Author Archives: Queen Bee Knits

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About Queen Bee Knits

Living in Maine, knitting, baking and loving my family. Please be kind!

Didn’t Knit. Not a stitch!

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Yesterday I didn’t knit a stitch. Not one. WTF?

Didn’t knit it yesterday …. but I love the fabric of this yarn!                                                          Malabrigo Rasta in Archangel Colorway

I’m not sure what happened yesterday that allowed that to happen, but it did. Sadly, it did. Hurricane Isaac was blowing through (weakly) and we went for a walk. I spent several hours working on my new shop, I went to the grocery store and to return some stuff that I bought and didn’t need to finish my Rasta Basket. I made dinner. No construction happened (Thanks, Isaac!). Hunh. Not sure where the day went but I know I wasn’t knitting.

Rasta Basket – Finished!

Rasta Basket – inside (not a lot of contrast in the lining but it’s OK!)

Gone knitting! (No, really! I am going to knit! Now!)

Destruction before Construction

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The short story is this …

N. bought this house from a bank. Our inspector found a bunch of stuff wrong with it. The bank and N. came to an agreement over the price. The bank neglected to share that there was a known permitting problem with the county. A year or so after the closing, N. was “served” with notice, by the county, that he was being taken to court because of a lack of permitting on the “addition” … we were clueless!

Banks are unethical in every way. Not only do they loan money to poor suckers that they can’t afford but they also don’t have to (and don’t choose to) share potential problems that they know about because they don’t live in the house! Ugh.

So, now our back wall is being taken out (at our expense) and it’s hurricane season!

Before – just without curtains!

Off we go on another adventure!

Gone knitting!

Get ‘er Done!

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I’m getting a lot of stuff done so why am I still beating myself up and saying that I’m unproductive? Why do I “worry” about being unproductive when I am getting work done? Because it’s not the work that I “need” to be doing? That others expect me to be doing? Because I’m not making “enough” money? I just need enough to pay the bills and can make do with less than most so what’s all the “anxiety” about?

My Boxy Cardigan is two thirds complete. Sleeves are all that is left to do. They should go pretty quickly and I hope that I love the sweater as much as I remember loving the one on display that I saw at the Maine fiber frolic.

The cotton tunic has kind of been set aside so that I can make a few new items to add to my Etsy shop … or new 3 B Street shop (more about this in a later post) … but the back is so close to being done – despite the inches and inches of 1×1 ribbing on US #1 needles!

I have knitted a new pair of fingerless mittens in a very simple 2×1 rib and just have to weave in the ends. I suspect that they will need a button or some embellishment because just by themselves they’re a bit flat – at least in my opinion – despite a variegated yarn.

And then there’s the Rasta Basket that I have knitted in a wonderful colorway called “Archangel” and while the knitting part is finished, the finishing part is a bit sticky for me! I am not really a sewer. (I can hear friends of mine in my head telling me that I am labeling myself and if I want to be a success I need to consider myself an adept sewer!) Yesterday I got out the old Singer and it took me a good part of the afternoon to assemble the lining only to discover that the handles that I chose are about two inches too big for the bag! Back I go to the store today to see if I can find some that are smaller!

I have pulled out the old Michael’s samples that I haven’t seen while I was away this summer. I am ready to make my board for knitting classes (did you see my calendar for classes?) and have to take some signs for the yarn aisle in the store. I also need to make copies of the calendar for the demo desk! I sure hope that the knitting classes will pick up since it’s fall …I hope!

My to-do list keeps growing but I am checking things off, too. Just for today, I am going to be pleased about what I have gotten done and what I will do today. Life is good.

Gone knitting!

 

Afternoon Storm

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Not in Florida … just a pretty picture! Flox with a bee.

It’s normal here in Florida, in August, to have rain in the afternoon. Today’s is with thunder and it’s sent my little dogs scurrying to the center of the house where they seem to feel safer. Maybe because the TV is on in the living room and the noise helps dull the outside booms.

I am feeling blocked. Haven’t been blogging. Have been knitting but not designing, and certainly not writing new patterns (or writing down the ones that I’ve already written.) What is it about Florida that seems to kill my creativity?

Gone … with my knitting to watch TV.

 

Knitting my Fingers Off!

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Boxy Cardigan in Process

I’ve had another order for a top down sweater for a baby due this fall. So, in order to get myself moving, I am working to get at least one of my sweater projects finished. It seems that my work is paying off as the back and most of the front of my Boxy Cardigan are nearly finished. I love (LOVE!) the yarn from Seacolors!  The green mottled yarn that is the bottom of the body of the sweater (topped with the salmon color) is even better when it’s knit up. There are splashes of the salmon in the green and it pops! The construction of the sweater is exactly as the title says, boxy. It’s color blocked and I am excited to get to the sleeves where the blue will be added. Just have to decide if I do two sleeves that are the same or whether I slightly alter one (I think I’m leaning to that side … at least for today!)

I haven’t spent a ton of time in the last few days knitting. I’ve been trying to get caught up and settled again into life in Florida – errands, phone calls, orders for tea and vitamins and supplements. With our construction or de-struction about to begin (long story, we have an outside wall that wasn’t built to code and needs to be … even if it wasn’t built by us) it’s likely that I will be needing to hide in my atelier with my little dogs and expect to get a lot of knitting completed.

I have a line-up of projects to knit already in the queue!

Gone knitting!

UFOs and Abracadabra, Y’all!

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They’re finished!

I sent off the Baby Life Ring socks and the hat that I designed to match with it’s little dreadlocks on top and the Grandmother-to-be loves them. Makes me so happy to please people with yarn-y wonderful-ness! And I have to be perfectly honest, the little hat is pretty stinkin’ cute!

An original Queen Bee Knits design – “Baby Dreads”

While visiting my college roommate here in Atlanta, I’ve finished knitting and embellishing the “This Little Piggy” hat that I designed for another friend’s granddaughter. I’ve knitted up a pair of thumbless mittens to match. The pattern is called Stay Put Baby Mitts by Jillian Neary. It’s on Ravelry … of course! The pattern is really simple to knit up and since it’s knit in a worsted-weight yarn (at least that’s what I used), they knit up quickly. The little single-crochet “string” tie at the wrist keeps the mitts on the baby’s hands. The string attaching them together keeps them from falling off and getting lost. They’re not embroidered yet (they need to have cloven hooves) but they will be finished and sent out as soon as I am back in my southern atelier!

“This Little Piggy” hat – an original Queen Bee Knits design

The hat pattern will be joining my other originals on Ravelry when I get it test knitted. I am really pleased with the adorable piggy ears and it’s little curly tail. I giggle when I look at it because the pig’s face seems so quizzical … like it doesn’t know what to do – go to market or stay home!

Next up, my Boxy Cardigan. Pattern and yarn by Seacolors Yarn. The process Seacolors uses is very unique. It’s hand-dyed with sea water, thus it’s name! The cardigan pattern is very simple and square. What makes it unique is color-blocking and I’ve purchased (after a long, long, long time wandering their booth at the Maine Fiber Frolic) some great colors that I’m very excited to see come together in this sweater! I’m already dreaming of buttons … they also will have to have been made in Maine! I started knitting with the US size 7 needles as the pattern suggests but have frogged that bit knitted up because it didn’t make the gauge. I’m starting again with my US size 8 needles and we’ll see how it goes! I’m knitting the large size.

I’ve also had a request to knit up another top down baby sweater in the fabulous “Grateful Threads” colorway from Coveted Yarn. I am really excited about knitting with this yarn again!

My tunic is still coming along. Knitting a ribbed stitch on US size 1 needles is slow going and very tedious so I have to break up that work with other projects.

Dropps Tunic (Dropps 111-21)

Detail of the “gathering” effect

The construction of the tunic (it’s a Dropps design) is quite simple and the switch from the US size 6 needles in stockinette stitch to the 1×1 ribbing on US size 1 needles creates a bit of a gathered effect which is very pleasing. The back is nearly complete!

I am so grateful for the friends and family who have encouraged me to follow my passion around knitting and I’m certain that the future holds all great things for my business as it grows right along with me!

Gone knitting (in Atlanta), Y’all!

Re-Entry

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I struggle every year when we have to leave Maine just in time for August in *gasp* Florida. The shock to my body and our culture is, well, shocking! The temperature has climbed from reasonable and comfortable to Oh My God, how can it be so hot that I can’t walk to the mailbox in bare feet? Even the pool in the back yard is not refreshing.

That said, while you’re all assuming that I am outside enjoying the sun down here (that’s what people in Florida do, right?) I’m really in my atelier, blinds closed, A/C and ceiling fans on, knitting and planning.

Today I’ve been working on a “basket” (bag) that I found somewhere on the internet that uses one skein of Malabrigo’s Rasta yarn. I’ve written about this yarn before but I have to reiterate just how much I love knitting with it. It’s super bulky and the color way that I have is rich purples and burgundies interjected with gold, green and orange (amongst others). Simply fabulous! And since it’s super bulky, it knits up in a flash.

The basket is an interesting construction. I couldn’t figure it out at first glance but I have really enjoyed watching the basket come along. It’s knit in the round on four DPNs but it comes out square! Very clever. I got the bottom of the basket done in an hour or so (after the hour or so that I took to realize that I wasn’t reading the directions correctly – and it was really me. Must be the heat!)  The pattern is called “Rasta Basket” by Kate Vanover and you can find it on Ravelry. I’ll add pictures to this post just as soon as it’s done.

Gone knitting!

Yarn Transported … back to Florida

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It’s difficult for me to believe that our time in Maine is over. That went by so quickly (once again!) I brought a big bag of yarn and patterns up to Maine and challenged myself to buy no yarn before I knitted up all that I carried up.

Well, I failed. I bought a bit of yarn again this summer and have carried it back to Florida with me. In fact, I spent the last part of the day today winding my new purchases from the earliest part of the summer. I did leave my yarn swift and ball winder in Florida and wasn’t able to ball the yarn … until today. And it’s so pretty!

Sea Colors Yarns in three colors for a sweater

Super Stash Addition … Marden’s
For under $40!

I also added my new Marden’s purchases to the stash list on my Ravelry page and have done some preliminary research into patterns for that yarn. I am thinking that I will have to be making hats and mittens and fingerless gloves for my shop. Some of the new yarns are really pretty … well, in fact, all of them are! That’s why I bought it!

Gone knitting

 

Attention! Attention! Knitting Queen (Bee)

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I’ve learned that I need to pay attention when I knit.

Any distractions can cause me to knit beyond a decrease, or knit where I should purl … you get the idea! And knitting with a cocktail in hand is a definite NO! Knitting group projects must be free of decreases or any counting of stitches because I never cease to be amazed at how my chatting can make me forget the simplest of each!

That said, I’ve finished a few more projects and am pleased with my progress. But, once again, I brought more projects up to Maine to complete than I completed. I also am going home with more yarn than I came with.

Completed:

Baby sweater finished. Needs to be blocked.

Socks finished; Matching hat … maybe half way done!

Bird nest – finished and being lived in (see Facebook!)

My second attempt at the Gaia Shoulder hug … finished (when I was better able to pay attention!)

Gaia Shoulder Hug by Ann Carroll Gilmour – well, it’s her pattern. I knitted this one!

And I also finished the little cabled sweater in periwinkle blue. I haven’t photographed it yet … so watch here or my Facebook page!

Gone knitting!

I win!

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The first attempt was a flop. But the second attempt at the Gaia Shoulder Hug was a success! I did it! It’s finished! Yay, me!

Gaia Shoulder Hug (FREE Ravelry download)

And I like it … more or less. I’m not totally loving the Noro Kureyon Sock (which is now discontinued in the United States) colorway that I chose, but I think it will be a pretty piece to wear in the winter with a shirt.

I’m pleased that it’s finished and pleased with it – that’s what matters most.

Gone knitting!