Tag Archives: empower people bandana cowl

I Just Cleaned up After “Breakfast”!

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Sunday, January 18, 2026

Things are looking up here on the health front! Finally! I had a shower today, made my own “breakfast” and then emptied the dishwasher and cleaned up the kitchen. This is the first such activity in about two weeks! Yay! My body is reminding me that I’ve been sick and I need to maintain a slower than usual pace, but I am happy to oblige because I finally feel like I’m getting better. The flu is not fun this year, folks. I hope you’re vaccinated and washing your hands a lot!!!

The last two weeks have afforded me a lot of knitting time and for the most part I’ve taken full advantage of it. Although, there have been hours of time spent just sitting and watching stupid stuff on TV. Yesterday I spent most of my knitting time working on the Gansey Afghan. I really am enjoying this project and more than I thought I would. I have made it past the forty inch mark and the final size is designed to be forty-eight inches. I think mine may be more because I’m going to try to use up all of the two balls of yarn I bought for the project. As I discovered, I have a ton of bits and bobs of left-over yarn and I haven’t used them for much. (More on this story later in this post.)

The Gansey Afghan is knitted with worsted weight yarn. I chose two balls of this dark sage-y green that was on sale at the LYS where I work. It’s Hayfield Aran with Wool and comes in 919 yard, 400 gram balls. That’s a lot of yarn. Mine was on sale so it’s was less than $60 to make the blanket. And the blanket is going to be a really good size. The pattern is several “stripes” of textured stitches divided by a 2-row reverse stockinette stitch pattern (the pattern is really more than just the two rows of reverse stockinette). It’s fun to watch the repeats turn out and it keeps the knitting interesting. I have mis-read the pattern in a couple of spots but I just kept on keeping on and have balanced the errors so they don’t stick out. I challenge you to try to figure out where the errors are. I think I’d like to make another one for my atelier next fall/winter in orange. I am loving orange these days. It would also look great in our bedroom or in our living room. We’ll see where it ends up or if it gets knitted at all. LOL. I have just finished the third repeat of the pattern and will knit one more which should use up almost all of the yarn. Fingers crossed.

I’ve not touched my husbands Christmas socks this week and I’ve only worked a little bit on my Ranunculcus sweater but I’ve already written about that. I have procured another beautiful yarn, however. I pre-ordered two hanks of Lola Bean Yarn Co’s DK weight yarn on the soy bean base. (100% merino). The colorway is “Good Trouble” and it’s a nod to the civil rights leader, John Lewis. Sales of this yarn benefitted a non-profit organization supporting civil rights but I don’t remember now which one it was. My yarn arrived this week and it’s gorgeous!!!

Lola Bean Yarn Co., DK weight Soy Bean base, colorway: Good Trouble

I’ve been texting back and forth with one of my Friday afternoon knitting students who also bought the yarn and I think we’re both going to attempt (and see how we like it) the Le Bandana pattern by Aimee Gille of La Bien Aimee. It’s a simple one-skein triangle shaped shawlette. I have a bit more yarn and will plan to make mine a bit bigger so that I use up all the yarn in the one project. (Do you see a theme here?) If I can’t return a full hank of leftover yarn, I want to use it all up!!!

Here’s the story I promised: This weekend one of my co-worker friends sent our triumvirate group the link to a pattern for the most adorable little stuffed rabbit. She’s wearing a dress, a cardigan and a headband and comes with a kitten. And she’s a free pattern. Did I say that she was adorable? See for yourself!

Well, I didn’t want to go buy more yarn if I have some that I can use so I pulled down my two bins of sport/dk weight yarn to have a look. TWO bins of leftover sport/dk yarns. This is what I pulled out of those two bins that I may want to use for the project. The bins are now back in their shelves but still mostly full … some with a sweater’s worth of yarn!) I may have a problem.

The good news is that I did find a wrapper-less gray yarn (at the front) that I hope will work for the bunny and plenty of other balls of yarn to make the garments, accessories and kitten out of. I also have enough to share with Carol if she needs it. I hope we will cast on this week. And I hope the bunny doesn’t hang out unclothed for years like my Dolores did. (I still have clothes to knit for Dolores.)

So, there you have it. I have so much knitting to do that I will leave you here and head off to my comfy chair and my knitting. The question is … do I wind up my Good Trouble and knit my shawlette or continue with the afghan in hopes of getting something finished? Stay tuned for my choice …

Gone knitting.

How is it Already September 20?

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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?)

The Apple Farm in Fairfield, Maine

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.

Bickford’s Blueberries with the gang

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.

FOs

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!

Finished!

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I’ve finally finished a couple of things …

So, let’s first talk about the Shape of a Bay. This is a gorgeous shawl that I bought as a kit with some gorgeous Cashmere People yarn at the Medomak Fiber Arts Retreat two years ago. It was my first time going back to the camp where I spent several very happy summer as a child and a teenager and it was my camp splurge. When I started it at camp, I learned fairly quickly that it wasn’t a have an adult beverage and knit this kind of project. It has been languishing in my time out drawer for a long, long time.

Sadly, I ran out of yarn and didn’t get to knit the last six rows or so of the last section but I wasn’t going to try to buy more yarn at this point in time – even though I know that they still have the same colorway, I’m not sure if it’ll match … and for six or seven rows? Yeah. No. I played yarn chicken and lost near the end. Needless to say, I had to frog back a couple of rows … a mere 1046 stitches but who was counting?

The Shape of a Bay shawl by Bristol Ivy in Cashmere People yarn (unblocked)

This shawl is a knitting challenge as I might have assumed knowing Bristol’s mind. I loved the project, though and I enjoyed the brain exercise. Even when I had to frog a few rows because I was an idiot and decided I was too smart to use a lifeline. Note to self and to future knitters of this pattern – lifelines are your friend. Use them! The textures in this shawl are amazing and lots of fun. Bristol is a knitting/knitted stitch genius.

Cashmere People yarn is sold at PortFiber in Portland, Maine and it’s really really special to knit with and it blocks out into a lovely lace shawl. I love working with this yarn. I love the way it feels and the way the stitches just pop out on it. Amazing.

EmPower People Bandana Cowl in Malabrigo Rios

My emPower People cowl is also finished. I made this as a sample to loan to the store (Yardgoods Center where I work) for a time. It’s a quick and simple bandana cowl and it is a free Ravelry pattern. It was a quick knit for me … it took about 3 days of a short amount of knitting. I chose the Rios which is technically a worsted weight yarn and the pattern calls for a DK. I think Rios is a light worsted or a heavy sport which is close to a DK. This cowl is knit on a US 7 needle and I know that the fabric with Rios on a 7 is a good thing so I went ahead and cast on. I really like the heft of the cowl and the fabric. This will be a good neck warmer this fall and winter.

This pattern is from Casapinka and it’s a free pattern. The emPower people project is about getting out the vote. As it says on the pattern page:

emPower people is a purple colored craftivism project aimed at uniting crafters to spark conversation, engagement, and action. Wear it when you vote, grocery shop, march, or knit in your socially isolated bedroom. We would love to see a sea of purple to represent unity so please tell your friends, family, knitting groups, or anyone who can knit, crochet, or sew a simple pattern. Make a bandana and a commitment to vote

If I had more time and fewer projects that I wanted to knit, I’d knit this one again … and maybe add something a bit fancier to one side or add the word “vote” to the bottom. It was a fun, quick knit.

We are “enjoying” a heat wave here at the lake and while it’s lovely outside, I sure don’t love the heat. We moved to Maine to get out of the heat in Florida … I remember returning to work in Florida after being up here for the summer or a part of it and it was dreadfully hot and humid. Even our pool was like bath water! At least the lake is refreshing!

Gone knitting!

More information is available for these projects and others on my Ravelry page. I’m lindar on Ravelry. You can also follow me on Instagram @QueenBeeKnits and on Facebook Queen Bee Knits by Linda Warner.