I tried Bakerella's cake pop recipe this week, as a test for my sister's upcoming baby shower. They turned out quite lovely, although were much more labor & time intensive than I'd originally thought. Not that they are that hard, but doing anything 50+ times is bound to be frustrating, if it's your first time! So, I decided they weren't right for the shower, but I had to post about them anyway!
If you want to try these for yourself, I have a few tips. The candy melts need a few minutes to set up, so after you've melted them - don't start dipping right away. Also, you'll need to keep these in the fridge or freezer, and only take out a few at a time to dip & dry. Once they warm up, they'll fall right through the lollipop sticks! Use a piece of styrofoam to stick the pops in to let them dry, although you'll need to keep them turning for a minute or so; otherwise you could end up with candy melting down your sticks! Any other questions? I'd be happy to answer them, this was a fun test!
I actually finished this a while ago, but wanted to wait to post about it since it was a surprise birthday gift for my MIL Robin. When I found the yarn for this, I knew I had to make her something out of it; the color was just perfect. It's Malabrigo Lace weight in Pink Frost, a lovely blend of dusty roses - lighter and darker shades without any of them being too bright or saturated - just the right tones.
I wanted my first foray with laceweight yarn to be fairly easy, so I decided to use Amy Singer's Montego Bay Scarf pattern with a few modifications. I increased the number of cast on stitches to 67, and used size 3 needles, although I switched a few rows in from regular Addi's to the lace ones. Thank goodness I did, they made the whole project so much more enjoyable and quick to finish. The right needles for the project make all of the difference, I tell you what!
The pattern itself was very simple, although towards the end I managed to need to rip back and add a forgotten yarn over about once a day for week! I think I was just trying to finish it too quickly… originally it was going to be her Mother's day gift, but I gave myself so much time that I had it done early enough for her birthday - yeay! Now I have to figure out what else I'm going to make!If you haven't had a chance to touch this yarn (the Malabrigo laceweight,) you're seriously missing out! It is the softest wool I've ever laid my hands on, and I tend to be pretty picky about scratchy things on bare skin (wrists or neck, people! I know you guys have gutter-minds! LOL) The yarn, going back, has that wonderful sproingey-ness that makes you want to cuddle with it; lofty but not heavy, and substantial without feeling thick at all. Just right. Can you tell how much I like it when that happens?!?!? Hehehe.Anyhoo, the scarf came up to 6.5"w by 54"l unblocked, from one skein. I was tempted for about a minute to block it, but the recipient lives in downtown Chicago; so I didn't think the lacey holes from all of the yarn-overs needed to get any bigger. It'll stretch if she needs it to, though - the pattern is awesomely stretchy. All in all, a very satisfying project - I hope it gets a lot of wear!
