Innehållsförteckning för Autumn 2024 från Ideas

CONTACT ME terena@ideasfactory.co.za instagram.com/terenaleroux On Monday evening our class sat around the table as usual, ready to chat away enthusiastically in Italian. But this time things were a bit different. Our new teacher from the north-east of Italy had insisted that we do a ‘show-and-tell’ – each of us had to bring something with us that we did in our spare time so she could get to know us a bit better. I should perhaps start by saying that there is plenty of spare time among us, given that the class consists mostly of 60-plussers who are already retired. But it’s not really important, because I am fairly sure that 10 or 20 years ago the picture would have looked pretty much the same. One often hears the expression: ‘If…

SAVOURY SANDWICH CAKE This pretty cake is actually a large sandwich made with bread and layers of tasty savoury ingredients. It’s easy to prepare and will certainly make a great impression. Serves: 10-12 Preparation time: 45 minutes, plus chilling time ♥ 1 round ‘potbrood’ bread ♥ 4 large eggs, hard-boiled ♥ 60ml mayonnaise ♥ 3 spring onions, finely sliced ♥ 2 × 230g tubs medium-fat cream cheese (at room temperature) ♥ 45ml chopped marinated sundried tomatoes ♥ soft butter, for spreading ♥ 125g shaved smoked ham or smoked salmon ♥ 20ml snipped chives ♥ 150g sliced Cheddar cheese ♥ 30ml Greek yoghurt ♥ 5ml grated lemon zest (if using salmon) TO DECORATE ♥ 150g radishes, trimmed ♥ 4-6 mini cucumbers ♥ 2 medium-sized carrots, trimmed and peeled ♥ 3 sticks…

DIFFICULTY: easy TIME: 1-2 hours ♥ vanilla biscuit dough (see the recipe on page 40) ♥ silicone mould of your choice (we used a fondant mould from bellemaison.co.za) ♥ rolling pin ♥ round cookie cutter 1 Make the dough according to the vanilla biscuit recipe on page 40. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least an hour or until it is firm. 2 Sprinkle flour on your work surface and over your silicone mould so the dough won't stick. Press a piece of dough into your silicone mould and use a rolling pin to roll the dough firmly into the design. 3 Remove the dough carefully from the mould and use a round cookie cutter to cut out patterned circles. 4 Bake…

food how-to Serves: 8-10 Preparation time: 1 hour Baking time: 1 hour Oven temperature: 180 °C ♥ 240g (250ml) cream cheese ♥ 50ml feta cheese (optional) ♥ 10ml grated orange zest ♥ 110g (125ml) castor sugar ♥ 500g filo pastry ♥ 120ml melted butter ♥ 375ml milk ♥ 5ml ground cardamom ♥ 5ml ground cinnamon ♥ 3 large eggs ♥ 15ml cake flour ♥ honey, to drizzle ♥ 50g chopped pistachio nuts ♥ icing sugar, for dusting ♥ strips of lemon or orange zest, to serve ♥ ice cream, to serve 1 Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm cake tin. Mix the cream cheese, feta (if using), orange zest and 30ml castor sugar together. 2 Unroll the filo pastry and keep covered with a damp cloth.…

ITALIAN MERINGUE A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER: ✱ The ratio is simple: Weigh the egg whites, double the weight for the sugar and halve it for the water. If you remember this, you can make any amount. ✱ Metal or glass bowls work best. ✱ Wipe out the bowl with a little lemon juice to make sure there is no oiliness or fat that will prevent the egg whites from foaming. ✱ Room temperature eggs work best. ✱ Weighing your ingredients ensures that the ratio is correct every time. ✱ A candy thermometer is the best option for your syrup to reach the correct temperature, but the meringue can be made without one. YOU WILL NEED ♥ 180g egg whites, or 6 large eggs (make sure absolutely no yolk is…

DIFFICULTY: easy TIME: a few minutes plus drying time YOU WILL NEED ♥ air-dry clay (enough for the item you’re making plus a little extra) ♥ flower stencil (plastic) ♥ rolling pin ♥ 2 x sheets of acetate (plastic baking sheets will also work) ♥ spray bottle of water…

CROCHET BLOCKS designed by CORNEL STRYDOM ABBREVIATIONS (FOR BOTH SQUARES) beg – begin(ning) ch – chain stitch ch-sp – chain space dtr – double treble rnd – round slst – slip stitch st(s) – stitch(es) tr – treble yo – yarn over BLOCK ONE (FIVE COLOURS GRADIENT) DIFFICULTY: medium TIME: half an hour per block YOU WILL NEED ♥ DK yarn in 5 different colours ♥ 4mm crochet hook SPECIAL STITCHES Puff stitch (puff st): (yo, insert hook into sp indicated, yo, pull yarn up to height of a dc) 4 times, yo, pull through all loops on hook, ch 1. V stitch (v st): tr into sp indicated, ch 2, tr into same sp, ch 1. Larger V stitch (larger v st): dtr into sp indicated, ch 3, dtr…

stitchcraft DIFFICULTY: easy EMBROIDERY TIME: 10 hours YOU WILL NEED ♥ 2 pillowcases ♥ embroidery thread ♥ embroidery needle ♥ embroidery hoop ♥ sharp scissors STITCHES USED 1 The yellow roses are bullion knot roses. (There is a step-by-step illustration on how to make a bullion knot rose in the September/October 2022 issue of Ideas on page 91. Also see the sampler and stitch illustrations at the end of this stitchcraft section.) 2 The stems of the roses are done using stem stitch. 3 The leaves are a variation of long and short stitches. TO EMBROIDER Stretch the area to be embroidered into the embroidery hoop and embroider your roses following the stitches-used guide above. (If you wish, you can draw guides for the stem and leaves onto the pillowcase…

stitchcraft DIFFICULTY: intermediate TIME: approximately two days SIZES 35/37 (38/40; 41/43) Foot length: 22 (24; 27)cm YOU WILL NEED ♥ diagrams and charts on page overleaf ♥ DROPS SNOW from Garnstudio (belongs to yarn group E): ♥ 100 (100; 100)g colour 37, Aquamarine ♥ 50 (50; 50)g each of colours: 01 Off White; 09 Old Pink; 24 Yellow; 29 Green Yellow ♥ 6mm double-pointed needles NOTE: If you need more help, visit DROPS Design online at www.garnstudio.com, type pattern no DROPS 189-34 in and go to tips and help. The yarn used for the socks is DROPS SNOW, a thick yarn made from 100% wool, in 50g balls of approximately 50m each. DROPS WISH can be used as an alternative or any chunky yarn that will give you the…

The three women initially obstinately ignored our greetings and simply walked down the middle of the road as if it belonged to them. But Mr Bright Shoes and old Smiley were friendly from the start. So was Howard with his crippled leg and walking stick. In fact, he took the greetings so seriously that he set himself up as my personal mussel dealer. He and his bag of mussels now wait for us near the beach after low tide every morning, hoping for a lift. At first he seemed to think I ought to buy his harvest every time, but after some negotiations he understood that there are only so many mussels a person can eat. Now he is mostly satisfied with just being able to hitch a lift. But…

WINNING LETTER DREAMCATCHERS AND SNOWFLAKES Oh my word, what a feast for the eyes! I love everything in the November/December 2023 issue of Ideas. I’m an avid reader of the magazine and have been ever since it was called ‘dit’. I keep every issue. I would like to share a photo of my window with you with the snowflakes I made from that issue as well as the jumbo dreamcatcher that was in the March/April 2019 issue. I made the original-size dreamcatcher and after that many more in different sizes, for myself and friends. I use the rings of old lampshades. There is always something that I want to make. I’m so happy that Ideas was reborn. Martinda Powell WRITE TO US & WIN! The writer of this month’s winning…

@MARINMONTAGUT @DANE.VERWEY_FLORAL @MASEGOMORGAN…

food how-to Makes: about 20 Preparation time: 60-90 minutes Cooking time: about 45 minutes ♥ 4 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cubed ♥ 100ml frozen peas ♥ 15ml canola oil ♥ 5ml cumin seeds ♥ 1 sprig of fresh curry leaves (optional) ♥ 5ml grated fresh ginger ♥ 2 cloves garlic, crushed ♥ 1-2 green chillies, seeded and chopped ♥ 1ml chilli powder ♥ 5ml garam masala ♥ 3ml ground cumin ♥ 3ml ground fennel ♥ 1ml ground turmeric ♥ 50ml chopped fresh coriander ♥ 5ml lemon juice ♥ about 250g frozen samosa pastry, thawed ♥ 30ml cake flour ♥ oil for deep-frying ♥ sweet chilli sauce, to serve 1 FILLING Boil the potato cubes in a saucepan with a little water until soft. Add the peas just before the potatoes…

Serves: 8-10 Preparation time: 45 minutes, plus chilling time Baking time: 100 minutes Oven temperature: 190 °C ♥ 280g (500ml) cake flour ♥ 1ml salt ♥ 200g (220ml) cold butter, cubed ♥ 1 large egg ♥ 1 large egg yolk ♥ about 20ml iced water ♥ 30g fresh sage leaves FILLING ♥ 40ml butter ♥ 4 leeks, thinly sliced ♥ 5 large eggs ♥ 250ml cream ♥ 50ml Greek yoghurt ♥ 300ml milk ♥ 25ml cake flour ♥ 5ml salt ♥ 50ml chopped fresh parsley ♥ 30ml chopped fresh thyme ♥ 1 can asparagus salad cuts, well drained ♥ 200ml grated mature Cheddar ♥ extra fresh herbs, to decorate 1 PASTRY Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt. Add the cold butter and rub into the flour with…

DIFFICULTY: medium TIME: 10-15 minutes plus overnight to dry YOU WILL NEED ♥ white polymer clay (we used Fimo) ♥ fondant mould (we made roses) ♥ rolling pin ♥ spray paint in the colour of your choice…

craft how-to DIFFICULTY: easy TIME: a few minutes YOU WILL NEED ♥ paper (between 260 and 300 gsm) ♥ fabric (folded double) or use a cutting mat ♥ flower stencil or stamp ♥ embossing tools ♥ spray bottle of water TIP: To ensure that the embossing remains visible on the paper, leave the stencil or stamp in place on the paper while it is drying.…

DIFFICULTY: intermediate TIME: 180–200 hours YOU WILL NEED ♥ Nurturing Fibres Eco-Fusion: 16 × 50g balls Charcoal, 16 × 50g balls Cobblestone and 17 × 50g balls Anvil ♥ 3,5mm crochet hook ♥ needle to weave in yarn ends FINISHED SIZE 108 blocks: 150 × 200cm. (Size may vary due to personal tension, different yarn or hook size.) The size can easily be adjusted by adding fewer or more blocks. ABBREVIATIONS (US TERMINOLOGY USED) blo-hdc – back loop only half double crochet bpdc – back post double crochet ch – chain stitch ch-sp – chain space dc – double crochet hdc – half double crochet mr – magic ring rep – repeat rnd – round sc – single crochet sk – skip slst – slip stitch st(s) – stitch(es) IMPORTANT! PATTERN…

DIFFICULTY: easy TIME: one to two days SIZE Medium YOU WILL NEED ♥ pattern on page 93 ♥ flannel sheet ♥ elastic for waist casing ♥ matching machine thread ♥ matching cotton yarn (we used Nurturing Fibres Eco Cotton -Sunglow) ♥ 4mm crochet hook ♥ large embroidery needle TO MAKE 1 Fold your sheet in half (right sides facing) and cut out 2 pattern pieces. Mark centre front, centre back, midline and small arrows. With right sides facing, stitch the inner leg seam of each pattern piece. Turn one leg right side out and insert leg INSIDE the other, pin centre front and centre back, and stitch together. Overlock all raw edges. 2 Fold over hem at top to form a casing, stitched closed, leaving a small opening to insert…

‘The show is 47,2 kilometres long and took 5 000 exhibitors’ hard work and appetite for risk to put together,’ says the attractive German organiser. And that was more or less all I could understand of the press conference. That is what happens when you rush past the counter with the translation earphones at great speed. Fortunately I had tried to get to grips with a bit of German before my departure. The message was clear. I would have to be disciplined if I wanted to see as much of the show as possible. The good thing about a trade show is that the public cannot buy. You can look and desire and wish and take photos, but your budget doesn’t get even the tiniest dent. Unless, obviously, you are…

Makes: about 30 biscuits Preparation time: 1 hour, plus chilling time Baking time: about 15 minutes per batch Oven temperature: 170 °C ♥ 250g (270ml) soft butter ♥ 140g (160ml) castor sugar ♥ 2 large egg yolks ♥ 5ml vanilla extract ♥ 360g (660ml) cake flour 1 Beat the butter and sugar together until light. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla extract. Add the flour and stir together to form a soft dough. Cover in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Roll the dough out between two sheets of plastic wrap. It is now ready to shape into biscuits. 2 STAMP COOKIES Roll out the dough and use a wooden stamp to press a letter or number into the dough. Use a cookie cutter to cut…

Makes: 12 Preparation time: 1 hour Cooking time: 20 minutes Oven temperature: 190 °C ♥ 400g ready-made frozen puff pastry, thawed ♥ 6 small ripe pears ♥ 80ml finely chopped toasted almonds ♥ 50ml sugar ♥ 2ml ground cinnamon icing sugar, to dust ♥ honey, to drizzle 1 Cut the pears in half, cutting through the stalk as well. Use a melon baller to remove the pips and core. Use a small sharp knife to cut strips out of the skin lightly into the flesh of each pear to create a pattern. Mix the almonds, sugar and cinnamon together and spread the mixture out onto a flat plate. Dip the whole underside of each pear half into the nut mixture. 2 Make sure the pastry is very cold. Remove from…

craft how-to DIFFICULTY: medium TIME: one hour plus drying time YOU WILL NEED ♥ fine builder’s sand (enough to fill the container you are using, compacted) ♥ container for the sand ♥ plaster of Paris (you can also use cement – be sure to follow the instructions for mixing) ♥ tile-like stencil (you can use anything that will make an imprint)…

Boutis is a Provençal word meaning ‘stuffing’, describing how two layers of fabric are quilted together with stuffing sandwiched between sections of the design, creating a raised effect. – Wikipedia DIFFICULTY: advanced/time consuming TIME: three days YOU WILL NEED ♥ cotton batiste or lawn fabric ♥ thick cotton yarn with very low twist ♥ tapestry needle size 13 ♥ quilting needle ♥ quilting thread ♥ embroidery hoop 15cm in diameter ♥ thimble ♥ quilter's erasable marker or fine pencil Cut out two same-size pieces of cotton fabric and trace the design onto the top layer of the fabric. You can tape the pattern to a window and then tape the fabric over the pattern so the light shows through if you wish. Tack the two pieces of cotton together with…

DIFFICULTY: adventurous beginner/ intermediate TIME: two hours per square YOU WILL NEED ♥ Vinnis Nikkim: 1 ball Princess Blue Bell 5521 (A) ♥ Elle Cotton DK: 3 balls Dandelion 080 (B), 3 balls Yellow 083 (C) ♥ Nurturing Fibres Eco Cotton: 2 balls Aventurine (D) ♥ 4mm crochet hook ♥ scissors ♥ darning needle for working ends away FINISHED SIZE Will fit a 45 × 45cm cushion cover. ABBREVIATIONS (US TERMINOLOGY USED) beg – begin(ning) bpdc – back post double crochet bphdc – back post half double crochet ch – chain stitch ch-sp – chain space dc – double crochet hdc – half double crochet mr – magic ring rep – repeat rnd – round RS – right side sc – single crochet sk –…

stitchcraft DIFFICULTY: intermediate TIME: two days YOU WILL NEED ♥ various pieces of fabric that will combine well ♥ pattern on page overleaf ♥ sewing machine ♥ scissors ♥ stuffing ♥ machine thread ♥ felt in various colours matching your ♥ fabric ♥ plastic eyes ♥ crochet hook ♥ thick yarn for tail ♥ yellow yarn for feet ♥ glue gun TO MAKE 1 The donkey is made from a number of different fabrics. First decide which of the various fabrics you want to use for the body, head, ears and legs, then cut out your pattern pieces according to your fabric choices. 2 Begin by neatening all the loose pieces with your overlocker, so you have neat edges. Now stitch the head piece to the body piece for…

A single red rose on a simple stone cross, anchored in dark soil against a background of green grass. All that is engraved on the gravestone is Martha Pier. The next Instagram photo shows a square concrete block, also with a red rose and the name Gustav Schulz Walter Pier. And, invisible, the fresh footprints of a descendant from Africa who was fulfilling her burning desire to track down her ancestors. ‘I’ve always been fascinated by the history and legacies of previous generations,’ says Carin Smith, art director and a talented, creative stylist for Ideas. ‘My mother and I are always picking up pieces of old porcelain and wondering about the stories behind them. Heritage is very important for both of us. I read a lot of history and listen…