I should just call this a craft blog at this point...

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I am the crafting queen.

It looks like I finish stuff fast, but it's because I start a bunch of projects all at once, and then it takes me forever to finish them...but I finish them all around the same time. It's a fancy trick. The one exception is still a surprise for the recipient, but I'll just let you know that Lorenzo the Llama is a reeeally quick crochet project. Take a look below!

First we have the Melodia shawl, perfect for that one skein of yarn your friend gifted you at Christmas because she's the best. It's really easy, you don't have to purl at all (a big win for all the continental knitters out there), and it is so elegant. Yellow isn't normally my color but this is a deep, rich gold with flecks of everything else in it - an excellent accessory.


 These aren't completely done, but once you've done one sock, you've done them all! Not really, but I'm holding onto the fact that I actually made a sock. And it fits! I even put my foot on graph paper, traced it, and calculated a special decrease that will exactly fit the shape of my foot. I think I may attempt two-at-a-time sock making, because I'm worried that by the time I get to the end of the second sock, I'll forget how exactly I made the toe and they won't match. That's just a risk I have to take! Also, I took some notes. Hopefully they were good enough.


We're showing off two items here, huzzah! Wil is sporting a brioche (double-layered knitting with mirrored colors) hat, and I'm breaking in my new cowl. I intended for it to be smaller, but it's actually kind of nice to pull it up over my head like this. The yarn is a handspun that I traded for on Ravelry, and it is gorgeous! I'm really glad I got to work with it. Watching the color shift and handling the thick-and-thin yarn was a blast.


If I'm being honest, this can't just be a crafting blog, because I take pictures of three things: crafts, Kaiser, and food. I made my first stock from scratch in December! It was so easy! All you have to do is chop up your soup veggies, throw the vegetable ends in a pot with your whole/half chicken and enough water to cover, season it a bit, and simmer for a few hours. In the end you have moist, shreddable chicken and super tasty stock to use in your soup. It may take longer than buying something from the store, but it's so worth it!


I hope you've enjoyed your January installment of crafts and food, from your friendly neighborhood Sam. Stay warm out there!

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