bunny

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.

Sunday Sevens #51 2.10.16

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Let the sewing begin!

Three weeks into our dressmaking course and we have finished with the pattern drawing and cutting and we are now in the process of constructing a sample top. Because it’s a sample, we are just using curtain lining material to make it, hence the rather boring photo. I’m eager to get this finished and move onto the next ‘real’ project.

Bunny bombshell

Bunny Postcard had a trip to the vets this week. We had been meaning to take him for months so that he could have some vaccinations to allow him to play out in our back patio. Now the weather is beginning to cool a little bit, we thought he might like to have a hop about outside. The first thing the vet said when she saw Bunny was ‘Oh what a lovely girl’. I thought nothing of it, thinking clearly she’s made a mistake…

Once the full medical was done, including checking his heart, ears, eyes and teeth, the vet cottoned onto the fact that we had never actually officially been told Bunny’s gender. Well the big news this week is that Bunny is officially a girl! It’s taken a bit of time for that news to sink in in certain quarters, but I’m thrilled to know that at last I am no longer the only female in the Postcard household!

Suspension 

When I flew back from Yarndale last weekend, not only did I bring with me a suitcase full of yarn and wonderful memories, I also brought my Mum and Dad with me too. They hadn’t been to see the Windsor suspension bridge yet so one afternoon this week, while the Little Postcards were still at school, we took a walk up the Rock and along the bridge. I have to say, since my last visit, a discernible creak has developed as you walk from one side of the gorge to the other which did put me slightly on edge. The view is still as stunning as ever from there though.

Not much painting going on…

Inspired by our summer holiday in Southwold back in August, I decided that my next paining project should include some of the beautiful beach huts you see along the seafront. Last week I spent the entire lesson trying to sketch out the huts freehand, and not using a ruler. Unfortunately due to the composition of the photo I’m using and it’s perspective, even when just one line was out of place, it made the whole thing look wonky and a bit rubbish.

This week after a quick refresher lesson on perspective, horizons and eyelines, my teacher very kindly gave me some tracing paper to get the skeleton of the picture down onto the paper so that at least next week I can start painting. Shhh, don’t tell anyone I cheated 😉

Interesting keyhole



I went exploring over the border in La Linea on Friday morning looking for yarn shops (not that I need to buy any more after Yarndale last weekend mind you). I had heard there were some and that they sold nice stuff. Thinking ahead to Christmas presents and such like I thought it was worth following it up.

Almost next door to a really lovely yarn shop, this most unusual keyhole caught my eye on the front door of an old building. There’s some really lovely architecture amongst all the late twentieth century and more modern apartments and shop fronts if you keep your eyes open. Next time, I need to take my camera with me….

Cake anyone? 

Yesterday, if you were in Gibraltar town centre there’s a good chance you were  ‘encouraged’ to part with your cash for raffle tickets and cakes for the Scouts. As two of the Little Postcards are in Scouts, there was a bit of baking going on this week for the annual cake stall fundraiser. My fairy cakes aren’t in this picture, they were hidden down at the other end of the stall… I photographed the pretty cakes instead 😉

Rainbow hope blanket completed


Begun on the last day of August (the very last day of the school summer holidays) and completed on the last day of September – it’s taken me a month to complete my contribution to the Sixty Million Trebles project. The blanket I made will join hundreds of others and be joined to make the worlds biggest ever blanket. It will be used to yarn bomb a site in London before being unpicked to make ‘normal-sized’ blankets which will go to charities in the UK and Syria.

The project is being run to raise awareness about the plight of the sixty million refugees who are displaced from their homes around the world at the moment. It will also raise funds for the cause too. It’s hoped that sixty million treble stitches will be crocheted to represent all the people who have been driven from their homes. Where ever my Rainbow Hope Blanket ends up, I hope it brings some hope to whoever receives it. This 36″ square blanket adds 10,656 trebles to the current count of almost five million.

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series created by Nat at Threads & Bobbins. For more information about it, and if you would like to join in, why not  pop over to her blog.

 


Sunday Sevens #41 24.7.16

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Garden DIY


Sunday last week was a bit of a washout. Two members of the Postcard family were struck down with a nasty bug. Our planned afternoon at the beach didn’t happen as a result. Determined that the day wouldn’t be a total waste of time, once people were well enough to be left for 20 minutes, I popped out to our patio and did a long awaited job. Our climbers were badly in need of something to climb up, so I got the drill out and successfully attached a trellis to the garden wall…. almost one week on, it’s still there!

An evening stroll


A walk at dusk on Tuesday evening was very welcome as the bug struck another Little Postcard and it had been a long, housebound day. We’re so lucky to live in such a beautiful place. It’s great to be able to just stop, look up and appreciate our surroundings.

Beach day


On Tuesday we had a lovely day at the beach as thankfully everyone was well enough to leave the house!  I’m ashamed to say it was our first visit this summer holiday. We have been quite busy with other things and I have to admit that although I enjoy it when I’m there, the prospect of loading up the car, unloading it all and carrying it down to the beach, then packing up at the end and taking half of the beach back home with us puts me off.

We met up with friends and it was great. I really need to make the effort more often. One of the Little Postcards looked like a prune by the end of the day after all the time he’d spent in the sea. I spent quite a while in the sea too with Littlest Postcard dodging the big waves. 

Evening shadows


I snuck into Westside park just as it was shutting for the evening. It was so quiet and peaceful, the complete opposite of what it’s like during the day. It was just what I needed after a busy day getting packed up ready for our trip to England to visit family. 

I was on a last minute dash to the supermarket but thought I’d take a moment before doing the shopping. I’m glad I did 🙂

Bunny mugshot


I’ve not shared any photos of Bunny Postcard for a long time so thought I would this week. I think he’s been struggling a bit with the summer heat, it’s been so hot – even on overcast days. He’s got a fan blowing into his night time cage and a run in the cool shady hall but I do feel sorry for him under all that fluff. The Little Postcards and I will miss him while we are away on our summer holidays over the next few weeks.

I love the smell of ozone in the morning 

On Friday we woke to beautiful clear blue skies which was a change from the murky overcast Saharan dust filled skies of the previous few days. A fresh wind was blowing and as I opened the front door to take the laundry out I could actually smell the sea. It’s such a lovely smell!

Night flight


We arrived at the first stop of our summer holiday destination in the early hours of yesterday morning. I’ve brought the Little Postcards to visit my parents in Manchester. We left Mr Postcard at work with Bunny to keep him company.  It was hard work flying solo with three children, especially at night, as I had two sleepers to deal with by the time I reached baggage reclaim! Still, we survived and I can relax now with Grandma and Grandad’s help!  

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series created by Natalie at Threads & Bobbins. If you fancy joining in with your blog, check out Natalie’s for more details.

Sunday Sevens #27 17.4.16

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Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series created by Natalie at the Threads & Bobbins blog. It gives you a chance to reflect some of the things you’ve been doing in your week through a series of seven photographs. To find out more, or to join in, pop over to her blog for more information.

I hope you’ve had a good week, it’s been a busy one here and I can’t believe Sunday’s come around so quickly again!


Med Steps training

A certain seriousness has come into our training for the Med Steps challenge this week with the realisation that we have just a month left to build up our stamina to manage 5 times up the steep climb to the top of the Rock in one day. The charity event, which raises money for the Cancer Relief Centre here in Gibraltar, is open to individuals and teams (some of whom actually run up!?). You can enter a team of 5 and each individual can do  it once or like us (in our little team of 3) you can all do it 5 times. We won’t be breaking any records and the event is open from 9 until 5 on the day so there’s a very good chance we’ll take a long time to complete it. 

One morning we all got together for a team training session – our first collective one for weeks, and did twice round. It’s starting to get really rather hot and this photo was taken on our second circuit (not too far from the top) when I stopped for a breather and some water. We are praying for overcast weather on the big day so we don’t all keel over from exhaustion and sun stroke – I fear some unflattering head gear may be de-rigeur. I’ll keep you posted on our progress, we are stepping up our training this week….

Postcard family bake-off 

We have a Postcard family birthday coming up soon and one of the little Postcards thought we should have a baking competition to decide on the birthday cake of choice ahead of the event. Sadly it was not in the luscious English countryside and neither Paul Hollywood, Mary Berry nor Mel or Sue were in attendance (probably for the best). 

Now, I do enjoy eating cakes but am not the world’s best baker by any means. In the interest of family harmony, I ‘threw’ the competition (shh – don’t tell anyone) by making millionaire’s shortbread ably assisted by the smallest Postcard while another young Postcard made a chocolate fudge cake with a garnish of sweets! The chocolate fudge cake won as it was a ‘cake’ and did taste rather good. The millionaire’s shortbread was incredibly sickly although it did improve on chilling. Now I have to make another cake in time for the birthday celebrations!! Just as well I’m doing the steps a lot in order to burn all of this off!

Final home furnishings class

This week, we had the last of our 12 home furnishings classes and we made curtain tie-backs. You may notice they are the same fabric as the cushion I made last time for the transport fan in my life – I hope he likes them!  The Transport for London inspired material came into my possession after reading  Nana Cathy’s blog post about The Remnant House (a great fabric shop in York). I had a look at their website and bought myself some great fabric to make things for my boys. So thank you Nana Cathy for telling me about this fab shop. I hope one day to visit it for real, although I fear I’ll end up adding considerably to my stash and to-do list when that time comes! 

If you are in Gibraltar or nearby, and fancy having a go at learning to make curtains, cushions and tie-backs, I was taught by Dorcas Hammond of Dorcas Hammond Designs. She’s very experienced and a great teacher. Pop into her shop on Governor’s Street or find her on Facebook to get more info on her classes.

Dressmaking class

Sewing has begun in ernest on my first ever lined skirt in my dressmaking class. I had to unpick and re-sew my invisible zip but apart from that it was a good lesson this week and I’m pleased with the progress I made. Fingers crossed the rest of the skirt will go well 🙂

Watercolour class

  
In watercolour class this week, we focused on skies and the different techniques you can use to paint them. One of the most interesting finds was that by painting a thin wash of raw sienna first even under blue you can get a really nice glow. I’ve got work to do on my cloud formation as they are a little sausuge shaped for now but it was fun.

A nocturnal visitor

Spring must be here because for the first time this year I spotted one of these little chaps on the bathroom window. You can see the lizards or geckos even in the middle of winter here if it’s a sunny day. They crawl out from their hibernation place and bask in a sheltered sunny spot, but they disappear long before the sun goes down and the temperature drops. This week though, we have started to have a few warmer evenings and so this little chap was lying in wait for an unsuspecting moth to come fluttering next to our bathroom window and pounce! It’s quite spectacular when it happens – like a mini version of ‘Wildlife on One’ on your window!

Bunny update

Bunny’s doing well and his fringe is continuing to grow, however because of his long hair/fur he has a tendency to get dreadlocks and matted areas despite regular brushing so we are going to  have to take him to the vets soon to have a bit cut out near his tail. It’s a bit close to his tail for us to want to attempt to cut in case we hurt him. He also needs some injections so that he can have a hop about on our back patio too… poor bunny it’s as bad as having to hoodwink kids into going to the clinic for jabs 🙁 not looking forward to that.

I hope you have a great week, goodbye for now!

Sunday sevens #24 27.3.16

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Happy Easter!

   

I’m starting this week’s Sunday Sevens with the cutest shop window display in Gibraltar. It belongs to the Originata shop & gallery on Governor’s Street. The shop is run by a lovely lady called Sue, who makes all the pretty things she sells and she offers craft classes as well. Sue cteates a lot of her products from recycled materials and tiles, shells and sea glass she finds on Gibraltar’s beaches. 

My first attempt at a lined curtain
Well I’ve done it, I have completed the curtain section of my home furnishings course. I’ve made samples of a rod pocket, a tab-top, a standard tape top, a small pair with a valance attached and now a fully lined curtain. I’m chuffed with what I’ve learned and been able to achieve over the 10 lessons. I’m particularly pleased with the neat hand stitched corners on the bottom right above. We have just 2 more lessons on the course and it’s cushion time when we return after Easter.

Now you see it, now you don’t…  

This week in my dressmaking class I had a couple of practice attempts at invisible zips as I’ll be using one for my next skirt. After quite a few deeps breaths (I’m being polite here!) and fair amount of unpicking I managed to pull it off reasonably well. Apparently they aren’t quite 100% according to my teacher but I’m pretty pleased with them. Whether I’ll be able to replicate it when the pressure’s on and I’m doing my skirt… time will tell!

Wierd weather 

 

This may not seem a big deal to UK visitors to the blog, but on Tuesday I witnessed a rare weather phenomenon for Gibraltar… hail stones. Can you see one in the centre of the photo on my windscreen? Soon after hitting the car, they melted but crikey, after 6 years of living here I have never seen hailstones here before! They were followed by very heavy rain and a thunderstorm, perhaps winter hasn’t let go just yet! 

Easter holiday time!

 

Thursday meant the first day of the school holidays here in Gibraltar. We had a couple of friends over to play and a trip to the park at Europa Point to get buffeted by the winds. Hide and seek was played and ice cream was dribbled down chins. It was a really sunny day but a little cold out in exposed areas – which is exactly what Europa Point is! The kids didn’t notice, they were too busy running around having fun. Gibraltar’s lighthouse is right next to the park – I couldn’t resist taking a photo; red, white and blue are a great colour combination.

 Easter bunny

  

It is the season for bunnies, so I couldn’t leave our very own Easter bunny out of this week’s Sunday Sevens. He’s growing a very funky hairdo, if it gets much longer it’ll flop into his eyes and I’ll need to give him a hair clip or a trim! He is such a monkey, his days of hopping about on my bed are numbered – he had a good old  chew on my duvet this week. 

 Bank holiday painting

 
I’ve been very good and had a go at a spot of painting this weekend even though there was no class. I was inspired by some beautiful ‘Bird of Paradise’ flowers (I think they may be called Strelitzia or something like that). I’m not sure what my art teacher will make of them but I had fun painting them. I even managed to do it with my three amigos in tow. They came along every now and then to see the progress and then went back to their business. It’s the first time I’ve attempted painting while they’re not at school – so far, so good.

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series which features seven photos from the past seven days. Sunday Sevens was devised by Nat at Threads & Bobbins blog. Pop over to her blog to find out more, then you can join in too!

Sunday Sevens #22 13.3.16

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Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series inspired by Natalie at  Threads & Bobbins blog. If you fancy joining in pop over to her blog to find out more. 

This week, we’ve had company…

Cake!! 

 Remember that lemon curd I made a couple of weeks ago? Well the last of it was used to fill this sponge to celebrate a visit by my Mum & Dad this week. Mmmm it was yummy and it was so lovely to have a visit from these very special people. The little Postcards do miss out on ‘grandparent time’ by living so far away from them, but we have absolutely made the most of our time together. 

Pattern creation for a new skirt.

There wasn’t any sewing to show for my dressmaking class this week. After last week’s triumph of completing my full circle skirt, it was time to embark on the latest adventure and that is a panelled skirt which will flare out from the hip. I have still got a bit of cutting and sticking to do for my homework adding my seam allowances etc, but I’m looking forward to doing some fabric shopping soon and getting cracking at my next lesson. (My home furnishing class didn’t yield anything exciting either this week but hopefully I’ll be ready to reveal my current curtain soon!)

Freesias

 One evening this week, I attended a function at the Rock Hotel. When I was walking up the path to the front door I was struck by the strong scent of freesias. I love freesias – both my Mum and myself had them in our wedding bouquets. I couldn’t understand why I was smelling them though as I was walking along outside until I spotted these unassuming white blooms. If only I could convey the gorgeous smell that was in the evening air at that moment – it was so lovely!

A sunset swimming lesson  Normally my mid week early evening routine involves taking children to after school activities. This week however, as my parents were over visiting I didn’t need to drag the non-participating children to their sibling’s activities. This meant that I was able to spend that time appreciating  the surroundings and having a few moments to myself. While watching a little postcard having his swimming lesson, I spotted this fab view and sunset.

The blanket border has begun: After 15 months of making my cosy stripe Attic 24 blanket I’m on the border… The end is nigh…

 Bunny update Bunny was a bit off colour last weekend but he’s back in the pink and eating his way through his fair share of carrots and red peppers! He’s really enjoyed watching a bit of late night TV and having evening cuddles this week.

Boat trip  We had a beautiful day yesterday. It’s a long weekend in Gibraltar this weekend as it’s Commonwealth Day tomorrow. We thought we’d make the most of our time off and decided to hop on a boat and take a trip out into the Bay. It was glorious and I promise I will tell you all about it soon…

Thanks so much for stopping by! Until next time, bye for now.
 

Sunday sevens #15 24.1.16

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Processionary caterpillars  At this time of year we see this interesting phenomenon – the march of the progressionary caterpillars. They are pine caterpillars which live in pine trees (as the name suggests) and when they are on the hunt for food they head off for a walk to the next nearest pine tree in a long line. They are not as cute as they appear though as they give off a poison in the hairs on their backs which can cause irritation to humans and be very dangerous to animals. A good friend of mine almost lost her family dog after she tried and eat one of these. Anyway, these were taking a walk across one of the paths in the Alameda Botanical Gardens last Sunday and Mr Postcard took the photo for me.

Med Steps challenge update  I only managed one trip up the Med Steps this week but I am very pleased to say that I reached a huge personal milestone and did the double. I managed to climb them twice in one hour and forty minutes. I’m very pleased with that effort and delighted that I have overcome the hurdle of being able to do it more than once. I am still a long way off managing the five times required for the Med Steps challenge but I’m closer to achieving it than I was this time last week!

Curtain no 1 finished In my home furnishings class I completed my first sample curtain this week – a rod pocket curtain. Here it is in all it’s glory. Next stop a tab top version…
Meet the newest member of the Postcard family  Please allow me to introduce you to our newest family member. He’s cute, fluffy and doesn’t say much. We’ve only ever kept goldfish before now, so we’re on a steep learning curve with bunny.  He’s going to be a ‘house rabbit’ as both our balcony and patio get a lot of direct sunlight so we worry it would be too hot for him to stay outside permanently. He’s currently residing indoors in the biggest cage we could find in the pet shop but we are hoping to make him a bigger ‘run’ so that he can stretch his legs without us having to watch him constantly. So far his trips out of the cage have seen him making bee line for the edge of rugs and electric wires for a bit of a nibble! It feels so mean to keep him locked up but there are too many hazards for him at the moment to let him have free reign. Any tips on indoor rabbit keeping you can share would be gratefully appreciated. You may be seeing more of him…🐰

Skirt number 2 underway Two weeks into term and my second skirt is coming together quickly in my dressmaking class. This time it’s a corduroy gathered skirt. Its pockets, seams & zip are done. Bring on the waistband, gathers & hem :-). I shall do a big reveal once it’s completed (and if I’m happy with the finished article 🙂 ).

Star struck
I got a little bit star struck this week. I posted this photo on Instagram of me darning in my endy bits on my Attic 24 Cosy Stripe blanket and just look at who liked it… only Lucy from Attic 24. Oh my word – how exciting is that??? I told Mr Postcard and Number 1 son, their reaction to this momentous bit of news was total bewilderment…. Well I was chuffed anyway!

Watercolour door

 Well folks, the cling-film came off and it left me with nice textured stripes on my door. I’m not sure how happy I am with the whole picture but it was just a practice. I cannot take any credit for the techniques or the composition, as I mentioned last week, I was copying an exercise in a Jean Haines book called Atmospheric Watercolours (it’s based on a building in Venice). I would love to try painting a real Gibraltar doorway and I’m just gearing myself up for it!

 

That’s all from me this week for Sunday Sevens. I do hope you have had a good week and are enjoying a nice weekend. Sunday Sevens is a blog series and I’m linking with Natalie at Threads & Bobbins. Have a great day! 🙂