Queen Bee Knits

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After Christmas Report

Posted on December 27, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

We are back home after a wonderful whirlwind Christmas trip to New York City. Rather than spending the holiday staring at each other, we decided to head to the city to spend the holiday with our NY family and, maybe most importantly, our granddaughter.

We ate and drank and played games and watched movies, we spent lots of time together enjoying each other’s company. Christmas Eve we ate beef stew and shrimp scampi at B&K’s apartment and Christmas morning was also at their place where we had cinnamon rolls, muffins, mimosas and eggs and bacon. Christmas dinner was at K&S’s apartment and we had lasagna two ways, garlic bread and kale salad. I so love spending time with my family. We fit in time for baking Spritz cookies which is a family tradition and the kids even snuck a few into our bag when we were heading home. A nice surprise!

I designed my first “real” sweater for my granddaughter’s second Christmas and I wanted to show it to you. I have to look into how to grade and tech edit (and test knit) the pattern and decide if it’s worth it to publish the pattern. It’s a chimney sweater and popping out of the chimney is the jolly old elf. I had to re-knit the yoke to make it deep enough to fit a pair of little arms but I am pleased with the way it fit our little elf.

The sweater is knit in a DK weight yarn and fits my darling elf perfectly. The hat is a special addition because I wanted it to look like Santa’s head is popping out of the chimney. I added the little green garland to give it a pop of color. It’s sewn on with cotton thread. The little hat also fit perfectly and my daughter loved it. I’m guessing an elf hat will be requested another time.

I also knitted two berets for my future daughter-in-love. She requested spring weight hats for her golfing when the days are a bit chilly. I pulled tan yarn from around the store one day and she chose two favorites. A Malabrigo Arroyo in colorway 131 Sandbank. I wouldn’t have looked at this color twice (or once) but I really love the color and the hat is stunning. I loved the icord edging and will be looking forward to the report from the wearer. I was so excited to finish the hat before leaving the city that I forgot to photograph it. I have one in-process photo.

The pattern, Bisbis by Sari Nordlund, is simple enough for an adventurous beginner, starting with an i-cord and increasing rapidly. It’s a bit fiddly to do because you have only a few stitches on DPNs but it was easily completed in about 7 hours total knitting. I started it on Friday in my knitting class holding a strand of mohair with the sport weight superwash but I didn’t like the fuzziness. So, on Saturday on the ride into NYC, I frogged it and started again with just the Arroyo. I loved it.

The other hat is One Day Beret by Kristin Kapur. This one was knit in Cascade’s Aegean Tweed which is an organic merino wool and I used two colors and knitted two-round stripes. I carried the yarn on the inside of the hat so I didn’t have lots of ends to weave in. I also loved the way this hat knit up and the yarn is wonderful to work with. In fact, it was very similar to my favorite yarn, Patagonia by Juniper Moon Farms. Both are organic merino and they’re similar weights. This hat is a bit larger than Bisbis and ends in ribbing. It’ll be interesting to see which hat fits better, which is the better size, etc.

I’ve got to get better about photographing the hats at the end … I get excited and forget. Haha! Oh well. You can get the gist of what it looks like by this photo. I added a bit of an i-cord “string” or whatever that part of the tam/beret is called that sits at the top and then began the pattern. I am really pleased with both hats.

I have a long list of projects to start in the New Year. Mostly gifts but a few for myself. Sock for my daughter, Love and Light for my nephew’s bride-to-be for their shower, another for my bonus daughter’s engagement gift I want to finish my gnome KAL and knit the Arne & Carlos Advent Christmas Stocking for myself. My stocking isn’t my favorite anymore … and needs to be changed out. I’ll keep the old one just in case we get lucky and have all the kids for Christmas at our house one year.

I’ve been working on a pair of socks for my bonus son-in-law for a future gift and my Nancy’s vest. I’ve nearly reached the end of the button hold section and will be happy to wear it in the New Year. I have to find 7 perfect buttons for it, too. I have two sleeves to finish my Norwegian knitting project … actually, it’s one sleeve and a little bit of a second. I’ve had a challenge in how to knit a chart with the wrong number of stitches while decreasing to the right number of stitches. But I’ll figure it out. I hope. I’m so close to being able to wear it!

We will be spending New Year’s Eve with my brothers and their brides and we’re excited to see them. I hope your Christmas was merry and your New Year is healthy and happy!

Gone fishing.

A Very Long Ride Home on 12/26! Lots of tail lights for sure.

A Wonderful Week on the West Coast

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

I’m back in the east coast time (and I’ve adjusted to the time change) after a wonderful week in California. My daughter and son-in-love and their daughter and dogs have moved to San Diego for three months for my daughter’s work. She’s performing a new play about Billie Jean King called Love All at the La Jolla Playhouse. I was brought out to California because they needed childcare for a week when dad had to travel for his work and I was all too happy to oblige!

My granddaughter is sitting up all by herself now and starting to get up on her knees and rock. She is a professional sleeper and loves to eat just about anything you feed her … but she doesn’t like eggs. We took lots of walks, played on the floor a ton and snuggled a bunch. It was wonderful spending the time with her. Bonus – I got to spend some time with her mother, too. I love seeing my daughter with her daughter. It absolutely fills my heart.

We visited the San Diego Zoo Safari Park which was incredible! We even saw a platypus. They’re much smaller than I’d thought they were. We walked all over the park and it was amazing. The weather was cool and overcast so it was a perfect day to see all the animals and they weren’t hiding in the shade. We too their African Cart ride and saw so many animals up pretty close. We all agreed it was a wonderful place and worth every cent!

Most mornings I walked from my AirBnB to my daughter’s apartment and along the way I enjoyed the flora and fauna. (Luckily I didn’t see much fauna other than birds.) The plants, though, according to my daughter and I agreed, looked very much like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Little did we know that Theodore Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) lived in San Diego/ La Jolla from 1948 until his death in 1991. So, when you’re reading Green Eggs and Ham or the Cat in the Hat, you’ll see exactly what La Jolla looks like! Some of the plants I loved are pictured above. The trees with few leaves and huge red flowers were among my favorites!

We went to the La Jolla Cove and walked along the coast after lunch. There were sea lions everywhere sunning themselves. And there were lots of babies. Living along the hillsides were hundreds of cormorants, some with nests and young. And more flowers on the hillside to make things pretty. It was a fascinating walk and fun people watching.

I have been knitting, too, I just didn’t get a lot of knitting done when I was in California. I’ve finished socks for my daughter, Libet. I used my favorite sock pattern by Yankee Knitter (#29 Classic Socks) and some deeply stashed yarn which turned out to be Dream in Color yarn. (All the details are on my project page in Ravelry.) I love the way these socks turned out. The colorway is an incredible mix of purples of all shades and they’re subtle until you look at them closely. I think she’ll be pleased. The color doesn’t photograph well and falls somewhere between the two photos below. What’s a knitter to do?

I finished the Tybee Sweater for Sylvie before I left and gave it a good wash and block. It’s so cute and it fits!!! I loved knitting this sweater, it’s soft against the skin and the colorway is brilliant – rainbows in softer shades. I love the buttons that I found for it at RIx Rax in Montreal. They’re vintage orange plastic (washable) and they’re perfect for this cardigan. The baby wore it several times in CA.

I also finished my Old Port Hat by Andrea Mowry. This was a fun hat to knit – and I still don’t like myself in hats. I’m not sure there is a hat in this world that I will like on myself. I knitted this hat in a collection of left-over yarns that were in my stash. I had some left over bright pink alpaca that I used for the ear flap lining and then I had some Patagonia and some Rowan Felted Tweed. They are all, for the most part, used up. Woo! Hoo! I love it when I decide to knit something and don’t have to buy new yarn for it. The hat is really interesting to knit and I love the way it looks. I may decide to wear it this winter even though I don’t like it on me. It will be nice and warm!

According to my records, that means that I’ve finished 27 projects so far this year. Remaining WIPs on my needles are: My Favorite Genser (Norwegian pullover), Three Season Cardigan, and I just started while I was away a summer sweater, Lane’s Island Pullover by Lori Versaci. The original design was two-color stripes but I’m knitting it in one color (ivory) in a recycled fiber, Remix Light by Berroco yarns. I have another sweater (or two, now that I think of it) in this yarn and I love it year-round. This white one will be really versatile, too. I’ve completed up to the arm pit decreases and have a few more inches to go on the front. It will have 3/4 sleeves. (No photos.)

I’ve still got a few of the Arne and Carlos mini Nordic jumpers to finish and one of these days I’ll just get it done. I’ve finished through #18 … seven are left. I have until December, right?

I also have a pair of mittens that I started eons ago. They’re super cute but they seem to be coming out too big (again!) I’ve started this pattern once before and I’m not sure why they’re so big. I’ve got to measure the gauge to see if I’m on the right track … and if they’re way off, I may put these aside forever. Or at least for awhile. Or forever.

Gone knitting.

Another Failed Snowmageddon

Posted on February 23, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

This is our view from the front porch this morning. As you can see, there is no snow falling. The world of Maine has closed because a Snowmageddon was forecasted. We were told to get ready to hunker down, we’d be getting snow overnight last night, all day long today and tonight, too. It’s not even 10am and the snow has ended. We have about two inches here in Belgrade. Nowhere near enough to consider it worth staying home and hunkering down.

In my next life, I’d like to be a weather person. It seems to me that it’s the only job where if you’re wrong much of the time, you get to keep your job. Businesses were deciding to close yesterday, a full 24 hours in advance of a storm. The whole state is closed!

So, I have in front of me a day to do whatever I want. Normally, I’d be at the store today. I went in yesterday as a favor to the boss in advance of the storm. We were super busy and the boss’s brother was at work on day two of having tested positive for Covid. My Irish stepped in front of the normal, reasonable me and I blew a gasket. I told the boss that it was him or me going home and that she didn’t have my back and that I felt betrayed. Come to find out that the sit and knit group the day before was ushered in through the yarn doors (usually kept locked) so they didn’t have to walk by her brother … “but he was masked” and two of his employees “were ok with it”. What about the woman who came in yesterday with oxygen? What about the Colby kids who go home to a dormitory? What about those who are unable to be vaccinated or have other reasons for being high risk? Employees on the fabric side of the store were told to keep it quiet. The yarn side was told nothing. UN-believable.

Anyway, so today I have a day to do whatever I want and I “should” be finishing the vest that I have on the needles. I’m so close and it’s bright enough to pick up the stitches around the arms and neck and knit for a few rounds. It would be good to finish this before I start the Choose Your Own Path Genser class with Knitography Farm. My yarn arrived yesterday.

Traditional Norwegian Yarn for my Choose Your Own Path Genser Course

I’m excited to start this course and make a beautiful sweater! I’ve bought the book that was suggested and I love the sweater. The yarn is sport weight by American Standards, the Norwegians don’t seem to need the guidelines as we do. They know that with this yarn and these needles, they’ll get gauge and will be able to make a sweater that fits. Americans seem to need more hand-holding and guides. I’m eager to give this a shot and I already know that the pattern will make a very close-fitting pattern so I will be needing to adjust the stitches to make it fit me the way that I want it to. I like a little bit of ease in my garments. I know that Patricia will be offering lots of help with this. It’s always fun to knit something new and to learn something new.

This is the sweater that I’m making. I’ve bought the purple yarn pictured on the model in the center. I struggled with color choice, though, because there were so many lovely colorways. I don’t have anything purple in my closet so that’s what I went with.

I’m knitting socks for the hubby as part of his (past) Christmas gift. I’ve finished the first sock and will cast on the second sock today. I will be endeavoring to write down the way I made the first one because I think the pattern was wrong. I tried to follow the pattern twice and twice the ribbing didn’t line up properly. On the third try, I just watched my knitting and put the ribbing where it needed to go. They’re such pretty socks; I love the cables and the way the heel is knitted is a bit different from the sock pattern that I usually knit.

I’m also knitting little baby socks. Little Miss is now 4 months old and starting to be more talkative, rolling over and grabbing and holding her rattle and toys. Her aunt had Covid a week or so ago and, once officially negative, her priority was to go see Sylvie. She’s changing so quickly from week to week, it’s incredible. I won’t be sure that these socks fit until I try them on her but I did my best guessing. Supposedly they won’t fall off – I’ll believe it when I see it. Anyone who’s ever dressed a child knows that socks fall off almost immediately. It just happens.

On Tuesday I made my first King Cake. I have a brother and sister-in-law who live in Louisiana. Since I’m linked to the south and Mardi Gras, I saw a recipe for King Cake in the NY Times and decided I’d try it. Despite the fact that it took my dough a couple of more hours to rise than it was “supposed” to, it turned out to be pretty tasty. The recipe had caramel apples in the center of the cake which is a bit untraditional but it’s pretty tasty. Next year I’ll try a more traditional cake and I’ll have the right colors of sugar to be authentic. Haha!

I should have taken some to work yesterday to share! I think this may be more cake than two people can eat before it gets stale. Or maybe I can freeze it. Note to self: don’t frost the whole cake at once unless you have an army ready to eat it. It doesn’t hold up under plastic wrap.

Gone knitting.

I’m a Grandmother!

Posted on November 6, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

Sylvie Violet was born on October 19th at just before 9am and she is already the love and light in our lives. I got the text message announcing her arrival from her proud papa and immediately started packing for my first visit. I needed to lay eyes on my daughter and meet the baby. When I still hadn’t heard from my dear husband two hours later, I got in my car (with no clear idea of where I would be sleeping) and started my drive to New York City. I felt a little bit like I was running away from home! (My dear husband did call me when I was close to the NH border and forgave me for going without him. I do love him!)

I met her for the first time on October 20th. My son and I went to the hospital together. He’d never held a baby before and was a bit unsure but quickly adjusted. It was absolutely incredible to see and hold and kiss this little nugget for the first time. My heart expanded again by double as it did each time I held one of my own babies for the first time. She is beautiful and perfect and I’m so excited to see her grow up and to see her mom and dad parent her.

I know that this child will be well cared for and well loved. She already is. Welcome to this crazy family, Sylvie Violet! We love you forever!

Gone knitting. (I’m a grandmother now! Lots of little knitting to do!)

Summer Solstice – a little different this year

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. For the past two years on this day, I’ve been knitting from sun-up to sundown to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s Disease in honor of my mother who passed away after a long decline with this illness.

This year, however, I’m really busy with volunteering as president of our lake association and this is the season where all the planning (or sometimes the lack of planning) comes to fruition and I have to take the morning to accomplish some lake tasks – register our DASH (pontoon boat for suction harvesting invasive milfoil) boat, pick up some plastic boxes to store papers so they won’t be eaten by mice in storage, etc.) And I have a couple of phone calls to make as well. By the time I actually get to sit down to knit, it will be noon at the earliest – and I was out of the house before 9am.

But as I knit today, I’ll be thinking about my mother and the disease that she so feared as a younger woman. I remember her saying things like, “I must be getting Alzheimer’s,” when she forgot something. If there’s a reality of manifesting your own destiny, then I’d say my mother did just that. She was forgetting things that mattered by the time my children we in elementary school and she was in her mid-sixties. My age. She forgot her purse when we went to the grocery store, she forgot to take the emergency brake off when she was driving the car, she forgot that she’d already mixed the mayonnaise mixture for potato salad. She couldn’t organize things like the grocery list and shopping for groceries so she said that there was enough even though there wasn’t. She forgot how to feed her cat and would stand in the middle of her kitchen with a can of cat food and couldn’t figure out what else she needed to get the food to the cat. She forgot how to make coffee in her coffee pot so she would walk to the local restaurant for her coffee and say that she liked the walk in the morning. She left her purse at the muffin shop, and the jewelry store, and forgot it when she went to the gas station. The list is lengthy. She forgot so much that we couldn’t leave her alone with the grandchildren and that was very hurtful. We had to take away her keys to the car eventually and hire people to help her and care for her. And eventually we had to find her a home in an assisted living care home. None of us enjoyed any of that.

And then mom forgot who we were.

She lived for ten years after her diagnosis. Watching our mother and grandmother fade away was so sad. The kids didn’t want to see her at the end, preferring to remember her as the vibrant, active, fun, happy grandmother. She became agitated and tearful, she couldn’t speak and finally she was bedridden, curled in fetal position, hands atrophied, gaunt, empty-eyed. She passed away in the fall of 2008. She was 76 years old.

I’ll knit today for my mother and in hopes that a cure will be found so that families and victims of this horrid disease don’t have to experience it as we did. And I’ll have a bourbon old fashioned cocktail tonight in her memory. My mother and I didn’t always see eye-to-eye but she loved me and she adored my children and I wish she could see them today. She’s missed so much and we have missed her, too. Cheers to you, Mom. I hope you can see how great your family has grown and continues to grow. We are all here because of you (and some help from Dad, too.)

Gone knitting.

Thank You, Kim! (A Wonderful Moment)

Posted on June 12, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

Not a great photo of me but a wonderful memory

I had a wonderful moment last week when one of our customers, who I’d helped with a knitting challenge, came in to say thank you. With flowers!

Kim is a relatively new knitter and she wanted to knit a shawl to keep her warm. She chose a relatively simple shawl, Truly Tasha’s Shawl, that is … it’s simple until you reach the edge. The edge is a knitted-on lace edge and she had no experience with this type of thing. She was ready to just leave it off or make it simpler. I encouraged her to try it and walked her through a couple of repeats of the pattern. Sure enough, she got it and has finished the shawl.

As a teacher, we have a lot of “proud mom moments” and it’s always sweet to hear from a student that they have accomplished something that they feel proud of. I call it a proud mom moment because that’s the only parallel that I can find – when you’re raising little human beings, it’s such a win when they do something, sometimes with your guidance and sometimes not. that they feel proud of whether it’s making a lego tower or graduating from college. Seeing someone that you’ve “helped” to get to a point where they can do something without you is really wonderful!

I had that happen (again) last week and Kim brought me flowers! The little tag is a keeper and a reminder that what I do is meaningful. Whether it’s giving my own child or someone else’s child (even a fully grown one) confidence, another tool to add to their personal tool box, it’s a wonderful feeling. Kim, you made my day!

Gone knitting.

About Decency

Posted on February 19, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

I may have to admit to being old. I feel like I’m starting to sound like my parents or maybe it’s just that I am finding my voice at 60+. Regardless, there is something afoot on “my” lake that is aggravating my moral and ethical self and that is making me question the society that we live in in the good old US of A.

I am on the board of trustees of a public charter school here in Maine and I have listened to educators and others say that our children are disrespectful and rude and have no manners and are selfish, etc. None of these are wrong but we, the adults, have to look at our own behavior as the examples that our youth follow and (maybe) look up to. Who are we? Who are we as an adult society? How do we behave? Are we respectful and polite? Do we set the example for our youth by behaving well, by saying “please” and “thank you”? Do we use our turn signals? Are we generous with our time and talents? Do we take our hats off inside? Do we watch our own language use?

This morning there is a large group of what appear to be adults (to be fair they’re over a mile away) who are out ice fishing on the lake. Ice fishing in Maine is a long-standing tradition, often a generational (family) event, that is a wonderful outside activity for adults and children. Lots of people I know take their kiddos fishing in the winter. In fact, I just found out that there are child-sized snowmobiles! How cool is that?!

While I was sitting at the table eating my breakfast, I thought I saw that they had a flag flying over the group so I got the binoculars out and had a look to see what clever flag some family had created. Boy, am I sorry I did. There was a “F#*@ Biden” flag, a big one, flying with a Trump sign. I have no problem with the latter flag. We get to support who we want to in this country. But the former flag, the one with the obscene word and the name of the president of these United States, that one I take offense to … strongly.

We need to do better. Children will see that sign today and ask their mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, “what does F@#* mean?” because children READ! If we ever wonder why our youth today has no idea what appropriate language is about, this is one of the reasons why. We need to bring back the respect of the office. You don’t have to like the president, but the office must be respected. Only by demonstrating good behavior can we teach it. I am disgusted by this group and I hope someone, a mom or dad or another adult, will ask this group to take the flag down. What are we teaching our children?

I went out and put my American flag up this morning with a sadness that I haven’t felt for awhile and with a pride that I often feel. We can do better. We must do better.

Gone knitting.

Grateful

Posted on December 12, 2021 by Queen Bee Knits

I started this post after Thanksgiving having spent several days with two thirds of my kids, their significant others, my brothers and sisters-in-love and their kids and some of their significant others. Being with family is my drug. I left Massachusetts with my heart full and my soul warmed. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday just before all of the pressure heading into Christmas begins. I’m so grateful that my children and their cousins know each other and that they enjoy spending time together and we enjoyed spending time together, too!

And now we’re well into the Christmas rush. Rushing to get the tree decorated and the presents bought and mostly shipped to their recipients but some to put under the tree and into stockings for Christmas day. I’m working hard to keep the gratitude and warm fuzzies in my heart that I had a Thanksgiving and to be fully honest here, I’m struggling. My dear husband’s daughters and one of their boyfriends are scheduled to be here for Christmas this year. It seems that because of a sick dog, one won’t be able to come. The other daughter’s boyfriend seems to be rethinking the trip because he’s spent a lot of time in Florida with his family. I was really looking forward to seeing them because we haven’t seen each other for a long time. We haven’t seen the dog mom daughter for a year and a half.

Today I’m trying to wrap my head around having Christmas at home with my little family – me and my husband. It seems that it’s entirely possible again this year. Somehow I have to make it ok and I’m not sure how to do that. It’s going to be difficult to make any major changes because I’m now scheduled to work since we were going to be celebrating here with my step-daughters. It’ll be near-impossible to kennel the dog at this point to fly anywhere and a drive to their homes is at least a two day drive each way … leaving two days to visit. We don’t relish the idea of four days in the car for a two-day visit. The NYC kids are having a Christmas dinner to which we’ve been invited but I don’t know what kind of hotel or extra bed situation we’d be looking at and the dog still needs to be kenneled. I guess we will look at our options if we find it’ll be just us for sure.

Meanwhile, I’m knitting. A lot. I’ve been finishing some projects, too. I have so many things that I want to knit and with my schedule, I’ve been lining them up for when I have some time to knit “what I want”. I’ve knitted several gifts for the kids in NYC and they’ve been sent on. We are going to go to the beach in Rhode Island again in September and that’s their big gift. Since they haven’t opened gifts, I’ll not discuss what I’ve made until after Christmas – and I even forgot to photograph a couple of the gifts. Oops!

The Slip Stitch Hat by Tanis Williams is a sweet hat with a slip stitch section around the head. It makes the sport/dk weight hat a bit warmer around the ears. I used a bit of a handspun yarn that I was gifted with a wool/silk blend yarn that I found at Marden’s here in Maine. It was a yarn company close out sale and was a great deal. This hat will be going to Yardgoods Center’s February hat drive for the needy in our community.

The beaded tape measure is a new activity that I’ve been doing with my Friday knitters, one of whom is a phenomenal talent at beading and quilting in addition to being a great knitter. Anyway, we bought a kit online (Etsy) and we had a class at the end of my teaching day a few weeks ago. What fun! I love the way the tape measure looks so much but I admit that I’m a bit hesitant to put it into my knitting bag for fear that it will be damaged or get dirty.

Evergreen Socks by Madeline Gannon are so much fun! I loved knitting these. I used deeply stashed yarn from Buffalo Wool Company. I’ve had this yarn from a bunch of years ago when I signed up for their monthly yarn club. It’s a fingering weight blend of wool and buffalo so these socks are likely to be nice and warm. I think these will be for me. I only have one daughter who has the same size feet as I do and she likes shorty socks.

Husband’s Christmas (last year) sweater. Well, he loves it and it’s a perfect fit. I gave him the yarn for this sweater last year at Christmas. His face when he opened it was a classic. He wondered if I was going to teach him to knit! LOL. Needless to say, here it is almost Christmas again and I have finally gotten it done. I loved loved loved knitting with Cascade 220 worsted yarn. I’ve not knitted with it before (I know, I was surprised, too) and it’s so much softer and more luxurious feeling that the Ella Rae wool that I’ve knitted with several times. The price point isn’t that different anymore so I’d prefer the Cascade; especially when it’s a garment. We’ll see how it wears and how it pills. The pattern is Knitting Plain and Simple #991 and it is simple but the heathered yarn makes is anything but plain.

Oh, Arne and Carlos, how I love you. I started knitting the Christmas balls last year and got about six of them finished. I haven’t tried to knit any this year because these stinking cute mini jumpers came out and that’s all I wanted to knit. I have managed to get five done and will pick up the rest of the 24 and hope to get them finished before next Christmas. I’m using Patagonia organic merino in three colors. I decided to keep the traditional holiday colors for our house. We shall see. But I love them so much!

Last but not least, I have cast on for a new pair of mittens for me. I love my “old” snowflake mittens a lot. These new ones are similar and very different. These are the Northman Mittens by David Schultz and I’ve chosen to knit with the same yarn as the design calls for. It just so happens that we have a great selection of Berroco Ultra Alpaca yarn. I’ve changed my mind already several times but I can’t change it again. I am knitting with a light tealy-blue-green and a light gray shade. The lining will be knit in a pink for a pop of color and you can find all the gory details for this and all of my other projects on my Ravelry project page. (I”m “lindar” on Ravelry.)

I am knitting a sweater for my almost-93 year old student who is having memory challenges and she was unable to be successful with this Plain and Simple pattern. I’ll get the sleeves finished this week and will present it to her as my gift on her 93rd birthday which is on Friday … and a cake! She’s one of my favorites and it’s crushing to see her struggle to knit. She was a wonderful knitter back in the day.

There you have it. I’ve caught you up to date. I’m sorry for the downer at the start of this post but I have promised myself that I would be authentic here and show you how life and knitting weave together to make me who I am. I won’t apologize for who I am and I am an emotional person. I’ve mentioned before my “ocular incontinence”, right? I will make the best of whatever Christmas brings, I’m just struggling with it for now. It’s all good. We love all of our kids and this won’t change that, of course.

Gone knitting.

The Queen Bee’s Excellent Vacation Adventure

Posted on September 29, 2021 by Queen Bee Knits

May be an image of 4 people — Me and the Kids … 1991-ish

When I was younger and had three little kids, life was busy. I loved being responsible for the care and feeding of three little humans (It was the best job I’ve ever had!) and I sometimes tried to imagine what life would be after they flew the nest … less laundry, less cooking, less busy. One of the things we all liked best was going to the beach with my mother (GranJan).

I used to pack up the “mommy van” (yes, it had wood paneled sides) with three little kids and drive from Central Ohio to Connecticut and then on to Rhode Island. They loved staying in a cheap Knights Inn somewhere in the middle of the trip. They “hated” Pennsylvania because it took such a long time to drive through. But the drive was always worth it when we got to the beach. All of the kids spent every summer there until about the year 1999 or 2000. Since they spent more years there, my girls have a greater connection to the place. The girls have returned to visit or drive through a few times. Kate met Heather at the beach. Her family owned a home there until about ten years ago. She had visited at the beach with Heather a couple of times and, as facts would have it, even slept in the house that I rented.

Anyway … we planned for a week in the late season and as it turned out the timing was perfect. The house was perfect and well equipped. The original part of the cottage was built in the late 1800s. It has a living/dining room, kitchen, a couple of bedrooms and a bath but over the years, we figure, they added on bit by bit. Now there are three bedrooms and two baths in the main house and another two bedrooms and two baths in the new addition. There was plenty of space for all of us and room for another family, too. The kids and their significant others and their dogs all had space to live comfortably for a week. And we did!

The Nest with a Handsome Visitor at the Door

We spent a lot of time outside. It’s an easy walk to “sea glass” beach or the “kiddie” beach and we enjoyed both. Since it was after the season, we were able to enjoy the beaches with the dogs and alone. We looked, but there is not much sea glass at “sea glass” beach these days.

We spent enough time at the beach to get a good dose of sunburn and that felt really great! We also spent a lot of time in the yard. We had a nice patio and yard with a grill and picnic table or two where we could enjoy the view of the ocean from the house and some smores.

We ate well, we stayed up late, we played fun games and had a puzzle-palooza competition. We filled the recycling container more than once with La Croix seltzer cans, wine and beer bottles. We visited Watch Hill for ice cream cones, peach, of course, and a bit of shopping. We had some trouble finding a place that was open for lobster rolls but we found a brewery in Westerly that had a great summer ale for $10 a case.

And my heart is full.

Nothing makes this mom happier than being with my kids. We haven’t spent time like this together for a long, long time. We think the last time we were at the beach was twenty-two years ago, plus or minus a year or two. I’m not sure that we’ve all been anywhere together for a week since then, actually. We’ve had weekends here and there, we’ve had some of us together (during the first pandemic summer) for a week or two, but not all of my kids for a week all together. The pile of shoes left at the front door was life affirming. The laughter around the fire pit was, too.

I am so grateful to have been able to spend this vacation with my three kids, two husbands, a girlfriend, my sweet, patient husband and our seven dogs. We had a great visit with my aunt and uncle who came all the way from Lake Tahoe to visit with our family and we had a visit from a summer camp friend who happened to be at the next beach over on business. It was, in a word, good!

I’ll forever be grateful to have been able to do this with my kids. Spending time together, reconnecting, getting to see their relationships, getting to know their significant others better. It was a walk down memory lane and a memory-making vacation that we all enjoyed. AND we are already planning our vacation for next year!

I have been knitting … more on that later!

Gone knitting.

Our First (Post Pandemic) Car Trip

Posted on June 19, 2021 by Queen Bee Knits

We always have trouble leaving home (and we were both a little cranky packing on Thursday night) but we really wanted to see N’s eldest daughter’s “new” home in suburban DC. So … off we went on Friday morning. Traffic was HORRIBLE and turned a 7-8 hours trip to southern New Jersey and our stop for the first night into 11 1/2 hours. It was a long day but it afforded us to get a glimpse of the new Tappanzee/Gov. Mario Cuomo Bridge and wave toward my three kiddos in New York City. I finished N’s birthday socks and he’s happy about them. Thank you Yankee Knitter for the wonderful pattern. We were traveling with our dogs and have always liked staying at LaQuinta Hotels that are dog friendly (dogs stay for free!) Cheers at the end of the day in plastic hotel cups and a nearby restaurant for to-go food eaten in the hotel.

Day two we made it to Maryland early (it was only a couple of hours to Robin’s house.) As is my habit, I completely forgot to take photographs of the kids or their house or their cats who were mostly invisible. I mentioned that we traveled with our dogs, right? Needless to say, though, we had a wonderful time!

Art projects (not pictured), wonderful African food (I didn’t photograph that either) and Acai bowls, Lola in diapers and knitting projects.

Part two was three days with the kids and adventures in the Greater Washington, DC area. N lived here as a young child and my grandparents are buried here. Go figure. A walk down memory lane led us to Oak Hill Cemetery where my Rockwell family is buried. Oak Hill is an historic cemetery and parts of it, including where my family rests, is very old.

You can’t see the names of my grandmother, Elizabeth Sheldon Dow Rockwell (June 1887 – March 1984), or my grandfather, Horace Lewis Rockwell (August 1886 – December 1942) without zooming in, but they share the side of the monument with Sarah Alice Rockwell who died at 18 months of age.

According to my family genealogy, my great-great-grandfather, Henry Ensign Rockwell (3/24/1811 – 1/22/1882) was the Secretary of the US Fish Commission. In 1867 he was a Representative in the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from Millbury. He is buried here with his second wife, Sarah Jemima Hathaway Rockwell (9/25/1824 – 2/6/1898). They were married in Boston on September 25, 1824. She lived a good long life, passing at age 73. Henry and Sarah had three children: Julius Ensign, Sarah Alice and Julia Lee all buried here. Julius and his wife Mabel Rose had two sons: Henry Ensign and Horace Lewis (my grandfather) who was a patent attorney and a Second Lieutenant in WW I. When he died, my grandmother had a “nervous breakdown” and was institutionalized at the Institute for Living in Hartford, CT. The children, my father included, were sent to live with friends of the family.

Next we were on to visit N’s special place, the Tastee Diner, that his father started in the 1940s. It has been moved from its original location but it remains very similar … including the original countertop in the diner section. Our “snack” became dinner … the dinner of champions! LOL

One of Robin’s requests was to make a pie. We ended up making a galette with fresh blueberries after a visit to a huge and wonderful Wegman’s grocery store! Galettes are so simple because you don’t need a special pan or other baking utensils. A little flour, sugar and butter, add fruit and voila! I hope she’ll try to make another galette when her mom visits!

Too soon we were back on the road back home and leg three of our trip. This time through Hartford, CT and the LaQuinta in Windsor Locks. We visited my parents who are buried at the Fairview Cemetery in West Hartford. The last time I visited the area was for my 40th high school reunion and I couldn’t find the plot. I’ve decided that I have to claim having the very worst sense of direction of any human on this planet. Thankfully, my sweet husband has a good sense of direction and we did manage to find them this time!

We had dinner with two dear high school friends on Tuesday night in Windsor, CT. The only time I remember visiting the Windsor area was to go to the airport but it’s a lovely area and there are some wonderful sculptures. It was a wonderful reunion.

Wednesday morning we got up early again and headed to East Cemetery in Manchester where I needed to find my grandmother Barnard who was my favorite person in my family when she was alive. I have so many wonderful memories of doing things with Gram. She didn’t have a lot of money but she spent time with me and that’s what I will always treasure.

I don’t know who all the “players” in the Robb family are so I will do some research one day. But I found my grandmother, Maude Elizabeth Robb Barnard and her husband, my grandfather, Irwin Henry “Jack” Barnard. We found them first. I had assumed that Gram would be buried by her sister Ethel and was surprised to see that they’re actually at opposite ends of the cemetery.

We hunted for my great-aunt, Ethel May Robb next. Aunt Ethel was the principal at Wadsworth Elementary School in Manchester and we spent a lot of time with her, too, as children. Aunt Ethel took me on my college visits. Ethel is buried with the rest of the Robb family near the Robb Monument. I’ll assume that Josiah Robb and his wife, Eliza Jackson (?) are the parents of Ethel, Maude, Willard and Gladys. I remember Aunt Violet who I believe was married to Willard. Gladys died young and I never met her. More work to be done on this part of the family!

The last couple of days I focused on my Fine Sand Cardigan and made great progress with it. I’m closing in on the bottom of the body – woo! hoo! When we arrived at home, we found that the resident woodchucks had decimated my hollyhocks which were nearly six feet high when we left. The rubble left from them is above right. It’s war, now! They also ate every single petunia in the pot on our front steps. Grrr.

There’s no place like home!

Gone knitting!