Weekend project: Rob Ryan cushions

Believe it or not the success of this project took three whole years of planning, acquiring the right skills and tools! Don't get me wrong, all this adds to the ultimate sense of achievement at the end, every time I look at these cushions now I can't help but smile (and let out a sigh of relief!). Here's why...

After I met Rob Ryan at the Somerset house "Pick Me Up" exhibition in 2010, I fell in love with his work. So for my birthday that year, my boyfriend took me to Ryantown and I picked this Clothkits sewing pack as a birthday present...little did I glance over the word "sewing" because I can't sew (hmm yes, slight problem...) the lovely printed fabric plus instructions stayed on my to-do-shelf for another two years...

On my thirty birthday, perhaps feeling a bit more mature and overly ambitious, I asked for a second hand sewing machine to make some curtains and boxed cushions (the fact that I still haven't got round to blog about these projects may indicate the amount of effort required for me to actually complete them, though I am proud to report they were finished and currently in use!).

So three years later, two old curtains revamped, one box cushion (still in one piece), piping and mock button tufting mastered. I finally felt equipped to give these cushions a go and confident that I will do these beautiful fabric justice.

(Notice I only added piping to one of the cushions. I miss calculated the length of piping required for both cushions and after spending 2 hours on the right hand beauty, I had a decision to make either 1. spend another hour faffing with new piping and pinning it to the fabric before sewing it into a cushion or 2. just run a few stitches over the two pieces of fabric to make the second cushion. Guess which option I took :p)

See my Pinterest board for more DIY inspirations!

Recipe: Emily's banana loaf

Ingredients
7oz self raising flour (sift)
4oz caster sugar
2oz margerine
1-2 eggs
2 bananas
6 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1tsp baking powder

Instructions

1. Preheat oven 180 degrees - mine is a fan oven.
2. Grease (with a butter wrapper) and line a loaf tin with grease proof paper.
3. Sift the self raising flour
4. Combine butter cubes and caster sugar in a large bowl - I don't like getting my fingers greasy, so I used a whisk for this but carefull not to get it everywhere.
4. Add the other cake ingredients to the butter sugar mix and whisk until smooth
5. Pour mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes.
6. Check the cake regularly, cover with tin foil if the top is brown before the baking time. (approx. 15 mins)
7. You can tell that the cake is cooked by poking it with a mental/wooden stick, it should come out clean without any dough stuck to it.
8. Cool the cake in the tin to keep the moisture in.

Recipe: Chinese beef stew with star anise 蘿蔔牛腩

Serves 4-6
Cooking Time 2hrs - 2hrs 30mins

Ingredients
3-4 tbsp olive oil
6 garlic cloves thinly sliced
1 piece fresh root ginger (thumb size) peeled
1 bunch spring onions sliced 1 red chilli thinly sliced
1.5kg beef (shine, shoulder, ox cheek) cut into large pieces
2 tbsp corn flour
1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
2 star anise
2 tsp sugar (light muscovado preferred)
3 tbsp Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
500ml beef stock
1 carrot chunks
1 mooli chunks

1. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large, shallow casserole. Fry the garlic, ginger, onions and chilli for 3 mins until soft and fragrant. Tip onto a plate.

2. Toss the beef in the flour, add 1 tbsp more oil to the pan, then brown the meat in batches, adding the final 1 tbsp oil if you need to. It should take about 5 mins to brown each batch properly. Heat oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2.

3. Add the five-spice and star anise to the pan, tip in the gingery mix, then fry for 1 min until the spices are fragrant. Add the sugar, then the beef and stir until combined. Keep the heat high, then splash in the wine or sherry, scraping up any meaty bits.

4. Pour in the soy and stock (It won't cover the meat completely), bring to a simmer, then tightly cover, transfer to the oven and cook for 1.5-2hrs, add the carrot and mooli halfway through and stir the meat.

5. The meat should be very soft, and any sinewy bits should have melted away. Season with more soy. This can now be chilled and frozen for up to 1 month or serve immediately with jasmine rice or rice noddles.