How to transform a cushion

Would anyone think that I was exaggerating if I said that this cushion must be one of the ugliest in the world?

To be fair, it isn't new and it isn't a nice colour - really insipid lemon jaundice but not in a nice first-blossom-of-spring way. In a word it is blech!
So why not throw it away I hear you shouting. Well a couple of reasons spring to mind. 
It is not actually ready for that yet and it flies in the face of crafting at its essence to toss something just because it wouldn't win a beauty contest. Another reason is that it is my Mum's favourite chair cushion. 
So let me show you what can happen to something which isn't so nice when we add pretty fabric.....ta dah........

Hardly the same ugly duckling now! Everyone has a little something in the home that could do with a makeover and it makes us feel very virtuous when we do something like this. So, what do we need?

3 co-ordinating  fat quarters of pretty fabric
1 fat quarter of thin wadding
1 fat quarter of fabric for the back
your cushion insert. Mine measures 40cm square which is pretty standard.

your usual sewing needs

This is a machine quilted make but you don't need a walking foot because we will only be using two layers of fabric.

Start with the half square triangles (HSTs). You will need to take the first two fabrics and cut 32 HSTs. To make a half square triangle, cut a square. In this case, the square measures 8.5cm x 8.5cm. 

Now cut it in half diagonally....

That's all there is to it. Seriously. To achieve a pattern, you will need a second triangle (different fabric) and you join it to the first like this....

The pattern on this project is called a chevron pattern and it is made up from the two sorts of HST.  To make the chevron pattern, they will be sewn together like this....

Sew them up to make a block. Mine measures 24.5cm x 24.5cm which will allow a little for the sashes on the side. To construct your block begin by sewing the HSTs together to form a square and ironing them flat

Then sew two of the squares together, keeping an eye on the pattern.

Now sew two of these rectangles together to form the row.

Then sew two rows together...

Finally, sew the four rows up so that you have the block. Iron it and you should have something which looks like this....

Getting pretty but not big enough for the cushion yet so let's add some red sashes. Cut the sashes 6cm wide and don't measure the length. This will be trimmed off. Just make sure that your 6cm wide strips are long enough to do the job.
Sew two sashes top two opposite sides...

And then on the top and bottom. Now cut four more 6cm wide sashes but this time use the floral fabric that you used in the middle. Once again, don't worry about the length. Trim the excess.

Iron the cushion top now and lay it onto the wadding. pin so that it cannot move. The wadding is slightly larger than the panel but it has to be because fabric moves as you work. Again, trim the excess afterwards.
Quilt by top stitching next to each seam (about 1/2 cm away from the seam)

This will really make the layers behave! When you are done, the quilting looks like this...

It stabilises everything beautifully. Trim the excess wadding away now and place the completed top right sides together onto an untrimmed piece of backing fabric. Sew all the way around the outside leaving a gap for turning out and putting the cushion insert in. 
Slip stitch the opening closed once you have done this. And finally - she says with a flourish- here it is again...

A new lease of life and ready for the summer! It is now the sort of cushion that can accompany you into the garden with a good book or on a car journey or anywhere else that you might need a cushion!

Thank you so much for stopping by. Now go and have a rummage. Everyone has a cushion which could do with a makeover!

Love and hugs

Debbie xxx

Use those scraps- make applique patches for EVERYTHING!

Want more stash busting ideas? Well read on! This make is about making embellishments for your work and it uses tiny amounts of bits and pieces that you usually have left over from larger projects, you know, that odd button or the last few flower embellishments on a metre.

Continuing the theme of bright and happy and diving once more into the bottomless scrap basket, I have had a new idea which I think that you just might like - applique patches! 
This little make uses bits of fabric, felt, buttons and ribbon and other cute embellishments. You can then use the patches on all sorts of things. They make great finishing touches for everything from bags to pot plants and you can use them on clothing too. Have a look at some applications...

I made a quick crochet cover for an ugly and cheap plastic pot and hot glued a patch to the front. Mixed media is fun and very on-trend!

Here a patch is adorning a bag (you can find the bag pattern in the shop if you love this one). You can see from these two that these patches are versatile and can have different 'moods'. So how do we make them?

You will need to go hunting for a few things:
scraps of fabrics
scraps of felt
fabric glue
buttons
ribbon and braid
pinking shears
water soluble maker
thread and free motion embroidery needs for your machine (this varies a bit so I won't go into detail. Check your sewing machine book)
Handy to have:
a Sizzix big shot and some dies. This makes the job easier but it isn't essential
Hot glue gun

You also need a few images. I tend to stick to the same ones in various combinations. Flowers, hearts and birds are all good. The deer is another one - anything which makes you feel happy and suits the project will work.
Consider making these a few at  time and storing them in a box for when you need something special.

Okay, let's get started. I am going to do four at a time to show you how versatile and easy this is. We will make two hearts, a circle and an oval to begin. You need four pieces of felt and your pinking shears first. 
Here are four basic shapes.... 

Print them off in a couple of sizes and make templates from card. Then all you have to do is trace around the shapes onto the felt with the water soluble maker and then cut out with your pinking shears. Here is what we have now...

Notice how bright the colours are? These are more summery, you can use different colours for different times of the year; think red and grey at Christmas, pastels for Spring. I think that you get the idea!
Next, find some fabric to go with the felt colours and then cut that out with normal straight scissors so that it is about 1cm smaller. Glue the fabric shape to the felt. Here is where we are now...

You can add another layer to some....

And then it is time to embellish! Anything goes here so enjoy yourself. I like heart motifs and flowers but as I mentioned before, birds are good too and anything else that takes your fancy.

By the way, one of the best places to find applique maotifs are children's colouring books. they are already line drawings and you can change the size easily.

Here are some of my ideas based on bits and pieces. There are still some layers to go on some - as you can see, these look simple but there are lots of steps for you to get your teeth into.

The next thing to do now is to set your sewing machine up for free motion embroidery. Check your manual for specific details.

We are going to use black thread too. This will keep the colours from becoming gaudy. Go around the motifs to anchor them on now with the black thread. Go around some of the larger parts of your design twice. Then it is time to give each one an individual personality.

Number one is the oval. I have left this one quite plain with the four hearts...

I thought that the fabric was busy enough without adding to it!

Number two is the large round one....

It now has a flower shape cut off a long row of them - you can buy these by the metre wherever your buy ribbon and lace but mine come from here. An orange button finished it off.
Number three is a heart with flowers...

Some leaves and a couple of buttons worked wonders. 

Finally, the smaller heart is a variation on the third....

This time a small bow and some more of those flowers that you cut off the row worked well with some yellow buttons. 

I love these and they are so handy. Make them in bulk when you have time and keep them in a box. I use them for brooches (just add a brooch bar to the back). They are super bag charms and they look great on crochet pot covers, cushions, key rings and just about anywhere else.

Here are some more ideas....

I originally designed these motifs to zing up my crocheted pot covers but they really can go anywhere.

Thank you so much for visiting! I have enjoyed your company and I hope that this tutorial is inspiring. Go check that scrap basket!

Love and hugs

Debbie xxx

Anzac Day Soldier Biscuits

A beautiful biscuit this week in honour of Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand. And while Down Under, Australia and New Zealand are into autumn (which where I lived in South Australia doesn't look any different to any other time in the year), my little garden here in Norfolk is blooming! 

If we look out of the window, there are great things happening...

Such beauty coming to life....

Why does Checkmate always look as though he has been caught doing something wrong?

Maybe it is a mistake to look outside when the day is so perfect...

Actually, one more thing before I get down off the soap box...I get REALLY fed up with people always going on about the terrible English weather! It is just wonderful actually. We get some rain which keeps things green (no bushfires either, or snakes) and we get some snow which has to be expected. The rest of the year we get some beautiful clear sunny days with birdsong and flowers. I was never a fan of the Australian weather - the year we left, the temperatures did not fall below 46 degrees Celsius for a week!

The walks in the forest are lovely too and our sandy beaches (here in Norfolk anyway) are wonderful for walking for miles. Rant over and thank you for listening!

Before we get on with the topic of the day, I would like to claim bragging rights on another cover. This time it is in the beautiful Sewing World magazine in the UK and thank you so much to the lovely Julie who is the editor who made it happen. 

That's my cushion right there! It was super fun to make and is so easy. Brings summer into the room.

But back to business. First of all, what is Anzac day exactly? Anzac, or properly ANZAC stands for Australian New Zealand Army Corps and the name forever bonds Australians with their New Zealand neighbours. It is a proud tradition and a day which is celebrated on the 25th April each year with private celebrations and a march of old soldiers down the main street of the towns. It is a time to polish the  medals and very old soldiers are so proud to take part,

Anzac day itself marks the anniversary of the first battle fought together by the Australian and New Zealand troops in the First World War. After having lived in Australia for forty years of my life, I think that I would be justified in saying that the day is dearer to the locals than the official national day, Australia Day which is celebrated with altogether less pomp and ceremony on the 26th of January each year.

I was looking through my grandmother's very old recipe book (from which she taught me to cook) and I found a recipe for Soldier Biscuits. Elsewhere in Australia they are known simply as Anzac Biscuits.The recipe differs slightly from time to time but the essentials are pretty much the same. Anyway, I would like to share my Nana's recipe which is out of this world and easy to make too.
Here is the book itself....

It is very fragile now with age and use.

And here are those biscuits.....

Such golden deliciousness and they will make your house smell divine indeed.

So let's get baking!

Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats
125g butter
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons golden syrup
1 cup flour
3/4 cup dessicated coconut
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
1 tablespoon boiling water

You don't need any special equipment, only a mixing bowl, a saucepan and a tray plus the usual measuring things that you normally use.

Here's how:

Step 1- Place the dry ingredients into your bowl (oats, sugar, flour and coconut).

Step 2- Place the butter and golden syrup into a saucepan and melt gently.

Step 3- Working quite quickly, mix the bicarb soda with the freshly boiled water and then put it into the melted butter and syrup.

Step 4- Stir this magical concoction quickly into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until combined. 

TIP: it is useful, if it feels as though it is too dry, to use your hands like mixing a pastry. this will help it to come together.

Step 5- Place just-a-bit-bigger-than-walnut sized amounts onto a baking paper lined tray, leaving room for spreading as they cook.

Step 6-Cook until golden brown in a moderate oven. Keep an eye on them so that they don't over cook.

Step 7- Cool on trays (they can be a bit of a trial to handle when they are too warm) and then enjoy!

By the way, they will be soft until they are fully cooled and then they are quite crisp and crunchy. The next day (if they make it that long) they will be back to a softness as you would find in a certain sandwich chain. They are still yum.

And our old soldiers? Forever. We will remember them.

Love and hugs

Debbie xxx

Block of the Month- April 2015 Economy Patch

Welcome to the block of the month for April. This time, we are looking at one of my all time favourites. It is called the Economy Patch and I am sure that it will come to be a favourite of yours too.

I am going to give you a double serving too because last month, we made a Classic Four Patch so as well as showing you the Economy Patch, I will show you how to do a variation with last month's offering and turn that into an Economy Patch too!

Enough chat! Let's get on with it!! Here is the Economy Patch in all its glory....

And here is a variation...

As you can see, the variation has a patched square in the middle and this time the square is what we call en pointe. Soulds a little bit like ballet and  it means that the square is sitting on its tip instead of flat. Somehow sounds more exotic in French! The variation also only has one row of triangles.
Triangles can sometimes strike fear into the heart of beginners but there is a simple golden rule that you will read about later on.

So, to business! Let's concentrate on the basic one for now and leave the variation for a bit later on. You will need three different fabrics for this one.
Begin with the square. Cut a square 8.5cm x 8.5cm.

TIP: your starting square can be any size at all - we have to choose one so I have gone with the size above.

Next cut another square 2cm larger than the first one. This is to be divided into quarters to make some triangles like this...

You now have four triangles and they are added to the square. Notice that the triangles are flipped around though so that the long end goes against the square. Place the first one on this side....

then the opposite....

then the remaining two overlapping the ends....

iron it now and trim the daggy ears off and it is looking like this....

WARNING!!! When you trim, NEVER trim back to the point on the square! This is your seam allowance and if you trim it off, you will not get a sharp point when you put the next layer on.

Your block measures 11cm x 11cm at the moment. From your final fabric, cut another square 13cm x 13cm. Divide the new square diagonally again as you did before. Now flip and add these four triangles to the block as you did before too....

then the opposite and the last two....

I have pressed and trimmed so that the patch is now exactly 15cm sq. That's it! This little patch can be made in any size at all. The golden rule is to remember to always make your triangles 2cm larger than the square to allow for the seam. This is vital because the points on the squares have to be sharp enough to prick your finger! This would be wrong....

This is what you are after....

Now I did promise a variation and here it is. Take the Classic Four Patch from last month 

and measure it, add the triangles, measure the new square and add the last few triangles and you have this....

You don't need to have a solid square in the middle - for the ordinary Economy Patch, I guess you do but variations are how new blocks are born. You can applique too - sky is the limit!

I hope that you had fun with this one and, once again, thank you so much for stopping by!

Hugs and kisses
Debbie xxx