Queen Bee Knits

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

Musselburgh and WIPs

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

We got up early this morning and spent a good two hours watching the lake. Highlighted by the baby loon and his/her parent feeding right in front of the house. The lake was totally smooth for a time. And it was so quiet. A breath of fresh air after a busy summer and a busy Labor Day weekend.

I spent a chunk of it making a sample for the store. I chose a Yarn Snob Worsted weight wool in the Times Square colorway. Mostly because we have no samples of Yarn Snob knitted up. And, being worsted weight, it was going to knit up more quickly.

This hat pattern is wonderful!!! I’ve made one before but I had to remind myself how to do the pinhole or Emily Ocker’s magic cast on and I knew that i particularly liked Jen Arnall-Culliford’s method which is simple and doesn’t require a crochet hook. Just a pair of DPNs. (Ultimately you need a set of 4 or 5.) I really liked the Yarn Snob yarn and this hat will be a modern sample for the shop in an unexpected yarn. I made the toddler size because that is what the yardage allowed for. I loved that the colorway was named after a NYC landmark that happens to be in the heart of the theater district and my kiddos are all employed in the arts in New York City. So a nod to Times Square added a smile to my face. When the winter sets in, I’ll reclaim the hat for my granddaughter.

I spent the past couple of days working on my Vanilla Sweater by Corrine at The Wooly Thistle. I may have said this before but the color is what I fell in love with and I “had” to buy the kit. as happens with almost every simple pattern I attempt, I am struggling to read my knitting – it’s either the light in my atelier or my aging eyes or both combined with the heathery yarn but I can’t see the increases well enough so I’ve been thinking back and reknitting now and again. But I’m getting there and am almost to the end of the increases. I am up to over 300 stitches around so the rounds take a minute. I’m knitting on gauge so I will be excited to see how it fits.

I’ve also been working away on one of the critters in Louise Crowther’s book Animal Friends. I bought the yarn a few months back for three of these animals and I’m beginning with Noah the horse. It will be a gift for my daughter who loves horses. It’s fun to knit but a little bit hard on my hands because it’s knit at a tight gauge in teeny needles. So the stuffing doesn’t show through the stitches, of course! I’m making good progress. Two legs to go and the outfit and I can sew it all together.

I had nearly completed the garter stitch section of my All About the Ruffle shawl. Over 350 stitches on the needle. and I just didn’t love it. So, today I frogged it and it’ll be something else, probably a tee shirt. So boo and yay. Boo that I frogged all that work but yay that it’ll be something that I will love.

I was gifted and also grew some giant zucchini and I’ve been trying to use it up before we leave for vacation. I’ve got some chocolate zucchini muffins in the freezer with a loaf of zucchini n bread. Today I made banana zucchini muffins. Hubby seems to think they’re all for him. Ahead of vacation? Yeah, right. He’s been informed.

If I can’t get it all baked before we leave, it’ll go into the freezer all shredded and portioned into 2 cup bags. I have a lot of frozen bananas, too. I’ve not been baking enough apparently.

We are enjoying the last days or weeks with hummingbirds before they head south. I haven’t seen any male hummers recently and they had off ahead of the female and juvenile birds. So the rest will be heading off soon. We will keep the feeders full for those passing by for a few weeks.

The garden is still giving us food. I picked the first Delicata squash. There are more coming. Tomatoes are coming along too. Peas are still growing and we hope we get fruit before the first frost. I picked most of the lettuces because they were about the bolt. Our garlic is dried and cleaned and ready to store away and use. We need to grow more again next year.

I’ll be taking my Murmuration socks on vacation with my Vanilla sweater and some “purple sparkly” Encore worsted for mittens for my granddaughter and a blue bulky pullover (pattern by Knitting Pure and Simple) in superwash wool. I’ve got two grands to knit for now. Best get going on the tiny knits!

Gone knitting.

Saturday – Peace on the porch and a little knitting.

Posted on August 30, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

I have had a lovely, peaceful morning with my coffee and yarn on the porch. I got up without an alarm, took the dog out, fed the dog and took my coffee out to the porch. It was pretty gray and we even had a little sprinkle of rain. Since then, I went up to my atelier for my yarn and I’ve been sitting here drinking my coffee and knitting and listening to the sounds of the lake. The sounds of home. Hummingbirds chasing each other away from the feeder, ducks quacking by, the train passing heading south, and the splash of an osprey right in front of our boathouse (coming up with empty talons.) And now the sun is coming out and the bees are buzzing in the cat mint.

I’m working on my Vanilla Sweater by Corrine at the Wooly Thistle in Rauma Garn Finull. I fell in love with the color of this yarn and had to buy it. No regrets here. This is a wooly Norwegian wool and I can already feel it softening up as I work it. I’m struggling to see my stitches though with the heathery wool and I’ve had to go back several times when I increased where I should not have. My attention span seems to be challenged right now. Lots going on, hubby away, boss away, the world on fire and I may even need a better light by my knitting chair.

Musselburgh in Yarn Snob “Times Square” colorway

At work we have decided we need some more contemporary samples. I said I’d knit a Musselburgh hat and brought home a hank of fingering weight Yarn Snob yarn with neon pops of color. And then I thought about all the things I have going on and brought it back. I chose, instead, a hank of worsted weight yarn snob. There was enough yardage to make a toddler hat and the. I looked at the name of the colorway and that clinched it. I’m knitting this for a sample and then when it gets colder I’m taking it for Sylvie to wear in the city.

I always have to remember how to cast on with the Emily Ocher’s cast on but I found a Jen Arnal-Culliford turirial and got it done. Yesterday, this hat was a good thing to work on while I was teaching and I made some good progress.

The crown Emma’s some random pooling and now it seems to be striping. It’s all good and it’ll be done soon enough.

I’ve also been working on my shawl, All About The Ruffles. I’m nearly to the full stitch count on the garter stitch section. I wish I had figured out how dull the garter stitch section would be and skipped this project. I sure hope the ruffle section makes it worth while. the “Harbor” colorway in Emma’s Yarn Practically Perfect Sock is lovely and this year is really lovely to work with. I’ve not taken any pictures because a garter stitch triangle is not very exciting but there will be some coming.

I snuck in a Knitting for Olive yarn order before they stopped shipping to the USA. I’ll be knitting one of their designs, too, for the first time. The Wilson sweater has a Henley feel without the buttons and with a collar. I need a black sweater and I think this one is classic and can be worn with our without something underneath. I’m really going to have to invest in a better light to knit with black yarn. (I also have some black linen to knit a sleeveless top with. I love black clothes, I cannot lie.

My SISC continues with Murmuration. Another pattern from the Sock Project book by Summer Lee. I may have already posted this photo but I repost it because there is a mistake here and the photo pointed it out. I’ve since frogged it back and added another (third) eyelet round to the third lace pattern. Good grief. My brain! My focus is definitely struggling with all that’s going on in the world. I am looking forward to our Rhode Island vacation next week and am planning to tune out and turn off social media for a few days to see if that helps my brain to focus. It’s all good in the end but good grief, I’m supposed to be an “expert” and a knitting teacher. I get frustrated with myself when I make such rookie mistakes!

I picked three cherry tomatoes and my first Delicata squash today from the garden. they say that Delicatas are ready to pick when they have stripes and you can’t easily break the skin with pressure from your fingernail. This one is there. I think I’ll have to cook it for supper tonight to see how it tastes. I also have cups (and cups) of shredded zucchini to use and will get it grayed, freeze some of it and bake with some of it. Plan is to make some zucchini bread, some chocolate zucchini bread and maybe a chocolate zucchini cake to take with us to the beach. Yum. We still have e some tomatoes on the vines and a few more delicatas coming along. Lettuces and kale are going to be picked today for salad with my supper.

I guess I’d best get myself moving. I have a bank deposit to make for the store before noon and then I can drop off the banking stuff at the store. The boss is back Monday and I no longer have the responsibility of banking. I had a bowl of granola this morning so I may stop for ice cream on my way home for lunch. More knitting will be worked into my afternoon.

Gone knitting.

A Very Merry Christmas – 2024 Wrap Up

Posted on December 31, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

We got home from our Christmas trip yesterday afternoon and it was dark before I could sneak outside to take a photo of our homecoming. BUT suffice it to say that despite the unseasonably warm temps yesterday, the lake remains frozen. (It was not frozen when we left.) As with any time away, the laundry is up to the rafters, the mailbox was full, and there is a lot to “catch up” on. And then there is the end-of-year wrap up, bills to pay, projects to finish (or add to the list to transfer to the New Year), etc. It would be overwhelming if I allowed it to be. I’m not allowing it. I will take it bite by bite and not let the stuff get the better of me.

We made a trip before Christmas to Costco in Manhattan (it was packed!) to buy supplies for dinner on Christmas Eve and a few other things. We cooked a marvelous Christmas eve meal at my son and his fiancee’s house, we had a lot of fun on Christmas day at my daughter and her husband’s house and another great meal. We went to SOHO to get a bracelet at Catbird (mine was a gift from my daughter for Christmas). We visited Knit City on the upper west side and I bought a skein of yarn to make a Musselburgh hat.

We went to see my son’s Broadway debut. He’s a lighting designer/electrician and has worked hard (even with the pandemic) to become a member of the electrician’s union in the city. It’s quite a feat as you can imagine but he did it! He is operating the light board at the Manhattan Theater Club’s Friedman Theater in Eureka Day. We loved the show and the lighting, of course, was masterful!

We played with toys: dog toys and Sylvie toys. We gave her one of her big “wants” this year, a doll stroller for her baby (she’d been trying to “steal” them from other kids at the playground when we were in the city in October.) Her expression both verbal and visual was delicious and delighted this Yaya! I may have cried a little. We ate and drank and chatted into the wee hours.

We went to the art exhibit at the performance space where my younger daughter works: The Shed. The Luna Luna exhibit was also masterfully produced and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s re-constructed pieces of a circus that was created by famous artists that had been hidden away in storage for decades, recently discovered and brought back to life, so to speak at the Shed NYC in Hudson Yards. We spent over an hour walking through the interactive art piece. It was colorful and creative and fun for all ages. Bravo!

I did a little bit of knitting on the drive to NYC and after Christmas. I gave my husband an unfinished pair of wool boot socks. I’m nearly finished with them now … they’ll be my first FO of 2025. And I started a pair of Christmas socks to give me something that I didn’t have to think about to knit. I have a few WIPs that will be carried into the New Year again (and a few that I carried into 2024 that still have to be finished.) But I spent my energy over the week in NYC having fun with my kids and their families. We even got a chance to see my hubby’s eldest daughter and her husband who came up from the Washington, DC area for a couple of nights.

Subways, brunches, Lyfts, lots of walking, SOHO, Washington Heights, dog walks, Hudson Yards, coffee shops, lots of walking and stair climbing, all in a week in New York. We’re making memories!

Tonight we’re going to a neighbor’s house for a bit to celebrate the arrival of 2025. 2024 was a difficult year in many ways and a wonderful year in many ways. We are so grateful to be healthy and strong so we can babysit and travel and continue to work at jobs we like. I am grateful to the community that I’m building here in Maine and here online. Thanks to those who are following my antics here at Queen Bee Knits. I hope it’s entertaining and that you may have learned something about knitting or just about life and had a little fun with me along the way.

Wishing you and yours a healthy, creative, peaceful, love-filled 2025.

Gone knitting.

More FOs … not all knits!

Posted on August 11, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

We started our day today with coffee on the porch but it was too warm for a bathrobe. We must be heading into a few days of summer heat again. It’s all good. We have thoroughly enjoyed the cooler mornings over the past few weeks.

I’ve finished a few more little things and wanted to share them with you. I’ve been taking classes from Creative Bug – they had a special deal going with 60 days free to try it out – and I’ve taken a couple of Cal Patch’s classes and a couple of Heidi Parkes’ classes and they’re all sewing classes. While I was watching Heidi’s class on making a needle case, I was inspired to actually sew it myself right then. I went to my fabric stash and found two favorite fabrics – a lobster print and a hummingbird print – both from the days when I was making fabric masks for the family. I made a lot of masks. I appliquéd the little hummingbird patch onto the lobster fabric and then bought a piece of felt to sandwich-ish in the fabric to make the little needle case. I’ve learned a lot about needles, stitching, hand-work and sewing from these classes and while my FOs aren’t big, they’re mighty. They mark a stepping off point for me and a new potential passion, too.

My second FO is also a sewing project. I have had this little panel since attending the quilt show in Augusta, ME probably 10 years ago. I bought a few similar panels and remember making one as a gift somewhere along the line, but this one has been sitting in my cupboard for almost (or maybe more than) a decade. It was time!

This is a fabric (much edited) version of the little golden book, The Tawny Scrawny Lion. I wasn’t familiar with the book but I love the idea of little books without words. The reader can make up the story to go along with the illustrations (or the reader can Google the book and tell the same story.) Regardless, this little book will be winging its way to New York City to a very special little girl who is so deeply loved by her Yaya! I know that she’ll love this little book and she won’t rip the pages.

Last but certainly not least, a pair of “peds” as we knew them back in the day … but these aren’t the sedate peds of my past. I decided to knit up some fun, bright, color-blocked shorties and this is the first pair for my daughter, Kate. I decided to make them all crazy and different. The only thing missing from these finished socks are the pompoms that will be attached at the back of the heel. Just like my mom did in my childhood days … and I did, too. I’ve got several more pairs to knit. My thought is to make a pair for all of the “girls” at our family beach gathering in September. Think I can do it? Three more pairs before September 5? Time will tell. This is a free Purl Soho pattern that I used to make the U of F socklets for my favorite graduating (graduated) senior that I cared for when I was a school nurse. The kids used to ask me to knit them socks when they came into my clinic and my answer was always, “no!” (and emphatic no to be sure!) But this kiddo was different and I’ve stayed in touch with her family and when she graduated, I knew just what to send her for a gift (and a gift certificate to the U of F campus store.)

My sweetie and I took a brief road trip to the coast yesterday because I needed to get some sewing supplies. I thought my time at Fiddleheads would be brief but I was looking at the fabric store with new eyes – the eyes of a garment sewer. It was exciting and intimidating. There is so much to learn about garment-worthy fabrics. I’ve learned that quilting cottons are not always a good garment fabric because they don’t have the same drape. But I managed to do some damage and bought a bit of a cotton lawn and a pattern to make some harem pants for my Sylvie. And I also bought some hand-sewing needles and wool felt to make more needle cases. They’re fun and quick. I found a basket of bolt end cuts of fabric and they had two pieces of linen that I had to take home with me, too. One is a 3-yard cut of a khaki colored linen that is enough for a dress, I think. The other was only a bit over a yard of fabric but it’ll make half a shirt or a pieced shirt … time will tell. I feel so fancy talking sewing!

Gone knitting.

Knitting … or not?

Posted on August 1, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

We are having the most glorious summer weather and it has improved my mood significantly. The constant rain and gray of the early summer was downright depressing but today (and the last few days) is perfect!

However … I’ve barely been knitting. Life has taken a busy turn at work and in my volunteer world and, of course, my kids visited. As a result, not much knitting has been happening but it’s really OK. I’ve been working extra hours which gets me out of the “too empty” house and keeps my mind occupied. And I had my last meeting as president of our lake association. I’m now officially not the president and hopefully, after I help get the new president up and running, I will regain some time with which I’d like to spend one day a week sewing!

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I’ve made little to no progress on my Lane’s Island Pullover. I got one sleeve sewn into the shoulder and stopped there. Last Friday I attempted to get the second one done but my brain wasn’t in it. So, I started a pair of Pompom Sockkets (a free pattern on the Purl Soho website). I’m doing these in color blocks for all of the girls at Weekapaug this September. The first pair is for Kate who has a birthday this week. They may be late. I’ve not even finished one sock.

I did knit a chemo cap for a co-worker friend’s sister-in-love who has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of that horrible disease. She’s a red-head and she’s not a fan of wool so I chose a new yarn to the shop to give it a try. It’s a DK weight acrylic and bamboo blend and it’s got a very soft hand. I liked the color, too. The yarn is Universal Uptown Bamboo DK and it made a really attractive hat. I knitted the larger size of the Race for Life 2009 Chemo Cap. The larger size directions were incorrect at the end; the stitches didn’t end up at 5 without some “fudging” but I did two rounds of K2tog and it was fine.

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I have often said that knitting keeps me humble and this pattern, as simple as it is, reminded me to stay humble. It took me three tries to get the simple lace pattern correct. Ha! Ha! I continually forgot to SSK or K2tog in one of the (only) three rounds of pattern. Good grief! A rookie mistake from the one they call an expert … I’m still not sure I’ll accept that title.

Today is my first day off without a meeting or doctor’s appointment (I’m fine, just re-establishing relationships after too long without a primary care physician) and I’ve enjoyed a bit of porch sitting, a bit of catch-up, some laundry and the day is still young. I have to go for a walk and then run some errands. Or, I may sit and knit for a while and bake some muffins for my hubby since he was denied the muffins that went back to NYC with the kids.

Gone Knitting.

A Special Gift for a Special Kid

Posted on July 2, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Today our first Day Lily popped. We wait and watch for them all spring. Some days it feels like you can actually see them growing because they grow so fast. But they stay green for what seems like forever. One day one pops open and from that point it’s anyone’s guess.

Today I wrote two newsletter for work. One for tomorrow and one for the week that I’ll be at camp for my sewing retreat. Next week I’ll write another two. I’m learning how to plan ahead and write newsletters that will be scheduled for days that I will have something better to do.

I spent the afternoon knitting in my studio and I am so happy to have finished a special gift for a very special person. When I last saw this kiddo she looked like this:

Laine on the right at Woodlands Elementary eight years ago

When we still lived in Florida, I was the clinic assistant at an elementary school in Longwood, It was my neighborhood school so i could walk or ride my bike to school. I supervised the “health” of about 500 kiddos in pre-K through 5th Grade. These two kiddos were some of my favorites. I saw Laine twice a day and sometimes more. Needless to say, over the course of a couple of years, she and her family became very special to me. We all worked together to keep Laine healthy.

Fast forward eight years and I got a graduation announcement from Laine’s mom. She’s grown up over the years and is now a beautiful young woman. We’ve exchanged Christmas cards every year so I’ve seen Laine grow up but I was shocked to see that she was graduating from high school. I put the announcement on the fridge and knew that I wanted to send her something to commemorate her graduation but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to send. So I gave myself a bit of time.

One day I knew what I wanted to send her. I texted her mom and we had a sweet exchange as we used to have eight years before. I had to giggle when I heard that my text came up as the clinic at Woodlands all these years later. To give you a bit of background, it’s important for you to know that I did a lot of sock knitting when I lived in Florida and when the clinic was quiet, I used to knit. I can’t tell you how many kids asked me if I’d knit something for them. My answer was always emphatically, “no!”

To date, I have knitted for two kids: a hat for Caden and a pair of slippers for Laine. But I knew that a good gift for Laine would be a pair of socks. Socks were something the kids always wanted me to knit for them. I was unwilling to start a precedent needless to say.

But for Laine’s graduation … this I could do. She will be attending University of Florida next fall and I knew that the school colors (orange and blue) would be in her socks. And I also knew that I couldn’t see her getting a lot of use out of socks that were too warm so I decided that a pair of low socks would be a good idea. And then I found the pattern on Purl Soho’s website: Pom Pom Socklets. I had bought several colors of Zitron Trekking Sport sock yarn on clearance at the yarn shop and two of the colors were blue and orange. I had a plan.

The first sock was knitted with an orange cuff on a blue sock. Since the socks are so short, I got this baby finished in just a couple of days. Then I had to decide about the second sock. Did I want to make a pair of identical socks or did I want to have fun? I voted (vote of one) for fun and cast on a blue cuff. I would knit the body of the second sock in reverse of the first.

I think these socks are so much fun! I can see them peeking out of sneakers at a football game or another sports game. Ha! Ha! The last bit of this pattern is that they have a pompom at the back like the peds I grew up with. I got out my pompom maker and made an orange and a blue pompom. Trimmed them up, attached them to the socks and …

I’m loving them! They’re fun and youthful and I hope that Laine gets as much joy out of them as I do. She’s a very special young woman and I am absolutely certain that she will make a difference in our world one day soon.

Pattern: Purl Soho Pom Pom Socklet; Free pattern on the Purl Soho webiste (find the link on Ravelry.) Yarn: Zitron Trekking Sport which is actually a fingering weight yarn. I own a bright green, charcoal gray, orange, blue and a raspberry colorway. Great colors. How appropriate that I had an appropriate blue and a close orange colorway! I love these socks! I’ll be knitting more of them for sure. Needles: US 1 1/2 DPns. Size made: US shoe size 7 or 9 1/4 inch long foot. I made the third size (cast on 64 stitches.)

Gone knitting.

Knitting on the Porch – Perfect Saturday

Posted on May 13, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

We captured the first photograph of a hummingbird this morning. It’s become quite the thrill to watch the map tracking the hummers back to Maine from their winter home way down south. We’ve had the feeders up for about two weeks but until this week we hadn’t seen any birds. That all changed after I had cleaned and refilled the feeders this week. They’re back!

We spent the morning (and into the afternoon when the breeze kicked up) on the porch this morning. The sun was shining and the hummingbirds and loons were active finding food. I brought my knitting onto the porch and was working on my Romi MKAL “Falderal” shawl. I had gotten quite a bit of clue three finished when I realized that I hadn’t slipped a pair of stitches. Yesterday afternoon I frogged back 4 or 5 rows (at over 300 stitches per row) to where I had missed the slipped stitches, corrected my mistake and then worked on. This morning I finished clue 3.

Spoiler Alert! If you don’t want to see what it looks like at this point, don’t read any further.

I’ve chosen two colors of Practically Perfect sock by Emma’s Yarn for my shawl. I wanted to knit something in a purple because, honestly, I don’t have anything purple. The contrasting color is a gray that I’ve had in my stash for quite some time. The colorways are called February ’23 (purple) and After Dark (gray). It’s pretty contrast-y, perhaps more contrast-y than I had planned but I think I will like it well enough. I’m certainly not going to frog the whole project at this point.

You can see that the shawl will be soooo much more beautiful when it’s blocked and you can really see the lace between the “lattice” pattern sections. Clue 4 will be more lace but in the gray colorway. So far, this has been fun to knit and not difficult to follow. I’ll be taking this to Canada with me for Knit City Montreal next weekend and I think I will be able to keep up with the pattern when I’ve got lots of distraction. I’ll have another, more simple, mindless project, too just in case.

I bought yarn this week to make Anker’s Summer Shirt. I like wearing my hand knits and I like wearing Berroco Remix Light so … I bought the Remix Light in the “white” colorway and I’ll work on that next. I also like Tanis’ Rock it Tee and Yumi by Isabell Kraemer. There are several I could make with this yarn (or others that I can buy at my LYS.) Anyway, the plan is to make a tee next. I would like to finish my Three Seasons Cardigan before that but it seems silly as we are in warm weather now and I have plenty of time before I’ll be wearing the cardigan. So, tee is up next.

I have a pair of socks on the needles, too, of course. These are for my daughter, Libet. She chose the yarn from my stash when she was last here. I had to make a couple of pairs before I got to hers for gifts but I’m at it now. They should be ready for her birthday in July. Again, the yarn was stashed so I have no recollection of where it’s from but it’s really pretty and “dark” which is what she wanted.

I’m using Yankee Knitter’s sock pattern for the family #29 which is my favorite. I’ve knit so many socks from this pattern that I nearly have it memorized which makes it even better. I find I have to check on the number of stitches to pick up on the gusset and that’s about it when I’m knitting the fingering weight which is what I do most often.

We’ve been enjoying watching the birds at the bird feeder. We have a regular (pair?) of Pileated Woodpeckers and the regular host of Chickadees, Nuthatches, Titmice, Goldfinches, Purple Finches and, of course, all the woodpeckers from the Downy to the Pileated (and all the sizes in between.) We have a trio of Crows … they may be Ravens, it’s difficult to tell the difference IMHO. Anyway, they love to hang out ON the feeder and eat all of the suet. I was outside this morning to frighten them off and I happened to snap a few pictures of new blooms from our gardens …

The spring bulbs are beginning to fade and the early perennials are coming in: L to R we have peonies budding, creeping phlox in full bloom and my favorite bleeding heart. There are a TON of dandy lions all over the yard this year. I wasn’t going to do anything with them but when I’m out there it’s really tempting to pick those babies and start drying them out and soak them in oil to make something from weeds! Last year I made a salve and we’re still using it. It’s supposed to be good for inflammation, if I remember correctly. It is fun to collect plants from the yard that most consider to be worthless weeds (the birds and bugs love them this time of year!)

I felt well enough, finally, to do a little bit of cleaning up the garden beds. There’s a lot of work left to do. We have hired a young man (now I sound like an old lady!) to help with this this year because my hubby can’t lug all the bags or wheelbarrows full of mulch this year. They’ll help me edge all the beds again and we’ll be in good shape. I’ve been watching the hydrangeas as they leaf out … and the ones in front (or is the front really the back?) of the house, the side away from the lake, has hydrangeas that bloom on the old wood. I now know that I can cut these guys back in early spring because they’re HUGE!!!

I need to walk around to Helen’s garden in the back (or the front depending on your perspective) between our bedroom and the lake to see what they’re doing. We also have some poison ivy in this bed and a very obnoxious vine-y plant that I can’t seem to eradicate. We’ve used some natural vinegar solution in years past and I hope it will work this year. I don’t think we’ve really attacked this bed recently. It’s time!

This afternoon I’m heading to a new-to-me nursery with a friend. I’m told Fieldstone Gardens is gorgeous and it’s been on my list for awhile. I’m excited to see it. My eyes are open for another peony or two and perhaps a grass for in front of the porch … is that the back yard or the front? Ha! Ha!

Gone knitting.

A Great Time to Knit! A Good Time to be a Knitter!

Posted on February 6, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

We have had the coldest weather yet! Maine saw negative double digits at the end of last week. We saw -12 degrees here at our house on Saturday morning. On Friday we started the day in the positive range but the temperatures dropped hourly. What a fun few days watching the temps!

We had no damage to our pipes although the windows did have ice on the inside in some parts of the house. I thought about hanging quilts in the big living room windows but never got it done. Luckily, we were warm. I am so grateful for our warm comfortable house.

These cold days have been great days to be a knitter, though. I spent all of Saturday and Sunday in my studio … I didn’t even get dressed! I’ve got a lot of knitting going on and I wanted to share with you before I get everything finished.

I’m participating in the Modern Daily Knitting and Arne and Carlos KAL, the Setesdal Hat which is in the new Field Guide 23. I was late to the party and got the electronic file of the book. We had three of the colors of Norwegian yarn at my LYS (on sale!) and one of my friends/co-workers and I ordered the other two colors from another LYS in Southern Maine. When I saw the colors I wasn’t convinced but once I got knitting, I’ve become a changed woman! I love the colors! I’m not sure if the hat is going to fit my big head but it will fit someone and meanwhile, I’m having fun knitting it.

I’ve knitted through the pink and the next part of the KAL begins on Tuesday. I was tempted to keep knitting and I could have finished the hat on Saturday but I decided to play along as a good group member and wait until the start of week 2.

And then I went to work on my Knitography Farm Stranded Knitting Course project, Deep Winter on the Path Hals. I’m knitting this cowl/hals in Jamieson & Smith Shetland Jumper Weight yarn in three natural shades. This cowl is a great piece to practice Patricia’s stranded knitting techniques and it’s an online class that can be taken as you have time and a prerequisite for her sweater class that I want to take this spring.

Deep Winter on the Path Hals by Patricia Anne Fortune

I’ve completed the ribbing and the first motif and am ready to begin the second motif. It’s been good practice and I like the colors and the pattern. I don’t love cowls, though. I think I’ll finish the second motif, and then knit to balance the pattern and make it a headband. And, bonus, I’ve just chosen the yarn to knit the beginner genser (pullover).

I have finished the squishy black alpaca socks for my son and they’re yummy. I wish I had feet as big as his! I may have to knit a pair of socks for me in the Lang Alpaca Soxx yarn. It’s so soft and squishy and I’ll bet they’ll be nice and warm, too. I used my standby pattern, Yankee Knitter’s Classic Socks pattern. Black socks are a trip to knit. I had no trouble knitting the cuff or the leg or the foot but when you have to be able to see the stitches … ha! ha! Not happening. For the first time ever, I had to wait until the morning and good light to pick up the gusset stitches and to Kitchener Stitch the toes.

I also finished by Stashbuster Shawl. The yarn has been in my stash for years. The yarn is The Fiber Seed’s Sprout Sock in the Rainbow in the Dark colorway. I loved this colorway because it’s alternating black and rainbow speckles. I knew it would be a fun knit and when my friend Peggy came into the store wearing a Stashbuster Shawl in the same yarn, I knew what my yarn wanted to be! The Stashbuster Shawl is a simple garter stitch shawl – good for watching TV at night – with a fun picot edge. And mine is huge! It’s narrow but it has to be seven or eight feet wide. It’s blocking right now and I can’t wait to wear it.

My Emsworth vest has not even been touched since I started the Norwegian knitting adventure. The hals, the hat and my last WIP, a traditional Norwegian Hals pattern that Patricia shared on one of our Zoom meetings – the community meets pretty regularly to get updates and ask questions. The pattern is a reconstruction of an historical pattern. I waited to order yarn from Norway to knit it – had to try the real Norwegian yarn, right? I’ve got the turtleneck to finish,18cm of turtleneck, and then I’ll have another FO. Yay, me! I’ve got to get cracking on my Emsworth next and get it finished before the Knitography Farm “Choose Your Own Path” Genser Course starts on February 19th.

I’ve also promised socks (a Christmas gift) to my husband and I pulled out the pattern that I’m going to knit. An aside, one evening when we were watching the news I noticed that he had my socks on … a cabled worsted weight pair … he wondered why they were a bit small. I’m not sure how I got them in his sock pile but I did. Now he’ll have a well-fitting pair of his own. The pattern is Urban Rustic Socks. Be careful, if you look this pattern up, you’re going to want to knit them!

I have six more WIPs in my Ravelry project queue that I haven’t discussed in quite awhile … I’ll get there. Don’t nag me. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Gone Knitting.

Summing Up Another Busy Week

Posted on January 15, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s been a pretty dreary week on the lake. We haven’t seen a lot of the sun so the sunrise that we did see was even more appreciated. This one was taken by my husband while I was sleeping. The lake has finally frozen over and despite the almost 50 degree day, we still have ice. Maybe we will see winter after all.

I’ve had a busy week again. I had a lake association board meeting to run on Wednesday evening and I spent the early part of the week preparing for that and sending out the necessary documents to the board members. This was also my week to work on Saturday so I was in the store two days and taught one day, too. I love teaching on Friday … it’s a highlight of my week. My morning class keeps on showing up and challenging themselves. My afternoon class has gotten smaller but they’re a good bunch.

I’ve been working away at my couple of projects. I started and finished another Love & Light by Laura Nelkin for a friend of mine. I completely forgot to take any photographs of it before I wrapped it up and mailed it off. I hope she loves it. She’s been a sweet friend for a long time.

I made a little “doll” for my granddaughter. I have customers who have made these dolls over the years and I’ve always thought they were cute. I chose a couple of my larger balls of left-over fingering weight yarn from my stash and got to knitting. Knubbelchen by pezi888 is a relatively simple project and so sweet. I hope it’ll be chewed on and loved.

I’m also working away on a pair of black socks for my son. He’s very appreciative of my hand-knit socks. This pair is black alpaca. The yarn is Lang’s Alpaca Sox 4-ply and it’s utterly delightful to knit with and is so soft and squishy. These may be the squishiest socks I’ve ever knitted. I’ve got the first sock completed and the second sock is at the heel turn. My son has huge feet so I’ll be knitting the foot of the sock for two days but they’ll be done well in advance of his birthday.

Have I ever written about the Sock Ruler? I love this tool. It was gifted to me by my sister-in-love who didn’t want to knit socks and, at first, I thought this was a goofy item and that I’d never use it. Boy, was I wrong. I love the sock ruler and it’s an amazing way to measure the length of the foot in particular. The rounded end fits perfectly in the heel and you work the foot until it’s 2 inches (or whatever your pattern directs) less than the length of the foot. In my son’s case, that’s 9 1/2 inches of foot and then the toe decreases. The Sock Ruler is available in an adult size and a baby and infant size, too. I have bought the baby and child Sock Rulers and I’ll be sure to use them when Sylvie gets bigger but I use the adult one every single time I knit socks. I love it! (And I really love my son because these socks are black.)

I’m working right along on my Emsworth by Isabell Kraemer, too. It’s a little bit slow-moving because I have to be able to pay attention when I’m knitting this vest. The lace work is simple enough but when I am in a group and talking, I tend to forget to move markers and counters and all the tools that you need to keep track of where you are. I can share with you that I have picked up the front shoulders, connected the neck and am working my way down through the increases at the side of the underarms. It’s quite a fun knit and the charcoal gray, while a little bit difficult to see the stitches, is a great color for my wardrobe. I look forward to getting this finished, blocked and wearing it!

I wound a couple of hanks of stashed yarn into cakes this afternoon for a new shawl project. One of my former co-workers came into the store last week with a shawl/scarf on that I really liked and I knew I had the same yarn in my stash. I have to pattern and am ready to cast on and play with some blending of the two yarns. More on that when I get started.

This afternoon, after I finished the store’s weekly newsletter, we went on a most excellent shopping adventure to Portland, Maine. We’ve been talking about finding me a good knitting chair for ages. I thought I wanted a sleeper sofa or a chair but it had to be comfortable for a knitter which means a straight back and a relatively shallow seat and, most important of all, low or no arm rests. I’m so excited to report that we’ve ordered my chair and it’ll be delivered in March or April and I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone on this one! Wait until you see it.

I’ll end on the volunteer front where I started and let you know that our administrative coordinator is leaving us and we (I?) will be getting back all of her files and jobs and the office phone early next week. I’ve decided to close the “office” for a couple of weeks to give myself some time to recharge. It’s been a lot of work. My board meeting was successful in that there are several board members who have stepped up to get a few tasks accomplished and we will be forming a governance committee group to find the new slate of officers to take over in the late summer. And we will also be forming a committee to figure out how to better organize the lake association so that we can close down for a while in the winter and how we can better plan the season so that the board does less of the work and there are consistent tasks for the staff. I’m eager to see where this leads. We are on the precipice of requiring a part-time executive director to oversee the business of the organization.

The other organization whose board I sit on is the Maine Arts Academy. We’ve had a busy fall/winter, too! We are so excited, though, because we’ve bought our own building and we’re moving the school to Augusta, Maine pretty soon. Our current campus has gotten way too small and we have the demand from students and this year we had to turn some away. (And we hate to do that!) I’m extra proud of this group of dedicated teachers, administrators and board members. They’re among some of the most wonderful people I’ve had the occasion to work with. I look forward to being in our own building and seeing where the school goes. I’m sure it’s going to be a bright future for MeAA!

Sunset this afternoon … pink skies and snow in the forecast. I’m crossing my fingers (and toes!)

Gone knitting.

What a Day .. and a half

Posted on December 19, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

We had our first “plowable” snow Friday night and yesterday. We are thinking we got about 8 inches … maybe 9. It’s absolutely beautiful! The only drawback, if you can call it that, is that we lost power on Saturday at around 2:30pm. The short story is that we got power back this afternoon around 3pm. BUT for a household with two generators, we were mighty cool over that 24 plus hours and I’m really grateful that I have a husband who is creative and can figure out how to minimize our discomfort.

So, how is it that we have two generators and neither one works? Well, suffice it to say that we’re in between generators. Our old one is a portable model that we drag out of the garage and across the yard to plug in and it ran the whole house. But my husband needs a new hip and we thought we’d bite the bullet and get a new, automatic generator hooked up before the winter kicks into high gear. We had our neighbor install (except for the propane) a new automatic generator. We may be able to leave the house in the winter after all. BUT we were told by our propane company that we only had to dig a ditch from the house to the generator and they’d come hook it up … and then they needed a deposit … and they didn’t come. So my husband called them about it and they hadn’t scheduled us. And now it’ll be January 6th before they can come. Meanwhile, obviously, there was a nor’Easter … and several inches of heavy snow … and 24+ hours of powerlessness. Literally.

I’ve knitted through the hours that were difficult and growing cold. Neither of us slept particularly well last night. We were both up at 3am for a few hours … reading with our headlamps, drinking a cup of tea. I was lucky and was able to go back to sleep. This morning the sun came out and we are fortunate to get some serious passive solar heat. The living room was 66 even after almost 24 hours of no heat. Husband got a long extension cord, passed it through the kitchen window and plugged into the fridge so we didn’t lose our food. He also realized that he could plug into a power strip and then we could also charge our phones. And a space heater. And a shop light.

The knitting helped me cope with the lack of comfort. I take the luxury of heat and electricity for granted every single day. The expectation is that we will always have it – and we even flick the switches when we know that power is off. A rude awakening but a reminder, too, about how lucky we are to live here. In the home that we built on the lake that we love in the state that we chose as our home together. In a special country where we are afforded so many freedoms and luxuries. Our “suffering” and “discomfort” was minimal at best but we were among the lucky ones.

I’ve finished the socks for my daughter that I started on the way to Massachusetts for Thanksgiving. I love the yarn. They’re happy socks!

They’re plain vanilla socks, my favorite Yankee Knitter pattern. I’ve bought the pattern several times and keep going back for more. I’ve now bought the pattern electronically and I hope I don’t shred that pattern, too.

I realized that I had some beautiful cashmere yarn in my stash that are the perfect colors for a hat for my sweet granddaughter. I have been wanting to knit a hat for her that is a bit larger than the newborn hats that she has because she’s bound to keep growing. I combined two patterns to make the bow hat in a DK weight yarn. I’ll block the pieces tomorrow and put them all together. I hope I love it as much as I think I will. Despite the ladders and some funky color change mess.

Aaand, last but not least is the little cardigan that I’m knitting for Sylvie. She’s getting big enough that the newborn sweater and the Christmas sweater that I made her may not fit. I’ve shipped the Christmas sweater and am close to finishing the cardigan … one sleeve almost finished and one more to go. Add some ribbing around the opening and some buttons and it’ll be ready to go. I love the shade of blue that is an On the Round sock colorway that I’ve had in my stash. I’m knitting a Knitting Pure and Simple pattern. (Have a look at my Ravelry project page for all the details.)

So, in addition to finishing the sweater and blocking and assembling the hat, I’ve been trying to decide what project to knit next. It’s difficult to believe that I haven’t got more projects on the needles. BUT it’s time for something new. I just saw a sweater (cardigan) pattern called the Ramona Cardigan by Elizabeth Smith. It’s an Aran weight wool in a grey colorway. I happen to have a sweater’s worth of a heavy worsted gray yarn by Brown Sheep. I think I may be heading down the Ramona path later on this week. I don’t have a dark grey sweater and this will match a lot of things that I wear on the regular. And it’s not complicated. My head is a swimming with responsibilities and I can’t deal with a knitting pattern that requires a lot of my attention.

I also need to knit a pair of Christmas socks for my hubby. He surely deserves them for taking such good care of me.

Gone knitting.