Queen Bee Knits

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Little Tern

Posted on May 25, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

We are at the beginning of what is technically (here in Maine) tourist season which also means summer. Those of us who know Maine are laughing because this is the least summer-like weather we’ve had in forever at the end of May. It’s been gray and rainy for days … weeks! It’s leaving me a bit fatigued, maybe a bit depressed (although with the way things are in this country and around the world it makes total sense) and all I really want to do is sit and knit. I’ve been doing plenty of that.

I have finished the Little Tern blanket by Tin Can Knits in Fyberspates Vivacious DK. This photo looks more turquoise and the real color is more green but I love it and the blanket is an heirloom-quality knit. As I was knitting this blanket, the second one I’ve made, I was thinking about how much I loved making the first one and how grateful I am that I had the presence of mind to buy extra yarn so that I could make this one! I think I’ve written about this before – this pattern and yarn were one of the “kits” in A Year of Techniques, a class that I took several years ago with Jen Arnall-Culliford. It was a series of tutorials that then became a book and you could take the class with or without buying the yarn kits. I did. Mostly because I didn’t know any of the yarns that they were using for the tutorial projects and, boy, am I glad I did. This is one of my favorite yarns but there were many.

Little Tern is designed by Tin Can Knits. It uses a provisional cast on and then the body of the blanket is knit in a textured pattern that is easy enough to (almost) remember. Once the body is done, a lace edge is knitted onto the body on both ends. It’s rather ingenious, frankly. AND it’s absolutely engaging and gorgeous. I seldom knit the same pattern twice and I am actually looking forward to knitting this one again (I have a set of purple Fyberspates Vivacious DK for another blanket in my stash.)

I also finished the quilt that I made for my granddaughter’s sleeping nook at Yaya and Poppy’s house. This fabric was in my fabric collection and I only bought the one piece of flannel that is the backing. I even made the binding out of left-over bits and scraps of the fabric I used for the quilt. This week I hand-stitched the back of the binding and it’s now ready to be put to use. I think she’ll like the bright colors and the soft warm flannel on the back.

We finished painting her little nook. It’s the same width as a crib mattress and it’s really purple. Way more than I am comfortable with but I am thinking that once the wallpaper birds on a wire is up and the giraffe picture is hung, I think it will be a bit less “purple”. But it’s what she asked for … I simple neglected to think about paint colors being darker once they’re on the wall. It’s all good. We backed my IKEA Kallax storage cube unit with a “bead board” panelling, trimmed the bottom of the nook after the panelling was installed and the shelf unit was attached to the wall so it can’t tip over and then the room was painted. We need to cut some slats that will sit up a bit so the mattress is off the floor and then put up the decorations. I still have to make two pillowcases and if I have time, I’ll knit a little blanket like one she has at home. All things to make her stay here at Yaya and Poppy’s feel like home. I’m crazy like that.

I’ve been working on finishing up little projects and have done well doing that. I’ve knitted and blocked two more tams for my client. She loves these hats and they’re not a bother to make up for her. It’s nice that she appreciates them so much. I also made a little “blueberry” hat for our soon-to-be Denver nugget. I used a pattern by Ann Norling and Malabrigo Rios yarn. It’s pretty cute. Now, of course, I’m knitting a bigger one for Sylvie. She loves blueberries. I’ve been working my way down the second socks’s foot (the first one fits perfectly), and I have been picking up my Jelly Roll blanket. A customer brought in bits and bobs of leftovers and I brought home a few fingering weight yarns that she left to add to my blanket (as if I was going to run out any time soon.) I also made some strawberry jam this week and a batch of blueberry muffins for my hubby. We brought the strawberries at a very good price at Costco on Monday specifically for jam making. Yum!

I pulled another unfinished project out of my cupboard. Ages ago I bought a kit from Jimmy Beans Wool that was to make Franklin Habit’s Dolores (a sheep) and some of her outfits. I got the body finished and then the project went into time out … not because of anything other than my little cast-on-itis and there Dolores’ body has been resting waiting for me to turn my attention back to her. The other day I pulled out the bound off stitches and will be more firmly stuffing her body and then closing her up again. I will be committing time to getting her finished because she’ll be a fun addition to Sylvie’s nook. I think. AND she’ll be finished. I really am trying to get projects finished … I have a few. (Ahem.) I haven’t forgotten the pink mittens either … the first one is mostly finished and the embroidery looks pretty good, actually. Think I can get a second one done?

I have a couple of deadline projects … both are Love and Light by Laura Nelkin. When a couple gets married in our family or has a baby, they get one for their home. I haven’t made one yet for Amy and Jake (they were married a year ago-ish) so I’ll make one now for their baby’s nursery. I’m calling this baby the Denver nugget and he or she is due end of August/early September. Sylvie has one in her room in NYC and it’s used as a nightlight. I’ll make one for her nook here so it’s just like home … and not at all since she won’t be sleeping in a crib for the first time ever. We are all crossing our fingers that she stays in bed like she does at home. That reminds me that I need a bookshelf for her wall.

Gone knitting.

Sunday (with a very little sun)

Posted on May 18, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

We had thunderstorms and heavy rain overnight and more rain this morning but by late morning it had cleared up enough for us to take our coffee outside on the porch. Through the day we have had more rain showers (hubby got drenched on the way back from getting his paper) but it’s not been a bad day.

I went up to my atelier to get some knitting to bring down to the porch and got sidetracked … as I often do. I gathered my knitting – a hat that I’m working on for a customer – and headed to the porch. I finished the hat and didn’t have a needle to thread the yarn through the last few stitches at the end. Up the stairs I trotted again for a needle and the next ball of yarn to make an identical hat, well it’s a different color but the same pattern, and thought … I have to sew the binding on Sylvie’s quilt. So, I sat down to sew the binding on. I had to go downstairs for breakfast but I got it all sewn on and then brought the quilt, my quilt clips AND the rest of the knitting stuff I needed.

I got the quilt binding clipped all around and cast on the second hat for my customer. I was feeling so good about it … and it was only noon!

So, my dear hubby has one or two more parts to play in creating a space for our granddaughter to sleep when they come up this summer. Today’s task was to attach the shelf system to the wall just in case she decides to climb it in the middle of the night or during her nap. He cut away the baseboard trim and we slipped the bookshelf into place and he screwed it to the studs so it won’t be going anywhere. AND then (he helped) I painted the space … at least I got the first coat of paint on the walls. Tomorrow I’ll get a second coat on and then I can buy the mattress and put the bed in place. It’s a tiny little nook behind the bookshelf in my atelier but it’s going to be cozy and I think she’ll love it. I would have loved it as a kid. Heck, I love it now (and you may find me napping there in the future.) Of course, all the storage boxes that fit into the shelf had to be removed so the atelier’s a mess again but I am excited to have this project finished. It is very purple (her color choice).

I have finished her purple cardigan. I got the buttons sewed on last night while we were watching “stupid tv” and I think she’s going to love it. She chose the mismatched buttons and I think they’re perfect. I also sewed the buttons on the Steek This Coffee Cosy that I made when I was teaching my colorwork workshop at the store. Two more finished objects for 2025. You can finally see that the cardigan, which doesn’t photograph well indoors, is purple. Do you see a theme here?

I am so thrilled with the Little Tern blanket that I am knitting for our future Denver grand-baby who I am calling the Nugget. I’ve written about if before but it keeps making me happy so I am going to keep on writing about it. The yarn is gorgeous and so wonderfully squishy and the pattern is engaging and requires just enough thought so that it never gets boring. I’m nearly done with the first end’s lace edging. AND I think it will be a perfect addition to the baby’s room!

I’m also continuing work on a pair of Hermione’s Everyday Socks in On the Round yarn. This is another pattern that I find very engaging and it makes me so happy. It’s a free Ravelry pattern but it’s not a vanilla sock. The 4-row pattern repeat is easy to memorize and it produces a very satisfying texture … and I love the heel! This is the third (?) time I’ve used this pattern and it always makes me happy. The yarn is fabulous, too. This has been stashed for a long time. I bought it specifically to make a pair of baby socks for one of my daughter’s friends who was in Wicked on Broadway and the colorway is aptly named, “Wicked”. I have leftover yarn because baby socks.

So, now that I’ve been so productive, it’s time to sit down and work on knitting the black hat for my customer. I’m trying to get all the things that I “have” to knit done so I can have some fun and knit an animal or two out of the book Knitted Animal Friends by Louise Crowther. I have the yarn for three of her designs. So, the two hats and two Love and Light fairy light hearts need to be finished first – and none of these projects takes a long time to complete so I just need to prioritize them. (I probably have enough knitting projects and yarn in my atelier to knit for a good little while. And that good little while could be the rest of my life.)

Gone knitting.

A Bee-Utiful Day!

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

Today was a beautiful day! I had the windows open this morning and they’ve stayed open all day … it’s even warm enough to turn off the heat overnight and leave the windows open. I spent a good part of the day cleaning up in my atelier. We found sugar ants, the little tiny ones, in my atelier a couple of days ago and they’ve popped up every evening. Today I figured I needed to give the floors a good vacuum and then wet mop them in case there was something attracting them (i.e. food). So I moved the furniture and knitting bags out of the way and got to work. It turned into a day like the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie story …

Once I had vacuumed the atelier I thought, why not vacuum the guest room and the bathroom. Then I wet mopped the atelier, the bathroom and part of the guest room before I started running out of steam. BUT I didn’t stop there because I had to trim the quilt I’ve been working on for our granddaughter’s bed at Yaya and Poppy’s house. Next up was putting everything back in its place after the floors had dried and taking all the tools for cleaning back downstairs. I did a load of laundry – the towels and rags and my knitting bag that had been dragged hither and yon to California and back and to Denver and back through four airports and on trains, planes, busses, and cars. It’s my most used bag and it was gross!

I sat down to knit after getting dressed and ready for my school board goal-setting retreat and board meeting … I had to frog a few rows of the lace trim on my Little Tern blanket because I made a little mistake but it’s lace and it’s easier to frog it back than to try to fix it. I’ve now fixed it and realized that I made a mistake way down near the end. Since I will surely be the only one to see it, I am not pulling it out again. I will finish the required repeats and finagle the last couple of rows so that the stitch count will be correct and I can finish the edge. It’s such a lovely blanket. I am loving knitting it as much this time as I did the first time I made it. I was absolutely right to order the extra hank of yarn.

I have woven in all the ends on Sylvie’s purple cardigan and it’s blocked and drying. I have some mixed buttons that she chose for the sweater and once it’s dry I will sew them on and the sweater will be ready to head to New York City in the fall. It looks huge!

I haven’t picked up my Wicked socks lately and I haven’t worked on any other projects. I’ve been pretty monogamous with the blanket and the cardigan. I am going to cast on the tams for my customer next in order to get them done for her. She’s paid me for them and I don’t want to forget them … and they’re relatively quick to knit. I may take one to work on Friday when I teach and I’ll bet I can bang it out.

I need to sew the binding on the quilt next, too. This weekend I hope we can get the shelves attached to the wall and I can paint her “room” and then I get to go shopping for her mattress and sheets. I have bought some stick on wallpaper “birds on a wire” and I plan to knit a light-up heart, too. It’ll be tiny but it’ll be hers. I still need a wall-mounted bookshelf and a wide gate so she doesn’t wander and fall down the stairs at night. This will be her first experience out of a crib. I hope it doesn’t backfire. There will be more pictures coming as I make progress.

And tomorrow it’s back to work again. The store has been busy enough and I do love the customers who come in and challenge me to help them with knitting questions and with choosing yarn for their projects. They keep me working! It’s a “normal” week so I am in tomorrow and teach Friday and then I’m off again until the next week. I actually have some “free” days on the calendar … but don’t tell anybody. I will be going to Costco for provisions and some new bath towels.

Gone knitting.

PS. The before …

Mother’s Day

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

Yesterday was a perfect day! We had nothing on our schedule so we had coffee on the porch in the sunshine, I wrote the store newsletter, hubby made blueberry pancakes for breakfast and we went to Lowe’s to get some supplies for building the little “nook” for our granddaughter’s visit this summer. I spoke to all of our kids and got a chance to knit a little, too, before a lobster dinner (what a treat! The price of lobster is crazy right now.) I took this photo of our first humming birds who have arrived back in Maine for the summer. I love these little birds so much … and pray that their navigation skills as they zip around the house are top notch … when we sit outside we can feel their wings pass by our ears. They’re miraculous.

Mother’s Day is typically a sad-ish day for me and is often fraught with conflict in my head and heart because my mother died in 2008 which means I’ve had sixteen mother’s days without having a mother to celebrate with. All of my kiddos were already out of the house by then and having adult children living lives of their own is another strange way to experience Mother’s Day. So, I’ve spent many years being sad and having expectations about what would happen and being disappointed and lonely. SO … I’m coming around to the belief that Mother’s Day is hard when you don’t have a mother and that expectations lead to disappointment so it’s better to consider this another day that I choose to make a good day. And yesterday was a good day.

I am knitting away on several projects and have several more in the wings (that’s lined up on the shelf in my atelier). I’m working on my Hermione’s Everyday Socks in On the Round “Wicked” sock yarn. I am loving these socks. The colorway is spectacular and the pattern is soothing. (It’s also free on Ravelry!) They’re what I go to when I need something small to throw into my purse.

I worked my way down the second sleeve of my granddaughter’s purple cardigan (Knitting Pure & Simple yesterday and got the neck ribbing done. I picked up the stitches on the first front band which is the button hole band and have pinned the spots where I’ll make the holes. That means that I am so close … maybe today?

I’m almost to the part where I bind off the Little Tern blanket for our Denver Nugget and start the lace edging. I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed this blanket project again! I love the squishy yarn – Fyberspates Vivacious DK – and I love the pattern. I am so excited to gift this one (as I was excited to gift the first one. This is a family heirloom knit. Exquisite, if I do say so myself.

I have twelve projects lined up on my shelf. Twelve! And that doesn’t include my WIPS that I’m not really working on right now. LOL.

In this line-up are two tams for a customer, a cotton summer dress for Sylvie, two knitted hearts made with fairy lights, a pair of fingerless mitts for my daughter if the first one fits properly, a bulky sweater for Sylvie, more little chicken friends for Ernie, a blueberry hat for the Nugget and Sylvie, the Fair Isle bag I started in a class, my Patty tank, and another Arne & Carlos Christmas stocking. I also have yarn for a Petite Knits Slipover. AND all the animals I want to make. Good grief, I need to quit my job and quit volunteering and just spend my time knitting. (NOT!)

I also have the baby quilt to finish. I did buy some cotton flannel to back it with and I have the batting. I just have to wash the backing and put it all together. I doubt I’ll have time to take it to Candy for machine quilting on the long arm but I’ll give her a call to see. Otherwise, I’ll be quilting this myself on the machine or by hand … I haven’t decided which yet.

We bought the paneling and paint for Sylvie’s “nook” yesterday. The paneling is up on the IKEA storage unit and needs a bit of tweaking and filling in holes and then I’ll paint the whole space purple (her request) before I get the picture hung, the wallpaper up and build a mattress support so she won’t be sleeping on the floor – although she’d probably like that, too. I have a pillow cover to sew, and I hope I have enough flannel so I can make her a pillowcase. I only need to find a little book shelf for the wall and get it all done.

My next house project is to paint our guest bathroom and guest room. We’ve been in the house 10 years around Thanksgiving and we’ve not even painted all the walls yet. The primer has served us well but it’s time! I’m taking on the project hoping to energize my hubby so he will get the stairway and third floor done, too. We are also renovating our guest cottage space. We’ve torn out the bathroom from 1950 red indoor-outdoor carpet and all and we are rebuilding a bathroom that will be a little bit lighter and brighter with new shower stall and flooring. Once that’s done, we will outfit the living room with a counter (likely a buffet) and storage for the kitchen area to include a refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, electric kettle and toaster oven so that our renters can fix themselves something to eat. A new coat of paint on the outside of the cottage and it’ll be gorgeous. WE loved living up there while we built the house – until it was November and cold. It’ll be a good additional revenue stream for us and a great spot for creatives to create or for couples or singles to call home as they explore Maine. When we’ve made some progress, I’ll post about this, too.

We are busy and contented and life is good. We are so grateful to call this place home.

Gone knitting.

Our Denver Nugget

Posted on May 7, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

We made it home this morning. Whew! What a trip. The final leg of our flights returning from Denver from Baltimore to Portland was delayed 42 minutes and we ended up leaving an hour and a quarter late. So, our almost 11pm turned into after midnight and we ended up booking a room near the airport. I thought I was booking a hotel ON the airport grounds but it ended up being several miles from the airport closer to the Maine Mall. We arrived, checked in and went to park the car and that’s when the sky opened up and we got soaked walking to the side door (where there was no overhang) and the key didn’t get us in. We walked in a literal downpour to the front door and we were drenched. Water was dripping from my hair. And then the room smelled like wet dog when we went in. They’d overbooked king beds and only had an “accessible” room on the first floor. If you know me you know smells are a problem for my allergies so we asked for a different roon and were given the one next door to the stinky one, with an adjoining door and two double beds. Guess what!? It smelled like wet dog, too. By that time I just wanted to lie down. The bed was the worst bed I’ve ever slept in at a hotel. Hard as a rock. I figured I was so tired I could sleep anywhere but I was wrong … my brain was running a triathlon and I couldn’t stop it. I’m paying for it today but I will sleep well tonight in my own bed.

BUT despite the difficult return flight, we had the most wonderful time in Denver visiting my dear hubby’s youngest who is delivering us grand-baby #2, our Denver Little Nugget, in late August. She looks wonderful and healthy and so happy and her husband is amazing, too. We loved being together and look forward to going back soon. We took a day trip up to the Rocky Mountain National Park (we have a lifetime senior pass) and saw lots of elk out there. We took a bag lunch from a great little shop in Lyons, CO and had a picnic lunch and walked around Sprague Lake after lunch. We went to visit Littleton, CO on Sunday, had a snack break at a restaurant there and wandered around and then on Monday we drove out to Fort Collins, CO to have lunch with my nephew who is finishing up his vet school clinicals our there. We went to a nursery to buy a lilac bush in remembrance of Grandma Penny who passed away Friday and we found a second-hand baby store where the books were 10 for $10. The Nugget’s library has begun.

We all love being together and we are going to try to make quarterly visits out there. It must be time for a Southwest mileage credit card! Ha! Ha!

I didn’t get a lot of knitting done when we were there but I did make a little progress on Sylvie’s purple cardigan. One sleeve is done and the second sleeve is on the needles. I cast on a little hat to match the Nugget’s Newborn Vertebrae cardigan and got a few of the 5″ of ribbing and stockinette done. More coming. I also knitted one sock in On the Round Signature Sock yarn in the Wicked colorway and got the second sock started. I have a long list of knitting to accomplish before the baby arrives. The hat, the blanket needs to be finished and a (fairy llight) heart needs to be knitted. I have two hats for a customer done (she’s already paid me in full for them.) And I have several other projects to finish … the pink embroidered mittens is one.

Hermione’s Everyday Socks in On the Round Signature Sock “Wicked” colorway

Since I have only taken a photo of the sock, that’s all you’re getting today. Sorry, I’m totally wiped out and I’m going to go park my body in my dad’s old easy chair and watch some stupid TV. We went to Ken’s Food Truck in Winslow for some fried seafood. Hubby had the fried clams and I had the fried scallops. Dinner is taken care of so now we wait until it’s reasonable to go to bed. LOL

We came home to budding leaves, bleeding heart in bloom and new daffodils and tulips. The yard and house were a welcome sight. The dock is in so I went out for a look. Home feels good today.

Gone knitting (maybe.)

California Here I Come … and here I go!

Posted on April 30, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

I’m home again after a wonderful whirlwind trip to SanDiego to help my daughter out with the kiddo while she and her husband and partner are working around the world! Far from NYC they all are. I traveled by car, bus, plane and Lyft to SanDiego on Friday and did the reverse yesterday. But I’d do it again today if asked. What fun we had! Three days jam-packed with action and laughs.

Highlights were visiting with my middle child because she was on babysitting duty the week before I arrived and we got to overlap for an evening. The Farmers Market in SanDiego on Sunday was absolutely amazing. So much beautiful food for blocks! AND our trip to Disney Land in Anaheim on Monday was so much fun. My granddaughter didn’t know where we were going and we planned the day to her liking with breaks for her to run around and a long wait for the Dumbo ride (her request) and several waits for visits with different princesses. We managed to walk into two parades where she saw Mickey and Minnie and several other characters that she knows and the piece de resistance was a visit with one of her favorites from Encanto, Mirabel! (I wish I could show you the pictures of her face when she saw her! She got her little dress all bunched up in a knot in her hands with anticipation of her turn to talk to her! Kate and I were in tears! What a moment.)

I loved SanDiego! The flora and fauna are so different from the east coast. We went on a flower hunt in the neighborhood, painted on the deck, read lots of books, had some naps, watched some movies and had a wonderful time at Sylvie’s “California house”. LOL. She’s coming back to New York with daddy this weekend and mama will come back the following week because her show, Regency Girls (at the Old Globe) was extended and, we hope, bound for Broadway!

I did finish two pairs of little socks for Sylvie before I got to California. One green pair and one purple pair and she was happy with them. The yarn is King Cole Footsie which is washable and dryable but I’m going to have to make more, bigger socks. Her little footsies are growing so fast!

I also started a cardigan for Sylvie for fall. I had real troubles figuring out what to bring for travel knitting but I knew I wanted to finish her socks. So that part was easy. I don’t think I took any finished photos. oops.

Knitting Pure and Simple #1607 Child’s Skirt and Cardigan Set in King Cole Simply Denim

I’m knitting the second size, a size 4 with a 24 inch chest measurement. I hope it’ll be big enough for fall and winter! BUT as you can see in the last photo of the group above, she has a new Disney princess sweatshirt that she wanted to wear in the car on the way home AND immediately upon waking up the next morning. So, the cardigan has some stiff competition! I brought three sets of buttons with me and she picked the ones she wants which I will reveal when it’s time for buttons. The kid knows what she wants! You’ve got to love that.

Yesterday I made my way back home with the reverse order, Lyft to plane to bus to car. My sweet hubby was waiting for me at the Portland, ME bus station and I was so happy to see him! It was a great trip and it’s always great to be home. Even if it’s only for 48 hours.

Adventure awaits! Gone knitting.

If You Give Linda a Day Off …

Posted on April 22, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

Today was a “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” kind of day. If you’re not familiar with the book, you will be when I get finished with this post. Because … I started out thinking I’d change my purse over to my travel purse in preparation for my trip on Friday. I went into the closet in our room and got my purse and wallet that I use when I travel (light, goes across my chest, RFID protected) and then stopped on the way to the dining room table to put in a load of laundry. Got the laundry put in and while I was adding the soap, I decided I’d wipe off the water heater on top of which it sits. Went to get the Clorox wipes and wiped it off and then decided I should also clean off the burner because every time I shake out clean laundry it touches the burner and gets dusty. Back into the bathroom for another Clorox wipe (three trips actually) before the burner is clean. Meanwhile I decided to empty the trash in the laundry room and sweep the floor … at least where I can reach. So I dumped the trash, and saw that one of my orchids was looking really droopy.

I got some newspaper out of the recycle bin and laid it out on the island in the kitchen to check the orchid’s planting medium and found it very compacted and very wet. Orchids don’t like wet feet. I pulled the moss off the top and found more moss underneath. One of the two orchids was completely dead. The second one, with two flower spikes, was not looking good – the roots were all rotting. I went out to the boat house to get the planting medium and repotted the orchid; carefully removing all the compacted moss from between the roots and cutting off the rotten roots, rinsing the roots off so they’re clean and ready to breathe. And I realized that the only good pot I had was in use. I got “Helen’s orchid” out of the dry sink, took the plastic pot out of the decorative pot and then moved “Helen’s orchid” into the decorative pot. I used the plastic pot for “Kate’s orchid” and got both orchids repotted, fed them some orchid food and gave them a light spray in the kitchen sink. And then back to the laundry room with the trash can and got the broom to sweep the floor. But there were paper bags stuck way in the back corner behind a piece of plywood that’s supposed to be on the wall covering wires that never got returned to its spot. I took the plywood out, finagled the paper bags out of the corner, and swept the floor as best as I can. I also noticed that the walls were spider webby and needed a bit of a clean so I got my mop out and gave the walls a good “dust” and then Swiffer dusted the pipes and connections (it was time after ten years.) The curtain that I made ten years ago also needed a good clean. I took it down, washed the window inside and out and tossed the curtain into the laundry pile.

“Laundry Room” is almost as clean as when we built the house

Meanwhile, I’d washed and dried and folded a couple loads of laundry and put in a third. I moved hubby’s painting stuff for work, the piece of plywood and two buckets and scrub brushes that belong out in the woodshed out on the porch with the full bag of trash that needed swapping after adding all the moss from the repotting adventure. I put the new kitchen trash bag in and then emptied our bathroom trash because the Clorox wipes bother my allergies. Noticed that my lemon trees in the bedroom window was droopy and took them into the bathroom to water and then, of course, I needed to clean the sinks with more Clorox wipes. I hammered a couple of nails into the laundry room wall for my duster and my window squeegee and tossed in the final laundry load, took the dog out and toasted a bagel for lunch.

And all of this got done and my travel purse and wallet are still on the dining room table with my purse. I’ll change it over tomorrow. Now it’s time to sit and knit.

Postscript: After my hubby got home, I finished vacuuming the second floor, emptied the trash upstairs and brought down the towels I used for dusting the guest room (finally). I still need to wash the glass fish vase that lives upstairs and I’ve taken apart the curtain for the laundry room window. I need to re-work it because it’s not going back on the tension rod. Tomorrow I’ll run the errands I was going to run today. Ha! Ha! Ha! But after yesterday’s fiasco, I’m happy to be drama-free today and nothing was burned.

Gone knitting!

A Lesson and Gratitude

Posted on April 21, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

Our day began today with a cup (or two) of coffee on the porch. In the sun. With a blanket wrapped around my shoulders. But, boy! Did it feel good to be outside in the sunshine, fresh air, and peaceful surroundings. It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to sit on the porch and we were really grateful to spend some sweet time outside. But when the wind came up out of the north it was too chilly.

So, we came inside and got our morning started. I had some work errands to run, a trip to the post office and the bank and the store … and my dear hubby decided to come along for the ride (and to see our new Reny’s.) We even went to the Early Bird for breakfast/lunch and he grabbed a couple of limes at Buddy’s IGA.

Home again, I went indoors to get the (forced) tulip bulbs that had been purchased at Costco a couple of months ago with the idea that we’ll put them in the ground now that it’s warm enough. The bulbs were mushy but we put them in anyway … maybe a couple will come back and maybe not but ashes to ashes. Hubby went out into the yard and I went into the kitchen to clean up and after a few minutes heard hubby huffing and puffing by the front door. When I asked if he was ok, he said, “No. Fire” and I looked outside to see a fire that had escaped the fire pit and was burning the lawn and the little hill up toward the guest cottage. I ran to get a bucket to help augment the hose and we decided we needed to call for help. 911. We kept dumping water and hubby was hosing down the woods and by the grace of God or some higher power, we managed to get the fire out before the fire department found us.

The vehicle you want to see and DON’T want to see in your dooryard

The fire department checked it all out, poured a little bit more water in the woods around the guest cottage and deemed the fire out. Needless to say, we have learned a valuable lesson and have been educated, too. The new fire code says that a fire circle any larger than three feet by three feet needs to have a burn permit every time. Ours is bigger than that. We also cannot burn anything other than fire wood (lumber, old chairs, etc. that hubby has been burning for decades are now not allowed.) AND we have learned to get the hose out to the fire pit BEFORE he starts a fire. The outside water hadn’t been turned on yet and that delayed his water response that allowed the fire to “get away” from him in a very short matter of minutes. We were both very frightened and, needless to say, that won’t ever happen again. (And we need to make a donation to the fire department, too.)

We were so grateful that we were able to manage the fire enough to get control before the fire fighters got here and realize that it could have been so much worse. It nearly was. We are grateful for the extra long hose that we bought, grateful for water in our well and the water in the lake that I used as a bucket brigade (we will be building a more stable “step” or two down to the lake so that we can access water by foot before the dock is installed) and very grateful for the Belgrade Fire Department from both Belgrade Lakes and North Belgrade who came to our aid.

It was a calm day today but too dry and the leaves from the fall aren’t raked up and served as fodder for a very quick little fire. I guess we will be cleaning up all the junk wood that hubby would like to burn but can’t now and taking it to the dump. Time to rake up the leaves, too.

You can see the black char from the foreground to the fire pit and it stretches up to the side of the guest cottage. This was more excitement than we ever needed today and we don’t need any more thank you very much.

Gone knitting.

Happy Easter

Posted on April 20, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

I wrote 2024 for a good part of the week … is this a Freudian faux-pas? I may be in denial or I may be overworked and stressed. Not sure which is the most accurate statement or if it’s a combination of all of the three. LOL. Regardless, it’s been a crazy busy week and I am glad to have “nothing” to do today on Easter Sunday. None of our kids live close-by and they’re not able to travel to be with us so we are going it alone again and I have such mixed feelings about being along on holidays. This year it just wasn’t possible for us to travel because of my work schedule. So we will tough it out and maybe we’ll go out to the local nursery and buy some pretty flowers … time will tell.

I worked two extra days this week at the shop because the boss is away. Tuesday was Thursday and Thursday was Saturday and I have no idea what to say Saturday was but I taught the second half of my Colorwork Workshop which included a crochet steek reinforcement and cutting a steek and then adding button bands to the “swatch” so it can be used as a coffee cozy. I had fourteen students and it went quite well. I’ll add this to the classes that I can teach in my list of possible workshops/classes. It was fun to meet the new people who I didn’t know before, which was the majority of the class. AND one of my students went to my high school so it was very fun to reconnect (and we will be getting together again.) After my workshop I stayed and worked at the store. Have I said how much I enjoy the customers at the yarn shop? That’s the best reason to keep working for a small family business.

I finished one sock and will start a second one today. Little socks for my little peanut. Purple is her favorite color for now. This colorway is purple but called “red onion” and I think it’s a perfect name. I am making these little socks 5.25 inches long and hope someone’s little feet don’t grow too much before sock season starts again.

On Friday I finished the embroidery for the pink mitten that I started ages ago. I don’t love working with the fabric that the embroidery pattern is printed on, it’s sticky, but I can now finish the knitting and wash the fabric off and decide as I knit the second mitten if I want to duplicate my efforts on the second one. They may look really odd if I don’t embroider the second one, too.

I’ve cast on for the Big Love cardigan with Berroco Pima 100 … what a bizarre start to a cardigan! You knit two pieces of the collar starting with a provisional cast on and then you pick up stitches for the back and the shoulders … this is a first but I will prevail. I’m trying to find something relatively simple to take with me when I fly to California at the end of the week and so far I’m coming up empty handed. I guess we will see what progress I make and then I will decide.

Last project this week and the one I keep picking up is my Little Tern blanket by Tin Can Knits. This, as I have mentioned before, is the second Little Tern I’ve knitted and I am loving it just as much this time despite my big faux-pas. I didn’t remember until I had nearly finished the knitting the first skein of yarn that I had bought an extra skein “after the fact” and so I didn’t check the dye lots before I started knitting. Needless to say, I have three skeins of one dye lot and one of the other. I had “planned” to use the three original skeins for the body of the blanket and use the last one for the lace edge. Ha! Ha! When you plan … God laughs. Guess which skein I grabbed to start this project? Yup, the odd ball. AND there is a definite color change but I am just going ahead and finishing the blanket because it’s beautiful and I am beautifully human … and I am not pulling out a full skein of work for this! I have yarn for a purple Little Tern in my stash and I will (hopefully) remember to check the dye lots when I start that one. Fingers crossed.

So, today I hope to 1) spend some time on the porch in the sun and 2) go buy some primroses or pansies at the garden center and 3) knit a little. Tomorrow I have to go to the bank for work but I am not going to work today.

Happy Easter to those who celebrate! Gone knitting.

Monday, Monday

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

And here we are at Monday again. It was a short weekend after a very busy week and I’m not sure that one day is enough time for me to recover from busy weeks any longer. I need more down time! Luckily, I have today and then I’m working extra days again this week because the boss is out of town (and will be for almost a month).

On Saturday I taught my first workshop in a couple of years. I think the last one that Glenda and I co-taught was in 2021? The last one was all about Intarsia and this one was all about Stranded Colorwork. I had a large group but it went well and, as usual, there were some who were better prepared skill-wise than others but that is to be expected. It’s good to stretch ourselves and learn new skills – and we have to always remind ourselves that perfection is not the goal. In essence, the workshop has you knit a swatch … there is a charted pattern which was new for some, and there are five colors to use. It was a great class in that they all worked so hard that at 11:55am, I was shocked to see that the class was almost over … and so were they! They were in the zone! I consider that a success. We meet again next week to learn a steek – reinforce the knitted swatch with crochet stitches and then cut the knitting and add button bands (to make a coffee cozy.)

There was one woman in the class who shared the same name (as I recalled) with a woman I went to high school with. She was a grade ahead of me. Turns out they were one and the same. What fun to meet again after all these years. I hope that we can get a group photo next week and I’ll try to take photos of their progress, too.

I thought long and hard about what I would knit next and I’ve cast on a little pair of green socks for my granddaughter. She loves putting on her own socks and she even likes them mismatched. These, I hope will work for her mom who likes to wash and dry … the idea I have may not be conducive to a dryer but we’ll give it a try and see how it goes. I’m not going to share (yet) what my plan is to make these uniquely Sylvie. If it works, I’ll share. For now they’re just little green socks in King Cole Footsie yarn. I use my good old Knittter’s Pride (KnitPro) DPNs in US 1.5 and the Yankee Knitter Sock pattern vanilla sock.

I have also cast on a baby blanket that I hope will be an heirloom for my bonus daughter. I was reminded when I was in NY that I had two more sets of yarn to make the same Little Tern blanket that I made for my first grandchild before Sylvie was even a twinkle. I loved knitting the pattern and I loved the yarn so much that I ordered extra yarn to make two more. (I was taking a series of classes called A Year of Techniques and they came with yarn collections from the UK. Two of the projects called for the same brand of yarn and I chose not to make them but got more yarn for the blankets instead.) Anyway, I cast on a green blanket for the Nugget on Friday and have been happily knitting along … enjoying it just as much as the first one and I’m pretty sure I used the written instructions last time and am using the chart this time!

Little Tern Blanket in Fyberspates Vivacious DK

I have swatched for a Patty tank in Berroco Chai. The swatch gauge is a bit off so I will knit one size up and hope for the best. I think it will be a good summer top and the red color I chose is really pretty – it’ll go so well with my white jeans! I have quite a bit of the Lang Bebe 200 yarn that I made the Newborn Vertebrae with and I think I need to make a pair of infant thumbless mittens and a hat to match for the Nugget and use it up. I have no end to the potential projects that I can cast on and several sewing projects as well. I have to finish the quilt for Sylvie’s bedroom at Yaya and Poppy’s house before they come for a visit this summer (and I have to find or piece the backing). I have a hole in my favorite jeans so I have promised myself that I would patch them up. I found the patch and I think I’ll try sashiko stitching the patch. AND I have a pair of my husband’s boot socks that are wearing thin. I think I’ll repair them before they have holes. I just need to get all of this done!

Fortunately this is not a busy meetings week but I am working Tuesday and Saturday after my second workshop ends in addition to my regular days on Thursday and Friday so my free time is even more precious … and with that, I’m signing off.

Gone knitting.