Queen Bee Knits

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

Snow Washing

Posted on January 27, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

It was a glorious sunny morning this morning. We are very fortunate, wish we had planned it this way, to have a full passive solar benefit in our living room in the winter. The sun streams in and, bonus, reflects off the snow, making our living room toasty warm. Sometimes it’s so warm that we take off our sweaters or extra shirts (hubby may even take off all his shirts.) Today was one of those days.

When it’s sunny like this my attitude is brighter, too. I woke up late (have been ever since my flu bout) and was making my protein drink when my son called to confirm the name of our granddaughter’s school. They had her overnight and were taking her to school this morning. That’s a whole other long story that I won’t go into here. I always love hearing from my son even when it’s just a two minute call. Hubby did all the snow blowing as I had a cup of coffee, showered and got dressed for my morning dental appointment. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t the whole new crown that I was expecting. I had a broken “overlay” and she fixed it with a filling. There was enough tooth that she thinks it’ll stick. If not we’ll go back to the original plan. I’m happy – 30 minutes and I was out of the office and my tooth is working well so far.

Since the snow is “perfect” I decided to attempt to snow wash my hubby’s three pullovers that really needed some attention. Mine are really in good shape. I hope we have another snow like this in a couple of months! I may take some out tomorrow just for fun. ANYway, the hubby’s sweaters were put out on the snow and covered with a bit of the light fluff. I left them out for about an hour and then went to check on them. One was looking good. It’s also his least soiled. The other two I scrubbed a couple of spots with some new snow and left them out for another hour. They’re drying now after a good shake and then I’ll de-pill them and take a photo or two so we can all compare. It sure was an easy process … I hope it works.

Here’s the before … the blue one has been worn as a work sweater, I think. It’s the worst.

Here’s the during …

The first shot is all three sweaters under snow. The subsequent photos are of the two dirtiest.

The sweaters are slightly damp after being out for nearly two hours. I gave them all a really good shake and then hung them up inside to dry. Once dry I will get my tools out to de-pill them all.

Meanwhile, I worked on two projects yesterday. I started a little crochet project. The pattern I found on instagram and it was such a cute idea. I’ve pulled two shades of similar cotton yarns and have begun the body of the creature … in blue. I have a peachy color for its mouth. I’ll have to buy safety eyes or sew on tiny buttons. The pattern is Softloop Sausage Mouth Car Key Case by Softloop. I hope I can make it come out as cute as the photo in the pattern. I’ll show it to you as soon as it’s finished. Here’s where I am today …

And I got the six inches of 1×1 rib for my Norwegian resistance hat done. I started with the decreases at the top and quickly realized that there were two around the hat not four and had to frog back a bit and re-start but that was handled pretty quickly. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I make my best mistakes when I think I know what I’m doing and don’t read the instructions. LOL. You’d think I’d learn, right? (See me shaking my head?) Anyway, I should be able to get the first one finished today. AND I really do intend to finish my hubby’s Christmas socks. This is the perfect weather for him to wear them under the big snow boots.

And here are two of the three sweaters, all done. They look pretty good, I think. I’m quite happy with the results. The yarn is soft, feels clean (it didn’t before) and they look good! I could probably spend more time pulling pills off but I want to knit! Geesh, it’s almost 4pm and I’ve not knitted a stitch today.

Gone knitting.

Snowmageddon

Posted on January 26, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

I started this post yesterday, Sunday when the big one was coming! LOL. It has now been here for less than 24 hours and we’ve had about a foot of snow. It’s beautiful light and fluffy snow. As I type this morning, the flakes are getting bigger and, according to my weather app, it’s going to stop early this afternoon. Hopefully we (the royal we) can get some clean up done before it begins again this evening. We’re only supposed to get a couple more inches overnight and Tuesday is supposed to be cold but sunny.

We ran a couple of errands Saturday after we sat through a 4 hour town meeting. Things are still done here the old fashioned way, in person at a town meeting. Full-time residents are invited to participate in the democratic process and vote to approve (or not) the town budget. It was a fairly grueling meeting as our taxes have gone way up over a relatively short amount of time and it seems they’re going to go up more. It feels like the majority of town residents don’t want the services to be cut (we have a library, a town history building, a rec center and a volunteer fire department with very old, outdated facilities) and yet, don’t want to pay more taxes. I’d like to see the town cut expenses somewhere but I can’t really criticize because I’m not involved enough to really know how they operate. I may become more involved.

Anyway, we treated ourselves to lunch at the Red Barn (filled our bellies with fried seafood) after the meeting. It was yummy.

Sunday we ran out ahead of the storm so I could get yarn. I have learned about the “Melt Ice” hat that came from Norway in the 1940s as a silent protest against the Nazi’s occupation of their country. There were enough of them then to be banned by the Nazis in a couple of years! Anyway, the pattern for the hat was rewritten for knitters today and is the top selling pattern right now on Ravelry. We’ve had a lot of customers in the store late in the week buying red yarn and I decided this morning that I have to make a couple of red hats. So my husband and I got into the car to make a run into town to procure some red yarn. I chose a DK Patagonia Organic Merino and a light worsted Malabrigo Rios.

We zipped back home with a stop for a green pepper for our chili for dinner. My plan was to start knitting right away but I ended up in the kitchen baking what I am now dubbing “Snowmageddon Cookies” (aka peanut butter blossoms). They’ll be yummy to nibble on while we watch the snow fall for the next 24 hours. We are supposed to get up to 16 inches of snow over the next 24 hours. The biggest storm we’ve had in years. And it’s also going to be cold all week.

I have fully recovered from my bout with the flu and I am so grateful for modern science and vaccines. It wasn’t fun but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been either. I had a lot of time to knit over the three weeks that I wasn’t feeling well.

I have finished my Gansey Afghan. Yay! And I am so happy with the finished blanket. I am seriously thinking of making another one for us to have (me to have) in my studio. Maybe in orange!

I’ve been working on my husband’s Christmas socks and am making good progress there. I really like this pattern, too, but they’re worked on a smaller needle with pretty heavy-weight yarn so they’re hard on my hands and I can only work on them for a limited time. But I’ve only got one more repeat of the cable pattern before I can speed up to the cuff. There’s a little bit of color work and then I’ll be done! I still love the Raggi yarn so much and wish we could still stock it at our LYS! It makes the warmest boot socks!

I haven’t worked on my Ranunculus at all. I decided to cast on my good trouble “Le Bandana” shawl. I cast on with my sport weight yarn on a US 4 and I’m not thrilled about the fabric. It seems stiff and I’m concerned about the drape or lack thereof. I have more yarn than the pattern calls for so I wonder if I go up a needle size if I’d like the fabric better. I think I am leaning toward giving a larger needle a try. This is Lola Bean Yarn Company’s Soy Bean base in the Good Trouble colorway that I pre-ordered. I love the colors and it will match the red hat!

Le Bandana in LolaBean Yarn Company “good trouble” colorway

I’ve also been working on a new pair of socks. The yarn is so deeply stashed that I’m not sure how long ago I ordered it. Dare I say we were still living in Florida? It’s very possible. I bought the yarn from an indie dyer, The Yarn Enabler, after I bought her Number 2 Pencil sock yarn. This one is her Paper colorway … dyed to remind us of the notebook paper we used in school. I’ve got the first leg knitted and need to choose what heel I’m going to knit. I’m basing the sock on the Yankee Knitter pattern. I use a 1.5US dpn and cast on 64 sts. I’m knitting the leg in stockinette stitch to show off the yarn. Aren’t they fun?

I have also cast on my Melt Ice hat in Malabrigo Rios. The pattern is written for fingering, DK/sport and worsted. I chose Rios because it’s a light worsted, maybe even closer to a sport, and it’s soft. I chose the Ravelry Red colorway. I love the color across all of the Malabrigo bases. I expect it will bleed a bit when I block it. I’ll have vinegar at the ready!

There is six inches of 1×1 rib to begin the hat … I’ll be ribbing for a while!

I have pulled a couple of my hubby’s hand knit wool sweaters to snow wash them. They need it. I’ve never tried to snow wash sweaters but “they” say it works and I have before photos to see if I can prove or disprove the theory. I sure hope it works! I’d be really bummed if I spent time out in the cold and the sweaters were still dirty! I’ll let you know if it happens.

I’ve found a cute crochet pattern for a car key fob holder(?) that I thought was really silly. I pulled some cotton out of my bins of left-over yarn and have very slowly begun to give it a try. I will show you my progress as I make some. I’m not a confident crocheter and I am painfully slow. BUT I’m trying and we’ll see if I succeed!

Speaking of learning, I had an opportunity to teach some new knitters ten days or so ago. One of my friends and co-workers was my super helper because what I thought was six students turned out to be six-teen students. That’s a big group to teach to knit in one hour! BUT together we taught them how to cast on and knit. There are a few in the group who had knitting experience and they will teach further. This group was part of Colby College’s Jan Plan class that’s being taught by my friend Katherine Ferrier. The students will learn to mend, to hand sew patchwork, to knit/crochet and yarn bomb and I may have forgotten something. I’ll be heading to Colby after work on Thursday to see what they have accomplished in their short month-long class. It was really fun to work with Katherine and to see the students pick up knitting. I look forward to seeing their yarn bombing! I love helping new knitters learn to knit – and grateful for Bette’s help!

Jan Plan “Radical Stitches” Class – I hope I got the title of the class right!

I’ve written way too much today but I wanted to get caught up. I’ll leave you with this morning’s post from the porch. It’s so pretty in the snow! The rocks along the shoreline are all covered up! I hope this snow and cold kills some ticks!

Gone knitting!

Monday Monday!

Posted on June 30, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

I’m taking the time to blog today because we’ve been busy getting projects done and the sun came out! Today it was beautiful and sunny and the lake was calm for coffee on the porch. My mullein plant is getting really big and soon (maybe tomorrow) I’m going to pick a leaf or two to make a tincture. Mullein is supposed to be good for the respiratory system and anybody who knows me knows that my respiratory system is challenged by allergies and a chronic allergic cough.

This morning I cut the garlic scapes! And then I ran out to do a couple of errands and made a stop at the store to help with getting ready for the Maine Yarn Cruise to begin. Tickets for drawings, stamp and ink for the passports, a QR code for the digital guests, and just plain remembering what we need to have tomorrow. This is the 8th year and, woo doggies, it’s another challenge. The boss insists on water and snacks and free books which all sounds great until there is a crowd around the register and all the pieces need to be done which adds to the regular craziness that is a family business. It’ll be “fun” they said. Ha! Ha!

When I got home I started making some of the food I have been craving … lobsters were on sale yesterday so I had Hannaford steam two for me and I made lobster salad for lunch and while I was chopping celery for lobster salad, I chopped some for potato salad. Summer and potato salad just go together. My mom always added onion, hard boiled eggs, and mayo and mustard and a few spices. It’s in the fridge all ready for dinner. I also chopped a bunch of veggies for Ratatouille which will be ready for dinner, too. Yummm!

This weekend we bought veggie plants for our raised beds and the compost to amend the soil. The compost was added yesterday and tomorrow I’ll put the plants in when it’s a bit cooler in the morning. BUT I did get the flowers into the window box and the front porch pot and I also got two of my lemon trees (started from seeds) re-potted and settled in the dooryard for the summer months. I just have to give them a good trim to shape them up a bit.

We bought a pair of Adirondack chairs for our afternoons outside. We often have a good stiff breeze off the lake in the afternoon so we sit around back to get some calm. These chairs and the table that will go between them will be so comfortable after a busy day. I’m quite pleased with the way the dooryard is shaping up. I’d love to have a flagstone patio built next with a path to the garage when it gets built. So many projects!

And I have been knitting, too. I finished three dishcloths for our kitchen and put them in the rotation already. They’re quite cheery. I also have been working on Delores’s caftan outfit and yesterday I made it to the second shoulder. It’s a different way to build a caftan but it works. It does make me giggle when I think of knitting for a sheep (and a stuffed one at that.) She makes me happy. I’ve also made some good progress on my Big Love cardigan. I’m well into the button band decreases and pretty soon I will have the body done. The pattern makes a cropped cardigan and I think I’ll make mine a little bit longer than cropped. I’m not sure of cropped garments on me … my Bolin cardigan is cropped and I think I’ll have to be particular about what I wear it with but rest assured that there will be no midriff showing on this girl.

And last but not least, my hubby has been working away to create a gate on the end of our porch to keep little ones, both two-legged and four, safely on the porch. The lake is so close and kids move so quickly, I think this will make it possible for Sylvie to have some freedom this summer when they’re here. She will, of course, be reminded over and over, to stay off the dock and out of the water when she’s not with an adult, too. One can never be too careful around water. Hubby’s guest cottage bathroom project is almost complete, too. The new shower stall is built, the floor is in and the holes in the porch and the porch screens have been repaired. He’s working on the screen door now. Soon, we will get it all cleaned up and buy a bed for it and then it’ll be available for friends and family to use when they come to Maine. I think we’ll be putting it up on AirBnB or one of those apps next year as a weekend rental. See how it goes.

I’ve got a zoom meeting to attend so I’m off. Gone knitting.

WIP Wednesday

Posted on February 5, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s a beautiful blue bird day here on the lake today. I have had a slow morning, a late wake-up after a middle of the night interruption by the smoke detector battery at 3:30am. I’ve been on meds for my sinus infection for 24 hours and hope to feel like a new woman by tomorrow. (No worries, right?)

I’ve been working away bit by bit on my Jelly Roll Blanket and yesterday came across a very pleasing combination of colors. I tried to take a photograph of them but it’s not coming out very true so you’ll have to just trust me. When I can knit outdoors again, maybe I can get a really good photo. Ha! I still have a basket and more of bits and bobs of fingering weight yarn scraps so I am planning to keep going. Maybe I’m half-way there? I knew this was going to be a long-term project.

I’ve picked up and am just finished grafting the seam on the headband I’m making for one of my daughter’s friends who is like another one of my kids. He’s an avid runner, even in the winter in New York City. For Christmas, I made Sheldon a pair of fingerless mitts for running in his signature shade of blue. I had an extra skein of the yarn and offered to make him a headband or hat. I decided on Petite Knits’ Weekend Headband which is a 1×1 rib, cast on with live stitches so that they can be grafted at the end. I made a mistake at the point of the cast on without realizing it until I was ready to graft in 1×1 rib and realized I had live stitches from the cast on that were all knit stitches. Hmm. What’s a knitter to do? I certainly wasn’t going to frog and begin again. So, my answer was to knit a round of stitches and graft them in regular Kitchener stitch. While the graft doesn’t look bad, it would look MUCH better in rib but since it’ll be on the inside of the headband, I think it’s passable. The headband is soaking now and will be blocked and sent off. I made the smaller size because he doesn’t have a big head. I hope it’ll work. I still have more yarn, just in case.

Meanwhile, my daughter has also asked for a new headband so once I’ve finished another project on the needles, I’ll have to find a pattern for hers. AND finish her sister’s fingerless mitts. Since I’ve been under the weather, I haven’t had the headspace to work on them.

My Winter’s Finery shawl has taken some backwards steps. I thought I had finished the lace through the last chart row and something didn’t line up. I frogged a few rows to see if I could fix it and just kept needing to go back again. So, finally, I decided just to go back to the start of the lace and start over and this time I won’t knit the lace while watching the final few episodes of Outlander. (If you haven’t watched Outlander, you’re really missing something quite wonderful. Part time-travel, part love story, part historical fiction, I have really enjoyed it.)

I started my “Bang Out a Sweater” sweater on January 31 and then it stalled. Seems I have all of my US 6 needles out in projects somewhere. I’m not sure how that could be but it seems to be true. SO … it’s sitting and waiting for me to finish my Winter’s Finery shawl or get the store for work tomorrow and buy an extra needle (or two). I can’t believe I have no US 6 needles that will work for this sweater. I will work on the shawl today … and if I can get close to 11 rows of lace knitted, I’ll finish the shawl first. If I don’t, I’ll buy new needles. Don’t tell my husband. Ha!

I have a sweater’s worth of so many yarns in my atelier. A rust-colored organic merino, a navy blue worsted wool, sport weight grey (with a red for some contrast/pattern), and an orange felted tweed and complimentary orange lace weight silk mohair. What do you think of an orange cardigan? I’m not getting a lot of knitting done this week because I don’t feel well, but I may have to cast on another something … the two hats for my client, the headband for my daughter. Something that doesn’t take too much headspace.

Gone knitting.

After Labor Day – Humming Birds are Still Here

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s the day after Labor Day and the Hummingbirds, at least the females, are still here. I don’t expect they’ll be here long because the nights are getting much cooler. Our coffee on the porch mornings require long sleeves and a (hand knit) blanket for my “Florida boy”.

Over the last few days I’ve managed to finish a few things and have several gifts ready to be mailed out and delivered. I’ve finished three baby top knot hats and fingerless mittens for three babies … one already born and two on the way. I loved working with the Lang Merino Bebe 200 yarn. It’s soft and will be fine against a new baby’s skin and the colors are amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed knitting with it. The pattern for the hat is one I picked up in the store and have adapted it because I thought it was too large for a new or new-ish baby while the mittens were small. So, I will probably be writing up the pattern and using it as a beginner knitter design. The hats were knitted on a US 2 and US 2.5 needle and the mittens on a US 3. Lots of tiny stitches! I wanted the hats to be a tighter gauge because precious itty bitty heads need to stay warm. Right?

I also finished my great-nephew’s sweater for this fall. I knitted another French Macaroon for Noah in Berroco Vintage DK which is easy care for busy parents. They won’t have to fear felting this sweater and I really do like Berroco Vintage yarn. I much prefer it to Plymouth’s Encore (fiber content is the same). I chose a couple of different colors for Noah because he’s not really a baby any longer. He’ll be two this month!

I really like this little sweater. It’s simple enough, knit flat in two pieces and, if you pay attention, it’s simple enough to seam. I spent one Friday knitting class seaming the shoulders with right sides together rather that with right sides facing me. Oops. I pulled it out and re-did it in the afternoon knitting class and got most of the seams finished, too. Just needed to weave in the ends. Now it’s been blocked (washed and laid flat to dry) and I will pack it up and send it on to Salem with a pair of the Toddler Cabled Mitts that I wrote about here. My plan is to knit one more for Sylvie, my granddaughter, but I had chosen pink and white and I think I want to change up the colors for her, too, because she’ll be two next month!

WIPs – Yesterday I got the Christmas stocking commission started. I’m waiting for measurements because the last time I knitted one of these family stockings I knitted it at the wrong gauge and it’s larger than the others. I suspect that I knitted it with a US7 needle and I’m going to hope that I can knit this one on a US6. (That’s what I’ve started it on.) With measurements, I’ll know if I’m close. With wool yarn, I can block it a bit larger or smaller if need be. I’m bummed that the last one is too big. My friend says it’s ok but I’m still bummed.

I have started a pair of socks for my brother-in-love. Last night I finished the first sock and started the second one. I should have them finished by the end of the week and that will be a good Christmas gift! I want to knit low socks for my sister-in-loves in LA and some regular socks for my MA s-i-l. I think that I will have made socks for everyone of my siblings and their “spice” (plural of spouse, right?)

I still have other WIPs on my needles that I’ve mentioned in earlier posts and I’ll try to get them finished before the end of the year. I’m really itching to start knitting animals from the book Knitted Animal Friends by Louise Crowther. I went online to order the yarn to make three of the critters in the book – the duck, the horse and the pig. I’m eager to try the recommended yarn and have seen a few of the animals knitted up. They’re really great. There may be another Octopus in my future, too. The grandchild loves sea creatures and I want to keep mine in pristine guest room bed condition.

I’ve got to stop writing and get out to run a couple of errands. Happy unofficial start of fall. I can feel the change in the air (and I love it!)

Gone knitting.

Knitting Progress and a Bee-Utiful Sunrise

Posted on March 20, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

While I was sleeping this morning my dear husband took this beautiful photograph of the sunrise. I, obviously, missed it but can still share it with you. A week ago we had ice from shore to shore. We are watching the water birds return to the lake. I’ve been told that the loons are already here, too. I’ve not heard nor seen them but I am watching for them.

Tomorrow I am heading to the store for work, our long winter yarn sale is over and I’m back to working by myself. Today I’ve been busy vacuuming my studio and cleaning up, washing our bedroom sheets and towels, cleaning up the kitchen and I baked bread.

I’ve been busy knitting, too!

I finished my Sunset Highway sweater by Caitlin Hunter back in 2019 but I’ve only worn it a couple of times. When I put it on to help me decide what to do with it, I saw the problem (I think) … it’s too long. So, I’ve spent the last couple of days unknitting the bottom of the sweater and stopping 13 inches from the underarm. I’ve got it on a cord now and I will try it on when I get undressed tonight and then I’ll decide if 13″ is the best length or if it needs to be a little longer or shorter. I will complete the ribbing again and then I hope I will wear it.

I’m also reassessing the sleeves which I feel look heavy compared to the rest of the sweater. I now have a bunch of the body yarn and I may change the burgundy out for the white speckled. Time will tell.

I did a crochet thing! My daughter, as I mentioned before, sent me a photograph of this ray with some little fishies on it’s back … a big hint. Ha! Ha! BUT it looked simple enough and I have been saying that I have to do more crochet to get better at it so I went off to Michael’s to get the jumbo chenille yarn and the size L crochet hook. During a long meeting last week I crocheted the blue back piece and earlier this week the white belly. Yesterday I got some 25mm eyes (they’re HUGE!) and finished it up. It’s very cute. I’m not sure how it’ll hold up to the abuse of an 18 month old but time will tell. My son and his fiancee are coming for a visit this weekend and I’ll send the ray back for Sylvie for Easter.

I’ve been working on my second Fiddlehead mitten and Jelly Roll blanket. AND the Christmas socks for my daughter. All three are coming along. I love the Jelly Roll blanket a lot – it’s so potato chippy – I have trouble putting it down. The socks are down to the foot so they should be finished soon. Maybe by Friday. I am itching to cast on Susan B. Anderson’s Christopher Bunny but I’m “making” myself finish up a couple of projects first.

On Saturday my friend and co-worker, Glenda, is coming over and we are going to reinforce and steek our Oorick vests. We both participated in the Year of Techniques ages ago, before we really knew each other well, before we worked together. But we’ve both finished the little vest (wee slipover?) and we’re ready for next steps. It’ll be fun. Just a bit of ribbing after that and one more project will be completed.

What would we do without yarn? Gone knititng.

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 Post About Our Lake

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

We are so fortunate to live on the shores of Messalonskee Lake. Some of you may know that I’ve been serving as the lake association’s president for nearly two years and have served on the board of trustees for six or more years. The Friends of Messalonskee is a grassroots volunteer organization that has been operating on this lake for ten years (or more) and, by the way, doing great work; often leading the way for other lake associations in our region.

FOM’s dedicated volunteers and paid seasonal employees conduct Courtesy Boat Inspections to keep fragments of invasive plants from entering or exiting the lake and stop the spread of invasive plants to or from other waterbodies. FOM also contracts with New England Milfoil to DASH (Diver Assisted Suction Harvest) milfoil beds from our lake in order to retain control over our current infestation. We also hire a crew of hand-pullers each summer to pull invasive milfoil from areas where we can’t DASH. Each year we are supported by the state, local towns and businesses, and our members. Last year we removed over 13 TONS of milfoil from our lake through the combined programs.

This week we had a nightmare situation happen on the lake. We had record rain on Sunday, April 30th and lots of runoff caused a railroad culvert in Belgrade to fail. When the culvert failed tons of packed dirt and debris in the culvert shot into the lake and the railroad tracks were left unsupported by the ground underneath. The storm caused each lake above us in our chain of lakes to open their dams and our lake filled to near capacity. Our dam was open but because we have a stream below us, they had to be cautious not to flood the stream. It was pretty hairy for awhile – docks and dock panels were floating away as were kayaks. Lakeside residents were rightly concerned for their properties.

The back story:

On Monday the end of our road was heaped with piles of rock and dirt and several construction-type vehicles. They appeared to be digging and since they were so close to the lake, I called the Belgrade town office to report the situation because the laws about digging within 250 feet of the lake are strict. The Code Enforcement Officer for Belgrade was to have been informed – and I was hoping for come communication back about steps taken. I also reached out to a partner organization to let them know what was happening and to find out what steps I (or we) might take to mitigate sediment/additional yucky stuff from entering the lake. They suggested that I reach out to our local DEP inspector, too. He called me and I emailed him the pictures below (not the mailboxes, that’s more a neighborhood situation.)

On Tuesday on my way to work the piles of rocks and dirt were even bigger. It was difficult to get by the vehicles that were working on moving the materials. There were huge dump trucks, two earth-movers and several “supervisor vehicles”, men in yellow vests managing resident’s vehicle traffic, and more materials being dumped. There was a lineup of dump trucks up on the main highway, too. When I came home, I asked one of the supervisors what was going on and he told me that there was a big hole about two miles down the tracks between Thistle Hill and Hazlet Woods.

There were at least 3 dump trucks in a choreographed dance going back and forth two or three times an hour. I later learned there was another railroad vehicle that would travel the same part of the tracks lifting the rails back to where they are supposed to be because the weight of the trucks was pressing the rails down.

Staging area at the bottom of Station Road

Despite having twice sent photos to the local DEP inspector and calling and emailing our lake-loving partners, it became evident that there was too little communication about what was being done to mitigate MORE damage to the lake or what the railroad was being asked to do to protect the lake. Any time the earth is “moved” there is potential for harm to the lake. A lakeside resident on Wednesday had called the news and they came to see what was happening. She said that the railroad tracks were hanging like rubber bands. We saw the rails when they were being replaced several years ago and they looked like they were being extruded from a play dough machine but they were quarter-mile-long lengths of metal.

Yesterday I walked down to the “giant hole” with two friends. The entire pile under the railroad tracks has been rebuilt. There are railroad ties (creosote being a bad chemical to have in our lake) piled on either end of the repaired tracks and on the sides of the new “levee”. We took a lot of photos but these show the area now.

You can see the new culvert in the middle of the span. You can also see the path of the surge of dirt, silt, etc. in front of the culvert. This is what we need to be concerned about. This and whatever detritus was expelled into the lake when the culvert failed. Years of “junk” built up in the old culvert that was “shot” into the lake with the force of the water runoff down the hill. I can only imagine what it looked like when the culvert blew. The force had to have been remarkable.

The week ahead looks like it will be busy following up with the town and the state/DEP to make sure that our lake’s water will be tested, that the roads that the railroad expanded will be put back to their original state – one of the challenges of dealing with run-off is on roads that are big and wide because they’re an easy path for water. We want the old railroad ties to be removed along the lake.

One of two roads altered for RR Vehicles

My concern, too, is that there are other culverts along the RR tracks that may not have been maintained over the decades and that a similar failure can happen again. I’ll likely spend the last few months of my term trying to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.

Gone knitting.

Ice Out and Critters Return – Welcome Spring!

Posted on April 10, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

As soon as the ice goes out (this year it happened on April 6th) the water birds and critters return to the lake. It’s miraculous, really, that they know when it’s safe to come back out on the lake. This year we heard reports from the northern end of the lake that the loons had returned while our section of the lake was still covered by ice. BUT as soon as the ice was gone, the loons were calling from the cove. There’s nothing quite like living so close to nature. We are so grateful to be able to witness the seasonal changes, to watch the sun change its position in the sky, and to know that there are more miracles coming soon when the babies are back with their parents. It won’t be long.

Since the ice went out, we’ve seen all the weather. Beautiful blue bird skies, thick fog and days of rain. Fortunately, it seems that mud season was relatively short this year and early. I had some white knuckle trips down our road and I may have let a few four-letter words escape my lips while hoping that my car wouldn’t get stuck in the mud.

I’ve been knitting like a mad woman. I seem to want to cast on all the new projects and I am trying to stay focused on finishing some, too.

I’ve got a full basket of cotton yarns that I’ve collected over the years. I am trying to knit down the stash and one of my favorite projects is dishcloths/washcloths that I’ll pop into my gift drawer and pull out as needed. These two are from deeply stashed yarn from a big box store and they’re obviously seasonal. We use them here at home and the kids like them, too. They’re great stocking stuffers or as a gift with a special bar of soap. The pattern is so simple and easy to remember which makes these dishcloths good TV knitting.

I’m almost half-way through the collection of Advent jumpers from Arne and Carlos. I love knitting these little sweaters and they knit up so quickly. I’m using Patagonia Organic Merino yarn from Juniper Moon Farm and, I have to say, this is my favorite yarn right now. I’ve made my Humlebi Shawl in it and I’ve got the charcoal gray colorway set aside to make an Emsworth vest. Number 12 will likely be finished by the end of the day today. I like to spend Sunday knitting for fun. I also like to bake and I’ve eaten all of my granola and my baked oatmeal.

The body of my Traveling Sweater is nearly done (it may, actually be done but I have to measure it again to make sure.) This has been a fun knit. Patsy is a customer who has come into the store a bunch of times to purchase Plymouth Gina yarn for the sweaters that she makes. She has a Facebook page for the sweaters because she’s knitted over 100 of them. I have loved the sweater since I first saw it and have almost bought the yarn once before. When we heard that Plymouth was discontinuing the yarn, I put aside what colors we had in the shop and the boss ordered bags of each remaining color. When they came in, I bought the yarn and cast on my sweater.

The pattern is a Knitting Plain and Simple pattern #9724, Neck Down Pullover for Women. These patterns are simple beginner patterns and are knit top down in the round with minimal seaming. The sizing is somewhat size-inclusive but they certainly could be expanded. It would be wonderful if they added full stitch counts, too. But I recommend these patterns often for customers and students knitting their first garments. I’ve chosen 10 colorways of the Gina yarn and have randomly pulled them out of the bag to knit next. I have simple knitted the whole ball and then spit-spliced the next ball and kept knitting. I had a bit of a challenge making gauge but I decided that I would use the recommended needles and knit the size larger so that it would fit comfortably. I’m thinking that I may use a folded hem rather than a rolled hem but I haven’t decided yet. I suppose I can knit the rolled hem and then sew it up if I change my mind.

I’ve got to buy one more ball of Gina so that my sleeves, at least at the shoulders, match as closely as possible to the body of the sweater. After that, random is fine.

Gone knitting.

On the Road Again

Posted on March 27, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

Marblehead Light from Fort Sewell, Marblehead, MA

The past week I’ve been living “on the road” which is saying that I’m not home. This is the first road trip that I’ve taken by myself in two years. I found myself very anxious when I was leaving the house. My GPS on my car wouldn’t connect, I couldn’t get it to play my podcasts that I had hoped to listen to, nor would it play my music that “I” downloaded (with lots of help and support from my sweet husband.) Turns out that if you turn the car off and then re-start it, that it works. Phew. I was so grateful for my husband’s suggestion.

First stop was to my “oldest” friend’s house in Connecticut to celebrate the life of her son. He died on Valentine’s day in a one car crash. He was 28 years old. The memorial service or “Irish Wake” was wonderfully well put together for Scudder. He didn’t want a church funeral or, really, any formal service. So, we all ate and drank and remembered the young man who was so loved by his family and friends. His sister’s and mother’s lives will be forever changed. I was lucky to be able to spend the night at my friend’s house and chat for a few hours before heading off to Massachusetts.

Second stop was Salem, Massachusetts. My sister-in-love is house and dog sitting for my niece and her husband who are honeymooning in Italy! We haven’t been able to have a lot of girl time since I moved to Maine (we have plenty of time together with husbands and kids and other siblings but not just the two of us) so I really wanted to visit for a couple of days. And I did … and I extended my visit to a week! One of my wonderful co-workers worked for me on Thursday and I cancelled my class (I know, that’s not normal!) on Friday. Today the husbands arrive and we’ll spend the weekend celebrating my nephew who is off on an excellent adventure to Alaska for a few months.

I am knitting! I finished my Humlebi Shawl by Fiber Tales. I knit this shawl in Patagonia Organic Merino by Juniper Moon Farm. I love the oatmealy-gray yarn and the bumble bees that are knitted in around the edge are fabulous! I will block it aggressively rather than gently and I hope it’ll be an ok size for me. I used just over one skein and I’ll weigh the remaining one to figure out how much I used in total. I checked my gauge and I measured 19 sts per inch rather than 17. So, I wasn’t too far off but it probably would have been a bit better for me on a larger needle. It was a fun knit so I may consider knitting it again just to see what happens when I change the gauge to what it’s really supposed to be and I have more yarn.

I also knitted up a couple of pairs of booties for a new mom (and dad)-to-be. I knitted up the pattern that I found at the store years ago and that I really love to knit. It’s called Sue’s Baby Booties and I knit it up in Cascade Yarn’s FIxation. When I ran out of projects (daughter’s socks are at the toe and I need her foot measurement, Humelbi Shawl was finished except for blocking, and I only had Arne & Carlos’ Advent Jumpers left which take too much concentration to knit in a group) so I cast on another pair for my brother and sister-in-law’s neighbors who just had a baby girl. This pattern makes me so happy! I love all the combinations.

I have reached the toe decreases on the socks for my dear daughter. Plain vanilla socks for the first pair to see how she likes them and how they fit. Since I don’t have her feet to try them on or measure. I sent her a text to trace and measure her foot so I know how long to knit them. We used to have the same shoe size but mine are bigger these days, I guess. Anyway, I’ll put the first sock onto a holder and start on the second sock so I can continue my progress. I’m feeling successful and productive with all these small projects.

Spring in Massachusetts is a couple of weeks ahead of us here in Maine. I can’t wait to see our spring bulbs in bloom. They’re coming!!! The snow in the yard is all gone, the road has already dried up a bit from the muddy mess that it was when I left. The lake is still mostly covered with ice (it’s certainly ice-covered at our house but each end is more open than a week ago) and it’s turning grayer. I’m ready to see the water again.

Gone knitting!