Bevs Quilt of Hope

Bev’s Quilt of Hope, as it is now known, began its long journey back in July 2008 shortly after Beverley Miller, the founder of online magazine and crafts marketplace “The Chocolate Crow Trader” lost her long battle with cancer. Although the majority of the girls involved with this quilt never met the loving, gutsy, endearing, patient and determined woman who became a big part of their lives through The Chocolate Crow Trader, their lives where much richer for having had Beverley Miller pass through them. There has been a wide range of artisans working on this project, including primitive folk artists, embroiderers and quilters. The Blocks received for the quilt were as varied as the crafts showcased on The Chocolate Crow Trader. There were traditional pieced quilt blocks, stitchery's, applique's (both hand & machine), there was lace, calico, cottonsbuttons, embellishments but most of all there was love and lots of it and as you can see all of the blocks fitted together as though the quilt designed itself even though the artisans who made them came from all corners of Australia. October Long Weekend 2008 saw the quilt blocks come together with hundreds of country toned scrappy squares and hand appliqued sashings. The individual blocks had become a quilt top which was packed up together with its backing, donated by Country Hart Designs and sent off to Bev’s home state of Tasmania where it was lovingly quilted by Leonie and Deidre of The Quilted Crow, who also donated the wadding. The Quilt of Hope then made another trip across Bass Strait back to be bound and finished off. Once it was bound and finished, a photograph of the completed quilt was sent to all the contributors before it set off on another adventure, this time to Australian Country Threads!
Bev’s Quilt of Hope is to be auctioned on The Chocolate Crow Trader – the auction will on May 15th to celebrate the 5th birthday edition of the Chocolate Crow Trader and will run until July 14th. The highest bid for the day will be taken at 6pm and is being updated daily over the duration of the auction. The winner of the auction will be announced in the Xmas in July edition of The Chocolate Crow Trader, which will be updated on July 15th. The aim of Bev’s Quilt of Hope is to raise as much as possible to go to The Cancer Council of Australia in memory of Bev Miller (who did so much for the Australian Craft World) so they can continue their great work.
The contributors to Bev’s Quilt of Hope were Suzanne Caruso, Emily Churchman, Treann Clark, Meg Cook, Julie Duncan, Pam Eyre, Katherine Falco, Margie Finnerty, Julie Gibbs, Robyn Larkham, Jackie Proctor, Michelle Short, Jodie Storm, Kim Warren , Leonie & Diedre of The Quilted Crow, Chris Byron and Robyn Welsh. As of the 15th of May you will be able to submit bids for the quilt throught eh TCCT website, I will put a link up on my blog when the quilt is up!

Many thanks to Robyn of Country Hart for letting me use her already written spiel!! I did have the pleasure of meeting Bev a few times, and she was a very warm lady who had such a passion for Australian crafters like you wouldn't believe!!! She ran her own business Saltbox Mercantile with the very lovely Michelle for yearrrrs and was always 2 steps ahead of the game. Anything she could do to help encourage and support other craftisans had only to be mentioned and it was done.....Bev kept her cancer battle very private.....so many of us either did not know, or did not know how bad it was for Bev......and yet she continued at the helm of TCCT until the very end. She is very much missed. Please help us raise some much needed funds for the Cancer Council, every dollar raised is a step closer to finding a cure for this dreaful disease!!!!

Some more newbies!

Have been flat out making up some more new signs......I could not help myself I had to add some Twilight ones to the mix!! A great Winnie the Pooh quote sign, some vintage adverts for the Amish, Billiards and even for Peein'!! Am going to be listing a heap of excess sign stock onto ebay today (fingers crossed!!) and will put the link up WHEN I get it done. Just trying to make some room here!! I still have alot of new ones to make up and I cannot keep them all! Can I? I am also going to be listing a HUGE amount of deleted stock from the website that I am just tired of having about the place...so why not ohhhh I don't know...sell it? So I am going to spend the day taking piccies and listing, atleast that is the plan, but, I have learnt the minute I plan for something, that is not what I will end up doing!! I will pop the link and some piccies of the newbies and a sneak peak at TCCT items in a little while. x x me

Sunday Snacktime!

I bake on Sundays. Sometimes it is as simple as a box of mixed muffins (Hannah prefers the chocolate, Hubby prefers the Orange Poppyseed and Matthew eats anything. But, usually I bake from scratch sometimes a Lemon Slice or Melting Moments, whatever it is it is usually consumed very quickly and usually mostly by Matthew! As much as we try and stop it, well......we all know it's Matthew! Today I baked Granny's Chocolate Chip biscuits. Granny is actually my sister in law Leanne's Mother and every one calls her Granny. Her biscuits are sooooooo devine that she would usually have my children (Matthew) begging his Aunt if her Mum would make some more for them (him). Leanne even made up both children a HUGE biscuit jar full of yummmmmo biscuits as part of their Christmas gifts last year. Needless to say that it went quickly with most of Hannah's being eaten by someone else (Matthew). There are now 3 trays of biscuits cooling in the kitchen being cooled down faster than usual by someone who keeps hovering them asking "can I have one, can I have one' yep....it's Matthew!! Hahahaha...he is shaking his head and laughing in disgust at what I have written here but, cannot speak as his mouth is full of fresh HOT biscuit......bless him!! So here is the recipe for granny's chocolate chip biscuits...(and when I usually make something that tells me I should have 25 of something and end up with less than that I am suprised...no where near as suprised as I was when I ended up with nearly 50 of these babies!! Yes, a recipe that makes something that last 2 days!!!)

Grannys' chocolate chip biscuits.

1.5 cups of self raising flour
.5 cups of plain flour
1 cup castor sugar
.5 cup brown sugar
180 g melted butter (I use 3/4 of the stick)
80 g milk choc buds
80 g white choc buds
80 g dark choc buds (I just use 240 of milk most times)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 t of vailla essence

Preheat overn 180*C
In large bowl mix flours, sugars, stir in butter, chocolates, eggs, and vanilla
Roll into balls, flatten slightly, place about 4cm apart and bake 10-15 minutes.

YUMMMOOOO!!! Hope you enjoy them as much as we (Matthew) does!!!

PS: He did not even attempt to deny ANY of the information above!! Ahhh gotta love a growing boy!

My name is Kim

and I am a Twilight addict. yes, I am one of those sad pathetic 'slightly older than 20 year old' woman who are HUGE Twilight fans! And while I am Team Edward allllll the way.....sometimes I think I could be Team Jasper or Team Emmett or even Team Carlisle hahahaha....tho if Jacob looks anything like his description in the next book...well I might be a little Team Jacob too!! Anywho...I defy ANYONE to NOT drool over this latest promo pic of Robert as Edward! Anyone!! Coz Lordy Lordy this man is samokin'!!!!! (and really at 25 he is not too young for me!! hahaha if only I could somehow insnare him hmmmm)

I am just devestated that I have to wait sooooooo long before I can see the next instalment! Oh well...such is life!!

YAY! Got some more done!

I was fortunate enough recently to purchase some of the remaining stock of a business 'aquaintance' who was no longer going to be making signs. I am slowlllllly making my way through all of the new ones and now have 2 more gameboards (and the last of the lot I believe (mentally doing a tally!!) to add to the website. Now I am just going to have to list the samples that I have made up onto ebay...but, whats the hurry...I may as well keep them gathered about the place for a few more months hahahaha....anywho...here are the last 2. I will be loading these up onto the website later on during the weekend.

Some LONG overdue gameboards!

I had a lovely customer ask me recently about the gameboards that I have available. Sadly, I had to stop and think as I have a few of them on my family room wall but, I have never loaded them onto my website! I mean, THAT'S a great way to run a business!! So....just for you Di, here are some of gameboards that I have available, I still have 3 that I have to do as an actual gameboard. One I used about 3/4 years ago as a table top design ( I think the antique dealer would have had a stroke if she had seen what her cute little *BORING* oak table ended up looking like!!) And in my defense the other 2 designs have only been waiting 4 weeks or so for my attentions....so I guess that isn't toooooo bad!! (The notyetdone designs are of a sampler/saltbox checkers design, a JR Simms & Sons and an Americana parcheesi design). So here they are!!! Some will be on TCCT this month...or not...I have until this afternoon to decide...but, I though I might as well put up some other newbies too!!!

This one has a little wooden 'lip' all of the way around it.

This is the smallest one ((sheep and crows) at only 6 inches wide and about 16-18 inches tall

The Reunion

My Uncle was killed in Vietnam on the 21st of February 1967. He was just 20 years old. An armoured personnel carrier (APC) that he was travelling in accident hit a mine and while he survived the initial blast uninjured, when others when into give assistance they accidently tripped a second mine that killed some more of their group. My Uncle Richard was one of them. Nine were killed and 22 were inured. This past week we have had the honour of entertaining the remaining 4 Platoon B Company 5th Battalion RAR members during their 2009 Reunion. I have never met a nicer bunch of guys. It was an emotional week for all of us, obviously for them more so as it is always held on the aniversary of that unfortunately accident, this being the 42nd year. We had a memorial for the fallen on the Saturday (the 21st) and so many people bent over backwards to support the boys any way they could. We had the Pipe Band Major playing Amazing Grace which just sends shivers down your spine, we had a Buggler playing the Last Post, lots of different associations placed wreaths, and while this was a private Memorial those that needed to know did. The Mayor put on a lovely afternoon tea, a private quarry was opened up so they could see how limestone is quarried (the owner is also a Vietnam Vet) the local RSL bent over backwards...its was truly amazing to see! One of the Vets has truly struggled since returning from Vietnam, like many of them had. While it is not my place to share his story, Doug you were most generous and gracious person I have ever had the joy of meeting! Everybody loved him!! Even the girls behind the bar.....he asked questions and inturn was more than happy to share his stories and details about how he has come to where he is now. He was/is truly inspirational!! It was also very fortunate that one of the Veterans is now a skin specialist in Sydney, as Hannah had some rather nasty reactions to some sand flies which were just getting worse and worse! She had a five second consultation in my parents backyard (cost my Father a BBQ tea hahahaha) and one amazing tube of ointment later the infection is all gone!!! Many thanks to you, again..... Dr White!!! Another of the Veterans bought me a simpy GORGEOUS bunch of Lillies as a thank you for some of the bit and pieces I had done for their reunion.....whilst you didn't need to do that Bluey, thank you so much they are just gorgeous!! I will post some pictures to share tommorrow....time to start the evening routine!!!