Queen Bee Knits

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

It’s Been a While

Posted on June 17, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s not a lovely day outside this morning a bit breezy and cool for coffee on the porch BUT the warm weather is coming later this week with temperatures in the 90s. This is way too warm for Maine in June. Our flower gardens are ahead of where they usually are at this time of year. The daisies are getting ready to bloom … yikes!

I’ve been doing some small knitting projects and working to get something accomplished but I’m still not particularly motivated. I’ve cast on a sweater for a new baby girl who has joined our extended family. My ex-husband’s cousin’s daughter had a baby girl recently and I wanted to knit her a little something. She lost her mom years ago and her father more recently and I hope a little gift from me will tell her that I love her. I chose to knit Baby Vertebrae by Kelly van Niekerk because I’ve knitted and loved her newborn version of this pattern several times. I wanted to make something a bit bigger than newborn because it’s warm right now and she probably won’t need a sweater for a bit. I knitted this up in a new cotton yarn, Botanika, by Cascade Yarns. Botanika is a fingering weight 100% organic cotton yarn made in India. I chose the pink colorway because it’s for a baby girl and the first girl after two adorable boys. I have to say that I like the yarn. Working with cotton is always a big change from wool but this is a little bit forgiving and not as hard on my hands as I had expected. (Maybe linen is the most difficult?) Anyway, I’ve gotten the body of the little sweater done and only have a couple of little 3/4 sleeves to add and then I can block it and send it off. I do have to run to Target to get a couple of little things for the big brothers!

I’ve also been working on the first of two French Macaroon pullovers for a couple of bigger kids in my life. I’m going to make a third, too. One for my granddaughter, one for my grand-nephew and one for my daughter’s friend’s baby because he doesn’t have a knitter in the family. The first one is for the baby because it’s the smallest one. I’ve chosen to make these sweaters in Berroco Vintage DK because of its wide variety of colors and I love that it’s machine wash and dry. I’ve finished the front of the first sweater and have started the back. This sweater is knit in two pieces and then seamed together … in an innovative way, I think. I don’t read the pattern all the way through before I knit it but I know it ends with the first color at the top of the white. (What you see is the two rows of teal and the stitch holder.) I’ll report more when it’s completed. Then I’ll start one for Noah and Sylvie. They’re both a little bit bigger! I think Sylvie’s will be in a salmon color and Noah’s in a green. I’ll show you when I actually buy the yarn and get knitting.

I’ve finished the little dress for my granddaughter and I can’t wait to see her in it. The arm openings were finished with applied i-cord edging but they also had to have ties. The designer’s answer to this is brilliant and it was a fun new technique that I’ve never done before. The pattern of the dress itself was simple enough and well-written. I used a bubblegum pink cotton yarn because I needed her to have a bubblegum pink cotton sundress. Ha! Ha! It came out as cute as I had anticipated.

After another couple of busy weeks, we celebrated Father’s Day yesterday with a quiet, relaxing morning at home, coffee on the porch and the Sunday NY Times. I had made blueberry muffins and we just took it easy. We decided to go out for lunch to a new “food truck” nearby that was closed so we went to a family favorite, the Red Barn, for some fried seafood (we shared a basket) and then went to Fieldstone Gardens in Vassalboro to wander in their gardens. We bought a few herbs and a Lily of the Valley plant for the perennial garden. I hope it will spread like wildfire! It was a beautiful day. I got my sweet hubby a little t-shirt gift that’s perfect for this year.

Gone knitting!

One More Week …

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

This morning’s sunrise was one of those spectacular sunrises that gets you out of bed and downstairs to take a photograph. Mother Nature sure got her paint set out this morning. It was absolutely gorgeous. I was warm and cozy in bed but when I rolled over and saw the colors in the sky, I had to get a photo. Yowza! And it was almost warm enough outside to sit on the porch – but then the breeze blew up and sent us indoors again.

I ran some errands after coffee and got the rest of my Christmas shopping done, returned some stuff at Target and came home to wrap. My gifts for work, and the last packages to be shipped are ready for delivery on Monday. I wrote two weeks of my newsletter for work and finally sat down in the late afternoon for a little bit of knitting.

I’ve promised a beret for Christmas for my son’s fiancee or my future daughter-in-law. She asked for a spring-weight cap to keep her warm on the golf course in a beige and white. A few weeks ago I went through the entire store (I work at a yarn shop, remember?) pulling shades of beige and white yarn off the shelves. She liked two different ones and those are the ones I bought – I’ll try both and see which one fits better and I’ll happily alter either one to make sure they’ll work for her.

Yesterday I cast on the One Day Beret by Kirsten Kapur. This hat is designed to be worked in any weight of yarn because it’s knitted from the top down so it can be adjusted as it goes. The only thing I don’t know is how big her head is. I’m going to work on the assumption that she has a head that’s smaller than my huge noggin and I’ve googled the average head circumference of a woman and it comes out at an average of 22 inches. I’m crossing my fingers. It’s easy enough to re-do the ribbing if the size is off. I’m getting used to knitting and re-knitting … more coming soon.

I’ve reached the place in the pattern where the hat is ready to begin decreasing. I suppose it might be a one day beret if you start early in the morning with worsted weight yarn and one color. I’m knitting two rounds of two colors so that it’s striped. A little jazzier than a solid color, right? Anyway, at the end of knitting yesterday, this was what I had …

I’ve checked with KJW and she likes the stripes. Yay! The pattern is a free one so I don’t thinkI’m giving anything away when I say that it wants you to knit until the circumference is about 8 1/2 inches across and then knit 3 1/2 to 4 inches without increasing. Yesterday I got to part way to 3 1/2 inches and today I’ve finished that. Now it’s time to decrease until it’s the right size (22 inches). So it’s time for some math. My gauge is 22 stitches in 4 inches. 22 divided by 4 equalls 5 1/2 stitches to one inch. If I want a 22 inch hat minus 2 inches or 20 inches so my answer is …

20 x 5.5 = 110 stitches

So, I have to decrease until I have 110 stitches. The truth will be when KJW tries on the hat on Christmas morning. I’ll let you know how it goes!

My second attempt will be a one-color hat in Malabrigo Arroyo. For this beret, I’ll be knitting BisBis Beret by Sari Nordlund. It’s another top-down beret pattern and it’s written for a fingering weight yarn held double with a lace weight mohair. I think that’s going to feel too wintery so I’m going for a simpler plain sport weight. I still have a week! More on this one to come soon.

I’ve also frogged back the collar and chest of my granddaughter’s Christmas sweater so that I could make it a little bit longer because it was too difficult to get her little arms/hands into the sleeves. I frogged back until I reached where I had attached the “garland” which was a round or two from where the brick pattern ended. I decreased every third round until I had 80 stitches (I think. I have to go back and count the collar stitches.) It looks much better to me and, once again, I will have my answer when I get to New York for Christmas and try it on the baby. I hope I have time to make her a little Santa hat, too. My idea was to have her little face look like she’s Santa with her head sticking up out of the chimney. Ha! Ha! I’m not quite there but I think it’ll do.

I’m not going to post a picture of the final final until it’s on the baby and we see if it fits. After Christmas I’ll post pictures of all of the knitted items (and hopefully on their recipient!)

My Nancy Vest is getting there veeeeeery slowly. I’ve picked it up a couple of times when I didn’t want to think about my knitting. It is growing so slowly that I am a little bit concerned that I have enough yarn. That would be such a bummer. I have my Three Seasons Cardigan to pick up again after Christmas, my pink embroidered mittens, a couple of pairs of socks and there may be more.

But I digress. I’ve got to get moving on the striped beret.

Gone knititng.

On the Road Again

Posted on March 27, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

Marblehead Light from Fort Sewell, Marblehead, MA

The past week I’ve been living “on the road” which is saying that I’m not home. This is the first road trip that I’ve taken by myself in two years. I found myself very anxious when I was leaving the house. My GPS on my car wouldn’t connect, I couldn’t get it to play my podcasts that I had hoped to listen to, nor would it play my music that “I” downloaded (with lots of help and support from my sweet husband.) Turns out that if you turn the car off and then re-start it, that it works. Phew. I was so grateful for my husband’s suggestion.

First stop was to my “oldest” friend’s house in Connecticut to celebrate the life of her son. He died on Valentine’s day in a one car crash. He was 28 years old. The memorial service or “Irish Wake” was wonderfully well put together for Scudder. He didn’t want a church funeral or, really, any formal service. So, we all ate and drank and remembered the young man who was so loved by his family and friends. His sister’s and mother’s lives will be forever changed. I was lucky to be able to spend the night at my friend’s house and chat for a few hours before heading off to Massachusetts.

Second stop was Salem, Massachusetts. My sister-in-love is house and dog sitting for my niece and her husband who are honeymooning in Italy! We haven’t been able to have a lot of girl time since I moved to Maine (we have plenty of time together with husbands and kids and other siblings but not just the two of us) so I really wanted to visit for a couple of days. And I did … and I extended my visit to a week! One of my wonderful co-workers worked for me on Thursday and I cancelled my class (I know, that’s not normal!) on Friday. Today the husbands arrive and we’ll spend the weekend celebrating my nephew who is off on an excellent adventure to Alaska for a few months.

I am knitting! I finished my Humlebi Shawl by Fiber Tales. I knit this shawl in Patagonia Organic Merino by Juniper Moon Farm. I love the oatmealy-gray yarn and the bumble bees that are knitted in around the edge are fabulous! I will block it aggressively rather than gently and I hope it’ll be an ok size for me. I used just over one skein and I’ll weigh the remaining one to figure out how much I used in total. I checked my gauge and I measured 19 sts per inch rather than 17. So, I wasn’t too far off but it probably would have been a bit better for me on a larger needle. It was a fun knit so I may consider knitting it again just to see what happens when I change the gauge to what it’s really supposed to be and I have more yarn.

I also knitted up a couple of pairs of booties for a new mom (and dad)-to-be. I knitted up the pattern that I found at the store years ago and that I really love to knit. It’s called Sue’s Baby Booties and I knit it up in Cascade Yarn’s FIxation. When I ran out of projects (daughter’s socks are at the toe and I need her foot measurement, Humelbi Shawl was finished except for blocking, and I only had Arne & Carlos’ Advent Jumpers left which take too much concentration to knit in a group) so I cast on another pair for my brother and sister-in-law’s neighbors who just had a baby girl. This pattern makes me so happy! I love all the combinations.

I have reached the toe decreases on the socks for my dear daughter. Plain vanilla socks for the first pair to see how she likes them and how they fit. Since I don’t have her feet to try them on or measure. I sent her a text to trace and measure her foot so I know how long to knit them. We used to have the same shoe size but mine are bigger these days, I guess. Anyway, I’ll put the first sock onto a holder and start on the second sock so I can continue my progress. I’m feeling successful and productive with all these small projects.

Spring in Massachusetts is a couple of weeks ahead of us here in Maine. I can’t wait to see our spring bulbs in bloom. They’re coming!!! The snow in the yard is all gone, the road has already dried up a bit from the muddy mess that it was when I left. The lake is still mostly covered with ice (it’s certainly ice-covered at our house but each end is more open than a week ago) and it’s turning grayer. I’m ready to see the water again.

Gone knitting!

It’s been a “Timespan”

Posted on November 20, 2021 by Queen Bee Knits

This has been a crazy busy timespan … since I am lazy enough to not go back and see when I last posted, I’m using that word to indicate that it’s been a while since I have last written something here.

Life has taken on a life of its own and I am feeling the pressure of fall and shorter darker days and the impending holidays that always add pressure. Maybe one of these days I’ll learn to say “no” more often but for now, I am keeping my promises and working hard to stop every so often so that I don’t fall apart. Spending part of every day with yarn in my hands certainly helps. It also helps me to see that I am making progress both in my knitting projects and in work and volunteer areas of my life. My husband and I even had a date night and went to see a movie – neither one of us “liked” it but we went out. Together! A first since the pandemic began.

I started a thing at the store that isn’t original and not close to being my idea. Socktober. I found an article somewhere on the Internet about it and did a bit of research and then added it to my work newsletter that I write each Sunday morning. The Yardgoods Center – Yarn department – donated 16 pairs of hand knitted socks to the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter. I knit the pair above and also included a pair of baby pink hand knit socks, two pairs of store-bought socks that have been in my gift drawer (doesn’t everyone have one of these?) and the wonderful customers at YGC brought in the rest. I think it’s a wonderful gift to those who are less fortunate and I hope the socks will keeps some feet warm this winter.

Pattern: Yankee Knitter Socks for the Family, Yarn: Regia 8 Fadig. Check my Ravelry project page for more details on this project and all of the others I talk about. I’m LindaR on Ravelry.

I have a bunch of projects on the needles and a few that I feel like I need to get to or need to finish.

I have finally made some real progress on my husband’s Christmas sweater. I gave him the yarn for said sweater last year at Christmas and it looks as if I will have it finished by Christmas this year. I’m knitting him the Knitting Pure and Simple Men’s Pullover in Cascade 220 yarn in a heathery-gray colorway. I don’t recall ever knitting with Cascade 220 yarn and I really like the hand of this 100% wool yarn. It’s not scratchy at all.

Pattern: #991 Neck-Down Pullover for Men, Yarn: Cascade 220 (100% wool).

I finished my “Christmas Tree” socks that I’ve been wanting to knit for ages. I’m trying to keep up with a pair of socks a month (2021 Sock of the Month Challenge) and I may have fallen off the wagon just a bit but I think I am back on. This pattern is on Ravelry and I used deeply stashed yarn by the Buffalo Wool Company. Back when I was being paid to work full time (as compared to now when I’m working part-time and volunteering part-time) I joined a yarn club with BWC. I got to know the owner because we had a couple of shipping snaffus … mostly because we were in Maine for a couple of months and then Florida the balance of the time and yarn went to one place when we were in another and never the twain should meet. Ron was an absolute wonder to work with and when I “tripped” over him at an outside holiday art/craft festival in Washington, DC one year, it was really fun to be able to meet in person. (And of course he remembered me as the shipping problem. LOL)

Pattern: Evergreen Socks, Yarn: Buffalo Wool Company Tracks Sock

I’ve begun working on Arne and Carlos’ 2021 Advent Calendar patterns. I adore these little “jumpers” so much and they’re fun to knit and very satisfying to finish in a day or two. I’ve finished the first two jumpers and have finished knitting the third but still need to weave in ends and steam block it. I don’t imagine that I’ll finish these before Christmas is over but I will get them done (probably before I finish the Christmas balls from 2020) because I really want to have them displayed in the house. It takes me about four hours to knit one of these and another half an hour to do the finishing. Each one is unique and there is a collection of Christmas balls to match … I won’t be buying that pattern … yet.

Pattern: Arne and Carlos 2021 Advent calendar mini-jumpers is available for purchase on their website, yarn: Patagonia Organic Merino by Juniper Moon Farm.

I have been crocheting snowflakes for the store window display using free patterns off the internet and scraps of yarn on hand. I have to get the glue out and dilute it to “starch” them so that they’ll hang straight. I’ve also been crocheting a set of Yip Yips that will be a gift. I’ll stop talking about them here and will write about them after they’re delivered. Another gift is a pair of socks that are on my needles currently. It’s a pair of “vanilla” socks in a colorful colorway and I’ll write more about them later, too. Suffice it to say that I am almost done with the first sock. I’ve got a way to go to get them completed.

My FEZA baby blanket is nearly finished. I’ve reached the finishing point of the fourth color. Since this isn’t promised to anybody (I started it as a project to work on when I am teaching classes or sitting in a Zoom meeting) it is sitting alone in the bottom of my knitting bag. I’ll get it finished one of these days. My Fine Sand Cardigan is in the same place. I won’t likely wear it until spring. That gives me the winter to get it finished. I really need to get it finished THIS winter, though.

With any luck, the next time I write here, there will be more than one finished item. Perhaps a sweater and a blanket by the end of the year? I’m keeping track this year of how many projects I complete … so far it’s up to around 50. Can I reach 60? Time will tell … that work thing keeps getting in the way of my knitting time.

Gone knitting!

My Favorite Time of Day

Posted on October 11, 2021 by Queen Bee Knits

This is my favorite time of the day. The time when the sun is beginning to set and the opposite side of the lake gets lit up. My photos don’t begin to show you what it actually looks like. Trust me, it’s spectacular.

We have had a lovely day. We got our bedroom cleaned up, the bed changed, the (disgusting) side windows and screens washed, and the laundry done. My sweet hubby cleaned out the “curiosity cabinet” in the stairway. It needed it so badly.

I got a load of sheets and towels washed and dried and folded and put away (it doesn’t always happen, yay, me!) I made a batch of granola and a batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I also made progress on my knitting.

Yesterday I tried something new. It didn’t work. The Intarsia Christmas stocking that I’m working on for a customer friend calls for angora. I’ve always held the angora yarn together with a worsted weight wool. The angora claims to be a worsted weight and “should” be ok to knit alone. Well, no.

So, today I frogged it back to the start of the angora in the pattern and re-knit. It’s much better now and I’ll be happy to knit on to the end of the Intarsia part and down to the toe. I’ll need to weave in the hundreds of millions of ends and embroider a smile and eyebrows (seriously, eyebrows?), duplicate stitch a name and off it’ll go to New York City.

I may get there tomorrow. Definitely, the knitting will be finished by the end of this week. I’m working to be finished in time to mail it before the end of October. Way in advance of Christmas!

FOs to come.

Gone knitting.

Gift Delivered

Posted on November 22, 2020 by Queen Bee Knits

So, now it’s safe to share with you …

I got a sweet text message yesterday from the “little girl” that I’ve mentored since she was 9 years old. I met her in Florida when I was looking for a volunteer job and it turned out to be one of the best “jobs” I’ve ever had. Kind of like my job as a mother!

So, my girl is having her first baby in December … early December. They live in Florida right now but they’re moving to Colorado soon after the baby is born so he’s going to need lots of warm clothes!

Knitting Pure and Simple #295 Bulky Baby Pullover

I love this sweater. Plain and simply love it. I made my first iteration of this sweater for my “niece-to-be” when I found a bulky hand-dyed yarn in Massachusetts! We had gone to Gloucester to drop off a box of books for a friend in Florida on our way (from Florida) to Maine for the summer. We just happened to find a yarn shop … hey! There was a big sign on the sidewalk!

Ha! Well, this time, the sweater was knit up in Hayfield’s Baby Blossom Chunky. This yarn is mostly acrylic (man-made fiber) and is machine washable and dry-able. Any of us who have been fortunate enough to have children know that it is really important, especially the first time, to have easy-care hand-knits! I made the whole kit and caboodle with this yarn and I really liked the way it felt in my hands. If it feels soft and cozy, it’s good for a new baby! Right?

The blanket is a 3-cable baby blanket out of the same yarn. This pattern was a free pattern (is a free pattern) at the yarn shop where I work. Super simple (unless you twist a cable the wrong way like I did) and I have loved it both in this printed yarn and in the solid yarn, too.

I also knitted a little hat with a pompom. I didn’t use a pattern for this and I hope it’ll turn out to fit the baby at about the same time as the sweater. If it doesn’t, so be it. I’m not even sure I wrote down what I did with the hat but if I did, it’ll be on my project page on Ravelry.

The little bonus was the pair of booties and the socks. Both of which I loved making and think are so stinking cute! Sue’s Baby Booties are one of those “vintage” patterns that I can’t find on Ravelry but have made for years (dare I say, decades?) I love making them with Cascade Fixation yarn because they tend to stretch a bit and not fall off as easily as anything you put on baby feet does. I have added an icord lace for my booties in a contrasting color and these make me really happy.

The littlest socks are from Yankee Knitter’s pattern “Socks for the Family” which is my go-to pattern when I am knitting socks. These tiny ones are the smallest size and in fingering weight yarn. The yarn is Paton’s Kroy which is a heavy fingering but I love this print and have had it in my stash for a while. Perfect time to use up a bit of it and keep a baby’s toes warm at the same time. I’ll knit more baby-sized socks when the Christmas knitting jobs are all done.

I have a lot of “fun” knitting I want to do … a couple of sweaters or six, Frog and Toad (have you seen this pattern?), I want to finish my Dolores by Franklin Habit and knit her some outfits, too, and there is a KAL with Arne and Carlos for 24 new Christmas balls (I’ve bought the yarn for that and it starts 12/1). There’s a gnome KAL starting in December and I have a pattern for a Scandinavian doll that I’ve been wanting to knit forever. I have a MochiMochi bee kit to knit, too.

I’m hoping to get the Christmas stocking knitted in good part today … no time like the present!

Gone knitting!

How is it Already September 20?

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Queen Bee Knits

Good grief! I can’t imagine how we’ve gotten to “late” September! Time sure does fly when you’re having fun (in a pandemic?)

I’ve been back to teaching a small class outside at a local park in Waterville, Maine until this week. My students were comfortable meeting outside, socially distanced and masked. I was, too. And then last week, it was chilly and we had to move from under the pergola in the shade into the sun to be comfortable. This week the high temperature was only going to reach 62 so we went into the store and were surprised that we were comfortable there, too.

Life has been full of visitors this summer, too. If there are to be blessings found in the Covid-19 pandemic, this is one! All of our children have visited for at least a week and a couple visited for two weeks and four weeks! Working from home/remotely does have its benefits. Nothing makes this mom happier than a house full of our kids! We are so proud of all of them and how gracefully they’re handling life under Covid-19. It’s been difficult; isolating at times, frustrating at times, fraught with financial uncertainty. My kids all work in the Arts in New York City … there won’t be solid work for them at least until 2021. They’ll all make it through this and they’ll all grow because of it.

(I missed grand-dog Severus. Boo! And the Littles were unimpressed and not on the porch.)

We have been eating well (everyone likes to cook) and the baking has been lots of fun! Notice that the photos are almost all of baked goods!? Ha! We made focaccia with a beautiful vegetable “picture” on it, lobster is always a favorite, raspberry ice cream cookie sandwiches, blueberries, blueberry buckle, a rustic peach and blueberry galette, blueberry bundt cake, blueberry muffins, Mrs. Dejonkheere’s oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, blueberry pie #1, lobster eggs Benedict, maple blueberry scones, squash pie, veggie frittata and apple pie. The raspberries, blueberries and apples were all picked by our hands! What a lot of fun.

There has been yarn in my hands throughout the visits! I’ve started and finished a few things that I wanted to share with you, too.

First up were two emPower People cowls in their signature purple.

The first is the emPower People Cowl by Casapinka. This is a simple garter stitch cowl that asks for a DK or sport weight yarn. I used Malabrigo Rios which is a light worsted weight. It’s a cowl so I really didn’t mind if it came out a little bit larger (or smaller). It was a quick and simple knit project and it’s a sample at the store right now. It’s so soft and will be a nice garment to wear and a good reminder to VOTE!

The second is EmPower Lace by Romi. I was a test knitter for this cowl and it was another really fun knit. This could be considered a bit more difficult than the first cowl, but it’s a great first lace project. I used Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool this time and I love this yarn. It was a new yarn to me. It shows the lace well and it’s soft and sturdy. Empower Lace is also a free Raverly download.

Next up are two pairs of baby booties. I confess that I have a collection of Cascade’s Fixation yarn from which I’ve made several pairs of baby booties and a few baby hats to match. But I had over-bought! Can you imagine that? Ha! Ha! So, in my pledge to use up stashed yarn, I decided to pull out all of the Fixation and use it up by making some baby booties. Two pairs down and I have plenty more to go. The green pair has a different bottom color and the pink ones are simple solid pink. The pattern is one that I can’t find online anywhere called Sue’s Baby Booties. It was a free pattern at the store. If you love it, let me know and I can scan it and email it to you.

I’ve started and finished a baby gift for a special baby boy coming soon so I can’t show you a full photograph of the gift that I’ve finished. I used Hayfield’s Baby Blossom Chunky to knit a Three Cable Baby Blanket and will make a little sweater and hat to match. I’ll update this post when I have given the gift to the mom-to-be. It’s soft, warm and washable and dry-able. All good things when you’re a new mother.

I’ve finished the first of my September socks from our 2020 Sock Challenge. This is another stashed yarn, one that I collected when we learned that there wasn’t going to be a US distributor for this wonderful Raggi yarn. (There is a distributor now, thank heavens!) Raggi is a worsted/aran weight wool and nylon blend so it’s perfect for knitting socks. The pattern, Urban Rustic Socks, I just happened across when I was looking for a worsted weight sock pattern that I hadn’t already made. I love these socks and they’re a fun knit, too. It’s a free Ravelry pattern.

I’m working away on making more masks for my kids, I’ve fixed a hat for a customer, fixed a shawl several times for a former student (the shawl has traveled from Florida to Maine and back several times) and I’ve got a bunch of projects on the needles. I’m still working on finishing my Arne and Carlos Quarantine Knitting blocks (I think it’s going to be a pillow) and my Hope Cardigan is half-done. So, life is busy and full … I wanted to catch up here so that the next post won’t be so long.

Gone knitting!

2020 The Year of the Rat

Posted on January 25, 2020 by Queen Bee Knits

Hello 2020!

Time sure does fly. I’ve told more than one friend and/or family member that I thought life would slow down and change after my kids were little and life was so busy-active. Once they grew up and had homes of their own, I imagined that time would slow and life would be less busy. Turns out that I was totally wrong. The time seems to only go by more quickly.

So, with that said, this is my first post of the new year and new decade. The year of the rat according to the Chinese calendar. I think it’s going to be another wonderful healthy year full of fun and lots of good knitting!

We have started 2020 with a Sock Challenge. Twelve pairs of socks, one each month. Two pairs can be little socks for children or “peds”, two need to be something you’ve never done before. I have finished two pairs of socks so far this year and am up to the heel on the first sock of the third pair.

January pair number one is for my granddaughter, Rose. Her name explains the color choice, n’est ce pas? Pattern is Yankee Knitter’s Classic Socks for the Whole Family. I did a 3 x 1 rib down the leg and on the top of the foot. Knitting for children, who grow too quickly, I like to build in a little bit of wiggle room. I measured their feet in May so I gave them an extra half-inch in foot length and made the large child size. This Cascade Heritage wool is nice and soft.

February pair number two is my DH’s Christmas socks. I’ve begun to give him a ball of yarn in his Christmas stocking (also hand-knit, not by me) because we all know that Christmas knitting leaves little time for selfish knitting and it’s the old cobbler’s children philosophy: no hand knit socks for my DH until after the paid knitting is finished. Anyway, this pair is also Yankee Knitter’s Classic Sock pattern and it’s a sport weight yarn by KFI with a touch of cashmere. They’re very soft and felt good on my knitting hands! That said, there are spots where it seemed like the dye hadn’t completely saturated the yarn but I hope that doesn’t reflect on the socks themselves. I have two more balls of this yarn because it feels so good. Another blue and a grey.

I’ve been wearing and loving wearing my Love Note sweater by Tin Can Knits. I love the yarn, the weight, the color and the fit. This may be my very most favorite sweater of the year and decade (so far!) I have a couple of other sweaters coming up on my queue and it’ll be interesting to see if I like them as well as I like my Love Note!

Today we had a visitor in our yard. I am so privileged to live on the edge of a lake in Central Maine. The Belgrade Lakes area is a well-known summer spot but it’s also a fun place to live in the winter. I know, many of you are wondering if my mental health is stable but I have to say, I love the snow and I love watching the different seasons and the way the lake and life changes. Today has been a relatively warm winter day for Maine and the lake was crawling with ice fishermen (and women), snow machines, and birds. I was thrilled when I returned from lunching with a girlfriend and saw a Bald Eagle on the lake about three quarters of a mile from our front porch. Later this afternoon, as I was sitting at my desk working, another (or maybe the same) eagle left the ice and flew straight toward our house and landed in our tree. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, “it doesn’t get old”! What a thrill watching these birds! I do have to watch the little dogs very carefully in the winter – an eagle or a big owl or hawk would love a shitzu feast.

Not a great photograph but he or she flew off just after I snapped this photo!

My philosophy for the next year is to be kind. Truthful and kind. Accepting and kind. Healthy and kind. Happy and kind. Loving and kind. Simply put I want to bee happy … and kind.

Gone knitting!

You can read more about my projects and yarns on my Ravelry project page. My Ravelry name is Lindar. You can also find Queen Bee Knits on Facebook and @QueenBeeKnits on Instagram.

1898 Hat – A different construction

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Queen Bee Knits

1898 Hat in Cascade Eco Duo

The 1898 Hat by Kristine Byrnes is a free pattern on Ravelry. We sell a lot of yarn for them at my LYS, Yardgoods Center in Waterville, Maine. It may help that we have a great sample, in hat and headband form, right near the cash register!

I’ve been in Maine now for three winters. Winters are cold here. Hats are a must for my husband, in particular, because he has no hair. I almost always wear a coat with a hood which is enough for me but I have been known to wear a hat, too. All of this is to say that I am shocked that I haven’t knitted this hat before now.

A few weeks ago, a woman came into the shop when I was working and she wanted to have someone knit a 1898 hat for her out of some lovely Cascade Eco Duo alpaca yarn that she had bought. I’ve never seen this hat in alpaca before. I offered to knit it for her. When I called her to have her come pick it up, she asked me to make another in Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride.

1898 Hat in Lamb’s Pride Worsted

Both hats are wonderful. The alpaca was so soft and the Lamb’s Pride Worsted is so squishy. AND the knit was fun for me, too!

The headband is knit flat in garter stitch with increases for the ear flaps. It has a provisional cast on – I used a crochet cast on. It’s knit in garter stitch on either side of three slipped stitches on the wrong side (they’re knit on the right side) which makes it fold in half to make the headband double thickness and really, really warm! You graft the ends of the headband together with Kitchener Stitch (if you do it properly it’s completely invisible!) and then pick up the stitches from both sides of the headband to make the rest of the hat in the round like any “normal” hat.

One hank/skein/ball of worsted weight yarn worked for each hat. I KNOW my sweet hubby needs one of these hats. He works outside. In Maine. In the winter. It’s really, really cold. He has no hair. Did I mention that he has no hair?

Gone Knitting!

Starting the New Year off with FOs!

Posted on January 5, 2018 by Queen Bee Knits

First finished object is the Ruche Beret by Susan B. Anderson. I love this hat and hope that the new owner will wear it through some challenges and into a lifetime of good health. I knit this for a friend from college who has a friend going through chemo treatments. I knit this in this pretty beige-y taupe-y color and it’s a dk-weight yarn, Plymouth Baby Alpaca DK. I love knitting with this yarn! It’s so soft and will feel so good on a “naked” head. The best thing about this hat is the simplicity of the design. I just love it.

Next up, the 1898 Hat. This is a free pattern on Ravelry and calls for a worsted weight yarn and US 7 needles. I started knitting with the needle as in the pattern but it was too small. So, I changed to a US 8 and the hat is lovely! I knit with the customer’s Cascade Yarns Eco Duo. Another super soft yarn and it will be so warm. The construction of the hat is a little bit different – the “cuff” is knitted in garter stitch with slipped stitches that is folded in half and grafted into a “headband”. Stitches are picked up around the cuff and the hat is completed in a more traditional manner. The customer was so happy that she’s asked me to knit another one out of Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride. Stay tuned!

Last but not least, a baby blanket for my sister-in-love. They have an employee who is having a baby this month and she asked me to knit a blanket. I love stripes, so this was my suggestion. Knitted in Plymouth Encore (navy, white and bright green) to make life easier for the new mom (it’s washable and dry-able!) This is a simple knit – almost boring, actually – two rows of each color, carrying the yarn up the side. The green is an i-cord edge. I love the way the green pops! It’s blocking on my guest bed (sans sheets after Christmas) and it will be sent very soon.

Speaking of Christmas … I haven’t shown you all of the Christmas knits that were finished and given.

An eyeglass case in Berroco Comfort DK (red and green, obviously!) The pattern is Sweet Sunglasses Case by Ambah O’brien. This was a fun little something to knit for my co-worker who is super sweet. I will make more of these. The Comfort yarn is very soft and won’t scratch glasses … it could be lined but I stink at sewing.

These are really a better and brighter blue with a bit of sparkle and were sent to my adorable mentee. I met this darling girl when she was ten years old and I was her mentor at school for a couple of years before she moved about 2 hours away. She had a rough transition and I adored her so I traveled to meet her for lunch at her new school every week. Zip ahead and she’s now a beautiful teenager and I still adore her.

Pattern is Holywood Mitts and was a free pattern at our store. I knit these in Holywood by Cascade Yarns. It’s just enough sparkle. And I loved the button that I found to serve as a ring!

Wow! This is a terrible photograph! These are alpaca fingerless mitts knitted in Cascade Yarn’s Eco Alpaca in black. The pattern is Maize by Tin Can Knits. I love, love, love Tin Can Knits designs! I made the mitts a bit longer than the pattern called for because when I am driving I want to have the fabric of fingerless mitts between my hands and the freezing cold steering wheel. Most fingerless mitts are a bit too short. I hope my son-in-love loves them. I figure that they’re classic enough that they’ll go with any coat in New York City. Right?

Another questionable photograph but these are the felted slippers that I made for my step-daughter. (I don’t love that “title” and will need to think of an alternate term for my husband’s wonderful daughters.) Anyway, I made these for her for Christmas at her request. Her favorite color is blue so I chose two shades of blue Cascade 220 Heathers. The pattern is Fiber Trends Felted Clogs by Bev Galeskas. I’ve made several pairs of these for different people and they are fun to knit, interesting construction, and they’re very cozy, too.

I made several of these hats! This is another Tin Can Knits pattern called Barley. I made a trial Barley for my husband and he loved it so I made one for all the boys in the family for Christmas. This one is Plymouth Yarn’s Homestead in Brown Heather colorway. The other three, for the NYC boys were knitted in Berroco Ultra Wool in black. All city people like black. I like black, too. I love the Ultra Wool! it’s a wonderful super wash wool and I am looking forward to seeing how it holds up to the washing machine!

Two more! For my other step-daughter, a cowl made with Universal’s Bamboo Bloom in shades of pink and Wisdom Yarn’s Poems. I love the Hanassaku Cowl pattern, too! It’s fairly simple pattern is easy (-ish) to follow. I say “fairly” and “-ish” because it always seems to me that when I let myself believe that something is easy, I always make mistakes. I started this cowl twice because I assumed that I knew what I was doing and I also pretended that I could count! Needless to say, I couldn’t do either! It was better on the second try! I started my cowl with the Poems and ended with it, too. Mine is not nearly as wide as the pattern suggested. I used one skein of each and knit until it was gone. I love it and I hope she does, too.

I used a Top This! Hat “kit” to make this little crocheted lamb lovie for my dental hygienist. Well, not for her, exactly, for her new baby. I am going to visit her next week and will deliver it then. The pattern is a free pattern that I found at the shop (Yardgoods Center, my LYS). I started to knit the pattern and didn’t like the way that the fabric felt. I decided to try to crochet it instead and really had fun making my fourth (or fifth) crocheted project! I hope the baby will love it. It’s really just a great big granny square – and I love making granny squares!

I finished a pair of socks for my handsome hubby, too. I used a ball of Regia (their worsted weight sock yarn) and he’s happy as a clam. He was “nagging” me about a new pair of socks for him and I knit them at work or at knitting group so that he had no clue I was making him socks. I do love a surprise when I can keep them! I haven’t taken a photograph of them … they’re already in the laundry.

So, that was a long post full of finished objects. It feels good to see that I have gotten a lot of knitting done and gifted. I love to make gifts! More details are in my Ravelry project page. I’m “lindar” on Ravelry!

Gone knitting!