Queen Bee Knits

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

What a Week!

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

I’ve accomplished precious little knitting this week and I feel like I’m not sure which way is up. This photo was taken from our front porch on Wednesday which was my day off from work but was eaten up with lake association business. Being the president this year is a big job and the busy season is kicking up and we are vacating our office space, too. Lots happening, for sure. And my boss is away for three plus weeks and it’s spring vacation from school so two of my co-workers have also gone out of town, leaving two of us holding the fort … which we can do! It’s just a lot more hours than I’m used to.

I’ve finished the body of my “Patsy’s Traveling Sweater” and am hoping to get one of the sleeves onto some needles today. The sweater is really colorful and fun with multiple colorways of Gina yarn by Plymouth. One of my co-workers wears hers inside out … I’m going to see what mine looks like when I get the sleeves on (and before I knit the collar) to decide whether I’ll wear it on the knit side or the purl side. I may need to reknit the rolled hem on the bottom of the body if I decide to wear it “inside out”. We shall see.

I’ve finished a pair of dishcloths with a Christmas-y theme. I’ve cast on another one to take to my son in New York next week. It’ll be fun to see his face and see if he realizes the reason that I chose this one specific yarn. 🙂

I’ve also finished the first part of the Noro Striped Mittens … I’ve finished the outside of both mittens, the striped part. They’re really pretty and they were fun to knit. I loved the way the designer (who reached out to me on Instagram when she saw my post) worked the thumb so that the color was seamless and matched that part of the mitten. Had I knitted in the typical mitten way, the thumb would have probably been a completely different color. But this way, the thumb looks like it belongs on the mittens. Genious!

I’ve been working on socks for my daughter at her request. I’m nearly done with the second sock and just have to go back to the first one to knit the toe. I didn’t know how long her foot was and didn’t want to make the socks too long or too short. Custom-knit socks should be perfect. I’ve got plans to make a couple more pairs for her once I know she likes them. My sock drawer is full so I have to have other victims to knit for because I love knitting socks. I think I need to make a pair for my sister, too. And maybe her husband. I think they’d like that.

We are going a Spring Sweater KAL at work starting on May 1. The caveat is that you must use a fingering weight yarn for the sweater. We posted the details on our newsletter today and had several suggestions that people can knit. We will do a kick-off on May 1st via Zoom so that our customers near and far can join us.

I bought my yarn this week. I bought some navy blue Berroco Aerial (laceweight mohair) and some Malabrigo Sock in a navy colorway. If I weren’t so lazy, I’d tell you what it is but that would mean that I had to get up from my desk and walk all the way (maybe 6 feet) over my knitting chair and look in my bag and come back over here. Sorry, not happening today. I’m writing this post and then I’m going to go sit in my chair and knit a bit before dinner.

I was in the store two extra days this week and it’s always fun to be there. This week, it was a bit different on Thursday because I decided to get a second Covid booster on Wednesday morning. I was tired and achey by Wednesday night and I went to sleep at 8:30pm and woke up at 7:00am and I still felt like I was tired. My arm was also quite sore – and I heard you should choose your dominant arm … not sure I’d do that again. Thursday I was dragging and it wasn’t busy enough to distract me. Phew! I’m glad I made it. By Friday, I was back to myself, fortunately, and I was good to go Friday and Saturday, too.

I’ve been at my desk sending lake association emails, signing DEP documents to commit to our work this season and now I’ve written my post. I hope that if anybody is reading this that you have a great week. I’ll be reminding myself to slow down and breathe and to squeak time for myself in the moments between. All the details of my current and past projects are on my Ravelry project page. I’m lindar on Ravelry.

Gone knitting.

Noro Striped Mittens by Kelly Ziegler

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

Yesterday when I wrote, I said that I would likely finish the #12 Advent Jumper. I didn’t.

Instead, I picked up my needles and two balls of Noro Silk Garden (Aran/50g/109yards) and knitted the funnest mittens that I’ve knitted in a while. So, I’ve had the one ball of yarn in my stash for years. YEARS! I remember buying it at the Wags and Wool in Lubec when I traveled there with my knitting girls on the Maine Yarn Cruise and that has to be at least four or five years ago. I bought the yarn to make mittens but didn’t like the pattern at all so … onto my shelf the yarn went. And it has been very patient waiting for me to pick it up again.

I found this pattern within the last week or so and sometimes I just HAVE to cast on a new project because I’m excited about it. This is one of those projects. I bought a second ball of Silk Garden at the shop last week and cast on yesterday. Since the yarn is heavy worsted weight, they knit up pretty quickly. I’ll cast on the second mitten today and, with any luck, I’ll get it finished to and then the magic happens … they’re lined!

I had nearly a full ball of DK weight alpaca yarn in a bright pink colorway from my Northman Mittens so I bought another one just in case. I’ll knit the lining next week. I hope. It’s going to be another busy week. BUT I think these will be fun and warm mittens to wear next winter.

What’s wonderful about this pattern is the way the designer (who reached out to me on Instagram this morning!) handles the thumb. It’s brilliant, really, as the thumb is knit first so that the colorways match and the thumb doesn’t stick out like, well, a sore thumb. I’m so happy with this magical step that makes the mitten colors work!

Gone knitting.

Ice Out and Critters Return – Welcome Spring!

Posted on April 10, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

As soon as the ice goes out (this year it happened on April 6th) the water birds and critters return to the lake. It’s miraculous, really, that they know when it’s safe to come back out on the lake. This year we heard reports from the northern end of the lake that the loons had returned while our section of the lake was still covered by ice. BUT as soon as the ice was gone, the loons were calling from the cove. There’s nothing quite like living so close to nature. We are so grateful to be able to witness the seasonal changes, to watch the sun change its position in the sky, and to know that there are more miracles coming soon when the babies are back with their parents. It won’t be long.

Since the ice went out, we’ve seen all the weather. Beautiful blue bird skies, thick fog and days of rain. Fortunately, it seems that mud season was relatively short this year and early. I had some white knuckle trips down our road and I may have let a few four-letter words escape my lips while hoping that my car wouldn’t get stuck in the mud.

I’ve been knitting like a mad woman. I seem to want to cast on all the new projects and I am trying to stay focused on finishing some, too.

I’ve got a full basket of cotton yarns that I’ve collected over the years. I am trying to knit down the stash and one of my favorite projects is dishcloths/washcloths that I’ll pop into my gift drawer and pull out as needed. These two are from deeply stashed yarn from a big box store and they’re obviously seasonal. We use them here at home and the kids like them, too. They’re great stocking stuffers or as a gift with a special bar of soap. The pattern is so simple and easy to remember which makes these dishcloths good TV knitting.

I’m almost half-way through the collection of Advent jumpers from Arne and Carlos. I love knitting these little sweaters and they knit up so quickly. I’m using Patagonia Organic Merino yarn from Juniper Moon Farm and, I have to say, this is my favorite yarn right now. I’ve made my Humlebi Shawl in it and I’ve got the charcoal gray colorway set aside to make an Emsworth vest. Number 12 will likely be finished by the end of the day today. I like to spend Sunday knitting for fun. I also like to bake and I’ve eaten all of my granola and my baked oatmeal.

The body of my Traveling Sweater is nearly done (it may, actually be done but I have to measure it again to make sure.) This has been a fun knit. Patsy is a customer who has come into the store a bunch of times to purchase Plymouth Gina yarn for the sweaters that she makes. She has a Facebook page for the sweaters because she’s knitted over 100 of them. I have loved the sweater since I first saw it and have almost bought the yarn once before. When we heard that Plymouth was discontinuing the yarn, I put aside what colors we had in the shop and the boss ordered bags of each remaining color. When they came in, I bought the yarn and cast on my sweater.

The pattern is a Knitting Plain and Simple pattern #9724, Neck Down Pullover for Women. These patterns are simple beginner patterns and are knit top down in the round with minimal seaming. The sizing is somewhat size-inclusive but they certainly could be expanded. It would be wonderful if they added full stitch counts, too. But I recommend these patterns often for customers and students knitting their first garments. I’ve chosen 10 colorways of the Gina yarn and have randomly pulled them out of the bag to knit next. I have simple knitted the whole ball and then spit-spliced the next ball and kept knitting. I had a bit of a challenge making gauge but I decided that I would use the recommended needles and knit the size larger so that it would fit comfortably. I’m thinking that I may use a folded hem rather than a rolled hem but I haven’t decided yet. I suppose I can knit the rolled hem and then sew it up if I change my mind.

I’ve got to buy one more ball of Gina so that my sleeves, at least at the shoulders, match as closely as possible to the body of the sweater. After that, random is fine.

Gone knitting.

Humlebi Shawl

Posted on March 15, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

Can you see them?

When I saw this shawl on Ravelry, I knew I had to buy yarn and cast on. I had to!

Bees!

Pattern: Humlebi Shawl by Fiber Tales

Yarn: Patagonia Organic Merino (Light Grey colorway; three hanks)

I have knitted a lot of shawls and this is the first one that I’ve knitted that starts with a pico cast on – and over 300 stitches! I’m not convinced (yet) that the picot is picot-y enough, but I hope that if I block the shawl and pin each of the picots that it will be more accentuated. I can’t wait for the yarn. to bloom and to see what happens to the little bees. They’re knitted over a few rows so the first half of them is just a couple of wings and a bobble … bee butts! I had to laugh when I saw them. And then you go back and knit another bobble row and the bee is finished. They’re adorable and I’d like to add them into every single thing that I knit from today forward. (I probably won’t do that but, gosh, they’re stinking cute.

I am knitting this shawl in Patagonia Organic Merino yarn by Juniper Moon Farm. This may be my new favorite yarn. I have a vest worth in a charcoal gray and I have a sweater quantity in a rusty orange color. It’s a rustic wool but it has a nice hand and it’s just sticky enough that it would be a perfect pick for a colorwork project. Obviously, this isn’t colorwork but it’s a fun and simple enough project.

The bees are simple enough as are the flowers. The rest of the shawl is garter stitch with decreases. Lots and lots of garter stitch and decreases. Once I reach seven stitches, I’m done. More on that as I make progress!

Gone knitting.

It’s Been a Little Bit Since my Last Post

Posted on March 12, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

This was a very full, busy week. I had a lake association board of trustees meeting on Wednesday that I had to prepare for and run. Being the president of the lake association is a privilege and a lot more work than I anticipated. But we are doing a lot of good work and making a difference in the health of our lake and, we hope, the other lakes in our chain of seven and the rest of the state. These lakes are so beautiful and we want to keep them that way.

In addition, with the war in Ukraine and the political strife and division in our country, I’ve been feeling so sad and powerless. My energy has been lagging and I haven’t wanted to bake and haven’t been knitting much. I’m mostly exhausted by the blame laid at the feet of people who aren’t responsible. I’m tired of hearing about hateful policies being passed in some of our southern states. I am frustrated by the whining about fuel prices when we are all sitting pretty in our warm homes with full bellies and no bombings blowing up our hospitals and schools. None of this is easily solved and I am smart enough to know that there are untruths (spin/propaganda) on all sides but I believe that we are experiencing a temporary discomfort. Ukraine will be forever changed and I am so grateful that we have leadership in place in our country today that at least has some experience. Is our leadership perfect? Certainly not, but I believe the best interest of our country and democracy is safe in their hands. I “fear” that this could easily morph into a WWIII.

Today is an ugly day in Maine and it may be winter’s last gasp. Time will tell. We woke to drizzle and have seen rain and now it seems to be turning to snow. A veritable weather-tasting! We are so grateful to be happily ensconced in our home; my DH in his man cave watching his movies and me in my atelier doing a little catch-up work and knitting.

I just finished jumper number 10 of 24 of the Arne and Carlos Advent Calendar jumpers. I need to sew in the ends and block it but that’s not going to take much time. I’m likely to knit the 11th before I finish 10. Number 11 will be green with red as the contrast color. It’s interesting knitting them all with the same three colors. I’d like to balance the combinations across the 24 and I think that I can come up with six color combinations so that means four of each.

I’ve also begun a pair of socks for my second-born DD. When they were here for a visit, she requested hand-knit socks and I am happy to oblige. I hope she loves them so she’ll ask for more. My drawer is pretty full and so is my DH’s. How lucky are we?

I finished my Fine Sand cardigan after a mere three years. It was time to get it finished for sure. I will be happy to wear it this summer. I’ve blocked it and just need to sew in a label.

I also finished a pair of tams for a customer. She has asked me to knit six hats each year for several years and I’m always happy to hear from her. This pair was in forest greens. One in Malabrigo Chunky and one in Berroco Ultra Wool Chunky. Details are on my Ravelry project page. I forgot to take pictures of the finished and blocked hats before they were delivered to the store for pickup. Oops.

I’ve also started a new shawl pattern. Humlebi by Fiber Tales. I was really challenged by the bumble bee section. Most likely because I was so stressed and tired and I needed to knit it with fresh eyes and a rested soul – this has been difficult to do lately. The cast on is a picot cast on and lots and lots (and lots) of picots to cast on. But the real challenge for me was when I started the bee section which I knitted and then frogged and re-knitted. The second time, this is what I got …

It’s a bee!!! I’m working this shawl in Patagonia Organic Merino by Juniper Moon Farm. I can hardly wait to block this shawl (and I have a long, long way to go before I can.) I believe the yarn will bloom beautifully these wonderful bees will adorn the edge proudly!

I think my next cast on will be a vest, also in Patagonia but this time in a charcoal gray. I’m thinking it will be Emsworth by Isabell Kraemer. I “need” a dark gray garment to wear with my work “uniform.” It will be a fun knit. I also need to finish one more WIP. Perhaps the lobster hat that I have started and re-started more than once. So many projects and so little time. Ha! Ha! Ha! (My kids would say that I’m not funny and compared to them I’m not but I can make myself laugh and I enjoy my own sense of humor.)

Season six of Outlander started this week and I’m binge watching season five today (maybe it’ll stretch to this weekend or more?) I’ll be ready to watch season six episodes 1 & 2 when I finish – I just have to refresh my memory of where it left off. Today is the perfect day for such activities.

Gone knitting.

Cashmere … Nimbus Cowl

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

I had a hank of cashmere lace in my stash. It came from my college friend “Sue Doo.” She saw it at a fundraiser, if memory serves, and bid on it with me in mind. Isn’t that so thoughtful? It had several skeins of Noro yarn, some knitting books, and this lovely cashmere lace.

And then a couple of years ago, I was with friends on the Maine Yarn Cruise and we were visiting the Good Karma farm in Belfast where they’d purchased a bunch of yarn and they were selling it for a song. I found a skein of cashmere and silk lace.

Both of these yarns are pink. One a bright pink and one a soft pink. They’re both lace weight. So, when held together, they make a fingering weight. I only have one of each so it’s a one and done kind of pattern that I needed to find and Purl Soho’s Nimbus Cowl was super simple. It seemed perfect.

Since I’m “experimenting” here, I cast on the 154 stitches (after I cast on 174 and then took off 20) and just knit around and around for three inches. After three inches, I’ll decrease a bit because it’s cashmere and I want it to sit close to my neck, of course! It’s so soft and so light. I hope this little knitting experiment works.

Also today …

This was sunrise this morning. I woke up extra early this morning and so I got to watch the sun come up. It was really cold this morning (-8) but it was clear. I always feel better when the sun is out. My dear husband and I had an appointment this morning at an auction house, getting some free appraisals on some old stuff that we have. It was a great day to drive to the coast, actually. After our appointment, we went home to let the dog out and then off to a Medicaid 101 class at our local senior center. Good grief, how is it possible that we are getting close to being official seniors (and not in high school or even college!) It felt particularly odd to be walking through a senior center and thinking that we could be hanging out there. I’m glad we are on this side of the dirt today.

Gone knitting.

Yip Yips for Christmas

Posted on January 9, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s a perfectly miserable weather day here in Maine. The wind was blowing across the ice this morning and by mid-day there was freezing rain/sleet and continued wind. A good day to stay inside (and knit!)

Since they’ve been gifted, I thought I’d show you the Yip Yips that I crocheted for my nieces and nephew for Christmas. I think these little containers are so sweet and they make me laugh. I hope their parents have shown them videos of the Yip Yips on old Sesame Street shows (they’re on Youtube if you want to Google them). The one that I particularly loved was the telephone one. I may have posted it here before. I love them! This pattern is easy to follow for those like me who aren’t expert crocheters (yet!) I’ve heard that some people have made a whole family of these to use in lieu of Christmas stockings. I’m not sure I’m ready to go that far, but they sure are happy little creations.

I filled the Yip Yips with little gifts, too, of course. A hand-knit wash cloth (I can’t believe I forgot to photograph them), a toy car for my nephew and a couple of birds in nests for my nieces. These are designed by Susan B. Anderson and are called Simple Little Bird and Nest. I think they’re adorable and they were fun to knit.

Simple Little Bird and Nest by Susan B. Anderson

I sent a few other hand-knit gifts this year. Socks for my son, market bags for my daughter and my son’s girlfriend, dish cloths for all the kids, a Bankhead hat for my husband, and I’m currently working on a new sweater for my youngest grand-dog, Gus. All of these projects and all of the details about them are on my Ravelry project page.

Gone knitting!

WIPs in the New Year

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gone knitting.

2022 – First or Last FO?

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Queen Bee Knits

2021 is now behind us. Thank goodness. Hello, 2022. I sure hope you’re more gentle with us than your predecessor.

I spent the day today doing paper work for my volunteer job as the president of our lake association. We did a photography contest among our members and then the members voted for their favorites and we printed them in a calendar for 2022. We ordered 105 calendars and we’ve almost sold them all. Yay! So, today I was trying to figure out how much money we’d made and, despite the fact that we have about 20 left to sell, we’ve made some money. Yay!

After that, I did a bit of knitting.

I had knitted the first of the pair of socks and a half of the second sock but I didn’t finish it last night. I went to bed. I finished it today. I’m hoping that the knitting gods will forgive me for counting the pair as knitted in 2021. This pair will make my 12th pair in the year and fulfills my 2021 Sock Challenge. It’s my favorite sock pattern, Classic Socks by Melinda Goodfellow, Yankee Knitter. I had realized that I have not one pair of solid colored socks so these are “boring” navy blue. I used Sisu by Sandnes Garn (colorway 6062) and I think I’m going to be happy with these socks. I knitted them up on a US 1 1/2 needle because I really like a smaller gauge sock. I neglected to knit the men’s size this time (I usually do this when I use small needles) so I am hoping they fit. If they don’t, they’ll be given away. It’s all good, right?

Happy New Year from the Queen Bee.

Gone knitting.

Another FO – Knitting Pure and Simple #233 Neck Down Shaped T-shirt

Posted on December 15, 2021 by Queen Bee Knits

I just finished another sweater that I knitted. This time, the sweater is for my student, Lucille, who is going to be 93 years old on Friday.

Lucille has some beautiful sweaters and some are quite complex knitting projects. She’s been coming to my Friday knitting class for several years and I’ve grown to care for her a lot. Enough so that I pick her up and bring her home after class every week. She’s a valued member of our class. We also have noticed (and reported to her family) that her memory isn’t what it used to be and her knitting has really been a struggle.

This sweater was one she really wanted to knit and I really thought that it would be simple enough for her to manage successfully. I got the sweater cast on for her, reviewed the sweater pattern with her in class and then sent her home. The following week at class I had to frog her sweater back because she’d knitted half of the rounds, increasing every round and not knitting a plain round in between them. I took the sweater home that week and returned it to her with all of the increases made and the sleeves separated so that she’d only have to knit around on the body stitches. That didn’t work either. She asked me if I could finish the sweater for her and “charge her a lot!” LOL

As an “expert” knitter, I picked up Lucille’s needles and cast on the sweater and started knitting. When I got to the end of the body, it was time to do a few rows of ribbing … on a size US 3. It was a HUGE difference between the two needle sizes so I decided to measure Lucille’s needle that I had knitted the entire sweater with … it was a US 8, not the US 6 that the pattern called for nor did the gauge match. Fortunately, the gauge was only a little bit off and it was a little bit larger than she wanted it to be – and it fits! So, I went ahead and knitted the sleeves in the same size needle and did the ribbing on a US 5. Phew. Note to self: even the teacher sometimes forgets to check gauge. I will attempt to remember that I should check the needle size before picking up a student’s project.

Today I finished her sweater and it’s had its bath and is drying. Our house is very dry so I am hoping that I can give it to her on Friday, her birthday, when we have a little celebration at our class. I’m bringing a cake!

Gone Knitting!

Details about this and all of my projects (some aren’t knitting!) are on my Ravelry page. I’m lindar on Ravelry.