Saturday...

Yesterday started off with a visit to this place...Newmarket Hardware...

I wasn't buying hardware though...at the back of this shop is a cute little shop known as Gallery B. This shop has clothes, shoes, handbags, jewellery and lots of beautiful knick knacks...and a coffee shop! I was meeting 3 friends for a coffee...

My friend Valerie took this photo of her iced coffee and lemon cake...

After coffee and some catch up chatting, my friends and I headed off on our separate ways, which for me meant heading off to Brunswick Heads with DH. 

Just one stop on the way...Fantazia at Tweed Heads South for some more tablecloth by the metre for my big 3 metre long table. (And 40cm of some Christmas fabric that got my interest)

This year we are not staying in a cabin in the Ferry Reserve Park on the beautiful Brunswick River...the park was booked out months ago for next week. This time we are renting a house closer in to the town...

Our room...

Next Thursday and Friday nights, DH's friend will stay in this room...

And there is a smaller room where I have 'parked' my boxes of craft...

The kitchen...

The lounge and dining area...

All very nice as you can see!

We are staying a bit longer than we normally do when we come to Brunswick Heads so DH can play in the golf comp...a week was only a bit more expensive than the 4 nights we normally do, so DH booked for the week! It will be hard to leave as this area is so lovely and laid back! 

Later in the afternoon we went down to the beach...

And also sat on the rock groyne and enjoyed the view and the breeze...

(We still take terrible selfies!)

Just before bed, I settled down with my knitting to do a few rows...

A pretty good day I reckon :-)

Friday Night with Friends...

I joined in with FNwF because I actually remembered!

Mostly preparation stuff last night...I finally wrote a list of all my Swap commitments...I always feel more organised when I do that...

I'm heading off to Brunswick Heads this morning because DH is playing in a golf comp there next week. So lots of craft time for me...

So last night I cut out a few more long hexies for some secret projects...

I needed to cut some more hexies and half hexagons for a Xmas Dillybag from the Judy Newman pattern...

I traced around some templates on to some lovely Winterwood felt...another secret project!

Looked through some threads...

Did some tracing with the light box; some redwork Christmas designs...

 

Then I packed up my knitting, adding some balls of yarn...and then I was ready for Brunswick Heads! (Just threw a few clothes in a bag and packed the Esky this morning! A girl's got to get her priorities right!) lol

The Bridges over the Brisbane River...

Another post now about that trip DH and I did, cruising up the Brisbane River and back again. I remember reading a report quite a few years ago which concluded that there were not enough bridges crossing over the Brisbane River. But since then there has been a number of new bridges built and a Google search revealed that there are now 15 bridges which cross this river. But I'm going to include some bridges that cross tributaries and while most people don't notice them, these smaller bridges carry a lot of traffic.

So here we go...let's check out those bridges!

The bridge farthest downstream is the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge; basically 2 bridges with the original one being called The Gateway Bridge...

The next bridge is over the mouth of Norman Creek rather than the Brisbane River, where Norman Creek flows into the Brisbane River...

Then as the river flows past Newstead, there is the Breakfast Creek Bridge. (Oxley, an early explorer of this region is reported to have stopped for breakfast where this tributary flows into the Brisbane River and so the creek was named...believe it or not! lol) 

The next bridge we come to is the Story Bridge designed by John Bradfield, who also designed the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. This bridge was opened in 1940. I love this bridge...

The next bridge was built as part of a freeway ( SE Freeway, now M1)...one of the first freeways in Brisbane. It was originally known as the Gardens' Point Bridge but the name was changed to the Captain Cook Bridge. It was opened in 1972.

The next bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist bridge, known as the Goodwill Bridge opened in 2001. On the south bank approach it is just near the Maritime Museum. 

Cruise a little farther and we come to the Victoria Bridge...this one opened in 1969 and is the third permanent structure known as the Victoria Bridge. The first one was washed away in the great flood of 1893! I didn't actually take a photo of the Victoria Bridge so I 'borrowed' this one from the Internet. Notice how alike the Captain Cook Bridge it is?

The next bridge we come to is another pedestrian and cyclist bridge known as the Kurilpa Bridge and opened in 2009...

Then we come to another one of my favourite bridges...the lovely old William Jolly Bridge aka Grey St Bridge, opened in 1932.

Not far from the William Jolly Bridge is the Merivale Railway Bridge which was opened in 1978. This bridge meant that trains on the south side could continue on to the north side of town instead of terminating at South Brisbane. Not just suburban trains but also those coming from interstate. 

The northern end of the Merivale St, Railway Bridge

 Just near the Merivale bridge is yet another road bridge...the Go Between Bridge which links West End to Hale St on the north side. It was opened in 2010.

Looking downstream towards the city...3 bridges in a row!

Crossing from Dutton Park to near the University of Queensland at St Lucia, we have the Eleanor Schonell Bridge which was opened in 2006. This bridge was originally called the Green Bridge but it was later changed to honor a great academic from UQ. This bridge is for pedestrians, cyclists, buses and emergency vehicles only. This is another bridge that I find beautiful...and therefore I took a lot of photos :-)

Underneath...

A bus on the bridge heading from Dutton Park to St Lucia...

The next bridges are at Indooroopilly and there are 4 side by side...

L-R, Jack Pesch, Albert Rail, Indooroopilly Rail and the Walter Taylor Bridges...

Going upstream we first go under the Jack Pesch pedestrian and cyclist bridge. This bridge was opened in 1998.Nestled beside that bridge is the Albert Rail Bridge which was opened in 1895 and enabled a train link between Brisbane and Ipswich. Right beside the Albert Bridge is a newer rail bridge opened in 1957...known simply as the Indooroopilly Rail Bridge. 

And then, 'snuggled up' beside the Albert Bridge is yet another of my favourite Brisbane bridges...The Walter Taylor Bridge, opened in 1936. 

The flats/apartments in the towers of the bridge always fascinated me as a child...oh all right! They fascinated me as an adult too!! lol

Then the final bridge over the Brisbane River is the Centenary Bridge, opened 1964. This bridge opened up a number of suburbs collectively called the Centenary Estate for development. It is part of the Western Freeway.  

It looks very quiet, but this bridge  is part of the freeway!

The Centenary Bridge takes a lot of traffic each day!

I've been fortunate to have travelled a bit and have admired bridges such as those over the Thames, especially Tower Bridge (I've been there when it opened to let a tall masted yacht through!), the wonderful bridge built by Brunel in Bristol, the lovely old bridges in Newcastle, UK, the elegant old Brooklyn Bridge, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and amazing high bridges over the Snake and Columbia Rivers and was absolutely charmed by the Golden Gate Bridge and the Oakland Bridge...but some of those bridges here in my home town are pretty special to me as well. 

Lollies, lollies and more lollies!

As someone who has chosen to avoid eating foods which contain sugar, I've certainly been handling a lot of sweets/lollies/candy lately!

But it's all in the name of charity. 

For a few years now, Knitting for Brisbane's Needy members have provided mini Christmas stockings filled with sweets, to the various community groups who distribute them to the needy. This 'tradition' has grown from a few hundred to well over 2000 in 2013. Last year, the founder of the group, and her husband spent over $400 of their own money buying sweets for these stockings. After hearing how much of their own money went on buying supplies, I decided then and there that there had to be a better way. So I asked for help...from family and friends.

My wonderful friends, the Sunday Stitchers brought along a big lot of lollies at our October meet...

While doing election training a few weeks ago, a handful of sweets were placed on each work station...the others ate their pile...DH and I brought our booty home...this was one day's worth. They gave us more to bring home on the second day! Lol

Other friends and DH, cousins and in laws have also donated sweets. 

Then I tackled the issue of the packaging...the knitted stockings take a while to knit, so as I needed to increase production output, I trialled other ways of packaging these gifts. 

Simple felt ones...pinked edges...so easy and quick!

Mark 2... Felt with a ribbon decoration, and some Christmas fabric stockings...also pinked edges :-) 

Then I started thinking outside the square so to speak...I had leftover sweets cello bags from the 'making sweets for the church fete' days...and some bells left over from teaching days...

Then I wondered if we could package up the sweets in party treat boxes...Christmas stickers also left over from classroom days :-)

So last weekend, I played around with ideas and packaged up 81 gifts of sweets...

 Three friends had given me some stockings too. 

On Monday I took my filled containers of sweets to the Scarborough Knit and Natter...and you'll never guess...the ladies were filling Christmas stocking there too! 

A bag of empties waiting to be filled...

Busy busy...

We packed over 500 yesterday!

Last week at Zillmere over 200 were handed in...

Including the mini lollipops with the Santa hats!

I love the crocheted stocking in the photo above...crocheting is generally faster than knitting...mmmm...might just give that a go I think. :-)

(It looks like we need to provide 2500 of these stockings, bags, boxes judging by the requests that have come in. Including one from a former student who is a Uniting Church minister. There were huge bush fires this year in her parish in north eastern Victoria; she wanted something to bring a bit of cheer to her parishioners. Another of my students works/runs a mental health inpatient unit on the GoldCoast  with 21 beds; she has requested 21 stockings for her patients) we try to help as many as possible)