Queen Bee Knits

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Sunday Update – an FO and almost another

Posted on September 20, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

Saturday, September 19, 2026 … Yesterday

I was up early yesterday because I had to be at a meeting in Palermo, Maine by 9:00am which is early to get going on a Saturday unless I have to open the store. Even then, the store opens at 9:30 and is 20 minutes away. Palermo is 45 minutes away. This morning, Sunday, I didn’t even get outside to take a photo because it was quite cool and we stayed inside (I got my afghan out of the basket this morning.) We have already run an errand which entailed new slippers for me and some organizing of my yarn bins because I was looking for new gnome knitting yarn and I need some sport weight for part of the project. I think I found what I need … we’ll see when I start knitting the project on September 3 (or 4 because I’ll be out of town the 2 & 3 without much knitting time.)

Anyway, a knitting update. I have a FO! I finished my teeny tiny sock earrings, Los Lobe Hose, knitted up in fingering weight yarn with 0000 DPNs. The needles are smaller than toothpicks and I’m not sure I really enjoyed the knitting but they’re awfully cute to wear.

Los Lobe Hose in On the Round scrappy leftovers

I’m going to be forced to make another pair of these with Christmas yarn and maybe a Halloween/Fall pair, too. Stinking cute!

I’m making good progress, too, with my daughter’s Levitate Wrap. I have reached the bottom of the body of the sweater and next will be picking up sleeve stitches and knitting sleeves. I love the fabric of this sweater and it’s knitting up relatively quickly on US 10 needles. My daughter chose the medium size because she wants it boxy and I’m eager to see how the rest of the knitting goes. Right now the measurement from the middle of the back to the bottom is eighteen inches which seems very cropped to me. I will need to review the pattern before I finish off the bottom of the body. It’s always interesting knitting a sweater for someone whose full body measurements you don’t have … and ask me why when I had my daughter at the beach I didn’t measure the length of her arms, for example or ask her how long she wants the sweater to be? Yeah, well I don’t have an answer but now I’m thinking I missed an opportunity for sure.

I’m also working on my Make Mine a Double sweater. I have reached the bottom of the body and knitted the ribbing and now I’ll go back and knit the sleeves. I had begun the sleeves (I think I may have mentioned this on my last post) but realized too late that I was knitting with a US 9 rather than the required US 10. Good grief! So, I’ve frogged most of the two sleeves and will likely frog back a little bit more and reknit with the correct size needle. I thought I had the US 10 in my project bag. I was wrong. Thank goodness knitting is forgiving.

I am super close to another FO. My vanilla socks (photo below was taken a couple of days ago) in the self-striping yarn are getting really close to the toe. I have really enjoyed knitting these socks and I do love Must Stash yarn’s self-striping sock yarns. The base yarn is lovely to work with and the stripes, well, they’re fabulous!

I love that the yarn comes in two parts and each is the same so your socks match pertectly. Most of the time I don’t really mind if patterns don’t match up. I just don’t want a lot of extra yarn left over … but these days I’m knitting shorter legs (from the cuff to the heel flap) and I am finding I do have leftovers. I think I may be knitting some scrappy socks again soon.

We have been working at putting our gardens to bed for the winter. Yesterday when I was at my meeting the hubby chopped the living daylights out of one of our Hydrangeas. I hope it comes back. In his defense, we’d let it get HUGE and it was blocking our kitchen window which we like to see out of and it was rubbing against the house. The garden at the side of the house was put in ten years ago and some of the bushes have been really happy here and have grown too big for their spots. We have some work to do and neither one of us really loves to garden nor are we particularly knowledgeable. We’ll figure it out in good time. We also have a porch floor that needs restaining and a few window screens that need washing along with our big front windows that are always dirty … thanks to my mother for making me very attuned to dirty windows. LOL

I have holiday knitting on the mind lately. I spoke yesterday with the granddaughter who knows what she wants and asked her about a Santa hat (or an elf hat) and she doesn’t want red and white … she wants pink and purple stripes! In my reorganizing I found some purple Cascade 220 Superwash and I’ll get some pink in the same yarn when I go to work on Thursday and make that for her. I’ve always knitted a Christmas sweater for her as well … maybe this year’s will be a pink and purple striped elf sweater? I’ve found a couple of cute sweaters but she much prefers cardigans because she can put them on herself.

I made three dozen muffins this week (for my meeting yesterday and for my hubby, too). I found a new pumpkin muffin recipe to try and made my old stand-by blueberry and banana nut, too. I took a dozen and a half with me and left the same in the freezer. They were all good.

Tonight we’re heading to the Opera House to see Graham Nash in concert. We have a lot of shows in our little town and it’s time we start paying attention … it’s fun to get out now and again!

Gone knitting!

Home Again … a Wonderful Vacation

Posted on September 16, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

We’re baaack! We had the most wonderful week in Weekapaug, RI. We were joined by all three of my kids and their families. Seven adults, five dogs and one granddaughter were in residence for all or part of the week and we had a wonderful time. I’ve written about why we vacation there before but I’ll briefly say that my mother rented a house there for the month of July when my kids were little and before she had Alzheimer’s Disease. After she passed away I asked my kids what they’d like to do with the little bit of money that I have to draw from her IRA each year and the answer was Weekapaug. We found a wonderful house to rent after labor day and it’s turned into a weekly vacation that we all love! We spend time at the beach, cook our meals (or most of them), spend time at Watch Hill at the Annex eating peach iced cream (my mom’s favorite flavor) and this year our granddaughter was big enough to ride the Flying Horses for the first time.

And now we’re home with smiles on our faces and more memories made.

I’ve been working on getting everything washed and put away so that I can go back to work tomorrow. I’ve run three loads of laundry (one more to wash the octopus costume) and made three dozen muffins (pumpkin, banana nut and wild Maine blueberry) to take to a meeting on Saturday morning. I’ll take half with me and leave half at home for us.

My knitting has suffered while we were away. I think I may have knitted more on the drive home yesterday than for the whole week we were in Rhode Island. But I read a lot of books, played all sorts of imaginative games (that the granddaughter made up) and listened to songs and stories galore. One lovely addition this year was an overnight visit by my brother and his wife. We all loved having them join us even briefly!

I’ve taking my Make Mine a Double sweater off the needles so I could work on my daughter’s Levitate Wrap cardigan while I had her to try on as I went. I added three rows of stockinette stitch to add to the length before I connected the fronts and back and that seems to have made all the difference in the way it fit. I am now working my way down the body of the sweater and increasing for the overlapped fronts. I’m using Juniper Moon Farm Patagonia organic merino held double with Berroco Aerial silk mohair lace. The fabric is really nice to work with but I find I do “miss” the lace every once in a while (and have to go back to make sure it’s not just hanging out in front of the fabric. Regardless, it’s knitting up pretty quickly and I think I will probably have to make it a little bit longer which means added rows. I don’t remember if I made the row gauge. That might be a good idea to look at right now so I can decide how to best add length if needed.

A while ago I bought a hank of self-striping sock yarn because a good self-striping sock yarn is difficult to find. I bought it from Must Stash yarn because they’ve got a remarkable base and their colorways are fantastic! I’ve made it to the foot of the first sock. It’s a fun knit for sure. I’m knitting a mixed pattern with details pulled from Yankee Knitter and Summer Lee and it’ll be fun to see how they fit. I really like knititng socks on US1 needles (I’m using DPNs this time.)

I haven’t taken any new photos of anything knitting but I will and I’ll post again on Sunday!

Gone knitting.

Monday. Feels like Sunday

Posted on August 31, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

Aaaaaand just like that it’s September tomorrow. Yikes! Today I had intended to do the laundry and change our bed and I did that but I also pulled apart our closet … my side of it anyway … and pulled out a bunch of things that I haven’t used in ages. It’s time to consign it or donate it or throw it away. I now have a big bag for Goodwill and a big bag for the consignment shop (if they’ll take it!) And the bins are put away in their places, and I vacuumed all of my shoe shelves and straightened it all up. I’m ready for fall and the change-over from summer to fall/winter clothing when the temperatures turn.

We have also had a fruit fly infestation in our house. The kitchen has been buzzing with the annoying little buggers. Today I did a good cleanup in the kitchen, too, and baked the over-ripe bananas into muffins. It was 3:00o’clock by the time I had some food in my belly and a cup of herbal tea. I got sucked into a cleaning frenzy. LOL

I’ve been knitting away on my three WIPs: Make Mine a Double, Jaunty and Reverie socks. I’ve gotten the heel turned on the second Reverie sock and I’m really excited to wear them. They’re super cute!

I’ve reached the half-way point on my Jaunty and am now working decreases instead of decreases. I’m loving this project. The fabric is so squishy and the yarn is magnificent. I may have to buy another hank of the bluer coloway when I’m at the store on Thursday because I’m liking the blue more than the purple but I’m giving myself the time to get the knitting done and see how it looks when I’m closer to the next yarn change or addition. I am enjoying this so much that I’m thinking of making another one in fingering weight yarn … it may be a bit premature but who knows.

And I am working my way down the body of the Make Mine a Double pullover. I am really close to the last color in the ombre change which is a peachy cream color. I have also caked up the second hank of the yarn and am trying to figure out what I want to do with the sleeves. I am tempted to stop where I am and start the second ball of yarn with the darker colors … or reverse the cake and wind off the creamy color to the blue and end with the blue and brown and make both sleeves more in the beige and cream … I have to sit with it a bit before I decide for sure. More will be revealed!

I’ll have to take another photo of the sock, I don’t seem to have one but here are the other two. My finger is pointing at the “bump” where I stopped increasing and started decreasing on my Jaunty. And the lighter bottom of my Make Mine a Double. The second cake starts with the dark chocolate brown again … if you’re reading this, what would you do?

Gone knitting!

WIP Wednesday

Posted on July 29, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

I’ve already run an errand and checked the vegetable garden (we had a little rain this morning and I hope we get more). One more zucchini today and a couple of summer squash will be ready tomorrow. Our tomatoes are doing something funky this year … they look wonderful and they’re black on the bottom. We’ll see if they come around. I’ve asked my hubby to water them more deeply every other day. Time will tell.

I had a wonderful day yesterday all alone at home. Coffee on the porch for a good chunk of the morning and then I cleaned up, did a bit of laundry and decided I wanted to bake. I mixed up a batch of my “Ted Lasso” Shortbread cookies (I got the recipe online, there are a lot of them out there but this one is done in the cuisinart … blend all the ingredients, squish into an 8×8 pan with parchment paper and bake. So simple and so yummy. While the first batch was cooking I decided to cook up some banana bread (muffins) because I had some bananas needing attention … and discovered that we had no eggs! A quick run into town and I solved that issue and blended up the muffins with Maine blueberries and pecans added for fun. AND then I decided I needed another batch of shortbread. Ha! Ha! It was a good baking day. One batch of shortbread went to my dear friend, Barbara, who brought us some delicious chicken soup when I was feeling pretty lousy. One good turn deserves another, right? I always think of my maternal grandmother when I am baking which adds to the joy for me. Baking makes me feel centered and calm … and so does my knitting.

Our garden is producing some wonderful food! I brought in lettuces the day before and some more cukes and a summer squash. Hubby doesn’t care for the squash so it’s all mine! I love it steamed with a bit of salt and butter. Yummy! I’ll be cooking up a zucchini (not shown) side-dish tonight for dinner. I saute sliced onions, put halved (the long way) zucchini on top of them and add some spaghetti/marinara sauce, cover and heat until the zucchini is tender. Then put sliced mozzarella on top and cover again until the cheese is melted. Yummy!

And I’ve been knitting, too. Yesterday I finished the knitting for my Easy Folded Poncho and blocked it on our guest room bed which I have to get made up again. More guests coming this weekend! I only have to sew in the ends after I stitch one simple seam.

I also finished the front of my Broadgate Tabard and blocked both pieces. I knitted the 4-stitch icord ties last night and now I am ready to seam the shoulders and knit the neckline. The pattern calls for a big folded turtleneck and I’m not going to do that at all. I don’t like big, tight turtlenecks. I’ll knit about an inch of ribbing and bind off so that I can wear it in the store with a blouse. I’m excited to get this one finished too … and if I really focus, I should be able to accomplish both finishes today or Friday. I’m looking forward to wearing the poncho when the weather cools in addition to my orange one. I’ve really loved wearing that and the fall will be the perfect time!

Meanwhile, I’ve cast on my Sabai Top in Cascade Yarns Hampton (70% cotton, 30% linen) in black. I am knitting the ribbed neckline for this one (the pattern offers two necklines) and it should be a simple, quick knit. I think it’ll be a great summer top with my white pants or jeans and I think I can dress it up or be casual. The yarn feels lovely as I knit it and I am enjoying the unique construction of the neckline and shoulders. More on this later when I have enough to photograph.

Today’s focus is to get the tabard done first (because I can seam the poncho in class on Friday if I need to.) AND because I’d like to wear the tabard on Friday if I get it finished. So …

Gone knitting!

The Day Before WIP Wednesday

Posted on July 21, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s been super breezy all day. No coffee on the porch this morning but I was up early (hubby woke me emptying the dehumidifier at 5:45am) and I decided to get a few things done and see how it feels. And it feels pretty good! I really needed to clean our bathroom which I hadn’t done since before we both got sick in early July. The spiders had taken over and I couldn’t have them in charge anymore. I also got my car registered and have called my mechanic to get it inspected but they’re on vacation this week. Next week will work.

When I got home from my one errand, I decided to make a batch of blueberry muffins which I haven’t made since the kids, version 1, were here. I don’t think I ever got the second group any blueberry muffins. We picked strawberries and my daughter made strawberry muffins instead. I must be feeling better. This is two days in a row that I have baked. Yesterday I made a batch of my granola. So, granola and muffins this week. I must be feeling better!

While I was waiting for the muffins to cool enough to take out of the pan, I took a walk around the yard. The hydrangeas and the “daisies” are all blooming … I know they’re not all daisies but they are the same shape as daisies so I am clumping them together. I also found a couple of zucchinis in the veggie garden, some lettuces and a couple more cucumbers. The tomatoes are getting there … that’s what I really am looking forward to – tomato sandwiches!

I spent the late morning hand sewing. A couple of years ago I took a class online with Heidi Parkes and started to make a “Love Letter Quilt” with her prompts. She suggests 20 6×8 inch rectangles and has 20 prompts to stitch for the quilt. I’ve been working on it with no particular regularity and have decided that I really need to get it finished, assembled and hung. It’s going to be our tenth anniversary in a bit and maybe I can get it done for that? Time will tell.

The most recent pieces that I’ve finished are “a flower” and “an artifact”. The flower was easy. We’ve had an orchid plant that belonged to Ned’s mother prior to her death. When she passed away, we inherited the plant and have cared for it since. We even moved from Florida to Maine with the plant in flower … and it’s been flowering consistently since then. So, the orchid is the plant. The artifact had to be the old house. The property was owned by hubby’s father’s aunt and his dad bought the house from her in the 1940s. They used it as a summer house forever and Ned was here every summer of his life (minus one when he and his mother had a disagreement). The orchid is on a too small piece of fabric (I need to learn to measure!) but I’ll adapt it and will make it work.

This afternoon I’ve been working on the front part of my tabard. I still love love love this color and can’t wait to wear the garment. I have the perfect blouse to wear under it! Today I got one shoulder knitted and am ready to knit the second one tomorrow. My brain is on fire from counting and concentrating and especially after getting up so early, I’m tired. Anyway, I’ll get the front finished tomorrow! Yay! I think I will block it before I seam it to see what the yarn is going to do. I’m excited to be so close!

And now I’m turning to my Sock Sprint 2026 socks. The pattern is fun and easily memorized and I’ve been working the heel flap since last night. It’s a bit different with 3 garter stitch stitches on each side of the slipped stitch heel flap. I’m interested to see how it finishes up. I may be able to get the heel flap done and turn the heel tonight.

I am heading back to work on Thursday for the first time since June 18th! I’ve been out of work for over a month … first for the kids’ visits and then because I got sick. I am so glad I took the time to rest and recover because I do think I am ready to go back now. Last week, not so much. I imagine that I’ll be really happy when it’s Saturday and I can rest again. This has been quite a ride!

Gone knitting!

Whew!

Posted on June 6, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

Today I’m heading off to Compton, Quebec for A Needle in a Haystack, a fibery event in a field next to a fromagerie. That’s about all I know … except that now I know they have a rainy day plan and I’m grateful for that.

Meanwhile this week has been super busy at home and at work. The store has been receiving new boxes of yarn and we are trying to find places for it to live. Carol and I spent the day Thursday reworking the sock yarns to add in a dozen new colors of Cascade Heritage and Heritage 6. When we were done, it was gorgeous and organized in weight-order (fingering … sport … worsted). My classes yesterday, with the exception of the morning class, were smaller than “normal” but it was a pretty day and the weather reports for the weekend aren’t promising. I’d have been planting my vegetable garden if I’d had my druthers.

I’m making such good progress on my tabard! I have reached the twenty-one inches for the front piece and now have to work the shoulders. I am not going to knit a big turtleneck, I will instead knit an inch or so of ribbing and call it done. SO … I think I’m going to start the back and get it to the neck shaping, if there is any, and then finish the front. I still love the green and I’d have said I wasn’t a green girl. I can’t wait to wear this “vest” and I hope I love it as much as I think I will. (I’m also eager to block it out to see how the size changes. I may put the front on holders and wet block it to see what happens. Stay tuned.

Broadgate Tabard in gorgeous green linen

And I have a FO! I have finished my Salty Air Tee by Samantha Guerin. I adore the color and the yarn that I used from Rachel at On the Round in Thomaston, Maine. The Nimble Sock yarn is so round and squishy and the colorway, Harbor, is the perfect grayish-blue. The size I chose is the perfect size and I am thrilled with the final product. I wore it yesterday and it was very comfortable, not to warm, draped well and fit was just what I had anticipated. The pattern was well-written and a relatively quick knit considering it’s a fingering weight yarn on US4 needles. I will wear this shirt a lot!

Salty Air Tee in On the Round Nimble Sock

So, that leaves a few projects on the needles and I’m planning to take a few with me to Canada today. I have my Easy Folded Poncho (miles of stockinette stitch), and I cast on a skirt for my granddaughter yesterday that is also a bunch of stockinette … but with increases every six rounds. She’s going to love it – it’s a deep purple with stelina sparkles and it will twirl! Pattern is Olive’s Swing Skirt and I’m using Plymouth’s Electra Light, a stashed yarn, that was on the clearance rack at the store.

I’ve also started a new pair of socks, shortie socks, from the Summer Lee Sock Project book. I’m playing with carrying the contrasting color on these socks so I don’t have a bunch of ends to weave in and so far, so good. This pattern uses an afterthought heel … I’ll report my thoughts when they’re done and I can wear them. I still like my heel flap and gusset best of all but I’ll keep an open mind.

My daughter’s Levitate Wrap sweater/cardigan is still in time out awaiting a try-on. I had hoped that I would be able to squeeze in a trip to New York City before our summer family guests arrive on the 19th but I’m not sure it’s going to work out for me. Boo. I will see some of the kids starting in mid-June and in early July and I hope that I can get into New York to see the other kids, too. It feels like it’s been a really long time since I’ve seen them. Not sure what that means for this “old” person who is “semi-retired” but I have been so busy and my calendar is way too full. Even for sitting on the porch and enjoying the hummingbirds!

I have been enjoying the yard and watching the flowers grow. The lilacs are gorgeous! I brought some indoors and they only last a few days before wilting. I don’t know how to make them stay beautiful … they make the whole downstairs smell wonderful! Our first iris are blooming and the day lilies are coming right along. They typically bloom around July 4th.

And I baked! I made my hubby’s birthday requested scones. I make the Levain Bakery recipe and they are delicious every time. We love, love, love them and because they have oatmeal in them, they’re heathy, right? I also made him a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. I’ve frozen half of the cake, cut in pieces, and the leftover frosting. He’s a happy man. This was making up for his birthday cake out of a box. Horrors! (Not really, it was delicious!)

I’ve “wasted” a lot of time writing this and I have to focus on packing my knitting and being ready to go … gone knitting!

Back to Work!

Posted on May 26, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

We had a glorious morning this morning with coffee on the porch and a comfortable temperature. This is the time of year we love every second of living here. We had some good rain over the weekend and while I’m sure it dampened many ceremonies around the country on Memorial Day, we were happy to have the days to rest and relax and contemplate the real meaning of the day – hint: it’s not the barbecue or parade. And with fifteen soldiers recenlty killed in Iran, it gave me more reason to be thoughtful and grateful for their sacrifice.

I made a few discoveries and I made some blueberry English Muffins. My hubby told me that some of the seeds that I brought back from NYC (my daughter’s family had organic veggies from their CSA and for some reason I needed to bring them home and try to plant them) were growing! I am thrilled to show you my mystery veggie babies. I have no idea what they will grow up to be and that’s part of the fun. Maybe peppers or squash? Time will tell. Next week we’ll be planting the vegetable gardens and I hope they’ll take off.

And yesterday I decided to make the blueberry English Muffins the recipe for which I printed ages ago. It was a simple process but the recipe was not the best. It said to add 1 cup of milk and a cup and a half of flour and said it would be a shaggy dough. Soupy isn’t shaggy so I added what probably amounted to another cup of flour (and the dough was still sticky.) After needing for five minutes it was a bit better but still a little sticky and I went ahead and cooked them up anyway. And, Ta Da! They are nice and light, the crumb is good and they taste really wonderful with some Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry Jam. (Bonne Maman is delicious and they do good, too.) Mark it as a success! I’ll make them again but we have six or so in the fridge.

Broadgate Tabard in Antigone by De Rerum Natura

In the early afternoon when I was sitting out in our dooryard, I worked on my Broadgate Tabard. I’m starting to get the hang of this pattern’s zigs and zags. It is not a quick knit and requires some concentration and counting but I am going to love it and the color is extraordinary. I saw this pattern on Millie at Tribe Life Yarn in the UK on social media. I looked for a yarn substitution so I didn’t have to ship from the UK but I couldn’t get the green color out of my mind. I put it on the back burner for a time, too. Finally, I bit the bullet and bought the yarn. Millie has recently sold me more yarn and that’s another story … she wears such colorful knits and they’re so unique and some of them I simply “need” to have. (I have two hanks of hand-dyed silk mohair waiting to make me a sweater from Tribe, too. Oops!) I knitted on this until my iPad got too hot (we were sitting in the sun) and I had to take it inside and let it cool down.)

I had a customer call to ask about a sock yarn last week and she said it was the roundest, squishiest sock yarn and she loved it so much but couldn’t find the label. I immediately thought it was On the Round but texted her a photo of several different yarns before she confirmed the OTR. I know this because I’m knitting with OTR Nimble Sock on my Salty Air Tee. I have really enjoyed this knit. The lace yoke was so much fun to knit and for a fingering weight yarn, it seems to be moving right along at a good pace. I might be able to get the body finished tonight but I don’t think I have time to finish the sleeves and block it too before I leave for Arizona tomorrow afternoon. I’m going to try. I think this will be a super fun to wear tee this summer. The body is fully stockinette stitch so it’s good for knitting with friends or late in the day when I’m tired. And I love the colorway, too. I will knit more in this yarn – it helps that the dyer, Rachel, is a delightful human.

Hubby’s A&C socks are coming along as well. I have gotten to the foot so they should be able to be finished on the plane on Thursday. I will probably have to take another sock project with me because we also have a drive from Phoenix to Tucson and back. I don’t expect to do a lot of knitting when we’re in Tucson because we have a lot of celebrating and visiting to do but the travel time is great knitting time. But you probably know that, right?

We went for a little walk with the dog this afternoon and there were several natural treats along the way. Lots of Lilies of the Valley right next to the road and we even found a couple of Jack in the Pulpit plants. I’d like to go back and dig some of them up and transplant them in our yard away from the edge of the street where they’re likely to get squished by cars passing on the camp road. But alas time is not on my side as I have a trip tomorrow … and laundry and packing to do. I pulled a few little flowers to make a little arrangement for the kitchen window sill.

Gone knitting.

Pollen on the Water

Posted on May 20, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

My hubby was up quite a bit earlier than I was this morning. He saw the sunrise. I did not. BUT by the time I got up, the lake was covered in pollen. You can’t see it here but, believe me when I say, it is covered and my allergies (that my doctor says I don’t have) are going crazy! I may have to close up the windows in my atelier today and turn on the air conditioning to manage my breathing.

Yesterday I was busy! cleaned our bedroom windows and screens, changed the bed and put on fresh sheets, washed sheets and towels, cleaned the bathroom and even made some chocolate zucchini bread to use up some of last summer’s zucchini that I had forgotten about. I’m not sure what else took up the day but when I went upstairs for my meeting it was nearly two o’clock. When my hubby got home from work he wanted to install the air conditioner in my atelier (it was hot, to be fair) so we got that done, too. I didn’t feel badly climbing into bed early last night at all.

I have all but finished the little sweater, a gift for a dear friend’s daughter (the daughter was my daughter’s best friend in high school) who has adopted a baby girl. The baby was born last week and she’s now home with her family. She’s a beauty and I hope one day that I get to meet her. It’s fun to watch the children raising their families … and gives us “old folks” a chance to love our children’s children as we might have liked to love our own children … but we have all grown some in the between years and this older generation has learned more patience, and I am in a much better relationship and in a better financial place so that I can enjoy the kids and the grandkids in a different way. This is not to blame or cast aspersions. We all do the best that we can under the circumstances. I was a good mother to my kids and I will likely be an even better grandmother. I’m proud of myself for what I’ve done, the children I’ve raised, for finishing my college degree later in life, and for starting over at 50 and finding a new, wonderful life.

The little sweater is In Threes. I knit it in Malabrigo Rios in the Melissa colorway. Rios is so soft, it’s perfect for knitting children’s garments for against-the-skin softness. It’s a superwash Merino and as such wants to be knitted with some structure (texture or cables or seams) and it likes to be knitted at a tighter gauge … otherwise it’ll pill before it’s even finished. (Not really but close.) I chose to knit this sweater at a tighter gauge and a larger size. I could have gone down to a US6 but I used a US7. I knit the second size hoping that by fall it’ll be a good fit. Fingers crossed. Since baby Elise’s mother is Melissa, when I chose the color and then looked at the name of the colorway, I had to take a hank or two home. I used just about one hank to knit the sweater … I just have to find some buttons at work on Thursday (that’s tomorrow!)

I have gotten to the toe of my hubby’s first sock and he’s tried it on so I can Kitchener the toe and start the second sock. Yay! I really am liking the new Arne & Carlos Socks and More sock yarn base … it seems softer than the old Regia base. Less coarse. I am knitting this pair in the Yankee Knitter way (which I have memorized) for a palate cleanser and then I am going to start another pair of colorwork socks the yarn for which I bought at La Laine Biscotte in Quebec.

Yankee Knitter Socks for the Family #29 in Arne & Carlos Socks and More

Today I think I’ll finish the sock and start the leg of the second sock but then focus on the Salty Air Tee in On the Round Nimble Sock in the Harbor Colorway. I really want to get this done before we leave for Tucson at the end of the month. I have one hand-knit tee in a linen/cotton blend using Zooey by Juniper Moon Farm and the second one will be a good addition, I think.

I made good progress last week on my second, charcoal gray Easy Folded Poncho by Churchmouse Yarns in Rowan Felted Tweed. I love my orange one so much and when I saw the charcoal … I just had to buy it. I may even make another! The photography of this garment isn’t thrilling as it’s a simple stockinette stitch rectangle but …

Easy Folded Poncho in Rowan Felted Tweed

I have set aside my daughter’s Levitate Wrap until I can have her try it on. I am not 100% on gauge with this garment and there’s mohair involved so I don’t want to have to frog it too much if it doesn’t fit. I’ll get the second shoulder started one of these days and I’ll have her try it on when I head to NYC next month. I’m having withdrawl from seeing my kids and granddaughter!

There may be another Gansey Afghan in my future … orange like my knitting chair perhaps … stay tuned.

Gone knitting.

Ahhhh! Hello, Sunday!

Posted on April 26, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

What a beautiful sunny morning we are having! It’s been quite a long work week and I appreciate the sunshine and empty schedule today. My hubby asked what I wanted to do over our coffee this morning and my response was, “nothing”. I have been on the go all week and I just want to hang at home and get myself caught up. Thought I’d come here this morning to tell you what I’ve been up to as most of it is yarn related.

Monday I had a beautiful day at home and baked for the first time in awhile. We were out of my homemade granola (hubby often takes it to work with some yogurt for his second breakfast) and I had some bran flakes cereal in the pantry that I wanted to use up so I baked some bran muffins with blueberries. They’re yummy. Hubby’s been a happy man this week. I was at work on Tuesday and on Wednesday I did the house work – changed our bed, did the laundry, ordered and picked up groceries, cleaned the kitchen and made soup for dinner. One of my knitting buddies came over to knit but we ended up sitting and yakking until she had to run to her exercise class and I had to run to pick up the groceries. It was a good day, though.

I have spent the last three days at the store working and teaching and by yesterday afternoon, Carol and I were “done” (cooked, pooped, drained … the list goes on!) Yesterday was Local Yarn Shop day, our Saturday knitting group was in the shop, and I was teaching a Brioche Workshop in the morning so it was a busy day at the store. I had a great group of 13 women who learned a new technique – Brioche knitting. I wish I’d had another hour for them but it went well and most of the class really honed in on their new skill.

After the workshop I had a brief but sweet lunch with one of my students who I know from high school. We reconnected last year when she came to my workshop. What a surprise! It was really fun to chat in person and get (sort of) caught up on the years between high school and yesterday. We will need to meet up more than once a year to really catch up and we have so many things in common! And then it was back to work for the rest of the day. So, you can understand that today is a day for “nothing” for me … I maybe should say that I will do only what I want to do, on my own schedule. And today will include knitting … I have already had some coffee on the porch with yarn in my hands but the wind kicked up and sent me inside.

I’ve been working on several projects and making a little bit of progress on each of them. This morning I was working on my “poor” Escher socks that have been ignored for a bit. I’m trying nine-inch circular needles for the first (second?) time and I think I finally have the hang of it. What I do like is that I don’t have to be concerned about changing from needle to needle on DPNs which really helps me with the tension, especially at the small circumference. It’ll be very interesting to compare the first sock knit on DPNs to the second sock knit with the nine-inch circ. I am using my ChiaoGoo Shorties set for one of the first times. So far, so good. The Escher socks need to get finished so I can knit another pair of socks with my new Biscotte yarn! 🙂

I have finished one purple crown and begun a second for my granddaughter and her friend. That is quite another funny story and maybe I’ll write about it another day. The pattern is free on Ravelry, Elegant Crown, and I’m knitting in Plymouth Encore worsted. It takes little or no time to knit these up and I think the girls are going to love them.

Next up is the new sample I’m knitting for the store. It’s called the Pressed Flowers Kerchief and is another free Ravelry pattern. We had several shawl kits that were not selling, even on sale, and we thought we could separate the yarn and find another something to knit with it. The yarn is a cashmere blend and we found this cute little kerchief and I’m knitting a sample in hopes that the yarn will sell in its new iteration for Mother’s Day, maybe. The pattern is very potato chippy and the yarn is delicious so it’s an easy one to choose when I sit to knit. The kerchief is small enough, too, not to feel like a burden to knit when I have a lot of projects on the needles. I’ve rounded the corner (so to speak) and am working my way through the second half of the project. I’ll block it and have it in the store next week. Fingers crossed.

Still on the needles and getting marginally closer to the finish line is the Vanilla Sweater that I’m making for my college roommate. I’ve finished one sleeve and have started to finish the body of the sweater now that we’ve settled on the length that she wants. I’ve just split the hem and if I really concentrate, I should be able to get this sweater finished soon. As an aside, My Vanilla sweater tends to roll up on the front and I don’t want that to happen to hers so I’ll do an extra round or two on the hem before binding off. I’m so close!

This coming week will be a little less work and a little more volunteering. We have a big 10th Anniversary celebration at Maine Arts Academy on Saturday so we have several committee meetings set up and I have a meeting with the CEO, in addition to being at the event on Saturday morning. Add my normal work days in at the store and it will be another full week. I’ll write about the event next week but after it’s over, it’ll be “smooth sailing” into the summer.

We are busy cleaning up our gardens, the perennials are starting to peek their heads out of the ground and the bulbs are coming up. At least the daffodils are crocus are … I’m still waiting for the tulips. Last summer the kids all helped to repaint our guest cottage (it’s gorgeous to look at now) and we will be planting up in front of it this year. It still needs some interior work and then a good cleaning and we will be able to use it and/or rent it this summer. Hopefully it’ll rent by word of mouth and we’ll see how we like having people here. It’s a sweet space (if it was insulated and heated, I’d make it my studio!) that we lived in for seven months with our (then) three dogs while we built the house. I loved living there!

Gone knitting!

Sunday. A Day to Rest

Posted on April 19, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s rainy and gray today and I am utterly grateful for the opportunity to rest after a busy week (and ahead of another busy week!) We have put the hummingbird feeders out because we’ve heard that there are hummers in Maine. We hope ours will be here soon and don’t want to miss out on attracting them as they provide hundreds of hours of entertainment to us as we sit on our porch. After their long trip north, they’ll need lots of nourishment and our flowers, needless to say, aren’t blooming yet.

I’ve been busy at work; it was my Saturday to work this week. I’ve had a bunch of Maine Arts Academy meetings and a board meeting this week and I’m planning a workshop at the store for next Saturday. It’s also LYS Day next Saturday so I’ll be working and getting ready for it this week with “the girls” (LOL).

I’ve joined the Beary Cozy Gnome Mystery KAL which started on April 15th. I’m doing the KAL with my friend/co-worker Carol and we cast on at the shop together on Thursday. Mystery piece #1 was an early i-cord bobble which was interesting and challenging but Sarah, the designer, is so adept at providing videos and clear, concise directions, so Carol and I got through that. I don’t want to spoil the mystery part of the KAL so I’ll send you to my Ravelry project page to see the “parts” that we’ve done thus far. Piece #2 was two i-cord “arms” and piece #3 was a mystery pocket. Very clever, indeed. I’m looking forward to the third clue on Tuesday.

I’ve been working along on my three projects. Working to get them finished because I’m ready to cast on something new (of course, LOL). Here’s the update:

Vanilla Sweater in Rauma Finull Garn is coming along. My college roommate has given me measurements for the length of her pullover and the length she wants for her sleeves. While I was waiting for the measurements, I measured mine as a guide and made some suggestions. I’ll make the body 13″ total with a few more rounds of the border stitches so it doesn’t roll like mine does and the sleeves will be 15-16″ total. I’m getting very close. I’ve completed the sleeve decreases so I just need to knit to the desired length less one inch and then knit the ribbing. I’ll finish the body next and then do the last sleeve. Collar last and then block and off it’ll go. I hope she loves hers as much as I love mine.

Hansel Hap Half is also moving right along. I am loving the colors I chose which makes me happy. The Hansel Hap Half comes in three sizes and I’m making the medium sized one (that’s what I had enough MC yarn for … or I thought I had) and the size seems like it’ll be a good one, too. I really look forward to putting this shawl around my shoulders on a crisp spring morning or evening. I don’t have far to go before the lace edge border.

And last but not least, the Escher socks are coming along. I have found a 9″ circular US2 needle and am working on them, trying to decide if I love them or hate them. There are good and bad to both the circs and the DPNs and I’m not sure which needles I prefer … Yet. I’ve gotten to the colorwork leg on the second sock and would love to get to the heel this weekend. I hope I have time but I’m not going to stress myself out. Next weekend will be ok too. They’re really pretty, though. I sure do hope they’ll fit when they’re done. I have to knit the heel to try them on and I decided to knit both heels when the socks are finished. That may have been a mistake – but time will tell.

I tried some grown up press on nails this week. I tried the Impress brand from Walgreens, a french manicure look. I had no trouble applying them … well, one or two may not have been perfectly placed but they’re ok. If I hold them at arms length, they look pretty good. BUT they’re pushing back on my cuticles and that’s not comfortable and I can’t scratch my head. I think I’ll be taking them off this weekend. Maybe I’ll do it again for an event like the MeAA 10 Year Celebration on May 2 when I have to speak.

Geez, my hands are starting to look their age! Anyway, they’re fun but not what I think I want to have all the time. I like my plain old short nails for daily use.

I’m reading Theo Of Golden by Allen Levi and I am really sad to be nearing the end. I think I have another chapter, maybe two, to read. It’s a lovely story about art and giving and receiving and seeing and being seen. It really is a heartwarming story about welcoming a stranger and how he changes the lives of others by listening and encouraging. I highly recommend!

One of my students made S’mores Brownies and brought some to class on Friday. I think I need to make a batch today for my hubby. He’s out of everything sweet and granola, too. Lucky that my friends bring sweet treats to knit with me and think of him. It may be a blueberry muffin day, too. We’ll see how much energy I have … or it may be tomorrow. Ha! Ha!

Gone knitting.