Queen Bee Knits

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

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.

Easter Sunday

Posted on April 5, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

Happy Easter to those of your who celebrate. We are having a (very) quiet (too quiet?) day here today. It’s rather gloomy outside and expected to stay that way so no gardening but I know that I will be up in my atelier knitting and cleaning up a little bit, too. It’s a bit of a disaster up here after a busy week. I went to a dance recital yesterday afternoon at Maine Arts Academy and was impressed by the talent and the large crowd who came on the day before Easter. It was a pretty day yesterday and 51 degrees! Spring is coming.

The lake ice is thinning a lot and ice will no doubt be out very soon. Maybe by the time I get back from my trip to Quebec City? Maybe before. There are parts of the lake where the ice is already gone and we have some water at the edge of the lake. The big sheets of ice that cover the shoreline are gone. The ice has shrunken a lot and will start breaking up and moving north with the flow of the water soon. If I’m here, there will be a video.

I’ve been working away at my knitting but not as much as I might like because I have overdone it just a bit and I have to rest my left arm just a bit. I’m making good progress on my three active projects, though.

I’ve made it past the heel (it’s a forethought heel on my Escher socks which means a strand of yarn is knitted into the spot where the heel will go and then you knit over those in pattern and down to the toe.) I’m working my way down the foot now. I do enjoy the colorwork pattern! I’ve changed over to a 9″ circular needle by Knit Pro (formerly Knitters Pride) and I’m not a huge fan although I do like that I don’t have to switch needles like with DPNs. We didn’t have any Chiao Goo 9″ needles in a US 2 at the shop but I’ll try them when they’re restocked. Hopefully soon.

I’ve cast on a new shawl project for the Wooly Thistle’s Shawl KAL. I decided to knit the Hansel Hap Half mostly because I have the wool in my stash and I’m really working on using up some of what I have (and so I can order more?) I’m working this shawl in Jamieson & Smith and Jamieson’s jumper weight 100% Shetland wool. I’m loving it! The shawl is a simple garter stitch triangle and then the fun starts with the addition of a border in more of the main color (or in my case, slightly different color but close enough) and a super dark blue, a teal for a pop of color and a white. I’m really excited to get to the border and I’m about two thirds of the way there.

And because I’ve started the shawl, I’ve let the Vanilla Sweater get neglected just a little bit. I did work on it for a short while on Friday when I was teaching because it’s easy to put down when I need to. But, it’s easy to put down when it’s just stockinette stitch in the round for eleven or so inches because it’s not very exciting or challenging. But I will get it done! I’m eager to cast on my daughter’s wrap cardigan because I think that will be “more fun”. I haven’t even taken a more recent photo of the Vanilla Sweater but I’ve only made minimal progress.

I did bake! I found a box of bran flakes in our pantry cupboard as I was straightening the other day and so I went hunting for a bran muffin recipe so I could use them up. I found a recipe that made some tasty muffins that we both are enjoying this week. My hubby, in particular, loves to have a little something sweet with his coffee in the morning. They were another simple recipe and freeze beautifully (for two of us to eat a dozen muffins, they’ve got to be frozen or they’d be moldy.)

The plumbers are supposed to be here first thing tomorrow morning. (See my post here to get the background on this story.) I sure hope they come on time and get the job done right. Our bathroom rug was soaking wet yesterday morning because the water unit thingy was leaking again. Nothing better than wondering what you stepped in before your eyes were even open. So … the water will be turned off tomorrow for most of the day and I won’t be able to do laundry for my trip until Tuesday (I refuse to do laundry today.) Tuesday will be laundry day this week and that leaves today … I think I will sew a pouch a la Kate at the Last Lonely House. I just need to piece and quilt a square and then sew it together like an envelope. One of my knitting students had made one and brought it to class Friday and I was reminded that I loved the pouch. It’s a good project for today – and maybe it’ll make me sew more often?

Gone sewing.

“I believe in hope. I believe in ‘Believe’.”

Posted on March 31, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

I don’t know about you but I love the show Ted Lasso. I am not a sports buff nor a sports fan, if I’m honest, but I loved the show and it must be because it’s the coach who’s a coach against all odds. And Coach Lasso says the damndest things! (The title quote is one of his and a favorite!)

Yesterday was a busy day at our house. I spent several hours at my desk writing most of a newsletter for the yarn shop where I work and making calls and catching up on emails for the board that I sit on. I also made a couple of calls to find out why nobody had returned my calls last week or several months ago. Does it bother you that the service industry, at least in part, seems to have lost its ability to return calls? This is what we used to call “customer service” and I’ve noticed that lots of organizations simply don’t know how to provide it.

My first call was to my doctor’s office. I had left a message last week Tuesday to get a prescription changed so I don’t have to refill it every 30 days. AND I wanted to know what the office protocol is when test results come back into the office – do they call patients with results or should patients be on their online records portal? When I called, the person answering the phone looked and said that I’d left a message about tests results. Well, sort of and no. I told her that I wanted to know what their protocol was and that I’d had three tests over the course of the last six months or so (don’t worry, I’m fine, they’re just normal stuff – allergy test, mammogram and follow-up blood) and was not called. She said a letter was sent out and read it to me. I suspect the letter was sent out AFTER I called last week but time will tell. After speaking to the office manager, too, I feel like nothing will change and the “healthcare home” that I am looking for is not there. My assigned practitioner doesn’t seem able or willing to make those calls and I will have to follow myself on the portal. Others love the portals but I like a good old fashioned phone call. It’s a way to build a relationship with the person who is watching over my health and as I age it becomes more and more important.

Next I called an insurance broker who I had reached out to before year-end and we were slow getting her photos of our property but my hubby sent photos in December. Since then, crickets. So, yesterday I reached out to her, too. Wouldn’t you think she’d want some new business? Doesn’t that mean some additional money for her? Good grief! Why do I have to do the work?

(update: I have spoken to the insurance broker and it seems that our town records are incorrect online. I’ve spoken to someone in the Assessor’s office who has changed the record to indicate that the house was rebuilt in 2015 rather than renovated and emailed me a copy of the record for the insurance company. BUT there is still about a half-dozen mistakes on the card: siding materials, insulation, it says we have a fireplace (we don’t) and it says it’s a seasonal residence (it’s not). The Assessor is only in his Belgrade office one day a month … what are the chances that this is addressed in a timely manner? Can you see me cracking my skull against my desk?)

AND when I get frustrated and the point of this diatribe is that I baked my frustration away. I had been cleaning out some of my old photos that don’t need to be kept on my phone and came across a screenshot of a recipe for “Ted Lasso Shortbread”. If you watch the show, you’ll know that Ted brings the boss lady shortbread in the morning in a little pink box. My hubby loves shortbread and I have never made it for him but I always buy some for his Christmas stocking. I decided yesterday that it was the day to give it a shot. Simple as pie instructions (maybe simpler than pie, actually) and only five ingredients. I tossed it all into the food processor and when it was mixed up, I pressed it into an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper beneath. Baked it for a bit and …. OMG! This stuff is so yummy that I like it, too!

I thought I’d share the recipe and tell you what I did a little bit differently. I did not cut them before I baked them – they crumbled apart and it was a mess. I baked them for 35 minutes and then cut them when they were just out of the oven. I then returned them to the oven to finish baking. I used Turbinado sugar sprinkled on top. Next time, I may use my edible flowers with a bit less sugar sprinkled on top. We both taste-tested them and they were good when they were warm but they were even better this morning with my coffee.

Ted Lasso Shortbread by Chouquette Kitchen

I took a quick walk around the yard looking for signs of spring yesterday when the temps were more favorable for such a thing. I did find a few signs. Some of my tulip bulbs have survived another winter and there are daffodils coming up, too. Yay! The wind off the lake is still really cold, though, and we may be getting a bit of snow later this week. Stay strong little flowers-to-be!

I stayed up way too late last night to finish my socks. AND, I got them done. Phew. I like them well enough but I probably won’t choose to knit with this particular yarn again. I don’t love the base (and it’s already pilling a little bit.) But they’re done. I also took a bunch of time to work on the Vanilla Sweater and have gotten the sleeves divided and am heading down the body of the pullover now. And with that progress, I need to cast on another pair of socks and another sweater project: my daughter’s wrap cardigan.

I’ve also signed up for a shawl KAL with the Wooly Thistle yarn shop which is in New Hampshire. (And will be a weekend road trip soon!) I haven’t decided which shawl I’m going to knit but I’m thinking I’d like to knit Gudrun Johnson’s Hansel Hap (Half Hap). I have a sweater’s worth of Jamieson’s jumper weight in a neutral beige-y color and tons of little balls of Jamieson’s or J&S which are interchangeable and that may work. I’m already behind on this project, of course, but I really am trying to make myself finish up some older WIPs before starting new ones. I also think I know which socks I’m going to knit next. I have a student who’s knitted the Escher Socks with a ball of cream solid fingering and a ball of Crazy Zauberball. I happen to have both in my stash! She also knit the Sunny Side UP socks and I have plenty of stashed yarn for those, too. So, with that in mind, away I go!

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.

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!

Solstice Knitting

Posted on December 20, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

My friend reminded me that today is the Winter Solstice. Christmas really snuck up on me this year but I think I’m ready. We have simplified again this year. No real tree, we have a small-ish tree that I had to find new lights for but it’s lit and it’s fun to see in the living room. I also set up my Department 56 village for the first time in a long time and it’s a really fun, festive decoration. I did get out and buy some Poinsettias for the dining room table and one for my atelier. I also forced a few paperwhite narcissus and an amaryllis. They’re blooming now and two of my orchids are pushing out bud spikes, It looks like we will have orchids blooming again in the New Year. I’ve got to keep the humidifiers running if they’re all going to live for a long time.

I’ve finished all of my holiday knitting except for my hubby’s Christmas socks. He’s gotten yarn in his stocking before and I will be able to knit them out in the open once he knows.

FO first! This is the Jamberry Cardigan by Birchtree Knits. I knitted a size 4 in Berroco Vintage DK. I like the Vintage product for its washability. My daughter has asked for sweaters that she can wash and dry. Sylvie has been living in her other purple cardigan (at least the last time I heard) partly because she can put it on all by herself and she can button it up by herself, too. I hope she likes this one, too. It looks huge but she’s growing up so quickly!

Today I ran to town to get some last minute goodies for stockings. When I got home, it was time to get cooking. The kids all want my granola so I made a double batch and will divide it three ways. I also made two quiches (one sausage and one veggie) with shredded potato crust like the ones I made for Thanksgiving that were a big hit. Earlier in the week I made two different kinds of cinnamon rolls – one with nuts and one without – for my Friday morning knitting class’ holiday celebration. They were delicious (and I did make cream cheese frosting for them, too.) I made chili for dinner one night this week, too. I don’t cook much these days, my hubby cooks more than me, but it was good! I just wish I’d made corn bread to go with it. Next time.

I’ve been knitting every day. On my needles, I have a Stockholm Slipover in stashed yarn. I am really happy with the way it’s knitting up and I am almost down to the ribbing which means there is a bit of stockinette and some ribbing at the bottom, around the sleeves and neck and then I can wear it. I’ve also cast on a Musselburgh hat in a pink HuMade yarn that I got a Knitty City when I was in the city a while ago. I’m holding it with a strand of Berroco Aerial mohair/silk. I think I’m near the end of the increases and ready to hit the round and round of stockinette stitch.

I cast on the Broadgate Tabbard. I may set it aside for a bit though because it’s really a spring and supper project; I’m knitting mine in a stunning green linen that I bought after I saw it on Ravelry or Social Media. I’ve never worn a lot of green but this one just got stuck in my head and I had to buy it. I think I may knit an afghan for my brother instead. And a hood for his wife. They’re both very deserving and never ask for anything. I have green yarn for his blanket and a neutral deep beige/brown for the hood. Hmm. Maybe the hood will be my next cast on. I also want to finish the Noah the Horse that I have mostly made. And some pink mittens that need to be embroidered. I won’t go down that rabbit hole again. That kind of embroidery on knitwear isn’t my bag, But I do want to finish the project.

I have SO many projects that I want to make. And so much yarn that I have bought in anticipation of the projects. Ha! Ha!

Gone knitting.

Wow! What a Week!!!

Posted on December 14, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

I didn’t get a photo taken before I got to work this morning. And what a morning it was! When the store is busy the time passes so quickly. it was one odd situation after another today … one of THOSE days. LOL. One of the first customers was a woman who “came in with my daughter last fall and the owner showed her a book. I wonder what that was.” She went on to tell me that it was in a shelf at the rear of the store … the hint that cut the options in half … we have only ever had crochet books at the back of the store but they’re all moved to the front this past summer. And we have a full book shelf of crochet books. In the end she decided to buy a gift card for her daughter … after I had sold the last one we had in the store. (More arrived later in the day and it all worked out well but what a start!)

I have been getting quite a bit of knitting done and I have wrapped up several projects. It’s quite wonderful to finish a few projects and I am really happy with them!

I’ve been really excited to wear my Easy Folded Poncho by Churchmouse Yarns. I made mine in the Zinnia colorway of Rowan Felted Tweed. I love the yarn. I love the color. I love the poncho! To be honest, this is a boring knit … 50 inches of stockinette stitch. But it was a good project to work on when I was teaching and when I was watching television at the end of a long day. And the final result (the blocking was an experience, I had to use my blocking wires that I really don’t love) is wonderful and so wearable.

I found the sparkly hat on a youtube channel that I watch on occasion. I have actually knitted two and this one will be the one that I gift to someone who wants it. The other one, mine, is downstairs and has already been worn and shown off at the store on my teaching day. I found the sequin yarn over Thanksgiving at my favorite Marblehead yarn shop. When I got home I found some black alpaca and a mohair to match and the hat is knitted with all three yarns held together. Quick and very simple hat pattern and the yarn actually allowed me to make two hats. I found pompoms this week and tied them on. They are officially done. And I love mine! The pattern is called the City Lights Hat. Details are on my Ravelry project page.

I also finished the Nuuk Gloves that are actually fingerless mitts. These are going to be nice warm mittens and they’re long enough to wear in the winter in Maine when the mornings are chilly and the car’s steering wheel is chilly. You need mitts to cover your fingers so they don’t touch the wheel at least until the heater warms is up. The yarn is Knitting for Olive’s merino worsted held with a Knitting for Olive mohair. They’re knitted at quite a tight gauge which will make them extra warm. I bought this yarn on a “girls’ trip” with my coworker friends to a new LYS near us here in Central Maine. I like that it’s not a superwash. There, I’ve said it. I’m becoming a wooly wool kind of girl.

I have mostly finished our granddaughter’s Christmas gift sweater, the Jamberry Cardigan. All the duplicate stitch is done, most of the ends are woven in and I just have to sew on the buttons and give it a block. I’m quite pleased with the sweater and I know Sylvie will love it. This completes her little gifts. I’ll post a final picture when it’s actually finished. But the “hard” work is done.

I cast on a Stockholm Slipover by Petite Knits since I have finished so many little projects. It seemed fitting. Her sizing is a bit difficult for my body. One size is just about an inch of positive ease and the next size is almost six inches of positive east. One too little and the other too much. I basically threw a dart at the sizes and cast on. My gauge is good and pretty soon I can try it on. Maybe even tomorrow. I am knitting it with deeply stashed yarn. Three hanks of a clearance yarn from the store held with an alpaca/silk lace. I really like the way it’s coming out and I like the color but I fear that I have all blue, purple and gray knits. SO … in the future I need to change it up more. This pattern is really fun – it starts with the back and one shoulder and goes on from there. I’ve gotten to the point where the body is connected and I’m working my way down the body. I love knitting a vest – no sleeves!

Stockholm Slipover in Tenderfoot and Halo

I still have a pair of socks for my hubby to finish for Christmas. This week I will really focus on them during the days when he’s at work. I’m trying to keep them a surprise! I have a feeling I may get one of them made and then will finish them after the holiday – when they can be knitted in plain sight. Ha! Ha! I’ve made the gusset increases so I have a heel turn and a leg to make. I hope I can get ONE finished! Otherwise, he’ll get yarn (again) in his stocking. He’s used to it. And he loves handknit socks.

I baked this week! I haven’t baked since before Thanksgiving but I finally got into the kitchen and made some granola. We all love my granola and if I find some “extra” time this week, I will bake some for my kids for Christmas. Tomorrow my college roommate is making an appearance for about 24 hours and I want to make some blueberry muffins for her (and for my hubby). I’d love to make some rolls or something fun, too. I’ve marked several ideas for the holiday including pecan cinnamon rolls – a couple of batches will be good for Christmas morning. Yum! I also want to make some “salt dough” ornaments to decorate with the kids on Christmas eve. We are simplifying our holiday this year and doing a gift swap. We all have a secret person who we get a gift for – and we all submit a list of items we want! Easy. Time together is way more important than gifts. And I have decided I really don’t like shopping. This week, though, I have to get to work filling my hubby’s stocking.

Another couple of weeks to the New Year! I have my new planner and have begun getting it started. I love a good clean, empty book with so much to look forward to in the next months. I’m not a believer in resolutions but I do believe in having goals or hopes.

Gone knitting.

Thankful

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

Rabbit! Rabbit! We are home after such a wonderful Thanksgiving that I didn’t even take one photograph! Not one. Babies, toddlers, my nephews and their parents, friends and family and I just enjoyed being together. We feel so lucky to have family members who we like and enjoy just riding along to the airport and a walk around Logan’s 9/11 memorial or lunch after they visited my s-i-l’s cousin in the hospital. We enjoy each other’s company and love our time together.

We had a traditional Thanksgiving meal this year at my middle nephew’s request and it was delicious! I was very happy with the pumpkin dinner rolls that I brought, they had just enough pumpkin spice to be yummy and not overpowering. The apple pie (no photo of that either) was really yummy as was the cheesecake. I also brought two quiches with hash brown potato crust and they were really yummy, too. I’ll be repeating the quiches at Christmas time. Maybe the pumpkin rolls, too. We will be cooking a turkey breast at our house on Friday because I didn’t have a turkey sandwich yet. I’ll be needing to make cranberry sauce and stuffing for that event. Yum. Why don’t we all make a turkey more than once a year?

While I was away, I believe I’ve finished the fifty inches of stockinette stitch for the Easy Folded Poncho. If so, I’ll be finishing it up tomorrow. I also finished my Alpine Bloom Hat and I absolutely love it. I don’t love it ON me but I love the hat. I also have enough of the yarn left to make something else. I wish there were Alpine Bloom Mittens/Fingerless Mitts. I’m going to have to look because there may be. I cast on the fingerless mitts kit that I bought when “the girls” I work with went to visit a new to Maine yarn shop in Gorham – Olde School Fiber and Craft. Not sure how I feel about this yarn and fabric. Thank goodness they’re mitts and not a sweater. I just think it should have a softer hand than it does. They’ll be fine but not a favorite.

Oops! Just realized I have a committee meeting and the chair didn’t send out an email with an agenda … and the chair is me!

Gone knitting.