Queen Bee Knits

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

Monday Funday

Posted on December 8, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

It may not be “official” but winter has descended on Central Maine! We had our first measurable snow fall this past week and have had several flurries. Snow overnight has “covered” my car. Yesterday we had the pleasure of watching a group of Bald Eagles and a crow eating something out on the ice. There were five or six eagles and our trio of eagles but only one was allowed to eat with the eagles. Mother nature may seem cruel but the circle of life is so evident here.

I’ve been busy without much of a break. School (volunteer) work has been active and continues to head in a positive direction. I’m heading to school tomorrow night for the winter recital in Maine Arts Academy’s newly finished recital hall/performance space. I’m excited to see my first performance there. I’ll also drop off my donation of books for the library and a donation for the law mower fund. (Charter School funding is not the same as the rest of public schools. We don’t get the school funding from towns that traditional public schools get which continually have us looking for money for basic needs. (Maine Arts Academy is a public charter school for grades 7-12 which means we accept all students who apply until our classes are filled. We have to follow all DOE standards of education, graduation, and in 2026 will have to have all our educators certified (we were allowed to have experts with a proven record of their expertise teach in the Arts areas. No more.) Can you tell I’m passionate about our school?

But I was going to write about my knitting and what’s been happening that keeps me busy. I’ve been pulling out Christmas decorations that I’ve not pulled out for years. Our fake tabletop Christmas tree lived on our stairway landing between the second and third floors for ages but we put it away last year. I just pulled it out of the closet and half of the lights are out – and nothing I do seems to fix them. SO …. I’ve pulled the lights off and need to find a new strand of lights. Where, if not shopping at Target or Walmart, do I find short strings of small lights? I need to give the tree a shower, too. It’s so dusty! I also pulled out and went through my Department 56 collection and put up my Dickens Village. I’m so happy to see it again! We’ve had it lit up for about a week and we’re really enjoying it. I have some random mismatched pieces that aren’t Dickens and I’m not sure what I’ll do with them (they apparently have no value today despite being very collectible 20+ years ago.) I also found a bunch of Swarovski crystal figures that my ex collected and gifted to me. What will I ever do with them?! AND I have a full box of Halloween light up houses. They’re still taped up since our move to Maine. Guess they can go, too, hun?

Much to my husband’s chagrin, I haven’t been doing any baking at all. I keep thinking about it but I haven’t made it to the kitchen yet. Maybe today. I was going to go to Costco for provisions but we have a meeting at 1pm and I won’t make it back in time if I leave now. Wednesday.

I have been knitting wonderfully irrelevant things not related to what I have to get done for Christmas – and that’s quite limited this year.

I have been working on an orange poncho called the Easy Folded Poncho by Churchmouse Knits. I made mine in Rowan Felted Tween because I have this wonderful pair of boots and thought an orange poncho to match would be fun. I finished it this week and wore it to a funeral mass on Saturday and I was very happy with the result. I haven’t got a finished picture of it yet (I forgot.) But it came out very well. I chose to not add a cowl neckline to it because I don’t love stuff around my neck anymore. It was a good choice (and I have plenty of yarn to add one if I change my mind.)

Blocking the stockinette rectangle was a royal pain … because stockinette stitch naturally rolls, it needs to be blocked with blocking wires and it’s such a large piece (50 inches by 22 inches) I didn’t have a space to block it that wasn’t my studio floor. AND I didn’t have anywhere to pin the wires so gallons of water, some air-dry clay and a bag of unwrapped Christmas gifts worked as weights. Once blocked, you fold it in half and seam one side all but about twelve inches for the neck. It’s quite smart, really.

I have also been knitting the perfect black hat. I saw this one one a podcast and knew I had to knit one for me. I found sequin yarn in Marblehead at Thanksgiving and last week I bought some black alpaca and black mohair and the hat is knit with all three strands held together. The pattern is the City Lights Hat and it says it’ll fit an 18 inch circumference and my big fat Rockwell head is more like 23 inches. SO … I went up to a cast on of 96 stitches which means an extra 4 inches. Hopefully it’ll fit when I’m done (as you can see from the horrible selfie, it seems to be working.) The sequin yarn I found has tiny sequins on it which I love because they’re very subtle and I’m not really a sequin kind of girl. I have a few more rounds to go and it’ll be done. On Thursday at work I’ll have to buy a big black pompom for the top.

I’m working on a pair of Christmas socks for my hubby, too. It’s a tradition. I always put a pair of new socks in his stocking. These may or may not be done by then. I’m trying to keep them a secret but he hasn’t been working (his boss keeps calling it off) so I only have Friday to knit. This past Friday I worked on them for quite a while and then noticed I’d skipped a round somewhere in the chart and I had to frog back (rip it, rip it) several rounds before it was ok. I am now re-knitting them and have reached (almost) the end of the heel gusset. I’m knitting the Thompson River Socks in Raggi yarn that I’ve hoarded for all these years waiting to make a pair again (since the first pair was not perfect but that’s a long story.) These socks are toe up (not my favorite) but goals have been set ages ago and I’m meeting them this year.

Sylvie’s Jamberry sweater has been sitting in the project bag completely ignored. Maybe today I’ll get the duplicate stitching finished on the yoke and block the sweater. It’s going to be adorable and I have a feeling she’s going to love it but I am not a fan of all the duplicate stitch and wish I’d just knitted it in. (I wasn’t paying attention to the pattern, I guess, and I never read the pattern all the way through. Oh well. I just need to do it.

I am working on a pair of fingerless mitts. A kit that I bought at a new yarn/needlework shop that the “girls” and I visited a few weeks ago. It’s a kit they put together for a pair of Nuuk Gloves by Pernille Larsen out of Knitting for Olive worsted weight wool and mohair (two strands held together.) The first glove is finished except for the thumb and I will work the second one to the same point and then add both thumbs together at the same time. The color is a new one for my pallet but I like it a lot. Not sure who they’re for but they’re going to be warm.

I still have Noah the horse in a project bag in my atelier. And the Jelly Roll blanket. And the pink embroidered mittens. BUT I chose to cast on the Stockholm Slipover by Petite Knits. I’ve been wanting to cast on for this for a long time and I thought I had stashed yarn to make it and then doubted myself and then found the yarn again and dove right in. I am knitting with a fingering weight (EYC Tenderfoot) and a lace weight mohair which is actually a suri alpaca (Halo by the Alpaca Yarn Co) held together. The fabric is dense and on gauge so it’ll be a warm vest. I am choosing the rounded collar and if I like it I may make the v-neck, too.

So there you go! I’ve been gifted so many days of life so far and am grateful and hopeful that there will be many more. I lost a college classmate this past week and two of my friends/coworkers lost their mothers. Both lived long lives. But this reminds me that there is no generation between me and death. I am one of the old folks now. (I still can’t believe it and don’t feel like it!) My tea bag gave me a good message the other day and I wanted to share it here as a reminder – it may be my theme for the next year.

It sure is! Gone knitting.

A Very Merry Christmas – 2024 Wrap Up

Posted on December 31, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

We got home from our Christmas trip yesterday afternoon and it was dark before I could sneak outside to take a photo of our homecoming. BUT suffice it to say that despite the unseasonably warm temps yesterday, the lake remains frozen. (It was not frozen when we left.) As with any time away, the laundry is up to the rafters, the mailbox was full, and there is a lot to “catch up” on. And then there is the end-of-year wrap up, bills to pay, projects to finish (or add to the list to transfer to the New Year), etc. It would be overwhelming if I allowed it to be. I’m not allowing it. I will take it bite by bite and not let the stuff get the better of me.

We made a trip before Christmas to Costco in Manhattan (it was packed!) to buy supplies for dinner on Christmas Eve and a few other things. We cooked a marvelous Christmas eve meal at my son and his fiancee’s house, we had a lot of fun on Christmas day at my daughter and her husband’s house and another great meal. We went to SOHO to get a bracelet at Catbird (mine was a gift from my daughter for Christmas). We visited Knit City on the upper west side and I bought a skein of yarn to make a Musselburgh hat.

We went to see my son’s Broadway debut. He’s a lighting designer/electrician and has worked hard (even with the pandemic) to become a member of the electrician’s union in the city. It’s quite a feat as you can imagine but he did it! He is operating the light board at the Manhattan Theater Club’s Friedman Theater in Eureka Day. We loved the show and the lighting, of course, was masterful!

We played with toys: dog toys and Sylvie toys. We gave her one of her big “wants” this year, a doll stroller for her baby (she’d been trying to “steal” them from other kids at the playground when we were in the city in October.) Her expression both verbal and visual was delicious and delighted this Yaya! I may have cried a little. We ate and drank and chatted into the wee hours.

We went to the art exhibit at the performance space where my younger daughter works: The Shed. The Luna Luna exhibit was also masterfully produced and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s re-constructed pieces of a circus that was created by famous artists that had been hidden away in storage for decades, recently discovered and brought back to life, so to speak at the Shed NYC in Hudson Yards. We spent over an hour walking through the interactive art piece. It was colorful and creative and fun for all ages. Bravo!

I did a little bit of knitting on the drive to NYC and after Christmas. I gave my husband an unfinished pair of wool boot socks. I’m nearly finished with them now … they’ll be my first FO of 2025. And I started a pair of Christmas socks to give me something that I didn’t have to think about to knit. I have a few WIPs that will be carried into the New Year again (and a few that I carried into 2024 that still have to be finished.) But I spent my energy over the week in NYC having fun with my kids and their families. We even got a chance to see my hubby’s eldest daughter and her husband who came up from the Washington, DC area for a couple of nights.

Subways, brunches, Lyfts, lots of walking, SOHO, Washington Heights, dog walks, Hudson Yards, coffee shops, lots of walking and stair climbing, all in a week in New York. We’re making memories!

Tonight we’re going to a neighbor’s house for a bit to celebrate the arrival of 2025. 2024 was a difficult year in many ways and a wonderful year in many ways. We are so grateful to be healthy and strong so we can babysit and travel and continue to work at jobs we like. I am grateful to the community that I’m building here in Maine and here online. Thanks to those who are following my antics here at Queen Bee Knits. I hope it’s entertaining and that you may have learned something about knitting or just about life and had a little fun with me along the way.

Wishing you and yours a healthy, creative, peaceful, love-filled 2025.

Gone knitting.

Grateful Every Day!

Posted on December 3, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

It started out to be another gray morning here on the lake but then the sun came out! Yay!!! I’ve been struggling with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) which is like depression and it’s been a rough week or two. I’m fighting to get stuff done in advance of the holidays and around the house … falling behind leads to a nightmare and I’m happy that I’ve been mostly keeping up. Anywho … the reason for this post is to share our wonderful Thanksgiving with our family in Massachusetts and that’s what I am going to focus on.

As always, we had a ball with the family. My brothers and their wonderful wives, nieces, nephews, son and his fiancee, and my sister-in-love’s brother and his girlfriend, two of her children and his daughters, too. Add three little kiddos and five dogs and you’ve got our evening! There had to have been 25 of us! And for the second or third year, there was a polar plunge involved. “We” (not me and not my hubby) jumped off the commercial dock in Marblehead and everyone survived. We guessed the water in the harbor was in the 50 degree range, but that’s a guess. It was cold for sure. My brother, two of his sons, my son and his fiancee all jumped in. I’m in awe!

We had a lobster feast for Thanksgiving because it can be cooked outside and the menu was incredible: shrimp cocktail, clam chowder (from the Causeway Restaurant in Gloucester, MA .. the best we have ever had), steamed clams, lobster, and salmon, a salad and grilled ciabatta. John B. brought the traditional Marblehead Thanksgiving desserts – cannoli and ricotta pie from an Italian bakery in Lynn. If anybody didn’t have fun, it’s their fault! I’m so grateful to have an extended family that I love spending time with and my hubby said yesterday, “I had a good time at Thanksgiving!” That says a lot. There’s never enough time when we’re all together and that, too, says a lot. How incredibly lucky we are.

The second night we had a pulled pork taco night. We brought our “insta-pot” down with us and went out to gather ingredients on Black Friday. And then on Saturday we had a traditional turkey dinner with all the fixings. I came home with an extra 5 pounds. LOL.

And what would a beautiful turkey dinner be without some turkey stock cooked right after the clean-up? The kids filled two “handles” with stock to carry back to New York City and I thought the idea to package it in the empty liquor bottles was brilliant and a bit funny.

On the way home, DH and I stopped for lunch with a friend from summer camp way back in the dark ages and then we stopped at Costco … spending time until we could pick up the dog at the kennel at 6pm. It was a nice, easy, no traffic ride home.

AND!!! I’m so happy to report that I finished a pair of socks for my darling sister-in-love in Massachusetts. She’s very knit-worthy and I’ve never made her a pair of socks so I had some Christmassy Raggi sock yarn in my stash that needs to be knitted up and I made her a pair of socks. I loved the way the yarn did its self-striping thing and the socks will keep Annie warm this winter inside her 200+ year-old house.

I also finished Sylvie’s Christmas sweater and sent it and her Advent calendar that I made on to New York City. I love the sparkly buttons and I am really fond of the sweater pattern (although the button plackets were a bit weird!) I hope it’ll fit her.

Snowflake by Tin Can Knits in Berroco Vintage DK

While we were away, I was given two more knitting for Christmas assignments and went in to Marblehead Knits for some yarn. One color had to match ST’s “signature” nail polish color and will be his running mitts. I’ll probably make a headband, too, but it may be after Christmas so I can measure his head. I also am replacing a hat for BS that he (mistakenly) washed with his laundry and felted. One more chance, B! LOL. Both of those projects will be easy to complete before the holidays but today is going to be for seaming my Lane’s Island pullover. I’d love to get it together before Christmas so I can wear it. It’s the perfect weight for being inside with a shirt and light sweater. I’ve got my first Lane’s Island on today, in fact.

I’ve finished a little pair of watermelon socks for Sylvie’s Advent calendar and I’m working on a pair of shortie socks for her mom or me … and the Octopus hat from hell has been sent and is much loved despite its horrible history. I’ve written about it on the last post. And I’ve now felted superwash yarn. And they say it can’t be done. Ha!

On my needles … all stuff that I have to really think about (except for the pair of shortie watermelon socks) so I have made precious little progress. I’ve got to finish the Arne & Carlos MKAL stocking and may get to it this weekend. I’ve got to make a bit of progress on the Fair Isle bag “swatch” for my Fair Isle knitting class, too. I’ve got a few rounds in and then stopped. I did very little knitting while we were away. I’d still like to make a pair of socks for my DH for his Christmas stocking. I have to get him a gift, too. Have I ever mentioned that I don’t love Christmas? It feels like tremendous pressure just thinking about it. We won’t put up a big tree (we have a little pre-lighted fake tree) but I’m going to get my Advent mini-jumpers hung this year. I really want to see them hanging!

I need to get off the computer and get some “work” done so I can knit. I have minutes from a meeting to upload and the laundry needs to be moved from the washer to the dryer but I wanted to reflect on how very grateful I am … even still today … after our Thanksgiving visit with family. We have remarked that we never seem to have enough time together and that, in itself, is such a blessing. I hear so many people who don’t want to have to spend time with their family and we can’t wait to have more time together!

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.

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Yesterday we were out and about. We needed to get to the dump as we missed a trip last week when we were out of town and we needed some food in the house. We were scraping the bottom of the barrel trying to come up with meals on Friday. It’s rare that we both get out together, we typically divide and conquer but it’s fun to be together even doing the mundane day-to-day activities. How lucky we are to enjoy spending time together.

I’ve been spending lots of time volunteering but there’s been some time for knitting, too. I am limiting my knitting time because I think I’ve “tweaked” a muscle or nerve in my shoulder/arm/neck. I may have mentioned this before. Yesterday I knitted more than I have for over a week and it was mostly good … I had to stop in the early evening after working on my husband’s Christmas socks. It’s heavy worsted weight yarn and US4 needles which is quite a workout for my hands and arms.

Sock number two is getting close to the “easy” part. Gusset decreases are in process. I love this pattern because it’s different and the decreases come to a nice point on the instep. I hope to finish these up because I have a pair of birthday socks to make for my brother in April and I’ve found the perfect yarn.

I have a bag with odds and ends of Cascade Fixation yarn that I’ve “collected” over the years. I’m trying to be responsible and use it up. Socks are the easy no-brainer project, especially baby socks. I’ll be carrying the two pairs I’ve made so far to NYC next trip to see if they really don’t fall off. The pattern is a free one that I found at work … it’s called Fixation Baby Socks, I think. This week I found the pattern “Jane of the Jungle”, free on Ravelry (it’s a Knitty.com pattern), and I knew that I needed to make this for Sylvie. I hope it’ll fit this summer. I am going to make the bathing suit bottom, too, but the top could be worn with shorts or leggings. Ha! Ha! Stinking cute! By the time summer rolls around she should be crawling and by the time we get to the beach in September I’ll bet she’ll be walking. Time goes by way too quickly.

Our orchids have been blooming forEVER! We have two plants: one was Ned’s mother’s orchid that we bought for her and her caregiver took such good care of. It’s been so happy since we moved to Maine. Helen’s been gone for several years but the orchid keeps on going. The flowers were all dried out but when I watered it last week, I noticed a new little bud spike coming along.

And the second orchid was a gift to me from my eldest. It’s been blooming forever, too. The plant stand has been giving a real show. It’s flowers were starting to dry out and fall off but I noticed one more flower that’s coming. I’m not sure if I have a green thumb or if these are super-powered Maine-loving plants. I’m not complaining.

Gone knitting.

The Non-Winter Winter

Posted on February 19, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Sunrise is happening about 30 minutes earlier than a few weeks ago and it’s moving back over to the left of the music camp. That’s a good indication that we are moving out of winter and into spring. Our camp road has been posted (this is an official town posting that prohibits heavy trucks from driving on the town roads when they are least stable – aka “mud season”.)

This is a blessing and a curse this year because we haven’t really had a good cold winter. Signs that this hasn’t happened are that we have had very few, if any, pickup trucks on the ice. I’ve seen exactly one. Normally, they’re everywhere for several weeks at a minimum. While this seems like a blessing, we have to be concerned about what this means for the health of our lake.

I’ve learned a lot about invasive plant species while being the president of our lake association and the future of Maine lakes is at risk. On our lake, we always had one seasonal bloom of our single invasive milfoil species. We now have two blooms per season. With the warm winter, there is evidence of the plant’s adaptation to colder water. Not a good thing.

Meanwhile, on the shores of Messalonskee, our snow is melting and I’ve been spending time in my studio. I’ve been working to clean up and clean out. I even took three bags of odds and ends of yarn to GoodWill this week. I even used my sewing machine this week.

My friend Deb gifted me this “kit” to make a bee tote. It’s printed on a loose weave cotton and it’s gorgeous! I decided that I needed to line it and to make it a bit stiffer so it’ll sit up by itself. So one day last week I went off to Yardgoods Center and picked the brain of the sewists on the fabric side. Vicki helped me choose an iron-on interfacing that will make the fabric stiffen up a bit. This week I cut out the pieces from the kit and cut the lining pieces as well. Of course I had to line it … which meant that I had to figure out how to sew it together without directions. Which, because I am not a confident sewist, proved to be a challenge. But I DID figure it out.

I ironed the interfacing to the wrong sides of the fabric, sewed the pocket (lined and with interfacing, too) to the bag lining, and turned the straps to the right side. That turning all by itself was a challenge but with a pin and knitting needle, I managed to get it done. I top-stitched both sides of the handles and set them aside while I figured out how to sew the pieces of the bag together. After one complete f@#%-up, I started over from the beginning and stitched each part, lining and bag, individually with the boxed bottom and all. It occurred to me that I had done a lined bag once before in the distant past. That spark of a memory helped me figure out how to sew the parts together and have the handles be in the right place, too. Woo! Hoo! Success! Yay, me!

I started a pair of Christmas socks for my hubby. Before you congratulate me for planning ahead, let me tell you that these socks were promised for LAST Christmas. I’ve chosen this pattern, Urban Rustic Socks, because he was wearing MY pair (and thought they were a bit small). Ha! Ha! Now he’ll have his own pair. And they’re fun to knit, the cables are lovely and I love mine. The yarn is Raggi by Jarbo Garn. We can’t get this in our LYS any more and when they announced it, I had the forethought to buy a bit “extra” because I really like how it knits and wears. Hubby benefits from my good plan!

I discovered a problem with the larger size, though. When I got to the increase round, the ribbing didn’t line up when I knitted the pattern as written. So, on the third try, I just kept an eye on my knitting and “forced” the ribbing to line up. I will write down what I did when I knit the second sock, For now, though, I’m off and running – and I’ve reached the heel flap on the first sock. Another thing to note … using US 4 needles with an Aran-weight yarn causes my hands and arm to hurt. I might have tried knitting these on a US 5 needle and it might have been easier on my hands. But it’s too late now.

Emsworth Vest in Patagonia (you’ve seen this photo before)

My Emsworth is also really really really close to being done. I reached the 11 3/4″ mark on the body of the vest on Friday but when I held it up to my body, it felt too short. My knitting class confirmed it and I kept on knitting. I’m going to try another inch or two and see if that isn’t better for me. I hope that I can get it finished in the next week so that when my yarn arrives from Norway, I can begin knitting my genser without having to put aside my vest. (*crosses fingers and toes.)

My “knitting chair” that I ordered in mid-January was promised in mid-March. It seems that it has been delayed and I’m trying to be patient. I cleaned up the studio last week and have been thinking about moving some of the furniture around in advance of my new chair’s arrival. It seems I can take my time.

Gone knitting. (Enjoy a few sights from the lake.)

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.

Deep Freeze, Raw Emotions

Posted on March 2, 2021 by Queen Bee Knits

My emotions have been very close to the surface recently. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m mourning the last year that we’ve “lost” because of Covid-19 or because there is finally a sense of calm in our Nation’s capital with the new administration. I’m not sure what it is that I am feeling so deeply or that’s bubbling up but it’s there and with this post I am acknowledging it. I am looking forward to the day when it feels safe to leave the house and when I can see my family again. I miss them all so much but I am also so grateful that they’ve all remained healthy.

We woke to sub-zero temperatures today and lots of wind gusts! It was blowing all night but we have been fortunate to retain our power today while lots of other communities in Maine have not. The sun is out and the sky is bluebird blue and that always helps my “attitude”. I would love to see a really good snowstorm before spring but they posted our road yesterday and our camp road has been a muddy mess for a week or more so I may not get my wish.

Today I finally seamed the underarms of my test knit sweater, Crofter’s Smock by Gudrun Johnston. I like it more than I thought I would before it was blocked. The fabric relaxed a lot in its bath. I also learned a few new techniques: folded cuffs and neck and saddle shoulders. This sweater was fun to knit, partly because it’s somewhat cropped and knit in an Aran weight yarn. I used Hayfield Bonus Aran with Wool (a washable acrylic and wool blend) and it was heavy on the US8 needles … my hands got tired knitting! After seaming the underarms, I put the sweater on – this is the coldest day of our winter so far – and it’s nice and warm, the sleeve length is perfect and I like the pockets placed on the side of the sweater. I can’t show you any photographs yet but when I have permission, I’ll add them here.

Meanwhile, I have cast on a pair of socks for my March 2021 Sock Challenge. This month I’m knitting worsted weight boot socks in Raggi yarn. Gray and white marled leg and foot, red cuff and toe. I’ve nearly got one sock finished and will have to attach sock #2 as soon as #1 is finished. These will be super warm socks and they’re so cute!

I’ve also chosen to participate in the Confident Knitting year-long program hosted by Jen Arnall-Culliford. I also chose to splurge and purchase their yarns – typically not yarns we carry at the yarn shop where I work here in Maine. It’s a great chance to taste yarns that I may otherwise not get a chance to work with. AND they had a cool pink project bag!

I’ve started the March project, Flux Handwarmers by Martina Behm. The techniques learned this month are crochet provisional cast on and a folded edge. I chose to do a picot edge which is so cute! This month’s yarn is the springtime colorway of a Crazy Zauberball. These mitts will be a nice weight and they’ll be so cheerful. I’ve participated in A Year of Techniques and Boost Your Knitting for the two previous years and I learned a lot. I’m sure I’ll learn some new tricks this year, too! What I love about these programs is that there are detailed tutorials on all of the techniques and even when I already know one, I can find something to learn (or it just hammers it into my head.)

I’ve been spending a lot of time “worrying” about my sweet Lola. She’s not eating well and her hind legs are unstable. She sleeps most of the day but she still finds a tail wag or two to gift me with every day. For months I’ve been looking at the little kit that I bought when I was out shopping pre-pandemic. The little felt mitten has a bee on it and I couldn’t resist. This will eventually live on our Christmas tree but until Christmas, it’ll likely live on my desk lamp!

I finished two black tams for a customer and they’ve been delivered to the store for her to pick up. She wants two more navy blue ones. It’s sweet of her to ask me. I made a tarte tatin over the weekend. It was delicious! A few apples, some sugar, butter and a home made crust and it was dessert for two for several days. Yummy!

We’ve been spending lots of time doing puzzles. My hubby gave me a really difficult puzzle for Christmas and we stuck to it and finished it … and he ordered another one for Valentine’s day which we’re working on at the dining room table. Luckily, there are only the two of us so we only need one end of the table for eating (although we generally eat up in my studio and watch the news.)

Gone knitting!

Just Keep Knitting …

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Queen Bee Knits

The world is getting uglier and I am feeling more tense and anxious. I dislike conflict and I really despise lies and there is a lot of conflict and a lot of lies flying around in America in advance of the November election.

If I ruled the world, PACs wouldn’t be allowed to advertise. They’re the most hateful and dishonest advertisers. Candidates would only be allowed to advertise about themselves; what they believe, what they stand for, what they will do if elected. If I ruled the world, Facebook posts that call people names would be immediately deleted, even if it was calling someone a republican or a democrat, a liberal or a conservative or any of the mangled iterations of those words we’ve come to accept as normal.

To deal with my anxiety, I’ve been following some sage advice:

Knit on with confidence and hope, through all crises.
Elizabeth Zimmerman

This is my newest grand-dog, Gus. My son adopted Gus and asked me to knit him a sweater because … well, just because I can. I found a sweater specifically for Pugs on Ravelry, Pug Dog Sweater. This seemed a really good place to begin. I measured Gus and knit the XXXS, Sammie Size in a lovely shade of green. Yarn is Berroco Vintage, a worsted weight acrylic and wool blend that is machine washable and dryable. The pattern is a simple and quick knit, especially when you’re knitting a teeny tiny sweater for a little puppy. (Have a gander at the Pug photos in sweaters on the pattern page and you’ll notice that our Gus isn’t a typically shaped Pug.) The green sweater fit around him perfectly IF he isn’t wearing his harness but it’s a couple of inches too short.

So, back to the drawing board I went and knit him a blue version, also in Vintage, in the next size up, XXS. It’s in the mail as we speak and I am eager to see how this one fits. Pictures will follow.

I’ve also been knitting socks like crazy for the 2020 Sock Challenge that we were having at the shop and that I announced to my FB followers. To my delight, some of my FB followers have gotten in on the fun! I’ve just finished my September socks … there are two pairs because I finished the main pair in record time and decided a pair of baby socks in a ball of yarn that I’v had sitting around forever (since before I knew that you needed three balls of this yarn to make an adult pair of socks, perhaps?)

The first pair are in Raggi sock yarn. I love this yarn and I love that it knits up so quickly in an Aran weight. These socks are Urban Rustic Socks by Elizabeth McCarten. This is a new to me (free) pattern that used a seeded rib (which I’d never knitted before) and a new-to-me heel construction. It’s a heel flap and gusset but knitted differently than I’ve ever seen. I love that there is no pattern below the ankle because my feet don’t like patterns on them, apparently. These socks come in two sizes, I made the smaller size. I can’t wait for boot weather now!

The bonus socks this month are a pair of teeny tiny baby socks. I had a ball of Patons Kroy Sock yarn in my stash that I’ve been itching to knit with because I only had the one ball. (I also have a couple of single balls of Regia baby sock yarn to use up.) I used my favorite sock pattern for this one, Yankee Knitter’s Classic Socks #29 by Melinda Goodfellow. If you don’t have this pattern, you need it. NEED it! I did my best without sweating it too much – because I am knitting to be LESS anxious, right? – to match the two socks and they’re pretty close. I love this yarn and they’re really soft for baby. I have more yarn and will knit more little bitty socks as time allows.

My Hope Cardigan is once again on the needles … the first half of the sweater, pictured above, is done and I have gotten most of the way up the second arm. This sweater is knitted from cuff to middle twice and then stitched together (don’t ask me how, I’ve not read that far ahead.) I am not sure what I did for the first sleeve, however, and I’ve reached the end of the written instructions for the second sleeve and it’s about two and a half inches shorter than it needs to be. So … today I’ll be having a closer look in the good daytime light to see what I did on the first sleeve so I can complete the second sleeve and move on. This pattern is only available in Making Magazine #3, Dots. These magazines are a bit pricey but they’re so worth it. I love the variation of crafts that they feature in the books and I have made quite a few projects out of them. I’m knitting my Hope Cardigan in the suggested yarn, Berroco Remix Light. I love the drape and weight of this yarn. I also love the feel of it against my skin.

I made a Khamaseen in 2017 with this yarn and I love wearing it alone and with a shirt under it.

I wore my Humulus sweater for the first time this week and I was so excited about the way it fit! It’s going to be one that I wear a lot this fall and winter. I love the colors that I chose and I love the weight of it. I have loved this sweater since I saw it on the MDK March Mayhem pattern bracket back in 2017 (I think.) I loved the colors that the original sweater was knitted up in (yellow and grey are my colors!) but I wanted something more sedate and I wear a lot of blue so … when we got a shipment of Ella Rae Classic Wool into the shop, on sale no less, I jumped and bought enough for the Humulus. I went back a forth a few times with the contrasting color for the yoke but I’m very happy with the blue that I settled on.

While I’m knocking knits off my list, the list isn’t getting any shorter. My step-daughter has requested an afghan for their new house for Christmas in a denim-y blue. A college friend asked me to knit a family favorite Christmas stocking for her nephew’s new fiancee. And I still have at least six sweaters worth of yarn in my stash. I can tell you that once the Hope cardigan is finished, I’ll be casting on my Dissent Cardigan by Andrea Rangel. I have black as the main color and a cream for the contrasting color. I’ll diverge from the pattern, which is written to knit back and forth, and knit this one with a steek. I much prefer to knit in the round if at all possible. I look forward to wearing it and honoring the Notorious RBG.

Gone knitting!

More details about each of my projects is on my Ravelry Project page. I’m lindar on Ravelry. You can follow me on Instragram @QueenBeeKnits and on FB at Queen Bee Knits by LindaWarner.

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!