Queen Bee Knits

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

What a Week!

Posted on February 11, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

I’m sitting at my desk having finished my newsletter for the store and adding the subscribers to the list. I don’t love “working” on Sunday. I like to keep it set aside as a day for me but some weeks this just doesn’t happen. This was one of those weeks.

We drove back from New York City on Monday after a fun but disappointing visit. We had gone down to meet a little dog at the Humane Society that we’ve been approved to adopt. She’s a 4 year-old shitzu, bichon and maybe a bit of poodle thrown in mix. I fully expected to bring her home with us but got a call on Sunday night with a health update that triggered me as my Boq died with the same two “issues”. I ended up cancelling my meeting and we came home requesting more time for me to think about whether we want to adopt a young dog with potential health issues that might require a special diet and/or medication. I’m so grateful for the understanding and caring response from the Humane Society. We’re now on hold until we get back from a family wedding in a few weeks and we’ll see if the medical issues have resolved and decide about next steps. This is a great and very thorough place that really wants adoptions to succeed and so do we. I know I’ll fall in love with her if I see her so I’m trying to step back from the emotion and take care of myself first in this instance. After 40+ years of taking care of everybody else first, I’m really trying to listen to myself and leave space for me to practice self-care first. I was proud that I could speak my truth and name my concerns and ask for some more time. I was rewarded with a wonderful conversation and a mutual understanding. Bravo, me!

Monday evening I was dropped off at Maine Arts Academy in Augusta to attend a board meeting. It was a great meeting and I’m so proud of our school and proud to be associated with it, too. We had a student visit to update us on her life today after we granted her an early graduation last year. She’s an incredible young woman who will do great things and it was so thoughtful that she wanted to thank us and update us on her life.

The next couple of days I got all the house and home stuff caught up so that I could work at the end of the week. I baked some bread and some hermits (read about it here) and it’s been fun to share the cookies at work with my wonderful co-worker friends. I am so fortunate to work with some excellent, creative, smart women! I’ve been at the store working and teaching for the last three days and today is (finally) a day for me to catch up … again. Ha! Ha!

Photo by Melissa Blackall Photography – “Of This Place”

Friday night we went to Colby College to see the performance of “Of This Place” in the new Gordon Center. The new theater space is amazing and I really enjoyed the performance. My only criticism is that they’ve not completed the sound system and it was difficult to hear some parts of the spoken words. I loved that it was a multi-generational collaborative performance that included kids from a Waterville elementary school, staff and alumni, students from Colby and Maine Arts Academy, and professional dancers, too. I’m not a dancer and don’t pretend to be but I do like to watch dance and admire people who can dance.

All of this to say that I haven’t gotten a lot of knitting done this week. When I was teaching class on Friday morning I realized that I didn’t have some of the stuff I needed to knit, other projects needed more attention than I could give at that time and place. What’s a knitter to do? I have worked a little bit on the second sleeve of my Norwegian sweater and I’m up to the heel of my Hermione’s Everyday sock. My friend Glenda and I are going to do another self-imposed KAL and we’ve picked Christopher’s Bunny by Susan B. Anderson to be our project. I may choose to cast on today … although, I’d love to finish the sleeves of my sweater. I’m so close that I’m not sure why I’m continuing to put it off. I NEED to do our laundry because I have one pair of underwear left in my bureau. Ha! Ha! I SHOULD vacuum and wet mop the upstairs because my allergies are showing their ugly heads … between the unseasonably warm weather and lack of snow, I’m afraid it’s going to be a really bad year for allergies. Our road is already thinking it’s mud season and I was white-knuckling the drive home last night as my car was sucked into the muddy ruts.

Enough “griping” … I’m off to attack this beauty of a day. Wish me luck.

Gone knitting … I think.

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.

After Christmas Report

Posted on December 27, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

We are back home after a wonderful whirlwind Christmas trip to New York City. Rather than spending the holiday staring at each other, we decided to head to the city to spend the holiday with our NY family and, maybe most importantly, our granddaughter.

We ate and drank and played games and watched movies, we spent lots of time together enjoying each other’s company. Christmas Eve we ate beef stew and shrimp scampi at B&K’s apartment and Christmas morning was also at their place where we had cinnamon rolls, muffins, mimosas and eggs and bacon. Christmas dinner was at K&S’s apartment and we had lasagna two ways, garlic bread and kale salad. I so love spending time with my family. We fit in time for baking Spritz cookies which is a family tradition and the kids even snuck a few into our bag when we were heading home. A nice surprise!

I designed my first “real” sweater for my granddaughter’s second Christmas and I wanted to show it to you. I have to look into how to grade and tech edit (and test knit) the pattern and decide if it’s worth it to publish the pattern. It’s a chimney sweater and popping out of the chimney is the jolly old elf. I had to re-knit the yoke to make it deep enough to fit a pair of little arms but I am pleased with the way it fit our little elf.

The sweater is knit in a DK weight yarn and fits my darling elf perfectly. The hat is a special addition because I wanted it to look like Santa’s head is popping out of the chimney. I added the little green garland to give it a pop of color. It’s sewn on with cotton thread. The little hat also fit perfectly and my daughter loved it. I’m guessing an elf hat will be requested another time.

I also knitted two berets for my future daughter-in-love. She requested spring weight hats for her golfing when the days are a bit chilly. I pulled tan yarn from around the store one day and she chose two favorites. A Malabrigo Arroyo in colorway 131 Sandbank. I wouldn’t have looked at this color twice (or once) but I really love the color and the hat is stunning. I loved the icord edging and will be looking forward to the report from the wearer. I was so excited to finish the hat before leaving the city that I forgot to photograph it. I have one in-process photo.

The pattern, Bisbis by Sari Nordlund, is simple enough for an adventurous beginner, starting with an i-cord and increasing rapidly. It’s a bit fiddly to do because you have only a few stitches on DPNs but it was easily completed in about 7 hours total knitting. I started it on Friday in my knitting class holding a strand of mohair with the sport weight superwash but I didn’t like the fuzziness. So, on Saturday on the ride into NYC, I frogged it and started again with just the Arroyo. I loved it.

The other hat is One Day Beret by Kristin Kapur. This one was knit in Cascade’s Aegean Tweed which is an organic merino wool and I used two colors and knitted two-round stripes. I carried the yarn on the inside of the hat so I didn’t have lots of ends to weave in. I also loved the way this hat knit up and the yarn is wonderful to work with. In fact, it was very similar to my favorite yarn, Patagonia by Juniper Moon Farms. Both are organic merino and they’re similar weights. This hat is a bit larger than Bisbis and ends in ribbing. It’ll be interesting to see which hat fits better, which is the better size, etc.

I’ve got to get better about photographing the hats at the end … I get excited and forget. Haha! Oh well. You can get the gist of what it looks like by this photo. I added a bit of an i-cord “string” or whatever that part of the tam/beret is called that sits at the top and then began the pattern. I am really pleased with both hats.

I have a long list of projects to start in the New Year. Mostly gifts but a few for myself. Sock for my daughter, Love and Light for my nephew’s bride-to-be for their shower, another for my bonus daughter’s engagement gift I want to finish my gnome KAL and knit the Arne & Carlos Advent Christmas Stocking for myself. My stocking isn’t my favorite anymore … and needs to be changed out. I’ll keep the old one just in case we get lucky and have all the kids for Christmas at our house one year.

I’ve been working on a pair of socks for my bonus son-in-law for a future gift and my Nancy’s vest. I’ve nearly reached the end of the button hold section and will be happy to wear it in the New Year. I have to find 7 perfect buttons for it, too. I have two sleeves to finish my Norwegian knitting project … actually, it’s one sleeve and a little bit of a second. I’ve had a challenge in how to knit a chart with the wrong number of stitches while decreasing to the right number of stitches. But I’ll figure it out. I hope. I’m so close to being able to wear it!

We will be spending New Year’s Eve with my brothers and their brides and we’re excited to see them. I hope your Christmas was merry and your New Year is healthy and happy!

Gone fishing.

A Very Long Ride Home on 12/26! Lots of tail lights for sure.

With Gratitude for all of our Blessings

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

We got home last night from a wonderful Thanksgiving trip to see Ned’s youngest and her fiance and to meet her future in-laws. His oldest daughter and her husband came out, too. It was a wonderful (almost) week with our family!!!

We went for a great walk on their near-by bike trail, spent lots of time eating and chatting, had the most wonderful Thanksgiving feast with Jake’s family, went bowling (and tested Ned’s new hip), ate at a delicious Indian restaurant with Jake’s family and went for a drive to the mountains and had lunch in Golden.

Highlights were seeing a pair of buck moose on the way to a state park photo spot. They were just enjoying their nibbles a bit off the side of the street. We stopped, of course, like foolish tourists and took photos. We supposed that they wouldn’t be able to reach us quickly because there was a six-foot barbed wire fence between us … we also did not try to annoy them closer to us. AND when we got to the scenic overlook of the mountains it was breathtakingly beautiful. Those mountains are incredible. We were treated to witnessing a proposal. We saw a woman “lurking” at the side of the trail and a couple walked hand-in-hand to a little clearing near the trail and before we knew it, they were face to face (at a distance from where we were standing and he got down on one knee. The lurker was a photographer and we were the unintended witnesses. A privilege to witness such a special intimate moment in a couple’s life.

We adore the new family we are adding to ours and are so excited for Amy & Jake’s wedding so we can get back to Denver. I missed being able to visit with my “little mentee” from Florida who has moved to the Denver environs with her little family. She was sick and I couldn’t risk getting sick because I have babysitting duty in NYC this weekend. I also was reminded that an Instagram knitting friend is in Denver but their Thanksgiving was on the day that we had time/opportunity to visit so we’ve postponed both until June. I also didn’t get to visit any yarn shops which will happen in June. But it was an excellent visit and we look forward to more in the future. Guess it’s time to get a Southwest Airlines credit card for the points, right?

My knitting sure took a back seat to visiting with the kids and family. I worked a bit on the blue baby sweater for one of my daughter’s bestie’s new baby boy. I have to finish the button bands and block it and get some buttons on Thursday at work and it’ll be done. I frogged the mistakes in my Nancy’s vest and have begun re-knitting with ten rows between buttonholes. Good grief, I can’t believe I read the pattern so badly the first time. I’ve said before that knitting is a humbling experience and this was once again proof of that. I started a pair of socks with yarn that has been deeply stashed (another one, yes!) in a Maine Lobster colorway. My intent is that they’re for me this time. The last ones I knit for me years ago felted slightly in the wash despite them being superwash wool … and I gifted them to Kate who has smaller feet.

I adore this man and the family that we’ve built together. I hope we get at least another 20 years to watch them all grow together! We are so lucky to have found each other and to have weathered the weirdness that we’ve been through at different times. We are grateful to live in our beautiful home and to have some wonderful friends who make our life richer and we are most thankful for our health and our children, children-in-love, and of course our grandchild.

Life is good. Our hearts are full. Gone knitting.

PS. While we were gone, we started the process of fixing up our little wonky cabin which will be available for rent (hopefully) next summer. We lived in the cabin for seven months when we were building our house. I think it’s especially a great place for writers, artists, contemplation … I know we did a lot of growing together in those seven months (and it was darned cold for the last few weeks!) More on that to follow.

How Today’s Going

Posted on November 15, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Today is my last day at home before returning to work after having some cruddy virus-type thing. I’m still coughing and stuffy but I do think I’m on the upswing and am feeling much better. My sweetie not so much. Today’s been one of those days where your plan just keeps falling apart.

I always spend a few minutes at my desk in the morning to have a look at what I need to get done that day, if I have any meetings, etc. Today I got myself ready to start the day and headed downstairs to fold the laundry. When I went into the bathroom I noticed that the toilet seat needed attention so I cleaned it up. The sink also needed attention so I cleaned it and the counter. Finally, it was time to fold the laundry and put it away. Done and dusted. I thought I’d make granola next and walked by my purse in the front hall which reminded me that I had wanted to changing purses so I went into our closet and found that my two vintage Coach purses at the bottom of the bin were moldy so I grabbed the shoe polish and the purses and went out into the kitchen to clean and polish them. My purses look brand new after more than 40 years and I switched my stuff from my “fall” purse into the oldest and smallest Coach purse that I have. I bought it on sale at Lord & Taylor in Manhattan when I lived and worked there. It was my first ever Coach purse. After putting the other purses back in the closet, I got out the makings for granola.

And while the oats, etc. were toasting, I remembered to catch up on my Wovember posts on Instagram.I know that committing myself to these monthly postings is going to be tough but I try it again and again. I was really behind … like 5 or six days behind. I’d thought about the posts and had taken some photos but needed to take a photo of the afghan that my grandmother’s friend Ruth gave to me as a shower or wedding gift the first time I was married. Ruth is my knitting hero. She could knit while drinking coffee, smoking a cigarette and watching TV. The afghan remains one of my favorites despite the acrylic yarn. I noticed it needs some repair – it has a few pulls – and I’ve added that to my mending list. I wrote my post while the liquid part of the granola was melting and then put the granola together and back into the oven.

I had emptied a bottle of fizzy water and hadn’t refilled it so I did that, put away the dry dishes on the drainboard, cleaned up the kitchen and washed the top of the island (I had to scrub a bit of shoe polish off.) Meanwhile, I’d forgotten to eat breakfast so I grabbed the last of the baked oatmeal out of the freezer and popped it into the microwave. See how it’s gone? I’ve made headway into the day but geez, there’s a lot of side trips! Ha! Ha!

Look how happy my houseplants are! I am thrilled to see the show they’re putting on this year. My Thanksgiving Cactus is in full bloom. It’s absolutely covered with flowers. The second one, is blooming too but nowhere near as fully as the red one. Our orchids are STILL blooming. They’ve been incredible and in nearly constant bloom for months. Yes, you read that right, MONTHS! My father would be so proud of me and I know that Helen is smiling.

I really am knitting. I’m endeavoring to design a Christmas sweater for Sylvie. She’s a year old but she’s a peanut so I’m not sure what size to knit but I’ve just begun and am hoping it’ll fit! I’ll write the pattern down when it’s done … maybe … but I think it’ll be cute and different. I’ve got the body done and am knitting the sleeves. Since they’re little, they won’t take a lot of time. The Yoke will be worked pretty simply with raglan decreases and then embellished once the sweater is knitted. I’m not going to share any more photos (the one below was posted to Instagram) until it’s finished but there are hints on my Ravelry project page.

I’ve set aside my pink mittens with some of the embroidery done and some yet to do. I’ll get them finished when I am done with Sylvie’s sweater. They may travel with me for Thanksgiving. We shall see. I’m continuing to work on my Nancy’s Vest slowly but surely and mostly in the evenings when I am too tired for colorwork and design work. I’ve got five of the seven button holes knitted so I’m making progress. I hope it’s going to be long enough … it looks like it could be really short. If that’s the case, I’ll rip it out and start again. I am trying to take my own advice and trust the pattern.

My gray socks are still on the needles. I found a dropped stitch way back and pulled it up as far as I dared. I’ll secure the one stitch when it’s finishing time. I’ve already added a stitch so that my count is correct. They’re for me so it doesn’t really matter if they’re perfect. Well. they’re perfectly imperfect.

My studio and home are a mess and I can’t leave for Thanksgiving before it’s cleaned up a little bit. Guess we’ll be vacuuming and dusting this weekend. Holiday travel is not my cup of tea and I’m trying to get myself into the mindset that what happens happens. We are so fortunate to be able to travel and to be invited for a Thanksgiving visit. Our generator is in good working order should we lose power and we have Tom coming to raise our guest cottage sometime during the long weekend so he’ll check on the water issue (we’re waiting on parts so it can be fixed.) Monk will be happy to see his friends at the kennel. We have everything that’s within our control done. The rest is up to the universe.

Gone knitting.

PS. Two more thoughts. First. I went to the doctor because I wasn’t feeling well on Thursday last week. When we bring our dog to the veterinarian, they call to see how he’s doing after the visit. I’ve heard not one word from my doctor. Second. The weather is really feeling wintery now. We (the royal we) covered the garlic with straw and it’s time to cover the Rhododendrons that we’ve been nursing for years. They’re getting a bit bigger but the weight of the snow (and the workers) may hurt them. Guess it’s time to put the life jackets and oars away, too. The dock’s only been gone a month or so. An extra thought. Be kind. Everyone’s fighting battles these days. Politics is ugly, war is ugly, and it’s difficult to wrap my head around the things people say to each other. What we can all do every day is to be kind. It takes so little effort.

Homecoming

Posted on October 31, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

I got home yesterday from the longest time I’ve been away from home since … well, I’m not sure. Suffice it to say, that I haven’t been gone for more than a week for years. I was ready to come home but I really enjoyed our/my travels. I haven’t been knitting much but my heart is full.

My dear hubby and I went to New York City for a few days to celebrate our granddaughter’s first birthday. Yes, you read that right, she’s one year old! That may have been the quickest year yet. Just sayin’. We spent the weekend with my son and his fiancee and it was wonderful. I love seeing all of my kiddos and on Monday we got to celebrate our “little monster” with family and friends.

Notice that Sylvie is wearing the Tybe cardigan that I knitted for her in Berroco Vivo (cotton) and it’s a perfect fit right now. I made the 9 month size … she’s a little peanut. But she loves chewing on the vintage buttons that I bought when I was at Knit City Montreal and they remain the perfect buttons! She’s a walker now and it was so much fun to watch her explore.

He’s Hungry … Caterpillar in Berroco Comfort and Comfort Print

I brought her a few hand made gifts for her birthday. I finished knitting the Very Hungry Caterpillar that I started ages ago. The yarn is perfect for the project and I did use the yarn the pattern called for, Berroco Comfort and Comfort Print. The pattern could be better … but you get what you pay for – it was free. If I were to make this again, I’d make the body and then after decreasing for the last time, I’d pick up the head from the body and knit the head rather than knitting it separately and then sewing it together. I’d also add some legs because the caterpillar in the books DOES have legs. We checked. But it’s a cute little gift and Sylvie loves books.

I also made Sylvie a couple of pairs of Harem pants. I sewed them without making any glaring mistakes and I was proud to finish them without any drama. They don’t fit her yet but … that’s the story of my life with this little one. Either her mom will send them back to me (I brought her a proper measuring tape) with a better waist measurement OR she’ll grow into them. They’re awfully cute!

Also finished and delivered to New York were three hats and a little newborn cardigan. Some for Sylvie and some for one of my daughter’s friends who are expecting boys. I knitted two of the Garter Ear Flap hats in beautiful alpaca yarn. This hat is SO soft! They both ultimately had pompoms on them but I didn’t photograph the second one when it was finished. Oops! I also knitted a tiny Newborn Vertebrae cardigan. The blue hat and the cardi are for my daughter’s friends. The raspberry hat and the turkey hat are for Sylvie. I designed the turkey hat and will write down the pattern soon. I may make it available on Ravelry. I have a couple of patterns that I should publish. The turkey was one that my daughter pointed out last year and I never got around to knitting it. This year, I did. It’s probably a bit large for Sylvie at this point but it’s pretty cute.

I have finished two pairs of socks for Christmas presents. I don’t think the giftees are reading this but I’m going to err on the safe side and say that you should have a look at my Ravelry page if you really want to see them right this minute. Otherwise, I’ll post pictures after the holidays are over and the gifts are given.

I wound yarn from our trip to Knit City Montreal, these were the “official” yarns sold by the event organizers and I HAD to buy them both. Haha! I thought it would be a great idea to make a pair of mittens that I also saw there and bought a kit with which to embroider said mittens … but I started knitting the cuff and it wasn’t what I had in mind at all. BUT when I was in North Carolina with my college friends to celebrate our collective 65th birthdays, I found a yarn shop right around the corner from where we were shopping and popped in. They carry Berroco yarns and I hoped that they’d have a lace weight mohair in a similar light pink colorway. And they did!

I like this second combination so much better!

And I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the second half of my travels. My hubby dropped me off at my college friend’s house in Weymouth, MA on the way home from NYC. I spent a day with her before we flew to Raleigh-Durham, NC and drove to Pinehurst to celebrate our 65th birthdays. We were to have been 8 but ended up being 7 because our dear Nell got Covid and was unable to travel. We were all bummed to hear that bit of bad news.

I’ve known these women since the fall of 1976 when we first met as freshmen at Wells College. We’ve been friends since – 47 years ago. We often skip months or years but when we get together it’s as if no time has passed. What an honor it is to have such wonderful women in my life and it’s a true blessing to have such long-time friends. We spent a long weekend at Betsy’s house in Pinehurst and it was a perfect weekend. Shopping, eating, taking walks, reading, knitting and laughing … there was lots of laughing! Betsy pulled out all the stops and wins the hostess with the mostest award. She even booked us all a sound bath session with her friends and neighbor.

Wells College ’80 Celebrating 65th Birthdays

There’s a lot of wisdom and experience in this group and we are all so fortunate to be enjoying life at our age. Many haven’t had that chance. We have all grown and changed but as soon as we are together again, it’s like no time has passed … the years melt away.

Gone knitting.

Mid-October WIPs and FOs

Posted on October 15, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

I slept a little bit late this morning and missed the sunrise. It was a rough night. I left my snoring hubby and went up to sleep in the guest room around midnight but woke up all by myself at 3am and couldn’t get back to sleep. But today waits and we had things to do around the house that we’ve been putting off. We vacuumed the house, I assembled our new rolling hamper and we helped our friend get her garage door working. We also hit Helen’s garden in front of our bedroom window. It was full of (what I think is called) strangle vine and it’s getting to the bushes and perennials in the bed. We’re going to have to keep a close eye on that bed in the spring! We can’t use any herbicides because we’re so close to the lake. Best we can do is a strong vinegar mix.

I’ve been busy with meetings and work and events but I’ve also been working in my studio and have a bunch of projects on the needles and a few that are finished. With the craziness in the world with the wars between Israel and Hamas and Ukraine and Russia and all of the heartache that they bring coupled with the chaos in the American government, I’ve been struggling to keep my own sense of peace within me. I don’t like what the Israeli government has done to the Palestinian people but I despise that Hamas has kidnapped women and children and the bombing, murder and mayhem is horrible. I can only imagine how all the mothers and children, in particular, must feel as their homes are destroyed and their loved ones are killed.

I’ve discovered that when I’m feeling out of control and world events are so disturbing that I tend to cast on new projects. I’ve cast on six new projects; all of them are smaller projects than the sweater that I’ve been trying to finish. I have finished two hats and a newborn sweater.

The hats are the same pattern knitted in Cascade’s Baby Alpaca worsted yarn. This was on clearance at my LYS and I couldn’t resist buying a couple skeins for hats for babies. The yarn is so soft! The hat on the left is completed here, the hat on the right has also been washed and blocked and has a pompom, too. The pattern is Garter Ear Flap hat by Purl Soho. They have a bunch of wonderful and free patterns on their website. There used to be a store in New York City but it’s been closed and remains so. Bummer. It was a fun place to visit. We went there once.

The baby sweater pattern is called Newborn Vertebrae and it’s a free pattern on Ravelry. This one is for one of my daughter’s friends who is having a baby boy soon. I love knitting this little sweater for wee ones. It’s really only a back and arm covering because newborns are most often being held against the body. This one is made of an Online Linie fingering weight yarn in a self-striping colorway. I bought one 50g ball and hoped it would be enough … it almost was. Thank goodness I’m a bit of a hoarder (of yarn) and I had a tiny bit of leftover yarn from a pair of socks that was a perfect match and I was able to get the ribbing around the front completed. (I really only needed enough for a row or two.)

My WIPs list is a bit longer than it was but I was reminded that I had a few things to get on the needles that can’t really wait forever. My Norwegian sweater is in time out for a bit. I’ve almost finished the first sleeve and when I got to the place where I should begin the colorwork, I have too many stitches and I’m not sure how to handle it without going back and adjusting my decreases. I know that the traditional Norwegian knitters wouldn’t do that but I can’t seem to figure it out their way.

I’ve cast on a pair of purple socks, plain vanilla, with my Yankee Knitter pattern. I’ve knit so many socks that I’ve worn out more than one paper copy of the pattern. I now own an electronic version and hope that will last for the times when I can’t remember what I need to do next. I have mostly memorized the pattern. The yarn is Cascade Heritage and it was found in a basket when I was searching for blue yarn for the Newborn Vertebrae. I cast on immediately because it’s such a pretty color!

I’m also knitting a white garter stitch hat for my granddaughter. It’s a turkey hat, a replication of one that my daughter sent me a picture of last year. The baby will be a YEAR old on Thursday and I thought I’d knit her a turkey hat for this year. I couldn’t find a pattern to follow so I started out with a cast on of 96 stitches but it looked huge. So I frogged it back and cast on 80 stitches and it looks much more likely to fit our little peanut. I’m trying to get this one finished before we leave for NYC for her birthday party. You can bet we will be FaceTiming on Thursday. My intent with this hat is to embroider eyes and a beak on it and knit a few colorful feathers at the top. Cross your fingers (and toes, please!) Photos of the finished hat will be forthcoming.

The second pair of socks is a skein that I also bought at my LYS when it was on clearance. I’d knitted a pair in a similar colorway for my hubby and loved the yarn so much that I just bought the other hank. It’s been waiting for just this person’s feet. Haha! I am using the Yankee Knitter sock pattern here, too. Did I tell you it’s my favorite sock pattern? All of the details are on my Ravelry project page.

I spent the day on Wednesday last week sewing. I’m making two little pairs of harem pants for Sylvie. I decided to size up so that she can wear them for a little bit, I hope. I bought the pattern and the lawn fabric at Fiddlehead in Belfast, ME earlier in the summer. I bought some double gauze at my LYS which conveniently is also a fabric store. I got the elastic for the waistband there, too. The pants have French seams and I have stitched them both without (knock wood) making any mistakes. I have to insert the elastic in one pair and finish the waistband stitching on the second, insert the elastic and then hem both pairs. They’re so cute! I hope I’ll get those done tomorrow. It’s too late for today. I need to sew when I am fresh since it’s not second nature … thought I am darned proud that I knew how to follow the instructions, trace the pattern piece, etc. I may turn into a sewist yet.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of my mother’s death. I’ve written before about our somewhat difficult relationship and I’ve been working on forgiving and moving on. This year I am feeling some sorrow about her not being here to see her beautiful grandchildren and her great granddaughter although I do believe she’s watching over us. I feel more comfort this year than I have in the past and I’m proud of that progress. I’ll light a candle for her in the morning and let it burn throughout the day in her memory. I know she did her best.

Today I thought again about a poem by Wendell Berry, The Peace of the Wild Things. It’s a favorite of mine and perfect for these times of despair when the world seems so heartless and hopelesss.

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Gone knitting.

Taking Every Opportunity When it Knocks

Posted on September 27, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

This morning before the sun came up after a perfect sleeping night interrupted by my snoring partner. I’m grateful that we have a guest room or I’d have been relegated to sleeping on the couch! Fall is a welcome change for me and I’m loving the cooler weather and have pulled out my flannel shirts so they can de-wrinkle without ironing. Ha Ha. I’m putting away my linens and tees because it’s sweater weather!

On Sunday I drove over to Rockland for a workshop with Katherine Ferrier at her Lincoln Street Center Studio at the suggestion of my friend Lori. The workshop was entitled Embracing the Mystery: Quilt Making and Cyanotype Prints. Cyanotypes are a photographic printing process that uses exposure to light to create its distinctive deep dark blue color.

Our task was to design the prints, some just because and some with a prompt, perhaps telling a story and being willing to embrace whatever happened. It was a cloudy but bright day and that alone could make our results different than on a bright sunny day. We enjoyed the print making and getting to know each other so much. This was a remarkable group of creative maker women. I was inspired by their talents and I’ve already purchased some cyanotype fabric. If it arrives quickly, I plan to take it to a friend’s lavender farm this weekend to make some lavender prints!

In the afternoon, we designed out quilts with our prints and some lovely scrap fabrics available from Katherine’s studio. I had originally thought I’d like to use just the cyanotype prints but with a little bit of guidance from Katherine and the beautiful orangey linen scraps, the final plan for my quilt top was made. And I love it!

It’s a long ride home so I took my photos of the quilt top and my fabric, batting, and backing fabric home with me with the promise that I would finish it and with three new friends. For the last couple of days I put the quilt together. I finished sewing together my quilt top on Monday. I made a few rookie mistakes because I’m new to patchwork sewing where not all of the pieces are square or the same size. Nor are they a planned pattern. I guess this is my first original patchwork design.

I am so happy with it. I added a little embroidery detail on the top left corner piece; an outlined blossom and a cluster of french knots in colors similar to the pops of linen. Orange/peach/salmon seem to be a new theme for me.

The center piece, the largest piece we printed was a prompt to make a wish. My wish was about my home, my husband and my family. Inside the circle is a joined pair of blossoms representing my husband and me and outside are pairs of blossoms that represent our five children and their significant others. I will be stitching a little pink blossom to represent our granddaughter. The grasses crossing it all represent flexibility, softness, growth and strength and above it all the “h” is the wish for health, happiness and home. Home to me is not only a place that you live, it’s a sense of belonging, peace, comfort and safety. This piece has a lot of meaning in it for me. I really do love it.

I then pieced the backing fabric. I wanted to incorporate the last print that I made, my self portrait, in the quilt somehow so that I didn’t bring home another piece of fabric without a plan. I also used my little square that Katherine gifted to each of us as my quilt label on the back. I pondered whether I wanted to stitch in the ditch for the quilting or tie the quilt, decided on the former and then decided to put a proper binding on it. I cut 2.5 inch strips for the binding, sewed them together and stitched them onto the quilt. I also stitched in the ditch around the outside of the quilt to attach the second part of the binding.

It’s not perfect. There are a couple of places on the back where I didn’t catch the binding and where the backing wiggled out of the binding but I am pretty sure I’m comfortable leaving it this way because the whole exercise was embracing the mystery, right? I’m consciously embracing the imperfections as part of the process of learning and meeting myself where I am.

Here is the finished quilt on my studio floor. I only need to hang it up somewhere in our house. I’m so grateful to have a house that is a true home with a partner who encourages my creativity even though dinner isn’t always ready. I have found my home here with him.

I’m grateful to my friend Lori who inspired me to take the opportunity and this workshop. I’m also grateful to my new friends who inspired me along the way. I am grateful to Katherine for making the opportunity available for us all together, learn, explore and embrace the mystery!

What a wonderful day it was!

Gone knitting.

Hurricane Lee Day

Posted on September 17, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Today’s the day we’ve all been waiting for. Hurricane Lee has been heading toward New England and thankfully, it’s been downgraded to a tropical storm but is still hitting the northern coasts of New England with some pretty powerful wind! We are getting wind here but so far, minimal rain and our power is hanging in. (We are very fortunate to have a generator so that’s not really a concern.)

We arrived home on Tuesday afternoon from a week-long vacation in Rhode Island with my three (adult) children and their significant others and their dogs and our granddaughter. What a wonderful week we had together. I am so grateful that they all want to spend a week with us and that they carve time out of their busy lives to be together. We enjoyed wake-ups with Sylvie in the morning since we’re the earliest risers and we had beach time, photo shoots, a wonderful lobster feast al fresco and a wonderful visit to the Mystic Aquarium. It was a family-full week and we left with full hearts.

I didn’t get a whole lot of knitting time because being together was the priority but I managed to get some time in the car on the way down to finish up a little Plymouth Encore sweater. The yarn was gifted to me by one of my students who doesn’t have any “tiny” ones to knit for. I knitted up a yoked sweater, a Plymouth pattern, 2649 Baby & Toddler Top Down Cardigan. I just need to attach the buttons and give it a good wash. With the leftovers I made a hat designed by Susan B. Anderson from her Itty BItty Hats book. It’s the Inca Hat. It’s a quick knit and I love having ear flaps for little ones.

While we were there, I did get some nap time knitting in on my Norwegian Genser. I added a lifeline so that if it didn’t actually fit me that I could frog back to a place where I could make some adjustments. I use dental floss for lifelines because it’s slippery and it’s fine/thin enough to not make my stitches change their size. I’ve tried other yarns, etc. but dental floss does the trick for me. I don’t buy the mint flavored for obvious reasons but I have to admit to heading to my knitting bag when I get something stuck in my teeth. Haha. You can barely see the lifeline at the place where I split for the sleeves. I tried it on shortly after this and I think the size is going to be just right and even better if I lose my vacation pounds. Again, haha.

I love the purple! I think the design is stunning and I am excited to be able to wear it. The yarn is ASK yarn from Norway and it’s a rustic sport weight wool so the sweater won’t be too warm. I hope. Now I just have inches and inches of stockinette stitch. I will be trying it on again soon – maybe today – just to check the fit once more. Fingers crossed.

I’ve cast on a pumpkin hat and will make two of these to send to my daughter’s friend who has two boys. I never sent anything when the second son was born so I’ve been thinking about it for nearly a year. The pattern is Patrick’s Pumpkin and I’m knitting them in Encore worsted by Plymouth. I’ve made several in Brown Sheep’s Cotton Fleece but I thought that Encore would be an easy care choice for these hats. Life with two young boys isn’t “easy”. I also made a bit of a change in the pattern. Where the band calls for knitting with two strands held double, I’ve chosen, this time, to knit with one strand and when I got to the increase round, I increased with a M1. It seems to be ok and the band isn’t as “inflexible” as I remember it being. I’ll plan to finish the first hat, a large size, today and start a medium size when I finish the first – hope they’ll both fit for fall’s cooler weather.

I pulled out some fingering weight scraps of yarn to bring to the beach but I never touched it. The plan was to knit up a few gnomes. I bought Sarah Schira’s Grimblewoods Collection several months ago and want to make a little gnome family for our house at Christmas time – and maybe it’ll be out all year, too. Anyway, I never touched it. I didn’t get much knitting in while on vacation but I will get one cast on today or tomorrow. I fell in love with the collection because of Gnedward (my hubby’s name is Edward.)

Some unhappy news is that we lost our grand-dog Bessie. She had had a seizure when they were out in California and despite having put her on anti-seizure meds, she’s continued to have seizures. While they were on the Cape visiting the other grandparents after our beach trip, Bessie had five seizures and they couldn’t get them controlled. Bessie was a “foster fail” about eight years ago. I was there the day she was adopted and then returned. My daughter was so protective of Bessie and I knew she was home forever at that time. Somewhere I have a photo of Bessie and Mabel on the couch in their NYC apartment. Mabel looks like she’s praying to be rid of the big dog that Bessie was (they nicknamed her “Bus”). Our family has a 60 pound hole in our hearts and the kids are really suffering her loss. Rest well, sweet Bus. We will all miss you.

Gone knitting.