Currently
Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, Book 3)
By Suzanne Collins
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Many years ago when my daughter was in elementary school she decorated this can for me.  I have kept it all these years and have it hanging on my brass bedpost.  I use it to hold pencils, pens, emery board, scissors, flashlight and a small ruler.  It has been very useful over the years and every time I see it I'm reminded of how she was once a little girl and how good our lives were at that time. 

I'll be recreating a few of these this week and hopefully, I can get a similar effect.   We are all fully aware that we can never return to the way things were in the past.  (Cue the music to Barbra Streisand/Robert Redford's The Way We Were)   

Currently
Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, Book 2)
By Suzanne Collins
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While listening/watching the 3rd U.S. presidential debate, Dancing with The Stars and reading Catching Fire (Hunger Games, Book 2) this machine knit shawl was finished.

Ultimate Sweater Machine - keyplate 4 dot, Lion Brand - Pound of Love (Denim) 1 skein.  Cast on 60 stitches, knit 291 rows.  An improvised crocheted border using a size J hook.   Steam blocked.

Currently
The Hunger Games
By Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks
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Voilà! I finished project #100 for 2012.  It's the very popular Seraphina currently with 1288 Ravelry projects.

This will only be the third Seraphina that I've made and honestly, I'm surprised that I haven't made more.  The first one I made was in 2006, the second one 2008 and now this one 2012.

The pattern is very creatively designed and once you get to row 12 the rest of the shawl grows quickly. I used Lion Brand's Pound of Love - Denim and a size J hook.

Currently
Charlie's Angels (Special Edition)
By Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Bill Murray
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Machine knit shawls with crocheted borders.  Approximately 60 stitches wide and 260-290 rows in length.

Vanna's Choice - Barley - 3 skeins - Super Saver - black (.25 skein)

Lion Brand Wool Ease - Oxford Grey 3.25 skeins

Size J crochet hook  Improvised border designs. Mainly a base round of single crochet and then a second round of anything.

Both shawls have been steam blocked.

My current crochet project is the Seraphina Shawl.

Happy Birthday to my number one son - B!

Currently
High Five (Stephanie Plum, No. 5) (Stephanie Plum Novels)
By Janet Evanovich
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We're going to be painting these key rings.  Simple, mindless...what could possibly go wrong?    

I started a couple of crochet projects and got bored so I needed something fast and easy to satisfy. I ripped out the crochet and set up the knitting machine. 

This machine knitted shawl only took two hours.  I crocheted a simple shell stitch border and steam blocked the finished shawl.  60 stitches wide and 290 rows long.  Red Heart Super Saver - Soft White 1.25 skeins.  Size J crochet hook for the border.

Currently
Closer
By Josh Groban

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This baby blanket will be finished project number 96 for 2012 and I have more than 60 days until the end of the year to make more things.  I like to compete with myself and I have been behind in project production these past months. My children are grown adults and I no longer have a husband so now, I really have no reason not to be more project productive or at the very least, equal to what I used to finish. 

This is crocheted with one skein of Lion Brand's Pound of Love in Antique White with a size J hook. The original design included a hood but I omitted the hood. This blanket measures 29"x29".

I have also finished Sue Grafton's A - F mysteries and Janet Evanovich's One - Four mysteries and I'm still reading. 

Currently
North & South
By Daniela Denby-ashe, Richard Armitage, Sinead Cusack, Tim Pigott-smith
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Currently
Three To Get Deadly: A Stephanie Plum Novel (Stephanie Plum Novels)
By Janet Evanovich
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It's still dry here.  Waiting for the rain is exactly like watching paint dry.

I'm working my way through the yarn stash and found some green bulky acrylic.

Hopefully these will work up quickly into something on the round looms.  I tried experimenting with cotton yarns on the circle looms and there wasn't enough stretch to the cotton and the stitches were too tight to work off the pegs. 

I've been playing around with chalkboard paint.  It's fun stuff.  Makes me want to turn everything into a chalkboard surface.  However, using chalk leaves a dusty mess. I didn't bother to frame this project but may do so later. I used a piece of 5"x7" corrugated cardboard, lined the back with construction paper to make it nicer, then I downloaded the letter "C" and cut it out to 4"x6" and glued it on the left side of the front of the cardboard.  I used the chalkboard paint last.  I felt that I didn't want to waste any paint by painting the whole surface and then covering a portion of it with the letter, so I just painted the right half of the front. 

I sealed the letter side with a coat of Mod Podge Gloss. 

I really haven't broken the cost down to see if it was worth the effort but it sure was fun playing with the possibilities.  Apparently, some crafters even make their own chalkboard paint using unsanded grout and acrylic paint.

"Real" craft chalkboards of this size can be found for a couple of dollars.  The chalkboard paint costs approx: $6. - $8.  for an 8 oz. jar and covers approx. 10.75sq. ft.