Queen Bee Knits

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

Easy on a Wednesday Morning

Posted on October 18, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

It was a calm, peaceful morning here on the lake today. All I could think about was how lucky we are to live here where it’s calm, quiet and safe. How lucky we are to live in this country, too, despite the chaos in politics. But the people who live in the middle of war zones around the world … my heart breaks for them and especially the children. The children are bearing the burden of the choices made by adults. My heart is so heavy.

And when I become overwhelmed by the chaos and death and destruction of innocents, I cast on. I’m not sure why and I sometimes (OK, often) wish that I could make that finishing but that’s just the way it is. It’s how I make the world seem less out of control. I have two pairs of socks on the needles, two sweaters, and I have been sewing, too – both hand sewing and making garments on my sewing machine. I am feeling quite pleased that I have finished a few things … most of which are for my granddaughter’s birthday … and I have a couple more to start for my travel this week and next.

I’ll be casting on the Framework Mittens by Knitted Bliss. I’ll be knitting it with two yarns that we bought this past spring at Knit City Montreal. They were the special show yarns: Akara BFL Fingering 2-ply in the Spring in Montreal colorway and La Bien Aimee’s Kumo in the color Alba. The first yarn is a light pink tonal and the suri/mohair is a darker pink color. I think they’ll play nicely together. I bought an embroidery pack from Knitted Bliss, too, at CKM23 and the plan is to embroider flowers on the mittens when they’re done.

I’ve bought some yarn to knit a new vest (or three). The first one I am going to attempt is Andrea Mowry’s Tessellated Vest. I bought some navy blue Patagonia by Juniper Moon Farm for the main color. I told you I love this yarn! The pattern calls for two additional yarns to keep it interesting – and I’m going to attempt to do that with a skein of Feederbrook Farms Entropy DK and two of Lana Grossa’s Silkhair Haze Melange. The Entropy DK is multicolored and visibly twisted and the mohair is also a navy blue/black. I hope this won’t be too busy on my body. If it is, I’ll frog it and knit it differently … I haven’t decided what that means exactly but I need a navy blue something vest-y.

I’m wearing the heck out of my Emsworth vest. I wore it yesterday, in fact. I knit it in the charcoal gray Patagonia and it is great to throw on over a blouse and a pair of jeans. I spent the day yesterday with my friend Lori and we were both wearing vests with a blouse … she designed hers, though. Maybe she’ll let me test knit the one she was wearing! Goodness knows I have the yarn.

I’ve been busy cleaning up and organizing today … and I keep getting distracted. This post was NOT on my to do list for the day. But I’m trying to listen to my body and my soul and do what feels good and right. So, here I sit. I still need to finish the laundry and wash my office window … which means clearing everything off my desk and windowsill. I won’t even show you a picture of the chaos on my desk!

Gone knitting.

Arne & Carlos Advent Calendar 2021

Posted on October 1, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Where did September go? Welcome to October. We had coffee on the porch this morning with the sun shining but with a thin haze of smoke from what we presume to be the Canadian wild fires. We haven’t heard much about them in the lower 48 lately but they’re still burning, predominantly in the west of Canada. Our breezes are blowing from the north which makes the Canadian fires the likely culprit. (My allergies aren’t happy so I’ve come inside with my air cleaner to see if I can get a breathing break.)

I’ve promised a photo of my complete set of little Advent sweaters and today’s the day. I won’t hang them for another couple of months but I will take them all out of their storage bags and let you see them all. When I hang them after Thanksgiving, I’ll show you again.

This was a true project that required persistence. I cast on the first little sweater on October 31, 2021 (and I thought I’d get them finished by Christmas?) and the last one was finished on September 3, 2023. Almost two years in the making.

I knit with Patagonia Organic Merino by Juniper Moon Farm. I love this yarn and whenever I’m considering a new project, I think of this yarn first. Patagonia also had the right colors for my Christmas palate at our home. I like the deeper blue-red and the pine green and the white/natural was the perfect third colorway. (All the details of the exact colorways is on my Ravelry project page.) I’m very proud of this project and that I really did finish it and we will use it this year.

We’ve gotten very blase (that should have an accent) about decorating for the holidays. If it’s just us, we do a little bit of decorating – a tree with ornaments and a couple of poinsettias. If we are traveling, we may skip the tree. So this is a decorating commitment in our house. Now I need to find a couple dozen pieces of candy or something really small to stuff them with … or maybe that will wait until next year. Ha! Ha!

Gone knitting.

19!!! Happy Solstice

Posted on June 21, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Finally! The sun came out today and it actually feels like summer may happen this year. We went to a buffer planting workshop yesterday hosted by Friends of Messalonskee and it was gray and cool until we were almost done. It’s lovely to see the sun! And I’ll be happy to pack away my sweaters for a couple of months.

Since the sun came out, I decided to take a walk around the yard and see what’s blooming. My wild roses (they’re invasives but they’re surviving lakeside) are blooming but my white one took quite a beating in the rain. We have scapes and blueberries and the lettuce is going crazy! Salad for lunch today, for sure. The only plant that seems to be thriving in our “bed where nothing lives)” is the blue Iris and they’re absolutely gorgeous right now. I love our yard!

The Day Lilies and the Hydrangeas are getting ready to pop open and we have some daisies coming along, too. I’ve got a couple of beds of Black Eyed Susans coming up but can’t see any blooms yet.

I finished and blocked #19 this morning as I was ironing my linen blouses. I love what happens to colorwork when it’s blocked. 17 and 18 are not blocked (and need some seaming, but here they all are.

I’ve even begun #20 and have finished the body and most of the first sleeve. I’m making progress and just need to cast on the next one when I bind off the current ones. They’re not difficult to knit or time consuming, I just had to make the commitment to get them done! I’m getting there!

Gone Knitting!

Old Port Hat KAL

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

This past weekend, a holiday weekend here in the US, I decided rather last minute to join the KAL with Andrea Mowry and knit the Old Port Hat. Since it was too late to shop, I had to shop my stash for the yarns to make this hat. It calls for a sport/DK weight (Cashmere People Cashgora Sport and Harrisville Nightshades DK were used for the pattern).

I was lucky to find a combination of yarns in my stash that I was happy with. I had a leftover partial ball of Classic Alpaca by the Alpaca Yarn Company in the hot pink colorway that I had used for a lining on my Northman Mittens (this reminds me that I still have to fix the lining because it’s a little bit too long). I thought this would make a good hat lining and I should have enough to do that much. I also found a full ball of Rowan Felted Tweed in a light grey-ish color with tweedy bits of blue and black. It was a full 50 gram/191 yard ball. And then I had a leftover ball of Patagonia Organic Merino yarn from my Emsworth Vest (that I adore!) in the charcoal grey colorway. I weighed it and it’s more than 50 grams so I figured that it was at least half a skein (half of 382 yards should also be enough for the second color.

I cast on the largest size because I have a big head. No fooling. My head measures 23 1/2 inches. I love the pink yarn so much – 2023 must be the year of pink for me. Or maybe it’s just having a granddaughter … who knows.

The hat is knit on US 3 & 4 needles. The lining is knit on US 3 needles and it’s slow going because it’s tiny stitches butI got it done and then joined the main color on the decrease round. If I sew the lining just right, I hope there will be a tiny glimpse of the pink at the rim. Then the fun begins with two-color brioche also using the smaller needles so it grips your head. I haven’t knitted anything in Brioche stitch for a while but it’s fun and rhythmic once you get going -and that doesn’t mean that I didn’t make a few mistakes that I had to fix. I did forget a few yarn-overs and I got distracted and brioche purled when I should have brioche knitted but I got it all fixed and kept on moving forward. Two-color brioche has two rounds of knitting for every “row” making one color “ribbing” on one side and the reverse color “ribbing” on the other side. Because of this, the fabric is thicker and so squishy and it’s will be warm despite being a finer yarn used.

The pattern asks you to place markers and change the colors of the ribbing as you go around and that keeps the knitting more interesting and it’s fun to watch the ribs grow. The pink will be folded under and sewn in place inside the hat to make a soft and thick “ear warmer” lining. I really hope this hat looks somewhat decent on me. I don’t like me in hats at all but there are days up here in Maine when you have to wear one. I’ve yet to find one that I love to wear.

Anyway, at some point after about 3 inches of brioche-ing on the US 3 needles, you change to a US 4 and keep on knitting. There is some fun increasing and decreasing to make the lines move a bit and Andrea includes some excellent video support for those places. I didn’t remember or I didn’t know that you always increase or decrease in Brioche by 2 stitches but it totally makes sense. Believe me. It does.

See how cool the increases and decreases make the hat look? I’ve really enjoyed the knitting and practicing Brioche again. I found I could “repair” a few of my mistakes and when I forgot an increase, due to the two rounds per “row” I could frog back with the prior color to just where I forgot the increase and then finish color 1 and knit on in color two to fix the problem. Yay, me!

The yarns aren’t going to get a huge mention but I wanted to be sure to at least tell you that I am loving knitting with them. The alpaca liner is going to be so soft against my face and the Felted Tweed and Patagonia are “picky” yarns because they’re not superwash but they are so soft as I work them and they soften more with every stitch. Felted Tweed is a wool/silk/viscose blend. The silk gives the relatively untwisted yarn some strength. The Patagonia is an organic merino. Merino is a short staple wool and will pill like heck if it’s not twisted. In this yarn it is and it’s wonderful to knit with. My Emsworth vest has been worn a lot and it’s not pilling yet. Woo! Hoo! These yarns are magnificent and I will knit with them over and over again over a superwash, plastic-coated yarn. Hand washing isn’t a chore for me and the wool washes that need not be rinsed out make washing hand-knits a breeze!

As of last night, I’ve crept up the hat and am nearing the end of the body of the hat. I have enough fabric now to try the hat on and it does fit my head well. I didn’t have a mirror to decide if I love it on but that will happen soon enough. So far, so good.

Gone knitting.

PS – you can find the FOs that I talk about here on my Ravelry project page. (My Ravelry name is “lindar”.)

Monday Sure Feels Like Sunday

Posted on February 14, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

This was my weekend to work and that’s why today feels like Sunday. We have had a gray start to the past few days but the ice has been growing up the shore of the lake and it looks very dramatic. We always get thick ice climbing out of the lake and this year, while it’s been a bit different than the past few years, we finally have ice coming up. I am not yet comfortable with going out on the ice for a walk but lots of people do. Call me crazy but when we have these “puddles” of water on top of the ice you have no idea what the ice below it is doing.

So, on Saturday I was at work and the last couple of days have been my weekend. Yesterday I wrote the store newsletter and got caught up with our house stuff, mail, calendars, you know, the stuff you need to catch up with at the end (or start) of the week. I’ve also been knitting.

My Emsworth vest has been my major focus this weekend. I am really enjoying this pattern and we all know that the yarn is my favorite. At least for now. I’m using the charcoal gray colorway of Patagonia Organic Merino yarn by Juniper Moon Farm and I really like the rustic quality of this yarn and yet, the merino makes it feel soft and it’s a pleasure to work with. The Emsworth pattern is fun for a couple of reasons: First because the lace sections keep it interesting with a lot of stockinette between the lace. When I bought this pattern I thought it was cables. Well, it’s not. But I am still having fun knitting the vest and I am hoping to get it finished before I finish my Norwegian Genser virtual class on the 19th. I guess it could happen.

I started the weekend with four inches from the underarm. I just measured it again and I’m at more than eight inches. If memory serves, I have to get to eleven-ish inches. I’m getting close!

I finished my Setesdal Hat. I had a feeling that this hat would be too small for my big head and I was right. But the hat was so much fun to knit and the colors are fun and attractive. I blocked it today – Arne and Carlos use a damp pressing cloth and a steamy iron to steam press wool garments – and the magic of blocking makes me so happy.

The photo on the left shows the wonky before stitches where the motifs look pretty good but some of the stitches kind of sink and the different shapes aren’t all the same. The photo on the right is after the magic of steam blocking. You can see how the stitches bloom to be more even across the board. I love it. One of my students on Friday afternoon will be happy to wear this hat – she called “dibs” on it at class on Friday. I am happy to have it go to a good home.

I also finished my traditional Norwegian Hals. I’ve signed up for a bunch of instruction from Knitography farm and it’s been wonderful. I enjoy the community and support that Patricia has built and her dedication to the traditional Norwegian knitwear designs. The hals (cowl) pattern is one that she translated from an historic pattern. This would probably be called a “dickie” in our culture but it’s a warm addition to winter wear. Unfortunately, once again, my big head won’t fit in the turtleneck so I will be giving this away. I ordered the yarn from Patricia’s farm. She has a herd of heritage sheep. I think it’s a bit scratchy … but it was historically accurate and I will be donating it to a worthy cause and it will keep someone warm.

I ordered new yarn this week from Norway to make a genser (pullover) in a traditional pattern. The pattern is really pretty. I found out about the pattern and the book that it’s in through the zoom meeting with Patricia of Knitography Farm. She’s doing a virtual Choose Your Own Path class and since I’ve never knit a traditional genser, I’m starting with a beginner pattern. I’ve also completed her online course on stranded knitting. I always learn something new.

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and my sweetie and I are going to Longfellow’s on a date. I want some dirt and some flowers for the house to cheer it up … the late winter and the gray days this time of year need some color.

Gone knitting.

Wait, What? Two Posts in One Week?

Posted on January 22, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Yup, it’s true. Two posts in a week’s time … astounding. But I was so excited yesterday when I needed to join the front and back of my Emsworth vest!

This vest is constructed brilliantly, as all of Isabell’s patterns are. You begin with the back and knit each of the shoulders and then work to put them together and begin the lace pattern in the middle of the two sides. Once complete (basically) to the under arm, you put the back on stitch holders and make the front in a similar manner. Once the front is to the under arm, you cast on a bunch of stitches for the sides and you pray that your lace pattern is in the same place on the front and the back.

MINE WAS!!! Yippee!!!

BUT, I swore that I had marked down what row I had ended with on the back of my vest. Nowhere on my pattern (I have the Knit Companion app and I can write on the digital file right on my iPad) could I find the notation. And then, after searching and searching my pattern, I remembered that I started this project with a paper pattern that I had thrown away when I changed over to the Knit Companion pattern … and I neglected to transfer that important bit of information. Luckily, though, I know how to read my stitches. So I compared my stitches to my pattern and found that I had ended on row 14 and … my vest front was, too!

It was a thrilling moment for sure. Who knew that you could get so excited sitting all by yourself in a room! Hahaha.

Gone knitting.

Snow Day!

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

We awoke to snow this morning. Yay! I’ve been waiting and wanting some, what we call here in Maine, “measurable snow” and today we are getting it! Since it’s January 20th, let’s say that it’s about time!

When the local schools in Waterville are closed, our classes at the Yardgoods Center are canceled. We have a mostly older customer base and none of us should be out and about in this weather unless we absolutely have to … today is a snow day. The store is closed and classes were canceled. I’m putting my snow day to good use and after I had coffee and a muffin with my dear hubby, I went upstairs into my atelier.

On Wednesday I decided to make microwaveable (corn) heating pads. I’ve had the supplies on the floor of my studio for a year. When the kids came last winter to go skiing, they were a bit achey after their skiing and they used all of the warming things in our house. One in particular, they all liked best. So … I measured the one made by my friend Judy and bought the muslin, flannel and corn to make one for each of the kids. Wednesday I ironed and cut the fabrics and then sewed two of the sides and was ready to fill them and finish them up when I realized that the corn was either moldy or dirty.

Off to the kitchen I took all eight pounds of bagged corn and I cleaned it in bleach water to kill any surviving whatever might have been on it. It was powdery but dry and I am not sure what it was but I am sure, now, that the corn I’m putting into the bags is clean and won’t send something gross out into the air that they breathe when they microwave the bags to warm them up.

Today I brought the washed, dried and baked corn back up into my studio and filled the three bags and sewed up the final side. Ta done! Three microwavable corn-filled heating pads. I have more fabric to make three more but I didn’t buy enough corn. Each of the kids will get one this time and I’ll get three more made for the summer when we go to the beach.

Task number two was to make a heart pillow for daughter number 2 who lost her beloved pup Willow just after Thanksgiving. When we were in NY for Christmas, she asked if I could make a heart pillow out of Willow’s jacket. I am touched that she trusted me to do that for her.

Earlier this week, I cut out a heart shape to use as much of the fleece jacket that I could and pinned the sides together (right sides facing) in preparation to sew them up and stuff it.

At this point in the day I went downstairs to probably clean the corn and while the corn was soaking in bleach water, I decided to make some cranberry water that I’d seen a recipe for online. The cranberries were in my freezer for a year and it was time to do something with them. I had thawed them and just has to blend them with water and strain them. While blending them, the blender (it was overfull, I admit) leaked cranberry water all over the counter. I strained the water and when I was cleaning up I inadvertently switched the blender on and metal piece on the base was too close to my thumb … what a bloody mess I made. Some days … !

I cleaned up my thumb, cleaned up the mess and retreated to my studio for a few minutes of stupid TV and to hold my thumb up over my heart so it would stop bleeding.

Today I finished the pillow and I hope my daughter loves it as much as I love her. It’s far from perfect, I’m not a professional sewer by any imagination but it’s stitched with lots of love. I unstitched the tag from the jacket and put it into the seam so it sticks out as a reminder of what it was. I also preserved the spot where my daughter sewed a tear in the jacket by hand to remind her of how much she loved her pup and the memory of the hole, maybe, too. I’ll deliver it when I go to NY next.

I have been knitting and since this is technically a knitting blog, I should report on my progress. I have been making slow progress with my Emsworth. I’ve picked up the front shoulder stitches, and am working my way down the front. I’ve reached where the increases under the arms are and pretty soon I think I’ll be knitting all the way around the body. I’m enjoying the lace pattern and I love the charcoal gray colorway of the Patagonia yarn. It’s a bit tricky for my “old eyes” to see the dark yarn in the evening but I’m still working away at it.

I’ve finished black sock #1 and have reached the heel of black sock #2. Today will be a good day for me to turn the heel and pick up the gusset stitches. Black yarn really does challenge the eyes. It’s best attacked when the lighting is good and bright. Hahaha!

I also started a new project, the Stashbuster Shawl by Heather Haynes. One of my former co-workers came in in hers and I knew I had the same yarn. Since everything else I’m working on was dark colors, I cast on for this shawl so I have something to knit at the end of the day. I’m enjoying the simple, meditative knitting on this one. Mostly Garter stitch, it doesn’t take a lot of brain power (of which I have precious little at the end of the day.)

My plan for the rest of the day is to do some knitting (as my “blended” thumb will allow.) I am so left-handed that it’s tricky to do anything without my left thumb! I’ve managed to write this post and I’ll probably do some baking today or tomorrow. I found a recipe for sugar cookie bars (they’re frosted and sprinkled, yum!) and I haven’t made any granola since the batch that I took to NY at Christmas time. I might need to vacuum again, too. Don’t let anybody tell you that Labs don’t shed a LOT!

Gone knitting.

Ice Out and Critters Return – Welcome Spring!

Posted on April 10, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

As soon as the ice goes out (this year it happened on April 6th) the water birds and critters return to the lake. It’s miraculous, really, that they know when it’s safe to come back out on the lake. This year we heard reports from the northern end of the lake that the loons had returned while our section of the lake was still covered by ice. BUT as soon as the ice was gone, the loons were calling from the cove. There’s nothing quite like living so close to nature. We are so grateful to be able to witness the seasonal changes, to watch the sun change its position in the sky, and to know that there are more miracles coming soon when the babies are back with their parents. It won’t be long.

Since the ice went out, we’ve seen all the weather. Beautiful blue bird skies, thick fog and days of rain. Fortunately, it seems that mud season was relatively short this year and early. I had some white knuckle trips down our road and I may have let a few four-letter words escape my lips while hoping that my car wouldn’t get stuck in the mud.

I’ve been knitting like a mad woman. I seem to want to cast on all the new projects and I am trying to stay focused on finishing some, too.

I’ve got a full basket of cotton yarns that I’ve collected over the years. I am trying to knit down the stash and one of my favorite projects is dishcloths/washcloths that I’ll pop into my gift drawer and pull out as needed. These two are from deeply stashed yarn from a big box store and they’re obviously seasonal. We use them here at home and the kids like them, too. They’re great stocking stuffers or as a gift with a special bar of soap. The pattern is so simple and easy to remember which makes these dishcloths good TV knitting.

I’m almost half-way through the collection of Advent jumpers from Arne and Carlos. I love knitting these little sweaters and they knit up so quickly. I’m using Patagonia Organic Merino yarn from Juniper Moon Farm and, I have to say, this is my favorite yarn right now. I’ve made my Humlebi Shawl in it and I’ve got the charcoal gray colorway set aside to make an Emsworth vest. Number 12 will likely be finished by the end of the day today. I like to spend Sunday knitting for fun. I also like to bake and I’ve eaten all of my granola and my baked oatmeal.

The body of my Traveling Sweater is nearly done (it may, actually be done but I have to measure it again to make sure.) This has been a fun knit. Patsy is a customer who has come into the store a bunch of times to purchase Plymouth Gina yarn for the sweaters that she makes. She has a Facebook page for the sweaters because she’s knitted over 100 of them. I have loved the sweater since I first saw it and have almost bought the yarn once before. When we heard that Plymouth was discontinuing the yarn, I put aside what colors we had in the shop and the boss ordered bags of each remaining color. When they came in, I bought the yarn and cast on my sweater.

The pattern is a Knitting Plain and Simple pattern #9724, Neck Down Pullover for Women. These patterns are simple beginner patterns and are knit top down in the round with minimal seaming. The sizing is somewhat size-inclusive but they certainly could be expanded. It would be wonderful if they added full stitch counts, too. But I recommend these patterns often for customers and students knitting their first garments. I’ve chosen 10 colorways of the Gina yarn and have randomly pulled them out of the bag to knit next. I have simple knitted the whole ball and then spit-spliced the next ball and kept knitting. I had a bit of a challenge making gauge but I decided that I would use the recommended needles and knit the size larger so that it would fit comfortably. I’m thinking that I may use a folded hem rather than a rolled hem but I haven’t decided yet. I suppose I can knit the rolled hem and then sew it up if I change my mind.

I’ve got to buy one more ball of Gina so that my sleeves, at least at the shoulders, match as closely as possible to the body of the sweater. After that, random is fine.

Gone knitting.

On the Road Again

Posted on March 27, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

Marblehead Light from Fort Sewell, Marblehead, MA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gone knitting!

Humlebi Shawl

Posted on March 15, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

Can you see them?

When I saw this shawl on Ravelry, I knew I had to buy yarn and cast on. I had to!

Bees!

Pattern: Humlebi Shawl by Fiber Tales

Yarn: Patagonia Organic Merino (Light Grey colorway; three hanks)

I have knitted a lot of shawls and this is the first one that I’ve knitted that starts with a pico cast on – and over 300 stitches! I’m not convinced (yet) that the picot is picot-y enough, but I hope that if I block the shawl and pin each of the picots that it will be more accentuated. I can’t wait for the yarn. to bloom and to see what happens to the little bees. They’re knitted over a few rows so the first half of them is just a couple of wings and a bobble … bee butts! I had to laugh when I saw them. And then you go back and knit another bobble row and the bee is finished. They’re adorable and I’d like to add them into every single thing that I knit from today forward. (I probably won’t do that but, gosh, they’re stinking cute.

I am knitting this shawl in Patagonia Organic Merino yarn by Juniper Moon Farm. This may be my new favorite yarn. I have a vest worth in a charcoal gray and I have a sweater quantity in a rusty orange color. It’s a rustic wool but it has a nice hand and it’s just sticky enough that it would be a perfect pick for a colorwork project. Obviously, this isn’t colorwork but it’s a fun and simple enough project.

The bees are simple enough as are the flowers. The rest of the shawl is garter stitch with decreases. Lots and lots of garter stitch and decreases. Once I reach seven stitches, I’m done. More on that as I make progress!

Gone knitting.