Queen Bee Knits

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Sunday Update – an FO and almost another

Posted on September 20, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

Saturday, September 19, 2026 … Yesterday

I was up early yesterday because I had to be at a meeting in Palermo, Maine by 9:00am which is early to get going on a Saturday unless I have to open the store. Even then, the store opens at 9:30 and is 20 minutes away. Palermo is 45 minutes away. This morning, Sunday, I didn’t even get outside to take a photo because it was quite cool and we stayed inside (I got my afghan out of the basket this morning.) We have already run an errand which entailed new slippers for me and some organizing of my yarn bins because I was looking for new gnome knitting yarn and I need some sport weight for part of the project. I think I found what I need … we’ll see when I start knitting the project on September 3 (or 4 because I’ll be out of town the 2 & 3 without much knitting time.)

Anyway, a knitting update. I have a FO! I finished my teeny tiny sock earrings, Los Lobe Hose, knitted up in fingering weight yarn with 0000 DPNs. The needles are smaller than toothpicks and I’m not sure I really enjoyed the knitting but they’re awfully cute to wear.

Los Lobe Hose in On the Round scrappy leftovers

I’m going to be forced to make another pair of these with Christmas yarn and maybe a Halloween/Fall pair, too. Stinking cute!

I’m making good progress, too, with my daughter’s Levitate Wrap. I have reached the bottom of the body of the sweater and next will be picking up sleeve stitches and knitting sleeves. I love the fabric of this sweater and it’s knitting up relatively quickly on US 10 needles. My daughter chose the medium size because she wants it boxy and I’m eager to see how the rest of the knitting goes. Right now the measurement from the middle of the back to the bottom is eighteen inches which seems very cropped to me. I will need to review the pattern before I finish off the bottom of the body. It’s always interesting knitting a sweater for someone whose full body measurements you don’t have … and ask me why when I had my daughter at the beach I didn’t measure the length of her arms, for example or ask her how long she wants the sweater to be? Yeah, well I don’t have an answer but now I’m thinking I missed an opportunity for sure.

I’m also working on my Make Mine a Double sweater. I have reached the bottom of the body and knitted the ribbing and now I’ll go back and knit the sleeves. I had begun the sleeves (I think I may have mentioned this on my last post) but realized too late that I was knitting with a US 9 rather than the required US 10. Good grief! So, I’ve frogged most of the two sleeves and will likely frog back a little bit more and reknit with the correct size needle. I thought I had the US 10 in my project bag. I was wrong. Thank goodness knitting is forgiving.

I am super close to another FO. My vanilla socks (photo below was taken a couple of days ago) in the self-striping yarn are getting really close to the toe. I have really enjoyed knitting these socks and I do love Must Stash yarn’s self-striping sock yarns. The base yarn is lovely to work with and the stripes, well, they’re fabulous!

I love that the yarn comes in two parts and each is the same so your socks match pertectly. Most of the time I don’t really mind if patterns don’t match up. I just don’t want a lot of extra yarn left over … but these days I’m knitting shorter legs (from the cuff to the heel flap) and I am finding I do have leftovers. I think I may be knitting some scrappy socks again soon.

We have been working at putting our gardens to bed for the winter. Yesterday when I was at my meeting the hubby chopped the living daylights out of one of our Hydrangeas. I hope it comes back. In his defense, we’d let it get HUGE and it was blocking our kitchen window which we like to see out of and it was rubbing against the house. The garden at the side of the house was put in ten years ago and some of the bushes have been really happy here and have grown too big for their spots. We have some work to do and neither one of us really loves to garden nor are we particularly knowledgeable. We’ll figure it out in good time. We also have a porch floor that needs restaining and a few window screens that need washing along with our big front windows that are always dirty … thanks to my mother for making me very attuned to dirty windows. LOL

I have holiday knitting on the mind lately. I spoke yesterday with the granddaughter who knows what she wants and asked her about a Santa hat (or an elf hat) and she doesn’t want red and white … she wants pink and purple stripes! In my reorganizing I found some purple Cascade 220 Superwash and I’ll get some pink in the same yarn when I go to work on Thursday and make that for her. I’ve always knitted a Christmas sweater for her as well … maybe this year’s will be a pink and purple striped elf sweater? I’ve found a couple of cute sweaters but she much prefers cardigans because she can put them on herself.

I made three dozen muffins this week (for my meeting yesterday and for my hubby, too). I found a new pumpkin muffin recipe to try and made my old stand-by blueberry and banana nut, too. I took a dozen and a half with me and left the same in the freezer. They were all good.

Tonight we’re heading to the Opera House to see Graham Nash in concert. We have a lot of shows in our little town and it’s time we start paying attention … it’s fun to get out now and again!

Gone knitting!

Home Again … a Wonderful Vacation

Posted on September 16, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

We’re baaack! We had the most wonderful week in Weekapaug, RI. We were joined by all three of my kids and their families. Seven adults, five dogs and one granddaughter were in residence for all or part of the week and we had a wonderful time. I’ve written about why we vacation there before but I’ll briefly say that my mother rented a house there for the month of July when my kids were little and before she had Alzheimer’s Disease. After she passed away I asked my kids what they’d like to do with the little bit of money that I have to draw from her IRA each year and the answer was Weekapaug. We found a wonderful house to rent after labor day and it’s turned into a weekly vacation that we all love! We spend time at the beach, cook our meals (or most of them), spend time at Watch Hill at the Annex eating peach iced cream (my mom’s favorite flavor) and this year our granddaughter was big enough to ride the Flying Horses for the first time.

And now we’re home with smiles on our faces and more memories made.

I’ve been working on getting everything washed and put away so that I can go back to work tomorrow. I’ve run three loads of laundry (one more to wash the octopus costume) and made three dozen muffins (pumpkin, banana nut and wild Maine blueberry) to take to a meeting on Saturday morning. I’ll take half with me and leave half at home for us.

My knitting has suffered while we were away. I think I may have knitted more on the drive home yesterday than for the whole week we were in Rhode Island. But I read a lot of books, played all sorts of imaginative games (that the granddaughter made up) and listened to songs and stories galore. One lovely addition this year was an overnight visit by my brother and his wife. We all loved having them join us even briefly!

I’ve taking my Make Mine a Double sweater off the needles so I could work on my daughter’s Levitate Wrap cardigan while I had her to try on as I went. I added three rows of stockinette stitch to add to the length before I connected the fronts and back and that seems to have made all the difference in the way it fit. I am now working my way down the body of the sweater and increasing for the overlapped fronts. I’m using Juniper Moon Farm Patagonia organic merino held double with Berroco Aerial silk mohair lace. The fabric is really nice to work with but I find I do “miss” the lace every once in a while (and have to go back to make sure it’s not just hanging out in front of the fabric. Regardless, it’s knitting up pretty quickly and I think I will probably have to make it a little bit longer which means added rows. I don’t remember if I made the row gauge. That might be a good idea to look at right now so I can decide how to best add length if needed.

A while ago I bought a hank of self-striping sock yarn because a good self-striping sock yarn is difficult to find. I bought it from Must Stash yarn because they’ve got a remarkable base and their colorways are fantastic! I’ve made it to the foot of the first sock. It’s a fun knit for sure. I’m knitting a mixed pattern with details pulled from Yankee Knitter and Summer Lee and it’ll be fun to see how they fit. I really like knititng socks on US1 needles (I’m using DPNs this time.)

I haven’t taken any new photos of anything knitting but I will and I’ll post again on Sunday!

Gone knitting.

Monday. Again!?

Posted on August 17, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s Monday again! The weeks seem to be zipping by at breakneck speed. I don’t know what happened to the summer but here we are nearly at back to school season! My hubby went off to Colorado himself on Thursday so I came home from work to an empty house – a new experience since we lost our dog in early July. It was a bizarre thought more than anything and in practice, I was fine with it and have had a good weekend alone … but it certainly went by quickly and hubby’s in the air as we speak, jetting back to Maine. He’ll be here before I know it.

I thought I’d spend hours and hours knitting in my studio but I surprised myself and busied myself most of the days. I worked Thursday and Friday, of course, and then Saturday I went on an adventure to Christianson’s Farm Stand in Readfield (sorry, I should probably have taken at least one photo) where I bought some veggies and fresh corn on the cob! I made Ratatouille for dinner and added it to leftovers from Thursday night. My husband’s the cook in our house and I’d rather not be – I made enough one night to last for two nights at least! Anyway, the veggies were beautiful and delicious, too. I also treated myself to a lobster roll for lunch. We have a new place in Oakland that I wanted to try and they were sold out on Friday night when I went by. It was by far the freshest lobster roll I”ve had in maybe forever and the roll was perfectly buttered and grilled. Yum. (And no shredded bagged lettuce! IYKYK! I also made some of my “world famous” oatmeal cranberry scones. That will make my hubby happy!

Yesterday I attended a celebration of life after picking up and unpacking some groceries which meant two trips to Augusta which is out of the ordinary for me/us. It was a lovely tribute to our book club friend, Kathi and I was thoroughly impressed when her grandson stood up to remember his grandmother at the very end. He said he simply knew her as his grandmother and thanked those who told stories about her for teaching him that she was so many different things to so many people. I hope one day that my grandchild remembers me as “just” their grandmother. If that’s the case then I will consider mine a well-lived life.

I have been knitting! I started a new project after putting my daughter’s sweater on hold until I can try it on her in early September. I cast on the Make Mine a Double sweater by Millie at Tribe Yarn. I saw it in a social media post and couldn’t get it out of my head (a lot like the green linen Broadgate Tabard. I waited for a few weeks before buying the yarn because it was a serious financial investment especially since I couldn’t see the yarn in person or feel it so you know it was a really strong draw. Anyway, I cast on and started knitting – this sweater/jumper is knitted top down in the round with US10 needles and the pattern says that I can make my size with 2 hanks. I have gone back and forth on what size to make because I don’t love a ton of ease on me. The suggested ease is 10+ inches which would tell me to knit the large but I think I’m going to knit the medium which will give me more like 6 inches of positive ease. Enough for me.

The yarn is exquisite! It’s the softest silk mohair and the color changes are fascinating and they keep me knitting and knitting because I want to see how the colors ease from one into the next. My hank started with a deep chocolate brown and has eased into a blue … it’s stunning. I am loving it.

I’ve finished the knititng on my second felted bowl. I cast on and practically finished knitting this on Friday during my knitting classes. It’s a super bulky wool knitted on huge needles (I knit mine on US15 and US17a which i had) and then felted. I have a front-loader and very hot water. I’ve done the first felting and today I’ll felt it once more. I’m going to write up the pattern because I started with a Plymouth pattern that called for two strands of worsted held double and did an ombre0type color change. I used a super bulky variegated wool. I hope it’ll sell some yarn in the shop.

And today was a good mail day! I got my kit to knit up It is Magic by Isabell Kraemer in Myak yarn’s Fior di Cashmere in the original colors as the sample was knitted. This was another social media response – do you think I should stay off social media? – to a new design that I really liked and I really liked the original colorway. Myak had a sale on the kits and I jumped. The yarn arrived today and it’s gorgeous! I have a feeling that this will have to wait to jump onto the needles until I finish my Make Mine a Double and my daughter’s Levitate Wrap. I really don’t need any more yarn for any more sweaters. I will not have any room in my closet soon enough. (Maybe I have to give away a few sweaters to make room for the new ones?)

Anyway, it’s been a good time for knitting and reading. I’ve read a couple of good books that I really enjoyed. I am a slow reader (it’s not a race, right?) and I really only read at night before I go to sleep so I read maybe a book a month. I really liked Braiding Sweetgrass that we read for my first July Book Club and this time we’re reading Ann Patchett’s Whistler. I am loving it! I also bought the bonus book – we had a third meeting in the middle of our two regular meetings with the author, Susan Koen, and the book is titled Dancing in the Face of Death. It’s a memoir about her experience as a caregiver to her partner who is diagnosed with dementia. Susan was a delightful bookclub guest and there’s nothing like discussing a book with the author in the room. Hearing the stories first-hand is very powerful.

We’ve got a lot going on in the yard and on the water, passers-by both feathered and human (and too close) and the hummingbirds seem to be fueling up for their long trip home. This morning the wind was blowing and they were hanging on to the feeders for dear life! LOL. We have been enjoying our veggie garden and have a few tomatoes and squash and we are getting our first peas! (Beans are growing but no fruit yet.) And my Clivia in my atelier is blooming again! This time it has three flowers. I love the color of the flowers and it’s been fun to see it thrive … although there is a sticky bug on it that I can’t seem to get rid of that’s why it’s up in my atelier. I’ll keep plugging.

Gone knitting.

WIP Wednesday

Posted on August 12, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

Well, I finally got a WIP Wednesday post on a Wednesday. It seems that I don’t sit down to post often on a Wednesday but I have a few minutes before I have to leave for a board meeting and I thought I’d show you what I’ve been up to.

I have three projects on my needles (WIPs/ Works in Progress) right now that I’ve been working on. I am having a ball with the Reverie Socks by Summer Lee. This is Summer’s most recent pattern and I have knitted one other pair of lace socks that I love so I decided to cast on these. Bought the pattern and grabbed some light pink yarn from my stash. This is another stashed Socks Yeah! yarn and it’s still one of my favorite sock yarns to date. I love working with it. The stitch definition is perfect, the colors are pretty and it feels so good while I’m knitting with it. I’ve already turned the heel, decreased the gusset to the original number of stitches and I’m just working my way out the foot.

I resurrected my daughter’s Levitate Wrap from time out yesterday. It turned out that my plans for the morning changed and I decided that I didn’t want to “do” anything. SO … I just cleaned up the kitchen, and our bathroom and bedroom, did a couple loads of towels, felted my sample for the store (more later) and spent the majority of the day on the screened in porch knitting in the breeze. It was a good day. But I digress, I have finished both sides of the first part of the sweater which is a wrap sweater. I am going to wait to have her try it on because it feels like it may be a bit too short to close up the arms and start knitting the body and I have intentionally not knitted three or four rows on the front (and I can’t remember where the back was left off or what the measurement was supposed to have been.) Anyway, the fabric is nice and I hope this is a good size for her. I’ll be seeing her in early September so this is going to have to wait about a month.

I cast on a new project, too. I have been wanting to knit a Jaunty by Andrea Mowry to show my support of her design success. Apparently she’s being “bullied” for being prolific and successful. Why can’t we just be happy for her and lift her up? I do not understand the mean-spirited methods of people now-a-days. It’s easier and so much healthier for us all if we be kind! Anyway, a friend is also casting on a Jaunty and we’re going to knit together early next week. Meanwhile, I couldn’t help myself and had to cast on and see how the pattern worked. I think I’ve got it … and I’ve got two different colorways of the same yarn, Ewetopia Helix DK, so I’m alternating skeins in the first part of the scarf. It’s a fun pattern and it’s so squishy!

I have two FOs, too! I have finished my Sabai Top and both of my great-nephews’ vests are blocked with ends woven in. I also felted the bowl that I am making for the store as a sample hoping to sell some of the super bulky wool yarn by Brown Sheep. The variegated colors have been discontinued and are on clearance but the solids would be good for felted bowls, too. It was a quick and fun knitting project and it felted up quickly in my front-loader. I do have very hot hot water. I did have it go through the cycle twice but I am happy with the results. It’s rather large and I hope we can use it at the store. The photo shows it un-felted. Suffice it to say that it’s now felted. I’ll take another photo one of these days.

And with that, I have to run … I wish I was going to knit!

Gone knitting.

Whew!

Posted on June 6, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

Today I’m heading off to Compton, Quebec for A Needle in a Haystack, a fibery event in a field next to a fromagerie. That’s about all I know … except that now I know they have a rainy day plan and I’m grateful for that.

Meanwhile this week has been super busy at home and at work. The store has been receiving new boxes of yarn and we are trying to find places for it to live. Carol and I spent the day Thursday reworking the sock yarns to add in a dozen new colors of Cascade Heritage and Heritage 6. When we were done, it was gorgeous and organized in weight-order (fingering … sport … worsted). My classes yesterday, with the exception of the morning class, were smaller than “normal” but it was a pretty day and the weather reports for the weekend aren’t promising. I’d have been planting my vegetable garden if I’d had my druthers.

I’m making such good progress on my tabard! I have reached the twenty-one inches for the front piece and now have to work the shoulders. I am not going to knit a big turtleneck, I will instead knit an inch or so of ribbing and call it done. SO … I think I’m going to start the back and get it to the neck shaping, if there is any, and then finish the front. I still love the green and I’d have said I wasn’t a green girl. I can’t wait to wear this “vest” and I hope I love it as much as I think I will. (I’m also eager to block it out to see how the size changes. I may put the front on holders and wet block it to see what happens. Stay tuned.

Broadgate Tabard in gorgeous green linen

And I have a FO! I have finished my Salty Air Tee by Samantha Guerin. I adore the color and the yarn that I used from Rachel at On the Round in Thomaston, Maine. The Nimble Sock yarn is so round and squishy and the colorway, Harbor, is the perfect grayish-blue. The size I chose is the perfect size and I am thrilled with the final product. I wore it yesterday and it was very comfortable, not to warm, draped well and fit was just what I had anticipated. The pattern was well-written and a relatively quick knit considering it’s a fingering weight yarn on US4 needles. I will wear this shirt a lot!

Salty Air Tee in On the Round Nimble Sock

So, that leaves a few projects on the needles and I’m planning to take a few with me to Canada today. I have my Easy Folded Poncho (miles of stockinette stitch), and I cast on a skirt for my granddaughter yesterday that is also a bunch of stockinette … but with increases every six rounds. She’s going to love it – it’s a deep purple with stelina sparkles and it will twirl! Pattern is Olive’s Swing Skirt and I’m using Plymouth’s Electra Light, a stashed yarn, that was on the clearance rack at the store.

I’ve also started a new pair of socks, shortie socks, from the Summer Lee Sock Project book. I’m playing with carrying the contrasting color on these socks so I don’t have a bunch of ends to weave in and so far, so good. This pattern uses an afterthought heel … I’ll report my thoughts when they’re done and I can wear them. I still like my heel flap and gusset best of all but I’ll keep an open mind.

My daughter’s Levitate Wrap sweater/cardigan is still in time out awaiting a try-on. I had hoped that I would be able to squeeze in a trip to New York City before our summer family guests arrive on the 19th but I’m not sure it’s going to work out for me. Boo. I will see some of the kids starting in mid-June and in early July and I hope that I can get into New York to see the other kids, too. It feels like it’s been a really long time since I’ve seen them. Not sure what that means for this “old” person who is “semi-retired” but I have been so busy and my calendar is way too full. Even for sitting on the porch and enjoying the hummingbirds!

I have been enjoying the yard and watching the flowers grow. The lilacs are gorgeous! I brought some indoors and they only last a few days before wilting. I don’t know how to make them stay beautiful … they make the whole downstairs smell wonderful! Our first iris are blooming and the day lilies are coming right along. They typically bloom around July 4th.

And I baked! I made my hubby’s birthday requested scones. I make the Levain Bakery recipe and they are delicious every time. We love, love, love them and because they have oatmeal in them, they’re heathy, right? I also made him a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. I’ve frozen half of the cake, cut in pieces, and the leftover frosting. He’s a happy man. This was making up for his birthday cake out of a box. Horrors! (Not really, it was delicious!)

I’ve “wasted” a lot of time writing this and I have to focus on packing my knitting and being ready to go … gone knitting!

A Perfect Saturday

Posted on May 9, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s been such a good day today. Despite the fact that it’s now nearly 7pm, I thought I’d write about the day and bring you up to date on my knitting. I’m making a lot of progress and it feels really good.

The sun was out this morning and, although it was a bit too chilly to be out on the porch, it was sunny and clear. I always feel better when the sun is out! Today was one of those days. We had our coffee and decided to have lunch at a favorite street-side food truck spot, Ken’s. Really yummy fried seafood. I had scallops and he had clams. We both had french fries. Yum. I stopped by the bank on the way to lunch to make a deposit for work and we may have stopped for me to have some ice cream on the way home. I shouldn’t have but it was way too tempting.

We spent the next hour or two in one of our gardens. We call it “Helen’s Garden” because it was the only spot Ned’s mom seemed to have planted any plants. It had been taken over by ground cover and weeds before we built the new house but we did find some Lily of the Valley there. We’ve continued to try to re-grow Lily of the Valley with no success. Anyway, today we cleaned up the new garden, cut back the hydrangeas, cleaned out the leaves and weeds. It needs some mulch but we didn’t have any today and I didn’t take any new photos. Tomorrow.

I ordered some cedar-based tick and bug stuff (to keep them away) and it’s been in the front hall for days. I spread some of the granular stuff today all around the door yard and the corner of the house where we see little “sugar ants”. With a little time, we’ll see if this stuff deters them. Fingers crossed. AND I finally got the few plants that I had bought for our school event into a pot at the front door. Thankfully, after I got cleaned up, the weather turned and we had some good wind and rain and now all the plants are watered in and the bug stuff, too.

I’ve been knitting away like a crazy woman. It wasn’t very busy at work on Thursday so I had a chance to work on my new pair of socks. I’m knitting a plain vanilla pair based on my Yankee Knitter pattern and they’re for my hubby. I’m loving the new Arne & Carlos Socks and More yarn base. It’s softer than the Regia used to be and I am loving the colorway I chose. He’ll love the socks. I’m knitting again with the 9″ circulars and I’m going to try another forethought heel. I have to search in my (enormous) bits and bobs collection of fingering weight yarns for some heel and toe yarn. (More shall be revealed.) I’m just about at the heel now!

Today I’ve been working on the newest sweater on the needles. This is the one for my younger daughter. It’s the Levitate Wrap and I’m knitting it in Patagonia Organic Merino and Berroco Aerial both in a charcoal gray. Needless to say, it’s one that I’ll have to knit in good lighting. Ha! Ha! I was working my way down the right shoulder and front when my iPad died so I took a break (it was a sign, right?) and started a dishcloth as a palate cleanser. I’ll finish this one tonight.

Yesterday and the evening before I worked on my Hansel Hap Half. I am so happy with this shawl! I can’t think of the last time I enjoyed a project as much as this one … maybe because I’ve wanted to knit it for a long time? Anyway, it’s making me very happy. I am more than half-way around the edge with the border and it’ll be done before I know it. Maybe this week. I am really happy with the colors I chose and also happy that I am using some stashed yarn.

The yard is blooming like crazy! Buds are budding and my (our) daffodils are in bloom. They are such happy flowers. And we have one tulip. Only one. Quite a disappointment, frankly. We did have a bunch of them but the voles must have gotten them. I’d love to plant some more but I’ll have to figure out how to keep them safe from the critters.

And we’ve had some super special bird visitors. Our hummingbirds are back – they arrived Tuesday. I’ve seen a tiny female and a male. My long-necked female isn’t here yet. I hope she comes back again. And we’ve had a Scarlet Tanager and, today, a Baltimore Oriole. We both enjoy sitting in the back yard watching the birds and when the “special” ones arrive, ones that we don’t see often, it’s a special treat. Of course, we have the loons back and they’ve been visiting, too. Apologies for the crummy photo of the Scarlet Tanager … they’re quite timid and I didn’t dare step too far out of the front door.

So, it’s been a good day and we’re having a light supper tonight after our heavy lunch. Of course there’s ice cream for dessert! And tomorrow we have another day and it’s Mother’s Day so I hope I’ll get to speak to all the kids and the grandkids. At least two of our kids have planned dates to come for visits for which we are very grateful. We hope they’ll all get here before the snow flies again.

Gone knitting.

Home Again, Home Again

Posted on March 16, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

Not a particularly beautiful welcome home weather-wise but it was so good to sleep in my own bed despite my snoring partner. LOL. I had a wonderful family visit in New York City, got to spend time with all of my kids and their significant others; the dogs, too! Nothing feeds this mama’s soul more than spending time with my adult children – they’re really terrific people and I’m so proud to be their mother! And now I’m home and this is a three-day work week for me as it’s my Saturday to work so I’m trying to get myself cleaned up and organized but also save some of my energy for the end of the week.

While I was gone, I finished my Thistle on the Moor vest. I am so pleased with the finished project! I knit this vest in Berroco Lanas Light, a sport weight 100% wool yarn with really great yardage (383 yards to 100 grams). I used only two balls for the fourth size thus making this project very affordable at $23.00. I will have to wear this to work on Thursday to try it out! The vest pre-blocking had some really wonky stitches but it’s gorgeous after blocking and it feels gloriously soft for a 100% wool that’s neither super wash nor merino!

Thistle on the Moor Vest on the blocking mat

I have also made a couple of purchases while I was away (or just before I left). I bought a sweater worth of Rauma Garn Finull in a beautiful heathered lavender for my second Vanilla Sweater by Corrine Tomlinson. This time it’s for my college roommate. I am excited to knit another version of this sweater and I love the colorway she chose.

I also ordered a total splurge yarn from Tribe Life Yarns in the UK. It’s a hand-dyed Art Yarns silk mohair with which I’ll be making a pullover that their Millie designed and it was free with the purchase of the yarn. The yarn was incredibly expensive, even for me, a self-proclaimed yarn snob, but I hope it’ll be a gorgeous sweater and a joy to wear. And I loved their packaging! The yarn is a creamy-white, blue, and shades of brown, beige, gray-ish and almost peachy. It’s quite different from any sweaters that I already have and if it’s really wonderful, I may have to buy some more! Oops.

I have ordered a new pouch to keep my bullet journal planner/calendar in, too. It hasn’t arrived yet but I hope it will be a favorite “tool” going forward. It’s by Soolla and appears to be a good weight of canvas with lots of outside and inside pockets where I can keep my pens, etc. A good way to carry those essentials that I need when I use my bullet journal. (And I never like to be without it!)

Last night I worked on my Frabjous Fibers socks again. I’ve turned the heel and completed the gusset decreases so I’ve just got to finish the foot and toe of the first sock and then get the second one started. I was pretty tired after my drive from CT to ME yesterday so I didn’t stay up late. I’ve got a bunch of chores to get done today and I’ll work on the socks and get the Vanilla Sweater cast on. I will be knitting a sweater for my daughter, too, this week. She’s asked for (and I’ve swatched for) Levitate Wrap by My Favorite Things. I’m excited to get started on another couple of sweaters.

I got home to some very dry plants and my Clivia up in my studio was covered in white mealy bugs. I gave it a good wash with some diluted soap and have done a shallow dive into how to treat mealy bugs on my Clivia plant … looks like I need an insecticide and some antibacterial dish soap so I’ll be back at it again today. Meanwhile, three of my four orchids are blooming and they’re being soaked in the kitchen sink because it’s been awhile! I’d best wrap this up and get back to it.

Gone knitting.

Swatching … for the Levitate Wrap

Posted on February 16, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

My mother had a Clivia plant when she was alive. When I saw one at the garden center, I had to buy it. I’ve kept it in my atelier, apart from my other plants, because it was covered in that white sticky buggy germy stuff and I didn’t want it to spread. I’ve bathed it a couple of times after spraying it down with water mixed with a little bit of castille soap and that seems to have helped. All of this love and care has finally paid off with a beautiful orange bloom! I’m thrilled.

I’m starting a new project soon and I thought I’d take you on a ride with me through the process. My daughter wants a wrap sweater and she’s chosen the Levitate Wrap by My Favorite Things (Louise). It’s a boxy cardigan with wrap styling. The Ravelry description calls for a DK + lace (worsted) weight yarns held double. Libet wants a charcoal grey or deep burgundy. I sent her an initial choice and she picked the Patagonia Organic Merino yarn with which I’ll hold a lace weight silk/mohair. I started the process, while waiting for more mohair lace to come into the shop, by doing a gauge swatch.

Did you know that most designers add an additional 10% to their yarn requirements for swatching? Thank you Bristol Ivy for that informational nugget. (I think it was Bristol … it may have been Lori Versaci or Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. But I digress … this time, because I don’t have my daughter to measure, I want it to be the exact measurement so it fits her. I didn’t want to take any risks. (More on that later in this post.)

I made my swatch in stockinette stitch as called for in the pattern. I cast on enough stitches that the swatch should be more than four inches so that I can measure the stitches in the middle away from any rolling edges. I didn’t knit a full six inches to measure the rows … I got tired last night after a bit more than four inches and bound off.

I measured the swatch: 16 stitches per inch and 23 rows. Close but no cigar. BUT we’re not finished yet. I have to wet block the swatch to get the bestest closest measurement of what the fabric will be like at the very end after the garment is blocked.

To measure the stitches per inch blocked I stuck a straight pin in at 1″ and at 5″ and counted the rows of knitting between the pins. Exactly 15. And because I was lazy about knitting the rows, I counted the full number I knitted between cast on and bind off and it’s just over the 22 rows. So, I’m calling it perfect – 15 sts and 22 rows is 4″. I’m on gauge.

The next question is, do I like the fabric? When I hold it up to the light, it’s quite open but when it’s flat on a surface, it’s very gray. The drape is nice, I like it. The fabric is soft (thanks to the merino) and the silk/mohair will give it some strength and “fill in” the open spots for warmth. I am very satisfied with the fabric. Now it’s time to wait for the mohair to come in and make sure the lots match color. I can exchange 2 of the 3 balls that I own for six new ones so that there’s no color change in the sweater. I can hardly wait to begin!

Meanwhile, I cast on a new project for the interim.

I’ve wanted to knit the Thistle on the Moor Vest by Carolyn Holbrook. I saw this vest on the Wooly Thistle podcast and I really loved it. It also gives me a chance to knit with another new to me yarn – Lanas Light by Berroco is 100% wool blend of South American wools made in Peru. I’ve been wanting to find a project for this yarn. Wish granted.

I didn’t swatch for this vest for a couple of reasons. First because it’s for me and I can try it on as I go. Second because it starts at the back and then goes to the shoulders and it’s not a lot of time to get this done. I know it’s going to bloom because it’s 100% wool. So, when I measured the stitches once I had a decent amount of fabric, I got 21 stitches over four inches (they wanted 20 for pattern gauge). I’m ok going with 21 sts as I’m pretty sure the yarn will bloom and be 20 inches when blocked. I’m knitting the 4th size with two inches of ease but I can also add a few stitches to the body once I connect the underarms if I’m worried (and I can try it on as I go.)

Theoretically, I would swatch this vest differently than my daughter’s cardigan. Why? Because this vest is knitted in the round where as the cardi will be knit back and forth. To swatch for this, I’d cast on around 30 stitches and knit them then slide the stitches back to the other side, carry a long piece of yarn behind the knitted fabric and knit across again. The strand of yarn at the back has to be long enough so that the swatch will lie flat … so it can be measured. One of these days I’ll swatch in the round and post about it, too. I’ll be continuing to knit this one as is for now. I’m working down to the point where it’ll be joined in the round and then I’ll maybe steam block it to see how it behaves. Yes, I’ll write about it … better than continuing with no blocking if I’m concerned at all.

Gone knitting!