Easy peasy bookmark pattern

My friend Angie, not an avid knitter, gave me heaps of wool bits and peices a couple of weeks ago. Remember the nursery rhyme "Baa Baa Black Sheep, have you any wool"? Yep, you guessed it: three bags full. Now, for the most part, I'm a big project girl. My knitting is sort of an extension of my sewing, and I prefer to make clothing. Of course, a colourful variety of bits and peices are just dandy for sewing up fuzzy knits. It beats buying a whole ball of yarn just to do the stitching together. However, after I finish this project of Chris', I'm going to attempt to avoid the furs and the eyelash for awhile.

Anyway, Christmas is sneaking up on me, so it occured to me that some of this yarn would be good to use to make either Christmas decorations or little presents, such as bookmarks. I looked at various bookmark patterns on the internet, but they were either too complicated for a lazy knitter like me and sort of "doily-ish", or I just didn't like the looks of them.

So last night I decided to come up with something on my own. Something quick and easy but attractive. I drug out the "three bags full" and dug out some gold 8 ply cotton (at least that's what it appeared to be, there was no label) and a pair of 3 1/4 mm needles. What design would be easier than a cross? Nothing, I reckon. Perfect for the Christian friends and rellies. (I would have posed the finished bookmark with a bible, but I realized I don't own one. What a heathen I am!)

Anyway, here's what I came up with:

Guage: not terribly important. Whatever you get using 3 1/4 needles and 8 ply cotton will be fine. I would warn against dark colours, as the cross pattern is somewhat subtle and the darker the colour, the less well it will show up.

c/o 19

Rows 1-3: knit

*Row 4: k2, purl 15, k2 (purl row)

Row 5: k* (knit row)

Repeat from * to * (rows 4 and 5) until work measures appx 7 cm, ending with a row 4 (purl row).

Cross pattern:

Beginning with a knit row:** k8, p3, k8

Purl row: k2, p 15, k2**

Repeat these two rows 12 times, ending with a purl row.

Row 13 (of cross pattern): k4, p 11, k4

Row 14: k2, p15, k2

Row 15 to 18: Repeat rows 13 and 14 twice more.

Row 19: k8, p3, k8

Row 20: k2, P15, k2

Row 21 to 24: Repeat rows 19 and 20 twice more.

Row 25: k

Row 26: k2, p15, k2

Row 27: k

Row 28: k2, p2tog, p to last 4 st., p2tog, k2

Repeat rows 27 and 28 until there are 5 stitches left.

On last 5 stitches: k one row, then on next row k2tog, p1, k2tog

On last 3 stitches: k3tog.

Leave a tail and do what you like with it. I did about a 4 cm crochet chain with it, but you might have other ideas.

There it is! Possibly the easiest bookmark ever.