Queen Bee Knits

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

Don’t Waste a Wednesday

Posted on March 6, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

I slept late this morning. I was up late, if I’m being honest, catching up on the Bachelor episodes that I missed last week. I know, I know …. it’s a guilty pleasure. Anyway, I was up late and missed the sunrise this morning if there was one. Ha! Ha! I know there was one but it wasn’t visible but it was bright at 8 o’clock this morning and there were some patches of fog around the lake. The ice is thinning (we know by the darker gray color of the ice) and it won’t be long until the water is back. We look forward to ice in and ice out. All of the changes on the lake are beautiful in my mind’s eye.

Today was catch up and clean up day at our house. My hubby was outside feeding the birds and cleaning up the yard. I was inside washing laundry and putting everything away from our trip. This afternoon I decided to cast on another Love and Light which I’ll be sending to Colorado. Before we left a friend from high school days reached out to me. She had seen the last Love and Light that I made for my nephew and his bride as a wedding gift and wondered if I’d donate one to her non-profit called 3 Hopeful Hearts, a place that provides grief support for those who have lost a baby or child. How do I NOT send her a little hand-knit light-up heart?

I buy my lights on Amazon (link here). The pattern calls for a 200 light, 66 foot string of fairy lights. I like this set because I have a lot of the little USB plugs around the house that I can plug into. I’ve also bought another brand that comes with a standard electric plug (link here). These are a little bit more expensive and take more room to package up because of the plug, but they’re both good to use for the Love and Light pattern. This package comes with the string of lights and USB plug and a remote control that offers you an option for 8 or so different blinking/fade settings and powers on/off the lights.

I use a US 10 1/2 double pointed needle set even though the pattern calls for a (little) larger needle. I had a 10 1/2 and that works for me. I typically have a little bit of wire/yarn left over from the string which helps when it’s getting plugged in.

The pattern is by Laura Nelkin and is available on Ravelry and on her website. I have knitted her Starry Light pattern and the saw this one and have knitted multiples and in several different colors. They’re fun, take a couple of hours and everyone loves them. I have one hanging in our living room window and we turn it on to send love and light out into the world at night. At least metaphorically.

When you begin knitting, you need to be mindful that wire kinks and the fairy lights will break if you knit too tightly. I try to keep a very light tension on the wire both to keep the wire from breaking and to make it easier to knit with. It’s a good idea to pull several arms lengths from the “spool” of wire at a time and make sure it’s not kinking as you go. Taking the time in advance will make it much less stressful in the end. Also, be sure to plug in the lights to make sure they work before you start knitting. It would be heartbreaking to knit the entire project only to have the lights stay dark!

I cast on as the pattern suggests and follow the pattern and even being mindful of the wire, I have to stop and untwist kinks several times during the knitting. I used to worry about the stitches being imperfect and squinched together but don’t worry. At the end of the knitting you can massage the shape into the perfect heart. The wire is pretty stretchy when knitted and you can really work on getting the heart shaped to your liking. AND don’t forget to plug it in again to make sure the lights still work! (Knock on wood, mine have always been ok despite some aggressive “blocking”!)

The end result is so pretty and makes me smile every single time. I’ll get these packed up and sent out later this week. Literally sending Love and Light out into the world!

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.

Hermione’s Everyday Socks and a Full Moon

Posted on February 26, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

I’m hoping that now that the full moon has passed that I can sleep a little better and a little longer. Living close to the land, we seem to go to bed and wake up with the sun. We don’t have a lot of curtains and blinds and those that we do have aren’t usually closed. So … the sunrise is at around 6:30am and we are almost always up before that. The moon last night and tonight was absolutely gorgeous, though.

I have another FO! I finished my Hermione’s Everyday Socks tonight. I stayed up late (it’s after 9pm, all!) I loved this pattern. I loved knitting a different sock pattern (but I do still adore the Yankee Knitter pattern) and I loved knitting a different heel pattern. I did make a little mistake on the first heel – I lost my rhythm for a few rows but I let it go – but the second sock has a perfect heel. I think I’m going to have to wear these socks tomorrow and see how my feet like the texture of the socks.

The first picture is the textured leg. This is a simple four round pattern that you can memorize without any issues. I promise. The heel is a slip stitch heel but the slipped stitches aren’t stacked and so there’s some extra thickness where you need it BUT it’s not as visible as the more traditional slip stitch heel flap.

A year or so ago, I realized that I had filled my sock drawer with hand knit socks. But most of my socks were patterned and there were no plain ones. (Ha! Ha! Plain! There’s nothing plain about even a solid color pair of hand knit socks.) I have now made three pairs of solid color socks for myself and two of them are in this yarn. I really like the CoopKnits Sock Yeah! yarn. It’s a 75/35 merino/nylon blend in a fingering weight. I bought this yarn in a collection when I invested in learning more about knitting with A Year of Techniques. I’ve written about it here before. It was a great investment and I loved trying yarns that I wouldn’t have easy access to here in Maine. Since the yarns all came from the UK, they were different than most that we have at MY LYS.

These socks will be a good addition to my sock drawer and I hope that I love them as much as I love the vanilla socks that I made in the light gray colorway. I’m going to cast on another pair of socks tomorrow to take with us on our travels to my nephew’s wedding this week. They’re so easy to travel with. I just have to decide which pattern I am going to try. Maybe the Crazy Sock Lady’s pattern? Not sure which one … yet!

It’s late so I’m signing off but no more knitting tonight!

Afternoon Quickie

Posted on February 19, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s been a beautiful but cold day today in Maine. I took off this morning to North Whitefield to have a look at some SL sheepskins that I’ve been wondering about for a while now. I really want one for my desk chair and/or my knitting chair. It just so happened that they were having a special sale and I could save $10 if I picked it up. So, today I drove over to Swallowtail Farm and I can’t wait to go back. I have a gorgeous creamy white XL sheepskin and ran a couple of errands and then came home to knit.

I’ve been watching some new podcasts lately and I knew that I had to knit up a gift for my nephew and his soon-to-be wife. I’ve bought the supplies and they’ve been sitting in my atelier for several months now. It’s a sweet pattern and I love to give it as gifts. I think they’ll appreciate it.

I sat down at my desk and cast on the first “lobe” of the heart at around 3pm. The heart pattern is called “Love and Light” by Laura Nelkin. I chose to knit the larger one which requires a 200 light/ 66 foot strand of fairy lights. I bought mine here. If you want to try this, buy more than one set of lights because it’s addictive. I think I’ve knit half a dozen or more. They also look wonderful in colors, too. We have one hanging in our living room window and it’s a beacon of light in the evenings after the sun goes down. They make me extremely happy.

The pictures above show you the progress from 3pm until the heart was finished and “massaged” into it’s final shape. One more plug-in to make sure I didn’t break the connections as I was knitting and I was done. It was 4:00pm. That’s right, it took an hour and a half of my time to make even though it’s tough on my hands, it’s totally worth it. I love the way these turn out!

Leftovers tonight for dinner and the bread I baked yesterday is perfect yet again. This bread baking gig is pretty cool and the house smells so good when I bake bread! What a glorious life!

Gone knitting.

Three Years

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

This little guy has been gone three years today and my heart misses him so much. Boq was a special boy. He loved to hide under the chair in my Florida living room. He was a great paper shredder as long as he wasn’t under any time constraints. It took him forever because he was very thorough. He loved to explore when he was a younger pup.He loved to go on family walks in Maine and would walk all the way to the mailboxes while his sister chose to get a ride.

He once “got lost” in the yard and came limping up to the back door which is really the front door at the back of the house. Back then it was the old house. He must have gone under the house and made friends or enemies with a baby porcupine because he had a tiny porcupine quill in his foot. Or it could have been a tiny thorn. You have to admit the baby porcupine story is a good one.

Boogie Man was always willing to pose for a photograph. He was the photogenic one. His sister hated it. He also loved to sit on laps and cuddle. He loved blankets and he loved his beds. His bed in my studio was his favorite place to stretch out on his back with a blanket and a favorite toy and snooze in the sun. He was never potty trained. I was. I could read him pretty well and when I missed his cues, it was my fault and he was small. To this day, if an ice cube melts on the kitchen floor, I think of him.

He loved his sweaters and outfits and he wore them all well and with good humor. He was the best nursing home visitor and would sit with any of the residents. He even brought one woman out of her silence (and made her daughters cry). He was always up for a car ride and he sometimes was found riding while facing the back seat while the other dogs were facing forward. Did I tell you he was a special boy?

Boq developed a seizure disorder late in his life. It was horrible to witness his seizures. Medicine kept it pretty well at bay until it didn’t. He had a massive seizure one day when we were both at work and my dear hubby came home to a dog who was very sick. He rushed him to the vet and they stabilized him but we had a big decision to make because it was going to happen again and it would be an emergency. We didn’t want him to suffer. He was suffering, he wasn’t eating and was “hiding” himself in our closet most of the days.

I miss him so much even after three years. I loved watching his hair bounce when he ran in to the kitchen for dinner or breakfast. He would patiently wait for his sister to finish her food so he could lick her bowl. He was very good at cleaning up the kitchen floor. He was a joy to share life with for 14+ years. The only thing he ever did “wrong” was that he didn’t live forever.

We miss you Mr. Boogie. You were the best boy.

2024 – Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

Well, here we are on the first day of the New Year … 2024. It’s another gray day here in Central Maine and it’s, honestly, getting a bit depressing. We had a brief glimpse of the sun yesterday morning and I was hoping that it would be re-energizing but the clouds came barreling in in the late morning and that was that. We did have a beautiful sunset last night though.

I wanted to take a few minutes to sum up my 2023 year in yarn. I was changing over to my new bullet journal book yesterday and so I reviewed 2023 and I officially finished 54 projects. A. few of those were sewing or hand-stitching but the majority were knitted. I have 10 WIPs that I’m carrying over into 2024 (and I have one or two projects that I need to add to my queue.)

I attended a week of sewing camp, Slow Fashion 101, with A Gathering of Stitches at Medomak Retreat Center in Washington, Maine. I took 4 knitting classes centered around traditional Norwegian knitting with Knitography Farm, I attended Knit City in Montreal and took a class with Bristol Ivy and another with Stephanie Purl McFee and I took 5 sewing classes on Creative Bug.

2024 could be a bit gentler to us all and I so wish that there was peace in the world. My heart breaks to think of families in Ukraine and Gaza being terrorized by war. I hate the Israeli government for what they’re doing to innocent citizens while I recognize their right to fight for the hostages taken by Hamas. It’s a difficult situation and one that seems to divide us rather than unite us. It seems that people around the planet have forgotten to listen to others and have compassion for others. Judgement and anger and, dare I say, hatred are flourishing in the current environment which seems to make people less tolerant of others.

In 2024 I’ll continue to work on myself and working to be more accepting, loving, and grateful. I’ll continue to work to move my body more and eat healthfully. (Today I’m starting Dry January.) I want to build in more time for sewing and hope to knit mostly from my stash … we’ll see how that works out. Because I work in a yarn shop, it’s really easy to find new projects to bring home … and I’ve done quite a bit of that in 2023. I’d like to finish up more WIPs and knit from stash this year to make some space for new projects and yarn in 2025, maybe.

I want to take some more day trips around Maine this year and maybe even a few overnights. We live in such a beautiful place and there are so many parts we haven’t seen yet. Maybe we’ll even get out of the state! We have two family weddings this year and I’d love to visit my sister in Arizona and my Aunt and Uncle in Nevada. None of us is getting any younger and tomorrow is not guaranteed.

We have a few house projects to work on. Our guest cottage (it sounds fancy but it’s not) was built in the 1950s and it’s in dire need of some work. We had it lifted up and leveled this fall and we want to paint it and put in a new “kitchenette” so we can rent it. We lived there for 7 months while we built the house and it is comfortable and has a gorgeous view of the lake. It’s a perfect place to paint or write or just escape from the workaday world for a little while. I’ll be providing muffins and scones, of course! We also want to take down our old wood shed building that has been sitting idle for a couple of years. The building we are told was an ice house built in the late 1800s and it’s in bad shape. We will replace it with a garage for one of our cars and put it closer to the house. Once the building is complete, we’ll be adding trees and plants to protect the lake and so we have less lawn. When you live by the lake, lawn is the worst … allowing rain and surface water to run into the lake with phosphorus and other chemicals. It’s bad enough that it’s New Year’s Day and there’s not even a skim of ice on the lake. Climate change is real – this is the first time in 28 years by one neighbor’s experience that we’ve not had ice on the lake at this time. I fear for this beautiful place and will do whatever I can to make our space here be a place of beauty and caring.

Farewell 2023 and welcome 2024.

Gone knitting!

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.

How Today’s Going

Posted on November 15, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Today is my last day at home before returning to work after having some cruddy virus-type thing. I’m still coughing and stuffy but I do think I’m on the upswing and am feeling much better. My sweetie not so much. Today’s been one of those days where your plan just keeps falling apart.

I always spend a few minutes at my desk in the morning to have a look at what I need to get done that day, if I have any meetings, etc. Today I got myself ready to start the day and headed downstairs to fold the laundry. When I went into the bathroom I noticed that the toilet seat needed attention so I cleaned it up. The sink also needed attention so I cleaned it and the counter. Finally, it was time to fold the laundry and put it away. Done and dusted. I thought I’d make granola next and walked by my purse in the front hall which reminded me that I had wanted to changing purses so I went into our closet and found that my two vintage Coach purses at the bottom of the bin were moldy so I grabbed the shoe polish and the purses and went out into the kitchen to clean and polish them. My purses look brand new after more than 40 years and I switched my stuff from my “fall” purse into the oldest and smallest Coach purse that I have. I bought it on sale at Lord & Taylor in Manhattan when I lived and worked there. It was my first ever Coach purse. After putting the other purses back in the closet, I got out the makings for granola.

And while the oats, etc. were toasting, I remembered to catch up on my Wovember posts on Instagram.I know that committing myself to these monthly postings is going to be tough but I try it again and again. I was really behind … like 5 or six days behind. I’d thought about the posts and had taken some photos but needed to take a photo of the afghan that my grandmother’s friend Ruth gave to me as a shower or wedding gift the first time I was married. Ruth is my knitting hero. She could knit while drinking coffee, smoking a cigarette and watching TV. The afghan remains one of my favorites despite the acrylic yarn. I noticed it needs some repair – it has a few pulls – and I’ve added that to my mending list. I wrote my post while the liquid part of the granola was melting and then put the granola together and back into the oven.

I had emptied a bottle of fizzy water and hadn’t refilled it so I did that, put away the dry dishes on the drainboard, cleaned up the kitchen and washed the top of the island (I had to scrub a bit of shoe polish off.) Meanwhile, I’d forgotten to eat breakfast so I grabbed the last of the baked oatmeal out of the freezer and popped it into the microwave. See how it’s gone? I’ve made headway into the day but geez, there’s a lot of side trips! Ha! Ha!

Look how happy my houseplants are! I am thrilled to see the show they’re putting on this year. My Thanksgiving Cactus is in full bloom. It’s absolutely covered with flowers. The second one, is blooming too but nowhere near as fully as the red one. Our orchids are STILL blooming. They’ve been incredible and in nearly constant bloom for months. Yes, you read that right, MONTHS! My father would be so proud of me and I know that Helen is smiling.

I really am knitting. I’m endeavoring to design a Christmas sweater for Sylvie. She’s a year old but she’s a peanut so I’m not sure what size to knit but I’ve just begun and am hoping it’ll fit! I’ll write the pattern down when it’s done … maybe … but I think it’ll be cute and different. I’ve got the body done and am knitting the sleeves. Since they’re little, they won’t take a lot of time. The Yoke will be worked pretty simply with raglan decreases and then embellished once the sweater is knitted. I’m not going to share any more photos (the one below was posted to Instagram) until it’s finished but there are hints on my Ravelry project page.

I’ve set aside my pink mittens with some of the embroidery done and some yet to do. I’ll get them finished when I am done with Sylvie’s sweater. They may travel with me for Thanksgiving. We shall see. I’m continuing to work on my Nancy’s Vest slowly but surely and mostly in the evenings when I am too tired for colorwork and design work. I’ve got five of the seven button holes knitted so I’m making progress. I hope it’s going to be long enough … it looks like it could be really short. If that’s the case, I’ll rip it out and start again. I am trying to take my own advice and trust the pattern.

My gray socks are still on the needles. I found a dropped stitch way back and pulled it up as far as I dared. I’ll secure the one stitch when it’s finishing time. I’ve already added a stitch so that my count is correct. They’re for me so it doesn’t really matter if they’re perfect. Well. they’re perfectly imperfect.

My studio and home are a mess and I can’t leave for Thanksgiving before it’s cleaned up a little bit. Guess we’ll be vacuuming and dusting this weekend. Holiday travel is not my cup of tea and I’m trying to get myself into the mindset that what happens happens. We are so fortunate to be able to travel and to be invited for a Thanksgiving visit. Our generator is in good working order should we lose power and we have Tom coming to raise our guest cottage sometime during the long weekend so he’ll check on the water issue (we’re waiting on parts so it can be fixed.) Monk will be happy to see his friends at the kennel. We have everything that’s within our control done. The rest is up to the universe.

Gone knitting.

PS. Two more thoughts. First. I went to the doctor because I wasn’t feeling well on Thursday last week. When we bring our dog to the veterinarian, they call to see how he’s doing after the visit. I’ve heard not one word from my doctor. Second. The weather is really feeling wintery now. We (the royal we) covered the garlic with straw and it’s time to cover the Rhododendrons that we’ve been nursing for years. They’re getting a bit bigger but the weight of the snow (and the workers) may hurt them. Guess it’s time to put the life jackets and oars away, too. The dock’s only been gone a month or so. An extra thought. Be kind. Everyone’s fighting battles these days. Politics is ugly, war is ugly, and it’s difficult to wrap my head around the things people say to each other. What we can all do every day is to be kind. It takes so little effort.