Herbed Soda Bread

Sorry, no pictures for this one - but I promise it's very tasty!

Makes 1 approx. dinner-plate sized loaf

Ingredients:

-         3 1/2 cups flour

-         1 Tbsp sugar

-         1 tsp salt

-         1 tsp baking soda

-         2 tsp dried herbs (I used Italian blend)

-         4 Tbsp butter (room temperature)

-         1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Time Commitment:

 ~1 hour (including baking time)

How to Make it Happen:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and herbs.

2. Work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Using my fingers actually works the best for me, but a fork works as well.

3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add buttermilk and gently mix by folding the flour over the buttermilk until it’s just combined. It should not be runny or dry, so adjust flour/buttermilk ratio as needed.

4. Shape dough into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead a few times to shape it into a round loaf, but don’t over-knead or the bread will be tough. Because there’s no yeast in soda bread, kneading doesn’t help it.

5. Place loaf onto a lightly greased baking sheet and cut approx. 1 inch deep cuts to form a cross on top of the loaf. This helps the bread bake evenly, so don’t leave out the cuts.

6. Bake for 15 minutes at 450 deg F, then lower heat to 400 deg F and bake for another 25 minutes. To check for doneness, turn loaf over and tap the bottom to make sure it sounds hollow.

7. Let bread cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then dig in and enjoy! Quick breads are best eaten soon after baking, so it’s best to make right before serving, but the day of is also okay.

Note: Adapted from this recipe Caraway Soda Bread 

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How to Make a Cylindrical Pillow

Tools/Supplies:

-         Approx. half yard fabric (I used fuzzy cow print- it hides imperfections wonderfully)

-         Needle & thread

-         Scissors

-         Circle template (I used a plate)

-         Stuffing

Time Commitment:

 ~ 1 hour

How to Make it Happen:

1) Choose a plate to use as a template- this will be slightly larger than the end of the pillow (because of seam allowances). Trace around the plate to create two circle pieces and cut them out. Cut a rectangular piece of fabric that is approx. 1-2” shorter than the circumference of the plate and as long as you want your pillow to be (mine is a 7” diameter circle and about 14” long).

Step 1- Pattern Time

2) Sew a seam along the long edge of the rectangular piece, leaving about a half inch seam allowance.

Step 2 - Make a tube

3) If using furry fabric: Turn cylinder right side out and tease fluff out of the seam using a needle or pin. Be careful not to tear your stitches or you’ll have to sew another seam!

Step 3 - Fluff seam

 

4) With cylinder turned wrong side out, sew one circle to the end of the cylinder tube (leaving a half inch seam allowance). Because the circle is slightly bigger than the cylinder, it will bulge out when the pillow is stuffed.

Sew the second circle to the other side of the tube, leaving an approx. 2 inch opening to stuff the pillow.

Step 4 - Sew ends on (don't forget to leave a hole for stuffing)

 

5) If using furry fabric: Turn cylinder right side out and tease fluff out of the seam using a needle or pin. Be careful not to tear your stitches or you’ll have to sew another seam!

Step 5 - More fluffing

6) Stuff the pillow firmly, then hand sew the rest of the pillow closed. Your pillow's done!

Step 6 - Stuff & sew closed!

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To Boston With Love - My flags

So I'm starting a new job tomorrow, which means that the tutorial for this week (already delayed) will be delayed again...

But I wanted to share part of why my schedule has gone completely out the window- a modern quilt guild in Vancouver (guild project page) decided to make quilt flags in honor of Boston after the recent Marathon bombing. I found out about this project way late, but wanted to be a part of it (I went to college in Boston & used to volunteer for the Marathon). Here's my contribution:

My flags hanging in the MFA- still shot from To Boston with Love Flickr group

My flags:

Flag 1

Flag 2

Flag 3

These were sewn completely by hand, so they took quite a while to do. Anyhow, just wanted to show part of why I've been very very late in postings. Check out the exhibit if you're in the Boston area, or look on the MFA website- thanks to the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild for putting this together!

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Peanut & Caramel Chocolate Brownies

*Sorry, no picture of these, you’ll have to use your imagination (or better yet, just make them)

Makes one 8x8 pan.

Ingredients:

-         1/2 cup melted butter (yes, make sure to melt it- the microwave works fine)

-         1 cup packed dark brown sugar (light brown is also fine)

-         2 eggs

-         1 tsp vanilla extract

-         1/2 cup flour

-         1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa (special dark if you can find it)

-         1/4 tsp baking powder

-         1/4 tsp salt

-         1/2 cup chopped peanuts (plus 1/4 cup or so extra for topping)

-         Caramel topping for drizzling over finished brownies

Time Commitment:

 ~1 hour (including mixing and baking time)

How to Make it Happen:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease an 8 in x 8 in baking pan.
2. Mix melted butter, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs.
3. Combine dry ingredients (except peanuts) and mix into wet ingredients until well blended.
4. Stir in peanuts and transfer to baking pan.
5. Bake 25-30 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from edges of pan. A toothpick in the center will come out clean.
6. Transfer to cooling rack and drizzle caramel topping over the brownies while they are still warm. Sprinkle caramel with extra chopped peanuts.
7. Let cool and enjoy! These will stay good covered in the refrigerator for a few days.

Note:  These were modified from the Mmm-mmm Better Brownies recipe found on allrecipes.com.

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How to Make a Beaded Leaf Headband

Tools/Supplies:

-         Floral wire (30 gauge)

-         Wire cutters/Pliers

-         Seed beads

-         Elastic headband

-         Felt (enough for backing your beaded leaves so the wire doesn’t poke you)

-         Needle and strong thread (button thread works very well)

Time Commitment:

 ~6-8 hours for a palm-sized leaf bundle

How to Make it Happen:

Step 1- Choose headband

1) I just bought a blank headband with a built-in place to sew in my leaves- you can also make your own by sewing a piece of felt to a strip of elastic or elastic headband.

Step 2- Prepare your wire

2) This is the start of your leaf. Take an approximately 3-4 foot piece of wire for a leaf about as long as your thumb and twist the wire as shown so there is a piece just over twice as long as you want your leaf to be (the right side wire in the picture) and a long side that you will use to build up the leaf (the left side). The loop at the bottom should be a few inches long as it acts like the stem of the leaf (which is how you’ll twist the leaves together).

Step 3- Add beads

3) Now, string enough beads on the right side so that it is about a fingernail length shorter than you want the final leaf to be (there are the white beads in the picture). String lots of (blue here) beads on the left side- these will be used to add bulk to your leaf.

Step 4 - Begin wrapping the leaf

4) Take the left side wire and wrap it around the short wire at a 45 degree angle- around the front, around the back, then down the right hand side. Wrap the blue bead wire around the bottom of the leaf (front-back-front) straight across, which will keep the bottom of the leaf flatter. The 45 degree angle at the top will give the leaf a pointed tip.

Step 5 - First leaf done!

5) Keep adding beads and wrapping until you’re happy with the size of the leaf. To end, wrap the blue bead wire around the base of the leaf and trim it flush. Bend the short (white bead) wire down the back of the leaf, wrap it around the base of the leaf, and trim flush. One leaf down! Repeat until you have enough leaves for your headband (I used ten leaves of varying sizes).

Step 6- Bunch of leaves

6) Gather your leaves by twisting their loops together and arrange as you see fit. Now it’s time to assemble the headband.

 

Step 7- Add felt

 

7) Cut a small piece of felt and sew it in place around the twisted wire loops. This will keep you away from sharp wire ends and make the leaves look more finished.

Step 8- Sew onto headband

 

8) Sew the leaves onto the headband, and try on your work!

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How to Make a 'Stained'-Grain Footstool

Tools/Supplies:

-         Wooden Footstool

-         Acrylic Paint (works best in a dark color- red works very well)

-         Sandpaper

-         Brush

-         Polycrylic (my replacement for polyurethane)

Time Commitment:

 ~ 30 min – 1 hour (plus drying time)

How to Make it Happen:

1) Sand the bare footstool to remove any splinters (having pieces come off will spoil the effect). Note that you can use this technique on any bare wood furniture, but it will work the best on long flat pieces of wood with a knotty grain. This footstool has a pretty plain grain, so the effect will be subtle.

Step 1- Prepare for painting

2) Brush acrylic paint onto the footstool- I use a nearly dry brush on the legs, since I’ll just be distressing them. Cover the top of the stool with a thick layer of paint to make sure it really soaks in.

Step 2- Paint top with a thick coat of paint (then thin coat on the legs)

3) Lightly sand the legs to give them a distressed look, then sand the top of the stool in the direction of the grain until the wood grain shows through. This gives the top of the stool a ‘stained’ effect in the grain. Seal the wood using polyurethane (follow manufacturer’s instructions), then relax and enjoy your new stool!

Step 3- Sand and seal!

 

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How to make an 'Antique' Painted Wood Picture Frame

Tools/Supplies:

-         Wood Frame

-         Acrylic Paint

-         Sandpaper

-         Stain

-         Brushes (I use foam)

-         Polycrylic (my replacement for polyurethane)

Time Commitment:

 ~ 30 min – 1 hour (plus drying time)

How to Make it Happen:

1) Here are the materials I used- substitute sizes & materials as you like (as long as the frames are made of wood). Note that these are from my Hanging Sign Frame tutorial- this time I’m only going to finish one of the frames.

Step 1- Wood frames

 

2) Brush acrylic paint onto the frames- you don’t have to cover every square inch. Let the paint dry, then use sandpaper to rub sections of the paint off the frame. By sanding the frame to bare wood, you give places for the stain to soak into the wood.

Step 2- Paint and sand

3) Brush stain onto the frame, wipe away excess. The frame will have a dappled, distressed look. Let the stain dry, then coat with polycrylic (following manufacturer’s directions). Your frame is done!

Step 3- Add stain and seal

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