Raincoat Flashers

If you like to write or read flash fiction, check out the new blog Raincoat Flashers. Each week a number of different photos are posted as prompts. Writers post their stories in the comments and at the end of the week, a winner is chosen for each picture. It's a fun exercise, a great way to jump-start your creativity, and a good opportunity to read the work of writers you might not know yet.

Last week, my flash The Bright Side was a winner.

Check it out and join in the fun!

Instant Gratification

I'm knitting my hardest project to date right now, a Dale of Norway baby cardigan for my newest niece. It's a special gift and I want it to be just right, so I'm taking my time and progress is slow.

But sometimes, I want a finished project RIGHT NOW. So here's what I've been doing for the past few days:

That's right, I've knit clothes for an entire army of Kelly dolls.


This is the first one. It's a bit snug. Okay, it's tight as heck and nobody but me can get the thing off and on her. Knit with leftover yarn from the Fourth of July socks.


This one was also knit with leftover sock yarn and I love how the faux Fair Isle pattern turned out.


Kelly as a cheerleader. More Fourth of July sock yarn, this time in a Kelly-size version of the twirly skirt. I made up the pattern for the top as I went.


Being a princess, Cinderella Kelly needed something a little fancier. This is zigzag lace from the 365 days of knitting patterns calendar, with a poncho/shawl thing to keep her shoulders warm.


Cinderella's dress has a simple i-cord strap that ties in the back.


Yet more leftover sock yarn being put to good use. Again, I was really pleased with the way the colors patterned.


Even though dresses are easy to make and, more importantly, get on and off, I decided that at least one Kelly needed something more practical for summertime play. Pants are Koigu, top is a DK for which I've long since lost the ball band.


Another princess, another ball gown. I thought these colors went well with Ariel's red hair.


My personal favorite. Knit with DK yarn using the Tiny Brocade pattern from Vogue Stitchionary 3 (colorwork).


The Kellys appeared in pairs each morning, waiting by the bathroom sink where Emma and Kate were sure to find them. They loved getting up each morning and rushing in to see the surprise outfits. Most of the dresses took about an hour to make. I don't think any of them took more than 2 hours, and that was only if I was interrupted during the knitting. It was great fun thinking up new ideas and turning them into a reality that the girls could play with within a few hours. But for now, it's back to the long-term project and delayed gratification.

I finished Kate's twirly skirt and tank top the first night of our vacation, in the hotel in Baker City, but this is the first chance I've had to post a picture of it. She wore it several times while we were in Idaho. More knitting surprises coming soon!

nothing endures but change

fireweed and fallen log

steam from a crater

gap-toothed smiles

forest and fog















pearly ever- lasting

mt. st. helens

Tuesday Shorts

My micro-flash The Back of a Girl is up now at Tuesday Shorts. It's a super-short, super-fast read. Enjoy!

Poems

The Summer 2007 issue of Ballard Street Poetry Journal is out now, with two of my poems, including After Three Hours of Screening Dirt at Heshotauthla, which is featured on the website as a sample.

I also have two poems -- At Chernobyl, They Monitor the Devil and Liberation -- in the new issue of The Hiss Quarterly.

Meme, Myself, and I

Well, what do you know? We're back home from vacation and I find I've been tagged by both Arlene and Ms. Theologian to reveal at least 7 things about myself.

But since I've previously listed 10 interesting things about me, as well as 6 unknown things about me, there's not much left to reveal. I'm really not that complex.

So instead, I'm turning this meme into the 8 line cento meme, made up of lines from some of my own poems:

In My Mouth, A Taste of Berry, Bitter and Sweet

Because a shotgun feels warm in her hands,
all it takes is a flick

beneath a watery surface
where light makes a circus of the iris.

I would pocket these spaces if I could
and wring their nervous paws.

The melody squirms -- honey and cinnamon
on the lips, a lingering taste of peach and raspberry.


Want to play? Consider yourself tagged for this new meme.