Quilted mat

This is really part of my 'room project', but I felt that post was getting a bit too long....
My problem was that I had lots of fabric left over from my lampshades, yet still not enough to make something substantial. Solution: patchwork! The best way to use up scraps of old fabric. I decided to make a table mat, as I needed one to cover my cabinet, but you can follow exactly the same instructions to make a pillow: just stuff it with pillow form before you sew the final edge up. In fact, you can use pretty much the same steps to make a bag, wall hanging, sachet or napkin.

You will need:
Ruler
Stiff card
Pencil/ballpoint pen
Large craft scissors
A selection of fabrics
Small needle and thread
Pins
Iron

Step one: Triangles
You could just make squares, but why when you could do triangles??? Also, triangles mean lots of interesting design opportunities.   The final square will look a bit like this:

 Which could, for example, be arranged with a few more identical squares to look like any of these, or more:

Anyway, the idea is clear. Choose two colours for the triangles and play around with making a pattern, thinking about the dimensions of the final piece. (Each square will be 10x10cm, though size is lost in seam allowance).

Count up the number of squares you need (mine uses twenty)

My design

Cut a 10x10cm square from stiff card and use this template to mark and cut out your squares of fabric (2 squares of colour = two triangle squares, so for example if you needed 20 squares in a two colour design you'll need 10 of each)

Make two piles for the two colours. Take one pile and flip them over to the 'wrong' side. Then draw a diagonal line crossing the square, making sure if you use a pen that it doesn't bleed through. Take this line and draw two more on either side, 0.6cm away from the central line.

Pin together two squares of different colours, bright sides facing each other. 

Using a simple running/line stitch, sew along the two outer lines that you drew. Then cut down the middle line: this will give two sets of triangle-squares. Fold the seam towards the darker colour and press down on both sides with a quilting iron or hot clothes iron. Repeat for all your squares.

Flip each one over to the 'wrong' side. Make another square template, 7x7cm large. Place this in the centre of your square fabric piece and draw around with a pencil. This will serve as the 'seam allowance line' and tell you where to sew. (You can make it slightly larger for smaller seams, but take into account  fraying etc.) Do this for all your squares.

 Arrange your squares in your pattern, the right way up.

Number each 'strip' - you can use bits of paper pinned on to the top square in each column. This will stop confusing mistakes later when assembling. 

Step two: Assembly
Flip the second square of strip 1 up onto the first square of the same strip, so the bottom of 1 aligns with the top of 2. Sew along the line you drew, making sure it lines up on both sides - this will ensure all the final squares are the same shape. See my lovely illustrated :D diagram if that made no sense:

(It's more important that the lines match up than the actual fabric edges, as all the squares will inevitably be slightly different sizes).

Repeat with all the squares of the strip, flipping three onto two and four onto three. Turn the strip over and press all the seams towards the top.

Then repeat this for all the other strips, except alternate the direction you press the seams: strip 2 down, strip 3 up excetera.

Now you can assemble the block.  Flip strip 2 to the left, onto strip one, so the bright sides are together. Rotate the strip so that the edge you want to sew along (shown by the arrows) is at the top. Pin the two together. Then use a running stitch to sew the strips together, following the lines.

Unfold the strip and repeat with 2&3, 3&4.... Then press the seams down from both sides, giving you the block.

Step three: adding a boarder
 Cut a length of fabric, about 4.5cm wide, that is longer than the perimeter of your piece. Mark out a seam allowance (on the 'wrong' side) on either edge, once again 0.6cm from the edge of the fabric.

Place your block on the table and pin one edge of the strip to any edge of the block, bright sides together. Trim off the extra length and repeat for the opposite edge.

Pin in place, lining up the top seam line with the seam line of the blocks.  Sew along this line.

These keep getting better, huh? :D

Unfold the boarders and press.

 Repeat for the last two sides, except this time extend all the way out to the edges of the other boarders: (It's a simplistic drawing, whatever).

Step 4: Backing

Cut a piece of fabric that's slightly larger than your block, including the boarders.

Pin the bright sides together and cut the backing fabric down more carefully to size.

Pin three sides and leave the forth open. Sew along the seam line of the boarders, not the block, of these three sides. Use a running stitch again. When you're finished, turn the piece inside out to give the correct sides. Poke the fabric through to the corners.

Use a whip stitch to sew up the final edge and complete the piece!

When you use this stitch, fold the edges of both pieces in slightly and start from the inside, so that the knot is tucked away. To stitch, poke the needle up through both layers of fabric. Then, bring it round and back through the same side. This will wrap the stitches around the fabric. Iron both sides to finish.

Blackberry meringue roulade

This cake is a delicious and impressive way to use up the blackberries that are just coming into season! And, along with raspberry cake, gives one of the most vibrant naturally flavoured cake batters I've seen. Unlike the raspberry cake, it actually keeps this purple hue when cooked! It is also special enough for a Dad's 50th birthday cake :D (or is that 21st...? ;) No. That would just be kind of weird.) Decorate with complimentary sugar shapes, such as purple flowers or even fondant leaves. Alternatively, add a small sprig of mint atop each swirl.

A lovely example of how orderly and clean our baking is...

Blackberry Meringue Roulade
Prep time: 1 hour
Serves: 8
Cooking temp: Gas 4, 180C
Cooking time: 20-30 minutes

Ingredients
450g fresh blackberries
50g icing sugar
3 medium eggs
75g caster sugar
50g plain flour
For the topping:
300ml double cream
100g blackberries
Sprigs of mint and decorations (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven. Line a 23cmx33cm Swiss roll tin (We had to line a larger tin with foil sides to get the right shape) with baking parchment and brush with oil.
2. Place the blackberries in a processor or blender and bend to a puree with half the icing sugar. Pour through a sieve into a large cooking bowl and discard of the pips.
   
3. Whisk the eggs and caster sugar together in a bowl over hot water, until the egg starts to foam and increase in volume. Tip into the bowl.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Fold the flour through the bowl and pour into the tin - it will be very runny. Spread evenly to all corners and bake for 20 minutes. The cake should spring back when prodded and be pretty thin.
   
   
   
5. Cool on a wire rack covered with a damp tea towel or kitching paper. (this helps rolling). Don't start rolling until it is slightly cooled or the cream will melt.
   
6. Whip the cream until very thick and set aside. 
   
7. Sprinkle the remaining icing sugar over a large piece of greaseproof or parchment paper and turn the roulade out onto it, peeling off the backing paper. Slice off the crusty edges to get a nice rectangle (and even nicer offcuts :D )
8. Spread two thirds of the cream over the cake and scatter the blackberries over, reserving five. Roll up the cake using the paper to guide you. 
9. Place the remaining cream in a piping bag and pipe 5 rosettes over the top of the cake (use a fairly large, star-shaped nozzle). Place a blackberry and any decoration on each one. Serve and enjoy!
   
   
   
   

   

   Yes, I know that's not five... ;)

 
 

Room Project

Take a deep breath... this is the epic (and hopefully vaguely interesting) saga of me redoing my room. I admit, that does not sound like the most interesting of sagas, but stick with me. It gave me the perfect opportunity (ehem, excuse) to try out all the craft skills I've come to love, namely painting, stencilling, design and stained-glass window making. Of course, I could always throw in a few candles... :D
I'll leave out all the cleaning out my room and sorting out rubbish bit, given it's probably as boring to read as it was to do, but here are some of the projects I embarked on:

Bedside cabinet and shelf

I wanted my room to be personal, so I thought it would be interesting to decorate the furniture myself. In order to make the furniture match with the colour of my room, I decided to use dark lilac and white for this (Exact colour: Dulux "Lilac Spring"). The walls and ceiling were the lighter shades of the same colour, so for continuation I used the darkest for stencilling. Other suggestions for a smart, contemporary look could be a steel grey for the design or even a light blue background with a white stencil (though I recommend you keep the background lighter than the design).
You will need:
Wooden furniture to decorate (I used a small bedside cabinet and my old bookshelf)
Screwdriver
Fine grade sandpaper and block
Medium-sized decorating brush
All-purpose primer
White (or your colour, above) matt vinyl emulsion or eggshell paint - I used over 2.5l in total
Tracing paper and carbon paper
Sharp pencil
Acrylic paint or sample emulsion pot in your chosen colour
Small artists' paintbrush
 Clear varnish

(NB - These instructions are for a cabinet but they are pretty much the same for the shelf)
Preparation
First the wood must be prepared. I was working on to two different types: the shelf was old woodchip board and the cabinet untreated pine. Paint will adhere to various woods in different ways so ensure it is properly prepped (esp. if non-absorbent). I recommend that you do this outside - the paint and emulsion can smell, and the sawdust could get everywhere.

1. Remove the drawer knobs and lightly sand down the body and drawers of the piece. Pull out the drawers and apply masking tape to the sides to stop paint splashing over them.
   
   
2. Apply a coat of primer, working in the direction of the grain and ensuring no drips are left (when solid they're hard to remove). When dry (mine takes about 20 minutes) apply a second coat.
   
3. After 4 hours, paint the body and the drawers with the white emulsion, but not the drawer sides - this could prevent them sliding easily.
   
4. After the first coat, it's more than likely that the paintwork will look a bit patchy, with the wood still showing though - especially if it was originally a dark colour. When the first coat is dry (check the manufacturer's guidance for times) paint over a second coat, ensuring you are still painting with the grain and as straight as possible. This should be enough to get a good even coat but repeat if necessary. Remove the drawers.

   

   One coat

   

   Two coats

   
   
5. Now, for your design: floral patterns work quite well to create an elegant finished product, in particular blossoms or other Japanese-inspired designs. Other suggestions could be trees, flower heads (dandelions?) or birds such as owls, anything just so long as you can  paint it and scale it to fit on your drawers. I made sure mine extended across the drawer face to keep the piece balanced.
   
6. Once your design is the correct size, print it/cut it out and trace over it using a sharp pencil onto tracing paper. Transfer the design onto one drawer, holding it down with masking tape. This will give you a reverse of your design.
   
7. For the other drawer, fix a piece of carbon paper over the face and draw your design on directly. This will give you a copy of your design that is the right way round. If you don't have carbon paper, you can use tracing paper and then flip and re-trace before transferring to give you the same design.
   
8. Paint on the design, using as small a brush as possible (I used a cocktail stick for the very fine details), making sure you cover up any pencil lines.
   
9. Spray or paint over one - two coats of clear acrylic varnish to protect the design. Replace the drawers. If you have used the design here, you can extend the stems slightly onto the body of the piece to make it more of a 'whole' - remember to varnish over this too.
   

I did something similar for my shelf, but instead stencilled the design twice on the door.

Stained glass design

So, I'd hit upon some themes - purple, white and birds. Now everything had to conform to (at least one of) these.  Hopefully the end result wasn't too creepy: I didn't want everything to look exactly the same. So I took the general idea and adapted it for this stained glass panel. (You can find the blog post for this technique here)

Design
Of course, I already had my subject, a bird. But the design is still important - you can refer to the other post for all of this, but basically when leading you don't want any really short, curved pieces (it's not flexible enough) and you don't want to be left with butted joins. This means your design should use as few, flowing and long, lines as possible. On the right I have colour coded the leading in application order, ensuring that where strips meet at a 'T' the 'stem' is tucked underneath the top:

I also used a minimal colour palette for a simple design with good clarity that feels like a single piece. (Exact colours: "Erika", "Wild Orchid", "White")

Creation
(Reference the other post)
To create the design, I leaded one side of an A3 Perspex acrylic sheet, then cut out the paper shapes from my design. I then flipped these over to the reverse, and traced out the film. This was then stuck on the back of my leading, (third image). To complete the piece, I leaded over the film to give an identical appearance on both sides.

Lampshades
When my Dad (accidentally :D ) broke my lampshade, I took this as an opportunity to design and make one. And, of course, it had to fit with the colour theme! I chose an abstract purple wildflower pattern, printed on combed cotton so that the light could still shine through. The process involved cutting a strip of PVC backing and applying this to roughly cut fabric. I then trimmed this neatly and covered the two rings in double-sided sticky tape, which when rolled down the sides of the PVC formed the cube. I also made a matching pendant lampshade.