Queen Bee Knits

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And Just like that, it’s Sunday Again!

Posted on August 17, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s another gloriously sunny summer day in Maine. Sadly, though, we are in a drought and we really wish it would rain. So far our well is holding strong but many Mainers aren’t so lucky. We are hoping we will be lucky enough to remain able to shower and wash dishes and clothes and flush toilets. We are being very careful not to waste any water. But the sunshine has been really welcome and I am noticing that the days are shortening, too.

Last week was really busy with volunteer stuff and this week it’s going to be the store where I work. Our boss is away and we’re covering all the shifts. Ha! Ha! This week is the one week that I will be at the store four days (out of six). My bigger paycheck will help me pay off my car loan even more quickly (I have only a couple more payments!) Anyway … I’ve been knitting and finishing and starting projects. Let me tell you about a few, ok?

I’ve finished two shorty socks from the Sock Project book (sock #2) with an afterthought heel. The yarn is stashed yarn and I just wanted to get rid of a few bits of sock yarn because my collection has become obscene! These socks are knitted from some old trekking yarn that I bought and the toes is also trekking that was given to me after a friend made socks. Now I’ve just got to open up the heels and knit them … it won’t take but a few minutes but I wasn’t going to attempt it last night when I was tired.

The other day I started to make one of the stuffed toys in the Knitted Animals book by Louise Crowther. I bought the yarn to make three of the dolls – the horse, duck and pig. I’m starting with Noah the horse which will be a gift for my daughter, Libet, who loves horses. The pattern calls for straight needles and I started with straight needles but can I tell you how much is dislike knitting on straight needles after knitting on circular needles for so long? So, I’ve switched to a long circular needle (US2) and it feels much better. The pattern has you start with the head and then move on to the body, etc. I may choose to change my needles with each different body part. Time will tell. The yarn is from Scheepjes Stonewashed and Catona which I bought online since my LYS doesn’t carry the yarn that is suggested and I really wanted to try it out. I can tell you that I like it so far. The head is knitted with the Stonewashed in two colors using the intarsia technique – and the most incredible part is that they put a little sticker on the tail of the yarn so it’s easy to pull out! Brilliant! No more yarn barf. I’m plugging along with this but because it’s knitted on such small needles at a tight gauge, I’m taking my time and trying to save my hands/arms the pain … especially since I have a lot of knitting to do.

Earlier this week, I got a text from a friend with a photo of Boo the Bat by Anna Hrachovec, aka Mochimochiland. Said friend thought the bat was adorable (and it is.) As the week went on, I thought about it and felt I needed to knit one for her as a little gift surprise. So, yesterday I dug into my worsted weight wool scraps and found a light and darker gray yarn to make a Boo for Dru. It knits up surprisingly quickly and it’s really cute. I didn’t have any safety eyes so I used buttons instead and since she’s an adult, I don’t think she’ll be eating the buttons. LOL I blocked the wings last night and they’ll be added to the little Boo today and I’ll need to find a stick for her to hang from (her feet are knitted in the round so she can hang, brilliant!)

I’ve been working away at the little cardigan commission that I have promised for the early winter. This yarn is the most delicious colorway ever and happens to be the same name as my client’s granddaughter, Eliana Zoe. It’s a lovely peachy pink with some deeper tones here and there. I love it! It’s a joyful color. I’ve finished one side of the front and will next work on the back. It’s coming along and I have started it early enough that I don’t have to stress about it. I am actually hoping to deliver it early. Fingers crossed. Meanwhile, the pattern is fun to knit and a little bit different from the typical top-down raglans, it’s a bottom-up raglan done with no seaming (at least not yet. I imagine I’ll be seaming to sew up the pieces after they’re finished and adding the sleeves but I love to wait to see as the pattern unveils itself.) I’m still working on the first hank of yarn and I’m happy that it’s going so far … I was initially worried that I might be playing yarn chicken with this one (or shortening the sleeves to 3/4 length. I don’t think it’ll be a problem.) I’ve also chosen several sets of buttons for my client to choose from. I’ll show you my choices when we get there.

I’ve worked a little bit on my All About the Ruffle shawl but it hasn’t changed substantially so I’ll show you an old photo. It’s gotten bigger as I’m working up to having over 300 stitches on the needles but I’m not quite there. I sure hope I love this shawl because up to this point, the knitting part is boring. (There, I’ve said it.) I do love the colorway of Emma’s yarn Practically Perfect Sock.

Finally, a FO (finished object). I’ve finished Dolores #2 Sensuous Caftan and Turban. What a fun project this was. I think Franklin Habit is a freaking genius! Dolores has a big attitude for a sheep and this outfit totally fits that personality. I love the sparkly purple get-up but this! Ha! Ha! Soon I’m going to have to buy a wardrobe for her outfits. I have two more kits that I bought from Webs way back when … I’ll get to them after a bit but suffice it to say that I’m really sorry I didn’t buy all the kits they made and wish they’d bring the whole bunch back! They bring such joy in such a troubled world.

Even with the drought conditions, we are grateful for the flowers and veggies that are growing in our gardens. They feed so much more than our bodies. We have our first Delicata squash growing and a second one coming! I’m so excited! The zucchini and summer squash have been coming in bit by bit (and that’s ok since sometimes zucchini can be overwhelming). We have some big tomatoes growing and some cherry tomatoes as well. The red one may have been popped into my mouth after the photo was taken. Oops. Our granddaughter helped plant some pea seeds and they’re growing up and up. A couple of the plants dried out but we hope with minimal watering they’ll give us a few peas to send to NYC and maybe to enjoy here, too. We harvested our garlic and it was a good year. This year we’re going to try to plant even more so we can save some to use as seeds the following year. We have to really add to the soil again though … stay tuned.

We remain so grateful for this place that nourishes us body and soul and for the hobbies that we have that keep us engaged. My hubby’s father bought a fishing camp in the 1940s that has been a summer home to visit for his family and is now our home. We remember him and the family often and the memories that we’ve all gathered at the lake. How lucky we are! Gone knitting.

Sunday Funday!

Posted on August 10, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

It was a beautiful morning today and it’s going to be another hot one. In fact, the whole week looks like it’ll be hot and the lake association is warning boaters that the lake is very low (all the dams up stream are closed) and without rain, we are going to be having quite a drought. We are watering our vegetable garden (with a soaking hose) but it’s concerning when you’re on a well. We will be very careful with our water until we get a good drenching rain. If you follow @QueenBeeKnits on social media, you’ll also see my hummingbird video. The little imps are very fun to watch over our morning coffee (or all day long.)

I’ve made my way up to my atelier to write a post and to find my knitting … today I’m going to have a day where I do only what I want to do. No “shoulds” allowed. I have a very busy two weeks ahead and I need to take the time to let my body and mind rest up ahead of the craziness and from all the wonderful time we’ve had with our guests over the last several weeks, too.

I’ve been knitting! Last weekend I started my commission cardigan for a client in Louisiana. Yesterday when my dear hubby and I were at the third annual Silent Film Festival (our first time attending) I got to the third button hole. I believe I’m about half way up the body of the cardigan. This yarn is Virginia Fingering from Urban Girl Yarns and it’s lovely to work with and I love the colorway. The pattern is a simple, classic cardigan by OGE Knitwear designs called Sorrento Cardigan. So far, the pattern and yarn are playing nicely together. I don’t anticipate any problems going forward.

I’ve also resurrected my All About the Ruffles Shawl from the bottom of my knitting bag. I haven’t worked on this for several weeks and it needed some attention. I’ve made it to 100 stitches on each side of the middle/spine stitch and have several more repeats to go before I get to the required stitch count and the fun part – the ruffle. It’s pleasant knitting for later in the day and when I’m watching TV with the hubby. I do love the yarn, Emma’s Practically Perfect in the Harbor colorway. It’s a lovely deep blue-green and I think this shawl will be really fun to wear in the fall. I will get it done!

Yesterday I also worked on my August SISC (Self-Imposed Sock Club) socks for a bit, too. I’m working my way down toward the toe of the first sock and I have to knit seven inches for it to be the right length before I begin the toe decreases. This pattern asks for an afterthought heel (see the marker) which will be added after the toe is finished (and maybe after the second sock is knitted as well.) I love the color of this yarn and I was recalling that Franklin Habit had knitted a pair of socks in just this yarn and added a little cross-stitched bee to the ankle with some fabric that goes away after adding water. I may be thinking about adding a bee to at least one of my socks if I can find the fabric to stitch over.

I finished knitting my Big Love Cardigan in Berroco Pima 100 cotton yarn and gave it a soak in my usual sink and blocked it on my cutting mat like I’ve done for every other garment that I’ve knitted in several years. BUT this time, there was a color problem and my sweater ended up with all sorts of weird spots of discoloration. I was concerned that it was going to be ruined. BUT I bought it into work on Friday and sewed in all the ends and decided that I’d wash it in my washing machine as the yarn band tells you to do and I’m so happy to report that the sweater is perfect. I blocked it the second time, flat on my cutting mat with a towel underneath. Phew! I am going to fix a few ends that have popped through the fabric, add my label and it’s ready to wear if we ever have a cool night again. (I know we will soon enough.)

I have also pulled out the caftan for Dolores from the bottom of my knitting bag. I’ve finished the main part of the garment and really should focus on finishing the other parts and putting it together. It’s such a gaudy garment and Dolores is going to rock it, totally. I will knit the head wrap, too, because she needs it to finish the look. I still have a couple more outfits to complete and think that she needs a clothing rack to display her outfits. (My husband is going to kick me right out of the house if he sees this. LOL)

Around the house things are growing and happy for the sunshine and heat. The hydrangeas all around the yard are thriving. Yesterday I watched some little birds by the shore of the lake for quite some time. It’s what we do in the morning. When our kids were here, my granddaughter and I planted some pea seeds in our garden and they’re growing! I’m tickled to see the plants popping up through the dirt and they’re starting to be tall enough to train to grow up the chicken wire we’ve installed. When we have peas we’ll send some to her in New York City (although she told me in her little 2-and-a-half-year-old voice that she planted pea seeds in her home in New York City with her grandma and they’re growing, too. I love her imagination and seeing her little brain working and growing, too.)

I moved my African Violets from the living room dry sink where I have traditionally kept them because they weren’t looking so good. They were droopy and sad looking. Now they’re gorgeous! Tons of flowers and the leaves look healthy and happy. We all need a change of venue now and again so we can continue to thrive, don’t we? The rest of the house plants are also doing well. I have a giant pathos plant that is gloriously healthy and keeps growing across the living room floor. If you need some baby pathos plants, let me know. LOL

And last but not least, I got some new earrings in the mail yesterday. I ordered them from Jennifer at Bur Oak Studios and I am even happier with them now knowing that she’s a one-woman woman-owned business and she’s in New England (Vermont)! I don’t often put my face out there in the world but I had to take a selfie to show you my new earrings. I love them and they’re so light I don’t even know they’re there! Thanks, Jennifer. Jennifer is coming to the SPA in Freeport, Maine this winter (February) and I am looking forward to going down to Freeport and meeting her and I’ll just have to buy more earrings!

This is me! 67 and as happy as I’ve ever been.

Gone knitting.

I’d love to give credit to the artist for this image …. but I don’t know who it is. Any thoughts?

All Things Blueberry and Family

Posted on July 28, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s been a bit … we have had a house full of family and it was absolutely wonderful! My brother and his wife, their son and his family came first for a couple of days. My brother ended up getting sick and hanging mostly in bed and they stayed an extra day. I was sad not to spend much time with him but I enjoyed the rest of the gang tremendously! A couple of days later (after all the sheets and towels were laundered and put back on the beds, my daughter and her family arrived and that meant my granddaughter was here. She’s a complete two-and-a-half-year-old bundle of joy. Soon after my son and my other daughter arrived so all three of my kids were here and that is my favorite group of people to hang with.

We went to pick blueberries twice. Each time we picked 5 quarts and so we made all things blueberry – because I like to bake and the kids like to grill when they’re up here. We had blueberry buckle, blueberry muffins, vanilla cake with blueberry frosting, blueberry pancakes, and blueberry hand pies. Tonight my hubby and I will eat the blueberry pie I made, too. We made ice cream twice, too – first strawberry (with some added blueberries because we had to have enough fruit) and then vanilla with heath bar crumbles. The vanilla was extraordinary.

My daughter, the second child in my three, turned 38 the day before my birthday and she requested the vanilla cake with blueberry frosting. Granddaughter, Sylvie, decorated it with blueberries. We tried almost all of the local lobster rolls over the course of the week-ish. And we enjoyed some fried food, too. The boys grilled turkey burgers, a pork loin, sausages, salmon, and we ate a big lobster dinner and had a Mexican night with bean and bean with pork burritos. Needless to say, I’ve gained five pounds eating all the things and it was delicious. My appologies, but when I have my kids and granddaughter around, my photos stop … the phone is put down (and often lost).

I did very little knitting while they were here. We were up by 6am and in bed most nights before 10pm and fully active the whole time! Swimming, boating, adventures with Yaya (I have a car seat now), and lots of time on the porch. The first morning we were out in the boat before 7am for the Maine Audubon Loon Count. We didn’t see any loons in our section of the lake but we’ve seen lots of them on the lake, including chicks!

I finished the Three Cable Baby Blanket just in time for Sylvie’s first night sleeping here. She has the same blanket in pink at home in New York City. She liked having the blanket, I think. It’s lovely soft yarn and a cozy snuggly blanket. I have been working on the “July” socks in my self-imposed sock club. I’m working my way through the Sock Project book and started with sock #1 in some left-over yarn from another sock project. I’ve turned the heel on sock #2 and I hope to get them finished before the end of the month. Crossing my fingers.

I took Sylvie on an adventure – to drop off her aunt at the rental car place and then took her to work to meet the women I teach on Friday morning and to pick out some yarn for “mermaid headbands”. I’d made her a mermaid tail when she was a baby with a headband to match (and a shell bikini top). It had become too tight for her toddler-sized noggin. She picked her favorite color – purple – and I whipped up a couple headbands in an afternoon. I can’t resist when she asks me for something.

And now they’re all returned to the city and their lives and jobs and “school” and we are home in the extra-quiet catching up on our missed stuff. I’ve done three loads of laundry and folded two more, picked up my Big Love Cardigan this morning and started the first sleeve. Yay! I have researched a cardigan pattern and swatched for a customer and sent her an email. And I’ve been putting the flashlights back where they belong and trying to find all the kitchen things … and so grateful that we had help with cooking and cleaning up!

AND the kids, especially my son-in-love helped us paint our guest house. We haven’t really used it since our wedding 9 years ago. It needed some work then and we have started to check it off this year. My hubby has been redoing the bathroom – new shower stall, new flooring, new screens on the porch. It has been leveled and the roof replaced. It still needs a new water heater, the porch floor replaced, and some kind of kitchenette before I will be heading in to clean it up and get it ready for another winter. BUT next spring/summer we are hoping to rent it out. It will sleep one or two people and has a lovely view of our lake. We lived there for seven months when we were building the house and it’s a cozy spot. I picture it as a place for someone wanting a quiet place for writing or painting or. … whatever else you can imagine.

Now that the woods are cleaned up, the little hill is raked and the cottage is painted, we can plant some flowering bushes and trees around the front and get the walkway dug. I love the new color that blends right into the woods. The red/orange was never my favorite.

I’ll be back to “normal” in a couple of days after I catch up on some sleep and buy some groceries. But in the meantime, this mama’s heart is so full of gratitude and love. My kids are still my life and I love them beyond measure. I love spending time with them and so enjoy their company. Life is so good.

Gone knitting.

Cleaned up & Ready to Stay-cation

Posted on July 14, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

We have “finished” our cleaning up and are ready for our company to arrive … well, I have one more window to wash and a cake to bake. As soon as my 9am meeting is over, it’s into the kitchen for me and while the cake bakes, I’ll wash the window and water the plants!

Yesterday we ran out to run a couple of errands. We’ve gotten a new mattress for our room on Saturday. The delivery guys helped us move our old bed to the guest room and the old guest room bed to the guest cottage. I have found new bedding for our bed and have washed all the new guest room bedding. AND I made up the three beds up on the third floor because we’re about to have a house full & that’s always the most fun! The quilt I made for our old bed is in the dryer and then the guest room bed will be ready, too. My brother and sister-in-love and their son and his family are coming up for a night. The cake is to celebrate all of their birthdays that were in May. We may have bought some mini-whoopie pies, too, because it’s Maine and I’ll bet the kids have never had one.

For a while the guest room mattress and boxspring was in our living room and there were several pictures that needed to be pulled off the wall to bring the beds down and up. That was another whole process because who knew that cobwebs gather on the backs of photographs? I have now taken down all of the photos on all of the stairway walls, cleaned the glass, dusted the frames and wiped down the walls, too. AND the curiosity cabinet full of old stuff from the old house has been cleaned and the dead “Christmas” lights have been thrown away. The stairs have been swept and damp mopped … if we only had time to paint the walls! HA! HA!

The yard is blooming! The Shasta daisies and hydrangeas are full-blooming in white and one of my irises is blooming. The black-eyed Susans are just about ready to pop, too! Our gardens are full of weeds but they look happy this summer. The veggies I planted a couple of weeks ago are growing and we keep watering them in hopes that we weren’t too late. Last summer we had tomatoes when our granddaughter arrived. Not so, this year. Oh well, we’ll watch them grow and care for them. Maybe we can plant some seeds for peas or beans when the garlic is pulled.

As for knitting, you know I haven’t stopped. There’s not a day that I’ve missed. I’ve been really focused on my Big Love now that the Anker’s Summer Shirt is finished. I’m just a tubular bind off away from finishing the body and have two sleeves after that. Near enough to feeling really good about two summer sweaters and planning the next ones to attack! She doesn’t photograph well right now but I’ll share a photo as soon as I get her bound off.

I started a self-imposed sock club at the store copying The Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, because I have way too much single skeins of sock yarns. AND a lot of bits and bobs of sock yarns, too. Stephanie tucked away 12 hanks of sock yarn and a pattern for each pair and picks a bag each month to make. I decided that I’m going to knit through the new Summer Lee Sock Project book and use up as much as I can and then I’ll add a few more. I want to try Laura Nelkin’s Larch Peds, I got a free pattern from the Wooly Thistle for a pair of socks (in my sock yarn kit! OMG! See below!) and I have a couple of other socks I’ve marked as “need to knit” in my Ravelry favorites.

I started on the first sock this week after I finished my vanilla mystery socks (they’re for my daughter who likes my socks). I’m using stashed ends of yarn. The green and blue are both Trekking Sport yarn from a former project that I didn’t finish. (Imagine that!) I have plenty of the blue and green to make a pair of shortie socks. I had my US 1.5 DPNs out and started the first sock with them. They’re a bit looser than I would prefer. Guess I need to follow the pattern suggestion of US 1 for a better fit, but it’s all good. I’m zipping down the foot of the first sock.

I jumped off the deep end when I decided to buy two kits from the Wooly Thistle. I’ve been wanting to visit their new store in New Hampshire (turns out it’s right near where my father was born) but when they offered their summer sock yarn kits, I couldn’t stop myself. Since I work in a yarn shop, I buy almost all of my yarn there. When I do buy yarn elsewhere, I buy only yarns that we don’t carry at Yardgoods Yarn. Rambler in the rusty orange, is TWTs own yarn. Biches et Bouches I’ve never knitted with (it’s the two shades of orange) and then there’s the green Exmoor Sock by John Arbon Textiles. Last there’s a blue Schoppel Admiral. Strangely enough, I realized only this week that we do carry this yarn and I had already bought a ball in white for my SISC. So, now I have two colorways of the same yarn and that’s fine, too. With this kit I received a download for a sock pattern and a couple of cute stickers and a notions box all with the adorable otter theme.

I also may have purchased Corrine’s Vanilla Sweater kit which included the download of the pattern and a bunch of the beautiful golden brownish greenish wool yarn by Rauma. I am so excited to get started on this sweater! I think I really HAVE to knit the black linen tank that I have yarn for and can wear this summer before I cast on my Vanilla sweater but I am so excited and I love, love, love the color. The yarn is a fingering weight Norwegian wool and it’s a wooly wool that will bloom when it’s blocked. Yummy. AND the project bag from TWT is absolutely one of my favorite store bags ever, especially the quote on the back, “All knitting is good knitting!” AMEN!

Gone knitting!

Sunday is for Sitting – What do you WANT to do today?

Posted on July 6, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

My hubby asked me this morning what I want to do today and all I heard from my brain is that I should vacuum, finish folding the laundry, clean the third floor, etc. What I wanted to do was to sit right here on the porch and drink my coffee. So seldom do I allow myself to sit and do “nothing”. So, after I finished my second cup, I headed up to my atelier to get my yarn and check my calendar and here I am writing about what I want to do. This is NOT a should. I love writing about my life.

We have another week to prepare for our family visiting and we’re excited to have them all here. We have bought a new mattress for our bedroom and upgraded to a king-sized mattress. Our bed will head up to our guest room and the guest room bed will head up to the guest cottage. To be fair, we may end up upgrading that bed once we finish the guest cottage. We are going to try to move the guest room bed ourselves this week; piece by piece. We hope we can encourage the delivery drivers on Saturday to move our bed up to the guest room. It’s really heavy!!!

We’ve been working to get stuff done around the house and it’s been a great couple of weeks! Hubby is making great progress in the guest cottage. The shower is built (I hate it but it’s done. It’s just not what I had envisioned but it will serve) and the porch is re-screened. The water is connected but the water heater is blown and needs replacing. Boo. We still have the “kitchen” to install and a deep cleaning to get done. I’ve been busy planting our vegetable garden and flower pots and weeding gardens and walkways. I’ve also been cleaning drawers and refrigerators and laundry rooms as they come … and there is so much more to do.

I haven’t cooked as. much as last week but I did bake a batch of blueberry muffins for hubby’s morning sweet treat. I had thought about baking cinnamon buns but never got around to it. Something keeps happening that sidetracks me, I guess. But it’s all good.

Here are some photos from around the house this week …

My bee planter is full of flowers (and needs watering all the time). I love the dooryard when it’s full of flowers and the addition of our red Adirondack chairs is a perfect lead up to our front door … also red! I’ve been almost monogamously working on my Anker’s Summer Shirt and my mystery yarn socks. I have started a “self-imposed sock club” at work and I have to finish these before I start my July socks. I’m using the Yankee Knitter sock pattern which I know by heart. This yarn needed to be simple vanilla socks so the yarn could get all the attention. It’s so pretty! My Anker is on sleeve island and I hope I can get it finished today – maybe that’s what I WANT to do!

Our flag was flying on the 4th of July and all we did was go to the town’s library book sale which is a fundraiser for our library. My goal was to get some children’s books to add to our library. I was successful and am very happy about my haul. We had a fabulous avian visitor to the other side of our boat house this week, too. A Great Blue Heron! Some people see them as a positive omen often associated with patience, self-reliance and finding inner peace. I’ll take it! I spent a good chunk of the day with one of my knitting student friends sewing … or trying to sew. I’m making a supreme effort to get some of my sewing WIPs finished, too. Now if only I can remember how to do the paper piecing. Ha! Ha!

Blueberry muffins were all that I baked this week. But hubby is happy with that. AND I may have bought a bit of yarn this week, too. I ordered a sweater quantity/kit for Corinne’s Vanilla Sweater and the Hot Summer Days sock yarn collection. Oops! BUT it’s just in time for my SISC at work … even though my initial thought was to use my (substantial) stash for this! Life is too short to knit with cheap yarn. I may have also bought the beautiful green linen yarn I need to knit the vest in the photo above. I’m not a lover of green but that color is spectacular and I can for sure wear it with my white linen blouses or t-shirts. So many things to knit and not enough time. I’ll be set for my retirement (If i ever fully retire.)

So, back to what I want to do today … I’m going to sign off here and take my knitting downstairs to the porch and spend some time knitting before it gets too warm to be outside. And then I may come back upstairs to knit in the air conditioning.

Gone knitting.

Another Rainy Saturday with “Nothing” to Do

Posted on June 7, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

We had coffee on the porch again this morning. It wasn’t a gorgeous morning but we appreciate any time we get to spend out there in the peace and quiet. No loud boats full of tourists from away and not even any fishermen this morning. And then it started to drizzle as it has done on the weekend for what seems like every single weekend since the snow melted. (I’m sure it hasn’t been every one but, geez!, it sure feels like it!)

I’ve been straight out this week and it made the time pass very quickly. I am home this weekend with a very long list of to-dos and I hope to reclaim some time to really focus on getting some of my knitting projects over their humps … most of my WIPs are in a place where I need to pay attention and I’ve been too tired at the end of the day this week.

SO, I’ve paid quite a bit of attention to my Jelly Roll blanket. I’ve managed to start another column of knitting and that makes me, most likely, about half-way finished with the project. I still have a ton of bits and bobs of fingering weight sock yarns so I guess this either has to be much larger than I really wanted it to be or I need to stop knitting socks. We all know that the latter won’t happen so I will have to find more sock yarn scrappy projects to use up all the yarn I’ve collected over the years. It’s not the prettiest blanket to be sure but it’s going to be useful and warm for someone. AND, bonus, I think it’s going to be washable on cold/gentle setting.

And I’ve finished Dolores and her shawl (I haven’t knitted her hat yet, but I may … or may not) and she’s been sitting on my extra chair in my atelier with a whole lot of attitude demanding that I make her some new clothes. So, I started her first outfit from a kit that I bought in “ahem” 2017 or 2018. It’s designed by Franklin Habit and it’s hilariously sparkly silver and purple and it will become a dress, if my understanding is correct. I’ve gotten to the short rows at the bottom of the underskirt which I need to pay attention to so I don’t make mistakes. It’s a hoot.

I think this will be what I pick up first today.

I started a pair of socks the other day for some “brainless” knitting. I can knit this pattern with two hands tied behind my back. The yarn was given to me so I have no idea what it is other than to report that it’s lovely and soft. I think they’ll be for my middle daughter who likes my hand knit socks and will take care of them and she likes darker colors. The colorway is glorious despite being dark. It reminds me of cathedral windows or stained glass in many ways. Don’t ask me why. I am in the process of knitting the heel flap on the first sock and am close to turning the heel.

I’ve got to pick up the pink mittens again, too. AND my Big Love cardigan. I need to get some major time with the Big Love so that I can bring it to work with me and work on it while I teach.

This week I finished a second Love and Light and hung it up in our granddaughter’s little sleeping nook. It’s plenty of light for her room and it dims to 20% when she’s sleeping. We haven’t made any progress with the mattress support. That’s next and then I can make her bed. Love and Light is a quick and fun project knitted with fairy lights and big DPNs. It’s a hot mess until you’re finished and stretch the wires out ever so gently teasing them into shape. I love making them.

I also cast on my All About the Ruffle Shawl yesterday. I have two (and one on hold just in case) hanks of Emma’s Practically Perfect Sock yarn in a dark teal colorway called Harbor. I cast on and it’s perfectly boring with a ton of garter stitch and increases on the right side. I am going to be increasing for ages until I get to somewhere around 400 stitches if memory serves and then the magic begins.

On the home front, we ordered a dining room chandelier this week. Our dining room table has been in the dark for over a year since we took down the heavy beam light that my hubby designed and we decided after almost 10 years that we didn’t love it and then we couldn’t find anything we both loved. The new lamp is more his choice than mine but I am tired of looking and wanted to get it checked off my list of to-dos. Now he has to move the box and install the light. Maybe tomorrow.

I did a deep clean in our room the other day. Moved all the furniture and vacuumed up umpteen spidery webs. Now if I could just figure out how to wash the windows over our bed without having to go outside with a ladder. I know I won’t survive the climb up the ladder … on the dirt … on the hill … by the creek … there must be an easier way, right? We are in the process of finding a new bed for us and moving our bed to the guest room and the guest room bed to the guest cottage that we are going to rent out when it’s done. The bathroom is being updated/cleaned up/refreshed and then it needs a good cleaning and a kitchenette and we’ll be ready to go. (By then it’ll be too cold to rent until next summer.) We also have to paint the outside of the building. Hmm. Anybody know a reasonable painter?

Gone knitting.

What a Wonderful Week!

Posted on June 1, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

Today started out as so many have this spring … gray and overcast. Dreary. I had to get out of the house by 11am to pick up my friend, Janna, and get over to Augusta for the Maine Arts Academy graduation ceremony and just as Janna and I left her road the sun came out.

This week our MeAA strings group performed the National Anthem at the Maine Statehouse on Wednesday when the Senate opened and two of our students were pages for the day and then today was graduation. And graduation was wonderful! The student performances were amazing.

This week I have an evening meeting with a potential new board member on Monday, a committee meeting on Tuesday and a meeting at school with the Maine Charter School Commission on our 5-year renewal on Wednesday. It’s going to be another busy week but it’s always fun. So, today I’m getting my calendar ready for the week so I don’t miss anything. I live by my Bullet Journal. I handwrite a calendar that I create every week. It has everything I ever need in it (passwords, income, books I’ve read and want to read, projects I’ve completed for Queen Bee Knits, teaching records, and more. It’s the best way for me to keep track of everything – my knitting business, teaching, workshops I teach, and my calendar for work and volunteer efforts. And it can be creative. Sometimes it’s creative.

This week I also worked a half-day at the store restocking and reorganizing. I taught my three knitting classes on Friday and I baked for the hubby’s birthday. This week was my mother’s birthday (she would have been 93 this year but she’s been gone 17 years) and my hubby’s birthday and my big brother’s birthday so we got to make and receive lots of phone calls celebrating our family. We are shopping for a new bed so we can move things around a bit and we bought a new chandelier for our dining room, finally, to replace the one that we took down 2 years ago. (Yes, we’ve been living in the dark. LOL) Note that it’s been ordered, it’s not installed!

I have been knitting away and am happy to say that I’ve finished Dolores after she hid out in the cupboard for the last seven years and she’s taken up residency in my studio/atelier where she sits in my chair and looks at me with judgement all day long. She’s demanding that I get on with knitting her some new outfits now that she has a face and can talk to me. Franklin warned me, he did!

Last night I finished another pair of socks. I love this pair – in On The Round Signature Sock yarn in the Wicked colorway. I originally bought the yarn because one of my daughter’s friends was having a baby and she was in the Broadway production of Wicked. It was so appropriate, right? I made the baby (now a big kid) a pair of socks with it. But that left a lot of yarn and I decided its time had come and made myself another pair of socks. I used the free pattern on Ravelry by the Crazy Sock Lady called Hermione’s Everyday Socks. I love the texture that is knitted into these socks and I am excited to wear them one day soon.

And what these two FOs mean is that I need to find some more projects! I have been working along in the evenings when we’re watching television on my Jelly Roll Blanket. I’ve just begun another strip … when this one is finished, I may be half way done with the project. It’ll be awhile before it’s really done but it’s a great way to deal with all the bits and bobs of fingering weight sock yarns that I’ve collected over the last 40-ish years. I still have to work on the pink mittens … I’ve got no idea why I am putting this project off all the time. I’ve got to get them finished before winter. They’re so pretty. I guess I just haven’t enjoyed the embroidery. And I’ll need to do some on the second mitten, too.

I have four outfits to knit for Dolores and three stuffed animals that I bought yarn for … and a blanket that I bought yarn for, too. Lots of things that I could work on … so now, what do I WANT to work on?

Gone knitting.

Little Tern

Posted on May 25, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

We are at the beginning of what is technically (here in Maine) tourist season which also means summer. Those of us who know Maine are laughing because this is the least summer-like weather we’ve had in forever at the end of May. It’s been gray and rainy for days … weeks! It’s leaving me a bit fatigued, maybe a bit depressed (although with the way things are in this country and around the world it makes total sense) and all I really want to do is sit and knit. I’ve been doing plenty of that.

I have finished the Little Tern blanket by Tin Can Knits in Fyberspates Vivacious DK. This photo looks more turquoise and the real color is more green but I love it and the blanket is an heirloom-quality knit. As I was knitting this blanket, the second one I’ve made, I was thinking about how much I loved making the first one and how grateful I am that I had the presence of mind to buy extra yarn so that I could make this one! I think I’ve written about this before – this pattern and yarn were one of the “kits” in A Year of Techniques, a class that I took several years ago with Jen Arnall-Culliford. It was a series of tutorials that then became a book and you could take the class with or without buying the yarn kits. I did. Mostly because I didn’t know any of the yarns that they were using for the tutorial projects and, boy, am I glad I did. This is one of my favorite yarns but there were many.

Little Tern is designed by Tin Can Knits. It uses a provisional cast on and then the body of the blanket is knit in a textured pattern that is easy enough to (almost) remember. Once the body is done, a lace edge is knitted onto the body on both ends. It’s rather ingenious, frankly. AND it’s absolutely engaging and gorgeous. I seldom knit the same pattern twice and I am actually looking forward to knitting this one again (I have a set of purple Fyberspates Vivacious DK for another blanket in my stash.)

I also finished the quilt that I made for my granddaughter’s sleeping nook at Yaya and Poppy’s house. This fabric was in my fabric collection and I only bought the one piece of flannel that is the backing. I even made the binding out of left-over bits and scraps of the fabric I used for the quilt. This week I hand-stitched the back of the binding and it’s now ready to be put to use. I think she’ll like the bright colors and the soft warm flannel on the back.

We finished painting her little nook. It’s the same width as a crib mattress and it’s really purple. Way more than I am comfortable with but I am thinking that once the wallpaper birds on a wire is up and the giraffe picture is hung, I think it will be a bit less “purple”. But it’s what she asked for … I simple neglected to think about paint colors being darker once they’re on the wall. It’s all good. We backed my IKEA Kallax storage cube unit with a “bead board” panelling, trimmed the bottom of the nook after the panelling was installed and the shelf unit was attached to the wall so it can’t tip over and then the room was painted. We need to cut some slats that will sit up a bit so the mattress is off the floor and then put up the decorations. I still have to make two pillowcases and if I have time, I’ll knit a little blanket like one she has at home. All things to make her stay here at Yaya and Poppy’s feel like home. I’m crazy like that.

I’ve been working on finishing up little projects and have done well doing that. I’ve knitted and blocked two more tams for my client. She loves these hats and they’re not a bother to make up for her. It’s nice that she appreciates them so much. I also made a little “blueberry” hat for our soon-to-be Denver nugget. I used a pattern by Ann Norling and Malabrigo Rios yarn. It’s pretty cute. Now, of course, I’m knitting a bigger one for Sylvie. She loves blueberries. I’ve been working my way down the second socks’s foot (the first one fits perfectly), and I have been picking up my Jelly Roll blanket. A customer brought in bits and bobs of leftovers and I brought home a few fingering weight yarns that she left to add to my blanket (as if I was going to run out any time soon.) I also made some strawberry jam this week and a batch of blueberry muffins for my hubby. We brought the strawberries at a very good price at Costco on Monday specifically for jam making. Yum!

I pulled another unfinished project out of my cupboard. Ages ago I bought a kit from Jimmy Beans Wool that was to make Franklin Habit’s Dolores (a sheep) and some of her outfits. I got the body finished and then the project went into time out … not because of anything other than my little cast-on-itis and there Dolores’ body has been resting waiting for me to turn my attention back to her. The other day I pulled out the bound off stitches and will be more firmly stuffing her body and then closing her up again. I will be committing time to getting her finished because she’ll be a fun addition to Sylvie’s nook. I think. AND she’ll be finished. I really am trying to get projects finished … I have a few. (Ahem.) I haven’t forgotten the pink mittens either … the first one is mostly finished and the embroidery looks pretty good, actually. Think I can get a second one done?

I have a couple of deadline projects … both are Love and Light by Laura Nelkin. When a couple gets married in our family or has a baby, they get one for their home. I haven’t made one yet for Amy and Jake (they were married a year ago-ish) so I’ll make one now for their baby’s nursery. I’m calling this baby the Denver nugget and he or she is due end of August/early September. Sylvie has one in her room in NYC and it’s used as a nightlight. I’ll make one for her nook here so it’s just like home … and not at all since she won’t be sleeping in a crib for the first time ever. We are all crossing our fingers that she stays in bed like she does at home. That reminds me that I need a bookshelf for her wall.

Gone knitting.

A Bee-Utiful Day!

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

Today was a beautiful day! I had the windows open this morning and they’ve stayed open all day … it’s even warm enough to turn off the heat overnight and leave the windows open. I spent a good part of the day cleaning up in my atelier. We found sugar ants, the little tiny ones, in my atelier a couple of days ago and they’ve popped up every evening. Today I figured I needed to give the floors a good vacuum and then wet mop them in case there was something attracting them (i.e. food). So I moved the furniture and knitting bags out of the way and got to work. It turned into a day like the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie story …

Once I had vacuumed the atelier I thought, why not vacuum the guest room and the bathroom. Then I wet mopped the atelier, the bathroom and part of the guest room before I started running out of steam. BUT I didn’t stop there because I had to trim the quilt I’ve been working on for our granddaughter’s bed at Yaya and Poppy’s house. Next up was putting everything back in its place after the floors had dried and taking all the tools for cleaning back downstairs. I did a load of laundry – the towels and rags and my knitting bag that had been dragged hither and yon to California and back and to Denver and back through four airports and on trains, planes, busses, and cars. It’s my most used bag and it was gross!

I sat down to knit after getting dressed and ready for my school board goal-setting retreat and board meeting … I had to frog a few rows of the lace trim on my Little Tern blanket because I made a little mistake but it’s lace and it’s easier to frog it back than to try to fix it. I’ve now fixed it and realized that I made a mistake way down near the end. Since I will surely be the only one to see it, I am not pulling it out again. I will finish the required repeats and finagle the last couple of rows so that the stitch count will be correct and I can finish the edge. It’s such a lovely blanket. I am loving knitting it as much this time as I did the first time I made it. I was absolutely right to order the extra hank of yarn.

I have woven in all the ends on Sylvie’s purple cardigan and it’s blocked and drying. I have some mixed buttons that she chose for the sweater and once it’s dry I will sew them on and the sweater will be ready to head to New York City in the fall. It looks huge!

I haven’t picked up my Wicked socks lately and I haven’t worked on any other projects. I’ve been pretty monogamous with the blanket and the cardigan. I am going to cast on the tams for my customer next in order to get them done for her. She’s paid me for them and I don’t want to forget them … and they’re relatively quick to knit. I may take one to work on Friday when I teach and I’ll bet I can bang it out.

I need to sew the binding on the quilt next, too. This weekend I hope we can get the shelves attached to the wall and I can paint her “room” and then I get to go shopping for her mattress and sheets. I have bought some stick on wallpaper “birds on a wire” and I plan to knit a light-up heart, too. It’ll be tiny but it’ll be hers. I still need a wall-mounted bookshelf and a wide gate so she doesn’t wander and fall down the stairs at night. This will be her first experience out of a crib. I hope it doesn’t backfire. There will be more pictures coming as I make progress.

And tomorrow it’s back to work again. The store has been busy enough and I do love the customers who come in and challenge me to help them with knitting questions and with choosing yarn for their projects. They keep me working! It’s a “normal” week so I am in tomorrow and teach Friday and then I’m off again until the next week. I actually have some “free” days on the calendar … but don’t tell anybody. I will be going to Costco for provisions and some new bath towels.

Gone knitting.

PS. The before …

Our Denver Nugget

Posted on May 7, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

We made it home this morning. Whew! What a trip. The final leg of our flights returning from Denver from Baltimore to Portland was delayed 42 minutes and we ended up leaving an hour and a quarter late. So, our almost 11pm turned into after midnight and we ended up booking a room near the airport. I thought I was booking a hotel ON the airport grounds but it ended up being several miles from the airport closer to the Maine Mall. We arrived, checked in and went to park the car and that’s when the sky opened up and we got soaked walking to the side door (where there was no overhang) and the key didn’t get us in. We walked in a literal downpour to the front door and we were drenched. Water was dripping from my hair. And then the room smelled like wet dog when we went in. They’d overbooked king beds and only had an “accessible” room on the first floor. If you know me you know smells are a problem for my allergies so we asked for a different roon and were given the one next door to the stinky one, with an adjoining door and two double beds. Guess what!? It smelled like wet dog, too. By that time I just wanted to lie down. The bed was the worst bed I’ve ever slept in at a hotel. Hard as a rock. I figured I was so tired I could sleep anywhere but I was wrong … my brain was running a triathlon and I couldn’t stop it. I’m paying for it today but I will sleep well tonight in my own bed.

BUT despite the difficult return flight, we had the most wonderful time in Denver visiting my dear hubby’s youngest who is delivering us grand-baby #2, our Denver Little Nugget, in late August. She looks wonderful and healthy and so happy and her husband is amazing, too. We loved being together and look forward to going back soon. We took a day trip up to the Rocky Mountain National Park (we have a lifetime senior pass) and saw lots of elk out there. We took a bag lunch from a great little shop in Lyons, CO and had a picnic lunch and walked around Sprague Lake after lunch. We went to visit Littleton, CO on Sunday, had a snack break at a restaurant there and wandered around and then on Monday we drove out to Fort Collins, CO to have lunch with my nephew who is finishing up his vet school clinicals our there. We went to a nursery to buy a lilac bush in remembrance of Grandma Penny who passed away Friday and we found a second-hand baby store where the books were 10 for $10. The Nugget’s library has begun.

We all love being together and we are going to try to make quarterly visits out there. It must be time for a Southwest mileage credit card! Ha! Ha!

I didn’t get a lot of knitting done when we were there but I did make a little progress on Sylvie’s purple cardigan. One sleeve is done and the second sleeve is on the needles. I cast on a little hat to match the Nugget’s Newborn Vertebrae cardigan and got a few of the 5″ of ribbing and stockinette done. More coming. I also knitted one sock in On the Round Signature Sock yarn in the Wicked colorway and got the second sock started. I have a long list of knitting to accomplish before the baby arrives. The hat, the blanket needs to be finished and a (fairy llight) heart needs to be knitted. I have two hats for a customer done (she’s already paid me in full for them.) And I have several other projects to finish … the pink embroidered mittens is one.

Hermione’s Everyday Socks in On the Round Signature Sock “Wicked” colorway

Since I have only taken a photo of the sock, that’s all you’re getting today. Sorry, I’m totally wiped out and I’m going to go park my body in my dad’s old easy chair and watch some stupid TV. We went to Ken’s Food Truck in Winslow for some fried seafood. Hubby had the fried clams and I had the fried scallops. Dinner is taken care of so now we wait until it’s reasonable to go to bed. LOL

We came home to budding leaves, bleeding heart in bloom and new daffodils and tulips. The yard and house were a welcome sight. The dock is in so I went out for a look. Home feels good today.

Gone knitting (maybe.)