Dragon's Orchid Garden

I'll have to knit one of these to keep for myself one day.  I'm giving them all away.  Here's a new lace bookmark design.  I call it (actually, Wayne thought of the title) "Leaf me alone, I'm reading".  We stopped by Fiber Art, Inc . last Saturday and I bought 3 more balls of Mini Mochi in different colorways.  I've got enough now to knit 30 or so more bookmarks.  The pattern for "Leaf me alone" is here . I'm accumulating quite an assortment of bookmarks of all kinds.  The Ephemera Society of America posts an article on the history of bookmarks .  Yet another collection.  Add it to the dragons (I will post about them, eventually), orchids, skulls...can't leave out the knitting yarn, needles, and patterns (those seem to multiply like breeding rabbits!).  I have bookmarks in two books I'm reading now: Aimee Bender's  The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake , and  The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Four . ...

Purple 4 x 4 diamonds in a mohair/nylon blend sock yarn.  I'm nearing the end of one ball of Mini Mochi sock yarn.  I've got another one, though!   Fiber Art, Inc. has a sale on and I'm heading there for more.  I've knitted 9 bookmarks out of one ball.  You can find the charted pattern for this bookmark  here . From knitting From knitting From knitting

I am ready for some autumn.  There was a tiny bit of coolness to the morning a couple of days ago, but it's right back into the 90's today.  Orchids blooming now include a Vanda Wayne rescued at a yard sale a couple of years ago, and a big white Phalaeonopsis . From orchids From orchids There are also flowers blooming on the morning glory and the cardinal vine, both of which were grown from seed packets I found when I cleaned out a kitchen junk drawer.  The packets were dated 1996, so I'm pleased and surprised that they grew at all.  The Dutchman's Pipe Vine continues to amaze us with it's spectacular blooms and the beautiful coleus that a neighbor gave me is blooming, too. From Garden From Garden From Garden From Garden From Garden From Garden From Garden

It took me more time to make the written charted pattern for this bookmark than it did to knit it! I'm still learning how to use Apple's Pages. Just click on the link above for the pattern. It's free to anyone who's interested. I'm still pretty bad at making tassels. I think I may invest in one of those little tassel making tools that they sell at Joann's.  I found the lace pattern for this in Barbara G. Walker's Charted Knitting Designs: a third treasury of knitting patterns . Here's the finished bookmark: From knitting From knitting Enjoy! This pretty little orchid opened this morning. With all the rain we've had, two of the three buds dropped, but at least I have one flower. This is Pot. Burana Beauty. From orchids

Were Decartes a knitter, he would most likely tink.  I just tried to tink, but ended up frogging an entire experimental lace bookmark.  Lace is very hard to tink (knit, backwards) when one has made an error.  Those yarnovers and decreases are difficult to undo properly, even if you have a straight purl side.  Since the bookmark is small, I can reknit quickly.  Took a break to make a couple dozen blueberry muffins from a recipe in Sheila Lukins' USA Cookbook .  Meanwhile, Lenny and Sasha sleep oblivious to the little pile of frogged yarn on the kitchen table. From knitting From The usual suspects From The usual suspects From Blogger Pictures