Queen Bee Knits

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

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.

Lane’s Island Pullover (part 1)

Posted on June 27, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

This weekend we went to Marblehead, MA for a couple of days to visit with our family there. It was wonderful … and we even saw the sun! We hadn’t packed well for sun, though, since the weather report said it was supposed to be rainy and in the low-to-mid-60s. But we survived and were revived by our visit with my brothers, sisters-in-love, nephews and niece, great-nephew and friends there, too.

I’m working my way up the front of my Lane’s Island Pullover by Lori Versaci of VersaciKnits. I took some artistic license with this pullover because I loved the style and shape but I don’t love me in stripes. So, I eliminated them. I’m knitting the sweater in the “white” (more natural) colorway of Berroco Remix Light. As a result of my choice to nix the stripes, it’s a rather “boring” knit because once past the ribbing, it’s all stockinette stitch to the armhole decreases. And then more stockinette to the shoulder decreases. Which, frankly, in my harried and hassled state of mind, has been a blessing.

The part that I find so incredible in this pattern (so far) is the way Lori added the pockets into the front of the pullover. It is a miraculous design, brilliant! I’m not going to share how she does it because you should buy the pattern to learn it yourself, but suffice it to say that I am so in awe of it that it’s kicking my butt into high knitting gear. I can’t wait to finish the front and start the pockets.

The stitch holder, by the way, if you’ve not seen them yet are The Knitting Barber cords. They’re silicone “straws” that your needle tip fits into snugly and you pull the stitches off the needle and onto the cord. A brilliant knitting tool.

I’ve been working exclusively on this sweater so that I can get it finished by the time I go to “sewing camp” in early July. I hope I make my deadline and if not, so be it, it’ll go to camp with me for when I need a brain break from sewing. I really do want to finish those pockets and see how they’re done.

It’s another rainy day here on the lake. I’ve had two lake association meetings already this morning. Catching up from being away. I’m watching a pair of loons preening and stretching their wings from my office window. A spectacular view when one has to be working!

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!

The Longest Day – Knitting Marathon or a Good Cause

Posted on June 20, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Yesterday was my Longest Day knitting marathon (and fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association). The actual “longest day” is on Wednesday but it’s difficult to commit to knitting from sunrise to sunset on a “work day.” So … the Longest Day team that I am on, Anne Budd’s team, decided that Sunday was the day to knit. And knit we did.

I had decided to work on the mini jumpers designed by Arne and Carlos because I’ve been working on completing the collection for what seems like forever. Two years at least. I’ve now completed 1-19 but two of them still need the ends woven in and seams sewn. I’ll get it done, I promise. I really want to get the knitting done so that we can use them as an advent calendar this year.

I did manage to finish the knitting on 19 despite the fact that the second sleeve had to be frogged and reknit because I got distracted and didn’t finish one round (and started the next round a needle ahead.) I think that happened when I took my husband out for lunch for Father’s Day … Father’s Day also fell on Sunday and I HAD to do something fun with him. His kiddos live far away so it’s up to me to make Father’s Day feel like a special occasion. We went to Belgrade Lakes and visited the Farmer’s Market and had lunch at Belgrade Lakes Seafood. I brought my knitting and I made my mistake while we were waiting for our food.

I had every expectation that knitting all day I would make more “progress” but I am pleased to have gotten one mini jumper completed (and today I wove in the ends and seamed the arm to the body.)

I raised over $800 for the Alzheimer’s Association, too. I am committed to doing what I can to combat Alzheimer’s Disease because of my mom. The photograph here is of my mom and four of her grandchildren. She now has six grandchildren and one great grandchild.

This was the first summer that I knew something was wrong. Mom made the mayonnaise mix twice for her famous potato salad. She forgot her purse when we went to the grocery store. She forgot to take off the emergency brake and drove until the something smelled hot in the car. There were more little things that pointed to a problem but we thought it was just normal aging. And life was really, really busy.

This was the beginning of the sad story where we had to find caregivers for mom because she couldn’t take care of herself. She would forget her wallet and realize it after she pumped the gas, she forgot tennis dates and appointments. She couldn’t remember how to feed her cat. She needed help showering and getting dressed. She needed help.

Mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease shortly after this photo was taken. She was diagnosed about ten years before she passed away. She died in 2008 at the “ripe old” age of seventy-six. She had been “gone” for several years; unable to communicate or walk. The once robust, athletic, vivacious woman had dwindled away bit by bit over the ten years post-diagnosis. It was truly a blessing when she passed.

I hope that by knitting from sunup to sundown one day a year that I can make a little difference for Alzheimer’s research funding and that a preventive measure will be found so that in my lifetime there will be people who don’t have to watch their loved on disappear as my mother did. I know I’m not alone in this wish and am grateful for the many who supported my efforts this year.

Gone knitting.

You’re Prettier When You Smile

Posted on June 18, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

I recently commented on an Instagram Post about a photographer who took portraits of girls and let them just be themselves (didn’t tell them to smile or pose a certain way, etc.) I thought the photographs, taken for an art exhibit, were beautiful and revelatory. The comments in the post were also revealing.

My comment read: “I have been told for 60+ years that I was prettier when I smiled. I’m pretty all the time. Thank you very much. And I don’t have to smile to make you comfortable.” What I meant was that I am not comfortable with strange men coming telling me that I should smile and look “prettier” to make them feel better. People are attractive or not. Smiling or not. My husband is still handsome when he’s not smiling because I know him and love him. This behavior is originated in the patriarchy. It’s about women being mere decorations. Never have I ever considered telling a strange man that he’d be more handsome if he smiled! Never.

The majority of the comments on my post were positive and supportive. I found it fascinating that over 4500 people to date “liked” my comment and 41 people took the time to comment. Again, most of the comments were supportive, saying things like: “perfect comment” and “louder for the folks in the back” and “the number of times I heard this when I was practicing law twenty years ago … from men, of course” and others.

Among those positive and supportive comments were a very few that were not: “Dude, every pretty person is prettier when they look happy. Get over yourself” and “literally everyone is prettier when they smile. That’s just basic human psychology” and “how does telling you that you’re pretty when you smile mean that you’re not when you don’t? You’re doing too much take the compliment, you’re beautiful and appreciate the person who said it rather than take the compliment and twist it into a negative.” AND all of these commenters were men: Zack, Omar and … You catch my drift.

What all of these men fail to see is that telling a stranger (or a co-worker) that they should smile is NOT said to men. It’s kind of like whistling at a woman walking by. It makes me uncomfortable because you’re a STRANGER and I don’t know you. It’s seen by those who study behavior as microaggression: a behavior used against women (people of color and other marginalized groups) to put them in a submissive position. It’s bullying/overpowering someone “weaker”. It’s a behavioral or verbal slight, intentional or not, and it communicates hostile, derogatory and negative attitudes toward marginalized groups. And sadly, it’s so well ensconced in our society that even well-educated, well-mannered people don’t understand why it bothers me.

These comments have always made me feel uncomfortable and I didn’t always have the vocabulary to explain it. Just trust me when I tell you that It’s not ok for a stranger in a bar or disco (as happened to me in college) to walk up to a stranger dancing and tell her to smile, she’d be prettier. It’s not ok on a city street, in a subway or the office either. Women are allowed to take up space smiling or not.

This is me at work this week. I’m smiling. I am a generally happy person who laughs a lot and loves to greet my customers with a smile. I (mostly) love my work and customers and I work to create an experience that leaves each customer feeling a little bit better when they leave than they did when they came in. A little bit of kindness and caring go so much farther than a critical , “you’d looks so much prettier if you smiled”.

You take care of your face (and your mouth. Mind your own business. Let me choose my face … whether it be a smile, a scowl or resting bitch face. I don’t answer to you. Take not of mom’s advice: don’t take to strangers.

Gone knitting.

A Wonderful Week on the West Coast

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gone knitting.

Tybee Cardigan

Posted on June 3, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

I’ve just finished the finishing on the Tybee Cardigan that I’ve knitted for my granddaughter. I knitted it in Berroco Vivo. The colorway is so bright and happy and I love it. The cardigan is a simple bottom up design with a “shawl” collar.

The pattern is by the Berroco Design Team and it’s a free pattern on Ravelry. The construction is simple, a garter stitch bottom band and then the body is knitted in one piece to the underarms. The button bands are knitted with the body of the sweater. The sleeves are knitted separately and then added into the body of the sweater and the raglan sleeves are knitted and the collar stitches picked up and knitted. Ta Da! Ta Done!

I bought the wonderful buttons when I was in Montreal and they’re perfect for this little cardigan! I absolutely love them! They are vintage with a shank and a little bit of color variation.

This was a fun little knit and it should be machine washable, dry flat. Vivo is a cotton yarn, DK weight, with some “thick and thin” action going on. The sweater, as a result, looks a little bit “slubby” and It makes the cardigan even cuter.

I wove in the ends and added a dab of Fray check. Cotton yarn is a little bit slipperier than wool and I want the ends to stay put. Once it’s dry, I’ll give the cardigan a little bath and it’ll be ready to go to California to be tried on my super special model.

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”.)

FOs

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s been a beautiful but cool day. We did squeak in coffee on the porch before the breeze started to make it too cool and I got one shawl blocked last night and another this morning. I have a few ends to weave in on one and ends to cut on the other (even though I wore it to work today). This weekend is Memorial Day weekend and the weather is supposed to turn warm (or hot!) on Sunday. I don’t love hot …

The first FO is my Orbit shawl in Urth Uneek Cotton yarn. I think I “won” this yarn in a drawing at work and it’s been in my stash for a year or two. I have decided that I really like long, narrow shawls (aka scarves) in the warmer season for a “pop” of color. This yarn was asking to become something and I really didn’t want to have to buy more or have any left over. So, when I researched different projects for this yarn, I initially wanted to make the Easy Scarf by Diane Augustin but I decided that knitting the Orbit shawl was going to be a little bit more interesting. I used one skein of Urth Uneek Cotton and I searched for the pattern on Ravelry’s “pattern ideas” tab for the yarn.

I have to say that knitting this shawl/scarf was fun enough. Not difficult for sure. But I didn’t love the way the colorway transitioned from the fall-like colors that it started with and then it transitioned into springy-y colors. I don’t love it but it’s ok. The most displeasing piece of this project was the knot in the yarn. It was early in the skein and it was a tiny knot. I am so glad that I found it and that I pulled on it (and it came apart). In my humble opinion there should not be knots in premium yarns. Yarn companies should do better. This knot had to have been tied by a human being and it should have been pulled and discounted immediately.

My second FO is the Falderal Shawl by Romi Designs. This was a MKAL for 2023 and I had never knitted a Romi pattern and I chose to start with this one. I am really (really) happy with this project. It was fun to knit, Romi provided plenty of support and videos to help knitters through the “rough spots” if they didn’t have a lot of experience. I work on Fridays which was when she had the live zooms but it’s all good – they were on her YouTube channel.

I chose two colors of Emma’s Yarn Practically Perfect sock yarn in a purple speckle and a deep purple-y gray. (Details are on my Ravelry project page.) Purple is not my “normal” color choice and I’m trying to live outside of my comfort zone a little bit. But I loved knitting this shawl, it was challenging but not too challenging and there were a few new techniques that I learned by watching the playback of the live sessions. It’s always fun to knit lace and then watch the magic happen when it’s blocked. I really didn’t know what it would look like until it was sopping wet and being stretched out on my guest room bed … and bonus, it dried yesterday when I was at work! It’s really dry here in Maine right now and that worked to my benefit!

On the needles and hoping to be a FO soon (very soon!) is my Tybee cardigan for Sylvie. This is a free pattern from Berroco for a little cotton cardigan with a shawl collar. Raglan sleeves make it easy to finish up at the end. Bottom up construction with only a couple of short seams. I love the feel of the Vivo cotton yarn. It’s a thick and thin yarn so the sweater will be easy to care for (machine wash, dry flat). I love the colorful yarn that stripes randomly. It’ll be a cute sweater for cooler late summer days or evenings.

I think I will be spending a little bit of time, too, before I cast on another significant project*, finishing up a few more Arne and Carlos mini Nordic jumpers for my Advent calendar. I think I’ve found how I will display them in our house. I can’t wait to try it but first I have to finish the knitting. I think I have enough yarn to make the rest of them. (Crossing fingers!) #19 is up next.

I have a pair of socks for daughter #2 on the needles. She picked the yarn out of my stash and I want to have the socks finished for her birthday. I won’t have a problem with that and I have plenty of time. The first sock is nearly complete – toe decreases are in process. Sock #2 is likely to be next week’s focus.

Gone knitting.

*Oops! I did it again. Cast on to do the Old Port hat KAL with Andrea Mowry. I’m using stashed yarn and a couple of left-overs, actually. Starting with the lining in bright pink alpaca and then I’ll be transitioning to charcoal gray and a light gray. I’m not sure which will be color a and color b. Stay tuned.

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.