Coastal Crochet CAL

Farewell old friend….

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The Rock of Gibraltar painted my me at one of my watercolour lessons

Way back in the summer of 2015, I set off on a blogging adventure. Inspired by the likes of Lucy at Attic24 and several other craft bloggers, I decided that I would have a go at sharing a few snap shots of my life on the Rock. At the time, I had a the unique selling point that I was based in Gibraltar, and at that time, there were no other craft bloggers active on the Rock. I thought that even if no one was interested in what I was making, at least I could share beautiful photos of my sunny surroundings way down in the south of Europe.

The Upper Rock Nature Reserve

I felt compelled to share some of the quirks and beauty of where I was living at the time – a much misunderstood place from the outside. There is so much more to Gibraltar than the day trips from cruise ships and bus tours from along the Costa would have you believe. There’s much more than red phone boxes and fish & chips, British bobbies and Marks and Spencer in the sun. It’s home to a diverse group of people with origins from far and wide, the fortunate byproduct of it’s geographical location at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsular and just a short distance across the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco and the African continent beyond.

The Europa Point lighthouse with the Strait of Gibraltar beyond

Soon I began sharing a series of blog posts called ‘A stroll around Gibraltar’ as I took my camera and later my phone along on walks around the narrow streets and back alleys of Upper Town and into the Nature Reserve of the Upper Rock – in fact my post about the ‘facts and figures of the Med Steps’ remains my most read post to date. I posted more than 200 Sunday Sevens posts and hosted a Friday Photo Challenge on Instagram one year as well.

The view northwards from part way up the Med Steps

I also used Postcard from Gibraltar to share what I was making, from the dressmaking and watercolour classes which I was able to attend once all three Little Postcards (my three sons) were old enough to all go to school, as well as a number of community crochet projects I joined in with from Yarndale worldwide appeals for crocheted bunting and mandalas to Eleonora from Coastal Crochet‘s Seaside Stashbusting blanket and Changing Tides blanket crochet-alongs.

My Seaside Stashbusting blanket inspired by Sandy Bay in Gibraltar

As our family went on trips around the place I would blog about our travels in my ‘A Postcard from…’ posts which included Rome, The Algarve, Carcassonne, and skiing in the Dolomites, as well as UK destinations like Manchester, Cheshire, and Suffolk.

A few photos from one of our holidays in Suffolk as I worked on an Eleonora Tully design from Little Box of Crochet for that year’s Summer Craft Challenge

Postcard from Gibraltar also opened doors for me and I began writing for an online parenting magazine in Gibraltar which now no longer exists sadly, I also got articles published in print for the Calentita! Gibraltarian food festival magazine. In short, Postcard from Gibraltar gave me the confidence to venture back out of my domestic set-up after many years being a stay-at-home Mum.

My Attic24 cosy stripe blanket at Europa Point

In 2020, along with everything else which was happening in the world, close to home for us, change was afoot. We found ourselves moving back to the UK after 11 very happy years in Gibraltar. It was a big adjustment, which wasn’t made any easier by the pandemic, but we survived! At the time, I wondered whether I should continue with Postcard from Gibraltar as it would no longer be ‘from Gibraltar’. I had begun my new podcast project ‘Making Stitches Podcast’ by then, and whilst it brought me very welcome creative distraction – especially during lockdown, I felt I would miss Postcard too much if I just finished it, so I kept it going in a slightly less regular, less sunny and blue skies kind of a way!

I may be in the north of England now but we do still get occasional blue skies!
(Photo taken at Dunham Massey this week)

More than 2 years on from our move though, I think the time is right to say goodbye to Postcard from Gibraltar. I won’t be saying goodbye to it completely though. This blog and all of the previous posts will still be available to read and if you should search for Postcard from Gibraltar online, it will still lead you here. Postcard from Gibraltar is evolving, just as I have, and from now on, will be known as Making Stitches.

It felt right to adapt what I’m already doing to compliment what I have been working on with Making Stitches Podcast. In the last two years, that has gone from strength to strength and is now in it’s 6th Series with more than 50 episodes featuring interviews with creative people from many different disciplines including crochet and knitting (including my old friend Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet), dressmaking, embroidery, textile art, weaving, yarn dying and more. In addition to this, I have made a foray into crochet design myself with the launch of my amigurumi crochet patterns. My life has changed quite a bit from what I was doing back in Gibraltar and it’s time this blog caught up with me.

Looking south towards the Rock – photo taken on Alcaidesa beach

I will still post my monthly Postcards (because I would miss writing them too much) although I can’t guarantee I’ll be any more prompt with posting them (!) and I’m pretty sure I will have another go at a Summer Craft Challenge again next year, so in a way nothing has changed, just the name.

View of Gibraltar from La Linea

Thank you to everyone who has read my posts, liked them or commented through the years and a special thank you to those of you who have become friends through this medium too. Your support, although virtual, has been very much appreciated over the years and it’s that which has kept me going. Who knows what lies ahead?

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Lindsay x

Sunday Sevens #216 5.4.20

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Hello, I hope this finds you safe and well. It’s been another funny week. I feel like I’ve not really done anything and was surprised I managed to find seven photos from the last seven days to share with you. Here goes…

Swab time

Last Sunday morning I was phoned and asked to come to the drive through testing for Covid-19. I had phoned the helpline on Saturday – 10 days after calling the first time to report symptoms and after being told to self-isolate which we had done. It was a bit of a highlight being able to leave the apartment albeit for about 25 minutes in total.

It wore me out though. I needed to go back to bed afterwards to have a sleep! I haven’t had my usual energy at all.

Sunset

The compulsory sunset photo

No Sunday Sevens is complete without a sunset photo don’t you think? This was last Sunday’s view from the balcony.

Whoops, looks like I started another blanket…

So, last week I spotted that a new CAL or crochet-along had begun to be completed while we are all under lockdown. It’s been put together by the lovely people behind the Crochet Sanctuary and is called ‘Pandemonium’. If you would like to join in, you can find the pattern (which is released twice weekly) on the ‘All things Crochet Sanctuary’ Facebook group.

Don’t look too closely though… I did it a bit wrong and had to unravel slightly. 😉

Rainbows of hope

I thought I would jump on the rainbow bandwagon this week (this lockdown has helped me rediscover my crojo – had you noticed?). I saw loads of lovely patterns online for crocheted rainbows but thought I’d have a go at doing my own. After two failed attempts at an ‘arc’ which were wonky (and yes, I know I could just do a circle and fold it in half) I gave up and did a little flag instead.

Home learning

We have been very fortunate in that the Little Postcards have all had online lessons this week. The teachers here in Gibraltar have done a great job keeping their pupils engaged through online teaching. However before the lessons kicked in, Littlest had a go at growing carrot tops. They are coming on rather well. They will be given to Diamond, our house rabbit, for a treat once they’re a bit bigger.

Pandemonium Part 2

The second part of the Pandemonium CAL was released mid week – what a treat to look forward to! I’m really enjoying it.

It’s finished – at last!

My Catalan Bay blanket

In case you missed my post yesterday about it, I finished my Catalan Bay blanket this week. It’s only taken a year 🙈. I had to wait until Friday for the sun to come out to take a photo!

So, there you have it, another week on lockdown. As for the test results, they came back positive for Covid-19. I suspected as much, but I felt a lot better knowing for sure. It’s not been nice, but I am feeling extremely lucky to have had a relatively mild dose in the scheme of things. I am thankfully now on the mend, although I don’t think I’ll be fit for climbing the Med Steps again for a while even if it was allowed!

For now we remain in self-isolation but hope to be able to get out of the apartment sometime next week for a government sanctioned walk once we know the household is completely clear of symptoms. It’s strange how the things we took for granted just a few weeks ago now seem so precious.

We have some very good friends and neighbours who have delivered shopping and medicine to our door. Thank you so much for that – we’re very grateful.

Gibraltar has risen to the coronavirus challenge. Whilst we haven’t been able to witness the empty streets other than on our car journey to the drive-through test facility, I have watched the daily governmental briefings and seen news reports about the new Nightingale hospital facility at the Europa Point sports complex, heard about the volunteers who have come forward to help in many ways and joined in the clapping and appreciation for all our key workers at 8pm each night.

Thank you to all of you who have contributed to the effort, your work is very much appreciated.

Until next week, stay safe & stay at home x

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

A Catalan Bay Blanket Story

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Once upon a time (about a year ago) a lovely crochet designer called Eleonora published a crochet-along (or CAL) pattern for a new blanket called ‘Changing Tides’. The previous year, Eleonora had published another seaside themed blanket on her Coastal Crochet blog called the ‘Seaside Stash Buster’ which I joined in with and created my Sandy Bay Blanket.

Even though I had approximately 7,248 other crochet projects on the go at the time (well not quite, but it felt like it), I couldn’t resist having a go at Eleonora’s new project, and so it began…

Just like the previous year, Eleonora posted helpful You Tube videos along the way to help with tricky stitches and rows and soon had us all crocheting like pros!

I set off like a bull at a gate and didn’t take the time to plan what my colour choices would be, and decided (resonably early on) that I didn’t like what I had done so started again…

My project came with me on holiday…

…and before I knew it, I had a rather nice ‘changing tides’ sea developing in front of me. The name ‘changing tides’ is very appropriate because at the end of each row you turn your work and travel back the way you came in much the same way the waves do as they land on the beach.

It even made it down to the beach…

…those bobbles are rather time consuming, so I did a spot of bobbling on the bus…

…and still the tide came in.

And look … it even featured on Eleonora’s Instagram feed on one of her weekly round-ups! That made my day I can tell you.

By this point I felt that perhaps it was time to think about something other than just sea and waves…

And inspiration hit me. Last year’s blanket was based on Sandy Bay.

My Sandy Bay blanket from last year

Why not make a blanket based on another of Gibraltar’s lovely beaches…. Catalan Bay?

The brightly coloured houses gave me lots of excuses to use some different vibrant colours.

But what colour should I opt for first? What about the aptly named ‘shrimp’?

Shrimp was just the ticket for another row of bobbles and they could represent the buoys which hold up the nets in the family swimming area.

It felt good to see a pop of colour against all that blue. The buoys were finished during a short break in Spain while sitting under the cool of some trees.

And again, my blanket made it into one of Eleonora’s weekly round ups! What a thrill.

Time for more waves, and then finally dry land and a beach!

Then came the sandy bobbles, a terracotta coloured sea wall, and those brightly coloured houses which populate Catalan Bay. Behind the houses came the green vegetation which then gave way to the grey of the upper Rock and finally the sky and wispy Levanter clouds forming on the crest of the Rock.

I tell you what, those different colours were a bit fiddly and you do not want to see the loose ends that were on the back!

It’s taken an inordinately long amount of time to get to the end, but get to the end I have! It’s time for the big unveiling!

Last year, I was able to do my big ta-dah moment on Sandy Bay beach itself. This year, because of our current situation in lockdown because of the Coronavirus, my big ta-dah is just having to happen on my balcony… at least the sun’s shining!

Thank you very much Eleonora for yet another fabulous crochet-along pattern. Thank goodness I managed to get this one finished before you launch this year’s blanket (just a week before I believe!). The online community which was formed because of these blankets is truly wonderful. It’s so important to feel like you are part of a community, especially at times like this.

Until we meet again, Catalan Bay, thank you for your inspiration!

Sunday Sevens #208 3/11/19

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Hello there, thanks for stopping by. We’ve just got to the end of a lovely midterm holiday here. We ran away up the coast and had a few days away, it was fabulous. Here’s this week’s midterm Sunday Sevens…

Pink Hibiscus Gin

And relax…. mid term holidays began in earnest with a trip along the coast to our favourite hotel. A session of Aquafit & Zumba meant that this gorgeous concoction was imbibed totally guilt free!

Pink skies

Mr Postcard spotted this view just after the sun had disappeared behind the horizon on Monday evening. I managed to miss the beautiful skies completely!

Pink flowers

This beautiful tree was blooming outside our hotel window. What a stunner it is against the bright blue Andalucian sky!

A sunset stroll

One evening I popped onto the beach nearby just as the sun was going down. The epitome of tranquility.

Outdoor cinema

Now this is a cinema with a difference. This huge screen was erected by the side of the hotel pool once the swimmers and sunbathers had departed for the day and Littlest and I snuggled on a sun lounger to watch Hotel Transylvania 3. What a lovely evening it was!

Just chillin’

On the last full day of our holiday, we did a lot of nothing really, and it was lovely! I did manage a bit of poolside bobbling though on my Changing Tides blanket designed by Eleonora of Coastal Crochet. The last bobble has been created (at last! Sorry Eleonora 🙊) and I’m on the last-ish leg!

Still in the EU

I don’t know whether you can make out those flags on the Gibraltar side of the border, but one of them in theory shouldn’t have been flying there on Friday 1st November when we came home from our trip to Spain. We have had a stay of execution and we remain as members of the EU family for a bit longer – a fact I’m truly happy about.

Here comes the rain…

After a wonderful sunny week on the Costa del Sol, autumnal wet and windy weather came to this part of the world… can’t complain though after the week we’ve had!

And that brings this week’s Sunday Sevens Nines to an end for another week. I hope it’s been a good week for you!

Until next time, bye for now!

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

Summer Craft Challenge 2019 (Week 4)

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Good evening, here’s week 4 of my Summer Craft Challenge…

Day 22 Saturday 20th July

Back on the aqua blues after that pop of colour last week…. do those bobbles remind you of anything?

Day 23 Sunday 21st July

…more waves.

Day 24 Monday 22nd July

… and still more waves!

Day 25 Tuesday 23rd July

And here is my first row of land… a spot of wet sand!

Day 26 Wednesday 24th July

I have a grey stripe now…. looks a bit like pebbles don’t you think?

Day 27 Thursday 25th July

We spent a lovely hour in Catalan Bay on Thursday evening which made me think perhaps it was as good a time as any to reveal that this year my seaside blanket will be made with a Catalan Bay theme – I can’t wait to capture some of the colours of those Catalan Bay homes!

Day 28 Friday 26th July

Today I did a bit of planning for my Sandy beach rows, then a spot of ruffling…

We have had a rather busy week this week and as it’s the summer holidays I’m taking a little holiday from my phone as from tomorrow. I’ll keep up with my Craft challenge and will tell you all about it when I return!

Until then, bye for now and thanks for stopping by! 🙂

Summer Craft Challenge (Week 3)

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Hi, 3 weeks down already, those days are zipping by at lightning speed! Here’s week 3 of my summer Craft challenge…

Day 15 Saturday 13th July

Last Saturday after what felt like weeks of ‘shrimp’ bobbles I finished the round and changed to ‘lemon’ instead!

Day 16 Sunday 14th July

I’m liking the contrast of the citrus colours against the blue…

Day 17 Monday 15th July

I managed to find time for a little bit of crochet on the balcony as the sun went down time…. ahhhhh!

Day 18 Tuesday 16th July

… more bobbling.

Day 19 Wednesday 17th July

Whilst on a flying visit to the Costa del Crochet, I managed to finish the bobbles and even managed another row of blue.

Day 20 Thursday 18th July

I got a lovely surprise on Thursday morning – my Spanish bobbles featured on Eleonora’s weekly round up grid of her Changing Tides CAL with crocheters from around the world. What a treat to see that when I picked up my phone!

Thursday’s Crochet was pale blue…

Day 21 Friday 19th July

Friday night was a rushed crochet before bed – so rushed that I realised today that I’d done it wrong and had to frog it! Whoops!

That’s it for another week… thanks for stopping by! 🙂

Summer Craft Challenge 2019 (Week 2)

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Week two gone already! It’s been a very busy one here with the Island Games (more on that in Sunday Sevens here tomorrow). Here goes with this week’s crafty endeavours…

Day 8 : Saturday 6th July

Saturday was a very grey and cloudy day here in Gibraltar which made it perfect weather for me to sit out on the balcony and do a bit of catch up on the Coastal Crochet CAL without getting sunstroke. That’s week 6 complete (just another 7 weeks’ worth to catch up on now…)

Day 9 : Sunday 7th July

Sunday was a busy day going to see some of the Island Games events but there’s nothing like a spot of crochet while the sun goes down to unwind!

Day 10 : Monday 8th July

One last row of aqua inspired blues before a change of colour….

Day 11 : Tuesday 9th July

And this is the colour change I opted for, the rather aptly named ‘shrimp’. The perfect colour for for a spot of bobbling on the beach!

Day 12 : Wednesday 10th July

And the bobbles continue…

Day 13 : Thursday 11th July

A spot late night of bobbling in front of the TV.

Day 14 : Friday 12th July

Well I’ve been bobbling since Tuesday and I’m still going!! There’s a lot of work in these bobbles and it’s been a busy week, so my crochet windows have been small. I’m hoping next week will offer more time with my hook…

Thanks for stopping by! If you would like to join in with the summer Craft challenge, just upload a photo of your crafty work onto Instagram with the hashtag #summercraftchallenge2019

Just in case you were wondering, I’m currently working on the lovely Changing Tides Blanket CAL by Eleonora from Coastal Crochet.

Summer Craft Challenge 2019 (Week 1)

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And so it begins… school’s out for summer and as in the previous three years I decided that the only way to survive the long 9 (yes, 9) week-long school summer break is to find a few moments each day to do something I love (not just drinking Mojitos – although this was a particularly lovely one) but making something or doing something crafty.

Although I only work a small part-time job, this academic year has been a very busy one for me with other projects going on. All of those things are coming to a hiatus during the summer months which is giving me the perfect opportunity to pick up my crochet hook, needle or paintbrush and get cracking in amongst the usual arguments, suncream & sand that punctuates the summer months.

Each day I will attempt something crafty and post it on Instagram using the #summercraftchallenge2019 hashtag. I’ll also publish a weekly round up of my crafty endeavours – this forces me to actually stick to my summer resolutions! If you would like to join in, please do and use the hashtag on Instagram too, I’d love to see what you’re up to as well

Here goes with Week 1:

Day 1 : Saturday 29th June

I may only be on week 4 of the Coastal Crochet CAL when the CAL is already in its 12th week, but I have plenty of time to play catch up this summer!

Day 2 : Sunday 30th June

A spot of long waving in front of Glastonbury on the telly!

Day 3 : Monday 1st July

Got the long waves finished on Monday night.

Day 4 : Tuesday 2nd July

Now for the turn of the blue waves on Tuesday.

Day 5 : Wednesday 3rd July

Life got in the way of crochet on Wednesday…

Day 6 : Thursday 4th July

On Thursday I did get the time to pick up my hook, I managed a lovely row of granny clusters… My photo from Tuesday made an appearance on Eleonora’s Thursday round up of her Changing Tides CAL (from Coastal Crochet) which was a lovely surprise (top left).

Day 7 : Friday 5th July

Another busy day meant no crochet for me, work, swimming with the Little Postcards and then the Calentita Food Festival last night! I’m not doing too well with this year’s challenge am I? Never mind… here’s where I’m up to so far. Better luck next week I hope! Still at least I’m now on week 6 of the Coastal Crochet CAL I’m very slowly catching up!

If you want to join in (and do a better job than me) of posting a crafty photo each day on Instagram throughout your summer, please do join in with the hashtag #summercraftchallenge2019

Sunday Sevens #191 16.6.19

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Hello there! This week has been a rather busy one, the last week of full days for school children here in Gibraltar (read parents dashing around frantically to get as much done as possible) and I went home to see my Mum & Dad. Here goes this week’s Sunday Sevens – seven (or more) photos from the last seven days…

Leaving on a jet plane…

Last Sunday I caught a flight back home to Manchester to see my parents. Mum hasn’t been too well recently and was in hospital awaiting an operation the previous week. She was allowed home for 24 hours at the weekend, so I was able to have some time with her on Sunday before she headed back… it was lovely to see them both.

Birdy art work

Mum was in the Manchester Royal Infirmary, which is right next door to the Manchester Eye Hospital. My Dad took me on a detour to see these seagulls in the back of the main entrance of the Eye Hospital. There used to be a whole wall full of them but now these are the only ones left. My very talented little brother made them with a friend as a commission for the hospital. I’m glad I got to see some of them at least in situ!

Memories of last summer..

Did you see my post last year about the Bee in the City trail around Manchester? I didn’t see this Bee last year, s/he’s now living in the vestibule area of the Manchester Eye Hospital.

You had one job…

On one of our many trips back and to from hospital visiting hours, I spotted this sign on the entrance to a car wash. It really cracked me up. Not sure whether the car wash was operated by the Knights who say Ni?

Heading home

Mum had her op on Monday, I’m pleased to report it went well. She was allowed home on Tuesday. I was really grateful that I was able to be there and to spend some time with her, my Dad and brother. The staff at the MRI were wonderful and we’re so grateful for all their care and attention.

On Wednesday I flew home to Gibraltar early in the morning. As we climbed through the rain clouds above Manchester I spotted the shadow of our plane on the blanket of clouds below.

Last art lesson

I went to my last watercolour lesson this week. I’ve been going to my lessons, which I have greatly enjoyed for about 5 years now. I always finish for the summer once the children go on half days and have quite a few other things lined up for the autumn so I have decided to finish my lessons. I will still paint when I have the chance, but my formal lessons have come to an end. My slightly distracted attempt at a daisy on Thursday perhaps wasn’t a great example of 5 years of classes, but never mind!

Back in the crochet zone!

I don’t think I’ve picked up my crochet hook since the Easter school holidays. I’ve been very busy with all sorts going on and when I’ve had free time, I’ve not been in the right frame of mind to do it. Yesterday, for the first time I was in the mood, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting back into my Coastal Crochet CAL.

So that brings this week’s Sunday Sevens to a close. We’re off out for a Father’s Day meal with Mr Postcard now, and I wish all Dads out there a happy day (my own Dad included). I spoke to my Mum this morning and she’s sounding better and brighter every day. I’m sure she’ll be back to her old self very soon.

Have a lovely week!

Sunday Sevens was created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Sunday Sevens #186 5.5.19

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Here we are in May already. I’m not sure I’m ready for it! We’ve had a funny week this week with two bank holidays; Monday for workers’ Memorial Day and Wednesday for May Day, so our routine’s been a bit all over the place! Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens…

Bank holiday Monday

We started the week with a walk along the beach in Marbella. We made use of our time off on Monday to head across the border into Spain.

May Day

In Gibraltar May Day bank holiday happens on May 1st. There were a couple of events running. A Union rally in the Piazza and a pop concert in Casemates Square.

Upper Rock walk

I’ve not managed a trip up the Med Steps for a while, but I did manage a little jaunt to the Upper Rock this week. It’s so lovely to climb up out of the concrete jungle to nature again!

Crochet time

I have struggled to find time and inclination to pick up my crochet hook lately – there’s been too many other things to do. These extra bank holidays this week though afforded me some precious crochet time to crack on with the Changing Tides CAL from Eleonora at Coastal Crochet.

Sports…

I found myself at the Victoria Stadium twice this week for sports events for the Little Postcards. It never ceases to amaze me that they get to play matches, have school sports days and other events at Gibraltar’s national stadium with that amazing backdrop!

Grey afternoon

Things were a bit grey when I headed round the Eastside yesterday. It was very humid though… not sure I’m ready for the hot sweaty weather yet.

And that, I’m afraid is that. Sunday Sevens done for another week. I hope it’s been a good one for you, and that we week ahead is too. As always I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.