A Day on Moreton Bay

Last weekend we spent the day with my brother and his wife out on Moreton Bay. It was a glorious day, but not much wind. We headed for St Helena Island. Funny that even though I grew up in this part of the world, I didn't know much about this island, or its rich history.

St Helena Island is about 4 kilometres east of the moth of the Brisbane River. Its claim to fame is that it was a penal colony in the late 1800s and a prison farm in the early 1900. The photo below shows the ruins.

This is the wetlands of Moreton Bay. It was low tide but a beautiful day with about 5 knots of wind, which makes sailing pretty hard going!

My brother tells me that they used to run an abattoirs on the island and throw the animal off cuts into the sea. This of course attracted the sharks, hence keeping the prisoners in place!

This odd looking structure below was erected as a swimming pool designed to allow people to swim in a protection from the sharks. Not sure how they got to it though as it was a few metres from the beach.

St Helena is now a National Park protected as a historical site. It also has significance as the shelter of a range of migratory birds.

This is my brothers boat from the rubber duckie.

We stopped out to sea and the boys went for a swim. Yep they are stupid as it is the middle of winter here. They had a hoot jumping of the boat into the ocean. Apparently the icy cool salty water was quite invigorating!

I also believe that the icy cool salty water numbs the brain as they did this a few times so I could photograph them in flight!

As for me I stayed dry and crocheted, while sipping pink champagne. I cant go anywhere without a hook and some yarn.

You can see the coast of Brisbane in the distance and the sail boats trying to race on quite a un -windy day.

My little booties look nice and bright against the serene blue backdrop. It was a special day with the family.

Crochet Therapy

June was a sad and emotional month for our family. Many thanks to all the warm thoughts and hugs that were expressed.

My Mum in law lived about 2 1/2 hours drive north from where we live, and hub and I spent many an hour driving back and forth over the last few weeks. Crochet is my therapy, and it goes where I go. Here are some of the things I made over the last few weeks.

I have been meaning to finish off these koalas for yonks now, and I have finally done it. I have even finished writing the patterns up.

A Koala Party Beanie:
A Koala Party Scarf:

Another Koala Party Beanie.

Yes, I know I am obsessed but I just love koalas.

They are the most amazing animals, however after I was tiring of Koalas I thought I would do a kangaroo beanie.
Because I wasn't very organised, I had only grabbed a few colours so it is the same mix as the first koala beanie.

Friends of ours in Townsville also welcomed their new son into the world on the 4th June. He was well over 9lbs which is a whopper of a baby for my friend who is less than 5ft, and about normally about 45 kg. Babies are Gods little wonders and I made him some baby blue ugg booties. It is our winter here so these are perfect for the cooler weather up North. I surprised my self by not only making these , but also having mailed them off within about 3 days of bub being born. This was a happy moment amongst our sadness but reminded me how life goes on.

I have also been experimenting with some lacy mitts. Our Daughter took the first set I made as she was home for Grandmas Funeral. The ones below are a second set I made to see if I could remember what I did.

She also fancied the beanie and scarf to match. Again the scarf was an experiment in a loophole, shorter version.

The problem is that while I wrote down rough notes, the set is now back in Melbourne, and I am having fun trying to remember exactly how I made them!

The model is my eldest sons girlfriend. She is a terrific model and I ended up making her a beanie in blue and a scarf to match. She really likes the things I make. As many of you would know, there is a real buzz in having your crochet appreciated.

So crochet is my therapy, and I have been productive while I have been away from my blog. Grief is a terrible feeling. I find that the best thing is to keep busy. Grandma would have been 84 on July 19. She lived a wonderful life, had 3 sons, 3 daughters in law and 6 grand kids. She was fortunate to have lived independently in her own home, with her mind as sharp as a tack up until the week before she left us. She partied hard with us for my birthday in March, and was the life of the party in her sarong and hibiscus around her neck. She always had a sparkle in her eye, and took such interest in others. She would have enjoyed seeing what I have just shown you. We miss her already.