Queen Bee Knits

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

iPhone Ear Bud Cozy?

Posted on July 14, 2013 by Queen Bee Knits

I’m not really sure what to call these things. But, suffice it to say that I’ve made a sweater for i-Phone earbuds … mine and my daughter’s, too. The idea came from a photograph somewhere or an article somewhere and I’ve blogged about the process before (here).

But, they are quick and easy to knit up if you know how to knit i-cord, and they are really fun to wear and the best part is that they keep your earphone cords from getting impossibly tangled up.

This pair, for my Chicago daughter, is a merino and alpaca blend of wool and they are really soft and she liked the neutral gray color. They knitted up in a few hours because the yarn is a worsted weight.

I cast on four stitches on my number US 4 short DPNs and knitted to the “Y” split. I added a couple of additional stitches to cover the “Y” (six stitches now) and then put three stitches onto a stitch holder for one side and then continued on the remaining three stitches to the ear bud. I then went back to the stitches on the holder and knitted up to the speaker/volume “bar” (for lack of a better word) where I just knitted on the right side and purled on the wrong side until the bar was covered. Past the bar I just started up with the icord again.

I’ve heard a couple of people suggest that you can add a drop or two of glue to hold the stitches down but I’ve chosen to let the sweater creep up because I can also pull it back down if I want to. No big deal.

Next (just as soon as I finish the candy) I’m going to paint an Altoids box (and I may line it in glue or decoupage the interior) to keep them in so they don’t get all messed up floating around in my purse.

Another great quickie knitting project … I hope she loves them. I sure do love her!

Gone knitting.

Alpaca & Kids & Finished Objects

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Queen Bee Knits

They’re Here!

It’s a beautiful gray day today and the last of a bunch of fun with my daughter who, with her boyfriend and her new rescued pup, drove from Chicago to visit us. We’ve had some great hot weather and some more typical Maine weather (gray and cool). And we’ve had a lot of low-key fun.

We had lobster twice. I bought some alpaca yarn and knitted an i-cord cover/cozy for her iPhone earbuds. I’ve done a pair before for myself with some scrap yarn. They’re fun & don’t get knotted up in your bag. (Pictures Coming)

Meanwhile, I’ve finished a Friday Knitting Group charity project and I love it!

I bought some new yarn for a charity project …

It’s a one skein project (at least it was for me) that my Friday knitting group is making for one of our members who is legally blind and having some family challenges. We’re each knitting a square and our teacher will put the squares together. I love the way my square turned out – the colors are vivid and cheerful. The pattern, the Lizard Ridge Afghan, is a free pattern from Ravelry. It only took a couple of hours. The yarn is Noro Kureyon and it’s not too horribly pricey but if you were going to make the full size (24 squares), it’s going to cost you a fortune. It might also be nice with a couple of plain blocks or pattern blocks in a solid color. It starts out looking like an egg crate but I’m told it will block out flat … can’t wait to see the finished results! I’m sure it will be appreciated.

Lizard Ridge Afghan … one square with love from the Queen Bee

My grand-dog, Willow, loved her first couple of boat rides. She particularly likes sniffing all the new smells in Maine – and she loves to watch squirrels. She’s a rescue dog and just moved to Chicago two weeks ago from Missouri and has already driven to Maine. One well-traveled girl!

She is very sweet and calmer than our one-year-old chocolate lab puppy … unless her parents are out of the room! 🙂 She has some “hang ups” (she’s afraid of the dark and has some separation anxiety … howls in their apartment … ) having been a stray who lived on the streets of Saint Louis before she was picked up and has lived in a shelter and then a foster home prior to coming to live with my daughter. I think she’s going to be a great dog. She just needs a lot of love and patience. She’s already making progress.

My new Chicago grand-dog, Willow

I love having my kids around more than anything. And this visit has been lots of fun. And I even got some knitting done between cocktail cruises!

Cocktail cruise … daughter “binocularing” and her boyfriend “two fisted drinking” … four dogs, four adults! Lots of laughs!

Gone knitting!

Sleepless and Blogging

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Queen Bee Knits

I can’t believe that I haven’t blogged for so long. I apologize to those of you (all two or three of you) who want to read something of substance about knitting and were looking to me to blog about something. I’ve failed you. (Ha! Ha!)

I’ve been knitting a bunch and have been having fun while doing it. I have my new scarf on the needles with some pretty beads. The pattern is a free one from my LYS called “Beaded Scarf” and it’s a skein of fingering weight yarn – I chose Cascade Yarns Heritage Sock Yarn (Color 5630/ Lot 075) in a light turquoise blue with beads that are the same color and lined in silver (Deanna’s 6/0 beads). I have seen it on the counter in a different yarn and decided that I liked the simplicity of the yarn I picked and it’s simple and understated and I really liked it. The only “difficult” part was figuring out how to get the beads onto the yarn easily. Thankfully, I have knitting friends who are helpful (thanks to Beverly) and got the job done. I did have to buy some straight needles to knit this project. I haven’t knitted on straight needles forever but you have to have them for the beading … or you’ll be moving beads around which is a tedious job.

The beginning … after stringing on three strands of beads.

These beads needed more light!

I found out today that my brother’s feet are not a size 13 but a size 14 which means that I have a bit more knitting to do before I can finish the toe and deliver the gift. Did you know that a man’s size 14 shoe converts to a 12 inch foot? It’s like knitting for a giant’s foot! 😉 I hope he’ll love them and I am going to work on them tomorrow because I’m ready to cast on another new project and promised myself that I would finish the socks first. I will keep this promise to myself … better than the no buying any new yarn promise.

Keep knitting! Keep Knitting! Socks for “giant” feet!

I have about 11 inches of the knitted bag finished. Knitting this project is hard on my hands. It’s double worsted weight yarn held together and the pattern asks for a size US 6 needle. The fabric is very stiff and, of course, being stockinette stitch, it rolls up and is fairly unforgiving. I can only do a few rows of this before my arms are tired. A strange “complaint” for a knitter (but you’d understand if you tried it!) I am loving the colorway that I chose which is a dark gray but not quite charcoal gray. I think the bag is going to be pretty and I am eager to get to the two lace panels which are what I think will make the bag!

Dark Grey Purse Fabric … getting there!

I haven’t touched my DROPS tunic. So be it. Other projects are taking precedence now and that has to be OK. My new yarn awaits and I have a new order for a baby blanket so I have to find some yarn and get moving on that, too.

Meanwhile, our house is full of family tonight and it’s such fun to have my brothers and their families in our house. We had a fabulous dinner of lobster (caught by my brother) and fresh Striped Bass. Life is good and I feel so blessed.

Gone knitting!

Rainy Day Knitting … or Not?

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Queen Bee Knits

It would seem that today, of all days, I’d want to knit! But I haven’t let myself start any new projects (despite the purchase of some new yarn) until I finish my brother’s 50th Bee-day socks. His birthday was only at the end of April! 🙂

So, I’m plodding along on a pair of socks that I know he’ll like but I’m not enjoying knitting them. Could it be the basket of yarn that is calling me? Teasing me with new opportunities to create something more exciting?

Gone knitting!

A Wonderful Day in Maine

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Queen Bee Knits

Yesterday we decided to take a drive. It’s an old-fashioned idea, I know. My dad used to take us on a drive on Sundays. We’d all climb into the back seat of his car (sometimes with the top down) and, though there was always some “Mom, he’s over the line” bickering, off we’d go. Once I recall my brother letting go of a cloth diaper when the convertible top was down. Not sure how he survived that one!

Anyway, I’ve wandered from my purpose here.

Yesterday we decided to take a drive. We had a slow, lazy start to the day with coffee on the front porch and then packed up the dogs and headed to Bath.

My plan was to visit Halcyon Yarns. (N had his cameras and can always keep himself busy for a couple of hours while waiting for me to shop for yarn. And it was cool enough for the dogs to come with us rather than be crated in the house.)

Part of why I love to visit Halcyon Yarns is because it’s not just a knitting shop. I can while away hours imagining learning all the crafts that they carry the stuff for – needle felting, spinning, rug hooking, tatting, weaving, and crochet. I’ve probably missed a few. Aisles and aisles of fiber from warp (or is it weft?) to cotton, and wool and alpaca and silk threads and many different weights of each. Some are actually Halcyon yarns and some are from well-known companies like Noro and Cascade. And a room full of pattern books and mugs and yarn bowls and … well, you get my drift.

I carefully paced myself as it can be a dangerous thing, shopping for yarn. But this time I was “good”. I only bought a few things …

Noro Taiyo Sock – Color S17 Lot D
Cotton, Wool, Polyamide & Silk
24-26 sts x 36-38 rows = 4 inches on US 2-3 needles

Two skeins of Noro Taiyo Sock yarn (in Color S17-D) for another (more colorful) Bermuda Shawl. And, yes, the two skeins are the same colorway! I can’t wait to start knitting with this yarn!

Noro Taiyo – Color 35 Lot A
100 grams, 200 meters
Cotton, Silk, Wool & Nylon

One skein of Noro Taiyo (Color 35-A which was on sale) for a knitted lamb from the new Noro (Spring/Summer) Magazine. I also bought the magazine.

Hlacyon Gemstone Soft Twist Silk – Lot 15989 – 240 yards
100% silk, Sport weight
5-7 sts = 1 inch on US 3-5 needles

I bought a hank of Halcyon’s Gemstone Soft Twist Silk in a silver color (not sure what the gemstone is … diamond? I like diamonds!) This is to knit a necklace that I saw online … on Facebook, if my memory serves.

Indulgence Sock Yarn – Color 105 Lot 18411
426 yards, 21 sts x 27 rows = 4 inches on size US 3-6 needles
Merino wool & Polyamide

And last, a ball of Indulgence 6-ply (also on sale) Sock Yarn with which I’ll make socks. I just loved the colors in the yarn (and it’s really soft, too.) The sample that was on the table was a tubular scarf knitted in all of the different colorways … I almost bought one of each. Almost.

Halcyon also has a bunch of wonderful-sounding classes available if you’re looking to take one! And the people who work there are very friendly and helpful … if you don’t mind wandering aimlessly, you can do it for hours at Halcyon Yarn! You’re going to enjoy the ever-changing samples at Halcyon, too! I saw no fewer than three sweaters that I would like to knit. Too bad I brought three projects with me from Florida!

And while you’re visiting Bath, it’s worth your while to visit the Bath Iron Works and the Maine Maritime Museum. For $27 (adults) you’ll get admission to both a 1-hour tour of the place where our US naval warships are being built. Some are so super secret that you’re not allowed to take photographs! Really fascinating! You can also visit Popham Beach (beware, the water in Maine is wicked cold!) and Reid State Park.

Parks, new things to learn and fiber. Just a few of the reasons that I return to the area every year!

Gone knitting.

Making the Big Decisions

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Queen Bee Knits

Last summer I bought the most beautiful yarn at the Maine Fiber Frolic.

Seacolors Yarn

And I also got a “free” pattern with the sweater. I really liked the idea of the boxy cardigan with this yarn using a random pattern with the three colors. Different sleeves. Not too matchy-matchy.

Over the summer and fall, I got all the pieces knitted and was ready to put them together. The shoulders and sleeves, though, didn’t fit. They were at least two inches off (the sleeves were too small for the space that they were supposed to fit into). Well, what to do?

I mulled it over and decided that I had to re-knit the sleeves. Frog them and re-knit them with more increases so that they’d fit into the space … and then as I prepared to frog the sleeves and re-knit them, I noticed that I had (for some unknown reason) joined two balls of yarn in the middle of the back right about exactly where it would be most noticeable. What was I thinking? So, I decided to frog the back to the join and re-knit that, too. And then when I got that far down and was ready to rejoin the yarn, I noticed that I did it not once, but twice and there was another join just about two inches below the first one.

A second join in the middle of the back … what was I thinking?

That did it. I frogged the whole sweater. It went from this …

All the pieces were finished and blocked …

To this … in just a few minutes!

Oh well, that’s one of the most wonderful things about knitting … you can start anything over if it isn’t pleasing you. This one wasn’t pleasing me at all. But I do love the yarn!

And if anyone is wondering why we may be allergic to wool? Well, check out what was left on my desk after I frogged and re-wound the wool!

Wool dust … ahhhhh – choo!

Gone knitting!

Sweater Design – CYC Certification, Knit Level 2

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Queen Bee Knits

My Primitive Drawing!

The last step in the certification process (or at least the knitting part of the process) is to design and knit a simple sweater with sleeves for a beginning knitter.

Since I’m already “late” in the process, I decided to knit a tiny sweater for a baby niece who is four months old. She’s small and with the yarn I chose out of my stash, it should be a relatively quick knit and I’ve kept it really simple. All a new knitter would need to know to knit this sweater is cast on, join in the round, knit, increase, decrease and bind off.

I decided to start at the bottom of the body of the sweater and make it a rolled edge (no ribbing). And then to make the sleeves short since my yarn is cotton & could be worn in warmer weather or in cooler weather with a long-sleeve t-shirt underneath.

I’ll write the pattern (it’s required for the last step) and will post in on my Ravelry page (have you checked out Ravelry? I’m Lindar) for free when the certification is finalized and I can publish the pattern!

Here’s what I have knit so far …

Sleeve (one of two)
… like you hadn’t already figured that out!)

Body (bottom to top, knit in the round) with a rolled edge.
Simple enough for a beginning knitter!

The yarn is Araucania (hand dyed in Chile) Tolhuaca Solid in Color 1202. It’s 100% pima cotton, 120 yards per skein. I love the hand on this cotton yarn and it’s denim-y color is something that I thought would match everything my niece wears.

I love rolled necks and bottoms of sweaters but I didn’t want the sleeve to roll (it would feel funny on her little arms and against her little body) so I knit a row, purled a row a couple of times so the sleeves would lay flat against her arms.

Now it’s time to figure out how to get it to all go together. I’ve done one sweater before in this method and I’m trying to use my memory of that to get my pieces to attach to each other!

Gone knitting!

How to Knit i-cord

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Queen Bee Knits

I-cord is not a difficult thing to knit and it can be used for so many projects.

Recently, I knitted i-cord ears for a Tiny Baby Bunnies pattern and you can see pictures of my projects on my blog, here, or on my Ravelry page, here.

I’ve also used them for embellishing knitted garments like my Senorita Lolita dress and on an original cowl that I knitted and is for sale in my 3 B Street shop.

Senorita Lolita (Copyright 2011 Prima Dogma by Queen Bee Knits

Butterscotch Cowl Copyright 2013 Queen Bee Knits Original

I-cord is a spiral “tube” of knitting that is constructed by sliding the working piece from one side to the other side of your DPN.

It’s a great handle for knitted (and felted totes), it’s a great embellishment for knitted garments (and can be formed into flowers or stems or just about anything you can imagine!

It’s also very simple to knit!

Here is what you need to know to be successful when knitting i-cord!

Cast on the required number of stitches to be used for the i-cord (in this case, I used 6 stitches.)

Cast on # of Stitches

Slide your stitches to the right side of the DPN (do NOT turn your needle!)

Slide stitches from cast on position at the left of the needle to the right side

Knit all stitches (to knit the first stitch, you’ll bring the working yarn around the back of your needle and give the first stitch or two or three a good tug to pull the yarn so there won’t be a huge gap but don’t worry too much as the next few rounds will help even it out!)

Note that the stitches will be on the left side of the DPN. Do NOT turn your needle.

Knit all stitches (sorry, it’s a little blurry, but you get the idea!)

Slide the stitches to the right side of the needle and knit all stitches again.

Repeat sliding the stitches from the right to left of the DPN and knitting all stitches until i-cord is the right length for your project. It is also helpful to give the “tail” a tug or two to get the i-cord to stretch out & down.

After a few rows, you’ll start to see the tube starting to take form.

After a few rows of knitting (9 here)

Queen Bee
Knitting Tip

Knitting Tip – When you’re knitting circularly (in the round) on double-pointed or circular needles, in order to keep your knitting from getting “ladders” where the needles meet, remember to give an extra tug (gently, don’t break your yarn!) on the first and second stitches as you start working on a new needle. This will lessen the chance of ladders happening which are unsightly in your knitted garments. Trust me, I’ve got plenty of experience! 🙂

So, there you go! Practice this a few times and you’ll have a great new trick in your knitting arsenal!

Gone knitting!

Knitting … Bunny Nuggets and Tiny Baby Bunnies

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Queen Bee Knits

This weekend I actually started and finished a little project!

It’s an award for my 3rd grade mentee who has reached her learning goals for the end of the year (or near end of the year, we still have 21 days left!) I knitted her another tiny brown bunny awhile back and she requested a pink one.

Tiny Baby Bunnies pattern by MochiMochi

The first one that I made for her and gave to her a few weeks ago got “lost” on the bus on the way home when she was sharing it with her “friends”. I’ve told her that I’ll knit one more but she is not allowed to share it on the bus. Apparently her friends there can’t be trusted. What a shame that children have to learn that! Anyway, I thought I’d add to the little bunny and make her another and when my knitting friend, Terri, brought some Bunny Nuggets to our knitting group the other week, the choice was easy! The pocket is my addition so the little bunny will have a safe home.

Bunny Nugget (by Danger Crafts) with pocket and Tiny Baby Bunny (by MochiMochi)

The patterns are super simple to follow and easy, quick knits.

The Tiny Baby Bunnies pattern by MochiMochi told me that I had to make it in a sock-weight yarn (fortunately I had pink on hand in my stash so I didn’t have to buy more just for this tiny project!). I used US #1 double pointed needles and it came out so cute (both times). Clear instructions and about a ten-minute knit. You do need to know (or learn between now and then) how to knit in the round on DPNs and how to make i-cord. Gotta love those quick-to-knit projects!

The Bunny Nugget pattern, too, is quick and simple. Although, if I’m totally honest, I didn’t make mine in the exact order that is described in the written pattern … and it was only because I was being impulsive and maybe not paying attention! If you follow the instructions, you’ll have no problems at all! 🙂 I made the pocket by picking up eight (8) stitches in the lower belly of the nugget and knitted six or seven rows and then bound off and attached the sides. Easy-peasy! I used some stashed light pink acrylic worsted-weight yarn that I had from an old project. Just about any yarn can be used in this pattern because you can “adjust” it by using needles that are a couple sizes smaller than the yarn requires. I used a US #4 DPN with my worsted weight yarn. For this pattern, knitting in the round on DPNs, picking up stitches (if adding a pocket like mine) are two things you might need to know.

I think it’s a perfect pocket for it’s teeny tiny pink friend!

I hope she’ll love it!

Gone knitting.

Knitting Interrupted

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Queen Bee Knits

This work thing sure has cut my knitting time!

I used to knit for hours each day. Now I’m lucky to have a few minutes here and there throughout the day to even think about yarn. Today I actually took a break at lunchtime and knitted a 2-stitch i-cord for ears of a tiny bunny for my mentee. (Her request; an award for completing her goals!) I only have to give it eyes and a tail and it’s a gift that will be loved.

Sleeves to frog and re-knit (wider to fit the arm holes), a back to re-knit because I must have been “on something” when I changed balls of yarn smack dab in the middle of the back at mid-shoulder height.

Tunic to finish (ha! Maybe by winter!)

Socks for the youngest brother’s 50th birthday – after I replace the chewed needles.

So much knitting … so little time.

Gone knitting!