Queen Bee Knits

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

This is 68!

Posted on July 27, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

Well, I’m not sure I believe that I’ve had another birthday! I was talking to my aunt today and she said that she’s 83 and I’m 68? How the heck did that happen? Neither one of us should be that old. And we sure don’t feel this old! Regardless, I had a most remarkable, memorable birthday! My daughter asked me to do an errand for her and pick up something she had made by an artist in Freedom, Maine. When I was thinking about going to pick it up (we’d agreed on Sunday morning) it occurred to me that we’d be close to the Lost Kitchen and had heard they were serving lunch on a “first come first served” basis. BUT they were closed on Sunday so we reached out to the artist and switched it to Saturday morning and figured we’d head to TLK after that. And we did.

The bridge to The Lost Kitchen, Freedom, Maine

We were 15th in line waiting for their 11am opening. Unsure about whether the dogs would be ok (they are) and what to expect about waiting because we read it could be a wait of up to 3 hours, we took our spot in line at 10:15-ish and forty-five minutes later, we were crossing the bridge.

They managed the line, which was longer behind us than ahead of us by 11am, efficiently and with care. Once across, we headed into the Little Lost Kitchen to order our food. We ordered one of each item on the list and tried their house-made drinks – unsweet iced tea, a fruit shrub and a lemonade. Everything was presented beautifully and everything was delicious. ~~We seem to have neglected taking a photo of the vanilla custard dessert which was all of our favorite~~. We all shared all the dishes and we all had our favorites: the fried chicken was one as was the roasted vegetable focacia. The caesar salad ~~(also un-photographed)~~ was gorgeous and delicious. Overall it was an extraordinary experience. 10 out of 10. Highly recommend!

We went on to Liberty to visit Liberty Tool and Liberty Graphics, got iced cream at Johns and then headed home. Everything fell into place on my special day and I was so grateful that my son and his girlfriend and their dogs came all the way up to celebrate witThe h me. We had a Dairy Queen cake after the kids made “ramen” for dinner with all sorts of leftovers from the fridge. We are well-fed with full hearts, too.

I haven’t been knitting much! I’ve worked a few rounds on my Lochside socks and have taken several rounds back to correct mistakes that I made. Ha! Ha! The pattern is so simple but when I get involved in conversations … oops! I’ve got a few more inches on the foot and then I’ll knit the second sock. I’m not a huge fan of the yarn as it seems “fuzzy” and my needles are so pointy that it’s splitting a lot, too. So, it’s slow going but it’s moving along. Progress is being made.

I’ve gotten some time this afternoon to work on the Easy Folded Poncho, too. I’m getting close to the 50 inches of fabric and then it’ll be blocked and seamed and ready to wear when the weather starts to cool off. We’ve had some lovely cool nights that are perfect for sleeping! My body has been healing from my pneumonia “adventure” and I find I am sleeping more and even napping. I seldom nap.

Tomorrow I’m going to try to finish the front of my tabard and get the pieces blocked before they’re seamed. I will have to make the ties that hold the sides together, too, but that’s not big deal. Once that’s finished (I have only one side of the front shoulder to finish) I am going to cast on my Sabai Top. I have some black linen for my Sabai and I am planning to knit the ribbed neckline. I think it’ll be a great top to make and wear. In early September, I’ll measure my daughter and pick up her Levitate Wrap. I don’t want to knit further before I am sure it’s going to fit – frogging anything with mohair is a monster!

August is going to be a busy month for work, volunteering at school and my knitting life, too. So, for now I’m going to sign off … gone knitting!

The Day Before WIP Wednesday

Posted on July 21, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s been super breezy all day. No coffee on the porch this morning but I was up early (hubby woke me emptying the dehumidifier at 5:45am) and I decided to get a few things done and see how it feels. And it feels pretty good! I really needed to clean our bathroom which I hadn’t done since before we both got sick in early July. The spiders had taken over and I couldn’t have them in charge anymore. I also got my car registered and have called my mechanic to get it inspected but they’re on vacation this week. Next week will work.

When I got home from my one errand, I decided to make a batch of blueberry muffins which I haven’t made since the kids, version 1, were here. I don’t think I ever got the second group any blueberry muffins. We picked strawberries and my daughter made strawberry muffins instead. I must be feeling better. This is two days in a row that I have baked. Yesterday I made a batch of my granola. So, granola and muffins this week. I must be feeling better!

While I was waiting for the muffins to cool enough to take out of the pan, I took a walk around the yard. The hydrangeas and the “daisies” are all blooming … I know they’re not all daisies but they are the same shape as daisies so I am clumping them together. I also found a couple of zucchinis in the veggie garden, some lettuces and a couple more cucumbers. The tomatoes are getting there … that’s what I really am looking forward to – tomato sandwiches!

I spent the late morning hand sewing. A couple of years ago I took a class online with Heidi Parkes and started to make a “Love Letter Quilt” with her prompts. She suggests 20 6×8 inch rectangles and has 20 prompts to stitch for the quilt. I’ve been working on it with no particular regularity and have decided that I really need to get it finished, assembled and hung. It’s going to be our tenth anniversary in a bit and maybe I can get it done for that? Time will tell.

The most recent pieces that I’ve finished are “a flower” and “an artifact”. The flower was easy. We’ve had an orchid plant that belonged to Ned’s mother prior to her death. When she passed away, we inherited the plant and have cared for it since. We even moved from Florida to Maine with the plant in flower … and it’s been flowering consistently since then. So, the orchid is the plant. The artifact had to be the old house. The property was owned by hubby’s father’s aunt and his dad bought the house from her in the 1940s. They used it as a summer house forever and Ned was here every summer of his life (minus one when he and his mother had a disagreement). The orchid is on a too small piece of fabric (I need to learn to measure!) but I’ll adapt it and will make it work.

This afternoon I’ve been working on the front part of my tabard. I still love love love this color and can’t wait to wear the garment. I have the perfect blouse to wear under it! Today I got one shoulder knitted and am ready to knit the second one tomorrow. My brain is on fire from counting and concentrating and especially after getting up so early, I’m tired. Anyway, I’ll get the front finished tomorrow! Yay! I think I will block it before I seam it to see what the yarn is going to do. I’m excited to be so close!

And now I’m turning to my Sock Sprint 2026 socks. The pattern is fun and easily memorized and I’ve been working the heel flap since last night. It’s a bit different with 3 garter stitch stitches on each side of the slipped stitch heel flap. I’m interested to see how it finishes up. I may be able to get the heel flap done and turn the heel tonight.

I am heading back to work on Thursday for the first time since June 18th! I’ve been out of work for over a month … first for the kids’ visits and then because I got sick. I am so glad I took the time to rest and recover because I do think I am ready to go back now. Last week, not so much. I imagine that I’ll be really happy when it’s Saturday and I can rest again. This has been quite a ride!

Gone knitting!

Losing a Dog – Empty Dog Beds

Posted on July 19, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of losing my Lola, the shitzu who was my heart dog, my one and only sweet girl, the dog who carried me through some of the most difficult years of my life. I had to get out of bed because she (and my second shitzu, Boq) needed to go out. They needed me to get them groomed, fed, walked … and when all else felt like it was falling apart, they kept me going. One day at a time. Until life felt good again. The reminder that it’s been five years knocked me off my feet yesterday and I miss them both just as much today as I did after they died. They were the best little dogs ever and I am so grateful to them for helping me through.

And then we lost the BBD a couple of weeks ago. He was my hubby’s boy although he always came running to me when he was afraid of the thunder. LOL And now we are thinking about how to store the dog beds that have been on every floor of our house forever. I’m ready to wash and store the one in my atelier because I need the space. Hubby’s not ready to store the one in his man cave, it’s still too fresh. It doesn’t feel right. We’re figuring it out but, gee, it sure feels bizarre to come home to an empty house and to not have to rush home to let a dog out or to think about hubby traveling next month and I’ll be here absolutely alone for the first time since we built the house.

Dogs become part of the family and in so doing become a part of your heart. We’ve been lucky to have a few great dogs and a few great grand-dogs, too. And when they leave … it’s crushing. So, we choose to honor them by living on. I don’t think we’ll have another dog for a bit. I might be able to live dog-free forever but I have a feeling there’s another dog in our future. In the meantime, we’re getting up in the morning and choosing to fill up our days with joy, love, service and gratitude (and cry when we are feeling sad.) It’s all a part of the “cost” of loving a dog.

I’m continuing to get healthier and stronger and add a bit more “stuff” to my day. I’m knitting again, too. Yesterday I cast on with the Wooly Thistle in their 2026 Sock Sprint. I am knitting the Lochside Socks in John Arbon Textiles Exmoor Sock in a really lovely shade of green. The sock pattern is simple enough, a 2×2 rib and then a broken rib to the heel flap. I’ve got a bit to go before I get there but it feels good.

I’m knitting with my Signature DPNs that I collected a set of ages ago. I have to be very careful with these needles because they’re needle sharp. Truly. (Ask me how I know!) Anyway, they’re coming along nicely and will be good to work on when I don’t want to think too hard. I am going to be pulling out my Broadgate Tabard again, too. I’ve got the back finished and am working on the front and it’s time to get this project finished up. I don’t have too much more knitting to do on the front and I am eager to wear it! I still love the green linen and I think it’ll be a wonderful garment. My brainless knitting is the Easy Folded Poncho and when I don’t have the bandwidth to count stitches, I grab this. It’s just a simple stockinette rectangle and I’ve got about another twenty inches or so to knit before I can block it and sew up the seam.

Some of my leftovers went home with my daughter to NYC for a crochet project and that has inspired me to look at my stash and to purge some yarns that I don’t really want to work with. I’ll be taking one bag of yarns to the store on Thursday for the give-away pile. We have a lot of yarn in the office that needs to find a new home and maybe when the boss is away we can find a suitable person to take (at least) some of it! I also have to look through the bins and baskets in my studio because I know I have several “sweaters’ worth” that I don’t even count as part of my stash. I even have a few hanks that I can return since I’ve finished projects and don’t need the extra hank or two. Yay, me!

The good news is that if I’m cleaning up and cleaning out, I must be feeling better!

Gone knitting.