Queen Bee Knits

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Knitting on the Porch – Perfect Saturday

Posted on May 13, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

We captured the first photograph of a hummingbird this morning. It’s become quite the thrill to watch the map tracking the hummers back to Maine from their winter home way down south. We’ve had the feeders up for about two weeks but until this week we hadn’t seen any birds. That all changed after I had cleaned and refilled the feeders this week. They’re back!

We spent the morning (and into the afternoon when the breeze kicked up) on the porch this morning. The sun was shining and the hummingbirds and loons were active finding food. I brought my knitting onto the porch and was working on my Romi MKAL “Falderal” shawl. I had gotten quite a bit of clue three finished when I realized that I hadn’t slipped a pair of stitches. Yesterday afternoon I frogged back 4 or 5 rows (at over 300 stitches per row) to where I had missed the slipped stitches, corrected my mistake and then worked on. This morning I finished clue 3.

Spoiler Alert! If you don’t want to see what it looks like at this point, don’t read any further.

I’ve chosen two colors of Practically Perfect sock by Emma’s Yarn for my shawl. I wanted to knit something in a purple because, honestly, I don’t have anything purple. The contrasting color is a gray that I’ve had in my stash for quite some time. The colorways are called February ’23 (purple) and After Dark (gray). It’s pretty contrast-y, perhaps more contrast-y than I had planned but I think I will like it well enough. I’m certainly not going to frog the whole project at this point.

You can see that the shawl will be soooo much more beautiful when it’s blocked and you can really see the lace between the “lattice” pattern sections. Clue 4 will be more lace but in the gray colorway. So far, this has been fun to knit and not difficult to follow. I’ll be taking this to Canada with me for Knit City Montreal next weekend and I think I will be able to keep up with the pattern when I’ve got lots of distraction. I’ll have another, more simple, mindless project, too just in case.

I bought yarn this week to make Anker’s Summer Shirt. I like wearing my hand knits and I like wearing Berroco Remix Light so … I bought the Remix Light in the “white” colorway and I’ll work on that next. I also like Tanis’ Rock it Tee and Yumi by Isabell Kraemer. There are several I could make with this yarn (or others that I can buy at my LYS.) Anyway, the plan is to make a tee next. I would like to finish my Three Seasons Cardigan before that but it seems silly as we are in warm weather now and I have plenty of time before I’ll be wearing the cardigan. So, tee is up next.

I have a pair of socks on the needles, too, of course. These are for my daughter, Libet. She chose the yarn from my stash when she was last here. I had to make a couple of pairs before I got to hers for gifts but I’m at it now. They should be ready for her birthday in July. Again, the yarn was stashed so I have no recollection of where it’s from but it’s really pretty and “dark” which is what she wanted.

I’m using Yankee Knitter’s sock pattern for the family #29 which is my favorite. I’ve knit so many socks from this pattern that I nearly have it memorized which makes it even better. I find I have to check on the number of stitches to pick up on the gusset and that’s about it when I’m knitting the fingering weight which is what I do most often.

We’ve been enjoying watching the birds at the bird feeder. We have a regular (pair?) of Pileated Woodpeckers and the regular host of Chickadees, Nuthatches, Titmice, Goldfinches, Purple Finches and, of course, all the woodpeckers from the Downy to the Pileated (and all the sizes in between.) We have a trio of Crows … they may be Ravens, it’s difficult to tell the difference IMHO. Anyway, they love to hang out ON the feeder and eat all of the suet. I was outside this morning to frighten them off and I happened to snap a few pictures of new blooms from our gardens …

The spring bulbs are beginning to fade and the early perennials are coming in: L to R we have peonies budding, creeping phlox in full bloom and my favorite bleeding heart. There are a TON of dandy lions all over the yard this year. I wasn’t going to do anything with them but when I’m out there it’s really tempting to pick those babies and start drying them out and soak them in oil to make something from weeds! Last year I made a salve and we’re still using it. It’s supposed to be good for inflammation, if I remember correctly. It is fun to collect plants from the yard that most consider to be worthless weeds (the birds and bugs love them this time of year!)

I felt well enough, finally, to do a little bit of cleaning up the garden beds. There’s a lot of work left to do. We have hired a young man (now I sound like an old lady!) to help with this this year because my hubby can’t lug all the bags or wheelbarrows full of mulch this year. They’ll help me edge all the beds again and we’ll be in good shape. I’ve been watching the hydrangeas as they leaf out … and the ones in front (or is the front really the back?) of the house, the side away from the lake, has hydrangeas that bloom on the old wood. I now know that I can cut these guys back in early spring because they’re HUGE!!!

I need to walk around to Helen’s garden in the back (or the front depending on your perspective) between our bedroom and the lake to see what they’re doing. We also have some poison ivy in this bed and a very obnoxious vine-y plant that I can’t seem to eradicate. We’ve used some natural vinegar solution in years past and I hope it will work this year. I don’t think we’ve really attacked this bed recently. It’s time!

This afternoon I’m heading to a new-to-me nursery with a friend. I’m told Fieldstone Gardens is gorgeous and it’s been on my list for awhile. I’m excited to see it. My eyes are open for another peony or two and perhaps a grass for in front of the porch … is that the back yard or the front? Ha! Ha!

Gone knitting.

FOs and WIPs

Posted on April 30, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Today is the antithesis of yesterday. It’s damp and dreary and there was no coffee on the porch this morning. Maybe I’ll take the time to get caught up with house cleaning or agendas for the meetings I am running this week or maybe I’ll bake something. And maybe I’ll stay up in my studio and knit. Yesterday I wore my Emsworth Vest over a blouse and summer shoes. Today I’m back to socks and slippers and a turtleneck under a fleece sweatshirt. Ah, spring in Maine.

I have finished a couple of projects and I’m really pleased with them. Let me tell you about them …

This is the Little Coffee Bean Cardigan by Elizabeth Smith, a Maine designer. The sweater was designed to be two (or more) colors in stripes. I used the pattern to knit a plain cotton sweater and then I added “daisies” in embroidery. The embroidered design was inspired by a sweater that I saw online.

All of the yarn I used were stashed yarns. I only bought the buttons. The photos that I took are a perfect example of why you should take photos during the day in natural light. Ha! Ha! The last photo of the completed sweater are much more real colors.

This little Coffee Bean cardigan knits up super quickly and is very simple. I used some stashed 100% cotton yarn that was a gift to me when I was a school “nurse” (clinic assistant was my title) from a wonderful family. I love the color and it’ll be adorable later this summer or early this fall on my granddaughter.

Second, this is the Jasmine Romper by Maria Atencia. As I’ve written here before, the inspiration for this knit was from one of my customer/friends who has knitted three (THREE) to my one. But this was a really fun project to knit. The simple lace on the front of the romper held my attention and interest and the simple (let’s call it plain) stockinette on the back gave me the TV knitting finish that I needed after all the lace. I chose to knit this one in white Bamboo Pop yarn by Universal Yarns. Bamboo Pop is a really nice yarn to work with. It didn’t split like a lot of natural plant fibers tend to do and it didn’t hurt my hands. It’s also soft and will feel good against a babies skin.

Spoiler Alert! If you don’t want to see what clue #1 looks like, don’t read further.

I have cast on a new project, laying aside my Three Season Cardigan for a wee bit. I have always wanted to knit a shawl by Romi and I jumped at the opportunity this week when I saw that Romi is doing a mystery shawl KAL named, Falderal. The name attracted me, too. Do you remember “Falderal and fiddle-dee-dee” in the song, Impossible, from the Rogers and Hammerstein movie Cinderella? I’m talking the 1967 version with Lesley Ann Warren and Celeste Holme (click on the link for the way I remember the song). I’m dating myself but I loved that movie!

Anyway, the first clue was with color 1 and consisted of simple lace knitting. I thoroughly enjoyed knitting the lace and only had to frog back a couple of times and only a few stitches each time. I use lots of stitch markers to help me with lace repeats so that I know if I’ve missed a yarn over. Yarn overs are the most often missed thing in lace knitting. I finished the first clue before the delivery of the second clue today. I’ll get working on it today, too. (But I have an agenda for a meeting tomorrow that I have to write before I am allowed to knit!)

Both of the yarns I am using are Emma’s Yarn Practically Perfect Sock in (purple) February ’23 and After Dark colorways. The After Dark (gray) was in my stash. I think I had planned to make a shawl with a dappled gold yarn from String Theory Yarns, a Maine yarn dyer. I have quite a few shawls with gold in them and I’ll let that hank hang in the stash while I use this gray in my Romi shawl.

I still have a line-up of WIPs on my shelf in my atelier: a pair of mittens, my genser, and the Jane “pants” for my granddaughter. These don’t include the projects that are in the cupboard and out of my sight. So … there you go!

“Impossible things are happening every day!”

Gone knitting.

Local Yarn Shop Day 2023

Posted on April 30, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Today we started the day with coffee on the porch. The water birds are returning to the lake. We had lots of water birds flying in this morning and we love keeping track of the birds we see. This morning we saw several pairs of Hooded Mergansers and we heard Canada Geese and Loons. The lake is alive again.

When you’re in the knitting business, and you work in an independent yarn shop, Local Yarn Shop Day is a big deal. LYS day is an opportunity to celebrate the small, family-owned brick and mortar shops. I read somewhere today that there were as many as 10,000 local yarn shops ten (twenty?) years ago and there are only 1,000 remaining.

Many of the shops remaining have gone to online only. Big box stores can buy in huge numbers thus making prices lower and they typically carry only commercial yarns that are inexpensive. LYSs carries some inexpensive yarns, too, but your LYS has value well beyond the big box or online stores and it’s high time we start singing their praises.

Your LYS may charge a little bit more but they employ local families who live near you and may have children in the schools, they eat in restaurants, they go to doctors and they pay taxes. The people who own and work in your LYS are “your people.”

Your LYS employees are ready, willing and able to offer you pattern support, help you with knitting/crocheting problems, help you match a yarn to a pattern or even find a pattern that is within your ability. Your LYS staff loves yarn and they’re a great resource for fiber lovers. They’ve likely tried the needles that you need to buy, they know how the yarns knit up, they understand why some yarns aren’t a good idea for that colorwork pattern and they love to talk about yarn!

A LYS will stand behind the products that they sell. When I lived in Florida I didn’t have a LYS and I ordered some needles online. What a mess. I’ll never do it again. The person selling the needles wouldn’t take them back despite an inaccurate listing. I was stuck with them. That’s a mistake I don’t need to make twice. Local Yarn shops will often take broken needles back because they know their suppliers will also stand behind their products. Try that at a big box craft store.

Your LYS will help you find the right needles and accessories for your project. Are you knitting a child’s cardigan or a lace shawl? Do you have arthritis? Did you know that square needles are better for you? Those of us who work in a LYS know lots of tips and tricks to make your knitting or crocheting or weaving or rug hooking a better experience.

Will you pay a little bit more for your yarn at your LYS? Yup. Small businesses can’t possibly compete with big box stores. But your LYS will learn your name and say “hello” and be happy to see you when you come in. They’ll special order yarn for you. They’ll also check to make sure that the yarn you’re buying is from the same dye lot.

Local Yarn Shops are very special places where communities are built and I hope that if you need to purchase yarn that you’ll consider buying at a brick and mortar store. The remaining brick and mortar stores need your business.

Gone knitting.

Typhoid Mary …. Covid Carol? (Sorry Carol!)

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

This really stinks! I was all ready to go back to work this week and get back to a more “normal” life. Yesterday I started to feel like I had a sinus infection and this morning I thought I’d just test to make sure. I’m almost sorry I did. I tested three times hoping for a negative test. They were all positive.

Ugh!

So, I had a virtual doctor’s appointment (she said this situation was “rare”) and she wasn’t sure how to treat me. But it turned out that the antivirals that I took last week in NY were good but it’s too early to take them again. So, we are treating the symptoms with cough meds, nasal spray and an albuterol inhaler and now we wait … for heaven’s sake! I don’t need this and I sure hope that my newly-hipped husband doesn’t get it and I hope his kids who came to help don’t get it. Time will tell.

It looks like I’ll be spending a bunch of time over the next few days in my studio on the second floor while my husband is on the first floor and I’ll be masking when dinner or other help is needed. I’ll be washing my hands even more, and cleaning the communal areas that I touched. The weather is beautiful so the windows can be open today and the air cleaners are running on high. I’m doing everything I know how to keep the germs from spreading.

Aaaand … I’m knitting a little bit. I’ve been working on my granddaughter’s cardigan. Worsted weight cotton knits up so quickly in a little size. I love the color.

I’m also trying to get the socks for my brother finished before his birthday. I’m working on them today in hopes of reaching the toe. He’s got big feet so it’s a lot of knitting. But he’s worth it. I’ve been using Yankee Knitter’s sock pattern and the leg and top of the foot are 3×1 rib. They look pretty good if you ask me. I know he’ll love them.

My plan is to work on the Arne and Carlos mini jumpers and clean up and organize my studio as well. I’m going to get some quality knitting time in and make the best of this second round of isolation. We’ve got lots of food in the fridge/freezer and some left-overs from the weekend. We are so fortunate that we are as healthy as we are. This is just a little hiccup, right?

Gone knitting.

PS – This little bunny has covid, too. Luckily she has no symptoms. Nor does her father. Spreading love around the family.

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Yesterday we were out and about. We needed to get to the dump as we missed a trip last week when we were out of town and we needed some food in the house. We were scraping the bottom of the barrel trying to come up with meals on Friday. It’s rare that we both get out together, we typically divide and conquer but it’s fun to be together even doing the mundane day-to-day activities. How lucky we are to enjoy spending time together.

I’ve been spending lots of time volunteering but there’s been some time for knitting, too. I am limiting my knitting time because I think I’ve “tweaked” a muscle or nerve in my shoulder/arm/neck. I may have mentioned this before. Yesterday I knitted more than I have for over a week and it was mostly good … I had to stop in the early evening after working on my husband’s Christmas socks. It’s heavy worsted weight yarn and US4 needles which is quite a workout for my hands and arms.

Sock number two is getting close to the “easy” part. Gusset decreases are in process. I love this pattern because it’s different and the decreases come to a nice point on the instep. I hope to finish these up because I have a pair of birthday socks to make for my brother in April and I’ve found the perfect yarn.

I have a bag with odds and ends of Cascade Fixation yarn that I’ve “collected” over the years. I’m trying to be responsible and use it up. Socks are the easy no-brainer project, especially baby socks. I’ll be carrying the two pairs I’ve made so far to NYC next trip to see if they really don’t fall off. The pattern is a free one that I found at work … it’s called Fixation Baby Socks, I think. This week I found the pattern “Jane of the Jungle”, free on Ravelry (it’s a Knitty.com pattern), and I knew that I needed to make this for Sylvie. I hope it’ll fit this summer. I am going to make the bathing suit bottom, too, but the top could be worn with shorts or leggings. Ha! Ha! Stinking cute! By the time summer rolls around she should be crawling and by the time we get to the beach in September I’ll bet she’ll be walking. Time goes by way too quickly.

Our orchids have been blooming forEVER! We have two plants: one was Ned’s mother’s orchid that we bought for her and her caregiver took such good care of. It’s been so happy since we moved to Maine. Helen’s been gone for several years but the orchid keeps on going. The flowers were all dried out but when I watered it last week, I noticed a new little bud spike coming along.

And the second orchid was a gift to me from my eldest. It’s been blooming forever, too. The plant stand has been giving a real show. It’s flowers were starting to dry out and fall off but I noticed one more flower that’s coming. I’m not sure if I have a green thumb or if these are super-powered Maine-loving plants. I’m not complaining.

Gone knitting.

Bookends

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

This morning was beautiful. We had an additional inch of fresh snow on the lake and it was that sparkly white snow that is so pretty to look at.

We had breakfast out at the Early Bird and ran a few errands. Went to get bagels and some bread at our local bagel shop and bread shop. We waited a long time to get a really high quality bagel place here and we love it. Sunrise Bagels is the dream of a Waterville woman who went to bagel school and opened to great fanfare a year or more ago. BEST BAGELS in Central Maine. Universal Bread is our bread store. Adrian is the bread baker and a nicer guy you’d never want to meet. His bread is phenomenal. The baguettes rival those found in Paris (France, not Maine.)

A stop at the bank and at the grocery store … hubby has to have lox with his bagels. (Yuck!)

We got my car washed twice … and it’s back in the driveway dirty.

And then I looked out my studio window and saw this. Sometimes it’s so beautiful that it almost shocks me. Today was a breathtakingly beauty.

Gone knitting.

The Non-Winter Winter

Posted on February 19, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Sunrise is happening about 30 minutes earlier than a few weeks ago and it’s moving back over to the left of the music camp. That’s a good indication that we are moving out of winter and into spring. Our camp road has been posted (this is an official town posting that prohibits heavy trucks from driving on the town roads when they are least stable – aka “mud season”.)

This is a blessing and a curse this year because we haven’t really had a good cold winter. Signs that this hasn’t happened are that we have had very few, if any, pickup trucks on the ice. I’ve seen exactly one. Normally, they’re everywhere for several weeks at a minimum. While this seems like a blessing, we have to be concerned about what this means for the health of our lake.

I’ve learned a lot about invasive plant species while being the president of our lake association and the future of Maine lakes is at risk. On our lake, we always had one seasonal bloom of our single invasive milfoil species. We now have two blooms per season. With the warm winter, there is evidence of the plant’s adaptation to colder water. Not a good thing.

Meanwhile, on the shores of Messalonskee, our snow is melting and I’ve been spending time in my studio. I’ve been working to clean up and clean out. I even took three bags of odds and ends of yarn to GoodWill this week. I even used my sewing machine this week.

My friend Deb gifted me this “kit” to make a bee tote. It’s printed on a loose weave cotton and it’s gorgeous! I decided that I needed to line it and to make it a bit stiffer so it’ll sit up by itself. So one day last week I went off to Yardgoods Center and picked the brain of the sewists on the fabric side. Vicki helped me choose an iron-on interfacing that will make the fabric stiffen up a bit. This week I cut out the pieces from the kit and cut the lining pieces as well. Of course I had to line it … which meant that I had to figure out how to sew it together without directions. Which, because I am not a confident sewist, proved to be a challenge. But I DID figure it out.

I ironed the interfacing to the wrong sides of the fabric, sewed the pocket (lined and with interfacing, too) to the bag lining, and turned the straps to the right side. That turning all by itself was a challenge but with a pin and knitting needle, I managed to get it done. I top-stitched both sides of the handles and set them aside while I figured out how to sew the pieces of the bag together. After one complete f@#%-up, I started over from the beginning and stitched each part, lining and bag, individually with the boxed bottom and all. It occurred to me that I had done a lined bag once before in the distant past. That spark of a memory helped me figure out how to sew the parts together and have the handles be in the right place, too. Woo! Hoo! Success! Yay, me!

I started a pair of Christmas socks for my hubby. Before you congratulate me for planning ahead, let me tell you that these socks were promised for LAST Christmas. I’ve chosen this pattern, Urban Rustic Socks, because he was wearing MY pair (and thought they were a bit small). Ha! Ha! Now he’ll have his own pair. And they’re fun to knit, the cables are lovely and I love mine. The yarn is Raggi by Jarbo Garn. We can’t get this in our LYS any more and when they announced it, I had the forethought to buy a bit “extra” because I really like how it knits and wears. Hubby benefits from my good plan!

I discovered a problem with the larger size, though. When I got to the increase round, the ribbing didn’t line up when I knitted the pattern as written. So, on the third try, I just kept an eye on my knitting and “forced” the ribbing to line up. I will write down what I did when I knit the second sock, For now, though, I’m off and running – and I’ve reached the heel flap on the first sock. Another thing to note … using US 4 needles with an Aran-weight yarn causes my hands and arm to hurt. I might have tried knitting these on a US 5 needle and it might have been easier on my hands. But it’s too late now.

Emsworth Vest in Patagonia (you’ve seen this photo before)

My Emsworth is also really really really close to being done. I reached the 11 3/4″ mark on the body of the vest on Friday but when I held it up to my body, it felt too short. My knitting class confirmed it and I kept on knitting. I’m going to try another inch or two and see if that isn’t better for me. I hope that I can get it finished in the next week so that when my yarn arrives from Norway, I can begin knitting my genser without having to put aside my vest. (*crosses fingers and toes.)

My “knitting chair” that I ordered in mid-January was promised in mid-March. It seems that it has been delayed and I’m trying to be patient. I cleaned up the studio last week and have been thinking about moving some of the furniture around in advance of my new chair’s arrival. It seems I can take my time.

Gone knitting. (Enjoy a few sights from the lake.)

Wait, What? Two Posts in One Week?

Posted on January 22, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Yup, it’s true. Two posts in a week’s time … astounding. But I was so excited yesterday when I needed to join the front and back of my Emsworth vest!

This vest is constructed brilliantly, as all of Isabell’s patterns are. You begin with the back and knit each of the shoulders and then work to put them together and begin the lace pattern in the middle of the two sides. Once complete (basically) to the under arm, you put the back on stitch holders and make the front in a similar manner. Once the front is to the under arm, you cast on a bunch of stitches for the sides and you pray that your lace pattern is in the same place on the front and the back.

MINE WAS!!! Yippee!!!

BUT, I swore that I had marked down what row I had ended with on the back of my vest. Nowhere on my pattern (I have the Knit Companion app and I can write on the digital file right on my iPad) could I find the notation. And then, after searching and searching my pattern, I remembered that I started this project with a paper pattern that I had thrown away when I changed over to the Knit Companion pattern … and I neglected to transfer that important bit of information. Luckily, though, I know how to read my stitches. So I compared my stitches to my pattern and found that I had ended on row 14 and … my vest front was, too!

It was a thrilling moment for sure. Who knew that you could get so excited sitting all by yourself in a room! Hahaha.

Gone knitting.

Snow Day!

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

We awoke to snow this morning. Yay! I’ve been waiting and wanting some, what we call here in Maine, “measurable snow” and today we are getting it! Since it’s January 20th, let’s say that it’s about time!

When the local schools in Waterville are closed, our classes at the Yardgoods Center are canceled. We have a mostly older customer base and none of us should be out and about in this weather unless we absolutely have to … today is a snow day. The store is closed and classes were canceled. I’m putting my snow day to good use and after I had coffee and a muffin with my dear hubby, I went upstairs into my atelier.

On Wednesday I decided to make microwaveable (corn) heating pads. I’ve had the supplies on the floor of my studio for a year. When the kids came last winter to go skiing, they were a bit achey after their skiing and they used all of the warming things in our house. One in particular, they all liked best. So … I measured the one made by my friend Judy and bought the muslin, flannel and corn to make one for each of the kids. Wednesday I ironed and cut the fabrics and then sewed two of the sides and was ready to fill them and finish them up when I realized that the corn was either moldy or dirty.

Off to the kitchen I took all eight pounds of bagged corn and I cleaned it in bleach water to kill any surviving whatever might have been on it. It was powdery but dry and I am not sure what it was but I am sure, now, that the corn I’m putting into the bags is clean and won’t send something gross out into the air that they breathe when they microwave the bags to warm them up.

Today I brought the washed, dried and baked corn back up into my studio and filled the three bags and sewed up the final side. Ta done! Three microwavable corn-filled heating pads. I have more fabric to make three more but I didn’t buy enough corn. Each of the kids will get one this time and I’ll get three more made for the summer when we go to the beach.

Task number two was to make a heart pillow for daughter number 2 who lost her beloved pup Willow just after Thanksgiving. When we were in NY for Christmas, she asked if I could make a heart pillow out of Willow’s jacket. I am touched that she trusted me to do that for her.

Earlier this week, I cut out a heart shape to use as much of the fleece jacket that I could and pinned the sides together (right sides facing) in preparation to sew them up and stuff it.

At this point in the day I went downstairs to probably clean the corn and while the corn was soaking in bleach water, I decided to make some cranberry water that I’d seen a recipe for online. The cranberries were in my freezer for a year and it was time to do something with them. I had thawed them and just has to blend them with water and strain them. While blending them, the blender (it was overfull, I admit) leaked cranberry water all over the counter. I strained the water and when I was cleaning up I inadvertently switched the blender on and metal piece on the base was too close to my thumb … what a bloody mess I made. Some days … !

I cleaned up my thumb, cleaned up the mess and retreated to my studio for a few minutes of stupid TV and to hold my thumb up over my heart so it would stop bleeding.

Today I finished the pillow and I hope my daughter loves it as much as I love her. It’s far from perfect, I’m not a professional sewer by any imagination but it’s stitched with lots of love. I unstitched the tag from the jacket and put it into the seam so it sticks out as a reminder of what it was. I also preserved the spot where my daughter sewed a tear in the jacket by hand to remind her of how much she loved her pup and the memory of the hole, maybe, too. I’ll deliver it when I go to NY next.

I have been knitting and since this is technically a knitting blog, I should report on my progress. I have been making slow progress with my Emsworth. I’ve picked up the front shoulder stitches, and am working my way down the front. I’ve reached where the increases under the arms are and pretty soon I think I’ll be knitting all the way around the body. I’m enjoying the lace pattern and I love the charcoal gray colorway of the Patagonia yarn. It’s a bit tricky for my “old eyes” to see the dark yarn in the evening but I’m still working away at it.

I’ve finished black sock #1 and have reached the heel of black sock #2. Today will be a good day for me to turn the heel and pick up the gusset stitches. Black yarn really does challenge the eyes. It’s best attacked when the lighting is good and bright. Hahaha!

I also started a new project, the Stashbuster Shawl by Heather Haynes. One of my former co-workers came in in hers and I knew I had the same yarn. Since everything else I’m working on was dark colors, I cast on for this shawl so I have something to knit at the end of the day. I’m enjoying the simple, meditative knitting on this one. Mostly Garter stitch, it doesn’t take a lot of brain power (of which I have precious little at the end of the day.)

My plan for the rest of the day is to do some knitting (as my “blended” thumb will allow.) I am so left-handed that it’s tricky to do anything without my left thumb! I’ve managed to write this post and I’ll probably do some baking today or tomorrow. I found a recipe for sugar cookie bars (they’re frosted and sprinkled, yum!) and I haven’t made any granola since the batch that I took to NY at Christmas time. I might need to vacuum again, too. Don’t let anybody tell you that Labs don’t shed a LOT!

Gone knitting.

Summing Up Another Busy Week

Posted on January 15, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s been a pretty dreary week on the lake. We haven’t seen a lot of the sun so the sunrise that we did see was even more appreciated. This one was taken by my husband while I was sleeping. The lake has finally frozen over and despite the almost 50 degree day, we still have ice. Maybe we will see winter after all.

I’ve had a busy week again. I had a lake association board meeting to run on Wednesday evening and I spent the early part of the week preparing for that and sending out the necessary documents to the board members. This was also my week to work on Saturday so I was in the store two days and taught one day, too. I love teaching on Friday … it’s a highlight of my week. My morning class keeps on showing up and challenging themselves. My afternoon class has gotten smaller but they’re a good bunch.

I’ve been working away at my couple of projects. I started and finished another Love & Light by Laura Nelkin for a friend of mine. I completely forgot to take any photographs of it before I wrapped it up and mailed it off. I hope she loves it. She’s been a sweet friend for a long time.

I made a little “doll” for my granddaughter. I have customers who have made these dolls over the years and I’ve always thought they were cute. I chose a couple of my larger balls of left-over fingering weight yarn from my stash and got to knitting. Knubbelchen by pezi888 is a relatively simple project and so sweet. I hope it’ll be chewed on and loved.

I’m also working away on a pair of black socks for my son. He’s very appreciative of my hand-knit socks. This pair is black alpaca. The yarn is Lang’s Alpaca Sox 4-ply and it’s utterly delightful to knit with and is so soft and squishy. These may be the squishiest socks I’ve ever knitted. I’ve got the first sock completed and the second sock is at the heel turn. My son has huge feet so I’ll be knitting the foot of the sock for two days but they’ll be done well in advance of his birthday.

Have I ever written about the Sock Ruler? I love this tool. It was gifted to me by my sister-in-love who didn’t want to knit socks and, at first, I thought this was a goofy item and that I’d never use it. Boy, was I wrong. I love the sock ruler and it’s an amazing way to measure the length of the foot in particular. The rounded end fits perfectly in the heel and you work the foot until it’s 2 inches (or whatever your pattern directs) less than the length of the foot. In my son’s case, that’s 9 1/2 inches of foot and then the toe decreases. The Sock Ruler is available in an adult size and a baby and infant size, too. I have bought the baby and child Sock Rulers and I’ll be sure to use them when Sylvie gets bigger but I use the adult one every single time I knit socks. I love it! (And I really love my son because these socks are black.)

I’m working right along on my Emsworth by Isabell Kraemer, too. It’s a little bit slow-moving because I have to be able to pay attention when I’m knitting this vest. The lace work is simple enough but when I am in a group and talking, I tend to forget to move markers and counters and all the tools that you need to keep track of where you are. I can share with you that I have picked up the front shoulders, connected the neck and am working my way down through the increases at the side of the underarms. It’s quite a fun knit and the charcoal gray, while a little bit difficult to see the stitches, is a great color for my wardrobe. I look forward to getting this finished, blocked and wearing it!

I wound a couple of hanks of stashed yarn into cakes this afternoon for a new shawl project. One of my former co-workers came into the store last week with a shawl/scarf on that I really liked and I knew I had the same yarn in my stash. I have to pattern and am ready to cast on and play with some blending of the two yarns. More on that when I get started.

This afternoon, after I finished the store’s weekly newsletter, we went on a most excellent shopping adventure to Portland, Maine. We’ve been talking about finding me a good knitting chair for ages. I thought I wanted a sleeper sofa or a chair but it had to be comfortable for a knitter which means a straight back and a relatively shallow seat and, most important of all, low or no arm rests. I’m so excited to report that we’ve ordered my chair and it’ll be delivered in March or April and I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone on this one! Wait until you see it.

I’ll end on the volunteer front where I started and let you know that our administrative coordinator is leaving us and we (I?) will be getting back all of her files and jobs and the office phone early next week. I’ve decided to close the “office” for a couple of weeks to give myself some time to recharge. It’s been a lot of work. My board meeting was successful in that there are several board members who have stepped up to get a few tasks accomplished and we will be forming a governance committee group to find the new slate of officers to take over in the late summer. And we will also be forming a committee to figure out how to better organize the lake association so that we can close down for a while in the winter and how we can better plan the season so that the board does less of the work and there are consistent tasks for the staff. I’m eager to see where this leads. We are on the precipice of requiring a part-time executive director to oversee the business of the organization.

The other organization whose board I sit on is the Maine Arts Academy. We’ve had a busy fall/winter, too! We are so excited, though, because we’ve bought our own building and we’re moving the school to Augusta, Maine pretty soon. Our current campus has gotten way too small and we have the demand from students and this year we had to turn some away. (And we hate to do that!) I’m extra proud of this group of dedicated teachers, administrators and board members. They’re among some of the most wonderful people I’ve had the occasion to work with. I look forward to being in our own building and seeing where the school goes. I’m sure it’s going to be a bright future for MeAA!

Sunset this afternoon … pink skies and snow in the forecast. I’m crossing my fingers (and toes!)

Gone knitting.