Month: October 2019

Sunday Sevens #207 27.10.19

~ Making Stitches ~ 4 Comments

Hello there welcome to this week’s Sunday Sevens. You find us on midterm here in Gibraltar – and we are enjoying the prospect of not having an early alarm tomorrow morning!

Trafalgar Memorial

It was the 214th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar on Tuesday. Every year, on a Sunday near to the anniversary, a special ceremony takes place at Trafalgar Cemetery in Gibraltar. This year’s remembrance happened last Sunday.

The men who lost their lives in the battle are remembered and wreaths are laid on the graves of two men who came to Gibraltar immediately afterwards for treatment, but who died from their wounds.

There is always a Royal Navy vessel in port for this ceremony and the sailors attend in their uniforms. It’s a really special time.

Med Steps on a Monday

It was a beautifully clear, sunny morning on Monday and I headed off up the Med Steps. I spied these two big black birds overhead which were circling above the Rock and causing a great deal of excitement amongst the seagull population. I spoke to one of the wardens about them, and I’m reliably told they are a pair of ravens, and it’s hoped that they will breed next year.

Dressmaking class

So my second pair of trial run trousers were sewn this week and although my problematic large calves were adequately accommodated, elsewhere they were a bit on the large side this week! Darts are the order of the day in my next class!

Sunset alert

Sunday sevens wouldn’t be Sunday sevens without a sunset pic would it? Here’s this week’s one.

Framing my paintings

I finally got round to framing a few of my watercolour paintings this week. I bought some frames a few weeks back and wanted to hang them in the hall. My seashells from two years ago we’re just the right size.

A catch-up with a lovely friend

A lovely friend of mine came round for a visit this week – the first time I’ve seen her in months – and she brought these beautiful flowers. They look glorious in their vase and are a lovely reminder of a fab chat over lunch.

A prickly situation

This little chap/lady got him/herself into a bit of a tangle this week in my parents’ garden in Manchester. (So this isn’t one of my photos – thanks Dad). The last time I remember seeing a hedgehog in their garden I was about 10 – so it’s not a common occurrence, or if it is, they are very stealthy!

He/she had a rest in a box in their porch before heading off for a wander…

And that brings this week’s Sunday Sevens to a close for another week. Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday Sevens was first created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Sunday Sevens #206 20.10.19

~ Making Stitches ~ 2 Comments

Hello again, another week gone by and another Sunday Sevens. It was the Battle of Trafalgar remembrance service in Gibraltar this morning. It was lovely to see, it will feature in next week’s edition. Here’s a bit of what’s been going on this week….

And then it was gone

I mentioned the demolition of the Queens Cinema in a Sunday Sevens a few weeks back, all that remains of this lovely building is a pile of twisted metal. Such a shame.

Trial run trousers mark 2

In my dressmaking class this week I began making my second pair of trial run trousers. Let’s hope the adjustments I made to the pattern accommodate my larger than average calves work out! 😉

A colourful visitor

I went to open the back door one afternoon and spied this beautiful moth sitting on the lock!

Election Day

Gibraltar went to the polls on Thursday. Over here you vote for 10 candidates which you would like to represent you rather than just one representative for your ward. There were candidates from three parties standing this time, which was a first for us in our decade in Gibraltar.

Election results

As we woke up on Friday morning, the results from Thursday’s election were announced. Sadly Steven Seagull didn’t win despite his lovely campaign posters. (The previous government of GSLP Liberal Alliance were returned to power). This lovely poster was designed by the street artist whose work includes cats, a sloth and a few other images which gave appeared around Gibraltar lately. You can see their work on Instagram, just search for jupp.jupp.jupp.

Autumn florals

Gibraltar is still looking beautiful even though it’s well into autumn now. I found myself taking photos of flowers a lot this week.

Crisis averted

So yesterday afternoon we lost our tv signal. Just about the only UK programme I watch on a regular basis apart from the news is Strictly. Half an hour before it went on air and after plugging and unplugging all our cables (and blaming the Little Postcards for touching things they shouldn’t) I called our TV provider. Aparently the whole local area was off – sorry boys! The man said it would probably stay off until this morning – nooooo! But amazingly it came back on part way through – hurrah!

And that brings another Sunday Sevens to a close, thank you for stopping by!

Sunday Sevens was first created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Sunday Sevens #205 13.10.19

~ Making Stitches ~ 2 Comments

Hello again, it’s looking rather like just Sunday Sevens posts are the moment. I haven’t had the time to write any others as things are rather busy at the moment (aren’t they always?!). Anyway, I hope you’ve had a good week, here’s wht ive been up to:

Dressmaking class

Well I had it confirmed to me this week that I have larger than average calves, so large that when I tried on my trial run cotton trousers, I couldn’t get them on past my calves!! I had to cut them at the knees to try them on around my waist & hips! Whoops!!

The paper pattern has been altered accordingly…. time to try again! Here’s one leg, complete with a fat calf line!!

Another power cut this week…

We had another power cut this week. It took out the traffic lights and the carpark, it stretched the full length of Gibraltar. Apparently someone cut through a main cable while they were working on building a new park in the centre of town. Thankfully no one was hurt.

Big stuff in the Bay

There is a mahoosive rig in the Bay at the moment. It’s been there for two weeks now. It’s apparently the biggest heavy lifting rig in the world. It looks rather pretty when it’s lights are twinkling though.

Crochet progress

Im still playing catch up with my Coastal Crochet Changing Tides blanket. Just one more row of bobbles to go…. it could take some time!

It’s election week here in Gibraltar, the three political parties are campaigning like billy-o. We’ll see what the week brings over here and Brexit-wise in the UK. Interesting times….

I hope you have a good week!

Sunday Sevens was first created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Sunday Sevens #204 6.10.19

~ Making Stitches ~ 4 Comments

Hello there! We’re basking in some beautiful autumnal sunshine here at the moment in Gibraltar. If the weather where you are isn’t too great I’ll have a word and see if we can share some of ours with you! Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens:

A new skill to start the week

On Monday I went to an extra skills workshop with my Dressmaking teacher Dorcas Hammond to learn how to do shirring and make a shirring dress. I saw some of the work produced by my fellow Dressmaking students on the last workshop and it was beautiful. Shirring is such a useful technique, not only can you make pretty dresses, but also tops, waistbands and sleeves.

I can’t wait to find the time in my busy weeks to actually put my new found skills to the test! I have bought fabric and am raring to go! Now this little dress is ready to go to a young lady I know….

The end of an era

There has been much debate and regret on local social media and in the press about the demolition of the Queen’s Cinema. When we first arrived in Gibraltar we lived very close by and I loved the architectural style of it from the outside. On the two occasions I was able to attend events inside, it was so reminiscent of the old cinema in the town where I grew up, it felt so homely straight away.

It had closed as a cinema by the time we arrived here to live, as the new purpose built leisure complex at Kings Bastion had a couple of brand new screens, so I didn’t see it in its heyday. I think it’s such a shame that a developer or the Government didn’t turn it into a facility for the community. Perhaps showing old films or for local productions? Anyway, that won’t happen now, just the bottom of the walls and the skeleton of the balcony remain. So sad…

Mantis!

Whilst visiting the home of a friend this week I spied this mantis on the window of the stair well. It rather took me by surprise! They are fascinating creatures to see up close!

Sewing in the dark…

Whilst at my regular Dressmaking class this week we had a power cut. It was so frustrating as I was on a roll seaming my trial run trousers. I had just one inside leg left to sew, so I had to finish it off cranking the wheel by hand by the light of my phone torch! It didn’t half make my shoulder ache! A handle or even better, a treadle would have been much easier! There’s a lot to be said for manual power, or pedal power – it won’t let you down in a power cut!!

Stunning sunset

We have had some truly beautiful sunsets this week because we’ve had clear skies and whispy clouds. This is the gorgeous one we enjoyed on Wednesday.

Blue skies

Those clear skies I mentioned… just check out these on Friday. It was absolutely glorious. I went for a very boring trip into town on an admin mission and bumped into Mr Postcard. We had an impromptu lunch in Ocean Village with this lovely view (below):

Guess where we went shopping?

Many months ago I promised Eldest that I would take him to Ikea. (He had his eye on a new desk lamp). We have an affection for all things Scandinavian, you may remember we made a special trip to Stockholm earlier this year. Anyway yesterday was the day we went back to Ikea. We were able to stock up on a few sweet Swedish treats!

We’re into October already, which hardly seems possible. Here’s a few of my September highlights:

That’s all from Sunday Sevens for another week. I hope you have a great week ahead…

Sunday Sevens was first created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.