Quest 4: St Andrew’s Uniting Church & ANZAC Square War Memorial

St. Andrew’s Uniting Church

Location:  On the corner Creek & Ann St.

Date of visit: 25th October 2012

Practical Information:
Entry is free, donation appreciated. It is open Monday – Friday 11 am to 2 pm. The entrance is on the side on Ann St.

Website:
www.saintandrews.org.au

This was a lovely visit.  The Church was really quiet and the guides were extremely helpful and friendly.  A different atmosphere to the Cathedral but still really nice.  The thing that struck me the most was that it was very much like a boat, with the dark wooden rafters and ceiling.  There is also an interesting war memorial on site.

Crafty Inspiration:
For the 100th anniversary members of the church made a big quilt.
Everyone made a ten centimeter square about what the church means to them.

We both want/need queen size quilts for our homes. So quilts it is! And another longer term project!

ANZAC Square War Memorial

Location: Anzac Square (between Adelaide and Ann St.)

Date of visit: 25th October 2012

Practical Information:
The memorial stands right in front of the central station. Access to the shrine is open Monday – Friday from 9 am to 3 pm. The shrine is UNDER the memorial. walk around it and down the steps to the little park . Turn left and go into the tunnel under the stairs that leads to the station. The tunnel with memorial signs is on the left.

It was interesting to visit a non European war memorial and notice the similarities and differences, in particular the references to Vietnam, Japan and Pacific Islands which aren’t (we don’t think) as common in Europe.   It was a sombre but enjoyable and interesting visit.

Crafty Inspiration:
None here, respectfully leaving the poppies for remembrance.

Quest 2: St. John’s Cathedral

Location: St. John’s Cathedral, 373 Ann St

Date of Visit: 14. September 2012

Practical Info: It’s free, 5 dollar donation suggested. Open Monday – Saturday 9.30am – 4.30pm, Sunday 11am – 4.30pm. You can’t miss it: big fat building on Ann street.  There is currently a lot of building work going on around the street but the cathedral is still open for business.

Website:
www.stjohnscathedral.com.au

Info about the building: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_John’s_Cathedral_(Brisbane)

After making sure we weren’t gate crashing a funeral, the first thing that struck us on entering the cathedral was that it was so light, airy and new. Once again we were extremely lucky to meet an enthusiastic and knowledgable volunteer who was able to show us about and point out lots of interesting elements that we may have missed, so a big thank you to Rod! It was great to see how the cathedral has evolved and adapted to the community around it in the course of it’s 100+ years.  The different styles and fashions of the decades are reflected in everything from the pew cushions to the architecure, and the stained glass windows are used to with great effect to reflect the cultures of the local area and communities.

In the chapel area there is an amazing set of chair cushions depicting a modern (and very Australian!) interpreatation of the Nativity.  Rod informed us that this is the only portrayal of naked Virgin Mary you will find in a cathedral.

Stained Glass Window commemorating the Australian and American efforts and friendship during WWII.

Crafty Inspiration:
It was clear from the moment we set eyes on the cushions that we had to do a similar craft. There are two options to achieve cushions like this: weaving or embroidery. We will try embroidery because neither of us has a loom for weaving. To make a cushion for a chair will probably take us much longer then knitting baby hats. This will be a longer term craft project. We found a great website to make your own patterns:
www.myphotostitch.com/Make_Pattern/Make_Pattern.html

One of the knights will definitely embroider an Australian theme as found in the cathedral while the other knight is still searching for inspiration…

Quest 1: Mercy Heritage Centre

Location: Mercy Heritage Centre, All Hallows Convent, 547 Ann St.

Date of visit: 17th August 2012

Well after a somewhat faltering start, we actually read the guidebook, took note of the opening times and visited the first recommend place of interest in the guidebook: The Mercy Heritage Centre.

The Mercy Heritage Centre is a small museum celebrating the legacy of the Sister’s of Mercy and their history in Brisbane. The museum is based in the the former school/convent and has different exhibitions throughout the building.  We were lucky enough to get a private tour around the centre by the lovely Nicole, who whilst being relatively new to the role was able to add interesting details about the history of the building and the nuns.  Highlights included the displays of the sister’s personal belongings in the trunk room and bedrooms, the school rooms and also the new History of the Sisters exhibition which explored the history of the Sisters and the impact they have had on Brisbane through their chartable and nursing work.

Practical Info:
It’s free, donation appreciated (ups, that’s what we forgot). At the moment it is open Monday AND Friday 9 am to 4 pm (NOT Monday to Friday). Our guide Nicole told us that they are thinking about changing opening times because most people read this wrong in the little booklet.

457 Ann St is at the top of the hill before going into to Fortitude Valley accross from the Centenery Park. You walk through the old stone archway into All Hallows school grounds. At the top of the drive it is the old building to the left at the very top of the hill.

To get in ring the bell. You have to walk through with a tour. It takes about two hours depending on the group size and how many questions you ask (we had pretty much a private tour for the two of us) 🙂 The last tour starts at 2pm.

Website:
www.mercyheritage.com

Crafty Inspiration:

After initially wondering what form of craft this visit would inspire, it turned out we were spoilt for choice! Whilst one knight was keen to recreate the lace wedding dress for her fellow knight, it was decided that expectations should be lowered to avoid disappointment.  The Sisters were extremely crafty in their small amount of leisure time: we saw evidence of sewing, knitting, crochet and tatting. We finally decided to celebrate the impact the Sisters have had on charity, in particular through their work with the Mater Hospitals in Brisbane, by knitting tiny hats for neonatal babies at the Mater Mother’s Hospitable in Brisbane.  This is the pattern we’ll be using: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hospital-hat

Hopefully these hats will be completed before the next adventure within the quest but as this Knight has not yet mastered DPN who knows……

-> photos to come

Coming soon…

Starting 1st August 2012