October 2026

•

Letters

Crocheting Helps Me Cope With Lockdowns

By

Amanda

Amanda writes from a prison in QLD.

A flatlay image of crochet needles and equipment resting on a table. There is also a crocheted scarf in the corner.

Edz Norton via Unsplash

To Darren in Tasmania, responding to ‘How Do You Cope With Lockdowns?’,

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This one caught my eye because I’ve been thinking the same thing. I’ve been locked up for about a year and a half now and still to this day find it hard on lockdown days to sit in my cell.

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I’ve voiced this to a few of the girls I know in here and their response to me is either “how haven’t you got used to it by now?” or “find something to do”.

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When I’m locked down, I do a lot of crocheting, which I find is really good for my mental health and your loved ones are sure to love it. With each and every project you send them, it seems hard to learn, but it’s honestly worth it on a day you’re stuck in your cage.

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When I’m not crocheting, I find myself flicking the channels 500 times looking for something to watch or committing to watching Barbie on the prison movie channel that repeats all day.

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So I really enjoy reading the prison newspaper; keep it up, About Time!

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Now how do youse cope with lockdowns?

‍

Amanda

Topics

Date Published

October 1, 2026

This

letter

was originally printed in the

edition of About Time.

•

Each Day, I Wake Up Re-Shocked

By Kate

Each day I wake up in here I’m re-shocked, so to speak…how on Earth has life gotten to this point for me? For a while there I was waiting for Ashton Kutcher to jump out and tell me I’d been “Punk’d”.

ISSUE NO. 27

•

2 MIN READ

Veterans Behind Bars: ‘You Are Not Forgotten’

By Adrian

There is a particular part of our prison populations that seems to have been forgotten, that gets no mention and yet these people who are the ones that need help and support when incarcerated with a unique set of issues that just aren’t recognised.

ISSUE NO. 27

•

3 MIN READ

Does What You Do Wrong Define the Rest of Your Life?

By Marley

So the parole referred me to seek out a security classification to be possibly considered for low security.

ISSUE NO. 27

•

2 MIN READ

Prison Q&A With Stephen

By Stephen

What’s been happening at your prison at the moment? Our frequency of ‘lock-ins’ is increasing to about 2 per week while staff do training for the handover.

ISSUE NO. 27

•

2 MIN READ

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It's

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Letters

Crocheting Helps Me Cope With Lockdowns

By

Amanda

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