Many Menko

Some of you may have been wondering what I was planning to do with all the backed and paste-decorated dictionary pages. I have started making two-piece menko.

I began folding when I was almost finished doing the dark blue pages.

It was only after I had spent an evening of making menko that I realised that I had no green! I will start producing green pages tomorrow.

The plan is for three different pieces. The first will have the pieces arranged like this,

while in the second the pieces will be arranged like this.

The plan for the third is to create multiple ‘strings’ containing different sizes of menko, so I have also started folding some smaller ones from the trimmings left after cutting strips for the larger size. (The large menko are 5 cm/2″ while the smaller ones are 2.5 cm/1″.)

The strings would look something like this piece.

All three works will contain encrypted messages.

The solid colours are So…Silk paper purchased from Legion Paper.                                            I am in love!

I only have four colours, but because the paper is coated on one side, the front and back are different which gives me eight colours altogether.

The paper is amazing. It folds beautifully without any cracking of the coating and it is relatively tear-resistant due to the inclusion of silk fibres. I think it would be excellent for use in a Zhen Xian Bao/Chinese Thread Book. I plan to experiment with laser printing and/or pochoir since that would give me even more variations in colour.

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In other book news:

Since I will be including encrypted messages in some of the pieces for my Square Dance exhibition, it seems appropriate to mention an article about encryption.

The message above is from The Gold Bug by Edgar Allan Poe. The Public Domain Review has a recent article about Poe and encryption. You can read both the article and the original story here.

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In knitting news:

During the last spell of hot weather I knit a batch of cotton dishcloths.

It then cooled off enough for me to finish the wool shawl I was knitting from yarn I purchased from Midknit Cravings at their grand opening. The shawl is now blocked and ready for wear. (Note: The colour in the following two photos is not accurate due to low light conditions.)

Since the forecast for the week is more really hot weather I have returned to knitting with cotton. Here’s the start of another shawl.

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In local news:

The garden is doing well with all the moisture and heat. We have had some strong winds, but the garden is fairly sheltered so we have not had much wind damage.

Lettuce every day, and sometimes twice.

I am looking forward to this beauty being ripe. It’s a Black Russian, my favourite tomato for eating fresh, though we also have some amazing cherry tomato varieties this year.

The wind storms brought down some branches/trees, so David is back to building wood piles. The smallest branches are put through a chipper and used for garden mulch.

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In found art:

I posted a puzzle picture on Instagram earlier this week, with accompanying text: “This is an accidental rubbing. Can you guess what (and where) it is?”

The paint on our garage door has become powdery with age, and rubs off when you brush against it. David made a print of his crumpled shirt tail inside his shorts while working immediately in front of the door.

Completely accidental, but quite effective. ; ]