Tag Archives: butterflies

Certification Interview Butterflies

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Queen Bee Knits Original Design - Baby Sweater

Queen Bee Knits Original Design – Baby Sweater – for CYC Certification

I’m awaiting the phone call from my CYC (Craft Yarn Council) Master Teacher who has received all of my Level 2 Knitting Certification materials! I’m a little bit nervous and anticipating that I did well because I’m a good knitter. I’m a good knitting instructor, too. I know this but I am also human and, as such, I have that tiny kernel of doubt or the concern that I made a mistake.

When we put ourselves out there to be critiqued by another person, it’s humbling. It makes us feel, in the process of having our work judged, a little bit judged ourselves. But having put the effort into the work and knowing that I can do it all, I am eager, too, to grow from the experience.

But I do have butterflies in my stomach!

Gulf Fritillary ... Mating Season

Gulf Fritillary …
Mating Season

 

Which reminds me of this photograph that I took at school this week.

We have a butterfly garden in the center of the campus. Our class has watched the eggs on the leaves, hatching into baby caterpillars and then growing into big fat caterpillars and then forming the “J” of the chrysalis. There are butterflies in the garden now and these two are mating. They are a beautiful bright orange butterfly when in flight but when sitting on a branch, they are nearly invisible with their coloring.

Gotta love Mother Nature!

Gone knitting!

PS – I passed my level 2 certification this afternoon. Yay, me! What a fun conversation with my master teacher!

 

Finished Objects and You Never Know What Will Happen

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So, I’ve finished the second design for the Prima Dogma for Queen Bee Knits line. An Irish knit sweater that I think I’ll be calling “Mac Tire” (pronounced “mock teerah”) which is Gaelic for wolf or, literally, son of the land.

As I’m new to designing, this sweater isn’t perfect yet but I think I’m on the right track. I love the cables that I chose and I am happy with the fit except for the length under the belly (it’s too short) and the chest needs to be a bit longer. So, back to the drawing board!

And while I have your attention, I wanted to show you a lovely natural phenomenon that we witnessed in recent days (well, before the rain returned!)

One day we noticed a patch of the new mulch was covered in these: 

Turns out that this phenomenon is called “puddling” and it’s male tiger tail butterflies who do it. It’s part of their mating ritual – they are sucking nutrients out of the mulch to give them what they need to reproduce. Cool, huh?

I counted up to 10 at one time, here in the mulch. One had a damaged tail but seemed to be doing just fine. We’d walk in and out of the house and they’d fly away and then return to the same spot. Over and over, all day long.

And then another day, we heard this strange sound up by the railroad tracks. The train didn’t seem to be moving. Well, upon further investigation, this is what we found …

Central Maine Railroad - New Rails

They were laying down new rails! The rails are one quarter mile long a piece and they slide out of this “train” like play dough out of an extruder. The process was rather interesting and left us “blocked in” because we have to cross the railroad tracks when we come and go … and this is what was at the top of the driveway.

No way, even with the truck, that we could drive over the rail. Luckily, though, the next step was for a big “digger” (backhoe?) to dig up the driveway and bury the rails on either side of the existing tracks. One of these days (and that’s a relative term) they’ll come back and put the new rails into place and remove the old rails and build a new crossing at the top of the drive.

Could be next summer! I love Maine!