Category Archives: Yarns & Patterns

Yarn Transported … back to Florida

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

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

Sea Colors Yarns in three colors for a sweater

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

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

Gone knitting

 

Classic Straker “Johnny” – New on the Needles

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A Classic Straker Design, C772 “Johnny”

I have been carrying three (and a bit more) balls of Paton’s Decor yarn around with me for the last ten years or more. It was way back then when I bought the yarn in a tiny yarn shop in Montgomery, Ohio to make an afghan for my house. God only knows what my color scheme was back then but I picked the periwinkle colorway … it must have matched something!

Anyway, I have been moving this yarn around with me (at least three times) and decided to bring it to Maine with me this summer and use it up!

Today I cast on a new project with the yarn. A Straker Classic Design #C772 “Johnny”. It’s a cabled sweater with a hood. I knitted one of these (and my mom knitted the matching smaller version) for my girls when they were little. We knitted them in a red yarn and they had panda bear ceramic buttons. I’ve saved the buttons (and I hope the sweaters, too). But this new sweater has nobody to go live with at the time of this posting … but with all the babies that I know are being born, some lucky kiddo will be getting this sweater.

I love the Straker patterns. They are clear and concise, have good information and this one (in particular) is quite simple to knit. It would be a good first sweater pattern! I remember the first time I knit it, feeling somewhat intimidated. Today, it feels so easy and comfortable. I guess I’m growing, too!

Normally, I won’t knit with acrylic yarn because I like the natural fibers better and I feel strongly that there is a huge investment of time in each garment that is hand-knit. Why not use good wool?! Sweaters for children, however, can be washed and dried if they’re knit with acrylic yarn. And this yarn is so easy to knit with and feels pretty good in my hands!

N’s sailing, the dogs are sleeping and I’m gone knitting!

A Little Bit of Progress

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Those of you who know me well, know that I like to eat. I also like to bake (can anybody say, “sweet tooth”?) And over the years, it’s become my mother that I see when I walk to the mirror. Now don’t get me wrong, my mother was a lovely woman and I love her a lot. But I never wanted to have her body. SO, I’ve been to see a lovely woman In Portland, Maine who is helping me try to get my hormones into balance with food. Of course, I’m also going to have to move my body up off the knitting couch … but since my feet are finally healed (or healthy for now, anyway), I feel confident that we can start walking and hiking at the very least!

Gaia Shoulder Hug by Anne Carol Gilmour
(A FREE pattern on Ravelry!)

So, tonight’s knitting night again and while we drove to Portland and back, I didn’t knit on the way home. I slept. I’m looking forward to visiting with the “girls” and I hope to finish the last few repeats of my Gaia Shoulder Hug.

Piggy Hat Pink

I think that I will start the commissioned piggie hat next … and it’s going to be sent with matching mittens. (Since they’re for a baby, she’ll need the little stringy thing to go through her jacket so mittens don’t get lost! I) think I can sew/embroider a cloven hoof on the mitten and that will be cute. I’ll try!

Maine Woods Yarn & Fiber “Maine Lobstah” Superwash Sock

 

 

I have finished one Maine Lobstah sock and it’s quite tight. Since this is my handy-dandy go-to pattern for socks, I am a bit surprised but am not going to worry much. On occasion, even Queen Bees make mistakes. I may be using a smaller needle … or maybe was using a bigger, inappropriate needle before. Whatever the reason, if they’re too small, they’ll be a gift for someone in my family with slightly smaller feet than I have at Christmas time. I bought two hanks of the yarn because I loved it so much and the woman said I can probably get three socks out of each hank! Woo-hoo! I love knitting with this yarn. It’s really got a great hand, it’s washable and it’s not “splitty” at all! I also happen to love the colorway that I chose!

Dropps Tunic … going nowhere! But check out the beautiful Signature needles!

My poor tunic hasn’t budged out of my knitting bag. Oh well! I still love the yarn color and I adore knitting on my first of many pairs of Signature needles (green is US6).

I will be knitting up a Falling Leaves scarf designed by Lucy Neatby with some yarn that I bought at the Maine Fiber Frolic last year (2011). I fell in love with the pattern and have bought it on Ravelry.com with my white bunny blend yarn in mind. Another gift for a friend who is so deserving!

Had a lobster roll for lunch after fasting for a blood test. Not sure what’s for dinner but I’m looking forward to balancing these hormones and seeing myself in the mirror again! A big grocery shop tomorrow!

Gone knitting.

(An aside … bought some new stitch markers and thought you should see the cutest ones … by Lantern Moon, purchased online! They’re buzzing around my Gaia!)

 

 

Proof – on the needles and newly finished

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Here are the photos, as promised!

Socks for my Boy!

Socks for my boy in Trekking XXL (75% super wash wool, 25% polyamid). This yarn might be the most wonderful sock yarn ever but knitting with it has been a nightmare! The center-pull ball has been in knots from the first pull. Grrr! What a pain in the neck (or needles!) But the socks are looking good and the boy has asked for them (the third pair!) Promised for graduation in mid-June.

New yarn arrival!

Yes, you can ooooh and ahhhh!

I bought the Berroco Pure Pima and Cascade Yarns Fixation for two projects. The Berroco is for a cotton sweater (sleeveless tunic) for moi. The Fixation is for a pair or two of baby socks … trying a new pattern!

Also FO –

HUGE socks ... soon to be felted!

Two super huge socks all ready to be felted. These are for my Etsy shop at the end of the summer. One lavender and one multi-colored, fall colors (green, orange, brown, purple, burgundy) both will be felted to size and be ready to go to some cold tootsies!

Flower Power Dish Cloth

Also trying to use up some of the cotton yarn that I’ve been carrying around. This green turned into a dish cloth. Perhaps it will live in my kitchen (replacing the icky ones that are there) or perhaps it will be matched with a couple more and sold in my shop. We’ll see what I decide.

Cooked Lobster Mittens (a Queen Bee Knits Original Pattern)

Since I have a bunch of wonderful merino wool that I bought in Maine last summer, I decided to resurrect my original pattern and make some more Cooked Lobster Mittens. I love these cute little mittens for kids. I’ll be knitting up several small pairs (and knitting up the bands for the claws, too) for my shop. One down … if you want a pair in a specific size, best to request because I know they’ll fly off the shelves!

Meantime, a friend of mine and her partner welcomed to the world a beautiful baby girl yesterday. I’m thinking a pair of those lovely cabled baby booties needs to be knit up and sent to West Palm Beach! What yarn to use? What yarn to buy?

Oh, the challenges this Queen Bee faces every day! (The last was said in sarcasm … next, in all truth and sincerity) How lucky I am!

Got to wait for my camera battery to charge so I can post the pictures. For now, I’m gone knitting!

Spud and Chloe Little Boy Blue Baby Hat – in progress

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It must be time for a post about knitting! (Ya think!?)

Heirloom Stitches "Little Boy Blue Hat"

I’m making a baby hat for my sister to present as a baby gift for a friend (booties will be knitted to match). I bought a pattern and yarn in Cincinnati when I was there to be a back-up support for my kids. Who knew that I could love a yarn so much?

So, here are the details.

1. LYS – Fiberge in Montgomery, Ohio. Fiberge has changed hands and moved to a new location since I lived in Cincinnati. it’s still a nice little yarn shop, however. The selection of yarns is delicious – and I had a difficult time figuring out what I wanted to knit with. Always a good thing! I decided to be responsible and since I had just purchased a ball of really special novelty yarn here in Florida for me, I bought a pattern and yarn for one of my orders … which leads us to the pattern.

2. Pattern – Heirloom Stitches‘ Little Boy Blue Hat (you can find the pattern on Ravelry (Ravelry dot com) or on the designer’s site  … click here to be magically transported. It’s a really sweet classic Aran design with seed stitch (my favorite these days) and cables. Sized to fit a 12-24 month baby … always a good thing when you’re knitting for a new baby. They always get tons of tiny clothes and nothing to “save for later”. Anyway, I loved the pattern and it’s a breeze to knit! Pattern calls for US #7 needles and a yarn that Fiberge didn’t have but gauge is 5 sts = 1 inch. So, I picked …

3. Yarn – Oh. My. Goodness! I totally love the yarn that I chose to knit this hat! Spud & Chloe by Blue Sky Alpacas “Sweater Worsted” is a worsted weight superwash blend of 55% wool and 45% organic cotton. (They’re going to love that part in California!) Color is, again, that classic Aran ivory (color #7500 “Ice Cream” – love the name! – , lot # 0831). I simply love knitting with this yarn. It doesn’t split or pill and it’s so soft! The baby’s head will not be itchy at all and it’s knitting up to be so cute! I think I may be in love! 🙂

The hat takes a few hours to complete  – hey! I’m a purposeful knitter … each stitch is thoughtful and meditative. Therapeutic. Imbued with love and peace with wishes for health and happiness for the recipient.

I’ll post finished pictures later. But now, I’m gone knitting!

New Year, New Look

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I’m sporting new hair today after going to visit Stephanie to “fix” it, I decided to take of several inches of length (I’m never sure going in what I’ll do) and I feel lighter and ready to kick some New Year bootay! I’m ready now with a stylin’ new hairdo!

I’ve also given my website/blog a new look featuring some of my knitting in the banner and the wonderful beachy sea glass blue-green, martha stewart-esque color that is now the background. I love cables and featured the cable comes from my knitted coat. One of these days I’ll post a picture of it here with me wearing it but for today, here it is flat on the floor (thank God I’m not in it!)

I knitted this sweater over the course of a couple of years and love it (although I don’t have many opportunities to wear it in Central Florida!) The pattern is Jo Sharp‘s “Uptown” cabled coat from the Jo Sharp Village Hand Knitting Collection Book Number Six. (I’ve just visited the Jo Sharp Website and it must be out of print now!) Anyway, I bought the book and yarn at a LYS in Cincinnati that was going out of business and everything was 50% off! Yippee! So the Jo Sharp Silkroad Ultra Yarn (all 31 balls of it!) was not as awfully expensive as it might have been. I love the coat’s mustardy color and, of course, the cables. BTW, I love knitting with Jo Sharp yarn and at the Website, the prices are not bad! Special discounts apply for purchasing 10 balls of yarn … and it’s quite a savings!

So, with that … I and my new hair are gone knitting!

Fingerless Mitts Galore!

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Well, I can’t say that I have been knitting too much … such is the way the wind blows when I’m with my family.

But we did visit the Yarn Nook in Lafayette, LA a couple of days ago and, of course, I HAD to buy something. I settled (after making several circles around the shop … touching yarns and looking at samples and chatting with the ladies who work there) on a couple balls of Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash in two color ways … and I intend to make up a couple pairs of fingerless mittens as Christmas gifts (if there are enough hours to get my order done and then knit gifts, too!) My intention is to make the Commuter Fingerless Gloves from Knitty dot com. They’re fun because they’re a little bit different – they button up or roll down and button to cover up your chilly fingers.

Bought some really cool Malibrigo yarn to make a Bandana Cowl for the Queen Bee. Pattern is found on Ravelry or through the Purl Soho website (PurlSoho dot com) and is free, if my memory is accurate. I really like the yarn – it’s got a wonderful hand and the color way is so perfect for this Queen Bee – black and yellow and golds (among a few others!)

I also bought a new pattern for felted slippers. French Press Knits has a really cute pattern called French Press Felted Slippers … they look just like ballet flats with a strap and button. I’m eager to get rolling making something other than fingerless mittens … and I’m nearly there!

Meanwhile, I’m going to end this blogging and go back to playing with my Great Nephew … just for today!

Gone playing!