Queen Bee Knits

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

The Most Wonderful Time … ?

Posted on December 15, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

We woke up to ice skimming the lake this morning. It was a cool 16 degrees on the thermometer but my weather app said it was 12 degrees. Either way, it was cold. I look forward to the ice at this time of year. It’s like my lakeside neighbor said, “it’s another phase of life”.

I’ve been super busy again this week. I’m not sure if it’s the time of year or if it’s simply my life but I’ve been trying to finish up the shopping for Christmas and we sent our our Christmas cards, I had a Maine Arts Academy school board meeting – it ended up being virtual because of the crazy weather – and have had some “issues” to deal with surrounding being board chair and we’re looking at meeting dates/times, trying not to have a quorum at committee meetings to follow the rules, attending a board goals setting training, and there was some work and “normal” life stuff to do at home. Thank goodness my husband doesn’t mind (much) doing the cooking. Add the full moon into the mixture and my sleep has been wonky as all get out! I’m sleep deprived, overloaded at work (we had a roof leak this week in the afore mentioned crazy weather) and yesterday was my Saturday to work.

On Thursday I arrived at work to find this mess (above). The heavy rain and wind had caused the roof to leak (I think) and the spot in the front corner of the store that had leaked before had been totally soaked and one of the tiles had fallen to the floor but not before hitting the bookshelves below it. And the toys we have for our little visitors. And the books in the shelves, the free patterns, etc. I cleaned it up but being there solo doesn’t mean I could do much more than a basic clean-up. Yesterday I worked with my friend and colleague, Carol, and we got to dismantle everything around the leak and make sure there was no further damage. We had the “class” table covered with books, etc. and moved everything around so that area was free of merchandise until the roof is repaired. It took us the whole day to get it all off the table but the front of the store looks great. AND we were both pooped – the store was busy yesterday, too!

I have gotten to do some knitting this week. I finished my pink Lane’s Island sweater by Lori Versaci. I made this sweater in a slightly off-white colorway and I love it so much that I wanted to make another. Part of what I love is the Berroco Remix Light yarn that I used. The weight is perfect for a woman of a certain age who is usually warm and I loved the sweater design from the time I saw in (in horizontal stripes) on the front page of the Berroco pattern collection book at the shop. I made mine in solid colors, my new one is a size smaller than the first and I like them both. I wore the pink one on Friday without even properly trimming the ends after they were woven in. And it still needs a QBK label!

I’ve been working on finishing the pair of shortie socks in King Cole Footsie for my granddaughter’s favorite aunt so they’ll be sock twins. I’m hoping to finish the second sock today. Fingers crossed.

I cast on a new project (surprised?!) using some Cascade 128 in my stash that has been taunting me. I am knitting a pullover for my granddaughter in a larger size for a future year. Maybe. I got the knitting to the arm separation and didn’t like the fabric with the needles that were called for in the pattern. SO … I frogged what I’d gotten done and went down to a US9 needle and started over. I like the new fabric much better but the size will not be a 4-5, it’ll be a 2-3, I’m guessing which means she can wear it this year and/or next. I also found a hood pattern that I really want to make for her with “fur” around the face. Maybe she’ll put it on and keep it on? I also have a miscellaneous purl bump in the center front of the sweater (who knows why, but it’s not going to last forever and I can cover it with a bit of embroidery). It’s a quick project and the hood will be too.

I want to knit a larger pair of mittens for my great-nephew in Salem, MA. He loves the ones I made him last year (and they have to be a bit too small) so I bought more of the same yarn at the shop and will make a bigger pair with an i-cord string that can go in his jacket sleeves so they don’t get lost. I also have some stashed Raggi sock yarn that is wanting to be knitted up and will be work socks for my hubby. He works outside all year long and he loves his wool socks. He has quite a collection but can always use more. This is a grey/white marled yarn and I think they’ll have blue cuffs, heels and toes. He is likely to get a ball of yarn in his stocking because I don’t think they’ll be done before that time.

I found a lobster tam, design by Mrs. Knitter, in my cabinet. It’s already in progress and I pulled it out because it’s so close to being finished and the kit has to have been in my ownership for at minimum eight years. I bought it at Over the Rainbow Yarns in Rockland, ME and they went out of business in late 2017. I’ll be working on finishing that this week.

AND I will be winding up some yarn to cast on a new sweater … or vest. There was a pattern release for a DK weight vest this weekend and I really like my vests. BUT I bought enough yarn for another colorwork pullover in two shades of purple wool from the clearance section of the shop and I may cast on. If I can get the yoke finished before Christmas, it will be good mindless knitting over the holiday. I’ve also been dreaming of an Alpine Bloom hat for which I’ve purchased my favorite yarn in a light gray and a deep charcoal gray … Not sure which will end up coming first. There is also a gnome KAL happening that I’d like to join and I’ve got the yarn to make a few knitted animals for Sylvie … if I can part with them. So many patterns and so little time. I’ll be taking off a week or so between Christmas and the New Year so maybe I can indulge myself with some selfish knitting after I get gifts wrapped and ready to give.

Gone knitting.

Oh, Knitting … I love you.

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

Wednesday, November 13, 2025 (photo by Ned Warner)

Well, I’m finally climbing up and out of the sinus crud that I brought back from New York. I took myself to the express care on Monday and got an antibiotic and it seems to be working its magic and I’ve been able to sleep the past couple of nights. Does one ever really “catch up” on sleep when one has missed it? Anyway …

I’ve been knitting my little fingers to the bone and it’s kept me upright and sane while not feeling well. I started the Snowflake sweater for my granddaughter’s Christmas sweater and found that the lace yoke, even though it’s relatively simple, should NOT be done while multi-tasking. Yesterday I found a mistake in the lace, right in front, that I couldn’t ignore so I frogged it back to the collar and started over. Needless to say, this time without the TV or computer in front of me. I’m so much happier with this second round of stitching.

I’m making the 1-2 year size because our Sylvie is a peanut and I do want this to fit her this year. I’m knitting it in Berroco Vintage DK which is washable and dryable should it make it into the dryer. I always prefer to hang hand-knits to dry because I think the heat of drying weakens the acrylic fabric despite a bit of wool. The lace yoke is simple enough and will be finished off with a placket and some buttons at the shoulder. The body of the sweater is simple stockinette stitch in the red colorway. I chose a deeper-than-Christmas-red color that I really like. Christmas red, to me, is just a bit to brash and orangey. This pattern is sized from infant to adult so maybe I’ll make us all one some day. Ha! Or maybe not. Ha! Ha!

I’ve also been working on my daily requirements, six rounds, of the Arne and Carlos Christmas 2024 MKAL. I’ve completed through day 11 (and today is day 12) and I’m really enjoying this project. I am enjoying it enough that I am considering doing the 2023 version as well. I just have to buy a bit more yarn. Imagine that?!

Arne & Carlos Christmas 2024 MKAL – day 11

I’ve wound up the yarn for the hat commission that I’ve agreed to knit for a high school friend’s younger sister. She loved the Have You Seen My Octopus hat that I made for Sylvie and asked if an adult version was possible. I have committed to getting it done by the end of the weekend and mailed off to her. I will get my 6 rounds of the stocking done and then cast on for the hat today. I am hoping to make it to work tomorrow and to teach on Friday where I can get some of it done, too. It’s a really fun pattern and the hat is adorable!

My Christmas Cactus, which I thought were Easter Cactus and now think may be Thanksgiving Cactus are blooming like crazy! I have got to get all my houseplants watered again but I haven’t had the energy up until now. I hope that I can get them watered today … I just have to pace myself. I’ve been home for a couple of weeks and work last week exhausted me so I’m trying to get back up to my normal speed but realize that I’m not yet “normal”. Today I ventured out for a doctor’s appointment, emptied the dishwasher and have run a load of towels in the washer. I’m trying some Borax to see if it’ll help the mustiness of our towels. I thought I’d take a few minutes to sit and write and gather some more energy for now. It’s still early.

Gone knitting.

Appointments and Meetings Galore

Posted on October 15, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

It was an up and out early morning today. I snapped this shot at around 5:45am just as the sun was starting to think about coming up and there was a very faint glow at the horizon. We are so very fortunate to live in this beautiful place. It’s been really quiet lately. I’ve not heard any loons for a bit but it’s unlikely they’ve all left the lake already. We have lots of ducks and geese flying by outside so they’re definitely on the move.

I started the morning with a 7:30 am visit to an eye lid surgeon. I’ve had this “red bump” on my right eye lid since I was a kid. The story I’ve told was that I got it from scratching my chicken pox. Turns out that’s not true. It’s a angioma or something similar, a benign blood vessel thing. Regardless, mine’s become bigger over time (not unusual) and it’s going to be removed in early December. I take horrible selfies but here’s a photo of it for you (eeek, that’s a lot of me!)

After my appointment I came home and made blueberry muffins for my sweetie. I’ve not been doing any baking for the last few months because I’ve been feeling somewhat overwhelmed by life and all of my obligations and he’s missed his sweets. I’ve missed feeling grounded and in retrospect, my lack of baking is some of what is making me feel overwhelmed. It’s a vicious cycle! Regardless, I’m going to try to take it back and bake once a week at least. While the muffins were baking I finished our laundry and cut some of the beautiful hydrangeas from one of the bushes in our yard. I am hoping that they will dry and be a pretty decoration through the winter.

I’ve been working on two knitting projects this week so far. My Musselburgh hat for my future daughter-in-love in Herriot Fine in red and green. I’m almost to the decreases which means that it’ll be finished soon. Lots and lots of little stitches around and around on US3 needles with fingering weight alpaca yarn. The yarn is SO soft, though, it’s really a pleasure to work with.

I’ve had to attend several zoom/google meets meetings online over the past week or so and I’ve been trying to catch up with a few of the podcasts and YouTube channels that I follow. My Jelly Roll Blanket is perfect for knitting while otherwise engaged and I’ve made some good progress on the blanket. I’ve finished one tiny ball of yarn scraps and one larger ball of yarn scraps and have moved on to a third. This blanket is all bits of yarn that I’ve used in other projects, mostly socks, held with a strand of cream colored sock yarn. I think I’ve said before that I bought a bag of sock yarn thinking that I would dye some yarn. Ha! That didn’t happen. This is a good use for that bag of yarn AND it helps to unify all the scrappiness of the blanket. I am about half-way through the fourth strip. This will be a long-term project.

I’ve cleaned up my studio a bit and I’ve gotten a lot of paperwork done. I bought a new bullet journal in a pretty light teal blue for 2025. I am a paper calendar girl … I can’t work with a calendar on my phone beyond notifications that it’s a birthday or anniversary for someone in my life – and even then I seldom send a card. My kids all use the calendars on their phones, some that they share with their partners/siblings or whomever. While it sounds practical and efficient, this old girl has learned over the decades (and especially when I went back to finish my college degree) that I do best when I write things down. Something about the process is what helps my brain remember what I have on the schedule. I’ve collected stickers and markers and washi tape over the years and have fun being creative with the book each year. It becomes a diary of my life and records places we go, family events, work, volunteering, etc. AND it happens to match the colors that I chose for the Have You Seen My Octopus hat that I’m going to make for our granddaughter.

One more meeting to zoom into at 6:30 this evening … but I can go knit for a bit now.

Gone knitting.

Recovered and Back at Work: I’m Knitting A Bit

Posted on June 10, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

Well, it’s been another busy week at the Warner homestead! We’ve had a couple of rainy days but this morning we were able to enjoy our coffee on the porch. What a wonderful way to start the day. Coffee, my favorite husband and the BBD.

I’ve been home from my babysitting gig for about a week and a half and I’ve more or less recovered from full-time grandmothering. AND then life started up again. In the past week we’ve both had our eyes examined, I worked a little bit extra and a Saturday when the boss was out of town, had a board meeting, Maine Arts Academy graduation and a couple of committee meetings. (Thank goodness for Google Meets.) We are now looking ahead to our youngest daughter’s wedding at the end of the month and a bit of travel. I’m excited about July when we will just be at home. I know we have at least one visitor for the 4th of July so that’s exciting!

Yesterday “the girls” at work and I dressed our front window at the store. We’ve been planning this for a few weeks and announced to our LYS community an Emotional Support Chicken kal/cal in our weekly newsletter. We’ve had terrific participation and we are so excited by our summer window display! Our customers are excited about it and we are, too! We even have a couple of foxes.

Today I spent the morning running little errands. One of which was to deliver the little signs for the window. This is one of my boss’s favorite lines and we thought it was appropriate for our window. The ESCs have been such a great fad and we capitalized on it. Isn’t it great!? (New from Lake Yardgoods is that four more chickens arrived today! Yay!)

I’ve knitted four of the ESCs myself. One was sent to a friend in Florida and one was delivered to my granddaughter. The other two are in the window for now. The purple ESC who I’ve named Janet is going to be raffled off to one of my donors for the Longest Day Knit-a-thon that I do each year. The longest day is actually on a Thursday when I have to work so I’ll be knitting on the following Saturday. I hope that maybe some of you will donate to the Alzheimer’s Association through my link.

Thank you to those who’ve already given. I’ve raised $450 of my $1600 goal. But we’re getting close to the date and I hope to amp up my fundraising posts soon.

I’ve been in a little bit of a knitting slump. I don’t really want to knit anything that takes any bandwidth. I’ve started a pair of socks ostensibly for my brother-in-law or my sister and I’ve been working on a little sundress for my granddaughter. I need to frog back a bit on the socks because I noticed last night that I’d made a mistake in the pattern an inch or so back. Since these are gifts, I have to make them right – I see the mistakes and I won’t gift them that way. I might be able to forgive the mistake if they were for me … alas they’re not.

I did make a couple of chickens and a giant ray which I finished. BUT I just noticed that the ray doesn’t have a tail and I threw away the left-over yarn. I also returned the other balls of yarn to Michael’s because the yarn had changed. The new white yarn was SOOOO messy and was shedding all over me and all over my atelier when I was working on it. I hated it. Hopefully, though, my daughter will like it and she can stuff her corn heating pad into it and use it as a heating pad cover. We’ll see how the reports come back. I may also close up the hole after I stuff it like the one for Sylvie (which lives in her crib!)

I also ran out of the blue yarn so the poor ray is a bit wonky. But that white yarn was a horror to work with. I’ll be finding white ray fuzz in my studio for years.

The body of the little dress is finished. I have a few icord edges left to knit and I hope to get to them today but I had to run my errands and pick up some veggie plants for the garden before it’s too late. We have a short planting season here in Maine and we’ve been derelict in our planting duties. My sister-in-love had kale and lettuce ready to eat in her garden. We hadn’t even planted any but today we got some in. Swiss Chard, tomatoes, yellow summer squash, broccoli, kale and some radishes are in. We have to soak our pea and bean seeds and get them planted … maybe tomorrow.

The gardens are full of weeds but the flowers are blooming all around. Spring bulbs have faded into lilacs and then into wild roses and peonies and iris. I love watching the gardens come alive again year after year. We may even get a blueberry or two this year – if we can beat the birds and critters.

The King Fishers have returned to the lake as have the Humming Birds, the Great Blue Herons and, of course, the loons … I mean the fishermen. We had two old guys who could have heard me (ahem) sneeze this morning. I watched them from my atelier window as they scrutinized our house and I’m sure they heard me yell down to my hubby, “maybe they’d like an invitation to dinner” because they quickly motored away. They were close enough to cast their lines onto our shore and hook the dog! With hundreds of acres of water, you’d think they’d choose a spot where people aren’t obviously living – our cars are in the yard, the doors are open, the flag is flying … geesh!

Still on the needles where I was when I last wrote about them are WIPS: 1) Fiddlehead Mittens, 2) Oorik Tank Top … I did at least pick up the stitches and knitted the 5 rounds and bound off for the last arm hole. All that remains is to stitch down the steeks and I can block the sweater. 3) Pink Mittens, 4) Three Seasons Cardigan: I’m going to have to frog this and start it again when I’m ready. My tension is bound to have changed since I bound this on over a year ago. I have done a tiny bit of hand stitching; started a new block for the love note quilt – a picture of our old house here on the lake before we rebuilt.

All I want to do it knit little things. I have yarn for two French Macaroon sweaters by Purl Soho for Sylvie and her friend Isaac. Mitten yarn was purchased for Sylvie and cousin Noah. Dish Towel yarn is in the house for a pair of Farmhouse Dishtowels by Purl Soho (they have some terrific free patterns!) Little things, boring things, things that don’t take a lot of thought or effort because I’m not there and it’s okay.

Today I mixed up some natural ingredients that I hope will work as ant repellant. I am allergic to everything (allergies may be part of what’s going on with me because my system is overwhelmed) and we can’t use any chemicals in our house. This ant repellant is all natural with witch hazel, water, castille soap and essential oils. I’ve had an infestation in my atelier and it’s bugging me (ha! ha! funny!) I had to have a full on cleaning session before heading to work yesterday because they were everywhere – turns out they were in my bag of cough drops the little buggers. I vacuumed, washed the floors and walls and my desk, tossed anything with ants in it and now I sprayed. Crossing my fingers they’re gone forever.

Ant Repellant – Mix in an 8oz. glass spray bottle:

4 oz. water

4oz. witch hazel

2 teaspoons liquid Castille soap

50 drops citrus essential oil (lemon, sweet orange, etc.)

30 drops peppermint essential oil

20 drops clove essential oil

With that, I’m heading for my chair and some yarn. Let’s see what else I can cast on … and not finish.

Gone knitting.

Snow Day!

Posted on March 24, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

It finally happened! We got a good snowstorm yesterday and it closed a lot of businesses and kept a lot of people home. We were happy to be home for the day and took the day to relax and rejuvenate. I spent the best part of the day in my atelier knitting and making some sense of the messiness (again)!

The snow yesterday was blowing a drifting but we were nice and warm in our house. I finished my daughter’s Christmas socks (they’re not FOR Christmas, but she wanted a pair to wear at Christmas time). These are made with the Urth yarn sock kit “Christmas”. I’m sad to sat that I didn’t love knitting with this yarn. It was split-y and a little bit sticky on my needles. The socks LOOK wonderfu, though. I love the colorway and the kit was wonderful because it made is so easy to have a perfectly matched pair. She’ll be very happy with these, I think.

I spent a good while working on my Fiddlehead Mittens and have gotten quite a way up the second mitten. I am still wondering what to use to line these mittens because the pattern calls for a lining and I want it to be soft but wear really well, too. There are almost 4,000 of these mittens made and some of the other colorways are so pretty … betcha can’t knit just one comes to mind. I may have to knit more of these just for fun. *AFTER I finish some more WIPs and work down some more stash!

I was watching the new season of Call the Midwife and the gorgeous orange Norwegian (?) sweater came on the TV. It’s a beauty for sure. I loved the colors and it reminded me of some of Jenn Steingass’ designs. I’ve never knitted one of her garments but I can feel a Jenn Steingass coming on! I loved her little kid’s rainbow sweater. Perhaps Sylvie will want one in the future.

The last photo above was my photo of the day this morning. It’s Maine Maple Sunday today and the water is thickening again. Poor lake must be confused – and the poor ducks and Mergansers and other water birds must be completely confused. I scared a pair of ducks out of our boat house this morning. Our boat’s not in so I am happy that they can find refuge in there just as long as they don’t move in! The boat will be coming soon and this year we may even use it! But until then, I’ll enjoy my snowy day!

Gone knitting.

In and Out

Posted on March 9, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

I woke up to a beautiful sunrise this morning and, as usual, it made the start of the day at 5:45am perfectly fine. Although it felt like noon at 8am when I thought I needed to get moving and get some chores and errands run. Ha! Ha!

I spent the morning writing the store newsletter and getting the weekend plans and reminders together and planning my calendar for next week. I went downstairs for breakfast after 11am and we went out to run some errands around noon time.

I was sent a photo of a crocheted ray by my daughter that she saw on Instagram. We don’t carry the yarn at Yardgoods so today, one of my errands was to go to Michael’s to see if they had any there. I bought two balls of Michael’s Sweet Snuggles a jumbo weight chenille yarn. They had a limited choice of colors in the store but light blue and cream will work. I also bought a L crochet hook … wish me luck. I may be an expert knitter but I’m a mediocre crocheter at best.

Ray … I’ll be attempting this someday soon

I’ve been rolling along on my Stashbuster Shawl. I’m nearing the end of the project and have taken a bit of time to count my stitches and estimate how much yarn I will need for casting off. I typically give myself three times the width of the edge to be cast off. I made a knot there and I’ll knit up to that knot or very close to it and then bind off with my fingers and toes crossed and my legs, too, maybe. When I bought this yarn I thought it was in shades of gray. Turns out that it’s navy blule. It’s all good, I wear a lot of blue and this one is slightly larger than the multi-colored Stashbuster that I knitted a while back. I think it’s going to be a good addition to my shawl collection.

Haven’t made a lot of progress on my daughter’s Christmas socks or the Oorik slip over for my granddaughter. I hope it’ll fit her in the fall but I’d still like to check it off the list. I haven’t touched the Fiddlehead mittens or my pink embroidered mittens but I’ll get to them. I’m enjoying all the knitting that I’m doing so it’s all good.

This afternoon we attempted to install a new digital TV antenna on our roof. The original one hasn’t been working for a while. We got a few channels but none of the ones that we really want from more than 60 miles away so we will return this one and get one with a larger range. For a couple of “old” people we can still crawl in and out of the windows and walk on the roof. My husband has a new hip and it seems to be working well. I’m grateful for that!

Gone knitting.

A Little Dab’ll Do Ya

Posted on January 30, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

I’ve had a busy and productive couple of days at home and I’m feeling really good about it and today is a beautiful, clear, bluebird day which always helps my attitude and outlook. Plus I got a chance to facetime with my littlest love, my granddaughter, this morning before her nap … and that always makes me so happy.

I’ve been baking this week. Not sure where this came from because my baking mojo has been pretty much gone but it’s back. At least for now. My sweet hubby has been bumming because our very most favorite bread baker has closed his business and hasn’t re-opened. We loved Adrian and Universal Bread Bakers in Waterville, ME. Adrian’s bread is/was the best bread anywhere around. No question. He made baguettes, batards and boules in the French way, with crusty crust and chewy dense insides and the prices were incredibly reasonable considering the work that goes into them. But, sadly, the business was vacated because the building is going to be knocked down to make way for a large affordable housing building and Adrian hasn’t reopened (at least not yet.) All social media says that Universal Bread is permanently closed. If that’s the case then Waterville has really lost a beloved business and my sweet hubby has lost his favorite bread.

On Sunday I started the dough for the bread. I used the NY Times Baking recipe, No Knead Bread. While it takes quite a bit of time to get to the part where you can bake the bread, the process is simple and quite contemplative. I mixed up the ingredients and covered the bowl with plastic wrap (and a clean cotton towel because the plastic wrap doesn’t stick) and put it in our kitchen on top of the toaster oven where the dog can’t get it. I also made a batch of my famous blueberry muffins. In my family we call the recipe Uncle Jeff’s Muffins because when my kids were little, my brother made them blueberry muffins. They are the best blueberry muffins I’ve ever had and the recipe is such a special one. I bake them and freeze them and then my hubby can have his muffin a day and they’re not in my line of vision. On Monday I floured my kitchen counter and got the bread dough out, folded it onto itself a few times, formed it into a ball and let it sit for a couple of hours. Ran to the post office to mail a pair of mittens and then home to bake the bread.

You bake this recipe in a dutch oven which is likely why the crust is so wonderful. BUT mine got a little bit burnt on the very bottom. Our oven runs hot and even though the temperature was at 450 degrees, it burned the bottom of the bread. Next time, I’ll add a sheet of parchment paper to the pan with the dough. The bread is delicious! Hubby is happy and so am I. He deserves to have good bread that he likes and I’m happy to make it for him.

Yesterday, I also mixed up a batch of the NY Times Baking’s Bran and Chia Muffins. I have a bag of bran that has been languishing in my baking cupboard and it was time to use it up … and I almost did. The recipe is simple enough but used all the bowls. Ha! Ha!

Today has been absolutely gorgeous! And this morning I did a bit of house cleaning while I waited for the bran muffins to bake. The recipe made 18 muffins and they’re also in the freezer for my hubby – I left two out for breakfast tomorrow and I ate one for my breakfast today. I like them well enough. They may need a little bit of butter and jam to really make them taste perfect. We’ll see what the muffin man has to say about them tomorrow.

I also got some sewing done today. I opened the Pandora’s box that is my fabric cupboard in my atelier a week or two ago and found (again) all of the various projects that I had started, purchased, and planned. There are a lot. I decided that I really have to take some time every week to make some of them and finish others. I have two bags/pouches, some small zipper pouches, a wall hanging-size paper-pieced quilt and more. I found a huge piece of flannel yardage that I was going to make a scarf with, a couple of pieces of linen toweling, and a couple of old linen shirts in need of repair. Today I started to make a dent in the stack. I cut and sewed the linen toweling into four linen dish towels, I mended the two linen blouses, and I got an Advent calendar cut, pinned, sandwiched and all ready to sew. I still need to cut and pin onto the back, a hanging sleeve before it’s quilted and bound.

I’ve got several lengths of fabric in the washer right now with the linen towels, blouses and a dirty project bag. Once washed and dried, I’ll press them all and they’ll be a baby quilt and a tunic for me. I really want to practice what I learned at camp last summer and adventure out into the realm of sewing my own clothes. I just need to take the time and challenge myself.

I’ve been working on my knitting, too, of course. I’ve reached the decreases of the second half of the hat. The colors are somewhat boring but they were in my stash. I may have enough to make a second hat, too. The yarn, Herriot Fine by Juniper Moon Farm, is SOOOO soft. I absolutely love knitting with it and I think the fabric that it’s making is going to be soft and warm, too. AND it won’t make my forehead itch.

I’ve gotten the first sleeve on my Norwegian pullover to the point where it’s time to do the colorwork. I’ve decided that I am going to knit the second sleeve now to the same point and then do both colorwork sections and the final cuff ribbing. I’ve got to start another hank of the yarn anyway because I won’t be able to finish both sleeves without it. I figure that’s my chance to get both sleeves to the same point and, by rights, have them both be the same. I hope. I did try it on and the sleeve decreases are fine at decreasing every fifth round and I have sixty-four stitches on my needles which should work with my 8-stitch repeat chart. I’ll be so happy to have this finished.

#29 Classic Socks by Yankee Knitter Designs

My “cooked lobster” socks are a little more than half-way finished. I finished the first sock and am on to the leg of the second. I love this yarn. I’ve had it for more than 8 years and it’s traveled from Maine to Florida and back to Maine in that time. I know I bought it when we were living here in the summers and winter in Florida. I was going to make only solid-color socks for me but I’m going to make an exception for these.

Gone knitting!

2024 – Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

Well, here we are on the first day of the New Year … 2024. It’s another gray day here in Central Maine and it’s, honestly, getting a bit depressing. We had a brief glimpse of the sun yesterday morning and I was hoping that it would be re-energizing but the clouds came barreling in in the late morning and that was that. We did have a beautiful sunset last night though.

I wanted to take a few minutes to sum up my 2023 year in yarn. I was changing over to my new bullet journal book yesterday and so I reviewed 2023 and I officially finished 54 projects. A. few of those were sewing or hand-stitching but the majority were knitted. I have 10 WIPs that I’m carrying over into 2024 (and I have one or two projects that I need to add to my queue.)

I attended a week of sewing camp, Slow Fashion 101, with A Gathering of Stitches at Medomak Retreat Center in Washington, Maine. I took 4 knitting classes centered around traditional Norwegian knitting with Knitography Farm, I attended Knit City in Montreal and took a class with Bristol Ivy and another with Stephanie Purl McFee and I took 5 sewing classes on Creative Bug.

2024 could be a bit gentler to us all and I so wish that there was peace in the world. My heart breaks to think of families in Ukraine and Gaza being terrorized by war. I hate the Israeli government for what they’re doing to innocent citizens while I recognize their right to fight for the hostages taken by Hamas. It’s a difficult situation and one that seems to divide us rather than unite us. It seems that people around the planet have forgotten to listen to others and have compassion for others. Judgement and anger and, dare I say, hatred are flourishing in the current environment which seems to make people less tolerant of others.

In 2024 I’ll continue to work on myself and working to be more accepting, loving, and grateful. I’ll continue to work to move my body more and eat healthfully. (Today I’m starting Dry January.) I want to build in more time for sewing and hope to knit mostly from my stash … we’ll see how that works out. Because I work in a yarn shop, it’s really easy to find new projects to bring home … and I’ve done quite a bit of that in 2023. I’d like to finish up more WIPs and knit from stash this year to make some space for new projects and yarn in 2025, maybe.

I want to take some more day trips around Maine this year and maybe even a few overnights. We live in such a beautiful place and there are so many parts we haven’t seen yet. Maybe we’ll even get out of the state! We have two family weddings this year and I’d love to visit my sister in Arizona and my Aunt and Uncle in Nevada. None of us is getting any younger and tomorrow is not guaranteed.

We have a few house projects to work on. Our guest cottage (it sounds fancy but it’s not) was built in the 1950s and it’s in dire need of some work. We had it lifted up and leveled this fall and we want to paint it and put in a new “kitchenette” so we can rent it. We lived there for 7 months while we built the house and it is comfortable and has a gorgeous view of the lake. It’s a perfect place to paint or write or just escape from the workaday world for a little while. I’ll be providing muffins and scones, of course! We also want to take down our old wood shed building that has been sitting idle for a couple of years. The building we are told was an ice house built in the late 1800s and it’s in bad shape. We will replace it with a garage for one of our cars and put it closer to the house. Once the building is complete, we’ll be adding trees and plants to protect the lake and so we have less lawn. When you live by the lake, lawn is the worst … allowing rain and surface water to run into the lake with phosphorus and other chemicals. It’s bad enough that it’s New Year’s Day and there’s not even a skim of ice on the lake. Climate change is real – this is the first time in 28 years by one neighbor’s experience that we’ve not had ice on the lake at this time. I fear for this beautiful place and will do whatever I can to make our space here be a place of beauty and caring.

Farewell 2023 and welcome 2024.

Gone knitting!

Looking for Sun

Posted on March 19, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

This morning didn’t look particularly promising. I always feel better when the sun is shining and while we all know the sun is up there somewhere, we weren’t sure that we’d see the sun today. But we did! What a beautiful day. We had ice fishermen on the lake early in the day and I saw one snow machine. We won’t be seeing them for long. By late afternoon the lake ice was taking on a gray-ish tone which is typically a good sign that it’s thinning.

I’ve cut down my knitting because of the neck/nerve thing. I’ve been stretching my hands/arms/neck more often, too. I think it is making a difference. I hope so.

I’ve cast on a pair of socks for my “baby” brother. When we were in Massachusetts he happened to mention that he’d lost one of the socks I gave him several years ago. What a great opportunity to make him another pair. I’m using Yankee Knitter’s Classic Sock pattern #29 and Emma’s yarn in the “Legal Tender” colorway. His favorite color is green and our dad was a lawyer. It felt right.

I’ve cast on and frogged and cast on and frogged and cast on again and this time I hope it’s going to be okay. It’s a bit of a long story but one of my customer-friends brought in a little romper that she’s making for a future baby in her life that she needed some help with. I helped her over her knitting hurdle (bobbles … everyone bobbles a little bit differently and this one was one of the “oddest” ways I’ve seen yet.) The more I thought about it, the more I thought I needed to make one for my granddaughter.. I chose Universal’s Bamboo Pop yarn in white. The pattern is Jasmine Romper.

Jasmine Romber by Manolitasknits on Ravelry

Lisa has since finished her romper and I’ve started mine three times. The first time, I cast on according to the written instructions and then switched over to the chart … but the stitch count was off. I had a look at the other sizes (I’m knitting 6-9 months) and it seemed like the chart was right. I wrote to the designer to tell her about the difference between the written and charted directions and a missing instruction. On Friday I made the assumption that the chart was correct and cast on the second time. Ha! We all know what happens when we assume, right?

Today I started for the third time. The designer responded and the chart is actually wrong. The third time’s a charm, right? I haven’t even taken a photo*. Soon enough, I will.

Gone knitting.

Note: *Photo above is a FO from Ravelry with credit given to the knitter/photographer.

The Non-Winter Winter

Posted on February 19, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Sunrise is happening about 30 minutes earlier than a few weeks ago and it’s moving back over to the left of the music camp. That’s a good indication that we are moving out of winter and into spring. Our camp road has been posted (this is an official town posting that prohibits heavy trucks from driving on the town roads when they are least stable – aka “mud season”.)

This is a blessing and a curse this year because we haven’t really had a good cold winter. Signs that this hasn’t happened are that we have had very few, if any, pickup trucks on the ice. I’ve seen exactly one. Normally, they’re everywhere for several weeks at a minimum. While this seems like a blessing, we have to be concerned about what this means for the health of our lake.

I’ve learned a lot about invasive plant species while being the president of our lake association and the future of Maine lakes is at risk. On our lake, we always had one seasonal bloom of our single invasive milfoil species. We now have two blooms per season. With the warm winter, there is evidence of the plant’s adaptation to colder water. Not a good thing.

Meanwhile, on the shores of Messalonskee, our snow is melting and I’ve been spending time in my studio. I’ve been working to clean up and clean out. I even took three bags of odds and ends of yarn to GoodWill this week. I even used my sewing machine this week.

My friend Deb gifted me this “kit” to make a bee tote. It’s printed on a loose weave cotton and it’s gorgeous! I decided that I needed to line it and to make it a bit stiffer so it’ll sit up by itself. So one day last week I went off to Yardgoods Center and picked the brain of the sewists on the fabric side. Vicki helped me choose an iron-on interfacing that will make the fabric stiffen up a bit. This week I cut out the pieces from the kit and cut the lining pieces as well. Of course I had to line it … which meant that I had to figure out how to sew it together without directions. Which, because I am not a confident sewist, proved to be a challenge. But I DID figure it out.

I ironed the interfacing to the wrong sides of the fabric, sewed the pocket (lined and with interfacing, too) to the bag lining, and turned the straps to the right side. That turning all by itself was a challenge but with a pin and knitting needle, I managed to get it done. I top-stitched both sides of the handles and set them aside while I figured out how to sew the pieces of the bag together. After one complete f@#%-up, I started over from the beginning and stitched each part, lining and bag, individually with the boxed bottom and all. It occurred to me that I had done a lined bag once before in the distant past. That spark of a memory helped me figure out how to sew the parts together and have the handles be in the right place, too. Woo! Hoo! Success! Yay, me!

I started a pair of Christmas socks for my hubby. Before you congratulate me for planning ahead, let me tell you that these socks were promised for LAST Christmas. I’ve chosen this pattern, Urban Rustic Socks, because he was wearing MY pair (and thought they were a bit small). Ha! Ha! Now he’ll have his own pair. And they’re fun to knit, the cables are lovely and I love mine. The yarn is Raggi by Jarbo Garn. We can’t get this in our LYS any more and when they announced it, I had the forethought to buy a bit “extra” because I really like how it knits and wears. Hubby benefits from my good plan!

I discovered a problem with the larger size, though. When I got to the increase round, the ribbing didn’t line up when I knitted the pattern as written. So, on the third try, I just kept an eye on my knitting and “forced” the ribbing to line up. I will write down what I did when I knit the second sock, For now, though, I’m off and running – and I’ve reached the heel flap on the first sock. Another thing to note … using US 4 needles with an Aran-weight yarn causes my hands and arm to hurt. I might have tried knitting these on a US 5 needle and it might have been easier on my hands. But it’s too late now.

Emsworth Vest in Patagonia (you’ve seen this photo before)

My Emsworth is also really really really close to being done. I reached the 11 3/4″ mark on the body of the vest on Friday but when I held it up to my body, it felt too short. My knitting class confirmed it and I kept on knitting. I’m going to try another inch or two and see if that isn’t better for me. I hope that I can get it finished in the next week so that when my yarn arrives from Norway, I can begin knitting my genser without having to put aside my vest. (*crosses fingers and toes.)

My “knitting chair” that I ordered in mid-January was promised in mid-March. It seems that it has been delayed and I’m trying to be patient. I cleaned up the studio last week and have been thinking about moving some of the furniture around in advance of my new chair’s arrival. It seems I can take my time.

Gone knitting. (Enjoy a few sights from the lake.)