Close-knit Caboolture crew gets creative.
They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but at Living Gems Caboolture Riverfront, all the creative craft crew need is great company, diamond dots, paper, wool and plenty of crochet hooks and knitting needles.
Gathering within a well-stocked craft room in the resort’s Country Club, a group of talented residents have been running classes every week for several years.
But what exactly are diamond dots? Diamond dot co-ordinator, Diane Ramsay, explains.
“Diamond dotting is like painting by numbers but using little beads,” she says with a smile.
From diamond dotting to card-making, knitting, crocheting, and any other craft they’re interested in, you can rest assured Caboolture’s ‘crafters’ have a great time creating, and welcome anyone who wants to get a little crafty with them, including men.
Diane started the group in October 2021 after visiting family up north where she found diamond dotting therapeutic, especially through pandemic lockdowns.
“I was visiting my daughter in Rockhampton for Christmas 2019, and she was working on a diamond dot picture and gave me one for Christmas, which made me buy one and get into it myself,” Diane recalled.
“Then COVID hit so craft kept me busy, and in October 2021, I decided to run a free class at the resort for interested residents. I bought a pack of Christmas and variety cards, got 20 ladies together and everyone just loved it, so we put information in the resort flyer and the rest is history. We now meet every Tuesday.”
Knit and crochet coordinator of four years, Aileen Cause, runs a group every Monday with 15 women on average, creating toys and throw rugs for organisations who distribute them to people in need.
“We can make anything from knee rugs for nursing homes to trauma teddies for organisations like the Red Cross,” Aileen said proudly.
“A lot of us even knit at home and bring down knitted pieces so the rest of us can stitch them together and put faces on the teddies. I like to crochet more than knitting because it’s a lot quicker and it’s always lovely to personally pick the wool for a knee rug that you know will end up on someone’s lap to enjoy. It’s such a lovely thing to participate in.”
Diane added that Wednesday mornings are an ‘anything goes’ craft class run by co-ordinator, Kay Lerve.
“Kay can teach you any craft, from cross stitch to long stitch, painting, whatever you want to learn, so you can request what you want, and Kay will put that together for you,” said Diane.
Thursdays and Saturdays are run by card co-ordinator, Gloria Dolan, exclusively for card creation. The group has a system where they make cards and then donate them to be used for anyone needing a greeting card.
“The resort uses an honesty box where cards are purchased for $2.50 for charity, and residents love it. We even had a market day here towards the middle of November last year, and I had 21 diamond dot pictures that were all beautifully framed. I sold about eight of them, with ballerina pictures being most popular,” Diane said.
