Queen Bee Knits

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

Happy Easter

Posted on April 20, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

I wrote 2024 for a good part of the week … is this a Freudian faux-pas? I may be in denial or I may be overworked and stressed. Not sure which is the most accurate statement or if it’s a combination of all of the three. LOL. Regardless, it’s been a crazy busy week and I am glad to have “nothing” to do today on Easter Sunday. None of our kids live close-by and they’re not able to travel to be with us so we are going it alone again and I have such mixed feelings about being along on holidays. This year it just wasn’t possible for us to travel because of my work schedule. So we will tough it out and maybe we’ll go out to the local nursery and buy some pretty flowers … time will tell.

I worked two extra days this week at the shop because the boss is away. Tuesday was Thursday and Thursday was Saturday and I have no idea what to say Saturday was but I taught the second half of my Colorwork Workshop which included a crochet steek reinforcement and cutting a steek and then adding button bands to the “swatch” so it can be used as a coffee cozy. I had fourteen students and it went quite well. I’ll add this to the classes that I can teach in my list of possible workshops/classes. It was fun to meet the new people who I didn’t know before, which was the majority of the class. AND one of my students went to my high school so it was very fun to reconnect (and we will be getting together again.) After my workshop I stayed and worked at the store. Have I said how much I enjoy the customers at the yarn shop? That’s the best reason to keep working for a small family business.

I finished one sock and will start a second one today. Little socks for my little peanut. Purple is her favorite color for now. This colorway is purple but called “red onion” and I think it’s a perfect name. I am making these little socks 5.25 inches long and hope someone’s little feet don’t grow too much before sock season starts again.

On Friday I finished the embroidery for the pink mitten that I started ages ago. I don’t love working with the fabric that the embroidery pattern is printed on, it’s sticky, but I can now finish the knitting and wash the fabric off and decide as I knit the second mitten if I want to duplicate my efforts on the second one. They may look really odd if I don’t embroider the second one, too.

I’ve cast on for the Big Love cardigan with Berroco Pima 100 … what a bizarre start to a cardigan! You knit two pieces of the collar starting with a provisional cast on and then you pick up stitches for the back and the shoulders … this is a first but I will prevail. I’m trying to find something relatively simple to take with me when I fly to California at the end of the week and so far I’m coming up empty handed. I guess we will see what progress I make and then I will decide.

Last project this week and the one I keep picking up is my Little Tern blanket by Tin Can Knits. This, as I have mentioned before, is the second Little Tern I’ve knitted and I am loving it just as much this time despite my big faux-pas. I didn’t remember until I had nearly finished the knitting the first skein of yarn that I had bought an extra skein “after the fact” and so I didn’t check the dye lots before I started knitting. Needless to say, I have three skeins of one dye lot and one of the other. I had “planned” to use the three original skeins for the body of the blanket and use the last one for the lace edge. Ha! Ha! When you plan … God laughs. Guess which skein I grabbed to start this project? Yup, the odd ball. AND there is a definite color change but I am just going ahead and finishing the blanket because it’s beautiful and I am beautifully human … and I am not pulling out a full skein of work for this! I have yarn for a purple Little Tern in my stash and I will (hopefully) remember to check the dye lots when I start that one. Fingers crossed.

So, today I hope to 1) spend some time on the porch in the sun and 2) go buy some primroses or pansies at the garden center and 3) knit a little. Tomorrow I have to go to the bank for work but I am not going to work today.

Happy Easter to those who celebrate! Gone knitting.

Steek! Cutting my Oorik Tank Top

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

What a difference a day makes! We are currently experiencing a surprise Nor’easter here in Belgrade, Maine. It started snowing overnight and has already dropped a couple of inches of the white stuff in our dooryard. We woke up to near-white out conditions and it’s still snowing. Our brave and hearty neighbor is already out snow blowing. My dear hubby is not inclined to snow blow more than once and we don’t think it’s over quite yet.

Yesterday was another mostly sunny and quite pretty day for the most part. I got out early in the morning to fill up my gas tank and pick up some groceries and then my friend and colleague, Glenda, came over for a steek party. We gathered at my dining room table (note to self: we really need a chandelier!) with out Oorik Tank Tops and said a not-so-silent prayer to the almighty knitting goddess Mary Jane Mucklestone and set to work.

As a preface to steeking, we had knitted the Oorik tank in Jamieson & Smith 2-ply jumper weight yarn which is a rustic wool, perfect for colorwork. It blooms when it’s blocked and the fibers naturally “stick” to each other and the stitches, even when cut, don’t come apart. The vest looks a bit like an awkward burrito before you make the cuts. The arm holes and neck and back have been knitted circularly with a collection of, in this case, six stitches added with the plan of being cut to make an opening.

The first picture is of the Oorik with all the knitting done. If you zoom in, you can see the steek stitches added at each arm hole and at the neck. This is planned by the designer so that you can cut up the middle to open the burrito. The second photo is the center of the front, the neck, a closeup of the steek stitches. You can see there are six stitches, in a specific pattern, from the orange marker at the bottom to the top where the stitches are bound off.

The third photo is even closer up. I’m identifying the center of the steek stitches as I am starting the process. The first step is to identify the middle two stitches and then to reinforce those stitches in preparation of cutting them right up the middle.

And now, the reinforcement. As a leftie, it’s always my inclination to crochet with my left hand. BUT with my crochet hook (US D) and some leftover yarn from my project, I am crocheting a slip stitch around the leftmost leg of the center-left stitch and the right leg of the stitch next to it. You can see this best in the middle photo. The idea is to crochet a chain up from the bottom to the top creating a tight hug of these legs so that everything to their right stays put. You then turn the vest 180 degrees and crochet a chain down the other side, hugging the same two stitches (but on the other side now that you’ve turned the garment). Ultimately, you have two crochet chains on either side of what now looks like one single stitch …

Two columns of crochet chain and ONE stitch in between

Can you see the two legs of the stitch between the yellow crochet columns? The single stitch looks like a stack of Vs. The easiest ones to see are the wheat/natural colored stitches in the center of the photograph. I am going to CUT my stitches right up the center of the two legs of the stitch stack … with small, sharp scissors!

And, ta! da! The photograph on the left is what it looks like after it’s cut. The arm holes were exactly the same and there was also a little “flap” at the back of the neck that opens that area up, too. Now all the parts that are needed to put a little vest on a little person are cut and it looks like a real vest. Now it’s time to pick up the stitches around those openings and stitch the ribbing.

I got the neck ribbing done last night and today I’ll (perhaps) do the sleeves. I’m tempted, though, to cast on something new and fun since this is a snow day and I have the day off from work – it’s a bonus day of knitting!

It’s windy and snowy outside so I think I’ll crank up the heat, throw on a sweatshirt and make myself a cup of tea and spend the day in my atelier knitting and catch up on TV and podcasts.

Gone knitting.

PS – There’s a great podcast that I listen to called “I Thought I Knew How”. Anne Frost is based in Connecticut, USA and in this particular episode, #113, she goes down a rabbit hole on .. wait for it .. the etymology of the word STEEK! Check it out!

Sunny Day!!! … so appreciated after all the rain

Posted on March 31, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

It was a glorious morning this morning and I got to spend an hour or more on the porch with my knitting and coffee. I really (really!) needed that. We had a wonderful visit with my son and his fiancee this week and then three days of work and I was really tired when I got home from work last night. This morning I was hoping to see the sun and I did.

I’ve been working toward completing the Fiddlehead Mittens that have been on my needles. Rather than put them away and wait until fall when I will need them again, I am going to finish them, knit their lining and block them and THEN put them away. I am really enjoying this pattern. The chart isn’t too difficult and the yarns that I am using are working up really well together.

Fiddlehead Mittens – ready for the thumbs!

I’m knitting with Patagonia Organic Merino for the main color. This is a ball of yarn that I had left over from another project. It’s an oatmeal-y colorway and it’s a perfect background color for fiddlehead ferns. The foreground color or contrasting color is a handspun yarn that my daughter gifted to me from Ithaca, New York (if memory serves). It’s a really great collections of colors that reflect nature to me. Greens, yellows, blues and reds. Although they’re a bit more fall than spring when the fiddleheads are found here in Maine. Regardless, the colors work up beautifully together and they’re making me really happy.

I’m wearing my Norwegian sweater today. I had been so concerned that it wouldn’t fit me when I started the project. Fortunately, I love the fit and love the sweater. In fact, I love the fit so much that I am considering another less boxy sweater in the future. I bought some pink Remix Light by Berroco to knit another Lane’s Island Pullover. I love the way this yarn feels and wears and I think I’ll make this one a size smaller than the white one I made a while back.

I have finished my daughter’s Christmas socks and cast on another pair for my bonus daughter. I am trying to get handknit socks on everyone’s feet in our family. AND I have a ton of sock yarn to knit with so why not share the wealth? Gone are the days when I buy a lone skein of fingering/sock weight yarn when I travel to a yarn shop. I still have a bunch to knit up but I am working my way through the stash one pair of socks at a time. I also made my daughter, a while back, a pair of fingerless mittens that are convertible to mittens that cover your fingertips. I may make some more of these, too.

With the grace of Mother Nature this week, my friend and co-worker, Glenda, hope to get together to reinforce and steek our little Oorik Tank Tops. Once we get together it won’t take long or be difficult but we’ve agreed to do it together and we hear that we’re getting a nor’easter this week. Time will tell. But I have to admit that even I am ready to move on toward spring and leave this horrible excuse for a winter in Maine behind. Sitting on the porch this morning just cemented that sentiment.

Gone knitting.

Knitting Progress and a Bee-Utiful Sunrise

Posted on March 20, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

While I was sleeping this morning my dear husband took this beautiful photograph of the sunrise. I, obviously, missed it but can still share it with you. A week ago we had ice from shore to shore. We are watching the water birds return to the lake. I’ve been told that the loons are already here, too. I’ve not heard nor seen them but I am watching for them.

Tomorrow I am heading to the store for work, our long winter yarn sale is over and I’m back to working by myself. Today I’ve been busy vacuuming my studio and cleaning up, washing our bedroom sheets and towels, cleaning up the kitchen and I baked bread.

I’ve been busy knitting, too!

I finished my Sunset Highway sweater by Caitlin Hunter back in 2019 but I’ve only worn it a couple of times. When I put it on to help me decide what to do with it, I saw the problem (I think) … it’s too long. So, I’ve spent the last couple of days unknitting the bottom of the sweater and stopping 13 inches from the underarm. I’ve got it on a cord now and I will try it on when I get undressed tonight and then I’ll decide if 13″ is the best length or if it needs to be a little longer or shorter. I will complete the ribbing again and then I hope I will wear it.

I’m also reassessing the sleeves which I feel look heavy compared to the rest of the sweater. I now have a bunch of the body yarn and I may change the burgundy out for the white speckled. Time will tell.

I did a crochet thing! My daughter, as I mentioned before, sent me a photograph of this ray with some little fishies on it’s back … a big hint. Ha! Ha! BUT it looked simple enough and I have been saying that I have to do more crochet to get better at it so I went off to Michael’s to get the jumbo chenille yarn and the size L crochet hook. During a long meeting last week I crocheted the blue back piece and earlier this week the white belly. Yesterday I got some 25mm eyes (they’re HUGE!) and finished it up. It’s very cute. I’m not sure how it’ll hold up to the abuse of an 18 month old but time will tell. My son and his fiancee are coming for a visit this weekend and I’ll send the ray back for Sylvie for Easter.

I’ve been working on my second Fiddlehead mitten and Jelly Roll blanket. AND the Christmas socks for my daughter. All three are coming along. I love the Jelly Roll blanket a lot – it’s so potato chippy – I have trouble putting it down. The socks are down to the foot so they should be finished soon. Maybe by Friday. I am itching to cast on Susan B. Anderson’s Christopher Bunny but I’m “making” myself finish up a couple of projects first.

On Saturday my friend and co-worker, Glenda, is coming over and we are going to reinforce and steek our Oorick vests. We both participated in the Year of Techniques ages ago, before we really knew each other well, before we worked together. But we’ve both finished the little vest (wee slipover?) and we’re ready for next steps. It’ll be fun. Just a bit of ribbing after that and one more project will be completed.

What would we do without yarn? Gone knititng.

WIPs and Ice Out

Posted on March 17, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

This morning we had ice from shore to shore except for a bit of water around the edges. It was raining again and the wind was blowing. I knew things were about to change, I just didn’t know how quickly they were going to change. it’s now 12:22pm and the ice is all gone from the lake but for a few “cubes” around the edge. It’s really amazing how the process of ice out happens. Today’s was the fastest change-over that we’ve experienced in our eight years here. Not long ago there were two big Bald Eagles out on the ice near our “sunken island” and then down across from the music camp. Now they’ve got nowhere to land.

While all this excitement has been happening outside, I’ve got a lot of WIPs inside. AND i may have added one more this week.

Oorik Tank Top by MaryJane Mucklestone in Jamieson & Smith 2-ply jumper weight

My Oorik vest is ready for steeking. Steeking (Muffin) is when you cut the knitted fabric to create an opening and in this case, the steek will open the arm holes and the v-neck. I’ve not ever steeked a garment before so I am really excited to do it. My friend and co-worker, Glenda, has knitted the same garment so we are going to get together and reinforce the steek before we cut it and then cut it. After that we will finish the ribbing on the arms and around the neck and they’ll be finished. Yippee! I got this yarn and pattern in 2017 before I had a child to knit for … some things take awhile but are so well timed! Stay tuned for pictures of the process.

Ruby Ray the Mega Ray in Loops & Thread Sweet Snuggles

I have finished the main part of the top of the mega ray that was requested by my daughter. It will be a very soft toy for Sylvie if this YaYa can get it finished. I am going to aim for that today but I also have a few things that I need to bake for the week so we’ll see how far I get. Next up is the head of the ray in the blue yarn and then the belly will be next with the cream colored yarn. I also have to find some safety eyes.

The other WIPs that I’ve been working on are as follows:

Fiddlehead Fern mittens: I’ve finished the first mitten and have cast on the second but haven’t gotten very far on the colorwork. This is a pattern that I have to think about (or I am apt to make mistakes) although once I get started, it’s likely to go very quickly. I love the way that the handspun yarn that my daughter gifted to me is working in this pattern. The solid color is some left-over Patagonia from another project. It’s truly a pleasure to work with these yarns and these mittens are so pretty. Now that it’s spring, I’ll probably not get a chance to wear them until next year … unless I gift them or sell them before that.

My daughter’s Christmas socks: I’ve put these aside several times because Christmas. I have some time, right? But socks are almost always on my needles and before I started the next WIP I’m going to talk about, I was thinking that I’d try to do another year of 12 pairs of socks in a year. I have a friend who’s doing 24 pairs of socks in 2024 … not sure I could or that I want to do that. Anyway, the pattern for the Christmas socks is Yankee Knitter #29 Classic Socks with a modified heel. I’m using the Crazy Sock Lady’s heel from the Hermione’s Everyday Socks pattern. The heel is sooooo pretty! I’ve completed the first sock and have cast on and started the 1×1 ribbing at the leg.

Last active WIP is the one I cast on on Friday (or was is Thursday night?) and that’s the Jelly Roll Blanket. I’m knitting this pattern with the modifications that the Crazy Sock Lady made, using 2 strands of fingering weight yarn held together for a DK weight yarn. I’m knitting on a US6 needle and I’m having trouble putting this one down. I started the second strip last night. I am using all odds and ends of fingering weight yarn that I’ve used in projects over the last 40 years and I’m (sort of) randomly pulling little balls out and either knitting until they’re gone OR for about eight inches. One of the strands will be the white/natural yarn that I bought when I thought I was going to try to dye yarn. Ha! Ha! That ship has sailed. This seemed like a way to unify all the bits and bobs AND use up some yarn that has no real purpose in my stash. This one may take years to complete or may be the only thing I work on over the next few weeks/months. Once the blanket is finished I think I’ll have enough yarn left to make a Sea Glass tee, too.

Not shown here are a couple of other projects that are in time out. I have a pair of pink mittens that need to be embroidered before they can be finished. I found the embroidery hard on my hands – the stabilizer with the pattern printed on it was tough to get the needle through – so it was set aside. I still want to make the mittens so I have to get the embroidery done. They’ll be beautiful.

I’ve also got a sweater that was begun and soon set aside. The pattern is the Three Seasons Cardigan. It’s an all over cabled cropped sweater. I may be lengthening it a bit … or not. I bought the yarn that was suggested because I loved the sample. I am making size 5 I believe and I know that I’ll love this sweater. I just have to commit to knitting it and I will. Soon.

I have a few other WIPS, too. Yes, I know there are a lot. I’m reminding myself here how many things I have going on at this point in time as much as anything. And for now, I’m going to head to my orange knitting chair and get started working on knocking the WIPs list down by one.

Gone knitting.

Snow (-y) Day!

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

We are finally getting a snowy day! I came home from work last night and listened to the weather reports and decided to err on the cautious side and cancel knitting classes today. Since weather forecasting is not ever a sure thing, I am always hesitant to cancel classes but this time it seemed that they were consistent messages that we were going to get measurable snow. And, YIPPEE! We are!

When we awoke this morning the snow hadn’t begun (picture above) but within an hour or so the snow could be seen coming up the lake and before long, it looked like this … and it’s supposed to continue on through the rest of the day.

So, my brain went on a snow day day off and I forgot my 8am Zoom meeting and my 9am Zoom meeting and I’ve chosen to give myself grace and move on to enjoy the day regardless. I decided that I’d give myself the gift of baking this morning. First up was The Foodie Physician’s Blueberry, Apple and Walnut Baked Oatmeal. I love baked oatmeal. I have always wanted to love oatmeal but the texture makes me gag. When I discovered baked oatmeal, I was skeptically hopeful … but it was good. I’ve been baking it ever since. This is a good recipe and I like it a lot. I used my frozen organic Maine blueberries and some too-old-to-eat apples from the farm in this recipe and local maple syrup. I didn’t have any plain yogurt but I had vanilla so that’s what I put in. I just had a serving for lunch and it was delish! Here’s the recipe:

Blueberry Apple & Walnut Baked Oatmeal (The Foodie Physician)

1 cup walnuts, chopped, divided
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon plus extra for garnish
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups milk, any type (I used oat milk)
1/2 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
1 large egg
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil or unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (use the pure stuff not the imitation)
1 1/2 cups blueberries, divided
1 1/2 cups peeled, finely chopped apple, divided

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F)
Spray an 8×8 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Mix walnuts, oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.
In a second bowl whisk milk, yogurt, egg, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla together.
Arrange 1 cup each of apples and blueberries on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Scatter the oat mixture evenly on top. Pour in the milk mixture and press to submerge all the dry ingredients into the liquid. Scatter the remaining walnuts, apple and blueberries on top and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Bake 40-45 minutesuntil the top is golden and the oats are set. Serve warm or at room temperature. Serve as is or topped with milk, Greek yogurt or maple syrup. (Try it without further sweetening, I think it’s great as is with milk!)

Since I’d baked something for myself, I decided to make something for my wonderful hubby. His choice was blueberry muffins. This recipe, I’m afraid, I can’t share, it’s a family secret and held close to our family’s chest. But I will share the baked muffins if you ever come visit us in Maine. They are a regular pre-breakfast treat when we have company.

We had a visit from our neighborhood Pileated Woodpecker. The female is a regular at our feeder this winter. I sure hope this means that she has a nest close by and that we’ll see her whole family in the spring! Our little red squirrel has also been a regular at our living room window feeder and we have fun laughing at his or her antics. We can get up close and personal with the window between us but it will sit and eat all of the sunflower seed in the feeder if we allow it.

And the frosting on the snowy day cake is that my first Paperwhite Narcissus is blooming!

And now I’m up in my atelier sharing this snowy day with you and in a few minutes, I’ll be heading over to my chair to knit. I have a 3-cable baby blanket on the needles in Berroco’s Vintage Chunky for a client and the queue of orders is already starting … it’s a new year, after all. I’ve also re-started knitting the Arne and Carlos mini-jumpers for my Advent Calendar. I would like to finish them before Advent 2022. And I’m going to cast on a sweater that has been sitting in my Ravelry queue for at least a couple of years. I’m going to add some steek stitches to it so I can knit it in the round. I’ve decided that my first WIP (or UFO) attack for 2022 will be my lobster hat. It’s been languishing way too long.

You can see all of these projects on my Ravelry project page. Gone knitting!

A Long-Awaited Visit

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to see our family. This past weekend, we were able to travel to New York City to visit my children. We brought my mother’s piano (in a u-haul trailer) to my daughter who will USE it. We don’t use it and it’s a real shame that it just sat in the living room and wasn’t played.

On Saturday it was a gorgeous day and we walked parallel to the river with my daughters and their husbands and dogs to the weekly farmers market and to drop off their compost materials (they freeze it and then walk it to be composted every week!) My daughter’s step counter said it was more than 12,000 steps. She guesses it’s about 5 miles and the last bit was up hill. I haven’t walked five miles in forever! It was such a fun day and we completed it with a family dinner to celebrate (for the first time) my son’s 31st birthday. We were supposed to celebrate 30 last year when Covid required that we stay home.

I have been knitting! I knitted a pair of birthday socks for my son. I’ve never used this Schoppe-Wolle Das Paar sock yarn before. A customer last week bought a hank and asked that it be wound … I thought there was something wrong when it “broke” about half-way through until I realized that it was meant to happen! They made the yarn so that you get two socks that are the same! So, I had to try it and I loved it. I liked the hand (feel) of the yarn as I was knitting and the socks are exquisite! I’ve put aside two more hanks for future sock knitting.

I’ve begun a baby gift of socks for one of my daughter’s friends who had a new baby recently. The gift is socks for the boys – each the same, two-color socks (heels, toes and cuffs will be red and the body of the sock a marled gray.) I love knitting little socks! These are especially cute in my humble opinion.

When we got home I reinforced and steeked my Daytripper Cardigan. It’s thrilling to cut down the middle of a sweater and have the stitches hold. I’ve since picked up my stitches for the button bands and only have to secure the back side of the steek and find eight buttons to make the sweater wearable … just in time for warmer weather. I’ve steam blocked it to make it easier to steek but I’ll still give it a good wet block before it’s really and truly finished.

This is the beginning of my next “surprise” gift. New felted clog slippers for my LA brother. I made him a pair … I did the knitting and my sister-in-law did the felting and added the slipper soles … a bunch of years ago and they’re holey. She asked if I’d make him a new pair … we’ll handle it the same way as last time so they are felted to fit his feet (they live in Louisiana so it’s difficult to do at a distance!) This time he’s getting some LSU slippers. I decided to hold two strands of the different colors together which will make them quite different from the former pair that were dark gray or black. I hope he loves them. He’s such a LSU fan that he had a purple leather chair.

We came home on Monday to another beautiful day and the blossoms of spring in Maine. The forsythia is blooming and the rhubarb is starting to grow. It won’t be long before strawberry rhubarb jam season. My bleeding heart plant is growing so fast that I think you could actually see it growing. The daffodils are up and the birds are all traveling through … no sign yet of our hummingbirds but I’m sure they’ll be here early this year.

Life is good.

Gone knitting.

Charting Your Own Colors

Posted on March 30, 2021 by Queen Bee Knits

You all know that I am knitting Mary Jane Mucklestone’s Daytripper Cardigan from MDK’s Field Guide 17 – Lopi. I’ve chosen my colors which I wrote about here. I am pleased, I think, by my colors. I fretted about it for a long time. The fretting process was eased when MDK released a coloring book-style drawing of the sweater for you to color in. I colored about a dozen different versions with my chosen colors and it really did help.

This is a closeup of my Daytripper yoke.

This is the second time I knitted to this place. I took a photo of the first yoke but there’s a glitch getting it transferred here. Regardless, let me explain the situation that lead me to knit this, find out that I had too few stitches and then frog and re-knit it.

It was suggested by MDK that you can color in a graph of your own colorways (making it so much easier to follow the colorwork yoke pattern. EXCEPT if like me, you neglect to add the bold vertical line after the 12th stitch to mark the repeat sequence.

<My chart is missing a line here

This is the first version of the chart that I colored in with my colors.

The first time I knit the yoke, I had a 13 stitch repeat. It was slightly wonky but I figured that MDK and Mary Jane knew what they were doing, right? Ha! Ha! Who knew it was ME!? I ended up around 20 stitches short of the stitch count. WTF? I knew I’d done the correct increases, why wasn’t the stitch count right? Well, it turns out that I didn’t put the line in that separates the repeat sequence from the last stitch. So, rather than starting with a 4-stitch repeat, I had a 5-stitch repeat. The difference is a significant one – I started out with three fewer repeats which meant three times fewer increases as I worked up the yoke.

Once I realized my mistake, off I went the second time and was spot on with my stitch counts. Woo! Hoo!

Gone knitting!