Queen Bee Knits

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

FOs and Re-Dos

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

We are having some snow again today and we had some ice on Thursday. It’s winter in Maine and I have to say that I am a happy girl. I love the winter and I love the snow. I feel like the media has been really good at scaring the pants off of us and now we are told to stay home even at times when the driving isn’t bad. I headed out to work on Thursday after we got a quarter inch of ice and I had no trouble getting out of our driveway or getting to the store … and as my car slipped by the back door (ha! ha!) I decided that I’d park out front where nobody would have such a good opportunity to slip down the hill and into my car. I’m so grateful for my cleat-thingys that keep me upright on ice.

I’ve just finished sewing the perfect buttons on my Nancy’s Vest. It is finished. I wore it to work today buttonless and I love the way it fits. I also love the weight of the yarn and it’s soft and just enough gray and brown all at the same time.

So, now I have two vests … and there are going to be more of them in my future.

I pulled my sleeve out of my Women’s Favorite Genser again. In its first iteration, the sleeve decreases were too far apart and the sleeve would have been too long and the stitch count off for the colorwork before the cuff ribbing. On the second iteration, I realized that the increases were too close together which made the sleeve too narrow too soon. Now on my third try, I’m decreasing “in the middle” of the other two and I think it’s looking good. Cross your fingers.

I’m working on my Cooked Lobstah socks and my Double Thick Hat. They’re both easy patterns that I can nearly knit with my eyes closed. I may have mentioned that I hate myself in hats. The only ones that I wear are saggy baggy hats that fall down over my eyes. I only wear them if I have to go out with wet hair in the winter or if I am spending time outside like when I clean off my car or help shovel. But that’s the long way of saying that even though I am making this hat for me, I may decide that I hate it. AND I hope I don’t hate it but it’s more than possible. BUT I love the yarn! I’m knitting with Juniper Moon Farm’s Herriot Fine. I had two hanks of it in my stash, they were a gift from our KFI salesman at the store. He always sent something for “the girls”. (ha! ha!) Herriot Fine is absolutely gorgeous to work with. It’s soft and comes in lots of pretty colors. I have a blue and a creamy oatmeal color. Not thrilling colors but if I love the hat, I can worry about different colors later.

And the socks are just my “run-of-the-mill” socks using Yankee Knitter’s pattern #29. I love the pattern and have knit so many socks over the years that I practically know the pattern by heart. This crazy colorway that I bought at the Maine Fiber Frolic years (and years) ago. These socks will be a gift, as with the blue striped pair that I just finished.

I have a brand new knitter in my afternoon knitting class and today’s storm kept almost everyone home. It gave me an opportunity to help H. remember how to cast on and how to purl so she can try to make her first pair of mittens. She picked up purling really quickly and I feel pretty good sending her home to practice and I told her that if it doesn’t go well, it’s all good. Consider it an opportunity to practice! It’s a ribbed cuff and it can be frogged and re-knit and I told her that I’m re-knitting a sleeve for the third time.

Knitting offers us the opportunity to get used to making mistakes. I used to get frustrated and annoyed by making mistakes but now I can take them in stride and begin again. Forgiving yourself (and others) is a skill that is learned over time and knitting has helped me be more accepting of myself and my flaws. It’s also taught me to be more flexible and forgiving with others. I’m grateful for my sticks and string for having added so much joy to my life but I am also grateful for the lessons that it’s taught me. Life is good.

Gone knitting.

On and Off the Needles

Posted on January 21, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

We had a beautiful sunrise this morning and it’s been a sunny day. I saw the first couple of snowmobiles on the lake today and the number of ice fishermen was the highest yet. Lots of people out on the ice fishing – and they’re using the portable “ice fishing shacks”.

This morning I watered all of our plants and then headed to my studio. Down the rabbit hole I went … deleting old emails from my gmail accounts, responding to some newer ones and getting my calendar for the next week up to date. I called all of my kids (and spoke to one), my brothers and my sister-in-love in LA. I also called a cousin who I haven’t heard from in a long time. It feels good to delete a couple of years worth of emails.

Yesterday I drove a friend to Portland, ME to visit her husband who is in the hospital. She was happy to visit with her husband and I went off to the new Costco in Scarborough. What was I thinking? It was Saturday, for heaven’s sake. Costco was PACKED! But I got my photo taken, got my membership card and did a little bit of shopping. We’ve been living here in Maine since 2015 and I have missed their lamb chops, in particular. Yesterday we remedied that - I bought lamb chops (they’re huge, an inch or more high, the best anywhere!) and some fresh raspberries, some cheese and cookies for my sweet hubby. Just a few things and thank goodness because I forgot they don’t take all credit cards … but I had just enough cash! I did have to leave Costco for gas because I had to use a credit card. Ha! Ha! It was fun and I am looking forward to going back during the week.

I reunited with my friend at the hospital and got her back home and headed home myself. It was a nice day. And we had lamb chops for dinner!

I’ve got a few New Year’s FOs. I finished my Sophie Scarf and I wore it for the first time yesterday. It’s a very soft cashmere yarn so it was warm and soft to wear next to the skin. My yarn is a little heavier than they had written the pattern for but it seems to have worked.

My first pair of socks is complete. I knit these in a Patons Kroy yarn. They’re a man’s size 11 1/2 and I needed to add the third ball of yarn just a short way before I was finished. I’ll use the left-overs to make baby mittens for my daughter’s baby for next year. He’ll be ready for them then.

I also finished (the ends are now woven in, I promise) the Ragtop Mitts. They’re fingerless mitts that I knitted up in a random cake of Malabrigo Rios yarn that has been sitting in my stash for ages. I saw the pattern, that can be folded over or left long to keep your fingers warm. I like wearing fingerless mitts but when the steering wheel is cold in the winter, I like to have cold hands! I’ll be wearing mine long in the morning on the way to work.

I finished my Nancy’s Vest!

I will head into town tomorrow morning to see if the buttons for my vest have come in. Once attached, it’ll be done and done. I almost wore it on Friday but decided to wait until the buttons are sewn on. I will be wearing it to the store for my classes on Friday and hopefully my friend and co-worker, Glenda, will have hers done, too. We’ll be twins!

And what’s ON my needles?

I’m working on the sleeves of my Woman’s Favorite Genser. I had finished the majority of the knitting on the first sleeve but had too many stitches to work with the chart and was unsure how to knit a chart with the wrong number of stitches. So, I’ve frogged that sleeve and am knitting it again but with fewer rounds between decreases which will hopefully make the stitch count line up earlier. So far, so good. I love the color and I am looking forward to wearing it. It’s a DK weight which is a good weight for me to wear.

I started a new project, also with stashed yarn. I had two hanks of Juniper Moon Farms Herriot Fine; one is a blue color and the other is an oatmeal-y gray color and I caked them both up to make a double hat. The pattern is called Double Thick Hat. Basically, I’ll knit one hat that’s started with a provisional cast on and then start again with the second colorway and knit the second hat. This will be the project that I can work on and not think about … at least up to the decreases.

I’ve also started, or put back in the active projects bag, a pair of socks with a Maine yarn that I bought ages ago at the Maine Fiber Frolic. It’s a colorway called “Maine Lobstah”. I believe I bought it prior to moving up here year-round. I have learned about a new heel technique called the Strong Heel and I really want to try it. Since I think I’ll be keeping these, I’ll try it. A new customer at the store on Friday told me about the heel and it’s the one she uses all the time. She said it’s easy to remember. We shall see.

I keep pretty good records of all of my knitting projects, yarn, needles, etc. on my Ravelry projects page. I’m LindaR on Ravelry.

My baby orchid has sprouted a new flower stalk. I’m so excited to see it bloom again. This was a gift from my sweetie and it was in bloom when I got it … it’s been about a year since it’s bloomed. I guess it likes it here. I do, too.

Gone knitting.

Beginnings #wovember

Posted on November 1, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Today is the first of November! Yikes! That makes us 5/6ths of the way through the year 2023. It was a clear cold morning here on the lake and the sky was beautiful. Looking out our bedroom window is always a treat.

I’m going to participate (or at least try) in Wovember which begins today. The month belongs to recognizing wool as a premium textile that comes directly from sheep (and does not harm the sheep to have it removed.) I love wool and choose to knit with a natural wool when possible or practical.

Today I cast on a new project because I’ve got a few that are smaller projects and I need a big one to be accomplished this month. (I’ll be reaching out to a friend to ask her thoughts on how to finish the sleeve on my Favorite genser, too. I’d love to have that off my list and I’m so close!) I’m knitting Nancy’s Vest by Carol Sunday (a paid pattern on Ravelry.) I’ve been wanting a more traditional button-down vest and I think this one will be a perfect one.

This is the second cast on (and the proper one!) I followed Carol’s tutorial for a Tubular Cast On which tells me to cast on half the number of stitches that I need with a backward loop cast on (way easier than a long-tail cast on when you’re casting on 351 stitches) using a contrasting color of yarn. Since I need an odd number, I will round UP to 176 (pink yarn). I want a stretchy cast on because it’s the bottom of my vest and so I started by knitting the right side and continuing in stockinette stitch for two rows. On the fourth row, wrong side, I purl 1 and then bring the yarn forward to knit into the back of the purl bump in the first row knitted with my working yarn (gray). I’ve taken some photos and I hope they help …

Photo 1 – the first stitch on the left hand needle will be purled … the normal way … and then bring the yarn to the back. The stitches on the right needle have already been worked and I can see the purl bumps from the first knitted row in grey between the pink “lines”.

Photo 2 – We are going to knit into the back of the stitch that is the first round of gray stitches. We will pick it up on the left needle going through the stitch from top to bottom. The gray stitch we are after is found “between” the pink lines, so to speak.

Photo 3 – Picking up the gray stitch from the top to bottom on the left-hand needle and knit it through the back loop. Bring the yarn to the front.

Photo 4 – I’ve knit through the back loop of the picked up stitch. You can see the stitches we’re after (between the pink yarn “rows” really well here. They’re not difficult to pick up but it is a little fiddly.

Photo 5 – Once you work across the row as described above, you remove the pink yarn. I used my blunt tipped sewing needle to grab the pink stitches from the left side to the right side one by one. Another fiddly step but it’s not difficult. Slow and steady wins the race. Note: this is the wrong side of the work.

Now I just have to knit a couple of inches of 1×1 ribbing before I get to the body of the vest.

I’ll post more photos of the finished ribbing when I have a little bit to photograph. The bottom of the ribbing, though, looks like it just started out of nowhere. Lovely!

I’m knitting this vest in Manos del Uruguay’s Milo (65% merino wool, 35% linen). It comes in a 100g hank with 380 yards making it a sport weight. I’m using a US4 needle for the ribbing. Check out my progress on my Ravelry project page. I’m Lindar on Ravelry.

Gone knitting.

A Wonderful Week on the West Coast

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

I’m back in the east coast time (and I’ve adjusted to the time change) after a wonderful week in California. My daughter and son-in-love and their daughter and dogs have moved to San Diego for three months for my daughter’s work. She’s performing a new play about Billie Jean King called Love All at the La Jolla Playhouse. I was brought out to California because they needed childcare for a week when dad had to travel for his work and I was all too happy to oblige!

My granddaughter is sitting up all by herself now and starting to get up on her knees and rock. She is a professional sleeper and loves to eat just about anything you feed her … but she doesn’t like eggs. We took lots of walks, played on the floor a ton and snuggled a bunch. It was wonderful spending the time with her. Bonus – I got to spend some time with her mother, too. I love seeing my daughter with her daughter. It absolutely fills my heart.

We visited the San Diego Zoo Safari Park which was incredible! We even saw a platypus. They’re much smaller than I’d thought they were. We walked all over the park and it was amazing. The weather was cool and overcast so it was a perfect day to see all the animals and they weren’t hiding in the shade. We too their African Cart ride and saw so many animals up pretty close. We all agreed it was a wonderful place and worth every cent!

Most mornings I walked from my AirBnB to my daughter’s apartment and along the way I enjoyed the flora and fauna. (Luckily I didn’t see much fauna other than birds.) The plants, though, according to my daughter and I agreed, looked very much like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Little did we know that Theodore Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) lived in San Diego/ La Jolla from 1948 until his death in 1991. So, when you’re reading Green Eggs and Ham or the Cat in the Hat, you’ll see exactly what La Jolla looks like! Some of the plants I loved are pictured above. The trees with few leaves and huge red flowers were among my favorites!

We went to the La Jolla Cove and walked along the coast after lunch. There were sea lions everywhere sunning themselves. And there were lots of babies. Living along the hillsides were hundreds of cormorants, some with nests and young. And more flowers on the hillside to make things pretty. It was a fascinating walk and fun people watching.

I have been knitting, too, I just didn’t get a lot of knitting done when I was in California. I’ve finished socks for my daughter, Libet. I used my favorite sock pattern by Yankee Knitter (#29 Classic Socks) and some deeply stashed yarn which turned out to be Dream in Color yarn. (All the details are on my project page in Ravelry.) I love the way these socks turned out. The colorway is an incredible mix of purples of all shades and they’re subtle until you look at them closely. I think she’ll be pleased. The color doesn’t photograph well and falls somewhere between the two photos below. What’s a knitter to do?

I finished the Tybee Sweater for Sylvie before I left and gave it a good wash and block. It’s so cute and it fits!!! I loved knitting this sweater, it’s soft against the skin and the colorway is brilliant – rainbows in softer shades. I love the buttons that I found for it at RIx Rax in Montreal. They’re vintage orange plastic (washable) and they’re perfect for this cardigan. The baby wore it several times in CA.

I also finished my Old Port Hat by Andrea Mowry. This was a fun hat to knit – and I still don’t like myself in hats. I’m not sure there is a hat in this world that I will like on myself. I knitted this hat in a collection of left-over yarns that were in my stash. I had some left over bright pink alpaca that I used for the ear flap lining and then I had some Patagonia and some Rowan Felted Tweed. They are all, for the most part, used up. Woo! Hoo! I love it when I decide to knit something and don’t have to buy new yarn for it. The hat is really interesting to knit and I love the way it looks. I may decide to wear it this winter even though I don’t like it on me. It will be nice and warm!

According to my records, that means that I’ve finished 27 projects so far this year. Remaining WIPs on my needles are: My Favorite Genser (Norwegian pullover), Three Season Cardigan, and I just started while I was away a summer sweater, Lane’s Island Pullover by Lori Versaci. The original design was two-color stripes but I’m knitting it in one color (ivory) in a recycled fiber, Remix Light by Berroco yarns. I have another sweater (or two, now that I think of it) in this yarn and I love it year-round. This white one will be really versatile, too. I’ve completed up to the arm pit decreases and have a few more inches to go on the front. It will have 3/4 sleeves. (No photos.)

I’ve still got a few of the Arne and Carlos mini Nordic jumpers to finish and one of these days I’ll just get it done. I’ve finished through #18 … seven are left. I have until December, right?

I also have a pair of mittens that I started eons ago. They’re super cute but they seem to be coming out too big (again!) I’ve started this pattern once before and I’m not sure why they’re so big. I’ve got to measure the gauge to see if I’m on the right track … and if they’re way off, I may put these aside forever. Or at least for awhile. Or forever.

Gone knitting.

To Balance the Personal Non-Knitting Stuff …

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s another beautiful day here on the lake. A lot of sun and a little breeze. Just about perfect. We had coffee on the porch and watched an eagle, a pair of wood ducks, and other water birds.

I wanted to post a bit about knitting because I am knitting. Trying to balance the post about the railroad and the lake that I posted earlier this morning (written yesterday.)

My last knitting post was about my last two FOs: the Daisy Cardigan and the Jasmine Romper, both for my granddaughter. I love knitting little things. And with that in mind …

This is the most recent pattern that I’ve knitted for Sylvie. The pattern is free on Ravelry and is published on Knitty.com. If you haven’t heard of Knitty.com, it’s an emailed magazine of electronic patterns and this was one of their patterns from awhile back. The original was a leopard print but I couldn’t imagine doing the duplicate stitching that would be required AND I already had the yarn in pink … although there’s a story about that, too.

Jane of the Jungle is a two-piece pattern in two sizes for babies/toddlers. Mine is a peanut so even this smaller size may not fit her this summer. Time will tell. I knitted the top first and it’s really simple and makes me giggle – a halter top for a baby? Ha! Ha! The icord straps will make it a little softer around baby’s neck. The bottoms are also pretty cute. These may end up being used often. They’re knitted in one piece, the ruffles are knitted first and then added in – I knit the ruffle stitches together with the pants stitches and it was a little bit fiddly but much easier than sewing them on afterward. All I need to do is weave in the ends and seam the sides of the pants and this outfit will be ready for the beach!

I ran out of pink yarn (and I don’t love working with Cascade’s Fixation. I’m sorry, I just don’t.) a little bit past the crotch of the bottoms. Of course I did! I considered several “saves” possible – frog back to the ruffles and knit the ruffles in a different color, frog the top and re-knit in a different or two colors to match the newly reimagined bottoms, or bite the bullet and buy more yarn. I was hoping to use up yarn not buy more yarn. Well, I lost at yarn chicken … and the new ball is a different lot number and just a slightly different color … so I did end up frogging back a bit and starting the new ball just in the middle of the legs. So be it. Note to self: Next time. start with using two colors so you don’t have to buy more.

Spoiler Alert!

I’m also working away, although I’m a little bit behind, on Romi’s 11th Annual MKAL called, Falderal. We know it’s a two-color triangular shawl (you can buy the pattern on Ravelry.)

I’ve wanted to knit a Romi Hill pattern for a long time and for whatever reason, this is the one that I am starting with and I have enjoyed it so far. The MKAL is in five parts and we have had three parts released. I’m still finishing part two … I said that I was a little bit behind, right? If you are knitting this shawl and are behinder than I am and don’t want to see what it’ll look like then stop reading here.

Part One was a lace triangle. The lace was simple enough and the cast on was interesting. I am enjoying the recordings of the lives from YouTube. I won’t be able to watch any lives because they’re always on a day that I work. But it’s ok. They’re recorded.

Part Two adds in the second color and it’s an interesting slip stitch pattern with some simple cables. I’ve finished the first of the two charts in this section and am about to jump into the second chart. The photos are not of the end of the first chart or the end of the second part, but here’s what I had as of yesterday afternoon … I never did get dressed yesterday.

I have made no progress on my Three Seasons Cardigan. I haven’t even tried. My thinking was that I would be taking my Romi shawl with me when we travel to Knit City Montreal in a couple of weeks but I think we will be getting clue 5 when we’re there. I’ll have to plan to bring a different shawl.

I am knitting the Three Seasons Cardigan in Katia Concept Cotton-Merino in the black colorway. This is the colorway that I saw when I fell in love with this pattern. AND the yarn is not disappointing me at all. The stitch definition is amazing. The yarn is soft and nice to knit with and the pattern is very well written. I am at the end of the first 50 rows of the back and am about to begin the arm scye (a little triangle added in so that you can have a nice smooth arm pit.) I’ll have this sweater done in time to wear it this fall and winter. It’s not a pattern that I can knit when I’m in a group or that I can knit and watch TV because I tend to make mistakes in the charts. But it’s getting easier to follow as I go and now that I can read my knititng.

I also cast on a pair of socks. I love knitting socks and have a small horde of sock yarns. This pair will be for my daughter, Libet. She chose the yarn from my stash. It’s from deep stash, I have absolutely no recollection of where I bought it but it’s knitting up to be quite pretty. Wherever I bought it, good for me! Ha! Ha! I haven’t taken any photographs yet. Coming soon to a post near you?

I still have a few projects in project bags on the shelf in my studio. My genser, a pair of colorwork mittens and Arne and Carlos mini Nordic jumpers (they have got to be finished before Christmas!) There may be more in the cabinet in my atelier but I don’t want to know about that right now. What I have out, what I can see is enough to keep me going for a while. At least my boss is coming back to Maine this week and I won’t be working any extra days. More time to knit!

Gone knitting.

WIP Monday

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

This morning was one of those lovely sunny spring mornings when all seems right with the world. I had an 8:00am phone call with one of the other lake association heads to discuss a possible collaborative approach to milfoil mitigation going forward. It was a good talk and I value their work in our region. Our lake association is a group of dedicated volunteers and we’ve been fighting an uphill battle for funding since our inception but we’ve done incredible work. Volunteers are more difficult to find these days and finding a seasonal workforce has become much more difficult since the pandemic. It’s been a busy two years as the president of Friends of Messalonskee and I’m getting ready to pass the torch at the end of July.

I’ll have more time to knit, want to add time for sewing more and did I mention that I will have more time to knit?

I’ve been making progress on my Arne and Carlos Mini Nordic Jumpers Advent Calendar. I’ve mostly finished numbers 17 and 18. I only have to seam the underarms and block them. They take about a day to knit and it’s so satisfying to finish something. I have another seven to finish before the end of November. I think this year I may actually get there.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to display these sweaters in our house … any suggestions? I was thinking a “laundry line” hanging in front of the windows in the living room. I’m not sure about it so any suggestions are most welcome.

I’ve restarted my Favorite Genser but to be fully honest, I haven’t been focusing too much on getting it knitted because I have a very important socks to knit. Today I made it to the toe of the second pair of “the longest pair of socks ever” … and I will have the first sock finished before I go to bed tonight. I’m knitting a new pair of socks for my “baby” brother who is having a birthday next month. He’s a really exceptional brother (my big brother is, too!) and I wanted to make him some new sister-made socks for this birthday. It’s a big one for both of us this year. I’ve chosen to knit his socks in the “Legal Tender” colorway of Practically Perfect Sock by Emma’s Yarn. His favorite color is green and the word “legal” reminded me of our father. No pictures allowed because I want him to be the first to see them. I did show you a very starting photo here.

I’m making slow progress on Sylvie’s little bamboo & cotton romper. This is quite a fun knitting pattern and I can’t wait to see her little pudgy legs in it. There are lots of colors of Bamboo Pop and I chose white. It’s a good summer colorway. Maybe I’ll make another one, too.

On April 1 we are starting a Plant Fiber-Along at work. I’m technically leading the PFAL (see what I did there?) I have some worsted weight cotton that I would love to knit out of my stash. I was given it by a former student and her parents from back in the day when I was a school “nurse” at an elementary school. It’s a light teal-y blue and it’s really soft. I’ve got five hanks of the yarn and I hope it’ll be enough for a sleeveless tank or a tee shirt. I’ve got to start something so I can show my progress in our Sunday email newsletter. It may end up being a little sweater for my granddaughter … Hey! It could be worse, right?

I have other projects on the needles that I’m not even paying attention to right now. And sweaters worth of yarn to get done. So much knitting, so little time. Gone knitting.