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Sunday Sevens #74 12.3.17

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Hello there, I’m pressing the publish button on this edition of Sunday Sevens in Spain. It’s a bank holiday weekend in Gibraltar and we have taken the opportunity to get away for a couple of days.

Without further ado, here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens…


A first attempt at corner to corner


YouTube is a wonderful thing… I have used it to learn lots of different crafty things. My latest tutorial to watch was one on corner to corner or ‘C2C’ blankets. It was presented by Bella Coco and I can highly recommend it for clarity and being easy to follow. You can find a link to her channel here.

I decided to have a go at making a baby blanket with this new found skill, and I rather like it. It’s very addictive though – you have been warned!

A new project…

I’m trying my hand at patchwork quilting. I have made a few quite basic ones in the past, and this one will be similarly basic too. I love the look of the really intricate ones but the thought of how to make them makes my head ache. 

I had a few hours spare on Monday so I decided to set about cutting out my fabric pieces and laid out the pattern on the dining room floor. My word, it took such a long time to cut out and figure out the pattern that I only had an hour left before the school pick up. Unfortunately that’s as far as I got with it this week. I hope I can get a bit more done on this soon.

Zip’s in!

I missed my dressmaking class last week because of a poorly Little Postcard. Part way through this week’s class I received a phone call from school to go and collect another Little Postcard as he’d had a mishap. I’m pleased to report that he’s fine and was none the worse for his sporting injury by bedtime. I’m also pleased to say in my brief time at my lesson I managed to insert the invisible zip into my dress. 

A walk in the clouds 

In case you missed my post midweek, here’s another chance to see my view from the top of the Med Steps. We climbed up through the clouds to get to the summit. You can see the post I wrote about it here.

Flower making at football training 

So at football training this week I struck up a conversation with one of the other mums as I sat crocheting in the afternoon sun. She really surprised me by telling me that she had read Postcard from Gibraltar and it was one of the reasons why she’d moved here! Holy moly, I did not expect to hear that!!

It’s the weekend!


It’s a bank holiday weekend in Gibraltar this weekend. Schools are closed on Monday because it’s Commonwealth weekend (a fact I find befuddling given that it’s not celebrated in the British Isles). Anyway, we made most of it and ran away for an impromptu couple of days along the coast. 

The Little Postcards didn’t know we were going, although they did question why we were crossing the frontier into Spain straight from school. It was a gorgeous afternoon and so clear. We could see the Rock getting smaller and smaller as we drove along the coast to Marbella. 

Saturday night rock and roll


Hibiscus and strawberry gin and tonic with a side order of crochet, that’s how I roll on a Saturday night these days! Perhaps it’s my age… Did you spot the fact that I’m on my second C2C blanket already?? I warned you the are addictive!!

Thanks so much for stopping by, whatever you’re up to this weekend I hope you’re having a good one!

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series created by Natalie from Threads & Bobbins.

The Postcard from Gibraltar Podcast Episode 005: Finding community online with Polly Lavarello

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In this episode of the Postcard from Gibraltar Podcast I catch up with Gibraltar based blogger and founding editor of parenting e-magazine Mum on the Rock, Polly Lavarello.

After moving to Gibraltar from the UK, Polly set up her blog Polly Mixtures and soon found herself climbing the UK parenting blog charts as she documented her experiences of having her first child. A problematic pregnancy meant Polly had to be hospitalised in Cadiz, miles away from friends and family.

After her blog took off, Polly decided to turn her attention to the wider parenting community in Gibraltar and created Mum on the Rock. Now into it’s second year, the online magazine is a valuable resource for parents in Gibraltar. It offers a ‘What’s On’ diary for family friendly groups and events along with features written by locally based parents and grandparents.

****To hear the podcast click here!****

You can also listen and subscribe to the Postcard from Gibraltar Podcast on iTunes. I would love it if you would also take the time to leave a review as that means more people will be able to find me in future. This Podcast is also available on the PodOmatic App for Android and iOS devices.

Useful links:

Mum on the Rock

Polly Mixtures

You can find Polly on Twitter as @Polly_Mixtures and on Instagram as @pollymixtures

PodOmatic
Theme music is Happy Me by Twisterium

Sunday Sevens #60 4.12.16

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Hello there. Just the one blog post this week I’m afraid. Last week was such a busy one for me with four blog posts, one of which included my My first ever Podcast! So this week I took it easy and had a little break. The feedback I have received following the podcast was just amazing. Thank you to everyone who contacted me to say you had listened to my first attempt, I really appreciate you taking the time.

I have been using my time this week very wisely, doing research and planning for the New Year and what it might hold for Postcard from Gibraltar. I have to say I’m really excited about it and look forward to sharing it all with you next year.

Back to this week, and here’s episode 60 of Sunday Sevens…

Sunshine after the rain


We’ve had rather a lot of rain lately. Although we have had a couple of dry days this week, the weather has been rather dominated with leaden grey skies and the wet stuff. On Sunday evening, after a very damp day we were lucky enough to glimpse this little slice of sunshine just before it disappeared behind the hills across the Bay.

Christmas lights

In the middle of November, Gibraltar’s main Christmas lights were switched on, however, they aren’t the only Christmas lights we have here. On Monday evening, it was the turn of the Ocean Village marina to have a big switch on. Beforehand there were performances from a school choir and some Disney princesses amongst other things.

Went along for a little while to soak up the festive atmosphere. Homework prevented us staying for too long and we missed the big moment. On our way back to the car, these rather pretty lights caught my eye. They look rather nice below Moorish Castle.

 

Best seam ever!!

I am so proud of this little seam. It’s at the back of the princess-line top I’m making in my dressmaking class. The invisible zip is now half inserted in below it, so it’s moved on a bit since this photo (although not without a great deal of tacking, unpicking and resewing). I have come to the conclusion that I really don’t like putting zips in. They are tricky little blighters, so I am basking in the success of the seam for now and trying not to think about what lies ahead…

Bunny update 

You may remember two weeks ago I wrote a post about our new lodger The adventures of Blizzard the bunny. Well, I thought you might like an update on her situation. She is now no longer known as Blizzard, that name seemed a little bit too masculine, so she now goes by the wintery moniker of Snowflake. 

She seems to be getting on well with our resident Postcard Bunny. Their cages have been moving closer together and Snowflakes habit of thumping the ground is happening less and less. And man can she eat? She’s an eating machine. The pair of them can get through a big bag of Kale in a day. That’s on top of the carrots, hay and straw…

She really has become like part of the family very quickly. Next week, she will return to the vets for a second scan to check for any babies and for her jabs. After that, we will be able to put them both together in neutral territory and see how they get on. Wish us luck!

Watercolour class 

After the completion of my beach huts painting, which has been going on for months it seems, my watercolour teacher suggested going back to florals for a change. In the first year or so of our lessons, flowers featured very heavily in our subject matter and I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed painting them. I’d never attempting painting a Christmas cactus before. The lesson flew by and although what I produced isn’t my best work, I really enjoyed it.

Podcast excitement 

One of the main reasons why I decided to have a go at podcasting was after listening to several really inspiring podcasts myself. One of them is the Blogtacular Podcast with Kat Molesworth. In each episode, she speaks to well established bloggers and creative people about their lives, and why they do what they do (sorry Kat, I’m not explaining this very well!). 

In the middle of each podcast, Kat answers a question from one of her podcast listeners and guess what? This week she answered mine! I nearly choked on my Friday evening glass of vino when I heard it. What a way to start the weekend… You can listen to it here: Blogtacular Podcast Episode 017.

Christmas came early

Mr Postcard has been away on a business trip for part of this week and came back home with an early Christmas present for me. I have wanted a yarn bowl for ages and ages and he brought me this beauty back from Our Handmade Collective in Leeds. It’s gorgeous, don’t you think? It was made by Thrown in Stone. It’s been put to good use already as I’ve been experimenting with some cotton trying to make some lacy squares.

That’s all for Sunday Sevens this week. Thank you so much for stopping by, and until next time, I hope you have a great week.

Sunday Sevens was created by Natalie at Thread and Bobbins blog. It’s a weekly blog series which gives bloggers the opportunity to feature seven photos from the past seven days. If you would like to join in, pop over to Natalie’s blog to find out more.

A Postcard birthday

~ Making Stitches ~ 8 Comments

 

1

 

 

It’s been a whole 12 months since my first blog post on Postcard from Gibraltar and what a fun and busy year it has been. I started out publishing my first post and wondering if anyone out there in cyberspace would actually read it but I soon discovered a lovely community who share my interest in craft and want to hear about this lovely Rock I live on.

Thank you very much for all the lovely comments and likes over the past year, I appreciate you taking the time to leave them. I read them all although sometimes it can take me a while to reply.

I know that an important part of being in this community is that it’s not just a one way street and we should all take the time to read each others posts and sometimes I’m not too great at that as life tends to get in the way a bit. Please know that I always mean to, and I usually get around to taking a look at my fellow bloggers posts eventually!

I’m afraid I’m being very lazy this week with my midweek post and I’m just going to share a few of my highlights from the last year with you. I hope you enjoy this trip down Memory Lane 🙂

 

Expat life:

Moving countries with two small children and leaving all our family and friends behind was no small feat. I have to admit that when I was faced with the prospect of moving here (due to Mr Postcard’s work relocating) I wasn’t impressed. I had my life sorted and was happy where I was, the prospect of having to start all over again didn’t fill me with joy.

Back in September last year the annual cardboard boat race in Ocean Village reminded me of what life was like back when we first arrived and that the warm welcome we received as a family helped us on the road to settling in: Cardboard boats and memories of moving

Apart from arriving here and making a fresh start, one of the hardest things about being an ‘expat’ is that many of our community are transient. For those who come with work or their partner’s job, rather than just making the choice to move here for good, their tenure in Gibraltar can be short.

However short that stay may be, friendships can develop fast. In the absence of family nearby friends very soon become each other’s support network and that makes saying goodbye all the harder: Saying goodbye…

 

Crafty highlights

I love, love, love making things. If you’ve caught any of my Sunday Sevens posts you’ll know that most of my weeks are dominated by crafty things including watercolour lessons, dressmaking lessons and of course, my love of crochet. In May, I was inspired to make a wreath celebrating the wild flowers I’d seen this Spring while I trained for the Med Steps 5 Challenge : Wild flowers of the Med Steps

 

Along with the Med Steps I have become very fond of the Alameda Botanical gardens during our almost seven years here in Gibraltar.  International Yarnbombing Day 2016 proved too much of an opportunity to miss paying homage to the Alameda Gardens bicentennial celebrations.

 

Gibraltar highlights

Last Saturday was the Convent Garden Party, an annual event which the Postcard family usually attends. It’s the one chance in the year for ‘normal’ folk to have a wander around the beautiful back garden which belongs to the Governor of Gibraltar. My post about last year’s event ended up being my first ever blog post based on a walk (a theme which has featured heavily in the last few months): A stroll up the garden path…

As I mentioned earlier, I am a bit of a fan of the Med Steps. So much so that I climbed them five times in the one day last month as part of the Med Steps 5 Challenge. If you have never had the pleasure of climbing them yourself, here’s what you’re missing! The Med Steps: a few facts & figures

 

On 9th June, Gibraltar woke to find itself wrapped up with a blanket of fog. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to climb the Med Steps again (as it had been getting a bit warm to do it in recent weeks). On that walk I experienced the most amazing view (the one you can see above). I had been misguided in thinking that the fog would help me with its cool damp air, as I climbed the steps I soon realised that I had, in fact, climbed up out of the fog and was viewing it from above.

At one of my many rest points on that morning, I witnessed this stunning view of the Rock swathed in fog. It was otherworldly and truly mesmerising. I was also only one of a handful of people who had braved the Med Steps that morning, we were incredibly lucky to see this weather phenomenon from such an elevated vantage point.

As soon as I got home I posted this photo online and got the most amazing response. So far, more than 12,000 people have viewed it on Facebook! I also wrote a post about my foggy walk and featured a lot more photos: A mini stroll in the mist

 

A year on the Rock

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One of the great things about living in Gibraltar is that despite it’s size (which is really quite tiny) there is so much to do. The social calendar includes the Three Kings Cavalcade, the Calentita food festival, the Gibraltar Fair, National Day, the Gibraltar Music Festival, the Gibraltar Literary Festival, and the Christmas Light switch on to name just a few.

Here are a couple of my highlights from the last 12 months: Rock stars & heart throbs: Gibraltar Music Festival 2015 & So many books, so little time… Gibraltar Literary Festival 2015

Looking back at all that makes me realize we’ve packed a lot into our last year on the Rock. I know we are very lucky to live in such a great place and to have the opportunity to experience all we have. 

I first started this blog after being encouraged to do so by friends and family and I’m really glad I did. Postcard from Gibraltar has opened doors for me both virtually and in real life, it’s been a great adventure so far, here’s hoping the next 12 months are as good if not better!

Thank you for dropping by!

 

Sunday Sevens #30 8.5.16

~ Making Stitches ~ 24 Comments

Hello there, I hope you’re having a good weekend. It’s been a bit damp and grey here in Gibraltar which isn’t the norm for this time of year, but summer’s around the corner and we had a little taste of it last weekend. 

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series featuring seven photos from the last seven days. It’s the creation of Nat at Threads & Bobbins blog. To find out more, pop over to her blog. 

May Day in Gibraltar

Here in Gibraltar, we don’t need too much of an excuse to have a party, and May Bank Holiday weekend was the perfect opportunity. The skies were blue, the sun was out and lots of people headed out to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. We made a bee-line for Commonwealth Park so the boys could run off a bit of energy with their scooters. This photo makes it look pretty deserted but I can assure you that there were dozens of other families there doing the same. You can probably see them in the distance on the grass. 

Later in the day there was the added excitement of a free live concert in Casemates Square featuring a series of local acts culminating in Ben Haenow, the X Factor winner from 2014.

Crochet

There was no art class this week so on bank holiday Monday instead of painting, I found myself sitting in the sun and fancied doing a spot of crochet. This little butterfly fluttered off my hook ;-).

Dressmaking class

It’s finally finished, my lined panelled skirt with an invisible zip. I’m not sure how much I like the fabric and style now it’s made up, but I learned a lot making it. 

Watercolours 

As I didn’t have watercolour class this week, I did a bit at home. I’m pleased with how my window’s coming along. I’ve managed not to spoil it…. yet!

Med Steps


So far this week with school closed 3 days out of five here (bank holiday Monday, Acension Day on Thursday and In-Service day on Friday) I only managed one single trip up the Med Steps. It was perfect conditions, overcast and cool, so I did it in a good time.  However, now I’m getting a bit worried that it’s less than a week to go to the Med Steps 5 Challenge on Saturday and that scares me a bit! 

Ouch!


On Friday night my right index finger had an argument with a pair of doors and lost. On Saturday I woke with a blue nail and swollen finger and felt rather down in the dumps as I’d spent much of Friday busily doing jobs so I could do some crochet on Saturday. 

Unable to pick up a hook, I decided to read instead and began Empty Cradles (Oranges and Subshine) by Margaret Humphreys. It’s not the cheeriest read to lift the mood but is incredibly powerful. 

It tells the true story of the hundreds (if not thousands) of British children who were shipped overseas to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Rhodesia from the 1940s until the late 1960s. They were sent away from children’s homes in the UK to help populate areas and work the land, with little hope of seeing their families or homeland again. If you are interested I social history, I can highly recommend it.

My last post


When I pressed publish on my last post Saying goodbye on Wednesday morning, I was slightly nervous about putting out such a personal account. I was overwhelmed by the response to it, both on WordPress and Facebook, and I would genuinely like to thank you for taking the time to read it and those of you who sent messages afterwards, it was very much appreciated. 

We are really blessed with the wonderful community we have here in Gibraltar and from what some people have told me, it’s a sadly rare occurrence. I shall treasure the friends I have close by and am confident that those who have moved on to pastures new will continue to play a part in our lives either online or through visits. All is not lost!