Queen Bee Knits

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

Two FOs before Friday and Now it’s Sunday

Posted on August 2, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

We’ve had a couple of warm days here on the lake and a little bit of rain. We need rain! Today we’re entertaining a friend of my hubby’s from our summer camp days when we were teenagers and the guys have gone into town to see the Odyssey movie and I stayed home to enjoy the beautiful day … and knit.

I’ve taken a walk around the yard and the cone flowers, daisies and black-eyed Susans are blooming like crazy and the hydrangeas are completely abuzz with bees and other pollinators. It’s wonderful to see all the bugs because it means our property is healthy for them. Yay! The veggie garden gave us the gift of another cucumber and another zucchini today and there are a couple of summer squash still on the vine. The tomatoes are coming along … I’m still waiting for my native tomato sandwich!

And I have two FOs that I finished on Thursday night and Friday while I was teaching. I’ve finished my Easy Folded Poncho in the charcoal gray colorway. I had blocked it and just needed to seam the 13″ because I am not adding any neck. They call for a slouchy neckline but I like the poncho just as it is. I can wear it with a blouse or a tee and it works. I am so excited to have a gray poncho to wear once the weather turns cooler.

I also finished my Broadgate Tabard and I wore it to work on Friday. I am happy as can be with this project. The linen yarn has the most incredible drape and it fits beautifully. I haven’t taken a completely finished photo yet but I do have photos. I will knit with this yarn again (I just have to find it in the United States.) This is a garment that I can wear in all four seasons with different shirts underneath … tank top, tee shirt and blouse will all be great under it. I’m thrilled with this project and it wasn’t a particularly difficult knit … at least once I got the hang of the pattern and could see the crossed stitches and the “lines”. Highly recommend!

The last photo is of me trying it on after the shoulders were seamed and before I added the neckline or the ties. I chose to knit about an inch of ribbing at the neckline rather than the long turtleneck because it’ll allow me to wear it all year long (Yes, I wear linen all year!) I have already worn it once and the green colorway is still stunning and I am thrilled with how this came out.

Friday afternoon I worked some more on my Sabai Top in a cotton/linen blend yarn by Cascade. I wish I had a 100% linen for this top! The pattern begins with the neckline and then splits the front and back and each side is worked down with increases at each side for the underarms.

I’ve finished one side’s increases and have begun the second side. Once they’re both done, I’ll join them in the round and knit around and around and around forever or to the bottom ribbing. I love that I won’t have to go back and pick up stitches for the sleeve openings. I think this will be a great piece and I’m happy to be making it in black. If I love it, there may be another one in my future … this time in linen (I’ll find my green linen yarn in another great color … maybe a tomato red?) Anyway, I am enjoying the construction and the yarn and I think it’ll be a great summer top.

I also decided to cast on a new project. I have three balls of Berroco Ultra Wool Handpaint that I grabbed out of the clearance section at work ages ago. I had thought I’d make something for one of the kiddos with it and I decided to do just that and knit vests for my grand-nephews in Salem. I love the cheerful yarn and I got the larger of the two vests knitted to the split of the front for the neckline in one day – admittedly, I didn’t get much done yesterday – and it was a wonderfully written pattern (by Knitting Pure and Simple). I have knitted several of her patterns and the only “complaints” that I have are twofold: 1) the sweaters are often knitted at a very loose gauge on larger than I think are reasonable needles and 2) stitch counts are various key points at a minimum should be added. I know that knitters today are more needy than their predecessors but I think, at a minimum, key spots need to know how many stitches in total there should be but it would be nice to have a breakdown of those stitches, too. My humble opinion.

I’m very happy with this yarn and the pattern and I think it’s adorable. I can’t wait to see the boys wearing them! I’ll likely gift them in early fall and I hope we get down for a visit before too long! I miss seeing the Massachusetts family and I hate leaving home at this time of year when I can enjoy the porches and the warm. Soon enough it’ll be cold again and we’ll be complaning about that just like we complain about the heat now. Right?

My TWT Sock Sprint socks are in time out. I don’t like the yarn or the pattern that I’m knitting them with. I have to decide if I want to frog the socks entirely or keep struggling and finish them. In the meantime, I think I’m going to buy another pattern by Summer Lee, actually it’s her first cuff club collection and I really really love the socks with the flower cuff (it’s the first one in the photos on her cuff club page on Ravelry). I bought the yarn for these socks in Quebec City and I think I’ll enjoy knitting them more than the ones I’m currently working on … so, why not enjoy what I’m knitting? And having said that, I think I’ll frog the Lochside socks that I am not enjoying at all and use the yarn for another project.

I spent some time going through my stash this past week-ish and found several skeins that I’ve finished the projects for and didn’t use all the yarn that I bought. I am fortunate to work in a LYS that has a liberal return policy and I have returned twelve hanks of yarn for credit which means that I have some shopping to do. I have an extensive queue of projects that I want to knit and need to knit a Christmas sweater for my granddaughter and a Santa hat as well. I’d like to knit a Christmas sweater for my grandson, too. I passed the little Santa hat on to his mom when they were here. It’ll be perfect for him this year.

I have also procured some new yarn this week. I loved the design by Isabell Kraemer called It is Magic and I liked the pop of color. I’ve sat on that thought for quite a while and bit the bullet this week and bought the kit which was discounted by mYak yarn company. I am excited to get the yarn and knit the sweater including the little patch (mine won’t say “I want magic” but will likely say “be kind” or similar). I sitll have the two hanks of hand-dyed silk mohair from Art Yarns, too, and the pattern to make the boxy sweater that I saw on Tribe Yarns socials. Good grief, I need to get off social media, it’s costing me a fortune. (*wink)

So many patterns, so little time. Gone knitting.

WIP Wednesday

Posted on July 29, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

I’ve already run an errand and checked the vegetable garden (we had a little rain this morning and I hope we get more). One more zucchini today and a couple of summer squash will be ready tomorrow. Our tomatoes are doing something funky this year … they look wonderful and they’re black on the bottom. We’ll see if they come around. I’ve asked my hubby to water them more deeply every other day. Time will tell.

I had a wonderful day yesterday all alone at home. Coffee on the porch for a good chunk of the morning and then I cleaned up, did a bit of laundry and decided I wanted to bake. I mixed up a batch of my “Ted Lasso” Shortbread cookies (I got the recipe online, there are a lot of them out there but this one is done in the cuisinart … blend all the ingredients, squish into an 8×8 pan with parchment paper and bake. So simple and so yummy. While the first batch was cooking I decided to cook up some banana bread (muffins) because I had some bananas needing attention … and discovered that we had no eggs! A quick run into town and I solved that issue and blended up the muffins with Maine blueberries and pecans added for fun. AND then I decided I needed another batch of shortbread. Ha! Ha! It was a good baking day. One batch of shortbread went to my dear friend, Barbara, who brought us some delicious chicken soup when I was feeling pretty lousy. One good turn deserves another, right? I always think of my maternal grandmother when I am baking which adds to the joy for me. Baking makes me feel centered and calm … and so does my knitting.

Our garden is producing some wonderful food! I brought in lettuces the day before and some more cukes and a summer squash. Hubby doesn’t care for the squash so it’s all mine! I love it steamed with a bit of salt and butter. Yummy! I’ll be cooking up a zucchini (not shown) side-dish tonight for dinner. I saute sliced onions, put halved (the long way) zucchini on top of them and add some spaghetti/marinara sauce, cover and heat until the zucchini is tender. Then put sliced mozzarella on top and cover again until the cheese is melted. Yummy!

And I’ve been knitting, too. Yesterday I finished the knitting for my Easy Folded Poncho and blocked it on our guest room bed which I have to get made up again. More guests coming this weekend! I only have to sew in the ends after I stitch one simple seam.

I also finished the front of my Broadgate Tabard and blocked both pieces. I knitted the 4-stitch icord ties last night and now I am ready to seam the shoulders and knit the neckline. The pattern calls for a big folded turtleneck and I’m not going to do that at all. I don’t like big, tight turtlenecks. I’ll knit about an inch of ribbing and bind off so that I can wear it in the store with a blouse. I’m excited to get this one finished too … and if I really focus, I should be able to accomplish both finishes today or Friday. I’m looking forward to wearing the poncho when the weather cools in addition to my orange one. I’ve really loved wearing that and the fall will be the perfect time!

Meanwhile, I’ve cast on my Sabai Top in Cascade Yarns Hampton (70% cotton, 30% linen) in black. I am knitting the ribbed neckline for this one (the pattern offers two necklines) and it should be a simple, quick knit. I think it’ll be a great summer top with my white pants or jeans and I think I can dress it up or be casual. The yarn feels lovely as I knit it and I am enjoying the unique construction of the neckline and shoulders. More on this later when I have enough to photograph.

Today’s focus is to get the tabard done first (because I can seam the poncho in class on Friday if I need to.) AND because I’d like to wear the tabard on Friday if I get it finished. So …

Gone knitting!

Back to Work!

Posted on May 26, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

We had a glorious morning this morning with coffee on the porch and a comfortable temperature. This is the time of year we love every second of living here. We had some good rain over the weekend and while I’m sure it dampened many ceremonies around the country on Memorial Day, we were happy to have the days to rest and relax and contemplate the real meaning of the day – hint: it’s not the barbecue or parade. And with fifteen soldiers recenlty killed in Iran, it gave me more reason to be thoughtful and grateful for their sacrifice.

I made a few discoveries and I made some blueberry English Muffins. My hubby told me that some of the seeds that I brought back from NYC (my daughter’s family had organic veggies from their CSA and for some reason I needed to bring them home and try to plant them) were growing! I am thrilled to show you my mystery veggie babies. I have no idea what they will grow up to be and that’s part of the fun. Maybe peppers or squash? Time will tell. Next week we’ll be planting the vegetable gardens and I hope they’ll take off.

And yesterday I decided to make the blueberry English Muffins the recipe for which I printed ages ago. It was a simple process but the recipe was not the best. It said to add 1 cup of milk and a cup and a half of flour and said it would be a shaggy dough. Soupy isn’t shaggy so I added what probably amounted to another cup of flour (and the dough was still sticky.) After needing for five minutes it was a bit better but still a little sticky and I went ahead and cooked them up anyway. And, Ta Da! They are nice and light, the crumb is good and they taste really wonderful with some Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry Jam. (Bonne Maman is delicious and they do good, too.) Mark it as a success! I’ll make them again but we have six or so in the fridge.

Broadgate Tabard in Antigone by De Rerum Natura

In the early afternoon when I was sitting out in our dooryard, I worked on my Broadgate Tabard. I’m starting to get the hang of this pattern’s zigs and zags. It is not a quick knit and requires some concentration and counting but I am going to love it and the color is extraordinary. I saw this pattern on Millie at Tribe Life Yarn in the UK on social media. I looked for a yarn substitution so I didn’t have to ship from the UK but I couldn’t get the green color out of my mind. I put it on the back burner for a time, too. Finally, I bit the bullet and bought the yarn. Millie has recently sold me more yarn and that’s another story … she wears such colorful knits and they’re so unique and some of them I simply “need” to have. (I have two hanks of hand-dyed silk mohair waiting to make me a sweater from Tribe, too. Oops!) I knitted on this until my iPad got too hot (we were sitting in the sun) and I had to take it inside and let it cool down.)

Salty Air Tee in On The Round Nimble Sock

I had a customer call to ask about a sock yarn last week and she said it was the roundest, squishiest sock yarn and she loved it so much but couldn’t find the label. I immediately thought it was On the Round but texted her a photo of several different yarns before she confirmed the OTR. I know this because I’m knitting with OTR Nimble Sock on my Salty Air Tee. I have really enjoyed this knit. The lace yoke was so much fun to knit and for a fingering weight yarn, it seems to be moving right along at a good pace. I might be able to get the body finished tonight but I don’t think I have time to finish the sleeves and block it too before I leave for Arizona tomorrow afternoon. I’m going to try. I think this will be a super fun to wear tee this summer. The body is fully stockinette stitch so it’s good for knitting with friends or late in the day when I’m tired. And I love the colorway, too. I will knit more in this yarn – it helps that the dyer, Rachel, is a delightful human.

Hubby’s A&C socks are coming along as well. I have gotten to the foot so they should be able to be finished on the plane on Thursday. I will probably have to take another sock project with me because we also have a drive from Phoenix to Tucson and back. I don’t expect to do a lot of knitting when we’re in Tucson because we have a lot of celebrating and visiting to do but the travel time is great knitting time. But you probably know that, right?

We went for a little walk with the dog this afternoon and there were several natural treats along the way. Lots of Lilies of the Valley right next to the road and we even found a couple of Jack in the Pulpit plants. I’d like to go back and dig some of them up and transplant them in our yard away from the edge of the street where they’re likely to get squished by cars passing on the camp road. But alas time is not on my side as I have a trip tomorrow … and laundry and packing to do. I pulled a few little flowers to make a little arrangement for the kitchen window sill.

Gone knitting.