Queen Bee Knits

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Drachenfels by Melanie Berg

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Queen Bee Knits

View from our House

We have been super busy here along the shores of Messalonskee Lake! We are preparing for our family to arrive at the end of July for our wedding and the chores are never-ending! The yard has been landscaped. Inside projects are getting finished. With that, I am getting a bit of knitting and sewing in … more knitting than sewing … but I still haven’t attacked the seaming of my Aran Cardigan because it’s been stinking hot in addition to busy.

There is nothing worse that sitting under the pieces of a wool sweater when the temperatures are in the 80s here in Maine. We don’t have any air conditioning at our house. Normally we only need it a couple of days a year. And our nights are always cool enough to put a sheet and a blanket over us. But I’m not going to work on the seaming of the cardigan until it’s a little bit cooler. So, I’ve cast on another new project that I’ve been waiting to knit. Drachenfels by Melanie Berg.

Drachenfels is a triangular shawl in three colors. I bought my yarn at this year’s Maine Fiber Frolic. The Frolic is the first fiber festival to kick off the season here. I love the event and generally spend a day volunteering and visiting the booths. This year I was determined to live by my stash knitting program. Ha! I blew it when I came upon the sample knit up in the String Theory booth … I bought a different yarn but the same colors that were in her sample shawl and I am very excited about knitting this garter stitch beauty.

My Three Colors

My yarn is String Theory’s 100% domestic super wash Merino. Each of the three skeins has a generous 425 yards of squishy yumminess. Which should be more than enough – the pattern calls for 333 (of two colors) and 301 yards respectively. I bought three colors: charcoal gray, blue and green. I chose these three because they were exactly the colors of the sample that I saw. Little did I know that two of my students in my Friday knitting class are also working on this shawl. They’re all lovely. (I’ll try to remember to take pictures!)

This yarn is knitting up to be so soft and squishy. I am loving the feel of it in my hands as I knit.

The first two sections of my Drachenfels

The pattern is a simple pattern that starts at one “wingtip” with double increases on one side and a decrease on the other so that it’s a slightly asymmetrical triangle. The first two sections which I have completed are straight forward (I did use a marker to mark the right side of the fabric) and when the first complimentary color was introduced, I got really excited. I love my colors! The blue just pops off the gray!

The section two slip stitch pattern is lovely and I am rolling right along. The first part of the pattern repeats sections 1 and 2 several times. I’ve repeated twice and am on to the third. Rolling right along.

I have a feeling that one of my daughters may want to steal this one from me.

Gone knitting.

I am Good (Enough)!

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Queen Bee Knits

Yes, that’s me at the piano in my preppy sweater!

A million years ago I stood at a piano in rehearsal for a high school theater production. I was singing “Midnight at the Oasis” (among other things) and it was quite the challenge for me to be sexy and sing at the same time. No, really, it was. My teacher, Frank Best, worked with me a lot. How to walk, how to hold the mic, how to get off the side of the grand piano gracefully …

A couple of weekends ago I attended my 40th high school reunion. I’m not sure how 40 years have passed that quickly, how it’s been 30 years since I stepped foot on the campus. How it’s been 40 years since I’ve seen classmates who meant so much to me. It’s funny how life gets in the way of friendships. And it’s wonderful to pick up where we left off. My theater besties and I returned to the theater all these years later and remembered our shows together and others who didn’t come to reunion this time. It was magical.

Brian back at the old grand piano (that I slid of gracefully.)

Reunited. I wish Sharon had been in this picture, too!

One classmate shared the picture above and others from the school newspaper on Facebook prior to the reunion. What a good memory this brings forward along with some emotional baggage that I’m ready to discard. A couple of friends commented on how they remembered that show and my song. My number one fan commented that my singing “was one of the true wonders I have witnessed in my life. No lie.” This made me smile. (And blush a little bit.)

It’s difficult for me to accept compliments although I’ve gotten much more adept as I get older. I have come to realize that I really am smart and talented. Back then I certainly could sing. (If I tried, I might still be able to sing today!) “Midnight at the Oasis” was a big hit with the audience. I felt very proud of the performance and yet my father could only say that I’d done “pretty good, Monk”. Falling short of a resounding compliment and making me feel like I’d fallen short of making him proud. So, today I’m dumping that old weight that said I wasn’t quite up to snuff. I did a really good job. If people are still remembering my performance 40 years later, I did a really good job. I can be proud of my performance and know that it was truly a special moment in time. My father’s reaction was more about him coming up short than me.

I did an excellent (memorable) job. I am good! I am smart. I am enough!

Gone Knitting.

Crushed by Rachel Henry of Remily Knits

Posted on June 22, 2016 by Queen Bee Knits

Crushed Shawlette

This post is long (LONG – yes, I am screaming!) overdue. I finished this lovely knit ages ago and it has languished along with my knitting mojo in a bin in my atelier (studio in French).

I have had a gorgeous skein of a gradient yarn in my stash for a couple of years. It was gifted to me by my sister-in-love and brother. Every time I stuck my fingers into the sock yarn bin in my atelier I would see it and think about what it would like to become. Yes, I really do think that way. If you force a design on a skein of yarn (or several skeins in the case of a sweater, etc.) it tends not to work. At least that’s my experience. The yarn and pattern speak to me (not literally, of course, but I hope you know what I mean) when they’re ready to pair up … that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

In the case of my Vice gradient yarn, it seemed to want to become “Crushed” by Rachel Henry of Remily Knits. (Pattern is available for $6.00 US on Ravelry.) Crushed is described as a heart shaped shawlette and if I have one complaint, it would be that it isn’t big enough. I loved knitting the pattern and would have liked to continue it a bit more for two reasons: first, to make it a little bit larger and second, to use up all or more of my yarn. With that said, I did create a few more repeats of the pattern so that the beautiful bright yellow was more prominent in my scarf because I love all the colors of this yarn so much.

Edge Detail

I blocked the heck out of this little shawlette *with my added rows* and it measures 62 inches from tip to tip and it’s 27 inches long at the widest part.

The yarn was Blurred Lines by Vice in the “Loki” colorway. It’s a fingering-weight yarn with a wonderfully soft hand and slowly changes from black to bright yellow. The in-between colors are fabulous near-dark forest green and grey with a tinge of yellow. The fiber is a merino and nylon blend and would have made fun socks but I felt that it would be a shame to “waste” such a beautiful gradient on socks – This yarn was screaming to be something much more “public”. I love the way this yarn knitted up with no splitting and it was even and smooth despite coming off the cake in a crimped form. At first I thought maybe it head been knitted and then tinked before being wound but it was consistent throughout so I figure it must have been intended to be that way. Or maybe it was a “sock blank” in a former life. I’m not sure why but it’s so pretty I’m not asking any questions.

I wanted my shawl to be black up by the shoulders and near my face and the yellow to be along the edge. I rewound the cake to make it a center-pull cake with the black in the middle. It makes the yarn stay put when you’re knitting.

The pattern was wonderful and simple to follow. I mostly used the charts to knit from and on occasion (when I hit a snag – my brain’s fault, not the fault of the pattern) I would refer to the written instructions. I enjoy chart knitting and I think it’s good for my brain to be challenged to think differently when I am knitting. Charts feed that part of the challenge for my brain. And since we are knitting flat, the charts read right to left and left to right which is another challenge for our brains. Another reason that knitting is healthy!

I’m not sure whether I’ve shared this with you before but my mother died having suffered 10+ years with Alzheimer’s Disease. I am working quite intentionally on doing things that challenge my brain. Eating healthfully, cutting way back on sugar and carbs, focusing on fresh fruits and vegetables, plant-based oils and as organic as I can possibly do. It was painful to watch someone you love do a quicksand-sink into their own world. This fact makes my efforts to be healthy and challenge myself ever more vital as I age (and I’m aging quickly!)

I am looking forward to cooler weather so that I can wear my beautiful Crushed shawlette. And when you live in Maine, it could be later on today even though it’s June! Meanwhile, I’m challenging myself with more knitting and quilting. Stay tuned!

Gone knitting.

Under the Weather

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Queen Bee Knits

I got home from work yesterday and was slammed by something buggy … needless to say, I’m under the weather. I don’t even want to knit something.

Busy (Queen) Bee!

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Queen Bee Knits

This weekend, I’m home alone. We live in this bee-utiful place and I feel so grateful to be here. The fiance flew off to Atlanta leaving me with the three dogs and “nothing” to do! So, I thought I’d take this opportunity to update you all (all one) of you on what I’ve been knitting. I have been quilting, too … rather, piecing quilt tops!

On the knitting side, I’m working on Christmas gifts and have finished two pairs of socks and a hat. If I showed you pictures, I’d let the cat out of the bag and ruin the surprise for a few of the people that I love most. So, suffice it to say that I am enjoying these projects and am happy to start some Christmas knitting this early! I have a third pair of socks planned and the yarn is purchased.

I have a pair of socks on the needles for me and a shawl, too.

Tyrolean Stockings by Ann Budd

The socks are Ann Budd’s Tyrolean Stockings. I was teaching a class a week or so ago and happened to look through one of the books populating the table and loved the cabled knee-length socks. I have a stash of wool and decided to use some to make these socks. They are so pretty that I may enter them in the knitting competition at some fairs this summer. The pattern can be found in Interweave Knits, Fall 2007 and on Ravelry. They are also in a compilation of sock patterns but I can’t tell you the title or the author. I’m sorry. The socks are knit top down and are a fun knit. I’m using a Patons Classic Wool yarn in the seafoam colorway. I love the color and I can’t wait to finish sock #2 and hope to wear them before the weather here in Maine gets too warm. The picture doesn’t, unfortunately show the great color … why do cameras do such a poor job sometimes of accurately displaying colors?

Crushed by Rachel Henry of Remily Knits is project number two on my needles. I have had this bee-utiful yarn gifted to me by my sister-in-love in my stash for a while now waiting for it’s perfect project and I think this is it! It’s a lovely lace shawl and I am excited to see the color change from black to yellow and all the colors in between! In case you didn’t figure it out, it’s a gradient yarn. Vice in the Loki colorway, 80/20 merino/nylon. I rewound it so that the shawl starts with black and ends with yellow. No pictures yet but I will update on this project as I get some color change!

Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Baby Surprise Jacket

I knit a Baby Surprise Jacket (Elizabeth Zimmerman) as a sample for the LYS that I’m working for. I used Little Birds yarn by Universal Yarns. I think it turned out super cute! The yarn is soft and I love the way the pattern works up. I have to admit that I was confused by the directions at first and had to google some hints as to how to get the increases right. But the wonders of the internet helped and I got over the hump. It was a super quick knit and would make an adorable baby gift!

One day on Facebook, I think, I saw a “Tablet Stand” that was knitted. I was intrigued and also needed something to help my charts “stand up” so that I can read them more easily. This is the result of that … It won’t hold my tablet but I does hold my iPhone and the metal piece that support my patterns with charts. Sometimes I still knit the old fashioned way … with a paper pattern. The pattern is called “Reading Rest” by Frankie Brown and it can be found on Ravelry. The stitching up/assembly is quite fiddly but I did finally get it. I would stuff mine more aggressively if I was going to make a second one. I used beans and some fiber fill … rice might also work. It definitely needs to be heavy enough to support technology! I used some stashed Knit Pics yarn (DK or Sport weight, I’m not sure what it was and I don’t have the label.) I think it could also be knit in a worsted weight and made a bit larger than mine. I’d say mine is a moderate success, though!

Missouri Star Quilt Company “Orange Peel”

I have also started sewing in the last year or so. My friend, Beverly, is a talented quilter and she got me started. I’ve been busy finishing sewing projects in the last couple of weeks. This is the biggest of the three that are now finished. It’s a Missouri Star Quilt Company’s “Orange Peel” quilt. The little orange peels are all little individual pieces of fabric cut to shape and then “stuck” on the dark gray squares and then they are appliquéd (stitched around).

I have also finished two other quilting projects and I am waiting to go learn how to use the longarm machine to quilt them myself. I sure do hope I enjoy it and do a good job because I have a lot of time invested in them!

My Quilting 101 Sampler Quilt is done. I really enjoyed taking this class at the Cotton Cupboard in Bangor, Maine. The staff there is very friendly and knowledgable. They helped me pick out my fabrics so that they match and the classes that I’ve taken have been great! Of course, this one is in my favorite (bee) colors!

The third quilt top is the flag quilt that I started in a class last spring. (Yes, I know, it has been a full year in my atelier waiting to be finished!) I am happy to have this one done and wish I had taken it more recently because I can see a lot of “issues” in this quilt top but I’m not “dedicated” enough to re-do it. It will serve as my first quilt with round parts sewn together. Not easy to piece! I really like the quilt and can’t wait to to hang it up in our house.

So, there you have it! I’ve been a busy bee and I’m making progress with my projects. I always feel particularly proud when I wrap up and new project and feel content with the work that I’ve done. I am learning that I am a very competent and capable woman and I am learning to be proud of myself. What a good feeling!

Gone knitting!

Jimmy Beans Wool 2016 Downton Abbey Mystery KAL

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Queen Bee Knits

I’ve participated in a couple of the Downton Abbey Mystery Knit-a-longs. It was fun and the projects were lovely. I missed a couple, too. Each time, however, I had fun and came away with a very wearable garment.

This is the last season of Downton Abbey and I decided to participate at the last minute for one last time. (See my sad face?) Here’s my report about the final, last, final 2016 DAMKAL.

I am on another “yarn diet” and although I wanted to buy the Lorna’s Laces yarn for this knit-a-long, I used my Christmas yarn for it instead. It’s Knitting Fever’s Painted Desert. It’s a wool, fingering yarn and while I forgot to write down the colorway, it’s a deep burgundy with blues and almost-purple shades. I really like the colorway that I was gifted!

Christmas Yarn – Painted Desert by Knitting Fever (2 Skeins)

Clue 1.

I was totally clueless as to what this “garment” was going to be. Totally clueless. We used a circular cast on and knitted the rounds for this clue on DPNs. Ending with a “square”. Hmm.

Clue #1

Clue 2.

Continued knitting in the round for this clue; very similar to clue #1 … I’m still mystified. But it’s pretty!

Clues 3 & 4, 5 & 6.

And this is where I was totally wondering what this was going to be as many many stitches were put onto waste yarn and we continued knitting down one “side” of the original “box”. I actually discussed this with one of my classes and showed them the piece after knitting clue 3 … maybe a hat and scarf combination? maybe something for the home? Nobody really had a reasonable idea. So, I continued knitting.

When we got to clue 5 and started knitting down another “side” of the original “box” I believe I read that it was a “wing” and the light bulb went off. It’s a shawl! I had a bit of difficulty figuring out which “side” to start my stitches on for the second wing and did use the discussion thread on Ravelry. The discussion thread was very helpful and fun to read, too.

Clue 5 and 6 … still mystified!

Clue 7 & 8.

The last two clues were just fun to knit now that the mystery was discovered. How was this lovely shawl going to be finished? Short and sweet despite being a lot (a LOT) of stitches on the needle.

I love the finished shawl and it’s on my guest room bed being blocked as I type this. I chose to pin every little picot stitch on the edge (the instructions gave an option to pin all picots or every other.) I am eager for it to be dry and be able to wear it. I’ll probably wear it to work next week. (I noticed that Kristen’s shawl looks quite a bit larger than mine … perhaps I will block it a bit more aggressively before it’s dry or I may not.)

Blocking! Can you see the “square” from the first two clues?

All of the little picots are pinned along the wing!

Another great online MKAL! Thanks to Kristen and Jimmy Beans Wool!

Gone knitting!

“Yarn From Hell” Cardigan

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Queen Bee Knits

Blocking …. needs the buttons and it’s done!

Many (MANY) moons ago in a land far away … OK, I bought the yarn at the Maine Fiber Frolic several years ago and have made two sweaters with it that have been frogged.

One was the free cardigan pattern that came with the yarn. I got all of the pieces knitted and blocked and when I went to assemble the cardigan, the sleeves didn’t fit into the sweater. Neither I nor a couple of others that I consulted knew how to fix the problem. Sweater number 1 was frogged. The yarn went into my naughty yarn closet for a long time out.

I still liked the yarn. I selected three colors of Seacolors Yarn (dyed in Washington, Maine) a coral, a green and coral mix and a blue.This summer I decided it was time for the yarn to be given another chance and settled on a sweater that was a free pattern found on Revelry. When nearly finished, I realized was going be big enough for my whole family to wear at the same time. Huge. And I’m not a petite woman! Frogged again.

A month or so ago I bought a pattern at my LYS. (You get what you pay for, right?) The pattern, by Diane Soucy of Knitting Pure and Simple is Pattern #9725, Neck Down Cardigan for Women. A simple pattern knit in one piece. I thought this was the third time’s a charm … and, fortunately, today I finished the cards and it fits.

I had tried it on several times while I was working on it to keep checking on the fit. This is one reason that I love the top down construction of this cardigan. I did make a few adjustments (basically because I wasn’t paying attention all the time) … I used the larger needles to knit the bottom of the sleeves. I also knit the plackets before realizing that I hadn’t knit the collar. So the collar went on at the end. It looks fine and I will knit this pattern again.

I will wear it next week to work.

Gone knitting!

My intrepid assistant approves! It’s a good place for a nap.

Crafting My Creative Space

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Queen Bee Knits

In our new house, I knew that I needed some additional space to add the sewing machine, a cutting table and an ironing board for my new quilting “addiction”. My atelier in Florida was a 10 x10-foot bedroom and I was quite content with the way the space worked for me. BUT I didn’t sew there! Adding a quilting space was key to my creative space.

I have to be honest because that’s who I am … I hated the new space at first. I was unsettled and couldn’t figure out how to make it work. I should have known that it would take some time to get settled but I was impatient (and downright grumpy) about it.

And then today the lightbulb moment struck. I knew what I needed to do to make the space mine.

Yes, all the bins are full of yarn!

I unloaded the wonderful IKEA storage shelf of all the yarn and knitting books and we moved it to the other side of my atelier. And then I loaded it all up again. Now the knitting space is all in the front (lake side) of the house.

My desk is a slab of Maine wood from Mr. Woodchuck!

And this afternoon, N. and his wonderful saw cut a few inches off my desk so that it fits in the little “alcove” where a bed would go if it were, indeed, a bedroom.

Quilting Corner

This leaves space in front of the window and along the back (driveway side) of the house for my sewing table and cutting table. The ironing board is in front of the window … gone are the days when I have to walk 30 miles to make eight quilt squares! Now all of my sewing stuff is in the back room and I am a happy Queen Bee.

It feels good to have my knitting and sewing space shape up and this house is feeling more like home every day. I know we’re going to have a long, happy, healthy, full life in this house.

Next I will add some window treatments and shelves on the wall over my desk.

Gone knitting.

Make Do and Mend

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Queen Bee Knits

The Christmas Stocking

The love of my life loves his Christmas stocking. We aren’t sure WHO made it for him but he thinks it may have been his mother who was a knitter. Last year, or maybe the year before that if truth be told, I noticed that the wool was beginning to wear in a couple of places. When I filled it, a hole was born. Actually, two holes were born.

Hole #1

Hole #2

What’s a girl to do!?

I offered to make another stocking and he didn’t want a new one. I actually think that this would have been the easiest choice. But he loves his stocking. So, I took it to my local yarn shop here in Maine and found yarns that would match as closely as possible the original colors (50+ years later.)

As Close as Possible (all these years later!)

I’ve not done a lot of mending but I was determined to finish mending it before Santa had to fill it this year on Christmas Eve. It took me the better part of an afternoon sitting in my chair and quite a few starts and stops but I managed to repair the holes and am really pleased with the results!

For the bigger hole, I picked up stitches below the hole and knitted a rectangular patch which I then grafted to the top and seamed into the sides. The green is a bit different but in the next 50 years, it’ll blend better!

No More Hole #1

Hole #2 was a little bit easier but also more difficult … the hole was smaller but the problem was more difficult. But I wove my doubled DK yarn in and out and around and I think it looks fairly well. Not perfect but not bad for a first mending effort!

No More Hole #2

The stocking had a ribbon tied in a knot that had been poked between the ribbing at the top of the cuff. I made a new hanger for the stocking, too … that was Ned’s favorite part. Go figure! But I’m glad he was happy to have his stocking on Christmas morning and not be afraid to handle it. Especially when it was full of stuff … wish I had taken a picture of the stuffed stocking!

New Hanging Braid

I braided the three colors and still poked it through the ribbing but my hanger is at the seam at the back of the stocking. This is a much stronger place to have stress placed on the fabric. I hope it will last us fifty years or more!

Gone knitting!

Moving, Test Knitting and Christmas

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Queen Bee Knits

I can’t figure out what drove me to say “yes” to a test knitting project this close to Christmas when I knew I had several knitting projects that had to be completed before Christmas! What was I thinking? Oh, yes. Maybe I was thinking that the last sweater I test knitted for Lori was a big hit and I loved it and this one would be great, too?

So, I have set aside all the other projects in favor of “Open Star” by VersaciKnits. Lori designs classic and timeless sweaters for adults and children. I love her designs. Open Star is a cardigan with a classic shape and a unique stitch pattern that leaves a “lacey” look without being a lace pattern. Knit in a worsted- or aran-weight yarn, it’s a relative quick-knit. (I’d have had it done long ago if I hadn’t had to move into a new home two weeks before it was due to be completed.) Needless to say, my test knit is late this time. But I have enjoyed it … most of the time.

To complete this sweater, one has to be able to count to four and three. Sometimes this is a challenge for me. This is where I have made mistakes and had to frog back several rows (time after time.) To be fair, it can be a bit confusing when you get to the shaping of the shoulder and neck. But not confusing enough for me to have made so many silly mistakes. I think my head and heart were unpacking boxes when my hands were knitting.

I love the yarn that I chose and that is Quince and Co’s Lark in the Lupine colorway. The yarn is smooth and squishy and feels wonderful in my hands. It’s got a wonderfully soft hand and isn’t splitty. I love the color, too.

I am looking forward to finishing the sleeves so that I can assemble and wear this lovely cardigan … especially since this “winter” in Maine has been so warm. This would be the perfect “jacket” to wear out Christmas shopping!

Gone knitting!