Queen Bee Knits

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

Wow! What a Week!

Posted on April 28, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

We’ve been home from our whirlwind, sad, wonderful, family-filled trip to New York City for almost a week and it’s been a super busy (almost) week. I was glad to be there for my daughter when they had to say goodbye to my first grand-dog and it’s always wonderful to squeeze all of my kids and their significant others in person. AND bonus we get to spend quality time with our granddaughter.

I love seeing my other kids, now aunts and uncles, with Sylvie. They all adore her and are so supportive of each other which is exactly what I hope would happen when they grew up. Sibling relationships are difficult and require acceptance and flexibility and we all go through our own “stuff” … it’s wonderful to have siblings to share life with. On Mabel’s last morning on Earth, we took Sylvie to the playground for a couple of hours so that her parents could focus on Mabel and not worry about the baby. We walked up to the playground and played and then stopped at a local restaurant (ostensibly for lunch but Sylvie wanted no food) and home for a nap. It was a beautiful NY day and it was wonderful to be outside. Monk is always tired out after his visits to NY but he loves being included and staying with his nephews, Gus and Picasso, and all the sniffs he gets there.

When we arrived back home I was delighted to see the developments in our garden. We are growing TULIPS! We also have daffodils and some hyacinths coming up … well the mini-daffs are in bloom and the big daffs are coming soon. I’m super excited about the tulips, though. I’ve always had to NOT plant them because critters eat them. So far, we’ve been lucky … and I hope I’m not speaking out of turn because this is the exact moment that critters will eat them to the ground. I’m crossing my fingers.

Yesterday, we took a ride to Popham Beach State Park. We ran a few errands on the way there, took a long walk on the beach, gathered a few shells and then came home. It was a gorgeous day to be outside and I am so glad we went. It’s lovely to be by the ocean and I loved spending the time alone with my hubby. We tried to take a selfie but we both looked grumpy so I deleted it – we were not grumpy and I’d rather remember the day than see an inaccurate depiction. Ha! Ha!

I have been knitting! I really have! On the way to New York, I cast on a little cotton sundress for Sylvie in bubblegum pink cotton. Sunbeam Kids Dress in Jody Long My Little Sunshine organic cotton yarn. I like the yarn and the color will be great on her this summer. I’m babysitting at the end of May and will make sure the length is a tiny bit longer than perfect then and we should have a lot of fun watching her run on the beach in September.

I’ve got my second Emotional Support Chicken ready to seam and stuff. I love the colors of this one and I hope that my friend and former camper will love her, too. If all goes well today, I will finishe her … and since it’s raining, it looks like I’ll be spending the day in my atelier!

I’m also working on a pair of socks. This yarn has been in my stash for at least a decade. My daughter bought two balls of it for me back when she was still living in Chicago. I made one pair of socks from the first ball before I was on Ravelry and chose this yarn for my next pair because it’s pink and I seem to be in a pink phase. I’m knitting the Hermione’s Everyday Sock pattern by the Crazy Sock Lady on US 1.5 DPNs. The pattern is easy to remember and makes good car knitting. I’m ready to start the heel of the first sock today.

I’ve been working a very little, tiny, incy wincy bit on my Jelly Roll Blanket. I have a basket full of scraps of sock yarn next to my desk chair so that I can knit on it during zoom meetings. I missed a couple while we were in NYC but I’ve got more coming. This blanket will be a long-term project for sure but it’s grown a little bit.

And last but not least, yesterday on our way home from Popham Beach, we stopped at Mother of Purl in Freeport where I had ordered a Lumos Lumos, aka boob, light. I have thought about buying one of these lights for a while and LYS Day was yesterday and they had a special promotion for the lights. When we went to pick it up, I had to buy a bit of yarn, too, to make a sweater for Sylvie for the fall/winter. The pattern is Binx and it’s knit in a DK weight yarn. The store sample was in Patagonia which is currently one of my favorite yarns. I don’t seem to be allergic to this yarn and it get so soft when worked/washed/worn. I have at least one more sweater worth in my stash … maybe two. Ha! Ha! I will make myself finish at least two projects before I can cast on a new one.

Gone knitting.

What I Know for Sure …

Posted on April 16, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

This morning the sun was shining when I woke up and I woke up early. We have train tracks behind our house and the train came by at 6am honking its horn all the way up the tracks. When I opened my eyes, it was fully morning; the sun was up and wayyy over to the left again as it should be in the spring.

I got home last night from a reunion (and a short family visit, too) with an au pair who was in my cluster in Cincinnati, Ohio way back when. I’m not sure I’ve spoken about those years here yet. I worked for InterExchange/AuPair USA based in New York City when my children were young. One of my neighborhood friends had started an au pair group that was getting too big for her to manage alone so I started a group, too. We managed an international group of young adults that grew to be about 50 at its largest. What I loved most about it was learning about all the cultures around the world. At that time, I had a world map and knew where all the different countries were. I had au pairs whose countries were at war, I had parents of au pairs calling me when Cincinnati’s race riots were exploding, I had au pairs with health scares and au pairs who disappeared at the end of their year. I had au pairs who stayed in the US and worked and married. It was a wonderful experience.

Janine contacted me a few months ago as they made plans to come to the states on holiday. They visited Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York City and Boston. I managed to get away to Massachusetts on Sunday to meet up with her (and her husband and daughter) in Marblehead. It was a cup-filler for sure!

I am so blessed to have had these women and men in my life. Janine is one of the special ones. And there were many. It had been 27 years since we had seen each other and it was as if all the years between were erased and we picked up again from the day we said farewell. EXCEPT that I have gray hair and she has two grown daughters, one of whom was with her, and a husband. We had lunch and a stroll around Fort Sewell in Marblehead and then it was time to part again, hopeful that it won’t be another 27 years before the next reunion.

Au Pair agencies still exist out there and welcoming an international “student” (the men and women come to the US on a student visa and there is an education part to the program) is a rewarding and often times life changing experience. Au Pairs provide childcare for a minimal stipend and an opportunity to live with an American family to learn English and gain experience. A good local coordinator is essential and families need to be willing to welcome this young person as a member of their family; take them on family vacations, out for meals and family activities, etc. Done well, your family grows by one with each au pair you host. While I didn’t have an au pair myself, my family grew by many over the years and I value the contact and communication that I’ve had as I watch these “kids” get married and have families of their own. Getting to meet Janine’s family was the cherry on top!

I spent the night with my Marblehead and Salem family and when I got home yesterday afternoon I find this … yup, I’m a lucky woman! Gone knitting.

Family Time

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

My nephew got married on Friday in Lafayette, Louisiana to an absolutely adorable, smart, organized, lovely and loving woman. We are all thrilled for the newlyweds and their boys. It was a wonderful event. I took NO photographs. My phone remained in my purse and I was thoroughly present with my family.

Some of the highlights were seeing the great-nephews who have really grown up since they were last at our house and a sisters trip to the beauty parlor to have our hair and makeup done for the wedding. Let me repeat that we didn’t take any photos of us in our makeup (and three of us washed it off as soon as we got home, haha!) The rehearsal dinner was a lot of fun and we got to meet lots of the Louisiana people whose names we’ve heard for over a decade. The wedding was one of the prettiest I’ve attended and my great-nephew read his vows to his dad and new mom – there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. All of the siblings and their “spice” had dinner together at my brother and sister’s (adoptive) mom’s favorite restaurant on Saturday night and that was special. I wish I’d known her but I’m so grateful that she provided a loving home for my brother. And I know both Betsy and my mother are celebrating that we found each other.

We headed into the New Orleans on Sunday for the night before our flight out. If you’ve ever gotten stuck on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, you’ll know why. We returned our rental car and took an Uber into the French Quarter for a quick walk around. We stopped at the historic Pat O’Brien’s for a Hurricane and then out onto the streets to have a quick visit. We traveled back to the hotel to change for dinner at Commander’s Palace. We had the most enjoyable experience there. The food was incredibly delicious and the service was impeccable. What a way to end a fantastic trip to Louisiana.

Our flights were uneventful, the weather was cool for Louisiana but the sun came out ever so briefly for the wedding ceremony and I am so grateful that we were able to take the time off to make the trip. There’s nothing better than hugging my family. None of us is as young and healthy as we were 15 years ago and I’ll always try to make the time so we can spend time together. How lucky I am to have such wonderful family.

I hardly knitted at all. More on that later. I just wanted to take the time to write about our visit before too much time passes. We leave feeling lots of love with hearts full.

Gone knitting. This time I mean it … my knitting chair awaits.

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.

Back to the Drawing Board

Posted on December 10, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

I’m posting a photo from yesterday because this morning we are facing a wall of fog. The air is relatively warm and the ground is cold after several days of unusually cold weather and our first plowable snow. We were in New York City taking care of our granddaughter and missed the snow – it’s not yet shoveled from the driveway and if we actually get rain today as the weathermen suggest, what little we have will be melted away.

We had a wonderful time in New York with the kids and grand. My eldest and her husband took off for Miami for a few days and we stepped in and stepped up to watch the baby and their very senior dog. And we had a wonderful time! Sylvie is engaging and has a great sense of humor. She’s adding new skills daily and communicates with baby sign language (hungry, more, all done). We both adore her and she really loves her Poppy.

While we were there I attached some legs to the Very Hungry Caterpillar that I knitted for her (and she loves). The pattern was simple enough to knit but didn’t have any legs in the pattern. I knitted six legs at home and brought them to NY to attach, a good choice since I didn’t knit more than a couple of rounds the entire six days we were there. I was playing with Sylvie or cleaning up or sleeping. Regardless, the caterpillar now looks more like the illustrations in the books.

If I were to knit this stuffed toy again, I would make the body and head in one piece rather than making them separately and stitching them together. I made the legs with a 4-stitch i-cord and they’re about an inch long. I pulled the yarn through after sewing them on the body and then tightened it up to make the legs “bend”. Because Sylvie is a chewer and everything goes into her mouth, the eyes and nose are sewn on, too. No buttons for this child.

I have designed and knitted her Christmas sweater for 2023. Unfortunately, I need to rework the upper part and, frankly, if I had time, I’d take off the binding at the bottom and extend the brick pattern by one or two repeats. But I don’t have time so I’m going to lengthen the chest/upper body and then block the sweater a little more aggressively than I would normally to widen it a bit and lengthen it, too.

I will be writing up the pattern and hope to find someone to help me grade the sizes. I think it’s super cute. I will be taking the top back to the first few round of raglan decreases and will add several more rounds to make the top a little deeper (and the sleeves a little wider at the shoulder). Overall, the size I made is too small for Sylvie. It would be pretty perfect for a 6-9 month old I think. She’ll wear it for a few photos and then take it off … lessons learned. Knitting is so good at making me feel more humble.

I also finished knitting the i-cord “string” for Sylvie’s second pair of thumbless mittens. These are red (duh!) and are quick to knit. I’m amazed to report that she even leaves them on! Next year we will graduate to larger mittens with thumbs but this year those little fingers spread out and it would be impossible to get a little thumb into a mitten thumb.

The last photo is exactly how much knitting I got done this past week. For someone who prides herself on daily knitting practice, I was SO busy with Sylvie, getting her fed, bathed, and changed, etc. that I just fell into bed at the end of the day. I didn’t read much or knit much at all. The car rides to and fro were different, however!

On my needles Christmas edition (I have more but they’ve been set aside for deadline knitting!)

A hat to match Sylvie’s Christmas sweater … my thought is to make it appear that she’s the Santa popping out of the chimney.
Socks in Paton’s Kroy in blue stripes
I have yet to start and must get going on a golf tam for Kyla in beige
AND I have to frog and reknit the Christmas sweater itself

Life is good. Gone knitting.

With Gratitude for all of our Blessings

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

We got home last night from a wonderful Thanksgiving trip to see Ned’s youngest and her fiance and to meet her future in-laws. His oldest daughter and her husband came out, too. It was a wonderful (almost) week with our family!!!

We went for a great walk on their near-by bike trail, spent lots of time eating and chatting, had the most wonderful Thanksgiving feast with Jake’s family, went bowling (and tested Ned’s new hip), ate at a delicious Indian restaurant with Jake’s family and went for a drive to the mountains and had lunch in Golden.

Highlights were seeing a pair of buck moose on the way to a state park photo spot. They were just enjoying their nibbles a bit off the side of the street. We stopped, of course, like foolish tourists and took photos. We supposed that they wouldn’t be able to reach us quickly because there was a six-foot barbed wire fence between us … we also did not try to annoy them closer to us. AND when we got to the scenic overlook of the mountains it was breathtakingly beautiful. Those mountains are incredible. We were treated to witnessing a proposal. We saw a woman “lurking” at the side of the trail and a couple walked hand-in-hand to a little clearing near the trail and before we knew it, they were face to face (at a distance from where we were standing and he got down on one knee. The lurker was a photographer and we were the unintended witnesses. A privilege to witness such a special intimate moment in a couple’s life.

We adore the new family we are adding to ours and are so excited for Amy & Jake’s wedding so we can get back to Denver. I missed being able to visit with my “little mentee” from Florida who has moved to the Denver environs with her little family. She was sick and I couldn’t risk getting sick because I have babysitting duty in NYC this weekend. I also was reminded that an Instagram knitting friend is in Denver but their Thanksgiving was on the day that we had time/opportunity to visit so we’ve postponed both until June. I also didn’t get to visit any yarn shops which will happen in June. But it was an excellent visit and we look forward to more in the future. Guess it’s time to get a Southwest Airlines credit card for the points, right?

My knitting sure took a back seat to visiting with the kids and family. I worked a bit on the blue baby sweater for one of my daughter’s bestie’s new baby boy. I have to finish the button bands and block it and get some buttons on Thursday at work and it’ll be done. I frogged the mistakes in my Nancy’s vest and have begun re-knitting with ten rows between buttonholes. Good grief, I can’t believe I read the pattern so badly the first time. I’ve said before that knitting is a humbling experience and this was once again proof of that. I started a pair of socks with yarn that has been deeply stashed (another one, yes!) in a Maine Lobster colorway. My intent is that they’re for me this time. The last ones I knit for me years ago felted slightly in the wash despite them being superwash wool … and I gifted them to Kate who has smaller feet.

I adore this man and the family that we’ve built together. I hope we get at least another 20 years to watch them all grow together! We are so lucky to have found each other and to have weathered the weirdness that we’ve been through at different times. We are grateful to live in our beautiful home and to have some wonderful friends who make our life richer and we are most thankful for our health and our children, children-in-love, and of course our grandchild.

Life is good. Our hearts are full. Gone knitting.

PS. While we were gone, we started the process of fixing up our little wonky cabin which will be available for rent (hopefully) next summer. We lived in the cabin for seven months when we were building our house. I think it’s especially a great place for writers, artists, contemplation … I know we did a lot of growing together in those seven months (and it was darned cold for the last few weeks!) More on that to follow.

Patrick’s Pumpkin

Posted on September 20, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s been a beautiful day at the lake and I am grateful for a day to “do nothing”. We had coffee on the porch this morning and those mornings will end soon enough and we’ll be inside again for our coffee. But today we got to be outside and it was so quiet and quite warm as the sun rose higher in the sky.

I spent the day “catching up” after having taken a couple of days to visit with my family in Marblehead. I drove down yesterday, spent the day with my brothers and sisters-in-love, niece and her husband, great-nephew and nephew. We had an incredible dinner of chicken parmesan cooked by my Marblehead sister-in-love, Annie. I’ve never had a bad meal in that house! It was delicious. The next morning we visited again and then I headed home in the early afternoon. We all hope to get together for a longer time when the Louisiana family is here in December. Maybe they’ll even get up to Maine!

I brought my Nordic pullover with me and didn’t knit a stitch. I am plugging away at the body of the sweater and all that garter stitch when I don’t have family to visit with and my great-nephew to play with. He’s a happy boy and cute as a button. I am determined to getting it finished before the really cold weather settles in.

I’ve been working on a pair of pumpkin hats for my daughter’s friends’ two sons. I made lots of these hats several years back and thought that they might be a fun surprise. I’m making two large hats and hope that they’ll fit the boys. I have made a few minor modifications which may change the sizing just a wee bit. Instead of holding the yarn double for the band of the hat, I am knitting with a single strand and on the increase round, I increased with a M1 increase to have the correct number of stitches for the pumpkin part.

The first hat, the one that is pictured here, is a bit “tight” around so I hope this one will fit the baby. But children’s heads don’t grow too quickly so the second one that I’m making I’m changing up just a bit. I’m still making the large hat but this time, I knitted the last round of green with a double strand and increased per the instructions. The band of the hat is a bit more stretchy so I hope this one will fit the big brother. I’ve gotten an inch or so into the pumpkin part of the second hat so I hope that I can get it finished by the end of next week. I have an extraordinarily busy next few days and I’m unlikely to get a lot of knitting done.

The pattern for the pumpkin hats is called Patrick’s Pumpkin and it’s a Fiber Trends pattern that I have had for decades. Yes, decades. I made them for my children when they were young. I always used Brown Sheep’s Cotton Fleece yarn in the past but I didn’t have any on hand and decided to make these hats with Plymouth Encore yarn. The colors are pretty perfect and I had the yarn on hand because … we knitters, when we get an idea, we want to knit it right now!

I found some daisy buttons for the yoked baby cardigan that I made with donated Plymouth Encore and it’s really cute! I have also washed and blocked the sweater and the hat. They’re ready for new homes. I have several items that I think I will be putting up for sale in the near future so that I can make some room in my studio for some new yarn. Ha! Ha! Like I need new yarn. I hope someone will want to have some mittens, hats and scarves that are knitted by me to give or to keep. What doesn’t sell will be donated to a good cause.

I’ll write more later about selling hand knits. For now I’ll sign off. Gone knitting.

Hurricane Lee Day

Posted on September 17, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Today’s the day we’ve all been waiting for. Hurricane Lee has been heading toward New England and thankfully, it’s been downgraded to a tropical storm but is still hitting the northern coasts of New England with some pretty powerful wind! We are getting wind here but so far, minimal rain and our power is hanging in. (We are very fortunate to have a generator so that’s not really a concern.)

We arrived home on Tuesday afternoon from a week-long vacation in Rhode Island with my three (adult) children and their significant others and their dogs and our granddaughter. What a wonderful week we had together. I am so grateful that they all want to spend a week with us and that they carve time out of their busy lives to be together. We enjoyed wake-ups with Sylvie in the morning since we’re the earliest risers and we had beach time, photo shoots, a wonderful lobster feast al fresco and a wonderful visit to the Mystic Aquarium. It was a family-full week and we left with full hearts.

I didn’t get a whole lot of knitting time because being together was the priority but I managed to get some time in the car on the way down to finish up a little Plymouth Encore sweater. The yarn was gifted to me by one of my students who doesn’t have any “tiny” ones to knit for. I knitted up a yoked sweater, a Plymouth pattern, 2649 Baby & Toddler Top Down Cardigan. I just need to attach the buttons and give it a good wash. With the leftovers I made a hat designed by Susan B. Anderson from her Itty BItty Hats book. It’s the Inca Hat. It’s a quick knit and I love having ear flaps for little ones.

While we were there, I did get some nap time knitting in on my Norwegian Genser. I added a lifeline so that if it didn’t actually fit me that I could frog back to a place where I could make some adjustments. I use dental floss for lifelines because it’s slippery and it’s fine/thin enough to not make my stitches change their size. I’ve tried other yarns, etc. but dental floss does the trick for me. I don’t buy the mint flavored for obvious reasons but I have to admit to heading to my knitting bag when I get something stuck in my teeth. Haha. You can barely see the lifeline at the place where I split for the sleeves. I tried it on shortly after this and I think the size is going to be just right and even better if I lose my vacation pounds. Again, haha.

I love the purple! I think the design is stunning and I am excited to be able to wear it. The yarn is ASK yarn from Norway and it’s a rustic sport weight wool so the sweater won’t be too warm. I hope. Now I just have inches and inches of stockinette stitch. I will be trying it on again soon – maybe today – just to check the fit once more. Fingers crossed.

I’ve cast on a pumpkin hat and will make two of these to send to my daughter’s friend who has two boys. I never sent anything when the second son was born so I’ve been thinking about it for nearly a year. The pattern is Patrick’s Pumpkin and I’m knitting them in Encore worsted by Plymouth. I’ve made several in Brown Sheep’s Cotton Fleece but I thought that Encore would be an easy care choice for these hats. Life with two young boys isn’t “easy”. I also made a bit of a change in the pattern. Where the band calls for knitting with two strands held double, I’ve chosen, this time, to knit with one strand and when I got to the increase round, I increased with a M1. It seems to be ok and the band isn’t as “inflexible” as I remember it being. I’ll plan to finish the first hat, a large size, today and start a medium size when I finish the first – hope they’ll both fit for fall’s cooler weather.

I pulled out some fingering weight scraps of yarn to bring to the beach but I never touched it. The plan was to knit up a few gnomes. I bought Sarah Schira’s Grimblewoods Collection several months ago and want to make a little gnome family for our house at Christmas time – and maybe it’ll be out all year, too. Anyway, I never touched it. I didn’t get much knitting in while on vacation but I will get one cast on today or tomorrow. I fell in love with the collection because of Gnedward (my hubby’s name is Edward.)

Some unhappy news is that we lost our grand-dog Bessie. She had had a seizure when they were out in California and despite having put her on anti-seizure meds, she’s continued to have seizures. While they were on the Cape visiting the other grandparents after our beach trip, Bessie had five seizures and they couldn’t get them controlled. Bessie was a “foster fail” about eight years ago. I was there the day she was adopted and then returned. My daughter was so protective of Bessie and I knew she was home forever at that time. Somewhere I have a photo of Bessie and Mabel on the couch in their NYC apartment. Mabel looks like she’s praying to be rid of the big dog that Bessie was (they nicknamed her “Bus”). Our family has a 60 pound hole in our hearts and the kids are really suffering her loss. Rest well, sweet Bus. We will all miss you.

Gone knitting.

September Already?!

Posted on September 2, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

This photo was the second one I took this morning. But this one was the one that made me smile the widest! At the left you can see a fisherman zooming into the frame and at the top right, a hummingbird, getting ready to land on the feeder that’s just out of sight. Ha! That almost never happens.

It’s a beautiful Saturday here on the lake and I’ve been trying to wrap up a bunch of stuff so that we can vacation next week with all of my kids and their families. Dogs are included, too, of course. We’ll be eight adults, one baby and six dogs. It’s always a full house and it’s always fun. We are both … dare I say all … looking forward to a few days together.

So, this morning I’ve made a list of Maine State Reps who represent all of our students at Maine Arts Academy. We are having a ribbon cutting and open house celebration in September and we should always invite those who represent our students. And then I wrote the newsletter for tomorrow for the store. I included in tomorrow’s newsletter that I’m not writing one the following week … vacation rules. I have only one meeting to Zoom into while we’re away and I intend to be present for the kids, the dogs and the granddaughter!

This morning I steam blocked my two finished mini Nordic jumpers for our Advent calendar. I have one more to go. ONE!!! My intent is to do that after I’m done writing this post. Here are 22 and 23.

Twenty-three is the one that has two different white yarns. One is Patagonia Organic Merino, a wooly wool. The other is a superwash something that was in my left-overs bins (yes, you read that right, I have bins of left-overs. I can’t throw yarn away!) I am ok with it the way it turned out. Do I wish that I had had just a little bit more of the Patagonia? Yes. Did I let it ruin my life? Not even close. It’ll do. I’ve cast on #24 and I can probably get it done today. Certainly, I can get it done this weekend.

Yesterday I decided to return a skein of cotton that I had bought to make a bib for my granddaughter because I found a skein of the same cotton in a different colorway that will be just fine for a bib. So, while I was teaching class yesterday and for a while after, I got the bib done.

I also knitted an apple for the fall decorations for the store window. We’re decorating the window (and adding the stems to the apples) on Monday morning. I’m going to try to finish another one or two before then. Cross your fingers. And then as I was cleaning out cupboards and bins, I found two skeins of Plymouth Encore yarn that was gifted to me and I remembered a little sweater that I had the pattern for and (duh!) I cast on a little last minute sweater for my granddaughter. AND found myself knitting the wrong size after an hour or so … 18 months won’t fit her for ages so I frogged it and re-started the 12 month size which may or may not fit her right now. We’ll find out on vacation.

This morning I made my “granola” recipe that I’ve been making for decades and forgot to add the honey which makes the granola more like muesli … it’s not chunks at all, it’s more like loose cereal. I’m sure it’ll taste fine and it’s got less sugar. I also made a batch of blueberry muffins. I may make another dozen tomorrow because the family goes through these like crazy and they will stay fresh in the freezer if they don’t eat them right away.

Dear hubby has been to the dump, mowed the lawn and is napping. This is a perfect chance for me to do a little bit of stitching. Have I talked about the special quilt I’m making? More to follow.

Gone stitching (not sure if with knitting or sewing needles).

Happy Medicare Birthday to Me!

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

These three were the best birthday gift I could have asked for.

After a hellish ride from NYC to Maine on Saturday, we had a wonderful four days together filled with memory-making activities and lots of snuggles and smiles. Good food, blueberry picking and lobster dinner, lots of firsts – first open-handed clapping, first lobster, first trip to Maine, first swim in the lake, first lake water bath in the yard … and so many happy memories made.

I’m so grateful to my kids for coming up and to all the family and friends who called, emailed, messaged me on social media, etc. It was a great day to become 65! (Holy shit, how am I 65?) We were talking over the course of the week about age and it occurred to me that I am older than my father was when he died and I am about as old as my mother was when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. How lucky am I to be as healthy as I am at “my age”! I sure don’t feel so old and that’s perhaps a testament to good genes and a happy, full life.

Aging is denied to so many, I’m grateful to reach these milestone birthday and hope to reach a bunch more! I have a lot to look forward to … first steps, another wedding or two, maybe more grand babies and more daily photos from the porch.

I have maybe knitted 25 stitches (no, I really mean it, 25 stitches!) since they arrived and I’m not sorry at all. My hands will be happy to knit again now … or after the laundry is done.

Gone knitting.