Chai Love

Last week, Hello Yarn posted this lovely concoction on her Flickr page and I had to, HAD TO have some.

Then I noticed that Angry Chicken had published the recipe on her page too and I knew it would be awesome.

So I made some of my very own and OMG! this stuff makes even the worst day shiny and bright.

Chai Concentrate
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (please note that I have changed the amount of some of the spices to reflect my preference)
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions
Empty condensed milk into a jar or plastic container with tight-fitting lid. Stir in the sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Store in refrigerator.

To use: Brew a cup of strong black tea and add two heaping teaspoons (or more!) of concentrate or more to taste. Stir well until concentrate has fully melted.

To keep: Store in refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Things I've learned from a virtual quilting bee

I've hooked up with some fabulous ladies in a virtual quilting bee. We're calling it, "One Shiny Bee" and I'm having so much fun. The best part is all the great things I'm learning from this talented group.



Lesson #1 - These ladies are crazy talented and provide me with so much inspiration. Seriously, check out this, this, this, this and this!



Lesson #2 - I obsess and stress too much about being perfect. When someone asks for wonky, just go with it and you'll have the wonkiest block out there and it will BE FUN!



Lesson #3 - Give me a few minutes and I'll whip out a log cabin block lickity split! My lessons from Amanda on this one have really paid off. Now to my little quilting guru teach me other new and wonderful things.

Lesson #4 - Quilting bees are awesome! They give you the chance to try out new techniques without having to do them 18-billion times.

Lesson #5 - It's official, I'm obsessed with the quilting. Oh I'm still obsessed with the knitting too but now I've added quilting to my fold of obsession.

Boneyard-ing

On January 31, just moments before 11 p.m., I finished my second shawl (Boneyard) for "10 Shawls in 2010" Ye Old Ravelry page is here.



After knitting Clothide, I decided that I wanted an easier shawl before tackling a lace one again. I thought the Boneyard Shawl would be perfect as I had two skeins of Jo Sharp Silken Aran Tweed in my stash and all I needed was two more skeins to complete this project.

I skipped off to my local yarn store where I discovered that Jo Sharp was not importing her yarn to the US any longer which meant the two skeins I needed were not to be. I was not deterred though and purchased four skeins of Rowan Felted Tweed which turned out to be quite lovely even though it was a bit more expensive than I had planned, so much for my stash busting!



I love this shawl. The yarn was perfect for this project and produced the nicest drape. The shawl is quite large which will be perfect for cold winter nights. The pattern was super easy but entertaining enough for me to remain engaged.