Queen Bee Knits

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

A Perfect Wednesday

Posted on August 6, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

It started out well! and kept getting better! We both slept until nearly 7am and then spent a glorious hour-ish having coffee on the porch. Our first visitor was an osprey fishing and then “our” little loon family came by. The parents left the chick in front of our house for a bit (see below). They must think we’re trustworthy chick-sitters. “Our” hummers have been really busy, too. Activity was constant the whole time I was on the porch. We must have five hummingbirds (or more) but you start to recognize them after watching them so intently over the months.

I decided that this was the one day I had nothing scheduled and I was going to take full advantage of the beautiful weather and sit on the porch until I felt I had to get up and do something else. I had started our laundry and the changing of the beds after our guests departed (another weekend visitor over night and a pair of visitors passing through who didn’t stay. We love summer for the visitors) and then headed up to the atelier to get my hands on some yarn. I decided to start the new cardigan that I have on my list, it’s a commission for a lovely client in Louisiana, and I’d have had to wind one more hank of yarn to finish my sleeve.

The photo above is one hour in. I’m knitting on US3 needles with a fingering weight yarn from Urban Girl Yarns. My client sent the yarn to me. She’d purchased it on a trip to Virginia and had to buy the yarn because the colorway is named just the same as her granddaughter – Eliana Zoe. She found my website and reached out to me to have me knit the sweater as she’s not a knitter. I was happy to oblige. The pattern I’ll be knitting for her is the Sorento Cardigan in a size 4-5 Years. For a while my hubby joined me but he left to take a load of stuff to the dump thus the “still life” with all his stuff at his chair.

AND the final photo is the beautiful view that I’ve had all day and specifically what I looked like a little after 3pm when I chose to go inside to get a few tasks accomplished. I am feeling so grateful that I live here and that I can work at home. I’m so thankful that Ned’s dad bought this place back in the 40’s. What a wonderful peaceful place to live.

So, tonight I’ll wind the last hank of cotton yarn (Berroco Pima 100) for my Big Love cardigan. I have only a couple of rows and a bind off left to finish the second sleeve and then I have to finish the collar – I assume that I’ll graft the two sides together. I’ve woven most of the ends in as I went but I’ll weave in the rest. I feel like it’s going to be a bit small for me so I will be blocking it pretty aggressively. Not sure why but it is what it is. I’ll likely wear it open and over a short sleeve or sleeveless shirt but I was thinking it’d be a bit oversized. Oh well. If I don’t like the fit, I’m sure I can find someone who will. The yarn wasn’t too much of an investment so it’s an affordable project.

Tomorrow I start my day with a hair cut at 8:15am and then to work. I’m teaching Friday but we have the weekend with just us – and a movie fundraiser to attend. Maybe it’ll be a date night or a date evening as the silent film festival runs from noon to four and these days we like to be home before dark. We must be getting smart. LOL

We’ve had a new yarn shop open not far from us. The “girls” at work and I have pencilled in a visit to Wild Fibers (it’s in a renovated mill across the road from a fabulous bakery and cafe) after lunch at Scapes Cafe on Sunday the 17th. It’s always fun to get together with these women. They’re the main reason I stay at the yarn shop … and the customers, of course. We are all on the same page and work so well together – and take care of each other, too. A real team. Meanwhile, the Maine Yarn Cruise is happening through the middle of October and I haven’t gone to visit one of the shops. Maybe the hubs and I will go on a Sunday drive this weekend. He’s been off from work for almost a month, I think, and he’s got to be getting itchy to return, right? (Not really.) We both are very content to stay home and do the things we love to do. He takes photos, reads, fiddles around in his workshop and around the house. I knit and bake and write … what more can we ask for? It’s a good life we’ve built here on the shores of Messalonskee Lake.

The loon chick just off our porch this morning

I’m going to sign off here and get the newsletter for the store written today and get it out of my way and off my list. The rest of the week is going to be somewhat busy. This afternoon’s for checking things off and then I’m. back to knitting to finish my sleeve! Making such good progress!!!

Gone knitting.

Monday Monday!

Posted on June 30, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

I’m taking the time to blog today because we’ve been busy getting projects done and the sun came out! Today it was beautiful and sunny and the lake was calm for coffee on the porch. My mullein plant is getting really big and soon (maybe tomorrow) I’m going to pick a leaf or two to make a tincture. Mullein is supposed to be good for the respiratory system and anybody who knows me knows that my respiratory system is challenged by allergies and a chronic allergic cough.

This morning I cut the garlic scapes! And then I ran out to do a couple of errands and made a stop at the store to help with getting ready for the Maine Yarn Cruise to begin. Tickets for drawings, stamp and ink for the passports, a QR code for the digital guests, and just plain remembering what we need to have tomorrow. This is the 8th year and, woo doggies, it’s another challenge. The boss insists on water and snacks and free books which all sounds great until there is a crowd around the register and all the pieces need to be done which adds to the regular craziness that is a family business. It’ll be “fun” they said. Ha! Ha!

When I got home I started making some of the food I have been craving … lobsters were on sale yesterday so I had Hannaford steam two for me and I made lobster salad for lunch and while I was chopping celery for lobster salad, I chopped some for potato salad. Summer and potato salad just go together. My mom always added onion, hard boiled eggs, and mayo and mustard and a few spices. It’s in the fridge all ready for dinner. I also chopped a bunch of veggies for Ratatouille which will be ready for dinner, too. Yummm!

This weekend we bought veggie plants for our raised beds and the compost to amend the soil. The compost was added yesterday and tomorrow I’ll put the plants in when it’s a bit cooler in the morning. BUT I did get the flowers into the window box and the front porch pot and I also got two of my lemon trees (started from seeds) re-potted and settled in the dooryard for the summer months. I just have to give them a good trim to shape them up a bit.

We bought a pair of Adirondack chairs for our afternoons outside. We often have a good stiff breeze off the lake in the afternoon so we sit around back to get some calm. These chairs and the table that will go between them will be so comfortable after a busy day. I’m quite pleased with the way the dooryard is shaping up. I’d love to have a flagstone patio built next with a path to the garage when it gets built. So many projects!

And I have been knitting, too. I finished three dishcloths for our kitchen and put them in the rotation already. They’re quite cheery. I also have been working on Delores’s caftan outfit and yesterday I made it to the second shoulder. It’s a different way to build a caftan but it works. It does make me giggle when I think of knitting for a sheep (and a stuffed one at that.) She makes me happy. I’ve also made some good progress on my Big Love cardigan. I’m well into the button band decreases and pretty soon I will have the body done. The pattern makes a cropped cardigan and I think I’ll make mine a little bit longer than cropped. I’m not sure of cropped garments on me … my Bolin cardigan is cropped and I think I’ll have to be particular about what I wear it with but rest assured that there will be no midriff showing on this girl.

And last but not least, my hubby has been working away to create a gate on the end of our porch to keep little ones, both two-legged and four, safely on the porch. The lake is so close and kids move so quickly, I think this will make it possible for Sylvie to have some freedom this summer when they’re here. She will, of course, be reminded over and over, to stay off the dock and out of the water when she’s not with an adult, too. One can never be too careful around water. Hubby’s guest cottage bathroom project is almost complete, too. The new shower stall is built, the floor is in and the holes in the porch and the porch screens have been repaired. He’s working on the screen door now. Soon, we will get it all cleaned up and buy a bed for it and then it’ll be available for friends and family to use when they come to Maine. I think we’ll be putting it up on AirBnB or one of those apps next year as a weekend rental. See how it goes.

I’ve got a zoom meeting to attend so I’m off. Gone knitting.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Posted on June 24, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

Oh, Boy! It’s hot outside today. We are already nearing the forecasted high of 94 degrees (Fahrenheit) and we may get higher than that. Luckily there is a bit of a breeze but we’ve got our air conditioners in the living room window and my atelier and it’s pleasantly cool inside. If I had to live without a/c, I’d have to sit in front of a fan without moving all day and I have never been content to do nothing … even if I’m knitting.

So today I sewed a tutu for my granddaughter and her doll, Baby. I brought home two shades of pink tulle from the store (it’s been around for decades) and I’d already planned to cut it at 24″ and fold it in half and put it on a one inch elastic to go around her waist. Today I did the sewing and the finishing. I hope it’ll fit as I’ve sewn it but I can always take the elastic apart and lengthen of shorten the waist band. It looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. While I was sewing, I made a tiny tutu for Baby, too. I think Sylvie will like putting it on and taking it off of her doll.

She was home sick from school today so I showed it to her and I think she’s going to love dancing around. She’s excited to come to our house in a couple of weeks and we’re excited to have her! Her parents, too, of course. It’s so much fun re-living parenting through the next generation. I loved having my kids at home and being with them and I love watching them parent this kiddo.

I’ve spent some time at the desk doing Board of Trustees work today and sent a few emails, etc. Last night my iPad was dead so I couldn’t access my Big Love pattern so I just knitted a new kitchen dish rag. I’m really liking orange, I guess, because the colorways that I chose both have orange in them. Ours are getting pretty tired and yucky looking. I thing they’re ready for the landfill. I’ll get three out of the two balls of Sugar and Cream that I bought and it’ll be a refresh for our kitchen.

It looks like this afternoon is going to be for knitting in the cool. I’d like to make some blueberry muffins but it may be too hot for that. For now …

Gone knitting.

Another Busy Week and The Summer Solstice (aka The Longest Day)

Posted on June 22, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

Today the view is hazier and just not as pretty as yesterday so I’m posting my opening picture from yesterday morning before I had to go to work. Of course it was a stunning day yesterday! I spent the day in the store. LOL. Today isn’t bad but I sure do plan to add the air conditioner to my atelier window because the heat is coming this week. The whole world is burning up. Literally and figuratively. I remain so grateful to live on this lake in the woods of Maine where I can tune out when I need to in order to regain my sanity but I worry about my kids in New York City being in harm’s way. I hope the unilateral and illegal decision by the president and his administration last night doesn’t cause too much harm.

It’s been another busy week here on the shores of Messalonskee Lake. I’ve been trying to get caught up with all the home projects that I’ve neglected over the winter and we are making some good progress. We finally found a chandelier for over our dining room table that we both like – and it’s up. And we’ve bought a living room rug to replace the old one that was my hubby’s mother’s but it was losing fiber in patches and I was afraid it was causing me to cough more than usual (my allergies were dreadful before we took it out.) We found a rug we both like from RugsUSA,com and it was delivered within a reasonable timeframe and with a reasonable price tag. We also finally ordered our Adirondack chairs from Costco and put them together for the back yard (the other side of the house, away from the lake). We have one remaining house project and that’s to find ourselves a new bed. Our mattress is relatively new but it’s too firm for me and it hurts my back and hips. We’ll put our mattress up in our guest room and will get a new one, king size, for us. We just have to find a good one and I refuse to pay $5,000 for a bed. Must be my Yankee roots.

And I’ve been making food like crazy! I was gifted some rhubarb and onlly had enough strawberries to make a couple of jars of jam. This week I bought some more strawberries and made more jam. I also made banana blueberry muffins for my hubby’s sweet treat in the morning.

AND I sewed two pillows (with zippers) for my granddaughter’s sleeping nook. I found these Very Hungry Caterpillar panels several years ago before she was even a thought and put them away … thinking I’d make something for my daughter with them since it was one of her favorite books. Little did I know they’d become pillows for her daughter who also loves the books. So, the back is purple flannel which matches her quilt backing and the front is the caterpillar and the beautiful butterfly. I’m quite please with myself because I can take the covers off to wash them. Yay, me!

Friday was the Longest Day and I’ve been participating in the Alzheimer’s Association’s Longest Day fundraising for several years now. This year I chose to spend the day knitting on Friday because I had to work on Saturday and to have put it off until today would have made my week the longest week ever. I am really glad I did. I knitted from early morning until after dark. This year I worked on three projects primarily.

I have finished the yoke and have split for the sleeves on my Anker’s Summer Shirt. I can’t say that I love knitting with this yarn because it’s a bit splitty at times but I really am going to love wearing the shirt so I am pressing on. I love the deep salmony coral color and it’ll look great with my white jeans as I’ve said here before. Now I just have to knit around in stockinette stitch until I reach the right length. The sleeves will take a few minutes because they’re short and I’ll be happy to finish this and wear it. It’s just about the right time now. The yarn is Juniper Moon Farm Zooey.

Perhaps more fun than the Anker’s Summer Shirt is my Big Love cardigan by Ankestrick. I am knitting this in Berroco’s Pima 100 cotton and it’s the softest squishiest cotton ever. AND the pattern is fascinating. The construction is intriguing and different than anything I’ve made before so it’s keeping my attention. The sweater begins with two rectangles, a provisional cast on, rows of ribbing and the stitches go on hold. Next stitches are picked up from the rectangles long sides and the back of the sweater is knitted down with stitches cast on on either side for the shoulders. There is a very simple 4-row textured pattern for the body of the sweater and ribbing for the collar and button bands that is knitted on as the sweater grows. I’ve just passed where the body is all connected around and this will be the really fun part (I hope.) I love the soft yarn and the cotton will be a perfect sweater to grab for an evening on the porch or after sitting at the beach over a sleeveless dress or tank top. I may have to knit a tank top next. I am loving the yarn and the pattern is so much fun. I keep reaching for it when I have a few minutes to knit.

Love and Light by Laura Nelkin … with a QBK twist

I have been pondering a little gift that I can make to give away to one of my Longest Day donors, sort of like a raffle, and I settled on a Love and Light (light up knitted fairy lights) and bought purple lights. On Friday while I was knitting for the Longest Day, I knitted up a heart in the purple lights but I had way too much left over. I brought it home and since it’s a gift, I want it to be special … and right! So I decided to knit another smaller heart below the first one and it worked! I knitted with fewer stitches and rows and have a double heart light up wall hanging to give away to one of my donors. I’ll do the drawing tomorrow. Everyone’s names have gone into a box on slips of paper and my hubby can draw for me … stay tuned.

So, today is Sunday and the hubby went out to find hinges to build a gate on our porch’s end to keep the granddaughter and four-leggers corralled this summer. We don’t need to lose anybody to the lake. As the grandchildren continue to be added to our family, we really want them to be able to have some freedom at our house but recognize that water is a temptation for little ones who think they know how to swim. We are doing our best to keep everyone safe and sane.

I’m getting myself organized, cleaning up and straightening up and planning for next week which will also be busy but I’m not working on Saturday … at least not at the store. I may be moving beds or painting rooms or baking or sewing … and it’s going to be hot! We moved to Maine from Florida because we don’t love the heat … and it’s gotten hotter every year. I’m going to get my work done early so I can sit and knit in the air conditioning when it warms up.

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.