Queen Bee Knits

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

Appointments and Meetings Galore

Posted on October 15, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

It was an up and out early morning today. I snapped this shot at around 5:45am just as the sun was starting to think about coming up and there was a very faint glow at the horizon. We are so very fortunate to live in this beautiful place. It’s been really quiet lately. I’ve not heard any loons for a bit but it’s unlikely they’ve all left the lake already. We have lots of ducks and geese flying by outside so they’re definitely on the move.

I started the morning with a 7:30 am visit to an eye lid surgeon. I’ve had this “red bump” on my right eye lid since I was a kid. The story I’ve told was that I got it from scratching my chicken pox. Turns out that’s not true. It’s a angioma or something similar, a benign blood vessel thing. Regardless, mine’s become bigger over time (not unusual) and it’s going to be removed in early December. I take horrible selfies but here’s a photo of it for you (eeek, that’s a lot of me!)

After my appointment I came home and made blueberry muffins for my sweetie. I’ve not been doing any baking for the last few months because I’ve been feeling somewhat overwhelmed by life and all of my obligations and he’s missed his sweets. I’ve missed feeling grounded and in retrospect, my lack of baking is some of what is making me feel overwhelmed. It’s a vicious cycle! Regardless, I’m going to try to take it back and bake once a week at least. While the muffins were baking I finished our laundry and cut some of the beautiful hydrangeas from one of the bushes in our yard. I am hoping that they will dry and be a pretty decoration through the winter.

I’ve been working on two knitting projects this week so far. My Musselburgh hat for my future daughter-in-love in Herriot Fine in red and green. I’m almost to the decreases which means that it’ll be finished soon. Lots and lots of little stitches around and around on US3 needles with fingering weight alpaca yarn. The yarn is SO soft, though, it’s really a pleasure to work with.

I’ve had to attend several zoom/google meets meetings online over the past week or so and I’ve been trying to catch up with a few of the podcasts and YouTube channels that I follow. My Jelly Roll Blanket is perfect for knitting while otherwise engaged and I’ve made some good progress on the blanket. I’ve finished one tiny ball of yarn scraps and one larger ball of yarn scraps and have moved on to a third. This blanket is all bits of yarn that I’ve used in other projects, mostly socks, held with a strand of cream colored sock yarn. I think I’ve said before that I bought a bag of sock yarn thinking that I would dye some yarn. Ha! That didn’t happen. This is a good use for that bag of yarn AND it helps to unify all the scrappiness of the blanket. I am about half-way through the fourth strip. This will be a long-term project.

I’ve cleaned up my studio a bit and I’ve gotten a lot of paperwork done. I bought a new bullet journal in a pretty light teal blue for 2025. I am a paper calendar girl … I can’t work with a calendar on my phone beyond notifications that it’s a birthday or anniversary for someone in my life – and even then I seldom send a card. My kids all use the calendars on their phones, some that they share with their partners/siblings or whomever. While it sounds practical and efficient, this old girl has learned over the decades (and especially when I went back to finish my college degree) that I do best when I write things down. Something about the process is what helps my brain remember what I have on the schedule. I’ve collected stickers and markers and washi tape over the years and have fun being creative with the book each year. It becomes a diary of my life and records places we go, family events, work, volunteering, etc. AND it happens to match the colors that I chose for the Have You Seen My Octopus hat that I’m going to make for our granddaughter.

One more meeting to zoom into at 6:30 this evening … but I can go knit for a bit now.

Gone knitting.

Project Bag Check – WIPs

Posted on September 21, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

Another busy week almost behind us and tomorrow is the official start of fall. How can time pass so quickly? We have been home from the beach and our family vacation for four days and yet it feels like weeks. We’ve had a super full moon and a bunch of gray days. Work, knitting classes taught, the dock is out (it disappeared before we came home) and the generator’s been serviced (also while we were away) and we’re slowly getting ready for winter.

I’ve just done a project bag check and wanted to update you on what I’m working on.

My pink Lane’s Island pullover sweater is almost half-way done. I’ve got another inch or two to finish the back. I love the color pink and I’m delighted at not having to think too much as I knit this. My brain is rather full of everything else on my plate and stockinette stitches are just what the doctor ordered.

I’m also working on a Musselburgh hat for my son for Christmas. He chose the colors and the yarn is worsted weight Moonshine by Juniper Moon Farm. This pattern is so adaptable and I love knitting it! I have made one before in a single color in Berroco Vintage sock in black. This worsted version is great and quick to knit up. I have one more for my future daughter-in-love in green and red in a fingering weight Juniper Moon Farm Herriot Fine so that will be on smaller needles and with finer yarn and will take a bit longer but it’s good for watching television at night knitting.

Two more projects … a Christmas stocking for my college roommate’s newest grandson and a sample for the store of a soon-to-be-released cowl pattern. I copied the stocking pattern from my roommate’s childhood one because everyone in her family has one. I’ve made three (?) of them already and apparently the last one was bigger than the others. We’re going to try to make this one the same size as all the others – a little bit smaller – so I have downsized my needles to a US6 and that seems to be fixing the “problem”. I also realized in this process that I likely knit my own stocking with a US7 needle and would probably have loved it more if I’d used a US6, too. Once again knitting is humbling me. I hope to have the stocking finished and in the mail by mid-October which means that I have to get moving on the worsted weight Musselburgh which I should be able to finish today. I have one other project with a date attached to it and that’s a new sample for the shop. Our Berroco rep shared the pre-release pattern with me in hopes that we can move some of the Jamieson’s yarn that we bought. I’ll be knitting Gudrun Johnston’s new cowl called Cloud Drift. It’s a mosaic knit cowl knit with the Jamieson of Shetland Spindrift in four colors and a hank of lace weight mohair. I’ll be using a skein of Berroco Aerial. I hope it won’t take too long to knit. I’d love to have it in the shop ahead of the October 1 pattern release date and maybe will even lead a KAL.

I was given a ball of Fjallalopi at work and I have a pattern (also from our Berroco rep) for Writer’s Warmers fingerless mitts. The Fjallalopi is a new yarn and one that my boss chose not to order this time around. It’s a sport weight yarn and in a pretty bright pink color. A good color for winter in Maine. I’ll get to these after my Christmas knitting is finished. I also bought a bag full of Scheepjie’s yarn for making some stuffed animals. They’re on my list for post-Christmas knitting. There’s never enough time to get all the knitting I want to do done. I know what I’ll be doing if and when I ever fully retire!

I’m really enjoying my day at home today. Hubby just got home from a trip to the dump and maybe we’ll head out to the garden center for a pumpkin and some mums. It’s really feeling like fall today. I’ve closed most of the windows on the second floor of our house where my studio is and I’ve got two long sleeved shirts on today. I’d just like to see the sun – not sure that’ll happen today.

Gone knitting.

Fall – turning in

Posted on October 2, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

The hydrangeas are wearing their fall colors and the temperatures are cooling. The sunrise is moving over into its fall position. Every morning it shines into our living room reminding me that I have yet to wash the big picture windows. The leaves are slowly but surely taking on the brighter reds and oranges and my favorite tree is about half-red.

I love the fall and I look forward to all of the lake work coming to an end or at least slowing down enough to give me some breathing space. And, I look forward to being able to breathe more easily – the fall allergies are horrible this year. I look forward to getting some inside work done and catching up on the projects that get put aside to sit on the porch and work in the gardens and yard. That work, if I’m honest, is getting more difficult as we get older. I have to remind myself that it’s ok to balance work and rest. It’s part of what I like about fall and winter, preparing to turn in … thinking about what is important and having time to rest awhile. And maybe a bit of knitting?!

I’ve been knitting away, as usual. It’s not a good day if no fiber has passed through my fingers. This week I’ve been working to get my Mini Advent Jumpers completed by the start of December. I have 14 knitted, two need their ends woven in and seams sewn, but that leaves another ten to go. I can do it if I stick to two per week. I just need to figure out how to hang them once finished. I’ll get there. And, frankly, I was reminded that I could do the 12 Days of Christmas if I don’t get them all finished.

I also finished and wore my Elton Cardigan this week. It will be worn to Rhinebeck in a couple of weeks. I’m excited to attend my first New York Sheep and Wool with my friend and co-worker, Glenda. I’ll have to get a photo of me wearing it one of these days … maybe at Rhinebeck! I realized, too, that one of my most favorite babysitters lives in North Hampton, Massachusetts and we’re getting a bus from WEBS there. I wonder if we’ll have time to see Tiki? It gives me a good reason to reach out to her after a lot of years.

I cast on a Musselburgh hat by Ysolda Teague in black fingering weight yarn for my daughter, Libet. I must really love this kid to knit a black hat. Especially a fingering weight black hat. I thought the design was a great one, though and figured that my NYC kids would all likely wear this hat. This will be the first of several I think. I’m using Berroco Vintage Sock which is new to our store and I needed to give it a try. It’s got a very soft hand but it’s a little bit splitty. If the hat is a success, I’ll cast on another one in wool which I prefer to knit with. This one can be given away or kept. Wool is always warmer but I wanted to try the hat first with a less costly yarn to make sure of the fit.

I also knitted a couple of Bird BookMarks by Claire Garland. I need to seam them, stuff them and then add the string or cord so they can do their jobs. They’re very cute and will be cute stocking stuffers at Christmas time. I like them, in part, because they use up little bits of yarn that I have left over from other projects. I have a “problem” throwing away perfectly good bits and bobs of yarn and as a result, I have quite a bit of little bits. I keep thinking that I’ll use them in a blanket or something else that will use a lot of odd bits of yarn … so far, that hasn’t happened. And it may not … until I have to use it because I’ve knitted all the things that I want out of “new” yarn.

I added buttons on the Puerperium Cardigan for my future grandchild. She’s due in about 4 weeks time. To say that I am excited is an understatement. This little sweater is adorable. I had intended it to be for my great-nephew but it was too much pink so I’ve bought a new skein of yarn for his sweater and will cast on soon. This was a fun little sweater to knit and I’m glad that there’s a larger-sized version to knit for larger children. I’ll knit it again, I’m sure.

I’ve got a pair of mittens on the needles, too. Their the Peace de Resistance Mittens by Bristol Ivy. I have had some yellow and gray Jamieson & Smith yarn from one of the Arnall-Culliford “Year of Techniques” projects that I never knitted. I decided that since this election cycle may be a bit crazy (again) that I should knit these mittens. I need to get cracking so they’ll be ready ahead of all the craziness. I haven’t gotten very far along with these but they’re fun to knit.

I’ve cleaned my atelier today and organized the mess that I’ve let accumulate over the past few weeks or months. I spent time this morning writing the newsletter for work, and I’ve written this … it’s time to get downstairs to make some pie crusts. We have an overabundance of eggs at our house and we’re going to make some quiche to freeze for future eating. We both are tired when we come home from work and easy suppers are much appreciated. Today it’s veggie quiches and an apple pie on the cooking list – since we don’t have to work today, we can get some cooking ahead done. At least that’s the plan.

We took a nice little drive to Unity and Thorndike yesterday to visit the Amish Country Market, now newly rebuilt and get some Macoun apples and cider from Mueller Farm and some Christmas gifts from my friends at Over the Hill Lavender farm. It was a wonderful day for a drive and it was nice to be out and about. I think it’s time to get down to the kitchen, eat an apple for lunch and get some quiche or pie in the oven.

Gone knitting … well, after I cook!

WIPs in the New Year

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

I write a weekly newsletter for the LYS where I work. This past Sunday, I included what I thought was a good idea to start off a new year … organizing your workspace/knitting corner and all your supplies.

The idea isn’t mine. I saw it on an Instagram post by @ithoughtiknewhow and the general premise is to take a day to do something to start your new year off with a sense of organization and planning rather than the left-over havoc of the old year. I know that I can’t get all of these tasks done in a day but I can probably accomplish several of them in a week. Yesterday I started and finished three steps (all of the ones that I suggested people finish in the newsletter.)

I gathered all of my WIPs (works in progress), my needles and notions that are spread around in bags and drawers in my studio, and brought them to one spot. I’m so lucky to have a studio space where I can do this! (Gratitude.) I then proceeded to examine each project to see if it’s something that I still want to knit, made sure that the yarn and pattern are in the bag of projects I want to keep and put them away in my cabinet. I also rescued yarn for the projects I don’t want to knit, returned it to a cake/skein and put any needles and notions away. I put finished project contents and bags away (I have bins of partial skeins saved away for those “just in case” times and I do return to them frequently) and made sure the project bags were clean before I put them away, too.

I have kept ten WIPs to finish this year. I returned several projects that I don’t want to knit and there may be one more that I’m on the fence about.

I also made a list of the WIPs in my 2022 Bullet Journal so that I make time to get some of them finished – they’ll be in my face every time I start or finish a project. Right now I have a commission that I am working on, it’s half-way done and when it’s sent off to my client, I’ll finish one of the WIPs in my cabinet. @ithoughtiknewhow suggests the possible planning of a day where you work on WIPs … I’m not sure I’m that good at keeping a schedule but it’s appealing and I’m considering giving it a try.

(Sadly, I have a drawer of sewing/quilting WIPs, too. I wonder when I will get to thinking about them. Maybe when (if?) I retire. LOL

Gone knitting.

Organize Your Cords

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Queen Bee Knits

Not vocal cords, not electrical cords, not all those cords that are around your desk. This is a great way to organize your cords for interchangeable knitting needle sets!

Typically, you’ll buy a set (or better yet, get them as a gift like I did at Christmas time – thanks, Glenda! I love you.) One of my sets comes in a special collectors’ box and I can’t imagine taking them all out to organize because they looks so pretty! But if you’re buying extra cords or want to travel with all your needles and no boxes, this is a tip for you!

Julie’s AMAZING organization!

Can you see it? Julie’s clipped her cords with a little binder clip. Genius!

Here’s a single cord so you can see it even better!

And even better, check THIS out!

Geez, my thumb looks wrinkly!

Julie’s used some white out pen to mark the cord length on the binder clip. You could use white out pen or there are also those terrific paint pens that would probably be a bit more permanent.

I just loved this idea and couldn’t wait to share it with you!

Gone knitting!

Organizing my Patterns

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Queen Bee Knits

Pattern Storage (and popcorn ceiling)

Organization is something I love. I don’t like disorder much. So, when my atelier is out of order, I am not as grounded and efficient as I could/can be.

Thank goodness for 3-ring binders. I have, over the years, decided that this is the best way for me to organize my printed patterns (whether purchased or printed from sites) in binders. I have a huge box of sheet protectors that I bought at Costco, too. The patterns are slipped into plastic sheet protectors and then snapped into binders. The binders are getting switched around a bit now, since the pattern supply is growing, but I have seven or eight with labels on the spine. Cowls & Scarves, Kids, Sweaters – Adult, Dogs, Dish Cloths, Socks & Slippers, and then I have the old stand-by with miscellaneous patterns, bags & totes, mittens (the latter will be broken up as soon as I get to Costco again.

My magazines (which I never NEVER throw away) are organized by date and title in magazine files. IKEA has the best files for the most reasonable price. I have green ones in my atelier’s closet. They hold all my magazines together so they don’t get mangled or torn. One day I plan to go through them and mark the patterns that I like well enough to knit but it hasn’t happened yet.

Lastly, I have my books. They are on a shelf in my atelier. Reference books for knitting are something that I love having around – even just for an hour, I will sometimes pull them off the shelf and look at the pictures or read a few pages. I have the Barbara Walker treasuries and the Sally Melville books as well as a few others. Then there are the fun ones like Noni Flowers, Knitting Mochimochi, and a few books about Aran knitting (perhaps my favorite.)

All of the classes that I’ve taken also have a binder (or share a binder if there were few hand-outs). My certifications also have a binder. All with my swatches, labeled and in page protectors.

So, there you are! I’d love to hear about how you organize your patterns and books. I know some people prefer to have their patterns in hanging files and I’m sure there are other ways as well. If you’d like to share your ideas and thoughts, I’d love to hear about what you do.

I didn’t even talk about my needles!

Gone knitting.