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Sunday Sevens #165 2.12.18

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Hello and welcome to the first Sunday Sevens of December. The advent calendars are being munched and there’s no denying that Christmas is around the corner – so far, so good on the planning stages, but still there’s lots to do! I hope you’ve had a good week! Here’s what I’ve been up to…

Black Sunday rainbow

Last Sunday afternoon I took a trip into town to go shopping. The shops in Gibraltar are usually closed on a Sunday but as it had been Black Friday, the sales and opening hours continued into Sunday for one weekend. I was lucky and got a few things at a discount and we even had a rainbow to kick off our shopping trip. Casemates Square was the pot of gold!

Dressmaking class

I’m finally feeling like I’m getting somewhere with my jacket at last. After weeks of drafting a pattern and cutting out a gazillion pieces of fabric, lining and interfacing, I have done a bit of sewing. I have a collar attached to the outer bit and a nice pleat in the back of my lining.

Watercolour class

Wow I have spent hours sketching this ceiling out at my watercolour class, and finally put paint on it! Now that the colour’s gone on, I can see some wonky bits but I’ll try to sort that out later!

Convent Christmas Fair

The annual Convent Christmas Fair was on this week. I love going along and picking up some Christmas presents, especially unusual handmade gifts. I can’t show you what I bought, but I’m sharing a photo of a gorgeous fused glass Christmas card I got. It’s amazingly lightweight.

Like my super yacht?

How’s that for an impressive boat? I had to park my car out by the quayside this week and was rather bowled over by these huge boats which were moored here. That’s some serious money. I don’t really fancy one myself – but I wouldn’t say no to a trip on one ;-).

Now that’s magic!

It’s been a bit magical in Gibraltar this week! Hot on the heels of the Gibraltar International Literary Festival came the Gibraltar International Magic Festival. I took the Little Postcards along to watch and really enjoyed it. Some of the tricks were amazing.

Bon voyage!

It’s been rather quiet around these parts for the past 24 hours. Mr Postcard headed off on a work trip in the wee small hours of yesterday and then Eldest jetted off on a school trip around lunchtime too. Our household shrunk from 5 to 3 in a matter of hours. I’m used to Mr P going away for business but it felt weird waving Eldest off on his way… he’ll be back soon!

That’s it for this week’s Sunday Sevens, thank you for stopping by! As always I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Sunday Sevens #137 20.5.18

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This Sunday Sevens is being sent by a rather worn out Postcard from Gibraltar, the reason why will become apparent in the sixth photo!

Sunday sunset

We had a beaut of a sunset on Sunday evening. So colourful. I’ve not included a sunset in Sunday Sevens for a while, so thought I’d put this one in.

It’s starting to look like a dress!

At last at my dressmaking class I am seeing progress. My dress is looking like a dress! Now time to fiddle with the frill!

A farewell lunch

An arty friend of mine is leaving Gibraltar and returning home to the Netherlands. This week I met her for lunch along with another arty friend to say farewell. We had Indian Tapas. It tasted as good as it looks.

Sunny morning walk by the sea

On Wednesday morning I went for a bit of a walk, I went for a coastal option rather than climbing up the Rock like normal. It was beautiful as I walked through Catalan Bay.

Experimenting with backgrounds

My next watercolour painting will be of nasturtiums, and I’ve been experimenting with the background to set them off nicely. I want a traditional Gibraltar stone wall, but how do I do that without drawing atttention away from the flowers? We’ll see if I can pull it off or not!

Med Steps

So yesterday was the Med Steps Challenge. It was really, really hard work – but then it wouldn’t be a challenge if it was easy would it? Not got much to add to that, still feeling rather tired!

Royal wedding fever

Royal wedding fever hit Gibraltar yesterday. I missed most of it slogging up the Rock, but had a quick trip to Ocean Village later on and there was a lot of well dressed people hitting the cava. One or two looked like they had started at breakfast time and were pushing on through to the FA Cup final. I think there may be a few sore heads around this morning!

That’s all for Sunday Sevens this week, thanks for stopping by! I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Sunday Sevens #124 25.2.18

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Hello there, I hope you’re having a nice weekend. We have been blessed with some lovely weather this week (I wore a T-shirt to do the afternoon school run on Friday), but – and it’s a big but, I have it on good authority that we are in for some very wet weather over the next seven days.

It’s funny you know, whenever there are severe weather warnings for the British Isles, that often means that for us down here on the southern most tip of the Iberian Peninsular get pretty rubbish weather too – admittedly not as cold as ooop north, but, still bad. So, as the UK grabs it’s thermals and digs out the shovels and grit to cope with a big freeze and snowy weather, we are digging out our wellies and rather fetching waterproof trousers to cope with an impending monsoon.

Anyway, weather talk aside, here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens…

Sunset across the Bay

Clearly last Sunday nothing of note occurred as I didn’t take any photos. This lovely sunset happened on Monday though. All of a sudden the apartment was bathed in the most beautiful orange glow and I looked out of the window to see that the sun was just about to set behind the hills directly opposite our apartment windows. Each day the sun is setting further to the right (north west) as we get closer to spring and it was a beautiful beam of orange which signalled the end of Monday’s daylight.

Seaside blanket silliness

I’m really enjoying the twice weekly instalments of the Coastal Crochet Seaside stash busting blanket Crochet Along. Last week, one of my fellow CAL-ers uploaded a cute photo to Instagram with a Lego diver, seaweed and fish on her blanket and I thought I’d join in with the silliness. I spent rather longer than I should have digging about in search of a Playmobil diver and his gear, but only managed to locate his breathing apparatus. I gave up and raided the bath toy box for this pair. I have a horrible feeling our diver has met a sticky end somewhere. (Note to self : I really must grow up).

Dressmaking class

At my dressmaking class this week I finished my slice and slide frill around the top of my toile dress. It was removed from the mannequin and converted from lots of jigsaw pieces of fabric to just two to check I had the correct drape for the frill. It’s not looking too bad. I’m awaiting instruction on what to do next….

Crochet confusion

I have been attempting to start a rainbow crochet blanket (requested by a Little Postcard) for a few weeks now, but I have really struggled with it. First of all, I tried a new ripple pattern, which required a lot of concentration by me. I really wanted something I could do without too much thought in front of the telly, but I kept getting so far and having to frog it because I’d made a mistake way back at the start of the row.

On top of this I wasn’t completely happy with the colours I had chosen. I picked them online and got them sent to Gib, but when they sat next to each other, they were a bit harsh. I finally relented and went to the wool shop here in Gibraltar and bought three complimentary shades which evened out the rainbow effect I wanted. I also found a new ripple pattern which worked better for me. Back to the drawing board, but I had a plan!

Blue skies

I mentioned a the start of this post that we have had some beautiful weather this week. This was the gorgeous blue sky on Wednesday lunchtime. I was supposed to meet a friend for lunch but she got a call from school to say one of her little ones was ill, so lunch was postponed and I got the bus home. This was the view from the bus stop over the top of the park and Trinity Cathedral to the top of the Rock in the distance.

Watercolour daffs

I managed to finish my latest watercolour painting at my watercolour class this week. I’m rather pleased with these daffodils. They go well alongside my iris painting from a couple of weeks ago. I have decided to have a go at another painting in this same style with pen and watercolour, and after a bit of a poll on Instagram, it’s been decided that tulips should be my next subject!

I love it when a plan comes together…

My persistence paid off I think, the rainbow blanket is coming along well (although not fast enough for the Little Postcard who wants it for his bed…. “When will it be finished Mummy??” “Errr, don’t hold your breath son.”) I’m finding these ripples so relaxing to make, with not too much counting required by me. I have enjoyed a couple of episodes of Wallander on Netflix as I hooked these rows during a few quiet moments. I have been wanting to work on this all the time and it has come with me to football training and a football match just in case I get the chance to hook a few extra rows! My kids are seriously considering disowning me….

Batman update….

Did you see Batman in my last Sunday Sevens? He’s still up there bless him – I took this photo at 10:30 last night. They must have good helium in Gibraltar!!!

That’s all for this week’s Sunday Sevens, I hope you have a good week. If you are in the snow, keep warm, if you are in the wet, keep dry and I’ll see you next week, same time, same place. Toodleooo!

I’m linking with Natalie from Threads & Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Sunday Sevens #123 18.2.18

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Hello there, I hope you are enjoying a chilled out Sunday. I’m making the most of the Little Postcards being engrossed in something to dash this out to you. Here’s this week’s installment of Sunday Sevens:

Farewell Queen Elizabeth

On Monday morning the Royal Navy’s brand new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth sailed past our home on her way to sea trials after making her first ever overseas port of call in Gibraltar. Here she is pictured passing the old naval defences of Parsons Lodge.

Dressmaking class

At my first dressmaking class for a fortnight I was able to get back to working on the dress I began designing before Christmas. It’s got an asymmetrical neckline complete with a frill, so in order to work out how it will all work out I have made a toile out of curtain lining fabric.

I am now trying to make the frill out of a jigsaw of scraps to figure out exactly what shape and size it needs to be before cutting any fabric for real. It’s been fun, but I am on a steep learning curve and have no idea how it will end up really!

Valentines Day sunshine

Valentine’s Day brought with it some glorious sunshine! I really enjoyed this lovely sunny time out and about while the boys were at school.

Watercolour class

No prizes for guessing the subject of my latest watercolour and ink creation! I enjoyed working on my irises last time that I decided to try another spring flower.

Rock fashion rocks!

On Friday, I managed to get to this fabulous exhibition of fashion. It featured work by Gibraltar designers over the past 40 years. The beautiful dresses above were created by my Dressmaking teacher, Dorcas Hammond. Hopefully there will be a blog post coming soon with a few more pictures of the gorgeous creations there.

Another project finished!

So this week, I finally managed to finish this crocheted shawl. It started life on the plane to Rome last summer and was worked on in a gîte in Carcassonne in southern France too before being forgotten about when we returned home. Over the past week and a bit I’ve been working away at it and I’m thrilled that it’s finished. I love how the colour of the Scheepjes Whirl yarn gradually changes. That’s my fourth WIP (work in progress) completed so far this year! 😊

By jingo Batman you’re in a fix!

I know I shouldn’t laugh, and no doubt this Batman balloon was meant for someone’s birthday party, but I had a bit of a chuckle when he caught my eye in the carpark yesterday. You would’ve thought that a superhero would be able to get down from up there wouldn’t you?!

I hope you have had a good week, I wonder what the next seven days will have in store for us?

I’m linking with Natalie from Threads & Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

2018 Friday Photo Challenge (Week 4) Hobby

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It couldn’t just be one photo for this week, I guess I have too many hobbies…

Since putting my career on hold to start a family, and then moving to Gibraltar, I have been lucky enough to be able to carve out a bit of free time to do fun stuff as the children have got older. I was always quite crafty as a young girl and enjoyed sewing and creating things, these days I love to crochet and do some embroidery in my spare time. I also attend watercolour and dressmaking classes during school term times (following the path of creative study I would have liked to do in my youth but opted for the ‘sensible’ academic option which came up trumps and got me a job to pay the for mortgage).

But that’s not all, my other hobby is wandering round Gibraltar taking loads of photos and then turning those into blog posts about where we live. It is that hobby which has broadened my horizons as a stay-at-home Mum and reconnected me to the outside world after over a decade out of the workplace. It also gave me the confidence to go back to work on a part-time basis, something which I am really enjoying.

If you fancy joining in with the Postcard from Gibraltar Friday Photo Challenge, you can do that on your blog or via Instagram. Just tag me in your post or post your blog link into the comments below, or use the tag #postcardfromgibfridayphoto on Instagram so we can all see each other’s photos.

Sunday Sevens #112 3.12.17

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Hello and happy Sunday to you. Crikey, we’re on the third door of the advent calendar already!!!!

I say this every week, I know, but it has been a busy one this week. As you were short changed a couple of weeks ago with a Sunday Six, I’ve spoiled you with a Sunday Eights this week!

Sunday fun

Last Sunday afternoon we did something we haven’t done for ages… bowling. We had a good laugh, well those of us who don’t mind losing did! I am officially rubbish at bowling and got whooped by one of my off-spring.

A cheery crochet start to the week.

This Monday, amazingly I had nothing in the diary to do while the Little Postcards were at school – what luxury. I did feel a teensy bit guilty about not finding something household related to do, but it didn’t last long as I was able to sit down uninterrupted and do some work on my latest Little Box of Crochet project.

Here comes the rain.

I know it’s all my fault mentioning the rain last week… it arrived on Tuesday and came down like a monsoon on Wednesday. This lovely rainbow greeted us as we set off on the school run on Tuesday.

New sewing project

As I finished my blouse at last week’s Dressmaking lesson, it was time to begin drawing a pattern for my next project – a dress. I find this part of the process the hardest of all. I was pretty brain dead after 3 hours of calculations and drawing.

It’s finished at last!

At my watercolour class this week I finished my painting of town. It’s not perfect or completely accurate but I like it and it was fun to paint.

Convent Christmas craft fair

It was the annual Convent Christmas Fair on Thursday and it didn’t disappoint. One of the new stalls this year was by the education team at the Alameda Botanic Gardens. They had made these beautiful Christmas decorations out of reclaimed wood. The Convent Christmas Fair is a major fixture in the social calendar on the Rock, you can read about previous years’ fairs here and here.

A pretty Christmas pud

My lovely group of girlies went out for an early Christmas dinner on Friday night. A great evening was had by all (some even danced a bit). I had this pretty Christmas pud which was eyed enviously by my panacotta eating neighbour!

Another weekend, another sunny match

Can you feel the heat of the sun off this photo? 😉 It was so lovely and warm at yesterday morning’s football match, I had gone dressed in several layers of clothes because first thing in the morning we are down to single figures on the thermometer (I know that sounds positively tropical for those of you up North – but it felt cold to me!). I ended up having to strip off mid match! (Perhaps I should rephrase that – I took my coat & scarf off!!)

So, that’s it for this week. Another week closer to Christmas  – eek!

I’m linking with Natalie at Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

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Sunday Sevens #111 26.11.17

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Hello there, I hope you have had a good week. It’s been as busy as always Chez Postcard and I’m staring down the barrel of a frantic few weeks with all the pre-Christmas antics there are are for the Little Postcards. There’s actually one day next week where I need to be in 4 different places at the same time…. I may be calling on the services of Dr Who and his Tardis to get everything done!

Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens…

A sunny start to the week

There was an in-service day for some of the Little Postcards on Monday. I haven’t been feeling too great for the last couple of weeks and they behaved so well for me letting me have an easy day, that we did a late afternoon trip to the park at Europa Point for ice cream as a reward. (My fluey cold from the other week turned into bronchitis 😕). The weather was glorious, as you can see, with just the hint of a Levanter cloud forming on the top of the Rock.

It’s finished #1><

Ta-dah! It’s finished at last! I have actually completed a blouse in my Dressmaking class, with a collar, cuffs and buttons (although I was tempted with velcro when the button holes weren’t behaving as I wanted them to). It’s a bit ‘loud’ colourwise so I’m not sure when I’ll wear it… perhaps under a cardigan!

Cloud free skies!><

We had more beautiful cloud-free skies mid-week. We have been so lucky to have a warm, dry autumn here in Gibraltar so far. I’m dreading having to dig the waterproofs out when the rains come….

It’s finished #2><

It’s been quite the week for finishing things, I managed to finish my autumn crochet wreath – before the end of autumn (a miracle!). I’m thrilled with how it turned out, it looked great in the autumnal sunshine on our front door. The kit came in a Little Box of Crochet and the designer was Kate Eastwood of Just Pootling.

Not much watercolour progress…><

I guess I can’t finish everything at once, so I’m still working on my watercolour painting of town. I’m getting there slowly but surely.

A new project><<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Yesterday I treated myself to starting a new crochet project. I was very disciplined and waited until I’d finished my wreath before cracking open another little box of crochet…

Christmas is coming>

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The Gibraltar Christmas lights were turned on on Friday night and yesterday we took a trip into town to visit Gibraltar’s first ever Christmas market. There are artisan stalls set up in little wooden huts, you can even get mulled wine – it smelled lovely (I shall have to go back once I finish my antibiotics!).

I’m linking with Natalie (the proud Mummy of a beautiful new baby girl) from Threads & Bobbins for this weekly Sunday Sevens blog series.

Sunday Sevens #109 12.11.17

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Hello there. Please forgive the underwhelming nature of this week’s Sunday Sevens, I’ve been a bit under the weather of late (autumnal sniffles) so my photo taking opportunities have been rather limited this week…

The last rays of sunshine 

Last Sunday afternoon we spent a little while on the Eastside of the Rock at Sandy Bay. You can tell we are heading towards winter as the sun disappeared behind the Rock sooner than it did a few weeks ago…

A posh boat


While on a walk in Ocean Village at the start of the week this rather posh boat caught my eye. I thought it looked unusual with its black hull.

Setting in my sleeves

At my Dressmaking class this week, it was time to set in my sleeves. Amazingly they went in perfectly, at the first attempt!

Under the weather


By midweek I was feeling a little bit off colour. Since then, I have spent a lot of time in bed. It’s just a cold, but I’m a reluctant patient and I’m feeling decidedly frustrated that I’ve run out of energy to achieve anything beyond the basics. Poached eggs are just the ticket when you’re feeling run down don’t you think?

Friday night dusk

I caught sight of this beauty out of the window on Friday evening. You can’t beat a lovely sunset to lift the spirits. 

Autumnal leaves


It has felt decidedly autumnal here this past few days (and I don’t think it’s just because I’ve felt ill). Bright sunny skies yesterday made me yearn to kick through piles of autumn leaves at a National Trust property. I started working on this delightful project from Little Box of Crochet at the end of last week, when we were on holiday and yesterday I added this cute amigurumi toadstool to my autumnal crochet leaf collection. It’s been such fun to work on. 

Thank you for joining me for this week’s sniffly and sneezy edition of Sunday Sevens. I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Sunday Sevens #104 8.10.17

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Good morning, I hope you are having a good weekend. This week has seen a return to my watercolour class after a very long summer haiatus. It was so nice to be back…

Sunday afternoon on the beach

Sandy Bay

Last Sunday we did something rather out of character — we went to the beach. We aren’t huge beach goers normally as we don’t enjoy the crowds or the heat at the height of summer. We do, though, rather like sneaking down there out of season.

As you can see from the photo above, we weren’t alone, but there was loads of open space where we could sit, chat, splash and dig without upsetting anyone else. 

My neighbours may not agree with me but I really do try to keep a lid on the level of noise coming from our apartment (I don’t think I’ll ever get used to living so close to other people). Being somewhere where the Little Postcards can scream and shout without upsetting anyone is a very valuable space for me.

Oh, and I got a bit of crochet done too…

Monday Med Steps

Last week on one of my Med Steps trips I was surrounded by a pack (troop?) of apes, on Monday it was Barbary Partridge bingo! There were loads about. This pair were very tame and I got very close before they scarpered.

Dressmaking whoops

Don’t you just hate it when that happens? I was making great strides with attaching my collar to my blouse at Dressmaking class when I managed to accidentally sew my underarm seam to the collar by accident – whoops!

Med stepping into the Levanter 


These two photos were taken about 20 minutes apart. One below the cloud in bright (and rather hot) sunshine. The other at the top of the Rock and slap bang in the middle of the Levanter cloud.

I started Wednesday morning’s walk in hot sun but was relieved to hit the cool, damp Levanter near the top. I almost took an amazing photo at the top… as I gazed up at the misty summit, on that low bit of wall to the right of the fence was the silhouette of a mother ape with a baby on her back. By the time I’d got my phone camera on, they’d vanished into the mist. Never mind…

Watercolour refresher

Thursday morning saw my return to watercolour class.  I didn’t realise how much I’d missed it over the summer. Our teacher began the new term with a refresher lesson on washes. It came just in time for me to get back to a picture I was working on before summer which had a very dodgy wash for the sky. My new aim for this term is to be less wishy washy with my colours – I need to embrace BOLD!

Beautiful Botanic Gardens 

You may have noticed that my excercise levels have gone up in recent weeks. After a rather sedentary summer I have a good few kilos which I need to shed. On Friday I took a trip into town and on the way home I opted to walk rather than catching the bus. I was rewarded by with a walk through the beautiful Alameda Botanical Gardens.

Autumnal WIP-along

On Instagram recently I have noticed lots of  crafty people publishing photos of the WIPs (work in progress) they have completed as part of a WIP-along with Gosling & Plumb. Check out the blog post in the link above  to find out more about it.

When I finished my last crochet project (Jenny’s Mandala from Little Box of Crochet) I almost started something new but I could hear some of my many WIPs calling me from carrier bags hidden in my secret hidey hole. So far I have worked on three; circles in granny squares (see beach crochet photo), a green granny square blanket and a cute crochet cactus pin cushion from a Simply Crochet Magazine kit.

Thanks so much for stopping by for a read about my week. It’s been lovely to have your company.

I’m linking with Natalie of Threads & Bobbins for the Weekly Sunday Sevens series.

Sunday Sevens #103 1.10.17

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Here we are on 1st October – how on earth did that come around so quickly? I heard the word Christmas mentioned this week in relation to booking nights out… not sure I’m ready to think about such things just yet! Here’s this week’s edition of Sunday Sevens 🙂

Ape spotting


I decided to build on my Med Steps progress last week and head back up the Rock again on Monday morning. Last thursday there were literally dozens of apes but my camera was firmly zipped in my bag and I wasn’t prepared to unzip it and get mobbed by the apes thinking I had food, so they stayed unphotographed. 

In reference to a comment on last week’s Sunday Sevens by Denis (Haiku Hound) in New Zealand, these photos are with him in mind. They were taken on my phone. I walked slowly through the pack and I have to admit being a bit scared by them for the first time in many years. There was lots of clicking noises going on – and don’t think they appreciated my company.
Dressmaking class

Work is moving on a pace in my dressmaking class. I still love this Kate Fassett fabric I’m using to make my blouse. I bought it from Black Sheep Wools in Culcheth near Warrington in spring. They have a lovely fabric section in addition to the gorgeous range of yarn there.

More Med Steps


Being a glutton for punishment (or perhaps just a bit porky and needing some excercise) I headed back up the Med Steps again on Thursday morning. It was so lovely and cool (unlike on Monday when I nearly melted in the sun). What a difference the cool weather made – I got to the top 

A book recommendation


This week I finished a book I have been reading and I had to give it a mention. Daughters of the Dragon is a fictional story but is based on real events. It tells the story of a Korean ‘Comfort Woman’, in other words, a child who was forced into sex slavery by the occupying Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. 200,000 such comfort women were abused in this way. It is very hard to read in parts but a truly gripping tale. I can highly recommend it if you would like to know more about this hidden history.

An evening by the boats


I had a lovely evening out with a few friends this week with this backdrop. It’s really rather special isn’t it? Sometimes I forget how beautiful it can be here and then I get stopped in my tracks by a view like this…

It’s finished


Those of you who followed the progress of my summer craft challenge this year will be familiar with this mandala in various states of development. Called Jenny’s Mandala, the pattern came as a kit from Little Box of Crochet. It was named after the daughter of company’s founder, who very sadly died of cancer in spring. Such a beautiful and poignant project to work on.


I’m linking with Natalie at Threads & Bobbins the creator of Sunday Sevens.