I had heard that Nicky Epstein was doing a book on knitted flowers a year ago and was terribly excited. She has incredible technical skills and I imagined perfect elaborate reproductions of lilies and orchids and sunflowers. Maybe I'm too picky but do these even look like flowers to you?

The flowers in the first photo are done by winding a thin strip of garter stitch into a ball. Ironically there is a comment on Amazon that the flowers in the book are too hard to knit. My favorite flowers in the book aren't really knit - they're made from knitted felt that is cut into flower shapes.

Still, in the Nicky Epstein vein, I'm going to play with I-cord today to see if I can knit some Christmas lights. Yes, you heard right.