Queen Bee Knits

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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.

A Traumatic Day

Posted on April 7, 2021 by Queen Bee Knits

Yesterday was a rough day. I’m not gonna lie. I haven’t slept well for a couple of nights and that usually means that there’s a full moon or that something is bubbling up inside me that needs to be gone from me … my life … my belief system … whatever it is. I felt overwhelmed, frustrated, sad, angry, tearful (like the ugly cry kind) and, by the end of the day, traumatized. I know I’ll work through it and the personal stuff in detail isn’t something that really belongs here. I know I can work through it and if I can’t, I can reach out to my (former not old) therapist who will guide me in the right direction. In the meantime, today I’m going to burn some sage in the house to cleanse the energy in it and I’ll take time to be quiet and see what my mind/body/soul reveals.

Oddly enough, in addition to having a traumatic, emotional day, I heard a phone ringing in the house. It was neither mine nor my husband’s. It was distant but seemed to be coming from inside out house. This morning I heard it again when I was standing in the kitchen. There isn’t another phone in the house. Yeah, I know. This is an odd one. Anywhoo …

Signs of hope in the garden this morning

When I went outside this morning to take my morning shot of the lake (it will be a video) I made a discovery. Crocus! I had completely forgotten that we planted a couple of bunches of crocus bulbs last fall. What a pleasant and welcome surprise. Some critter is munching on the lakeside spot and he or she will pay for that if I have anything to say about it but I was so pleased to see a couple of flowering buds and more coming. It makes me feel hopeful again.

Lots has happened around the lake since I last posted. The husband and I have both received and recovered from our second Moderna doses. We had what I would call very, very mild symptoms of what may have been fever (I had chills one afternoon) and fatigue. My arm hurt a little bit as did his. Overall, however, we are so grateful to be closer to living without the fear of this virus being ever-present in our minds. The vaccine feels like a huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders. I can’t wait to hug my kids and my friends!

We had ice out on our lake!

What a difference a day makes! And with the ice going out, the loons and water birds are coming back. In fact, as soon as there was open water, the birds were returning. Pairs of mergansers, at least one loon (we saw it and heard it, too), mallards, Canada geese and others are here again. It’s quite a wonderful change of pace after the winter months. Our bird feeders are full of bright yellow goldfinch, and my hubby said he’s seen purple finch. They’re eating us out our house and home!

I’ve been knitting madly away on a few projects that are on my needles.

On Easter Sunday I knitted one of the eggs from Arne and Carlos’ new collection of Twelve Easter Eggs. I’m using tiny balls of Sirdar Happy cotton yarn and they’re fun and relatively quick to knit. I’ve begun a second but I’ve put it aside to finish a project for a customer … or at least get it started.

I”m to the bottom colorwork band on my Daytripper cardigan so the mindless rounds of stockinette stitch are done and I’ll have to concentrate again (and count). I love the colors that I chose and this will be a great addition to my sweater collection.

I’ve cast on the Evolve Cowl by Hunter Hammersen which is the second project in the Confident Knitting program from Arnall-Culliford Knitwear. The yarn is Dusty Dimples DK, this is a hand-dyed yarn from the UK and it’s really delightful to knit with. The yarn was purchased as a kit to go with the book (for now virtual) that includes a lot of technique tutorials. This is the third such program that I’ve purchased and I have yet to be sorry that I did. I have not finished all of the projects from the first two books; Some I probably won’t ever make and some I know that I will. When the time is right. The technique this month is blocking a cowl in the round so that it doesn’t have the horrible creases. Good to know.

The Flux Handwarmers were the first project from Confident Knitting and they’re finished. I don’t love them to be completely honest because they’re a bit too short for my liking. I like fingerless mitts that at least keep my fingers protected from the cold steering wheel. These don’t. But the Zauberball (the yarn, Muffin) is pretty and I like the weight of the mitts. They’ll be a good gift for someone one day.

March socks are pretty rudimentary average everyday boot socks. They’re made out of Raggi yarn which I love. I made it just under the wire finishing these socks in March with a day to go. I’m not sure what socks will be happening in April … and I may skip a month. How do you like that? Ha! Ha! I do have some green buffalo wool sock yarn that is begging to be Christmas tree socks … time will tell.

Opus. What can I say about Opus? I love him/her so much. What a joy to knit and I love seeing it on my guest room bed every time I walk by. It seems a bit silly to enjoy something so apparently random but I do. I wrote about him/her here before I got to the tentacles. What a creative project.

My Fine Sand cardigan is slow progressing. I have it down in the living room now, next to my chair so that I can knit a few rows when I’m sitting down there. It’s endless rows of stockinette stitching now with every sixth row having some shaping increases and decreases. If I’m lucky, this will be done before the end of the summer … and since it’s a summery cotton/linen blend yarn, it’d be nice to be able to wear it this year. But it’s definitely going to be awhile.

So, there you have it. My life and knitting in a nutshell. I haven’t been baking much but I have the intention of making apple dumplings today … whole apples, cored and wrapped in pastry dough and baked. I have such fond memories of these at the Ohio State Fair with my singing kiddos! I’ve been eating my granola like crazy in the mornings or sometimes for lunch after work. Overall, I’m so grateful to be where I am and with who I’m with … life is good.

Gone knitting.

Spring has Sprung!

Posted on March 22, 2021 by Queen Bee Knits

The ice has been groaning and bumping. Sometimes it’s loud enough to hear inside with all the windows tightly shut. It’s an incredible, living thing and as our temperatures warm up (yesterday it was near 50 degrees if not more) the ice is changing quickly and will soon be gone completely. I’ll try to do a better job this year of chronicling the ice leaving. It’s fascinating!

Meanwhile, I’m knitting. I admit that most of my attention has been on my Opus octopus because I’m so entranced and enthralled by it. The pattern is great. I had no trouble at all getting the entire piece knitted without anything more than minor counting problems – and counting problems are completely on me! I am so happy with my color choices and the Malabrigo Rios yarn is soft and perfect for a knitted stuffed toy. At least one for me … it might be a bit pilly if it is loved by a child. I think I’d have used a different yarn if this hadn’t been for me … perhaps Berroco Vintage which is soft but more tightly twisted than Rios. Vintage is Acrylic which will make it harder-wearing and it would also be more affordable.

This morning I stuffed the head of my Opus.

I will attempt seaming of the tentacles today and stuffing them with fiberfill. I have fiberfill but as the pattern calls for wool roving, if the fiberfill doesn’t work, I can pick up roving at work tomorrow. I think the fiberfill will work, though. I’m really excited about it!

I’ve also been working on a couple of other projects and planning is in the works for a new projects, too. I’m working along on my Flux Handwarmers.

Honestly, these aren’t my favorite. I think the way the thumb gusset is designed is a bit fiddly. They’re pretty but they’re kind of silly. We’ll see what happens because I sometimes wear my least favorite projects the most. More on that later. But I have the first mitt done with the exception of the thumb which won’t take a long time to finish. The second mitt is finished to separating the thumb gusset stitches. I was out on the porch, sitting in the sun and knitting, when I reached this point and didn’t have a needle or a bit of scrap yarn to put the stitches on so I had to stop.

I’m working away, slowly on my Fine Sand cardigan. This is slow and steady work. I have reached the separating stage, separating the sleeves from the body of the sweater. Now I have endless stockinette stitch with a few shaping spots left to go … and a couple of sleeves. A friend of mine from Medomak Fiber Arts Retreat (aka Knitting Camp) was wearing this sweater two summers ago and I admired it then. It’s been on the needles for nearly that long! I knew we carried the yarn at the store where I work so I bought the yarn … and then it got set aside for something else as often happens. This is a pandemic finishing project.

I think, once it’s done, it will be a very wonderful summer sweater. Perfect for the cooler summer evenings outside.

I’m working on the color choices of my next project.

I’ll be joining the Modern Daily Knitting (MDK) Lopi knit-a-long that begins today. The KAL is all about MaryJane Mucklestone’s Field Guide #17 – Lopi and I’ll be knitting her cardigan called Daytripper. This will be my first Lopi sweater and I’m excited to give it a try – I’m also a bit “concerned” that I won’t be able to wear the Lopi because of my allergies but I’m going ahead and we shall see. I had originally bought the yarn to make a Stopover pullover but when the new pattern came out I decided to switch for two reasons: I think I’ll get more wear from a cardigan and I hope the cardigan opening will mitigate some of my allergic reaction by virtue of having less wool right under my nose. (Ha! Ha! I’m hoping!) I want to have a bit of pink in this sweater because I have nothing pink in my sweater collection and for some reason, I’m liking pink. (Top left is main color, bottom left is color A, the rest of the colors are for accents.)

Gone knitting!

How ’bout Some Knitting?

Posted on March 14, 2021 by Queen Bee Knits

Forever I’ve wanted to make Opus the Octopus by Cate Carter-Evans. Yes, forever! I first saw this pattern in Knitty magazine way back when it was one of the only (if not THE only) online, free, knitting magazines, in the “deep fall” issue from 2014. I was attracted to the pattern for whatever reason … perhaps because I was living in landlocked Ohio, Or maybe not but whatever the reason, I’ve remained attracted to the pattern and I finally bit the bullet and bought yarn for my Opus.

I decided that I loved the Malabrigo colors the best for what I had envisioned for my octopus. I wanted it to be deep rusty red with a peach/light orange underbelly. The pattern calls for DK weight yarn held doubled but I decided to use a single strand of worsted weight (Rios). I chose colors 049 Jupiter (the red) and 695 Peachy (the peach) and I’m thrilled by my choices so far.

First up is knitting the “head” of the octopus. Simple after the initial 4 stitch cast on which was super fiddly. But once past the first couple of rounds, it’s simple. I am knitting on a US 5 needle. In the interest of full disclosure, I didn’t measure my gauge because it doesn’t matter in this case. Nobody’s going to wear this guy and the fabric is tight enough that the stuffing won’t peek through.

I got a bit stumped by the addition of the eyes, mostly because I didn’t have any safety eyes and for whatever reason, I couldn’t find them at work. But I went back to work and DID find them and came home prepared to get moving again. The pattern wants you to knit four eyelids from one strand of yarn … since I changed my yarn weight, I also changed the eyelids … I just knit with my yarn on the US 1 needles and they turned out fine! I may have chosen to make the eyelids a little bit smaller (perhaps cast on two fewer or one fewer stitches to make the eyes open up just a bit but I am satisfied with my finished eyes.

Yesterday I started to knit the underbelly. Again, the initial cast on of four stitches on four DPNs and then immediately starting to double the stitches with increases, is a bit fiddly but I managed through it and am at the point where it’s time to start knitting the tentacles … all eight of them!

According to the pattern, they want me to knit the legs intarsia-style, flat and then, I guess (because I don’t read ahead in the pattern) I’ll stuff them and seam them? I guess it wouldn’t be a horribly bad idea to read ahead a bit so I have some idea about what I’m going to be doing. I’ll let you know!

Gone knitting.

How is it Already September 20?

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Queen Bee Knits

Good grief! I can’t imagine how we’ve gotten to “late” September! Time sure does fly when you’re having fun (in a pandemic?)

I’ve been back to teaching a small class outside at a local park in Waterville, Maine until this week. My students were comfortable meeting outside, socially distanced and masked. I was, too. And then last week, it was chilly and we had to move from under the pergola in the shade into the sun to be comfortable. This week the high temperature was only going to reach 62 so we went into the store and were surprised that we were comfortable there, too.

Life has been full of visitors this summer, too. If there are to be blessings found in the Covid-19 pandemic, this is one! All of our children have visited for at least a week and a couple visited for two weeks and four weeks! Working from home/remotely does have its benefits. Nothing makes this mom happier than a house full of our kids! We are so proud of all of them and how gracefully they’re handling life under Covid-19. It’s been difficult; isolating at times, frustrating at times, fraught with financial uncertainty. My kids all work in the Arts in New York City … there won’t be solid work for them at least until 2021. They’ll all make it through this and they’ll all grow because of it.

(I missed grand-dog Severus. Boo! And the Littles were unimpressed and not on the porch.)

We have been eating well (everyone likes to cook) and the baking has been lots of fun! Notice that the photos are almost all of baked goods!? Ha! We made focaccia with a beautiful vegetable “picture” on it, lobster is always a favorite, raspberry ice cream cookie sandwiches, blueberries, blueberry buckle, a rustic peach and blueberry galette, blueberry bundt cake, blueberry muffins, Mrs. Dejonkheere’s oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, blueberry pie #1, lobster eggs Benedict, maple blueberry scones, squash pie, veggie frittata and apple pie. The raspberries, blueberries and apples were all picked by our hands! What a lot of fun.

There has been yarn in my hands throughout the visits! I’ve started and finished a few things that I wanted to share with you, too.

First up were two emPower People cowls in their signature purple.

The first is the emPower People Cowl by Casapinka. This is a simple garter stitch cowl that asks for a DK or sport weight yarn. I used Malabrigo Rios which is a light worsted weight. It’s a cowl so I really didn’t mind if it came out a little bit larger (or smaller). It was a quick and simple knit project and it’s a sample at the store right now. It’s so soft and will be a nice garment to wear and a good reminder to VOTE!

The second is EmPower Lace by Romi. I was a test knitter for this cowl and it was another really fun knit. This could be considered a bit more difficult than the first cowl, but it’s a great first lace project. I used Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool this time and I love this yarn. It was a new yarn to me. It shows the lace well and it’s soft and sturdy. Empower Lace is also a free Raverly download.

Next up are two pairs of baby booties. I confess that I have a collection of Cascade’s Fixation yarn from which I’ve made several pairs of baby booties and a few baby hats to match. But I had over-bought! Can you imagine that? Ha! Ha! So, in my pledge to use up stashed yarn, I decided to pull out all of the Fixation and use it up by making some baby booties. Two pairs down and I have plenty more to go. The green pair has a different bottom color and the pink ones are simple solid pink. The pattern is one that I can’t find online anywhere called Sue’s Baby Booties. It was a free pattern at the store. If you love it, let me know and I can scan it and email it to you.

I’ve started and finished a baby gift for a special baby boy coming soon so I can’t show you a full photograph of the gift that I’ve finished. I used Hayfield’s Baby Blossom Chunky to knit a Three Cable Baby Blanket and will make a little sweater and hat to match. I’ll update this post when I have given the gift to the mom-to-be. It’s soft, warm and washable and dry-able. All good things when you’re a new mother.

I’ve finished the first of my September socks from our 2020 Sock Challenge. This is another stashed yarn, one that I collected when we learned that there wasn’t going to be a US distributor for this wonderful Raggi yarn. (There is a distributor now, thank heavens!) Raggi is a worsted/aran weight wool and nylon blend so it’s perfect for knitting socks. The pattern, Urban Rustic Socks, I just happened across when I was looking for a worsted weight sock pattern that I hadn’t already made. I love these socks and they’re a fun knit, too. It’s a free Ravelry pattern.

I’m working away on making more masks for my kids, I’ve fixed a hat for a customer, fixed a shawl several times for a former student (the shawl has traveled from Florida to Maine and back several times) and I’ve got a bunch of projects on the needles. I’m still working on finishing my Arne and Carlos Quarantine Knitting blocks (I think it’s going to be a pillow) and my Hope Cardigan is half-done. So, life is busy and full … I wanted to catch up here so that the next post won’t be so long.

Gone knitting!

Finished!

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Queen Bee Knits

I’ve finally finished a couple of things …

So, let’s first talk about the Shape of a Bay. This is a gorgeous shawl that I bought as a kit with some gorgeous Cashmere People yarn at the Medomak Fiber Arts Retreat two years ago. It was my first time going back to the camp where I spent several very happy summer as a child and a teenager and it was my camp splurge. When I started it at camp, I learned fairly quickly that it wasn’t a have an adult beverage and knit this kind of project. It has been languishing in my time out drawer for a long, long time.

Sadly, I ran out of yarn and didn’t get to knit the last six rows or so of the last section but I wasn’t going to try to buy more yarn at this point in time – even though I know that they still have the same colorway, I’m not sure if it’ll match … and for six or seven rows? Yeah. No. I played yarn chicken and lost near the end. Needless to say, I had to frog back a couple of rows … a mere 1046 stitches but who was counting?

The Shape of a Bay shawl by Bristol Ivy in Cashmere People yarn (unblocked)

This shawl is a knitting challenge as I might have assumed knowing Bristol’s mind. I loved the project, though and I enjoyed the brain exercise. Even when I had to frog a few rows because I was an idiot and decided I was too smart to use a lifeline. Note to self and to future knitters of this pattern – lifelines are your friend. Use them! The textures in this shawl are amazing and lots of fun. Bristol is a knitting/knitted stitch genius.

Cashmere People yarn is sold at PortFiber in Portland, Maine and it’s really really special to knit with and it blocks out into a lovely lace shawl. I love working with this yarn. I love the way it feels and the way the stitches just pop out on it. Amazing.

EmPower People Bandana Cowl in Malabrigo Rios

My emPower People cowl is also finished. I made this as a sample to loan to the store (Yardgoods Center where I work) for a time. It’s a quick and simple bandana cowl and it is a free Ravelry pattern. It was a quick knit for me … it took about 3 days of a short amount of knitting. I chose the Rios which is technically a worsted weight yarn and the pattern calls for a DK. I think Rios is a light worsted or a heavy sport which is close to a DK. This cowl is knit on a US 7 needle and I know that the fabric with Rios on a 7 is a good thing so I went ahead and cast on. I really like the heft of the cowl and the fabric. This will be a good neck warmer this fall and winter.

This pattern is from Casapinka and it’s a free pattern. The emPower people project is about getting out the vote. As it says on the pattern page:

emPower people is a purple colored craftivism project aimed at uniting crafters to spark conversation, engagement, and action. Wear it when you vote, grocery shop, march, or knit in your socially isolated bedroom. We would love to see a sea of purple to represent unity so please tell your friends, family, knitting groups, or anyone who can knit, crochet, or sew a simple pattern. Make a bandana and a commitment to vote

If I had more time and fewer projects that I wanted to knit, I’d knit this one again … and maybe add something a bit fancier to one side or add the word “vote” to the bottom. It was a fun, quick knit.

We are “enjoying” a heat wave here at the lake and while it’s lovely outside, I sure don’t love the heat. We moved to Maine to get out of the heat in Florida … I remember returning to work in Florida after being up here for the summer or a part of it and it was dreadfully hot and humid. Even our pool was like bath water! At least the lake is refreshing!

Gone knitting!

More information is available for these projects and others on my Ravelry page. I’m lindar on Ravelry. You can also follow me on Instagram @QueenBeeKnits and on Facebook Queen Bee Knits by Linda Warner.

Allison Cardigan

Posted on August 20, 2019 by Queen Bee Knits

It hasn’t been an easy path for this wonderfully soft and beautifully dyed Malabrigo Rios yarn. I started out knitting one sweater and then another but both got frogged because of the fit or the style. (Both were pretty horrendous!) The yarn went into “time out” for awhile until I found the Allison Cardigan by Hannah Fettig.

This cardigan is knitted from the top down in one piece with US7 needles. I knew that to get the right gauge, I needed to knit this yarn on a size 7 needle. This pattern seemed perfect. It’s a simple sweater, pretty straight forward in the top down sweater world.

The yarn is Malabrigo Rios in the Cirrus Grey (845) colorway. I love, love, love this color! It’s somewhere between a denim blue and grey and everything in between. I chose the Purpureas (872) colorway for the pocket. This is another rich purple color and I think it’ll be just enough zing when the interior of the pocket shows against the blue sweater. I can’t wait to wear this sweater!!! Rios is what I would call a light worsted weight merino yarn. It’s not got a whole lot of twist and that’s why I want to knit it up on a “smaller” needle. The US7, in this instance, I think will be perfect. I loved the fabric on my swatch.

The construction of the pocket was different than any pockets I’ve knitted before. It is knitted into the body of the sweater and then seamed at the sides. Initially I thought it would be bulky but it’s not. And my hands will be so warm!

Once the body of the sweater was finished, I started on the first sleeve. One of the tricks I’ve learned over the years is that if I want to make the sleeves even and balanced, I need to use the tools that I have and mark every decrease! It really helps. And the sleeves turned out the same the first time around! No adjustments necessary! Woo! Hoo!

I was a little bit (or maybe a lot) concerned that I didn’t have enough of the main color so I didn’t finish the ribbing on the bottom of the sweater until I had knitted both of the sleeves. Turns out that I didn’t have to worry. I had enough yarn and one extra skein of the purple! Maybe I’ll knit some fingerless mitts to wear with the cardigan!

Here it is before blocking (on my wonderful antique braided wool rug made by my husband’s grandmother.) I will post another picture or two after it’s blocked and in some good light. I blocked it tonight and I know I’m going to love wearing this cardigan this fall/winter!

Gone knitting!

Sweater Weather!

Posted on April 16, 2018 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s April 15 today and it’s winter again. Today was not blue skies and sunny. We had snow flurries, a little sleet, a mixed bag of yuck! It’s truly sweater weather!

I’ve been drooling over some sock yarn by On the Round. On the Round is a Maine yarn and is hand-dyed in Owls Head, Maine. Rachel has been knitting since she was seven and she home schools her children … and dyes yarn in her “spare” time! Busy lady! Anyway, I finally decided to buy a hank of Silver Lining Tweed in Signature Sock and I am so glad I did. I haven’t knit socks in a little while and it felt like I was sitting with an old friend as I cast on and worked down the cuff of my sock. I always (almost always) use the Yankee Knitter pattern, Classic Socks for the Family and I am using it this time. I nearly know it by heart (always need help when I am turning the heel). I’m a happy camper …

I’m also working on my Malabrigo Rios sweater using the Knitting Pure and Simple Neck Down Cardigan for Women pattern. I didn’t get the right gauge of 16 stitches over four inches with this yarn. Probably because the Rios is more a light worsted. So, with my gauge of 17.5 stitches over four inches (4.375 stitches per inch), I’ve decided to make a size larger so that I have some positive ease. I love the colorway that I chose. It’s a blue and a grey at the same time. It’s tonal and I love it! I haven’t had an easy start with this sweater, though. I noticed, just as I was about to separate the sleeves, that I was a couple of stitches short on one side of the front. And I SAW that the reason why I was a couple of stitches short was because I hadn’t increased on one side of the marker. It was the one side that was front and center of course. I decided relatively quickly that I was not going to be happy with it and had to rip it back and fix it. It set me back a bit, but it was totally worth it. I am so excited to wear this sweater!

I have also cast on a shawl using my yarn from the sheep at Bedlam Farm. Mine is a sport weight from Susie and another sheep. It’s a lovely grayish brown. I had a customer at the shop who needed help with her shawl and it was pretty and simple. I like pretty and simple because it lets the yarn shine. So, I cast on the Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief and I pick it up now and then when I want to knit something simple. It’s going to be pretty! I think this shawl will be used to do some good. Stay tuned.

At home, we have begun the process of rebuilding our boat house. The original boat house was re-built around 1950 and then a “garage” with a dirt floor was added after that. The foundation of the building is in remarkably good shape so we are simply rebuilding the same building so that my husband can move his workshop into the garage part and we can turn the existing workshop (the white building at right), we hope, into a two-car garage in the future. This week we are hoping to see the roof joists and roof go up. It’s very exciting.

Our family thrives! All five kids are working hard and make us very proud. Youngest, Amy, made my blueberry muffins this weekend and they looked wonderful. A great first attempt.

photo by Jenny Anderson

Oldest, Kate, opened in Mean Girls on Broadway last weekend. This is a big deal for her and she has worked so hard to get here. She’s a star and it seems that she’s stealing the show! We look forward to seeing the show in a few weeks and hope to see all the kids and their significant others here this summer.

Life is good!

Gone knitting.

(Find more information about my knitting projects on my Ravelry project page. My Ravelry name is lindar.)

Snow Day!

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Queen Bee Knits

I’m so thankful to be here in Maine. Florida was a nice place to live but it never really felt like home. Maine is home. Many of my friends ask if we are sick of the snow yet or if we regret moving here, regret leaving the south. Nope. Not even one little, teeny tiny bit!

Yesterday was my regular day off and I was nursing a sore back. Today my back feels mostly better and my boss closed the yarn shop for the day. Snow Day!!! Most everything is closed; restaurants, town offices, schools, courts, etc. I’m up in my studio finishing projects and working on others. I love working in my studio.

Yesterday I was working on my Zick Zack Scarf. I have admired this scarf at the shop for a long time. I even loved the colors of our store sample so picking my colorways was easy. I love this scarf and may be able to get it finished today!

I was also working to finish my fingerless mitts kit from the Alpaca Yarn Company.

The Forget Not Mitts are really pretty and I love the argyle pattern. The yarn is gorgeous and I love knitting with it. I wish there was more contrast between the two colors in the kit. I feel like the pattern doesn’t pop like it could. I’ve got two thumbs to complete as of this morning and then I’ll block them. These will be finished today.

I finished a shop sample last week. It’s a really cute hat! We used Juniper Moon Farm’s Moonshine in a deep red colorway.

The pattern is the Gigi Hat and it’s a free pattern on Ravelry. I knit the hat exactly according to the pattern (because it’s a shop sample and it would be misleading to change a pattern and then show if off in the shop.) The only thing I did differently was to add an i-cord around the brim of the hat, tied in a little knot. I think it came out really well and the yarn is so … SO … super soft! I love it.

Last, but certainly not least, is the 1898 Hat for my husband. I’ve made four of these hats now and this one is the last for now, but also the warmest. (I even blogged about it before. Here.) I gave N. one of these hats for Valentine’s day in a beautiful Malabrigo Rios to match his slip stitch scarf. He asked me if I could make the top of the hat doubled like the earflaps. He also asked for the two colors which I happened to have in my stash. When knitting the hat, I followed the directions on the hat and then picked up the stitches inside the brim and knit the top of the hat a second time. I knit two fewer rounds in order to compensate for a smaller space inside the first hat and then decreased exactly according to the hat pattern. I wove the ends inside the hat so they’re visible but still inside. He loves the hat and it sure will keep his head and ears warm.

Gone knitting!

All of these projects have more details on my Ravelry project page. I’m “lindar” on Ravelry. Find me on Facebook as Queen Bee Knits. I’m on Instagram, too!