Queen Bee Knits

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

Rabbit Rabbit

Posted on February 1, 2026 by Queen Bee Knits

HOLY COW! It’s February today! We’ve been wrapped in winter here in Central Maine. It’s been the coldest part of the winter thus far with temps dipping into the negative numbers and even the ice fishermen haven’t been coming out but they’re out today! I was at work the last three days and I’m enjoying a day at home catching up with all the stuff I’ve been ignoring – watering the plants, cleaning the air cleaners (is that really a thing?) … you get the drift. It feels good to have “all” the work behind me so I can escape to my studio to clean up a little bit and get some work done at my desk and on my knitting queue!

My orchids are blooming and I want to share them with you. They’re so pretty! I have one more that is working up to blooming but it’s not quite there. Two are in full bloom. I have to remember to mist them daily and they’ll keep their blooms for a lot longer.

I’ve been working on two of my WIPs this week. I’ve made a lot of progress on my Ranunculus sweater that’s knit on large-ish needles and knits up quickly in the worsted weight yarn I chose. I enjoyed working the yoke which is meant to resemble strands of beads/necklaces and then the rest of the body is stockinette stitch. Around and around I go. I believe that I’ll put the body on hold when I reach the required length and I will knit the sleeves before finishing the body. I want the sleeves to be 3/4 length, I think since this will be a summer-y sweater so I want to knit the sleeves to the right length, try the sweater on and then finish the body. I have decided that I don’t love me in cropped sweaters. I’d rather have it a little longer than the designer planned. I think I’ll have enough yarn to make it a couple of inches longer. We shall see.

I frogged back and started my Le Bandana scarf again on larger needles and I’m liking the fabric this time much more. It’s less stiff and I think, especially when blocked, it will drape nicely. The yarn is a collaboration between Lola Bean Yarn Company and Cece’s Wool in remembrance of the civil rights movement. The colorway is called “Good Trouble”. I have also started another pair of socks since I finished my hubby’s Christmas socks. This will be a vanilla sock so the “Paper” colorway can stand out. Doesn’t it look like the ruled paper we bought for school? I’m finished with the leg and am working my way across the heel flap on the first sock. Maybe I’ll spend a little time with this today.

I have officially finished my first sock of 2026. Hubby’s Christmas socks. I’m going to try to get a pair a month knitted from stash. This pair is from deep stash. I do have a bit more of it left, however. Hubby loves wearing this heavy wool yarn in the winter. These are the Thompson River Socks and they were from a magazine way back when. They were fun to knit and kept my crazy brain focussed when I needed it the most last month.

I still haven’t finished my little crocheted car key fob character although I have put it into service. I will get to finishing it eventually. LOL. It’s cute but it’s so fiddly. I probably won’t make another one any time soon.

I also finished my first “Melt the Ice” hat in Malabrigo Rios. It looks tiny but it fits pretty well when I don’t roll up the brim. Because my head is so big, it will eventually pop off my head. The next one I will make on a bigger needle, make the ribbing longer and I may add a few more stitches, too.

I’ve had a request for a purple, pink and blue scarf for my granddaughter. This will take priority for sure since her little neck is getting frozen in New York City. The little Sophie Scarf I knitted for her has gotten too small. I’ve got to go do some stash diving for this one. They like to have washable woolens because she’s apt to drag them around her day care or the streets of New York.

Gone knitting.

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!

Coming Back to Life …?

Posted on November 2, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

I am finally starting to feel more like myself after a couple of weeks in New York grand-parenting and coming home with something germ-y. I finally went to the urgent care last week and got some antibiotics and that has helped. So has laying (relatively) low. I almost feel like I have some energy today. Almost. The sunshine may be helping a bit, too.

While I’ve been laying low, I’ve been on a finishing spree! I’m so happy to have several projects that have been on my needles in some form or another OFF the needles! The first one being the fingerless mitts for my daughter. She asked for a new pair a year ago, she chose her colors and the pattern and I started knitting. BUT I thought they’d be too big for her and was concerned so I waited to have her try them on when we were together … and then I forgot to have her try them on … twice, several months apart. So, I am finally finished knitting them and they are, as of this morning, dry after their bath and block. I am really happy with them and despite them being black and blue, they are quite stunning. I hope she’ll love them. I always hesitate to mail stuff to New York City because they do tend to get lost but I’ll ask her what she wants me to do. I’ll happily mail them to her or bring them to Thanksgiving.

Rain Shadow Mitts by Daniel Herrera is the pattern. I knitted these in Brown Sheep’s Nature Spun Fingering in Pepper and Cobalt colorways. I always like the palm patterns more than the main one and this pair didn’t change that sentiment. BUT I am really happy with these mitts and hope I never have to knit another pair. They’ll be warm for my girl this fall and winter, though, and for that I am grateful.

I also finished a hat for the store and a pair of convertible mittens for a donation. The hat is a pattern that you can’t get any longer from Ravelry. Luckily, I had the pattern and in a couple of days whipped up a hat for the store. One thing we really need is some new samples because the old ones get tired. Anyway, this is a bucket hat knit in two balls, one each of Noro Kureyon and Noro Silk Garden worsted-weight yarns. I chose a blue-ish colorway in the Kureyon and a neutral colorway in the Silk Garden and it’s come together very well. I’m tempted to try another hat in two bright colors … but my knitting list is growing in advance of the holidays so I have to put that off to the side. We’ll see how I feel when I get to the end of my list. (If it ever happens!)

I also knitted a pair of convertible mittens, String of Jewels Mitts, in Malabrigo Rios in the Pisces colorway. I was given this ball of yarn and needed to send a pair of mittens and pajamas to a non-profit that my Friday morning knitting group is supporting this fall. The organization, The Kinship Program, is part of the Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine. They support children who are taken out of their homes “in the dark of night” (my words) without anything of their own in many instances. We are sending them hats, pajamas, mittens and books to give to these kids. This pair of mittens will go to a teenager because they’re rather “adult” sized but I think the bigger kids are often ignored in favor of babies and smaller kids.

The third project, a mess of knitted fabric in the photo, is intentional because it’s my granddaughter’s 2025 Christmas sweater. I am designing a “simpler” design this year with stashed yarn because I am trying to knit down the stash and I bought this yarn to make her a sweater. The theme is loosely based on the Disney movie Frozen. The yarn is Cascade 128 Superwash wool, and I’ve used two hanks for this sweater. That means I have one more to make a hat … if time allows. I’ve seen a pattern for a hood-type hat with fun fur around the face and that’s what I’d like to make for her for the winter. New York City can feel really cold in the morning on the way to school! Sorry, you’ll have to wait for the photos of the finished project until after it’s delivered.

I cast on a new project yesterday, too. A pair of socks for my hubby for Christmas. He’ll watch me make them “with my class” and then will get them in his stocking this year. I’m knitting with HiKoo’s Madrona fingering weight yarn and a US 2 needle. The yarn is a combination of baby Alpaca, merino, bamboo and nylon and it’s super soft. He’ll love that they’re blue, his favorite color. AND I get to use another ball of stashed yarn. I missed making a pair of socks in October so these are my November Self-imposed Sock Club socks. I need to make some new socks for our granddaughter, too and since they’re small(er), I hope I can get more than one pair knitted in November.

I have two more sweaters on the list for holiday knitting. One each for the grandkids. And I think I want to join a KAL that I just learned about this morning (the danger of social media scrolling) that is being held as a Hap and Gratitude KAL and I’d knit Gudrun Johnston’s Lang Ayre shawl. I have a stash of J&S fingering weight wool to use for this project and I just have to check to see if I have five balls of any one of them. I know I have two of a few and one of many. I may have to buy some to get rid of a few. I”ll check today after we go to the apple farm. I’m jonesing for an apple fritter or an apple cider donut … or both.

Gone knitting.

Whew! A Whirlwind Week

Posted on October 26, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

Today’s picture is actually yesterday’s picture but I loved it so much! We have this incredible view out of our bedroom window, aren’t we lucky? We don’t take it for granted. That’s a guarantee. This week has been a whirlwind week and I’m so grateful for a Sunday with little on our calendar other than catching up around the house. My calendar has been a crazy mess while we were in New York and I haven’t straightened my atelier for a couple of weeks and there’s a couple of weeks of laundry to do and I will get it done. Probably not all today. And that’s fine.

We both came home from New York with some cruddy sinus thing and I haven’t had a minute to stop and rest until today. We had a great Chamber event at Maine Arts Academy on Wednesday evening and I am totally thrilled with everything the staff did for that event. It was perfect from start to finish. The food, the staff who volunteered, the entertainment, all of it! I came home Wednesday night and fell right into bed. Thursday I worked in the yarn shop, Friday I taught knitting and on Saturday I was back in the shop for a big celebration of Malabrigo yarn’s 20th anniversary. We were so busy and I’m so grateful that Carol, one of my co-worker friends, had the idea to have two of us on with the owner, Joyce. We were certainly busy enough for the three of us. Last night I came home and couldn’t wait to go to be but I can’t make myself sleep at 6:30pm. Ha! Ha!

This morning we woke up and had a cup of coffee, inside now, and then I decided to take myself to the walk-in doc-in-a-box to see if I can get some medicine for this sinus thing that I’ve had for ten days. Happily, that was a success and I am looking forward to feeling much better any day now.

Meanwhile, I have done some knitting and made a little progress (and cast on a new project, too.) The first thing I did was finish the Billie pants for my grandson. I made these in a really nice shade of green that my bonus daughter picked out. The pants are adorable BUT I didn’t think well and need one more ball to make the sweater to match. I’ll order one ball today and can still get the wee sweater knitted in good time.

Billie pants in Cascade 220 Superwash Merino

I love the yarn and hope it’ll hold up to washing and drying. AND he’s growing so fast, they’ll likely be too small before they’re worn out. The yarn is next-to-skin soft and I love the color, too. I just have to block them and trim the ends that are all woven in.

String of Jewels Mitts in Malabrigo Rios

I found these mittens online and thought they were so pretty. The cuff is unique and I had this cake of Malabrigo Rios that was wound at the store and then the person didn’t want it. We typically don’t sell yarn once it’s caked so the boss handed it to me. So, I cast on thinking that these will be great for the winter and they’re fingerless mitts that are convertible (they’ll have a mitten tip attached) so they’re great for my morning drive to work in the earlier part of the winter. I’ve gotten the majority of the two mitts finished in a day or two and am enjoying the simplicity of this project.

I’ve got to attack my daughter’s colorwork mitts again this weekend and next week and try to get them finished so she can wear them. They’re a challenging pattern that is best worked on in the morning with a fresh, rested mind. I’ll try them tomorrow after a bit of time on my meds and see how far I can get. I am making progress.

And now I look ahead to Christmas knitting of which I am not doing a ton. I have a sweater to make for Sylvie and I think I am going to knit the Jamberry Cardigan for her but in Christmas colors (red being the main color with green and white accents in the yoke.) AND then I will likely make the same sweater in the pattern colors because she loves purple so much and she loves the book, too. I’ve already bought the yarn for both sweaters in Berroco Vintage DK.

I have traditionally knitted a pair of socks for my hubby’s stocking and I will try to get a pair done without him knowing I’m making them. I’ve still got a few balls of worsted weight sock wool that I’ve worked with for years and I think I know which pattern I want to knit to make it fun – not the plain vanilla socks I often knit for him. More on these later.

I’ve not made a pair of October socks and I’m not beating myself up about it. I have had a lot going on. This week I can play a little catch up but I’ll make my hubby’s Christmas socks my November pair and then I have some special Christmas sock yarn and I’ll make another pair in December, perhaps. I also promised bigger socks to our granddaughter because she loves my handknit socks. Especially the purple ones.

WIP list: Noah the Horse, my daughter’s fingerless mitts, the pink mittens with embroidery, my Poet sweater which as been sitting very idle and I’m sure there are others. I need to pull all of my yarn out of my shelves and clean up a few spider webs that I can see. I’ve never had spider webs in my studio before. Go figure. Think I can say they’re Halloween decorations?

Gone knitting!

What a Week!

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

Well, the last one has been a tough week. I seem to be suffering from a bit of a depressive episode, not atypical for me at this time of year, due to the stretch of gray days and less light. I’ve hooked up the light thingy that I have and hope that will help and today it’s actually sunny which will also help. I also lost a dear family friend this week. We met when our kids were little at the beach in Weekapaug, RI. The Shelby family quickly became good friends because my eldest daughter and their youngest daughter bonded immediately. They’re still close all these 30-some years later. Anyway, Linda was a dear friend, always laughing and sarcastically funny, bright, creative and just a great woman. Linda got Alzheimer’s Disease, just like my mother, at an early age. She passed away Thursday at 72 years of age. Way too young. I will miss her and I’m grateful that she’s no longer suffering. That’s also brought up feelings around the loss of my mother at 76 back in 2008. I’m glad it’s Thanksgiving week and I don’t have to be anywhere so I can just be … and work through the feelings as they roll in. Nobody said that life would be easy.

I’ve had a big frustration with a commission that I had, too. I was asked to knit an adult-sized “Have You Seen My Octopus” hat for a high school friend who saw the one I made for our granddaughter. I bought the Malabrigo yarn and after ripping the hat back more than once, finally got the knitting done to my satisfaction. I blocked it – and it GREW! I’ve never had anything grow like this hat. If a hat is too big for my big fat head, it says a lot. So, because there’s no los when the hat is way too big, I wet it again and put it in the dryer alone. Twenty minutes and no change at all. SO I threw it in with a wet load of laundry and let it go … and it felted up to a decent size but it was too fluffy and looked “worn”. I reached out to my customer and told her about it and we decided that I’d send it to her so she can see what it looks like and it’s up to her to keep it or not. I’ve got almost $40 in yarn and about 10 (probably more) hours of work into the hat … ugh.

not really the color but the size is good

Yesterday I took the second part of the Fair Isle knitting class online with Janette Budge. What a generous teacher she is! I started knitting my bag/swatch after the class and ran into a color conundrum … if I continued knitting as planned, I’d have a yellow/gold motif colorway at the middle of the design AND a yellow background color. I didn’t think that would work. So, I emailed Janette and had a thoughtful answer back in a very short while. I am very grateful and can continue knitting now with renewed hope that the colors will work.

This is the gathering of colors that I chose. In the front are the background colors, theoretically a gradual shade change from white to yellow. In the back (at the top of the photo) are the motif colors. Again, they’re supposed to be a fade from dark to light. The bag will start and end with navy and the salmon color will be the “pop” of color in the middle of the motif. As I’d planned it, though, the yellow of the background colors and the third or fourth motif color (the golds) would be at the middle of the motif at the same time with little contrast and too much yellow! I think I’ll just leave out the yellow for the background (and hope I have enough of the beige.)

My Christmas stocking MKAL is ending today and I’ve fallen behind. I’m on day 17 or so and have several days to catch up on before knitting the afterthought heel and finishing. But I’ll get there. I have been enjoying the project … until the darkness got the better of me.

I’ve cast on a new pair of Christmas boot sock for my sister-in-love in Massachusetts. She is very knit worthy and I think she’ll enjoy the warm wool socks. I hope she can remember not to dry them. LOL. I have several skeins of Raggi sock yarn that I bought at my LYS before we couldn’t get it in the USA and this pair of skeins with a Christmas theme will be perfect for her. I haven’t taken any photos yet but the first sock is finished. I love knitting worsted weight socks! They knit up so quickly.

I’ve finished the knitting on my pink version of the “Lanes Island Pullover” and just have to start seaming the shoulders. Maybe I’ll get to that today. I’d love to have it to wear over Thanksgiving weekend. We’ll see how I do – the shoulders are the most difficult part to seam. The rest is a piece of cake … and I will have to knit the collar at the end. Send me good seaming juju, will you please?

I’ve still got to finish the Christmas sweater for our granddaughter, too. Not much to do there, either. I think I just have to knit the button plackets and add the buttons – the ones I got a really fun! Another project that shouldn’t take long to finish but I’ve not had the bandwidth to do anything other than simple simple simple whatever. I hope today will feel a little bit better and that I can conquer at least ONE of these undone projects.

Gone knitting.

Oh, Knitting … I love you.

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

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

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

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

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

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

Arne & Carlos Christmas 2024 MKAL – day 11

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

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

Gone knitting.

Ahhhh … Sunday

Posted on October 20, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

I turned my alarm off this morning and slept for an extra (almost) hour! It was lovely to ignore my alarm. We had coffee indoors because the morning was a bit too cool for outside on the porch but it’s warmed up quite nicely and I think I will be opening a window or two today.

I went upstairs to get some knitting and got sidetracked as often happens. First because I didn’t feel like knitting my sweater and I’ve finished a couple of projects this week. More on those later. So, I went up to my studio and started looking through my Ravelry queue and found the cowl pattern that Glenda and I bought on our trip to Knit City Montreal. I had seen what I thought was the same cowl on my bosses FB page this morning, too, which was partly why I thought about the next project to cast on. Anyway, I pulled out the yarn (a full hank of peach and two mini hanks of black, all tweed, all really soft and will be great against the skin) and wound it up. When I had a first glance at the pattern, though, I realized that I didn’t feel confident with the cast on and so I sat down to watch the tutorial suggested by the designer and thought … why not just cast on with the video? So, got my needles and yarn and sat down again. Needless to say, I have my stitches cast on, the tubular cast on is completed and I have my 168 stitches on the needles.

The yarn is so pretty and the sunshine so glorious that I thought I should take a photo of my new start … that’s when I realized that I had downloaded a NEW pattern by the same designer and I had already bought the original pattern a year ago … AND the original pattern has six fewer stitches. So, now I have to decide whether I want to decrease six stitches in my first row after the ribbing and knit the pattern I bought the yarn for OR whether I keep going on the newer pattern (the one my boss saw) and I think I like the original pattern better. So … stay tuned. Hahaha!

So, I will be knitting the First Snowfall Neckwarmer by Runningyarn. With the pretty yarn that I bought at Knit City Montreal when we went two (?) years ago. I loved the peach color even if the combo is a bit unusual for snowflakes, I liked it and chose it and am going to knit it now. I’m on a colorwork spree. I’m about to pull out the provisional cast on stitches and then I’m off and running.

Finished this week … two projects, both quick and easy, taking a couple of days each. First up, the Have Your Seen My Octopus Hat for our granddaughter who just turned two yesterday. This hat is a blast to make and went together so easily and quickly. I will make the pompom today and add it to the top (the body of the octopus) and will take one last photograph of it.

I also started and finished the Writers Mitts (I have no idea where you can find this pattern, sorry). I was given the pattern by our Berroco Yarn rep, Andra, who had knitted a sample pair in the new sport weight Lopi yarn called Fjallalopi in this pretty pink colorway. I was gifted the yarn and when I saw Andra’s mitts, it was obvious what I was going to make. Since I had to buy more pink Remix light, I cast these on Thursday night and knitted them Friday and Saturday and blocked them last night. Super simple pattern, super simple mitts and they’ll be fun to wear in the cooler weather. Or maybe I’ll gift them to somebody … they’re almost dry and ready to go.

I finally remembered to ask my sweet hubby to cut a dowel for me so I can hang the Advent calendar that I made for Sylvie. I have a few things to fill the pockets (a little gift a day) and I guess I’m about 15 short of a complete calendar. I’ve got my work cut out for me between now and Thanksgiving … maybe several packets of organic gummy snacks of some kind will suffice in a pinch. Meanwhile, I’ll check Target this week. I wish we still had the Christmas Tree Shops.

So, I said I’d be out on the porch a while ago and I’d best keep my word. I’m going to stop writing and head out to knit while the weather is so pretty. Meanwhile, a shot of my three little knitted pumpkins on the windowsill with the window open this afternoon. (I’m still in my PJs!) It’s raining leaves!

Gone knitting.

Blocking Nancy’s Vest on a Beautiful Sunday

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

As the sun sets on this weekend, we’re enjoying some quiet time at home. We went into town to pick up groceries that we’ve not had time to do since we’ve been traveling and living around a couple of crazy winter storms. But today we got it done and we can eat for a week or two before we have to grocery shop again. I pulled some bananas out of the freezer as I was organizing and will make some banana nut muffins in the morning and maybe some granola, too. You know it’s been a crazy time when we run out of granola!

My Nancy’s Vest is blocked. I’m really excited to be able to wear this vest this week when I go to work. It’s been an interesting challenge because it looks so simple but it has a few techniques that were new and several directions at once so I needed to pay close attention. Despite being warned, I didn’t read ahead in the pattern and neglected to stop and divide for the front and back pieces (and I had to frog back 3 inches of stockinette) and there were a couple of places where I didn’t decrease on the front parts. Fortunately I was paying closer attention and didn’t have to frog back quite so far.

Regardless, I really enjoyed the process and I loved learning a couple of new tricks. The button bands were knit as you go as part of the garment and that was fun. I am eager to see how the button holes work. I used the ones in the pattern but I wasn’t sure about them. I also liked the cabled decreases, they make for nearly invisible shaping on the body of the vest.

When I got to seaming the shoulders, I had the back bound off and live stitches on the front left and right. The directions said to graft them together. This made my head spin and there was no tutorial for doing this. I’ve grafted plenty of stitches together when there are live stitches on both sides but this isn’t the case here. And THEN she offered an option of a 3 needle bind off. Again, I’ve done a lot of these but they entail having live stitches on the two sides being knitted together and bound off. So, I thought about it for a few minutes and decided to unpick the bound off back stitches and return them to the needles and then I did a three needle bind off at the first shoulder, bound off the stitches across the back of the neck and did a three-needle bind off at the second shoulder. It seems to have worked and it will add some structure to the shoulder.

The blocking happens now, before the finishing of the back of the collar. I will have to add a little bit of length to the collar pieces before grafting them together and attaching them to the back of the neck. That’s the only seaming in the whole garment! I’ll weave in the ends and then crochet around a couple of spots and it’ll be finished and ready to wear.

On Friday I hope my friend/co-worker and I will both be wearing our Nancy’s Vests at work. We had our own little KAL that we didn’t plan but kind of just happened. It’s funny that we are both finishing at about the same time considering.

I’m going to give myself a bit of a break from finishing until my vest dries and tonight I’m going to knit up a pair of fingerless mitts with a hank of deeply stashed Malabrigo Rios. I don’t know what the colorway is because the label appears to have left the building, but it’s a pretty blue colorway. These will knit up quickly and will be satisfying after the longer projects. After that, I’ll be frogging back one sleeve on my Norwegian sweater that is SO close to being done. I’m going to attempt to decrease more rapidly and then knit the colorwork and cuff (and then try to copy what I did on the first sleeve with the second one. That’s all I have left to do and that sweater will also be finished. I sure do hope after all this that I will be able to wear the sweater. My allergies seem to be getting worse with some wool. I hope the natural wools will be exempt from allergies. I can wear Patagonia Organic Merino and I hope this Norwegian wool will be free of whatever makes me sneeze!

Gone knitting.

Final pictures will be posted on my Instagram feed @queenbeeknits and lindar on my Ravelry project page.

More FOs

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

We went down to Massachusetts to visit family. My aunt, 80 years young, flew in from the other coast. We had so much fun visiting and I wish, as I always do, that we could have had more time. BUT, I promised a long while ago that I’d work tomorrow and my word is my bond. So we came home today … crossing the bridge back into Maine is always a good feeling. I love coming home.

Before we left, I finished sewing on the buttons of the Periperium Cardigan by Kelly van Niekirk. It’s a free pattern on Ravelry. Knit in a DK weight yarn and US 6 needles. I used on 16-inch circular needle and a set of DPNs in the same size. I chose Euro Baby’s Babe Freckles in a primary colored speckled yarn. This one if for my new great-nephew, Noah. I also chose three different colors of buttons: red, blue and yellow and sewed them on with green thread. BUT I forgot to take a final photo before I gifted it. I hope I’ll see the baby in the sweater and that I’ll get a photo one day. I love this little sweater! It doesn’t take a lot of time to knit, it’s tiny and it’s adorable.

Puerperium … not finished but … only photo I took.

I also got a request from my eldest daughter and soon-to-be-mom. I knitted a pumpkin hat for their baby and she wanted something for her to wear with the hat. They’d been looking for a “costume” for her for Halloween and it all seemed kind of “tacky”. So, after asking a few questions, I found the Sheepie Sack pattern by Mandie Harrington, also free on Ravelry. I also found one cake of Malabrigo Rios in my stash that happened to be bright orange (glazed carrot?) … so, I cast on on our way to Massachusetts and I finished the i-cord this morning. It’s pretty cute!

I’ve been working away on my Musselburgh hat for my younger daughter for Christmas. I’ve chosen a black (her choice, she’s a New Yorker) Vintage Sock by Berroco to try this pattern. It’s written for several weights of yarn so I want to make sure the hat comes out in the right size before I spend lots of yarn money on it. The Vintage is very acceptable, has a soft hand, is nice to knit with … and it’s very reasonably priced at $10. The hat is a very simple knit and I think all of my NYC kids will love it. And it’s great knitting to do in front of the TV or in a meeting. Cast on with a magic loop cast on, increase for awhile and then knit forever in stockinette. A few decreases mirroring the increases and it’ll be done. I love that it’s doubled and can be worn slouchy or like a scull cap.

Depending on the weather next weekend, I’ll be wearing my Elton Cardigan or my Patsy’s Traveling Sweater … I think. I’m guessing that it will be cooler and that the Traveling sweater is going to win. I may decide to wear my Daytripper of my Humulus are also high on my list of possibilities. (All of my projects are listed on my Ravelry project page if you’d like to check out what I’m talking about, pattern and yarn info.) I’m getting excited about going to Rhinebeck! My friend and I are leaving Friday morning around 10am and we’ll do a drive-by so that we don’t get lost and mixed up early Saturday morning when we have to meet a bus. We’re both going to knit the pattern called Sofie’s Scarf on the trip to Rhinebeck. I’m going t knit the large size in Lanna Grossa’s Cashmere 16 Fine. I’ve chosen the “grellow” (35) colorway. It will also serve to be a good sample for the store.

It’s going to be a busy week with work tomorrow and Thursday and meetings for my volunteer jobs all day Tuesday and Tuesday night. Wednesday will be reserved (I hope) for me. Laundry, packing and figuring out what food we’ll take with us. We don’t want to be hangry and have to wait in lines .. Rhinebeck is supposed to be really, really crowded. Not always my bag.

The lake welcomed us home with some beautiful late afternoon sunlight.

Gone knitting.