Queen Bee Knits

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

Amputating my Bolin

Posted on April 9, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

What a beautiful thing to wake up to snow-covered trees this morning. Yesterday was a mixed bag of precipitation but starting at about 5pm, it snowed. I’d say we have about three inches of wet, heavy snow on the ground. AND we have no more ice on the lake! During the night we may have gotten some wind which would have demolished what thin ice was left as it got dark last night. This morning there is no more ice. Warm weather can’t be far off now!

So, over the last few days, I sewed on the buttons and tried on my finished Bolin cardigan. This sweater was the featured design in MDK’s “Bang Out a Sweater” this year. I really liked the look of it and took a special trip to Freeport, Maine to buy the yarn. I was determined, I guess. But this is what the sleeves looked like when I tried it on …

The sleeves were way too long. I would have had to fold the cuff fully over and that’s not what I envisioned for this sweater. So I pondered solutions. First I tried to unravel the yarn. If you have ever worked with mohair, you know it’s fuzzy and sticky and difficult to frog back. I struggled with finding the woven-in end and pulling that back … it wasn’t going to work for four inches of knitted and blocked fabric. So, the only other solution I could think of was to cut off the cuff and another two inches of fabric and then re-knit the cuff. I certainly wasn’t going to wear it as it is and I had invested so much time and money into the garment, I had to try to fix it.

So. I cut it.

I started by measuring where I needed the sleeve to be before I cut it. The pattern said 14 3/4 inches from where I picked up sleeve stitches. I shortened it to 14 inches because I’d rather knit more than have to frog more or cut more. And then I carefully unravelled all the way around and placed my stitches on smaller needles. Once the cuff was amputated, I found the start of the round and adjusted my stitches and then I tried it on to make sure that the cuffs wouldn’t make it too long again. (Duh! Why didn’t I do that the first time?!) Once satisfied that I wouldn’t have to adjust again, I re-knit the cuffs and bound off. Twice. Now the sleeves are a good length and I can wear the sweater – I may wear it today, in fact. It’s rather cropped but I hope with a dress or a tunic it will be wonderful and today it’s cold so the warm sweater will be welcome!

Phew! Crisis averted.

I also finished a little sweater for my great-nephew to send off to Massachusetts. I knitted the Knitting Pure and Simple Baby Pullover #214 with a Sirdar Snuggly Aran yarn and it’s really cute. I blocked it and trimmed the ends and packed it up and mailed it off yesterday. I also finished a little Newborn Vertebrae cardigan for my bonus daughter’s nugget-to-be. Since she won’t be finding out what the baby’s gender is, I (or rather my hubby) chose a very neutral yarn. I had to buy a second ball just to knit the ribbing around the opening so I will probably knit a hat and mittens, too. The baby is due in late August so I think warm hand knits will be appropriate for Colorado weather. Apparently I sent off the pullover without taking a final photo and the cardigan is blocking as I write so this is the unblocked version.

I’ve also been working on the workshop that I’m teaching Saturday morning and I’ve gotten the patterns and hand-outs copied, and knit three pieces from different parts of the pattern for my demonstration purposes. One part is what the students were to knit for “homework” before the class so I can show them how to cast on the steek stitches and join it into the round to prepare for the colorwork. The second is so I can show them how to hold their yarn, one in each hand, for knitting colorwork and how to catch floats. And the third, I still have to finish, will be showing them how to reinforce the steek before cutting and finishing. I have to reinforce one side of the steek and then I’ll demonstrate how to do the other side and how to cut it.

I did block the sample so it will lie flat for me (and my students can do that, too, before the second class if they so choose. Not sure I love my color choices, there’s not quite enough contrast, but it’s just a sample for a class, right? I’ve also been collecting my books and things that I’ve knitted in colorwork so I can show the class all different kinds of colorwork … Intarsia, Stranded, Norwegian, Mosaic, Fair Isle, etc. So, except for finishing the third sample, I am well-prepared for my class on Saturday.

So now I have to decide what I want to knit next. I’ve got a bag of cotton yarn to knit a Big Love cardigan or some red linen-blend yarn to knit a Patti tank. I have swatched for the Patti and figured out how to compensate for my gauge being “off” but I think the Big Love might be another swatch I need to try. I’m having lunch with my knitting friend today and we’re going to knit a bit after that so I have to decide because tiny toddler socks aren’t what I want to be knitting today. I also have my pink mittens to embroider on and finish up. They’re part-way embroidered and I decided that embroidering on my knitting with cotton floss is not my jam. So, I may finish the first mitten and just make the second one plain. OR I may take the embroidery out and just knit the mittens. The pink color is perfect! More on those decisions later. Gotta run and get some more coffee.

Gone knitting.

A Week of Memories

Posted on April 5, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

The sunrise this morning was unremarkable because of the clouds. Lots of gray today but yesterday when we arrived home after a week in New York City babysitting for our granddaughter, it was a glorious sunny day. I always go through a bit of a depressive episode when we leave the kids in New York. It takes me a couple of days to recalibrate myself to being just me, just us, in Maine, away from the hustle and bustle and constant business of the city. Today is a little bit difficult but the last week was truly wonderful fun.

My eldest daughter, mom to our grand, is in San Diego opening a new play called Regency Girls and her husband had to be in Las Vegas for a work event so we were called to spend a week with our granddaughter. We have learned we walk more and move way more when we’re in New York with a two-year-old. Ha! Ha! And we did. We went to the playground, played in their courtyard, made lots of lego buildings and stacked blocks (and knocked them down). Read books, colored with Dot markers (they are very satisfying) and generally had a blast. We made challah one day and Sylvie was a big helper, mixing, punching down, helping to roll and braid the dough, and brushing on the egg wash

She may be only two but she’s talking a blue streak, sings all the songs, has some crazy one-liners and is fiercely independent. Yesterday she went off to school in black and white plaid pants and a rainbow dress with two differently colored socks but she got dressed mostly by herself … and the curls!!!

Hubby and I are getting used to living in the city and have found the grocery store, a mailbox, the local bodega for newspapers and quick purchases, and we even found Target this time (to buy some cards.) We are becoming accustomed to having noise outside the windows 24-7 and sleep through it anyway. We loved being able to drop the trash in the chute in the hallway and compost and recycling are an easy elevator ride to the basement. (B is for basement we were told!) There are three great playgrounds within a few minutes walk and we didn’t even stroll around the park!

I got a bit of knitting done and realized that a linen tank that I want to knit is going to need to be re-sized because my gauge is way (way!) off. I think I can knit it a couple of sizes larger on a much smaller gauge and it will work. I’m crossing my fingers. I have 8 balls of Chai by Berroco in a pretty red colorway that I’d like to make a summer top in. I saw the Patti tank and thought that would be great but I don’t want it see-through. I’m way beyond that age! As is my habit, I started the tank with the suggested needles and then measured my gauge after a couple of inches and it was nowhere near the gauge for the pattern – 4 or five stitches per inch – it was closer to 6 1/2 stitches per inch which would cut the finished measurement by almost 4 inches in total. Not ok. SO …. I frogged it and went back to Bristol Ivy’s way of swatching to see which fabric I like after I knit and block it. I’ve tried the US6 and US7 needles on 35 stitches. I’ve got to knit a bit more on the larger needles and then I’ll bind off and block it to see if the gauge changes. That will determine my preferred fabric and then I can figure out how many stitches I need to cast on to make the tank fit the way I want it to. More on that in a later post.

Meanwhile, I have finished a little sweater for my new great-nephew. I used a Knitting Plain and Simple pattern (#214 Baby Pullover) and a Sirdar Snuggly Aran yarn. The yarn is super soft and easy care for the new mom who also has a two-year-old. It’s adorable and just needs a little wash and block to be ready to send to Massachusetts.

I don’t want to show the finished version just yet … Baby Pullover #214

I also finished the knitting on my Bolin cardigan before we left and, despite the fact that I wanted to wear it, I didn’t have time to sew on the buttons and it wasn’t quite dry before we left for New York. It is now, though. I’m planning the button sewing today so I can wear it this week. I love the fabric, it’s so soft. We’ll see how I feel about a cropped cardigan when I get dressed one day soon. I hope that it’ll be ok with a long tunic and jeans or leggings. Pictures soon.

Socks- On the Round yarn, Yankee Knitter pattern

I finished the On the Round socks while in New York and left them there for Sheldon, one of the “kids” in our extended family in the city. He’s definitely knit worthy! I loved the yarn and hoped they’d be for me but I made them a little bit too long and they’d have fit my hubby but he didn’t love them. Sheldon’s feet are the same size as my hubby so he was the winner!

I cast on a little sweater for our newest grandchild (arrival late August.) We don’t know if they will be a boy or a girl and won’t know so I let Poppy choose the colorway and it’s gray with specks of color. A little Vertebrae cardigan for newborns. This baby will be living in the Denver, CO area and will be born in A/C season and will likely spend lots of time outdoors. We can’t wait to meet him/her!

I have made some progress with this cardigan and have finished one sleeve and am nearing the end of the second sleeve. I’m going to be playing yarn chicken with the edging around the fronts. OR I’ll have to buy another ball for the last little bit which means there will be a matching hat and maybe mittens for the first cold snap. This yarn is so soft and quite wonderful to work with. The pattern is one of my favorites for new babies because they spend so much time against a human body, they only really need a sweater on their little backs. This one is perfect. And the yarn is machine washable. (The green and blue cords are “knitting barber” cords like these. I have several sets for holding stitches. They’re great knitting tools!)

I didn’t have a chance for my daughter to try on the fingerless mitts that I’m making for her. I have a wee bit of concern that they’re going to be too big and I’ll have to start them over again so I’m not knitting any further until she tries them on. The next chance I’ll get will be late this summer or early fall when we’re at the beach. I’m just going to put them in time out until then. Meanwhile, I’ll finish the embroidery on the pink mittens I started forever ago and get those done.

In a week I will be teaching the first of two parts of a workshop on colorwork knitting. I’ve got to get a couple of examples together and knit a few swatches so I can demonstrate at different times in the workshop. I have a big group signed up and I’m excited about the interest. Our knitting project will be a coffee cup cozy knitted in the round and then we’ll cut a steek to finish it off. But it’s a great, worsted weight “swatch” to learn the techniques and to get knitters ready to knit a colorwork project with more confidence.

The ice on our lake is thinning rapidly. We’ve had a typical mix of Maine spring weather while we were away and with a couple of warm days, the ice wlll be gone from the middle of the lake. We will be watching for “ice out’ (when a boat can navigate from one end of the lake to the other) this week. I’ve not looked at the weather report but we’ve had a report of the first loon sighted at the north end of the lake … they always seem to know when they can come back to the lake. Before we know it the hummingbirds will be back, too.

Gone knitting.

WIP Wednesday

Posted on January 15, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

My amaryllis is in full bloom this morning as it has been for a few days. I’ve been ignoring it despite its beauty and it probably needs water. I’ll get there, I promise. BUT it’s a glorious sunny day today and I don’t have a meeting until 2 so I thought I’d take a few minutes to write about WIPs (Works In Process, Muffin). I have several and a couple of FOs, too.

I’ve finished a couple of projects and one has been sent off already. I finished the pink sparkly blanket for my granddaughter’s baby, Baby. She requested the color and the “spahkly” and what kind of a grandmother would I be if I didn’t knit what she really wants?! Ha! Ha! The blanket should arrive on Friday and I hope I get to see her open it. Thank the heavens for FaceTime!

I have also finished knitting two tams for a long-time customer, Judy. I think I’ve knitted twenty of these tams for Judy over the years. The pattern is no longer available on Ravelry (not sure why, but I had to reach out to the designer for a copy as I’d cleaned out my paper patterns in favor of electronic copies on Ravelry. Thankfully, she was kind enough to email me a copy.) Anywho … the hat is the Quick Lacy Slouch hat knit, this time, in Berroco Vintage Chunky. One black and one a dark navy blue. They’re drying as I write after wet blocking.

The little red square is a sample for the store for our Valentine’s knit kit. We will have a crochet kit, too, but I am not a confident crocheter so one of our other “girls” has made the sample. I’ll put them together this week at work. Tomorrow.

Last, but not least, my daughter sent me a stocking that was made for her ex-husband and I’ve removed his name from the stocking and some evening soon I’ll be adding her dog’s name to the stocking so she can still use it. This was a kit by Accessories Unlimited.

Not really knitting but I also finished a puzzle this week. I was sent this for Christmas and while I don’t get the gaming part of the puzzle, it was a challenge to make and has an extra bonus – when you finish the puzzle you switch the three sections around and there’s an extra section to build. It was fun and I got a sticker that says …

OK, it’s WIP time.

I’ve got a Hoodola on the needles. Using stashed yarn by Berroco, a discontinued yarn, Inca Gold. It’s a DK weight combination of merino and silk so it’s really wear-it-next-to-the-skin soft. I didn’t swatch for it so I hope I have enough to cover my huge noggin. I do have a skein or two of a dark green if I need it for the cowl or the cinch. It’s a very clever design with an applied icord edge and a seamless cast on that starts at the top of the crown of the head, if that makes sense. I missed one of the decreases on one side so I’ll have to remember to add an extra decrease at the end to make the stitch count right.

I still have a pair of Christmas socks on the needles. I’ve finished one sock and have begun the second … working my way down the leg of the sock. This is my go-to project if I am walking on my walking pad or in a meeting because I really don’t have to look at it for the most part.

My other WIP is my New Year’s cast on which is Winter’s Finery by Rosemary Hill (Designs by Romi). I love her shawls and this is a special skein from when I went to Knit City in Montreal and the dyer is a friend of a friend. The colorway is perfect for this shawl. You’ll see!

Other WIPs that I haven’t really done anything with for a while are as follows:

Honestly, the only ones I really should count are the ones I plan to knit and that’s the first two. The pink mittens I bought the kit for the embroidery at Knit City and I’m not enjoying the embroidery … it’s way too fiddly. BUT I’ve gotten too far to go backwards, I think, so I’ll finish the embroidery on this one and will likely NOT embroider the second mitten. I do want to wear these because the color is lovely. (I don’t really NEED a new pair of mittens, but …) Second is the gift bag that I am knitting as a swatch for a class that I took in Shetland colorwork and color choices, in particular for that style of knitting. I loved the class but I haven’t begun to make progress on the project. I really need to pick it up … but the holidays weren’t a time when I had the head space for stitch counting. Now I think I’m ready.

I’m going to frog (rip it, rip it!) the next two. One is the sweater I wanted to knit in a 3T size for my granddaughter for next winter. I’ve adjusted the needle size and the sweater is coming out too small so I will frog it and work on it later in the year. I have the same yarn in pink, too. AND I’m going to frog what little I’ve done on the Three Season Cardigan that I started ages ago. I love the yarn but it’s a bugger to frog. Regardless, it’s been sitting on the needles for too long and I fear for my tension. Frog I must.

In the queue are a couple more (mind you, these are all in project bags around my atelier and they’re starting to bug me. So I have to make some tough decisions. All wound up and ready to start is a Cardoon by Isabell Kraemer in two shades of purple. If I would just cast this on and get through the yoke, it’d be a quick knit. Alas, I haven’t. Next is a new idea, Bang out a Sweater month is February so I found this great orange (ginger colorway?) yarn and I want to bang out a Bolin cardigan by Norah Gaughan which I will cast on on January 31. I will finish it in February. I will! Next up is a pair of fingerless mitts to replace my daughter’s favorite pair, Chivalry Mitts which have a “L heart T” on the gusset. The T is gone now and she needs a new pair for her new life wherever that leads. She’s doing really well and I’m so proud of her. These are a priority. The yarn is currently sitting on my desk. Next, I have yarn for a hat or headband for my daughter’s friend, Sheldon. I made him mitts for his early morning runs for Christmas and he’d like a hat. He’s a very knit-worthy person (and he “stole” the socks I knitted as a wedding gift for his husband when they divorced because Sheldon loves his hand-knit socks.) On my windowsill is yarn I pulled out of my stash to make a gnome. I’ve bought the pattern and it won’t take long but it hasn’t been a priority so it still sits on the windowsill. AND not pictured is Doris. She’s hidden away in my cabinet, mostly finished and just not put together. Poor Doris. One day, Sylvie will love to have her to play with and I think Doris will like being played with. She’s naughty like that. Doris, that is.

Gone knitting.

Snow Machines have quilted the ice-scape – out my atelier window this morning

A Case of the Mondays on Tuesday

Posted on December 17, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

I’m having a case of the Mondays. The only problem is that it’s Tuesday! We woke up this morning to rain and since 6am EST the ice that covered the lake has broken up and disappeared. It looks like any spring or summer day here now. It’s amazing how quickly the new ice can disappear. And it’s a little sad if I’m honest. We really should have ice by now.

I’m slowly managing to get all of the Christmas shopping, wrapping, sending, etc. done. I mailed the three packages that I was responsible for yesterday on my way back from the store. I went in to help my colleague cut some netting for a customer and we took the time to restock the netting, too. When we are only one person in the store, it’s unsettling to spend time down in the basement restocking or gathering together an order for a customer because we can’t see or hear if anybody comes into the shop. We were going to get this done on Saturday when there were two of us in the shop but we had a different mess to straighten up (see my last post!)

I made a new batch of granola this morning for the women I work with. I may need to make a second batch this afternoon because I’m not sure this will be enough to fill all of the jars. It’s down to the wire and I hope I have enough oatmeal left in my canister! I really am “off” if my baking cabinet isn’t properly stocked.

We had our Covid-19 booster and flu vaccine on Sunday and yesterday I started out just fine but I crashed in the early afternoon. I couldn’t even knit. This is what happens every time I get the shots. BUT I am glad we’re protected going into the holidays. The rest of the day is “free” which means I have time to vacuum my atelier and to double-check my lists. Tomorrow is going to be my last day for shopping and I don’t think I have enough to fill my dear hubby’s stocking.

#112 Children’s Bulky Top Down Pullover in Cascade 128

I’ve been thinking of ways to use up some of my stash and this was, I thought, an easy one. I have three hanks of Cascade 128 in this pretty almost periwinkle blue and I thought I’d make a larger sweater for my granddaughter. BUT when I knit the pattern according to the instructions, I didn’t like the fabric. It was too open. So I frogged back and started again on a US10 needle (seen here) and while I like the fabric better, the gauge is way off so the size is one that will fit her now – and she doesn’t need any more sweaters right now. SO … back to the drawing board. I am going to do this the right way next time and actually knit a swatch. I don’t often knit with bulky weight yarn so I’m not sure of my gauge and I need to figure out what the largest size I can make – I am aiming for a 3-5 year size – in a fabric that I like. I think I’ll try a US10 1/2 and see how the gauge matches up. On the US10 I got 3 stitches to the inch and the 4-5 size should be 28″ around the chest. Mine is more like 19 1/2 … not even the 26″ that the 2-3 size should be. Doing the math, I don’t think I can get 28″ even if I knit the largest size so I need to try a bigger needle. Good grief!

I also found a bulky hood pattern with a fur edge around the face opening. I can just see my little granddaughter in it so I’d like to make a hood that will match but, again, at a larger size so she can wear it next year or the year after. I’m going to have the same issue, I think.

I’ve not felt like doing any other knitting, and particularly not knitting that takes brain power. The projects that I have in progress are the fair isle bag from the class that I took, and a couple of pairs of socks. I really want to cast on a new project but I “should” knit a couple of sweaters to reduce my stash but I am not feeling motivated to do any of them. What’s a knitter to do?! I would also think about knitting a new shawl or another Musselburgh hat … but I can’t decide on yarn. Ha! Ha! So, I’ve been working on my Jelly Roll blanket and the watermelon shorties … both really simple projects. No pressure, right?

I haven’t shared with you that I had the red bump on my right eyelid removed a week and a half ago. It’s gotten larger over the years and, who knew!? We have an eyelid surgeon in Waterville, Maine. My eye doctor referred me to him and he’s surgically removed it. I think it was larger than he expected and he had to make two sutures. It’s never as simple as they say it’s going to be. So, day 1 and 2 it looked great. Day 3 I started to see red “bruising” around the edge of my eyelid. A week after the surgery black was added to the “pretty colors” and now it’s just a rainbow with some of the color collecting at the outside corner of my eye. BUT the bump is gone and the bruising will go away. It’s been an adventure waking up in the morning to see what color it would be. All kidding aside, I’m so grateful that it’s gone and there was no pain at all, and no infection. I hope you’re not squeamish because I’m going to share photos with you. Today the color is fading and maybe I’ll be back to “normal” for Christmas!

Today I think I may decide to knit a gnome or a little Arne & Carlos mini jumper without a number so it can be used as an ornament for a customer/friend. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

Gone knitting.