It Pops!

I had heard about them, but until today, I had never encountered one in real life.  What is it? It's a cake pop!

You take some cake and mix it up with icing then form it into a ball, stick a lollypop stick in it and dip it in chocolate then decorate to your heart's content.  Sprinkles, swirls, anything goes.

I could not believe how incredibly overpoweringly sweet these were.  I am not shy when it comes to sweets - especially baked goods - but these were so totally over the top chokingly sweet I could not believe it.  It was like eating confectioner's sugar bombs.  I could not finish even one - shocking!

I think these make a wonderful presentation - so cute! But the balance of cake/icing has to be ever so carefully done or what could be a wonderful little cake bite becomes a gagging mouthful of sweet.

I took a survey from my friends - none of whom had had a cake pop before either.  They all loved them!

Could it be that my taste buds have finally had enough cake?

Nah! Never gonna happen.

Baby Mittens

I finished the baby mittens for my friend's new little girl who is due to come into the world any day now.  This pattern vexed me.  It vexed me good.

I started out with a Magic Loop and half double crochet standard double increase initially.  It didn't work.  The mittens were squared off on top and swooped down like the brim on a southern belles bonnets.  It wasn't pretty.

I scoured the net.  Read through Ravelry.  Poured over pattern after pattern.  I made 8 different attempts at mittens.  All failures.  I blamed myself for losing the original perfect mitten, hat and bootie pattern.  I was filled with crocheting sorrow.

But then I thought - why not just make the first few rows double crochet?  The stitches would be twice as long and they would round over instead of squaring off and swooping.  So I did.  And it worked!

I added a detail at the top to match the bootie detail and all was right in the world once again.

Yay!

Mini Chullo

Time to continue down the path for the baby gifts.  After going round and round on what type to make, I finally settled on this cute little chullo.

I love the earflaps on these.  They keep the little one warm and frame their tiny face.  And the braided ties with the fringe give them something to play with while keeping the chullo in place no matter how squirmy they are.

The chullo style of hat is Peruvian.  The intricate designs on these alpaca wool hats sold by the street vendors in the city with their little llama, snowdrifts and mountains adorning them always make my fingers want to start knitting whenever I see them.

The top of the hat is a little beanie - like half of a ball,  The two flaps are gently sloped triangles.  The ties are made from the fastening off of the yarn, so it has very little finishing to do.  Yay!  I love that part the best.

Again, I used that washable acrylic that's super soft yet super practical.  There's no added color here.  I thought about adding a little brim on it and weaving some ribbon through, but then I thought that it would be easier to match it to all sorts of outfits if it was just a simple white.  I also thought that it allowed the design of the chullo to shine.

Size E crochet hook
1 oz Fingering yarn

Start with a Magic Loop (or a circle of ch3 if you prefer), ch1

Row 1 - 12 hdc in ring, pull to tighten, ch 1
Row 2 - 2 hdc in each hdc from Row 1, ch 1
Row 3 - (hdc, hdc, 2 hdc), repeat between the ( ), ch1
Row 4 - (hdc, hdc, hdc 2 hdc), repeat between the ( ), ch1
Row 5 - (hdc, hdc, hdc, hdc, 2 hdc), repeat between the ( ), ch1
Row 6 - (hdc, hdc, hdc, hdc, hdc, 2 hdc), repeat between the ( ), ch1
Row 7 - hdc around, ch1
Row 8 - hdc around, ch1
Row 9 - hdc around, ch1
Row 10 - hdc around, ch1
Row 11 - hdc around, ch1
Row 12 - hdc around, ch1
Row 13 - hdc around, ch1
Row 14 - hdc around, ch1
Row 15 - hdc around, ch1
Row 16 - hdc around, ch1

First earflap

Row 17a - 15 hdc, ch1
Row 18a - hdc across, ch1
Row 19a - dec, hdc to last 2, dec
Row 20a - dec, hdc to last 2, dec
Row 21a - dec, hdc to last 2, dec
Row 22a - dec, hdc to last 2, dec
Row 23a - dec, hdc to last 2, dec
Row 24a - dec, hdc to last 2, dec
Row 25a - dec, hdc to last 2, dec
Pull the loop out 2-feet, leave the tail 2-feet and cut the yarn.  This will be part of the tie.

Second earflap

Skip 25 stitches and attach.

Row 17b - 15 hdc, ch1

Row 18b - hdc across, ch1

Row 19b - dec, hdc to last 2, dec

Row 20b - dec, hdc to last 2, dec

Row 21b - dec, hdc to last 2, dec

Row 22b - dec, hdc to last 2, dec

Row 23b - dec, hdc to last 2, dec

Row 24b - dec, hdc to last 2, dec

Row 25b - dec, hdc to last 2, dec

Pull the loop out 2-feet, leave the tail 2-feet and cut the yarn.  This will be part of the tie.

Edging

Attach at the tip of an earflap leaving a 2-foot tail.
Row 26a - sc to the tip of the 2nd earflap.
Pull the loop out 2-feet, leave the tail 2-feet and cut the yarn.  This will be part of the tie.

Attach at the tip of that same earflap leaving a 2-foot tail.

Row 26b - sc to the tip of the 2nd earflap.

Pull the loop out 2-feet, leave the tail 2-feet and cut the yarn.  This will be part of the tie.

You will end up with 7 2-foot long strands at the tip of each earflap.

Separate the strands into 2-strands, 3-strands and 2-strands.  

Braid together.  

Tie a knot at the end leaving 3-inches of fringe.

Fringe

Trim evenly and unravel the yarn.

Finishing

Weave in the end from the magic loop.

That's it!  You're done.

Abbreviations:

ch - chain

hdc - half double crochet

dec - decrease (as hdc)

You could absolutely decorate this with little flowers or cute buttons and the like.  It would be adorable.  


Okay - it's adorable with or without decoration.  Awww!  I know the mommy-to-be will love it and the baby will have fun chewing and tugging on the ties.


It's a hat - it's a toy - it's a chullo!


I wonder if I could get my little girl to wear one?

Probably not.

Bootie Call

Five of my friends are heading into the last few days/weeks/months of their pregnancies and that means one thing - time to make the booties.

I used to have a super pattern for baby booties, mittens and hat - but I lost it.  I know I still have it somewhere, but after 2 days of looking I still can't find it and my first set is due tomorrow.  Well, my girlfriends always say that I work best under pressure so I guess now is my chance to shine!

Here's what I came up with for the bootie.  It works up quickly - about 20 minutes per boot including stitching it up.

I know that most knitters love to use wonderful wools to knit with, but I've found that most new moms prefer a washable fiber so I use a super soft acrylic yarn.  Soft enough for the newborn, tough enough to  let all of the drippy things that come out of newborns get washed away in the laundry.

Size E crochet hook

1 oz. Fingering yarn

Row 1 - ch 34

Row 2 - hdc across, ch 2

Row 3 - hdc across, ch 2

Row 4 - hdc across, ch 2

Row 5 - dc across

Row 6 - sl 5, ch 3, dc in same stitch as ch 3, dc across, leave 4 unworked

Row 7 - dc across, ch 3

Row 8 - dc across, ch 3

Row 9 - *fpdc, bpdc* across

Whip stitch seams.  Weave blue and pink ribbons through the front/back post double crochets - the new mom can just remove the appropriate color.  You can roll the edge down for a cuff, or leave it up for extra warmth.  

Abbreviations:

ch - chain

hdc - half double crochet

dc - double crochet

sl - slip stitch

fpdc - front post double crochet

bpdc - back post double crochet

I think they're pretty darn cute.

Chocolate Inspirations

Perhaps I should file this under "what was I thinking", but here is what I have gotten myself into.  This Friday I am going to a - I guess I'll call it a pot luck dinner.  I'm bringing dessert.

I have no idea who likes what, who is allergic to what or what any of the rest of the meal will be.  I just know I have to bring dessert.

Stupidly, I said I would bring something chocolate.  At first I thought - chocolate! so easy! But then I really thought about it.  Cakes take a lot of time to decorate.  Cupcakes - same as cake. Pie - too Fall/Winter for pie, especially chocolate pie.  Ack! Argh! Wahhhh!

So I surfed for inspiration and here's what I came up with.

Chocolate dipped dried apricots with almonds.  Simple, 3 ingredients, 15 minutes.

Cocoa meringues.  Simple, 5 ingredients, 10 minutes - then 2 hours cooking, but really only 10 minutes.

Pound cake petits fours. Simple, 2 ingredients, 15 minutes.

Chocolate with crushed pistachios. Simple, 2 ingredients, 15 minutes.

So here's the plan.  I got all the ingredients from the store tonight.  Tomorrow I'll spend an hour putting it all together.  Then I'll just pop the goodies into some cupcake foils and toss them in the freezer.  On Friday, I'll rush home from the train, grab the stuff from the freezer, toss half into a bag, toss the other half into baking boxes for take-home treats, toss it all in another bag and drive like a mad woman to the pot luck.

I'll only be an hour late to the dinner, but since I've got the dessert, it won't matter so much.

Good plan, right?

What was I thinking!?

Hot Pepper Bouquet

A perfectly pleasant pepper parcel makes a pleasing hostess gift.  Don't you think?

Total Time: 5 minutes

Last week I harvested what I thought would be the last of the Fall vegetables.  I guess someone forgot to mention that to the pepper plants.  But, it was a nice surprise and came in handy for a last minute hostess gift.

I left about 1 1/2" of stem on the peppers when I picked them.  That was to make sure they stayed "sealed" and preserve their freshness as long as possible.  I even pulled off a few leaves by accident, but that came in handy.

I took a rubber band to secure the peppers in a bit of a bouquet, wrapping it tightly so the ones inside wouldn't fall out.  Then I tied a piece of ribbon around it to hide the rubber band.  I thought the rust colored ribbon contrasted well with the bright green of the peppers.

There you have it!  A simple bouquet of peppers makes a great hostess gift when you perk it up with a little ribbon.  Much better than a reused shopping bag full of produce, don't you think?

Fall Bouquet

This weekend our friends invited us over to dinner to thank us for watching after their home while they were away.  Naturally, I wanted to bring a hostess gift, but since the dinner was a "thank you" to me, I felt it would be inappropriate to bring wine or dessert - my normal "go to" gifts for dinner at a friend's house.  Instead, I put together a bouquet of fall flowers picked from my gardens.

I was going to just wrap a ribbon around the flowers, but then I thought it would be a pain for them to immediately run around to try to find a vase to put them in.  Big vase, little vase, goes with your tablescape, replaces your centerpiece.  Such a hassle to deal with when you are already dealing with cooking dinner, getting drinks passed out, servings appetizers.

I put the flowers in a mason jar and tied a card to it with twine. Simple. Country. Cute.

Total Time: 4 hours

Fill a watering can about 1/3 with water then go out and get some flowers and foliage.

These iris seed pods make a great vertical element - added bonus, the seeds can be planted and the irises were a gift from our friends.  I like to show that we appreciate and use gifts that we receive and what better way than to use the seed pods in a bouquet for them?

This tithonia is new to our garden this year.  The orange blossoms make for a great strong color splash. 

The nicotiana are going to seed, so there are seed pods along with a few blooms.  These will make a great filler.  They have a great subtle scent and their seeds can be planted.

The sedum's block of color should help soften the bright orange of the tithonia.  It will root in the water and can be planted in their garden.

These chrysanthemum's are a great shade of pink with purple buds.  They will brighten up the bouquet and the yellow centers will tie in the tithonia.

It's time for the hydrangea to get a haircut, plus their pink and rust flowers will be a great addition to the bouquet.  These will dry out so our friends will have a little bit of the bouquet to last them until spring.

The golden vicary privet makes a great filler.  It's leaves range from lemon yellow to pale green.

Time to arrange the flowers!

Fill the mason jar about 1/2 way with water.

Crush the aspirin.

Add the aspirin to the water.

Stir it in until it dissolves.

Remove the lower leaves from the flowers and shake all the bugs out.  (I found spiders, ants and a grasshopper!)

Criss-cross the stems as you put them in the jar to create a structure so the arrangement won't slosh all over the place and slide over to one side of the vase.

Layer the flowers in.  I started from the bottom with the hydrangea, then sedum.

Added the nicotiana then chrysanthemum.

Filled in the holes with the golden vicary privet.

Here's the final arrangement with the tithonia and iris seed pods topping it off.

To give it a more polished presentation, I made this card out of blank card stock and tied it to the jar with a piece of twine.  I stuck a small piece of sedum to the card as a little reminder of the bouquet.  The back of the card has a listing of all of the plants used in the arrangement. (I'll be posting the instructions for making the card soon!)

The final arrangement turned out to be over 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide - yikes! - but I thought it looked nice.  Our friends seemed to like it, although they initially thought they had won the Kentucky derby, and they placed it right on a table.  No searching for vases!!!  The card was a little buried in the arrangement, so I made sure to point out that it had a list of all of the flowers and that there were seeds they could plant in their garden.