Queen Bee Knits

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

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

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

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

Ugh!

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

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

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

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

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

Gone knitting.

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

WIP Monday

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

This morning was one of those lovely sunny spring mornings when all seems right with the world. I had an 8:00am phone call with one of the other lake association heads to discuss a possible collaborative approach to milfoil mitigation going forward. It was a good talk and I value their work in our region. Our lake association is a group of dedicated volunteers and we’ve been fighting an uphill battle for funding since our inception but we’ve done incredible work. Volunteers are more difficult to find these days and finding a seasonal workforce has become much more difficult since the pandemic. It’s been a busy two years as the president of Friends of Messalonskee and I’m getting ready to pass the torch at the end of July.

I’ll have more time to knit, want to add time for sewing more and did I mention that I will have more time to knit?

I’ve been making progress on my Arne and Carlos Mini Nordic Jumpers Advent Calendar. I’ve mostly finished numbers 17 and 18. I only have to seam the underarms and block them. They take about a day to knit and it’s so satisfying to finish something. I have another seven to finish before the end of November. I think this year I may actually get there.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to display these sweaters in our house … any suggestions? I was thinking a “laundry line” hanging in front of the windows in the living room. I’m not sure about it so any suggestions are most welcome.

I’ve restarted my Favorite Genser but to be fully honest, I haven’t been focusing too much on getting it knitted because I have a very important socks to knit. Today I made it to the toe of the second pair of “the longest pair of socks ever” … and I will have the first sock finished before I go to bed tonight. I’m knitting a new pair of socks for my “baby” brother who is having a birthday next month. He’s a really exceptional brother (my big brother is, too!) and I wanted to make him some new sister-made socks for this birthday. It’s a big one for both of us this year. I’ve chosen to knit his socks in the “Legal Tender” colorway of Practically Perfect Sock by Emma’s Yarn. His favorite color is green and the word “legal” reminded me of our father. No pictures allowed because I want him to be the first to see them. I did show you a very starting photo here.

I’m making slow progress on Sylvie’s little bamboo & cotton romper. This is quite a fun knitting pattern and I can’t wait to see her little pudgy legs in it. There are lots of colors of Bamboo Pop and I chose white. It’s a good summer colorway. Maybe I’ll make another one, too.

On April 1 we are starting a Plant Fiber-Along at work. I’m technically leading the PFAL (see what I did there?) I have some worsted weight cotton that I would love to knit out of my stash. I was given it by a former student and her parents from back in the day when I was a school “nurse” at an elementary school. It’s a light teal-y blue and it’s really soft. I’ve got five hanks of the yarn and I hope it’ll be enough for a sleeveless tank or a tee shirt. I’ve got to start something so I can show my progress in our Sunday email newsletter. It may end up being a little sweater for my granddaughter … Hey! It could be worse, right?

I have other projects on the needles that I’m not even paying attention to right now. And sweaters worth of yarn to get done. So much knitting, so little time. Gone knitting.

What a Day .. and a half

Posted on December 19, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

We had our first “plowable” snow Friday night and yesterday. We are thinking we got about 8 inches … maybe 9. It’s absolutely beautiful! The only drawback, if you can call it that, is that we lost power on Saturday at around 2:30pm. The short story is that we got power back this afternoon around 3pm. BUT for a household with two generators, we were mighty cool over that 24 plus hours and I’m really grateful that I have a husband who is creative and can figure out how to minimize our discomfort.

So, how is it that we have two generators and neither one works? Well, suffice it to say that we’re in between generators. Our old one is a portable model that we drag out of the garage and across the yard to plug in and it ran the whole house. But my husband needs a new hip and we thought we’d bite the bullet and get a new, automatic generator hooked up before the winter kicks into high gear. We had our neighbor install (except for the propane) a new automatic generator. We may be able to leave the house in the winter after all. BUT we were told by our propane company that we only had to dig a ditch from the house to the generator and they’d come hook it up … and then they needed a deposit … and they didn’t come. So my husband called them about it and they hadn’t scheduled us. And now it’ll be January 6th before they can come. Meanwhile, obviously, there was a nor’Easter … and several inches of heavy snow … and 24+ hours of powerlessness. Literally.

I’ve knitted through the hours that were difficult and growing cold. Neither of us slept particularly well last night. We were both up at 3am for a few hours … reading with our headlamps, drinking a cup of tea. I was lucky and was able to go back to sleep. This morning the sun came out and we are fortunate to get some serious passive solar heat. The living room was 66 even after almost 24 hours of no heat. Husband got a long extension cord, passed it through the kitchen window and plugged into the fridge so we didn’t lose our food. He also realized that he could plug into a power strip and then we could also charge our phones. And a space heater. And a shop light.

The knitting helped me cope with the lack of comfort. I take the luxury of heat and electricity for granted every single day. The expectation is that we will always have it – and we even flick the switches when we know that power is off. A rude awakening but a reminder, too, about how lucky we are to live here. In the home that we built on the lake that we love in the state that we chose as our home together. In a special country where we are afforded so many freedoms and luxuries. Our “suffering” and “discomfort” was minimal at best but we were among the lucky ones.

I’ve finished the socks for my daughter that I started on the way to Massachusetts for Thanksgiving. I love the yarn. They’re happy socks!

They’re plain vanilla socks, my favorite Yankee Knitter pattern. I’ve bought the pattern several times and keep going back for more. I’ve now bought the pattern electronically and I hope I don’t shred that pattern, too.

I realized that I had some beautiful cashmere yarn in my stash that are the perfect colors for a hat for my sweet granddaughter. I have been wanting to knit a hat for her that is a bit larger than the newborn hats that she has because she’s bound to keep growing. I combined two patterns to make the bow hat in a DK weight yarn. I’ll block the pieces tomorrow and put them all together. I hope I love it as much as I think I will. Despite the ladders and some funky color change mess.

Aaand, last but not least is the little cardigan that I’m knitting for Sylvie. She’s getting big enough that the newborn sweater and the Christmas sweater that I made her may not fit. I’ve shipped the Christmas sweater and am close to finishing the cardigan … one sleeve almost finished and one more to go. Add some ribbing around the opening and some buttons and it’ll be ready to go. I love the shade of blue that is an On the Round sock colorway that I’ve had in my stash. I’m knitting a Knitting Pure and Simple pattern. (Have a look at my Ravelry project page for all the details.)

So, in addition to finishing the sweater and blocking and assembling the hat, I’ve been trying to decide what project to knit next. It’s difficult to believe that I haven’t got more projects on the needles. BUT it’s time for something new. I just saw a sweater (cardigan) pattern called the Ramona Cardigan by Elizabeth Smith. It’s an Aran weight wool in a grey colorway. I happen to have a sweater’s worth of a heavy worsted gray yarn by Brown Sheep. I think I may be heading down the Ramona path later on this week. I don’t have a dark grey sweater and this will match a lot of things that I wear on the regular. And it’s not complicated. My head is a swimming with responsibilities and I can’t deal with a knitting pattern that requires a lot of my attention.

I also need to knit a pair of Christmas socks for my hubby. He surely deserves them for taking such good care of me.

Gone knitting.

Weddings and Grandma Duties and Family, Oh My!

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

All of a sudden I have nearly 20,000 miles on my car! The past month has been a whirlwind of travel and we’re not used to it. Not one little bit. But it sure has been fun!

It all started when my eldest bonus daughter got married in Virginia at the start of December. We drove down because she had asked her dad to make the chuppah for the wedding. He gathered beautiful Maine Birch logs and fashioned a large chuppah with them. It was gorgeous! BUT we had to also get it to the wedding venue, so … we bought a roof rack for my car and strapped the logs (now disassembled) to the top of the car and a few of the shorter logs were inside. The ride down and the proceedings up to the wedding itself were fun and it was great to see the kids and their significant others. My son and his girlfriend also came down to the wedding so we got to see them, too. The wedding day was *gasp* rainy but we were inside getting hair and makeup done and then photos and cocktails and the wedding ceremony.

The venue was the River View at Occoquan in Lorton, VA. A lovely natural area in the middle of suburban Washington, DC. The ceremony was outside and then the reception was in the building on premises and it was a stunning venue. The bride was beautiful, her attendants were lovely and loving and they were celebrated in an appropriate manner. We are so happy to have Evan join our family.

After the wedding my hubby dropped me off in New York City for my first grandmotherly babysitting job. What a privilege to be asked to stay with my darling love for a few days. Her dad had business in California and her mom had rehearsals and a performance. I had a blast! BUT I can now say that I fully understand what my friends who are grandmothers have told me about it being the best title in the whole world. I fell head over heels in love with this little girl while I was there and it was really difficult to leave when the time came. Needless to say, we are thinking about heading back to the city for Christmas for a couple of days and I can hardly wait!

I did some knitting in the car on the way to Virginia and back to NYC but after that, my hands were busy and I might as well have sent my knitting bag home with my hubby. I didn’t knit a stitch while I was in New York. Somehow I have found a new activity that surpasses knitting and that’s holding my granddaughter! Home is my happy place and now she is, too. It’s a life changing experience. I am so eager to spend more and more time with her as she grows up and I grow old. I loved spending time, too, with my daughter. She’s already an incredible mom. I’m so proud of her.

I’ve finished my Musselburgh hat in Berroco Vintage Sock. I didn’t love the yarn, to be completely honest. BUT it is washable and the hat should be a good one for New York CIty winters. My kids all wear a lot of grays and black – it’s what you do in NYC. I hope she’ll like the hat and if not, there are plenty of people to give it to. Musselburgh is a long tube with increases on one end and decreases on the other. In black there’s not a lot to look at but I’ll get a photo on my daughter’s head (if I remember!) It was a fun knit to be sure.

I’ve finished one sock and am half-way done with the second one. The yarn was in my stash – I’ve been knitting 12 socks a year before this year and I was feeling like I needed to knit some socks. So I did. And it was a good idea, too, since we were traveling. Socks are always a good project for the road. I’m using the Yankee Knitter sock pattern which I almost have memorized in the fingering weight yarn for women. My daughter claimed these socks at Thanksgiving so they’ll also be going to NYC at Christmas time. Yarn details are on my Ravelry project page. The only thing I tend to change is the needle size. I like to knit socks on a slightly smaller needle. In this case, I’m using a US 1 1/2. I feel like it makes the socks hold up to wear better.

I’ve also cast on a sweater for my granddaughter because the little Newborn Vertebrae cardigans are getting too small – well, actually, the rainbow one was felted in the laundry and the Christmas one may (or may not fit). It’s in the mail on the way so she can wear it for a few days. The one I’m knitting now is a fingering weight cardigan in On the Round sock yarn that I had stashed in a beautiful blue tonal. I’m using Knitting Plain and Simple’s pattern #1506 Baby Cardigan/ Lightweight Baby Cardigan. I love knitting little sweaters, they really make me feel accomplished and finishing things is a pretty wonderful thing, too.

That might be all that I’ve done recently.

I flew home from NYC so I could teach on Friday and Friday night my friend Sarah and her Great Dane puppy, Esme, came for the weekend. What fun it was to see this giant puppy and get to know what a giant breed is like. At six months, she’s 90 pounds and she’s a little floppy like puppies tend to be. But she made me laugh more often than not – often when she tried to climb up into my lap.

Sarah left on Monday and I took off on Tuesday to visit briefly with my Salem and Marblehead family and to pick up the ashes of my grand-dog, Willow. Willow passed away the day after Thanksgiving. I’ll be delivering her ashes to my daughter and her husband. We all were touched by this sweet rescue dog who started out suffering (and making my daughter and anyone who loved her suffer) from severe separation anxiety. She was still anxious as an older dog but she had made great strides; mostly because my daughter loved her so much and was willing to put in the time and effort to help her feel a little more secure.

I arrived back home today and I’m heading back to work tomorrow. Friday there is supposed to be a “big” winter storm. My husband’s boss has called work for Friday already and my boss seems to be leaning that way, too. There will be three of us in the shop tomorrow – hopeful that we get some restocking done!

I’ll sleep well tonight and most of the weekend is “mine” for finishing my Christmas shopping and getting some gifts wrapped. Crossing my fingers that everything arrives in time – I’m getting really good at shopping online! I was a little bit late getting started. The wedding preparations threw me off. But I got our Christmas cards ordered, addressed and sent! Last year I didn’t manage to get cards ordered or sent so I really wanted to get them done this year. I’m so happy with them.

Gone knitting (after I switch the laundry again!)

Pure and Simple Start to April!

Posted on April 2, 2018 by Queen Bee Knits

I’ve made it through the winter without any illnesses and as soon as spring pops onto the calendar, BOOM! For the last couple of days I’ve been pumping EmergenC and AirBorne and vitamins with my Wellness Formula. My sweet husband has taken good care of me, I drank a lot of tea, and I am feeling better today.

I’ve also been knitting.

I started a little pullover, #214 Baby Pullover by Knitting Pure and Simple, for a new mom’s little baby girl. (I hope she doesn’t read my blog. I don’t think she does. I don’t want to give the surprise away.) I found the yarn on the shelf at the store when I was making room for some new yarns. (if you didn’t know that I work in a yarn shop, now you do … come visit at Yardgoods Center in Waterville, Maine!)

Sirdar has a chunky yarn called Imagination and it reminded me of a Monet Water Lilies painting. You all know what the Water Lilies paintings look like, right? If you don’t, Google it! They’re magnificent. This yarn is machine washable so easy for a new mom. I never machine dry my hand-knits. Some yarns are dry-able but I’d rather be certain and consistent so I hang/lay flat all my hand-knits. Sweaters I lay flat. Socks I hang over a hanger. This extends their lives and I never shrink any special hand-knits. (NOTE! Some yarn is not washable. If it isn’t super wash or acrylic or mostly acrylic, hand wash! You’ll never be sorry if you take that extra care!)

I immediately fell in love with the colors. I have whipped through the body of the sweater in a couple of days. It’s chunky so it knits up quickly. I’m making the 24 months size so that little Julianna can grow into it! Today I’ll get to the sleeves and maybe the collar, too. It’s soft, it’s washable, it’s so pretty! Did I mention that there are no seams?!

I’m also working on a Knitting Pure and Simple cardigan for myself.

I’ve had this beautiful blue/gray colorway of Malabrigo Rios forever. It’s been sitting on a shelf in my atelier for at least a year and maybe more like two. When I opened the bag of this yarn at the shop, I immediately put it aside for myself because I loved it so much. I’m making the 50″ size and my gauge is slightly off (the pattern calls for 4 stitches per inch and I am knitting at 4.375 stitches per inch). This will make my sweater just a bit smaller than the last sweater I made with this pattern. Which will be OK. I may decide to add a few additional increases to be sure it’s not too small. I’ll know when I have the sleeve stitches on a holder and I can try it on! I’ll have all the details on my Ravelry project page. I love, love, love the color and this yarn feels so amazing in your hands as you work with it. This will take me a couple more than a couple days to knit but it’ll knit up pretty quickly and it’s so pretty!!!

I finished the Ma Belle Amie cowl for my aunt and it’s wrapped and on it’s way to Lake Tahoe just in time for spring! I doubt that she’ll get to wear it too many times between now and next fall but what can one do?! I had to knit it and it had to be for her! I love the colors that I chose … they remind me of my aunt and her beautiful red hair (well, it was red when she was younger, it’s “bleached out” as she’s gone around the sun a few times! (Where’s the laughing until you cry emoji when you need it?!) This pattern is very versatile and can be knitted up in any yarn, really. I have one in solid colored wool that I love and this one has a variegated which I love, too. Choose a smaller needle for a tighter fabric or a finer yarn (or heavier yarn). The sky’s the limit!

I also knitted up a little rabbit on Tuesday when I was home sick. Baby Bunnies by Frankie Brown popped up in my Facebook feed one day and when I wasn’t feeling well, I grabbed a few scraps of yarn and knit up a baby bunny. He’s awfully cute! I think there will be an addition of some embroidery (eventually) but for now, I’m enjoying my sweaters so my bunny awaits!

I hope you had a happy Easter and Passover. I wish you peace.

Gone knitting!

Sweater Design – CYC Certification, Knit Level 2

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Queen Bee Knits

My Primitive Drawing!

The last step in the certification process (or at least the knitting part of the process) is to design and knit a simple sweater with sleeves for a beginning knitter.

Since I’m already “late” in the process, I decided to knit a tiny sweater for a baby niece who is four months old. She’s small and with the yarn I chose out of my stash, it should be a relatively quick knit and I’ve kept it really simple. All a new knitter would need to know to knit this sweater is cast on, join in the round, knit, increase, decrease and bind off.

I decided to start at the bottom of the body of the sweater and make it a rolled edge (no ribbing). And then to make the sleeves short since my yarn is cotton & could be worn in warmer weather or in cooler weather with a long-sleeve t-shirt underneath.

I’ll write the pattern (it’s required for the last step) and will post in on my Ravelry page (have you checked out Ravelry? I’m Lindar) for free when the certification is finalized and I can publish the pattern!

Here’s what I have knit so far …

Sleeve (one of two)
… like you hadn’t already figured that out!)

Body (bottom to top, knit in the round) with a rolled edge.
Simple enough for a beginning knitter!

The yarn is Araucania (hand dyed in Chile) Tolhuaca Solid in Color 1202. It’s 100% pima cotton, 120 yards per skein. I love the hand on this cotton yarn and it’s denim-y color is something that I thought would match everything my niece wears.

I love rolled necks and bottoms of sweaters but I didn’t want the sleeve to roll (it would feel funny on her little arms and against her little body) so I knit a row, purled a row a couple of times so the sleeves would lay flat against her arms.

Now it’s time to figure out how to get it to all go together. I’ve done one sweater before in this method and I’m trying to use my memory of that to get my pieces to attach to each other!

Gone knitting!

Attention! Attention! Knitting Queen (Bee)

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Queen Bee Knits

I’ve learned that I need to pay attention when I knit.

Any distractions can cause me to knit beyond a decrease, or knit where I should purl … you get the idea! And knitting with a cocktail in hand is a definite NO! Knitting group projects must be free of decreases or any counting of stitches because I never cease to be amazed at how my chatting can make me forget the simplest of each!

That said, I’ve finished a few more projects and am pleased with my progress. But, once again, I brought more projects up to Maine to complete than I completed. I also am going home with more yarn than I came with.

Completed:

Baby sweater finished. Needs to be blocked.

Socks finished; Matching hat … maybe half way done!

Bird nest – finished and being lived in (see Facebook!)

My second attempt at the Gaia Shoulder hug … finished (when I was better able to pay attention!)

Gaia Shoulder Hug by Ann Carroll Gilmour – well, it’s her pattern. I knitted this one!

And I also finished the little cabled sweater in periwinkle blue. I haven’t photographed it yet … so watch here or my Facebook page!

Gone knitting!