This bookmark-finishing style will be discussed in the May Needlework Nutshell. Subscription box in the sidebar. Oh, yes. I have a ton of these. Now that I’ve got some things figured out, I’ll do more actual stitching for them.

Back in December when I was making fifth grade puzzles for Evan-Moor Educational Publishers, Mike and I joined an impromptu weekend lodge stay requiring a lengthy drive. I do some of my best creative work in the car (Clueless in Alaska was written entirely in a car), and I took puzzle-making materials with me; i.e., scrap paper and clipboard.

I decided to enlist Mike’s help in making up some Hinkie Pinkies. Do you know what those are? Hink Pinks are two single-syllable rhyming words that answer a clue. For instance, the Hink Pink for hefty feline would be FAT CAT. Hinkie Pinkies are two two-syllable words answering a clue–frightening currant = SCARY BERRY. You can guess what Hinkety Pinketies are, right?

For the better part of four hours, Mike and I attempted to entertain and stump each other with Hinky Pinkies. We laughed ourselves silly with more and more ridiculous rhymes and clues, employing many inside jokes no one else would ever get.

In the course of that drive, I came up with rhymes for my fifth grade puzzle plus the rhymes used for the Funk & Weber Designs puzzle contest at The Needlework Show going on right now, and more besides.

Here are some of the more besides hinky pinkies. Highlight the line (as if copying to paste) below the clues to see the answers. Enjoy!

Fisherman who throws his strike indicator
Bobber Lobber

Primate thigh bone
Lemur Femur

Mountain lion snot (hint: you gotta say it right)
Cougar Booger

Wishy-washy gherkin
Fickle Pickle

Cancer in a mountain lion (We had a trio of mountain lion hinky pinkies; the third is in the Needlework Show contest puzzle.)
Puma Too-mah (tumor, say it like Ah-nold)

And my favorite…
Check to see if the killer whale is done
Fork-a orca (as in “stick a fork in it”)