Queen Bee Knits

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

New Friends

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Queen Bee Knits

You’ve all probably seen these photographs on Facebook and Pinterest. The other day at the Yardgoods Center Yarn Shop I made three new friends. Three ladies came into the shop and it was clear that they had all the time in the world to shop. One spent a few minutes on the phone at the table in front making plans with family. The other two were checking out the free patterns. After awhile, and having checked on them all a couple of times and having showed them the color-changing “Abracadabra” yarn, they came to the cash register with a few patterns to purchase and a question.

Turns out they’ve been friends since early childhood and were together again for three weeks more. When one lady said they had a question, the other two ladies giggled. (It’s funny to see elderly ladies giggle like girls!) They’d spent hours (HOURS!) over the past couple of days trying to figure out what it meant to cast on stitches without a slip knot in the backward loop method. They were all beaming, eyes bright, smiling widely with the memory. I had a left-over ball of yarn and one needle left behind by a customer and I showed them what to do. They were delighted. “You made our day!”

Such a simple thing made a big impact. They made their purchases and left for lunch. Giggling that they only had a two hour ride. I smiled at them behind their backs. What a treasure their friendship is.

Old friends are the best friends! We are being sharks … at 50-something.

I am so fortunate to have some old friends, too. Not that we are old, we have been friends for a long, long time. We don’t get to see each other very often, but we make an effort to meet once a year. Each time we pick up where we left. We may not party like we used to and we’re often in bed by ten but the reunion is always sweet.

I’m going to be missing the reunion this year and am so sad about it but I am coming to realize that I can’t do it all – and that saves my sanity. Only two of us will be at the beach next weekend. I’ll be there in spirit but not in body. I commit to 2016, though. I need the girl time to recharge and renew. Old friends are the best friends. I love my girls!

Gone knitting.

Rough Life

Posted on June 17, 2015 by Queen Bee Knits

My View From the Porch

I have a rough life.

Today is my “day off” and I am still sitting in my pajamas on the front porch of our little cabin with my Driftwood sweater in my lap listening to a knitting podcast and listening to the work on our new house progress. Two families of Canada Geese just swam … paddled? … by on the lake. The hummingbirds are coming and going from the feeder.

It’s an absolutely glorious day. There’s a breeze blowing and the sun is shining. Everything here is green now and the day lilies that are so plentiful in our yard are budding. Forget-me-nots and Indian Paintbrush and Daisies are all popping up because the yard is so full of construction materials and rocks and cut wood we can’t really mow the grass. The wildflowers are an extra bonus.

I have a long list of things to do today starting with making the bed and getting dressed. I’ve had a cup of coffee and eaten my yogurt with what’s left of my home-made granola (you can add just the right amount of yogurt to the greek yogurt container and no bowls to wash) and I am due for another cup of coffee before I get moving. (IF I get moving.)

Children’s Mukluk Slippers for Laine

I’ve gotten several projects finished and have started at least one new one. Finished are my sweet Knitting Pure and Simple’s Muckluck Slipper Socks for my adorable little former student who I got so attached to. I hope she loves them and remembers me when she wears them. I want to make a pair for me because they looks so warm and toasty.

Peds for Megan

I think I already told you that I finished (and mailed) some ankle socks (peds?) to my sweet mentee for her birthday gift. She loves pink and she loves zebra print and these are a perfect blend of both. I hope they fit – I had to guess since she’s so far away. But the good news from her is that she is living with her new forever family and her adoption should be final in August. This is what I’ve been praying for for her and I am beyond thrilled. She has three sisters and parents who love her and are willing to make the commitment to her forever. I can’t wait to meet the rest of her family and hope they’ll be coming up for a visit next summer! I have another ball of yarn to make another pair of socks providing they fit. Or I’ll make them differently so they do fit! I used as a base, Susan B. Anderson’s How I Make My Socks pattern from her website. I knit only 9 rounds of ribbing and then proceeded to the heel. Next time I might choose to knit 3 or 4 rounds of ribbing to make them even shorter.

New to the needles is my shawl that’s being knitted in Manos’ Serena yarn in two colorways. I picked two similarly toned yarns one with a gray, green colorway called Horizon (9791) and the other with the same green and pinks and corals called Wildflowers (8931). These colors are all soft and pastel-shades. I chose them because they were different than all the other shawls that I have. The pattern is a free pattern that came with the yarn, Shadow Shawl. It’s a very (VERY!) simple two-row striped shawl with yarn overs at the edge and down the center of the triangle. I must admit that I have frogged it once because I realized that I had made some counting mistakes early on and had one spot where there was no “division” for several rows more than was written in the pattern and another spot where I made the same mistake but not for as long. I considered leaving it as a “design element” but decided I was not going to be happy with it. So, I’ve started again and will pay more attention to counting to FOUR!

I am making great progress on my Driftwood sweater and am praying while knitting that I have enough yarn to finish the whole sweater and make long sleeves. I’ve chosen to forgo the stripes as written in the pattern and am making it more color-blocks. I’ve had this beautiful wool from Seacolors Yarn (Washington, Maine) for several years and it’s actually been a sweater and frogged once. I’ve reached the point where the sweater is joined and will keep plugging on the body until I have very little of the orangey-coraly yarn left (I want some for the tops of the sleeves) and then I will change to the dappled greeny-yellowy yarn for the rest of the body and one sleeve. I also have a lovely shade of medium blue that will be another sleeve and the collar and button band. I am eager to see it finished. I hope that it fits!

So, there you have it. I am also working on two quilts and working in my wonderful yarn shop, Yardgoods Center, in Waterville, Maine. I work on Tuesday and Thursday and some Fridays, too. Business has been a bit slow but I absolutely love it. Yardgoods Center is a family-owned business that has been around for almost 66 years! Come visit me and I’ll help you spend your money … or give you some help with a knitting project!

Gone knitting.

All my Yarn is Packed

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Queen Bee Knits

Of course this isn’t all my yarn!

It must be an unwritten rule that knitters (ok, fiber people?) pack their yarn first when going on a trip. I know that’s my process for packing. So, when preparing for a move, the first thing I did was plan what yarn I would take and with what patterns. Makes sense, right?

My yarn is safely packed in the car with my swift and winder and all of my needles. My WIPs are on my desk, just in case there is some time today for knitting. I will make some time.

Movers arrive at 8am.

We’re moving to Maine!

Gone knitting. (OK, I’m getting dressed and drinking some coffee.)

Extra Large Box (of yarn)

Posted on April 18, 2015 by Queen Bee Knits

You may know that we are moving from Florida to Maine later this week.

So, this weekend is focused on finishing our packing. We’ve packed our master bedroom closet except for the clothes that we’ll take with us. I will have one suitcase full of my hand knits, of course!

Next on my packing agenda was my atelier. When the yarn is in its bins, it doesn’t look like a bunch. But what I forget is that the bins lie! I filled one “extra large” moving box full of my worsted and bulky yarns. I have another big plastic bin of fingering weight and several bags and boxes of the rest. It’s going to be like Christmas again when I get to sort the big mess back into their bins!

I dare not think about what I have invested in all the yarn! I’m going to try to stick to my strict yarn diet and knit from my stash for awhile more. I’ve pulled out several sweaters worth of yarn for knitting this summer and some socks and various other patterns and yarn. I just know that my Maine knitting friends are going to have projects that they’re working on that I want to knit … and all my stash will be in storage.

I’m eager to get started with the move to Maine and the building of our house so I can set up my new atelier!

Gone knitting.

A Wonderful Gift

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Queen Bee Knits

I taught my ~~next-to-last~~ last knitting class on Saturday and at the end of the class, Anne, the owner of The Black Sheep in Orlando wanted to give me a gift. A beautiful “little” skein of big yarn.

What a Wonderful Gift!

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to teach knitting in this wonderful shop and for the friendship that we’ve enjoyed. Who knew I’d meet such a great friend in a puppy training class?

I can’t wait until you come to Maine!

Gone knitting.

Travel (Jet Blue) Blues

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Queen Bee Knits

I travel with two adorable and helpful dogs. They are both Registered Service Animals. I don’t want to go into a lot of personal details but they are my little helpers. All sorts of animals provide services to people with disabilities … visible and invisible … dogs, cats, rats, snakes, horses and others, too.

Yesterday, like every time I fly, I started by presenting my ID and documentation for my dogs. The good people at Jet Blue held me at the ticketing desk for at least 20-25 minutes. Questioning me and, at the end, telling me that I could take them both on the plane “this time” but that in the future I needed additional documentation. Jet Blue will allow me to have one dog per “affliction”. I’ve been traveling with the two dogs. both registered (I provided a doctor’s note and veterinary note to get them registered) in the same bag for eight years with no problems … until yesterday. Apparently Jet Blue holds sway over the ADA who says that I can travel with my documented Registered Service Dogs.

I was a wreck. Anxious that they would not let me fly home without paying for an additional seat for my “extra” dog to sit under. Or that they would refuse me the right to board the plane. Or that I would miss my flight because of their delays.

Fortunately, I will not have to fly again for awhile, and when I do fly again, it will probably be on good old Delta where, when I show my documentation, I am not delayed and discussed everywhere I go. If only these people at the gates were better trained to be compassionate, life would be so much less embarrassing.

Gone knitting!

Getting Projects Finished! (And Sewing, too!)

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Queen Bee Knits

Sunrise over Messalonskee

Well, my time in my happy place is coming quickly to an end. Last Wednesday I said, “good-bye for now” and “see you next summer” to my knitting friends. It’s always sad for me to say good-bye to my knitting friends both here and in Florida.

I had my last day sewing with my friends Beverly and Lorry yesterday. We finished a project for Lorry to take to her friend in France and I made another great bag (with a lot of help.) It’s fabulous and I love it. I love it because it’s a team effort and that my friends found three of the five fabrics for me when they were on a road trip to a quilting shop in New Hampshire. Four fabrics with bees and one with flowers and a lot of patience and I have a bag that I will carry in the winter months. Full of the love of my friends here in Maine.

My Wonderful Wallaby is almost done. I’m just knitting the hood which is simple stockinette stitch all the way to the Kitchener stitch at the top. I took a break when I got to the neck to try it on and it fits perfectly. I’m so pleased that I have lost a little weight because now it’s perfect. Just the way I like it. Now my sweet man thinks he’d like to have one, too.

I finished the darling striped baby cardigan and the booties for my niece-to-be. I even bought the buttons. I’ll have to sew them on tonight so I can post a picture here. The booties are Sue’s Bootie’s and the pattern was begged for (by me) at my knitting class. They no longer had it at the shop and I couldn’t find it on the internet. They are adorable and super easy to knit. I loved the combination of colorways that my friends were using and I followed their lead using two different colors of Fixation. Fixation, if you don’t know, is slightly elastic and makes great baby booties and socks and it’s difficult for the baby to kick them off … well, relatively difficult anyway.

I’m ignoring the fingerless mitts that I dragged all the way from Florida to Maine … and will drag all the way back, too.

“Lobster On the Rocks” Hat designed by Donna Frost Ritchie

I’m slowly making progress on a lobster hat for my daughter. It was going to be for her birthday but it will be a late gift … thank heavens I have another couple of months until it gets cold in New York. I’m thinking that perhaps color work is not my thing. But I’ll keep trying.

I have a wonderful stash of yarn to take back to Florida with me and work with over the next ten months until I can be back here again. With any luck, my whole atelier will be coming with me then because we’re moving here permanently. This is where my heart lives.

Gone knitting.

A Secret Surprise Project

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Queen Bee Knits

I have a friend who has a husband who we all love. He’s the sweetest, most thoughtful, most attentive husband that we’ve ever met. And he is totally in love with his wife.

He is also in the retail “restaurant quality” food business and has recently been promoted to Manager of his own store. The store opens in about ten days and I wanted to make him a present … for his “bow tie Wednesdays”.

Rodney’s Bow Tie Wednesday Tie

The pattern is free on the Web. (Click here to be magically transported!)

What I love about this pattern is that it’s quick … it took me about an hour and a half to knit from beginning to end. Well, it may have taken a bit longer for the i-cord, but I did it while I was watching TV so it hardly counts. I used some scraps of Noro yarn that I had in my stash, knowing that he’d want something a little bit “wild”.

I love that within the instructions there are two videos to help you with a new stitch (the lateral braid) and how to knit an i-cord. I-cord is such a fun thing to knit and can be used for so many applications … good to know!

This pattern is made for a dog but can easily be made for a human, too. I didn’t swatch (I know, don’t judge me!) but I decided if it was “awful” that I’d just pitch it. It was a bit too wide so I stuffed the ends into the middle until the tie was the size I thought was appropriate. I finished it according to the instructions and made my i-cord neck piece long enough to go over my head and so he can make it tighten to fit his neck.

It will also come untied but I hope it’s easy enough to fix … and he knows where I live! 🙂

Don’t tell Rodney if you see him!

Gone knitting.

Philomena

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Queen Bee Knits

Last night we watched the movie “Philomena”. It touched my heart and offered me a perspective that opened my eyes to what my mother must have felt when she, too, had a baby boy taken from her.

I’ve written here before about my big brother who I found out about after my mother passed away. I wonder what my mother thought about her baby. Did she, like Philomena, think about him every day? Did she wonder if he was happy and healthy?

Mom’s cousin was the only other person to know about my brother. She said that my mother was fearful that he would try to find her and upset her life. The world is such a different place today … and such was the shame placed on pregnant and unmarried women in the 1950s. Philomena Lee was powerless when her son was sold by the nuns. My mother felt compelled to “go away” and give away her firstborn child so that her life wouldn’t be destroyed by an unwed pregnancy. I’m certain that a girl from a poor family from “the wrong side of the river” (as my father not-so-kindly reminded her on a regular basis) felt that her reputation would be ruined and she had no choice.

My mother loved her family, loved children and animals and I’m certain that she thought about her baby boy every day. She thought about him when the seasons changed, wondering if he was warm when it snowed, when the forsythia bloomed; on Easter and Christmas and his birthday. On his first day of kIndergarten. When he turned 16 and learned to drive. I’m sure she wondered what color hair he had. Who he looked like. What he loved to do. (One of his passions was shared by mom – tennis!)

When Alzheimer’s Disease began chipping away at her memory in her late 50s, was it a relief? Did the pain of wondering and the fear of discovery lessen with the progression of the disease? Were my parents’ diseases physical manifestations of their secret? Dad suffered from depression, alcoholism and heart disease. Was his heart broken that this first son was given away? Did he drink to forget? Did it help to lessen the fear that their lives could be “disrupted”? Was it easier for my mother to just slip into her failed memory?

My parents took their secret to the grave. I will never have an answer. I can only imagine how they felt. Seeing “Philomena” last night helped me see the situation a little more clearly despite the similar and dissimilar situation.

I hope that mom is able to see him now, happily re-united with his brothers and sister. I hope she knows that he is happy, healthy and loved. Life is good.

Gone knitting.

The Generosity of Knitters

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Queen Bee Knits

It was without thought that I made a scarf for a charity project.

I just thought it was the right thing to do. My heart was wrapped around the idea and I wanted to participate and make a tiny (yes, TINY) difference in a world that becomes more and more hate-filled, violent, disconnected, concerning, on a daily basis. I believed that I could make a little bit of a difference knitting. And when hundreds of fiber-crazed people like me also make a tiny difference, all of a sudden, we change the world. Together our tiny differences all combined make a huge difference.

I got a lovely email this week from a woman who I have never met and yet, feel that I know her because we share the heart of her project. We love people. We love Boston, we love our homes, we know someone who ran last year in the Marathon. My scarf and what little promotional effort I made to mention the project on my Facebook page (because I believed in the project and wanted to participate) … I got this lovely message:

Queen Bee!

Love your name and love the fact that you’ve not only participated in this tender ministry, but you’ve promoted it. Thank you.

When my scarf partner and I started this project we had no idea of the extreme generosity of knitters and crocheters everywhere. Amazing!

Thank you for being such a great cheerleader and thanks for your beautiful scarf!

Please send to:

Scarf Project

Old South Church

645 Boylston Street

Boston, MA 02116

I hope we meet again….

Yes, knitters and crocheters are extremely generous people. I think that’s why I feel so at home with these folks. Recently, here in little Orlando, a “last minute” addition to the event’s program was a scarf and hat “Warmies” project. The representative was overwhelmed by the collection of hand-made garments given to her organization. It’s just what we do.

Penguin sweaters, blue and gold scarves, chemo hats, helmet liners, tiny purple hats … whatever it is that the world requests from knitters and crocheters, they turn out hand-made unique wonderful projects by the dozen (or hundreds). Created for strangers, often hundreds of miles away, with love in every stitch.

I’m so proud to be a member of this community of selfless, caring men, women and children. I’m so proud to be considered a “cheer leader” for such worthy charity projects by such a caring soul. I’m so proud to have this wonderful craft that I am able to share. My life is full of so many blessings and I’m grateful for every single one of them.

I hope we meet again, Marilyn. And though we have never met in person, I’m so glad to know you.

Gone knitting.

P.S. – There is still time to knit a scarf for the Marathon Scarf Project! Details can be found here! Thanks for caring!