mohair from Berroco in the charcoal colorway for my daughter’s sweater. I have one ball here that I’ll be swatching with. Needless to say, I’ve brought home two sweaters worth of yarn this week. I brought home some clearance yarn for another Ranunculus, too. I hope I have enough but yardage-wise, it’s the same as the first one I made and it’s a worsted. I’ll play with it later, probably.

After I finished my Ranunculus and my Paper socks, I cast on a pair of Rose City Rollers shorties in an unknown, deeply stashed sock yarn. I quite literally have no idea when or where I bought this yarn. It’s not a color that I think I would have fallen in love with. But it’s here so it’s getting knitted up and the Rose City Rollers is a free pattern on Ravelry. If you’re new to knitting shorties or socks in general, except for the needle size (they’re made on a US1) this is a good beginner pattern and the designer explains her process very well. I’ve finished my first sock and started the second one last night. Yay, me!

The fit is good and the pattern is great. I’ll be making more of these for sure. AND they’re quick to knit. I’m letting my Good Trouble yarn rest a bit in time out while I decide what it wants to be. LOL. Next up on my needles are the vest I cast on today, a sweater for my daugther and a sweater for me. I’m considering a shawl cast on but I’m hesitating because I haven’t been wearing shawls this winter. I’ve been wearing more “scarves” that are long and narrow. I have two in particular that I am loving … one is Brambling by Bristol Ivy and the other is Dangling Conversation in Good Karma Farm yarn. Brambling was part of one of my Year of Techniques classes and featured Fiber Spates yarn and an Intarsia technique. It was fun to knit and I loved the yarn. It just so happens that I found some new colors of the same Fiber Spates yarn to make a second one at a Marden’s clearance sale from a yarn shop. I will knit another one and I’m sure I’ll love it just as well.

On another note, I pulled out my Jelly Roll Blanket again this week when I had a zoom meeting to attend and didn’t have to run the meeting. I just had to listen so I reminded myself what I chose to do for this blanket (the project that will likely last forever and a day) and knitted about a foot more on it. I still have a HUGE basket of leftover balls of sock yarn and it grows every time I finish another pair of socks. I may be crazy but I think this blanket will not use up all of my sock yarn leftovers. I may need another idea … maybe Rose City Rollers for my granddaughter and grandson! I don’t think they’ll care if they match and they can choose the pretty colors by themselves!

I baked a batch of my “famous” granola this week, too. Baking also soothes my soul. This recipe was in a magazine back in the 1980s and I’ve been making it and tweaking it ever since. I’ll never share the recipe. I change it up on the regular. And I have finally learned how to make the raisins and cranberries turn to rocks after they’re added. Yay! Hubby and I will enjoy this for breakfast or lunch with some yogurt or milk. We both love it and it’s so good for us!

Gone knitting.

It Fits! And a Knitting Fail

Posted on February 11, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

The landscape is a study of grey and white this morning. We got about four inches of new snow overnight and it’s been flurrying this morning. We’re all shoveled (snow blowed?) out and I may have to run into town to get some ink for my printer. It’s out again! This morning I baked some of my “world famous” granola for my lunch for the next couple of days and to have on hand, too. It’s yummy!

While I was getting dressed I decided to toss on my Ranunculus to see how it was going to fit (I feared it was going to be too short and I’d have to lengthen the body) but it’s a perfect fit! I’m delighted! I used up a sweater’s worth of deeply stashed yarn and made a sweater that I am going to love in the spring and summertime.

Ranunculus In Shibui Heichi (discontinued)

AND I have a sad story about a knitting fail. Last night I got to the half-way point on le Bandana by Aimee Gillee in Lola Bean Yarn Company’s “good trouble” colorway sport weight yarn. I don’t like the fabric and I’ve already gone up a needle size (or two). I don’t think the bandana that results will be anything that I want to wear because it’s too “short” in length and won’t wrap around my neck enough to stay put on my shoulders. So … I am going to frog it and make something else because I really love the yarn. Phooey but if I have learned anything in my 40 years of knitting it’s that I won’t wear something I don’t love. So, despite all the time spent, it’s not worth going any further because I don’t like it!

Last but not least, I finished my “paper” socks last night and I’m wearing them today. The fit is perfect. The second heel isn’t as perfect as the first but I made them for me and perfection isn’t my expectation when knitting for myself. They’ll keep my feet warm and they’re awfully cute! I may even wear one paper and one pencil sock one of these days! I knitted a plain vanilla sock for the yarn’s benefit based on Yankee Knitter #29 and used a slightly modified Eye of Partridge heel that I found on the Crazy Sock Lady’s pattern – Hermione’s Everyday Sock. I never block my socks but they get washed and hung to dry in our laundry/heater/utility room and they’ll be “blocked” when they’re dry.

Two meetings have turned into virtual meetings today after the snow and I’m delighted. That means I can stay home and knit more. … as if that’s a problem for me most days. Ha! Ha!

Gone knitting.

A Tale of Two Hats

Posted on February 9, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

It is a gorgeous day today! The sun has remained out all day and there’s not a cloud in the sky. I’ve been sitting in a virtual meeting and watching a pair of Bald Eagles out of my office window. This is the second day that I’ve been able to watch an eagle show while sitting in my atelier – and I am hoping for many more. They must be up to something … this is a lot of repeated and long-lasting views of a mature pair and an immature pair and an adult. It takes the eagles a long time to get their mature feathers so I am hoping they’re finding a nesting place near our house. There was an eagle’s nest a little ways south of our house years ago but it was blown down. It’d be great to know we have more than one nesting pair on our lake.

Meanwhile, last night while I was watching the Super Bowl and Bad Bunny I finished my second Melt the Ice red hat. This one I made in a “reject” cake of red Malabrigo something that was given to me because it was returned or rejected by a customer and it was already caked up. So, I set it aside with the knowledge that one day I would have a perfect project. That day has come. I know the yarn isn’t Rios because I made the first Melt the Ice hat in Rios. This yarn is heavier and less smooth. I am thinking Worsted or Washted? As soon as I can get to the shop, I will know what it is. BUT I loved knitting with it and the hat is a much better size for adult heads than the first one was. I made the first one according to the pattern exactly. It was small. Small for me and even small for my husband. This hat I made on a US 8 needle and I did 7 inches of ribbing and a few rounds of stockinette before the decreases. It’s a much better size.

Both hats are lovely but the little one would fit my 3-year-old granddaughter, I think. I can wear the newer one. I still have some red Rios and I think I’ll knit a third hat for my hubby on larger needles and with some extra ribbing again. Maybe six inches of ribbing and then a couple inches of stockinette? I don’t know but the ribbing is endless at six inches!

I’ve also made a dent in the Paper socks. I got the first sock completed and the second sock started … and some good progress on the leg. Once this pair is finished, I think I need to do some shorty socks and see how they go – there are a couple of pairs I’d like to try … Rose City Rollers and Laura Nelkin’s Larch Peds. And then I’m going to move over to some colorwork socks that appear in Summer Lee’s books. I just bought the second book Sock Obsession. There are some fun ones and I have quite a sock yarn collection. Ha! Ha!

I’m using a blend of the Yankee Knitter sock pattern and the heel from The Crazy Sock Lady’s Hermione’s Everyday Socks. I love the heel. It’s a little bit different texture and the garter stitches make a nice easy way to pick up the gusset. She say’s it’s a modified Eye of Partridge heel. I say, I love it!

This afternoon I’ll be working on my Le Bandana in my Good Trouble yarn. It’s coming along. I’m finding the pattern a little bit boring but it’s not bad for watching the Olympics at the end of the day. I like the yarn … I’m just a little bit wishing that I’d chosen Andrea Mowry’s Traveler Cowl. I’ve even thought about frogging and starting over … but my daughter’s Levitate Wrap yarn should be available by the end of the week and I want to start working on her sweater. I’d love to have it done and send it to her before Easter. Think that’s possible? I also have two sweaters and a vest that are making my fingers itch … my black Knitting for Olive Wilson sweater is one and I found a bag of yarn in my cupboard that I have carried with me for ages … the mohair that matches it perfectly has been ordered and I have more than enough for a sweater for me. I’m thinking the Harlow V Neck Sweater. I purchased gorgeous green linen yarn for the Broadgate Tabbard which I started and put aside because I don’t have the bandwidth right now to knit something super complicated but I’d love to have that completed before spring and summer. We’ll see.

I am forever enjoying the learning process that knitting puts in front of me. I love exploring the different patterns and yarns and I love getting to know myself and what I can and can’t do when my heart and soul are in that fight or flight mode and anxiety. My knitting calms me and brings me to a safe place where I can breathe and create.

Gone knitting.

Saturday FOs

Posted on February 7, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

The lake is covered with ice fishermen today. They’ve been out since six this morning. Not where I want to be but I hope they’re having a blast. I’ve been up in my atelier happily working away on “stuff” I need to get done: a newsletter for the store, blocking my Ranunculus, cleaning up the messes I left when I was hurrying through the week and watching the men’s short program ice skating at the winter Olympics. I used to love ice skating and one day I’ll pull out my skates and something to support me so I don’t fall down until I get my feet under me.

Ranunculus in deeply stashed Shibui Heichi

I have my Ranunculus off the needles and it’s blocked and drying. I found one spot where I forgot to weave in the ends but I can get that done when it’s dry. I’m hoping that it’s long enough for this “old gal”. The pattern is rather cropped and I knitted it longer than it called for by about an inch but I hope it’s long enough for me. I have a little bit of the yarn left, probably enough to knit less than an inch of fabric. Once it’s dry and I can do a real try-on, I’ll decide what I want to do. The fabric is 100% silk but it’s a linen-y feeling silk, rustic and tweedy. It’s a little bit greener than is showing up in the photograph above but it’s a pale color and I think it’ll be great to wear with white jeans this spring/summer or over a sundress. AND there’s an entire bag of stashed yarn out of my yarn cabinet.

Another FO, too! My 3-year-old granddaughter needed a new scarf. Her baby-sized Sophie Scarf is too small to keep her neck warm. When asked what color she wanted, the answer wasn’t an easy one: pink, purple and blue. So, to my stash I went … and I found a bag of leftover bits of Malabrigo Rios in various colors. BUT all of the colors she wanted were there and some of them were very similar or the same as the colors that are in her Octopus hat. I’ve blocked it, wrapped it up and sent it off to New York City yesterday on the way to work. It should arrive on Monday. I based this scarf on the Sophie Scarf, too. I just increased until it was about half as long as I wanted it to be (about 3 feet) and then started decreasing. I also increased and decreased on the sixth row. I wanted the middle to be a little bit thicker than it would have been had I followed the pattern. It was fun, quick and the yarn will feel good against her neck and keep her warm.

I’m still working along on the Good Trouble Le Bandana and my Paper socks. My daughter has asked me to make her a sweater and I’m exploring yarns for her. I’m also making a second red Melt the Ice hat in a mystery yarn given to me at my LYS. It had a Rios label but I’m pretty sure it’s a washted (it’s heavier and a little more rustic than Rios). I’m knitting this second had on a US8 needle and I hope the size will be better for my head.

There are miles of 1×1 ribbing in this pattern and I am likely to make it a little bit longer than is in the pattern because I know I have a big head. I’ve also been working on a pair of socks but it’s fallen to the bottom of my WIPs pile. I may pick them up today and get the heel flap, heel turn and gusset done. I’ve chosen to do a little bit different heel on these and I have to pay attention to the 4-row repeat so it comes out looking nice. LOL.

I’ve got several ideas for next projects to cast on. I’m waiting for my daughter to let me know what she wants her sweater to be. I’m also waiting for yarn to come back into stock for a sweater for my college roommate. So, two sweaters for others coming up this year. I like the idea of knitting for others but only when they really want it! These two are very knit worthy and it’ll be a pleasure to knit for them.

Gone knitting.

Rabbit Rabbit

Posted on February 1, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

HOLY COW! It’s February today! We’ve been wrapped in winter here in Central Maine. It’s been the coldest part of the winter thus far with temps dipping into the negative numbers and even the ice fishermen haven’t been coming out but they’re out today! I was at work the last three days and I’m enjoying a day at home catching up with all the stuff I’ve been ignoring – watering the plants, cleaning the air cleaners (is that really a thing?) … you get the drift. It feels good to have “all” the work behind me so I can escape to my studio to clean up a little bit and get some work done at my desk and on my knitting queue!

My orchids are blooming and I want to share them with you. They’re so pretty! I have one more that is working up to blooming but it’s not quite there. Two are in full bloom. I have to remember to mist them daily and they’ll keep their blooms for a lot longer.

I’ve been working on two of my WIPs this week. I’ve made a lot of progress on my Ranunculus sweater that’s knit on large-ish needles and knits up quickly in the worsted weight yarn I chose. I enjoyed working the yoke which is meant to resemble strands of beads/necklaces and then the rest of the body is stockinette stitch. Around and around I go. I believe that I’ll put the body on hold when I reach the required length and I will knit the sleeves before finishing the body. I want the sleeves to be 3/4 length, I think since this will be a summer-y sweater so I want to knit the sleeves to the right length, try the sweater on and then finish the body. I have decided that I don’t love me in cropped sweaters. I’d rather have it a little longer than the designer planned. I think I’ll have enough yarn to make it a couple of inches longer. We shall see.

I frogged back and started my Le Bandana scarf again on larger needles and I’m liking the fabric this time much more. It’s less stiff and I think, especially when blocked, it will drape nicely. The yarn is a collaboration between Lola Bean Yarn Company and Cece’s Wool in remembrance of the civil rights movement. The colorway is called “Good Trouble”. I have also started another pair of socks since I finished my hubby’s Christmas socks. This will be a vanilla sock so the “Paper” colorway can stand out. Doesn’t it look like the ruled paper we bought for school? I’m finished with the leg and am working my way across the heel flap on the first sock. Maybe I’ll spend a little time with this today.

I have officially finished my first sock of 2026. Hubby’s Christmas socks. I’m going to try to get a pair a month knitted from stash. This pair is from deep stash. I do have a bit more of it left, however. Hubby loves wearing this heavy wool yarn in the winter. These are the Thompson River Socks and they were from a magazine way back when. They were fun to knit and kept my crazy brain focussed when I needed it the most last month.

I still haven’t finished my little crocheted car key fob character although I have put it into service. I will get to finishing it eventually. LOL. It’s cute but it’s so fiddly. I probably won’t make another one any time soon.

I also finished my first “Melt the Ice” hat in Malabrigo Rios. It looks tiny but it fits pretty well when I don’t roll up the brim. Because my head is so big, it will eventually pop off my head. The next one I will make on a bigger needle, make the ribbing longer and I may add a few more stitches, too.

I’ve had a request for a purple, pink and blue scarf for my granddaughter. This will take priority for sure since her little neck is getting frozen in New York City. The little Sophie Scarf I knitted for her has gotten too small. I’ve got to go do some stash diving for this one. They like to have washable woolens because she’s apt to drag them around her day care or the streets of New York.

Gone knitting.

Snow Washing

Posted on January 27, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

It was a glorious sunny morning this morning. We are very fortunate, wish we had planned it this way, to have a full passive solar benefit in our living room in the winter. The sun streams in and, bonus, reflects off the snow, making our living room toasty warm. Sometimes it’s so warm that we take off our sweaters or extra shirts (hubby may even take off all his shirts.) Today was one of those days.

When it’s sunny like this my attitude is brighter, too. I woke up late (have been ever since my flu bout) and was making my protein drink when my son called to confirm the name of our granddaughter’s school. They had her overnight and were taking her to school this morning. That’s a whole other long story that I won’t go into here. I always love hearing from my son even when it’s just a two minute call. Hubby did all the snow blowing as I had a cup of coffee, showered and got dressed for my morning dental appointment. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t the whole new crown that I was expecting. I had a broken “overlay” and she fixed it with a filling. There was enough tooth that she thinks it’ll stick. If not we’ll go back to the original plan. I’m happy – 30 minutes and I was out of the office and my tooth is working well so far.

Since the snow is “perfect” I decided to attempt to snow wash my hubby’s three pullovers that really needed some attention. Mine are really in good shape. I hope we have another snow like this in a couple of months! I may take some out tomorrow just for fun. ANYway, the hubby’s sweaters were put out on the snow and covered with a bit of the light fluff. I left them out for about an hour and then went to check on them. One was looking good. It’s also his least soiled. The other two I scrubbed a couple of spots with some new snow and left them out for another hour. They’re drying now after a good shake and then I’ll de-pill them and take a photo or two so we can all compare. It sure was an easy process … I hope it works.

Here’s the before … the blue one has been worn as a work sweater, I think. It’s the worst.

Here’s the during …

The first shot is all three sweaters under snow. The subsequent photos are of the two dirtiest.

The sweaters are slightly damp after being out for nearly two hours. I gave them all a really good shake and then hung them up inside to dry. Once dry I will get my tools out to de-pill them all.

Meanwhile, I worked on two projects yesterday. I started a little crochet project. The pattern I found on instagram and it was such a cute idea. I’ve pulled two shades of similar cotton yarns and have begun the body of the creature … in blue. I have a peachy color for its mouth. I’ll have to buy safety eyes or sew on tiny buttons. The pattern is Softloop Sausage Mouth Car Key Case by Softloop. I hope I can make it come out as cute as the photo in the pattern. I’ll show it to you as soon as it’s finished. Here’s where I am today …

And I got the six inches of 1×1 rib for my Norwegian resistance hat done. I started with the decreases at the top and quickly realized that there were two around the hat not four and had to frog back a bit and re-start but that was handled pretty quickly. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I make my best mistakes when I think I know what I’m doing and don’t read the instructions. LOL. You’d think I’d learn, right? (See me shaking my head?) Anyway, I should be able to get the first one finished today. AND I really do intend to finish my hubby’s Christmas socks. This is the perfect weather for him to wear them under the big snow boots.

And here are two of the three sweaters, all done. They look pretty good, I think. I’m quite happy with the results. The yarn is soft, feels clean (it didn’t before) and they look good! I could probably spend more time pulling pills off but I want to knit! Geesh, it’s almost 4pm and I’ve not knitted a stitch today.

Gone knitting.

Snowmageddon

Posted on January 26, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

I started this post yesterday, Sunday when the big one was coming! LOL. It has now been here for less than 24 hours and we’ve had about a foot of snow. It’s beautiful light and fluffy snow. As I type this morning, the flakes are getting bigger and, according to my weather app, it’s going to stop early this afternoon. Hopefully we (the royal we) can get some clean up done before it begins again this evening. We’re only supposed to get a couple more inches overnight and Tuesday is supposed to be cold but sunny.

We ran a couple of errands Saturday after we sat through a 4 hour town meeting. Things are still done here the old fashioned way, in person at a town meeting. Full-time residents are invited to participate in the democratic process and vote to approve (or not) the town budget. It was a fairly grueling meeting as our taxes have gone way up over a relatively short amount of time and it seems they’re going to go up more. It feels like the majority of town residents don’t want the services to be cut (we have a library, a town history building, a rec center and a volunteer fire department with very old, outdated facilities) and yet, don’t want to pay more taxes. I’d like to see the town cut expenses somewhere but I can’t really criticize because I’m not involved enough to really know how they operate. I may become more involved.

Anyway, we treated ourselves to lunch at the Red Barn (filled our bellies with fried seafood) after the meeting. It was yummy.

Sunday we ran out ahead of the storm so I could get yarn. I have learned about the “Melt Ice” hat that came from Norway in the 1940s as a silent protest against the Nazi’s occupation of their country. There were enough of them then to be banned by the Nazis in a couple of years! Anyway, the pattern for the hat was rewritten for knitters today and is the top selling pattern right now on Ravelry. We’ve had a lot of customers in the store late in the week buying red yarn and I decided this morning that I have to make a couple of red hats. So my husband and I got into the car to make a run into town to procure some red yarn. I chose a DK Patagonia Organic Merino and a light worsted Malabrigo Rios.

We zipped back home with a stop for a green pepper for our chili for dinner. My plan was to start knitting right away but I ended up in the kitchen baking what I am now dubbing “Snowmageddon Cookies” (aka peanut butter blossoms). They’ll be yummy to nibble on while we watch the snow fall for the next 24 hours. We are supposed to get up to 16 inches of snow over the next 24 hours. The biggest storm we’ve had in years. And it’s also going to be cold all week.

I have fully recovered from my bout with the flu and I am so grateful for modern science and vaccines. It wasn’t fun but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been either. I had a lot of time to knit over the three weeks that I wasn’t feeling well.

I have finished my Gansey Afghan. Yay! And I am so happy with the finished blanket. I am seriously thinking of making another one for us to have (me to have) in my studio. Maybe in orange!

I’ve been working on my husband’s Christmas socks and am making good progress there. I really like this pattern, too, but they’re worked on a smaller needle with pretty heavy-weight yarn so they’re hard on my hands and I can only work on them for a limited time. But I’ve only got one more repeat of the cable pattern before I can speed up to the cuff. There’s a little bit of color work and then I’ll be done! I still love the Raggi yarn so much and wish we could still stock it at our LYS! It makes the warmest boot socks!

I haven’t worked on my Ranunculus at all. I decided to cast on my good trouble “Le Bandana” shawl. I cast on with my sport weight yarn on a US 4 and I’m not thrilled about the fabric. It seems stiff and I’m concerned about the drape or lack thereof. I have more yarn than the pattern calls for so I wonder if I go up a needle size if I’d like the fabric better. I think I am leaning toward giving a larger needle a try. This is Lola Bean Yarn Company’s Soy Bean base in the Good Trouble colorway that I pre-ordered. I love the colors and it will match the red hat!

Le Bandana in LolaBean Yarn Company “good trouble” colorway

I’ve also been working on a new pair of socks. The yarn is so deeply stashed that I’m not sure how long ago I ordered it. Dare I say we were still living in Florida? It’s very possible. I bought the yarn from an indie dyer, The Yarn Enabler, after I bought her Number 2 Pencil sock yarn. This one is her Paper colorway … dyed to remind us of the notebook paper we used in school. I’ve got the first leg knitted and need to choose what heel I’m going to knit. I’m basing the sock on the Yankee Knitter pattern. I use a 1.5US dpn and cast on 64 sts. I’m knitting the leg in stockinette stitch to show off the yarn. Aren’t they fun?

I have also cast on my Melt Ice hat in Malabrigo Rios. The pattern is written for fingering, DK/sport and worsted. I chose Rios because it’s a light worsted, maybe even closer to a sport, and it’s soft. I chose the Ravelry Red colorway. I love the color across all of the Malabrigo bases. I expect it will bleed a bit when I block it. I’ll have vinegar at the ready!

There is six inches of 1×1 rib to begin the hat … I’ll be ribbing for a while!

I have pulled a couple of my hubby’s hand knit wool sweaters to snow wash them. They need it. I’ve never tried to snow wash sweaters but “they” say it works and I have before photos to see if I can prove or disprove the theory. I sure hope it works! I’d be really bummed if I spent time out in the cold and the sweaters were still dirty! I’ll let you know if it happens.

I’ve found a cute crochet pattern for a car key fob holder(?) that I thought was really silly. I pulled some cotton out of my bins of left-over yarn and have very slowly begun to give it a try. I will show you my progress as I make some. I’m not a confident crocheter and I am painfully slow. BUT I’m trying and we’ll see if I succeed!

Speaking of learning, I had an opportunity to teach some new knitters ten days or so ago. One of my friends and co-workers was my super helper because what I thought was six students turned out to be six-teen students. That’s a big group to teach to knit in one hour! BUT together we taught them how to cast on and knit. There are a few in the group who had knitting experience and they will teach further. This group was part of Colby College’s Jan Plan class that’s being taught by my friend Katherine Ferrier. The students will learn to mend, to hand sew patchwork, to knit/crochet and yarn bomb and I may have forgotten something. I’ll be heading to Colby after work on Thursday to see what they have accomplished in their short month-long class. It was really fun to work with Katherine and to see the students pick up knitting. I look forward to seeing their yarn bombing! I love helping new knitters learn to knit – and grateful for Bette’s help!

Jan Plan “Radical Stitches” Class – I hope I got the title of the class right!

I’ve written way too much today but I wanted to get caught up. I’ll leave you with this morning’s post from the porch. It’s so pretty in the snow! The rocks along the shoreline are all covered up! I hope this snow and cold kills some ticks!

Gone knitting!