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A Postcard from June 2025

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Hello there, how are we at 14th July already? Almost at the midpoint of the month! I hope it’s been a good one for you – it’s been a decidedly warm one for us, with temperatures in the 30s (which for those of you in hotter climes probably doesn’t sound too hot but we felt it was!).

Last month was a rather special one for me in my blogging life, this little blog celebrated its 10th birthday. Never in all my imagination did I think, it would still be going after all this time when I first started out. I can vividly remember going out for a walk one evening (about a decade ago) along the winding streets and passages of Gibraltar taking photos of bougainvillea to illustrate one of my earlier blog posts and thinking, ‘is there anyone out there who will want to read this?’. I’m thrilled to say there was, and I’m still here knocking out posts (a little less frequently these days due to work commitments) and you’re still out there reading them! Thank you!

That bougainvillea from 10 years ago!

Anyway, here’s a quick look back at June in my world:

International Stitch Day

What a way to kick off the month, and what an amazingly on-brand event for Making Stitches! I was thrilled to be able to attend International Stitch Day on 1st June at the opening of Woven in Kirklees Festival in West Yorkshire. It was a brilliant day hosted at Oakwell Hall in Birstall. There were stalls, workshops (including one I had a play at), lots of interesting things to look at, and the most amazing thing I have experienced this year so far, the Red Dress was on display in the old hall itself. 

I have been aware of the Red Dress for quite a while now through social media and blog posts I have read, but to be able to witness it myself in real life was quite something. As I arrived early at the start of the event, I was able to go and have a look once the initial flurry of visitors had been in and at one brief point, I was the only person in the room (apart from the staff standing discretely at the back). The atmosphere was amazing and I felt truly privileged to witness it for myself. 

To see the intricate stitching and the countless hours of work by 380 different embroiderers, both professional and amateur, and to learn about some of the stories of the people who have stitched onto the dress was just amazing. After seeing it for myself, I was able to go and hear the ‘creator’ of the dress, Kirstie Macleod, give a talk about how the project had come about and a snapshot of some of her adventures as she has traveled around the world with it. It’s just mindblowing how big this project was and the complexity of the logistics involved. 

I was delighted to be able to sit down briefly with Kirstie after her talk to record a short chat for a future episode of Making Stitches Podcast and I’m thrilled to say that she agreed to a longer chat with me for a special ‘Red Dress’ episode which will be out in autumn.

A weekend away

Unfortunately one of us had to take the picture – but there were 5 of us!

I was so lucky in June to experience not one, but two brilliant weekends – first came Woven and next came a weekend away with four very special ladies who I have known since University days (one even since primary school!)

One of them lives in the Lake District and we have been trying to arrange for us all to spend a weekend together at her house for years. Each time we thought we had a date in the diary, something would come up and we were determined to do it with us all there. Persistence paid off and we had the most amazing couple of days reconnecting, walking, eating and drinking.

True old friends are just the best. They hold you up in the worst of times, share the best of times and, no matter how long passes between your meetings, when you are back together it’s as if you were never apart. 

I feel truly blessed to have them in my life.

10 years of this blog

Back in June 2015, after years of reading other people’s blogs, I decided to have a go myself. I thought the chances of anyone reading it were slim, but I thought I could use it as a kind of diary to record our life as a family living in Gibraltar. In its first iteration as Postcard from Gibraltar, it really surprised me – I found people around the world all reading it and sending me lovely messages. 

In the intervening years, our family has changed, has moved back to the UK, I’ve gone from being a full-time stay at home Mum to a working Mum Postcard from Gibraltar morphed into Making Stitches and the Making Stitches Podcast was born too! If you missed my post about the anniversary, you can find it here.

First strawb of the year!

I don’t know what happened to my strawberry plants over the winter – but I went from having about six containers full last year to just having three weedy looking specimens. My parents felt sorry for me and sent me over a new container filled with healthy plants and this was my first strawb. I am giving the new pot a lot of attention – especially during this very hot and dry weather so that it survives beyond the first month in my possession!

Soccer Aid

Honestly, trips to Old Trafford are like buses, you wait for years to go and then get two trips straight after each other! After going to the last match of the season for Manchester United in May, I went back with my Dad and Youngest to watch Soccer Aid on Father’s Day.

It was a great evening’s entertainment and really quite funny at times. There was even a musical interlude at half time which included a grand piano on the centre circle!

Making Stitches 2025 CAL : June

Summer Solstice Square
Bonus Birthday Square

June saw not one, but two new squares for the Making Stitches 2025 CAL. The main reason for me doing this CAL this year is because of the special anniversary, so it seemed appropriate to mark the occasion with a bonus square in addition to this month’s main square. The Summer Solstice square was launched on 1st June and the Bonus Birthday square pattern was released on my blogiversary. 

I am thrilled that I have managed to reach the mid-point of the year with people still discovering the crochet along and joining in along the way. The more the merrier! If you would like to have a go at any of the Making Stitches 2025 CAL patterns, you can find them all here!

Podcast News

There was just one episode of Making Stitches Podcast released in June as series 9 drew to a close ahead of the summer break. My guest this time was Micah Clasper-Torch a punch needle designer who has taught thousands of people the craft through her online platform. She has a new book out and is hoping to reach an even wider audience through her wearable punch needle designs. You can listen to the episode with Micah here.

Before I go…

This Postcard is almost at an end but before I head off, just a couple more things…. I have been so busy with crochet designs and recording new episodes for the next series of Making Stitches Podcast that I am well and truly ready to have a bit of a breather as life shifts down a gear and we hit the soon-to-be-upon-us school summer holidays. 

Before the holidays hit though, I am looking forward to sharing a bit of lovely news with you very soon. Keep your eyes pealed for that please – because I am going to need your help with something very special and worthwhile. 

Also, when my boys break up for their school summer holidays I will be launching my Summer Craft Challenge 2025 when I do something creative every day during the school summer holidays. I would love it if you would join in too! I love doing it each year and carving out a little bit of time each day to do something creative (it’s a real sanity saver amongst the chaos). As one of my boys finished for the summer on Friday this week, so I am going to be starting day one on Saturday (19th July) and posting a social media post each day to share what I have done, which will keep me focused on maintaining the challenge. 

The thing about a Summer Craft Challenges is that it’s always better when you’re not the only one doing it. So… please do join in and share your makes this summer on social media with the hashtag #SummerCraftChallenge2025 so I can see what other creativity is going on – just like the Making Stitches 2025 CAL – it’s better with friends and it would be great to build a Summer Craft Challenge community!

Until next time, thanks for stopping by!

Lindsay x

 

A postcard from March 2024

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Hello there, blimey we’re on day 10 of April already, I genuinely don’t know where the time has gone! Well I kind of do, I’ve just started a new job, so that has filled my time somewhat and my brain too for that matter, but for now, here’s a little look back at March in my world!

Belinda Bunny

Last month I launched another new pattern in my shop, in time for Easter, Belinda Bunny made an appearance. Inspired by our very own little Diamond bunny (as you can see) bunnies aren’t just for Easter….

I know many people won’t be interested in bunnies now that Easter is past but she’s there ready for next year with her little basket ready for a chocolate egg! If you’re interested in making your own Belinda, you can find her here.

The Crochet Sanctuary

White bunnies were clearly the flavour of the month in March as when I spent a wonderful day at the Crochet Sanctuary last month, this bunny wreath was one of the projects we made! The wreath is sitting on an, as yet, still unfinished cowl.

I had a really lovely day just sitting, chatting and crocheting – I feel like I’d been away on a holiday rather than just a few hours!

Holiday

Speaking of holidays… I got on a plane last month for a fabulous break in Spain.

Along with 4 lovely friends from my University days, we had a joint celebration of our 50th birthdays (no, that can’t be right surely?!). The sister of one of my friends has a house in Spain which she offered for us to use for our 4-night-long getaway. It was amazing!

Sadly the weather wasn’t great, but we didn’t go for the sun, we went to spend some time with each other. What with family commitments and work, it had been nearly 30 years since we’d spent that long together. Apart from being in bed no later than 1am and having a beautiful clean tidy house with lots of nutrious food – it was just like being back in our student flat!

Isn’t it wonderful when you have friends who know you so well that you can just pick up from where you left off no matter how long ago it was the last time you saw each other? I feel truly blessed to have them in my corner.

I wanted to give them all something to mark this momentous occasion, but couldn’t think what was suitable to buy – after drawing a blank I opted for making them each a little ‘Keele girl’ (we met at Keele University). I surreptitiously asked them all what colour swimming costume they were bringing with them and made them a coordinating mini costume. I based the pattern on the Crochet Iconic Women book by Carla Mitrani (I thought that was rather appropriate seeing as I think they’re all pretty iconic in my book).

We had lots of fun taking the mini crocheted girls out and about with us…

To the beach
To the pool
Out for tapas
Even a night on the tiles!

We had a right giggle – it was an amazing break.

Out & About

Bridgewater Canal at Lymm

Easter school holidays meant the need to get out and about in fresh air to get the young men in my life off devices and, for one, away from GCSE revision for a while and we had a few nice walks. This one was along the Bridgewater Canal towpath in Lymm. The weather in Cheshire was better than in Spain to be fair!!

Lymm Cross

Podcast News

The latest series of Making Stitches podcast has come to an end with a lovely chat I had with Heather of KCACOUK (Keep Calm & Crochet on UK). We met in person at last year’s March Crochet Sanctuary and talked about recording an interview- it took almost a year to achieve it!

Heather Gibbs

You can listen to the podcast here if you missed it:

Hopefully the next series of Making Stitches won’t be too long in the making!

Keep on Running!

I have mentioned in my monthly postcards before that I’ve been doing a bit of running lately, and that I was thinking of signing myself up for a 10K. As I was approaching the age of 50, I decided that if I was ever going to achieve a 10K, it was probably a good idea not to out it off for too much longer. I gave myself a talking to as I remembered having the same one way conversation as I hit 40, but didn’t achieve that goal.

It’s now official, I am signed up to run the 10K race on the day of the Great Manchester Run on 26th May. I’ve been training since before Christmas and once I managed to run 7K last week, I thought it was safe to go public and tell people.

I’m not sure I’ll be repeating the feat, so thought I’d better make it a worthwhile venture and have opted to raise funds for the Jo Cox Foundation. Last year, I did some work for them and I wanted to thank them for putting their faith in me, as well as helping them going forward with the amazing work they do to help build community relationships, supporting civility in public life and generally continuing the work started by Jo Cox.

For those of you who don’t know who Jo was, she was a wife, mother, MP (Member of Parliament) and humanitarian who was murdered while she was working in her constituency of Batley & Spen in West Yorkshire in 2016. Had Jo still been alive, like my friends and I, she would be celebrating her 50th birthday this year, so this seemed very appropriate.

My fundraising page is here if you would like to sponsor me – I would be immensely grateful if you are able to contribute to my fundraising efforts.

A view across our local golf course while on a sunny run!

Also in March, I managed to get a job! I’m thrilled and started the new position this week. It does mean I have a bit less time for podcasting etc, but I can pay the bills which always helps!!

And that is just about it for this month, sorry it was a few days late! It was a long one too, so if you made it to the end, thank you!

Until next time, take care, and thanks for stopping by!

Lindsay x

A postcard from November

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Hello there! It’s the last day of November already eek! I’m not ready for December!!

It’s been a busy old month – perhaps that’s why it’s gone so quickly. It’s only now I look back at what we’ve been up that I’ve realised it’s been quite a lot.

In the latest twist of the Covid story it’s also been a month of regular trips to our local testing centre every time anyone gets a cough or sniffle or we are alerted about a close contact. I think we may have been about 10 times lately – I’m thinking of asking for loyalty points!! Fortunately all tests have come back negative.

Here’s what we’ve been up to this month…

A golden tree at the end of the rainbow

Yet again this year, after over a decade away from the UK I have loved seeing the beautiful colours of autumn this month. I may no longer have little people at home who like to make pictures out of autumn treasure, but I can’t help but pick up pretty leaves when I see them!

No it’s not Christmas yet!!

Eek – am I the only one who gets freaked out by early Christmas decorations? I took Littlest out for hot chocolate on 1st November to a local café and they had a huge tree, giant baubles… the works! On the first of November!!! Maybe I’m just a Scrooge but it’s seems a bit early to me. This photo was of the Trafford Centre on the first Saturday of November…. Christmas lights galore!

Meeting real people in real life!

One evening early in the month, I had the most wonderful time ‘out out’ in Manchester. Since February/March last year I have been a virtual member of a super community for podcasters.

After months and months of zoom virtual meet ups where we hear from real ‘professional’ podcasters and swap advice and help amongst our community, I actually got to meet everyone in real life!! What a thrill. (People were so much taller than I expected after spending so long just seeing them on my phone/laptop screen 😂! )

The occasion for this meet up was to celebrate the club’s 3rd birthday and the 30th meet up in total. There were drinks and even birthday cake!

If you are a podcaster yourself or are thinking of starting your own podcast do come along to a future zoom. The group’s called MIC’s Podcast Club and although it’s based in the North West of England, there are members from much further afield (like America) and I was still living in Gibraltar when I first joined. You can find them on Twitter @MICsPodcastClub and maybe one day you can have the thrill of seeing your own podcast up in lights on the wall of a real-life meet up!

Costa del Ship Canal

Littlest’s football match got cancelled one week and instead the team coach opted to run a team building training session in our local nature reserve.

It was a perfect morning for it – definitely worth setting the alarm for an early start on a Saturday!

Just look at those blues and the golden leaves….

That water almost looked Mediterranean – well almost – it is the Manchester Ship Canal!

Plastic hedge be gone!

In this era of everything needing to look perfect and be convenient, we end up with situations like astroturf and plastic hedges. I am not a fan at all. I’m a bit more slap dash and enjoy going with the flow with nature, plus I really enjoy gardening. So when we inherited this delightful plastic hedge at our new home last year, it’s days were numbered. It did a lot better than expected as other jobs took precedence but this month, it’s time was up.

It didn’t take long, it was so rotten inside it practically fell apart – very little force was needed at all. I’m looking forward to installing a rather more environmentally friendly replacement soon!

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

A few weeks ago I received a message from a lovely friend I used to know in Gibraltar. She, like me has moved back to the UK and is now based in the South East of England. She wanted to let me know she and her partner were having a few days up North and would I like to meet them at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park? Yes! Was my answer!!

Barbara Hepworth sculptures

Before we moved to Gibraltar, we lived in Wakefield just a stone’s throw from YSP and it was a regular destination for us as a family on a weekend. It was so lovely to be able to go back there – albeit briefly while the Little Postcards were at school.

Ai Weiwei’s Chinese Horoscope Characters

The weather was so kind to us. It was very cold but it was beautifully sunny. The perfect conditions for having a wander through the beautiful park and sculptures.

Close-up of one of Ai Weiwei’s Chinese Horoscope heads
You can never have a big enough hand bag!
A Diamond ring made out of car wheels!

We didn’t spend too long together as I was clock watching to get back across the Pennines in time for school pick up, so we didn’t get to see the whole of the park but one exhibition both myself and my friend (who’s also a crafter) enjoyed immensely was one by Joana Vasconcelos who likes to create amazing things out of everyday objects… like giant stilettos out of pots and pans…

…. Lots and lots of crochet!!! Viva crochet!

Just look at that intricate work!!

Close-up of the above statue
Animal heads enrobed in intricate crochet

But the next fabric structure stopped us in our tracks… it was huge!

The photo doesn’t do it justice – it was giant and filled the huge exhibition space. It was a combination of patchwork, embroidery and very complicated crochet.

The photo above shows the end of one of those tentacles and was over a metre in diameter.

There were also pictures made of bulbous crochet structures…

Finisterra 2018
Close-up of above picture
Heartbreak 2015

How about this for a giant pouffe for your living room?

There was also a sculpture made purely of red plastic knives & forks..

Red Independent Heart #3

And then more examples of intricate crochet covering everyday household items…

A double sink
Detail of the sink piece above
A urinal called ‘Purple Rain’

And a fabulous chair…

The back of the chair above

The Joana Vasconcelos exhibition is on until 9th January 2022 both in the underground gallery and with pieces in the open air too. The artist’s work is said to be “sculptures that comment with a feminist perspective on cultural identity and tradition and celebrate the creative lives of women” – YSP Guide.

It was a lovely visit to the YSP and fabulous to be able to see my friend again – who I hadn’t seen since pre-Covid times. I can highly recommend a visit if you haven’t been, I’ll certainly be back when I can spend longer there.

Sock knitting update

Remember the pair of socks I was knitting thanks to Christine Perry aka Winwick Mum’s fabulous book?

Well they’re finished!!

Knitted using the Winwick Mum Basic Sock Pattern in West Yorkshire Spinners 4ply in ‘Brightside’ also designed by Winwick Mum

I now have toasty warm toes!

In other crafty news, I’m currently working on Eleonora from Coastal Crochet’s Winter Walk Scarf CAL.

It took a while to get started as my hand-dyed skein I’d been saving for the right moment got into rather a big tangle…

But I got there in the end…

And I’m on my way!

Making Stitches Podcast

In podcast news, there have been 2 new episodes this month – both of them yarn inspired.

Emma Leith
(photo credit: Emma Leith Atelier)

The first was with the hugely talented and inspiring crochet designer Emma Leith. You can find that here.

Sara Mulvey from Black Sheep Wools
(Photo credit: Black Sheep Wools)

The second was a real treat to record because it meant I was able to go ‘back stage’ at the fabulous Black Sheep Wools Craft Barn and speak to Sara Mulvey. What a joy it was to have a proper chat with Sara after months of watching her videos through lockdown – it was such a positive part of a rather unpleasant time. You can listen to Sara’s episode here.

And finally…

My first ever crochet patterns have been launched and are available to buy from my Etsy Shop!

There’s Flora the Gardener and Hope the Snowdrop and all being well they will be joined by some more friends very soon!

And that’s just about it for this month. I hope November has been kind to you.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Lindsay x

Edit: I forgot to mention the snow! We also has some of the white stuff fall in the last few days – super exciting even if it was very cold!!

Sunday Sevens #229 5.7.20

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Alas, it’s been our final full week living here in Gibraltar. A week of goodbyes, packing boxes and parcel tape. Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens:

Beach day

Believe it or not, this summer we hadn’t been to the beach as a family until last Saturday. I’ve just been so busy packing boxes and dealing with admin that I couldn’t justify a day off. It was worth the wait though! Just what was needed.

Packing

I had been holding off packing my Pandemonium blanket and small bag of yarn until the last minute convinced I’d have the time to crochet in the evening. I was wrong…. I’ve been sitting down at about 11:15pm each night too exhausted to crochet for well over a week.

I gave up and packed my blanket as a consequence. I’m not sure what the removal men will think when they see the name on this box!

Back to the beach

You wait months for a trip to the beach and two beach days come along at once! We went back to the beach on Monday. It was great, and one Little Box of Crochet dodged the packing boxes for now!!

A chilly treat

Ever since Hotel Chocolat started selling ice cream in Gibraltar, I have promised Eldest that I would get him one. This week, that finally happened. It was lovely, but I managed to give myself brain freeze as I ate it too quickly!!

Bright summer days

It was so colourful at the southern end of Main Street when I popped into town to have a farewell coffee with a friend – I couldn’t resist taking a few photos.

Another goodbye…

I had a wonderful evening on Thursday after a day of admin (mainly to do with schools for the Little Postcards). It was my last book club meeting ‘in person’ for a while.

Book Club was started a few years ago by a friend who had been a member of a group in the UK (who I know sometimes reads this blog – thank you Jackie!) It’s been wonderful, a really lovely group of friends and given me enough impetus to get me reading properly again. Having studied a very literature heavy degree at university, I kind of fell out of love with reading as it became a chore.

My book club ladies helped me rekindle my romance with a good book from true crime to historic fantasy. I will miss my book club nights, but have been told I still have to read the books each time and take part remotely!!

Our last meal together was utterly scrumptious- fish & chips!

Nocturnal wanderings

I love the walk home from book club too – it’s so nice to walk the quiet streets of Gibraltar after dark. The views out to sea are equally stunning at night! And how about this for an intricate window?

Another sunset

Forgive me, but it has to be done. There won’t be views & sunsets like this where we are going. However I will be replacing the view with beautiful green trees which lose their leaves in autumn, instead of a balcony there will be a garden with grass and I’ll have close family & life-long friends close by so I think that’s a pretty decent trade, don’t you?

Ahoy there!

It was a humid, grey morning yesterday when Eldest exclaimed – “What’s that?!” What a peculiar looking cruise ship. I’m told it’s a Virgin cruise ship which is normally based on the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean. It did look a bit unusual as it passed by our windows!

And that brings this week’s Sunday Sevens to a close. I’m not sure what state either Sunday Sevens or I will be in this time next week. One thing I can be sure of is it’ll be a few degrees cooler and far easier to unpack than it was to pack!! I’m off now to throw some more things into boxes … wish me luck!

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

Sunday Sevens #185 28.4.19

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Hello there, Sunday’s come around again rather fast. We’re in the middle of another bank holiday weekend here in Gibraltar as its Worker’s Memorial Day tomorrow. We’re at the time of year when we have few 5 day weeks at school. It’s nice in a way but a bit ‘bitty’ in others as it’s hard to settle into a proper routine.

Anyway, here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens:

Goodbye Blighty

Last Sunday (Easter Sunday) we left our lovely rental house in Padstow in Cornwall and headed to Exeter airport to fly home to Gibraltar. We flew to Malaga and then drove home from there. This was my last glimpse of Blighty for a while as we headed south over the English coast.

Easter Sunday sunset

And back at home in Gibraltar we were greeted with grey and wet weather, but then we got this lovely sunset! It’s good to be home!

Boating manouvres

The Little Postcards returned to school after Easter on Tuesday morning and I found myself down by the side of the harbour in Gibraltar and was mesmerized by the boats. This huge tanker was coming into port with the help of a little tug boat. The tugs are so powerful despite being so small!

Magestic morning arrival

This is a very impressive cruise ship which came in one morning with the golden morning sun shining on it. I watched it leave again later in the day with the sails unfurled. It was quite a sight.

Evening with friends

On Thursday evening I had a lovely catch up with friends in Queensway Quay. There’s no better tonic than a a good old giggle, and boy did we laugh. Just brilliant.

Same place, next day…

And just a few hours later I was back. This time with a friend from home (Manchester) who I haven’t seen for over 10 years, who happened to visit Gibraltar on a day trip from a holiday in Benalmadena. Another lovely catch-up. I’ve been very lucky this week!

Ladybird rescue

Yesterday we took a drive along the coast from Gib to Marbella and found ourselves in the midst of a ladybird bloom (if that’s the correct terminology). There were loads about and we found many of them struggling in a fountain. We fished about 50 out and left them to dry their wings out in the sunshine.

Beautiful bougainvillea

Where we were was also in the midst of the most beautiful bougainvillea. It was perfectly set off against the deep blue sky.

And that is where this week’s Sunday Sevens (or perhaps that should be Sunday Eights) comes to an end. I hope you’ve had a good week, and that the coming 7 days are kind to you.

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

Sunday Sevens #180 24.3.19

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Hello there! Nearly missed Sunday Sevens this week, by my reckoning it’s almost Monday Sevens! Here goes…

Med Steps

I took advantage of a day without commitments last Sunday to take a trip up the Med Steps. It was beautiful, not too hot and very verdant. Spring has sprung!

Lining time

At my dressmaking class this week, a lot of time was spent attaching lining into my jacket. I felt like I was on the home straight until I remembered I still have to do the button holes – eek!

Exhibition

An interesting traveling exhibition has arrived in Gibraltar this week. Detailing our relationship with our Neanderthal ancestors, it is a lovely temporary addition to Commonwealth Park.

Ah revoir to another sub

We seem to having rather a lot of submarines visiting port lately. They’re always fascinating to me, and remarkably small. I couldn’t bear being in such a confined space!

Breakfast with friends

A lovely crafty friend of mine has recently left this part of the world to move far away. This week, she made a quick trip back and three of us had a lovely breakfast together and a great chat. It’s so nice just to stop what you’re doing and catch up with pals.

Rough seas

Friday morning brought with it high winds and rough seas. Not a day for going out in a little boat!

Football fever

Football fever gripped Gibraltar yesterday, as The Gibraltar Football Association hosted the Ireland team in the 2020 Euro qualifiers. It was fun to count a tally of Irish football shirts and flags in town (we lost count around 50). Our visitors may have been unlucky with the grey skies and strong winds but they got 3 points and headed home with a 1-0 win.

That’s all for this week, I hope you have a good week ahead!

As always I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

So that’s

Sunday Sevens #154 16.9.18

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Sunday has come round remarkably quickly this week, I’m not sure I’m ready! I hope you’ve had a good week…

Back up the steps

Last Sunday I took the bull by the horns and headed back up the Med Steps for the first time since the Med Steps 5 in May. It had been too warm to attempt it before then, but Sunday felt a bit cooler, so I thought I’d have a go.

I was amazed at the progress being made at the building works for the Island Games (above) since my last visit.

I took quite a few breaks en route (including a stop off in one of the caves: above). And on my way back down, I spied the visiting submarine HMS Talent down below me in the harbour.

National Day

Monday was 10th September and around these parts that means it’s Gibraltar National Day. You can see more pictures in my last post for the Friday Photo Challenge.

Are you looking at me?

Wednesday morning saw me heading back up the Med Steps. On my way up, I came across a group of about 8 Barbary Patridges. They were so tame and very close to me, this one was giving me the once over though!

Murky night

Wednesday evening saw a sea mist come into the Bay and envelope all the ships out on the water. It was funny how the beams from their lights spread through the mist.

Watercolour class

Term restarted for my watercolour class, and I had a go at some poppies to get back into the groove. They were meant to be covered with splatters which was handy as they covered the area where I dropped my brush on the paper!!

I’m really looking forward to my dressmaking classes restarting next week!

Out and about

I had a nice walk on Friday morning with a few friends, it was calm and sunny and lovely to have a catch up. Unfortunately my walk was cut short this time with a minor crisis at home (which was resolved without incident) hopefully next time, I’ll get to walk further!

Birthday boy

We have a birthday coming up in the household soon and on Saturday we had a bit of a celebration. Pokémon cakes were the order of the day. Thank goodness for the stick-on pictures, they distracted from the wonky icing and burnt bits!!! They tasted ok thankfully!

That’s it for this week’s Sunday Sevens, a big thank you for everyone who’s taken the time to read it! I have had a bit of a spike in activity on my blog during the last 24 hours with lots of views from the UK, so hello to any new readers, it’s lovely to have you along. As always, I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Sunday Sevens #137 20.5.18

~ Making Stitches ~ 8 Comments

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 #94 30.7.17

~ Making Stitches ~ 2 Comments

This week’s Sunday Sevens features several locations in 4 different countries believe it or not! Here goes…

Sunny English summer skies


This time last week we were in Reading enjoying the last full day with our old friends who once lived in Gibraltar. They have a lovely big back garden and the weather conspired to allow the Little Postcards and their friends to play outdoors for ages on the trampoline and running about on the grass. Meanwhile my friend and I looked on, coffee, and then gin in hand, and enjoyed a jolly good catch up. We had such a lovely time, thank you so much x

Ride a cock horse… our Banbury detour


So our return trip up North managed to coincide with some rather annoying (for us) railway engineering works. We ended up killing an hour in Banbury between connections. My only prior knowledge of the place was a bloke at University called ‘Pete from Banbury’ and the nursery rhyme. I can now add to that extensive catalogue of knowledge by contributing the fact that Banbury Debenhams do a damn fine chocolate brownie.

Family times


On Tuesday we went out for a lovely meal with my parents, brother and sister-in-law. My brother gave us a lift in his van and opened the sunroof, much to the delight of the Little Postcards! Check out that blue sky!

Oh, and there was an octopus at the table too…


Heading home – very slowly!


Wednesday meant time to leave England and a long wait for our plane home. A medical emergency on the plane we should have caught made our departure time 2 hours later than it should be. I hope the patient is ok.

We took off in the end though… good bye for now England!



Blue skies above


Back in Gibraltar, and boy it’s been very warm! Not a cloud in the sky…



Hot, hot, hot!


I know I’ve just spent 2 and a half weeks in England and I’m out of practice, but it really has been hot – 32.4 degrees on Friday.

Off on holiday again


I’ve had a very quick turnaround this week, unpacking our suitcases, washing and refilling them in time for our road trip to Portugal. We are staying in the same place as we did on our last visit two years ago, not far from Alvor. This is the Queen Sofia Bridge in Seville, it’s a huge structure which sea-going tankers can travel beneath. You get a great view of the city from it too. Oh, and it was 38.5 degrees there – phew!

After a five hour drive from Gibraltar and a welcome drop in temperature by a couple of degrees, we arrived at our destination. We’ve been hanging out with the locals…

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series for bloggers which was created by Natalie at Threads & Bobbins. It features seven (or perhaps more) photos from the last seven days of your week. If you are a blogger and would like to join in with the Sunday Sevens community, then pop over to Natalie’s blog to find out how you can get involved.

Sunday Sevens #88 18.6.17

~ Making Stitches ~ 6 Comments

Hello from a very warm Gibraltar. Blimey summer has definitely arrived. The temperature has risen considerably and I don’t mind admitting I’m wilting a little! It’s ok in this temperature when you are on holiday and doing nothing in particular but it’s hard work when you still have to cook and clean and rush around doing things. 

Anyway, enough moaning – we are never happy with the weather are we?! Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens…

Sixty Million Trebles corner to corner complete 

This blanket was started during Lent when I was crocheting a granny square each day. On days when I was super keen and wanted to do more crochet I did a bit of this. Once Lent was over I put it aside to do a few other bits and pieces and only revisited this last week when I headed back to Manchester to visit my parents. 

It was completed on Sunday and I took it to the pool for an arty photo shoot 😉 it’s comprised of 10,608 treble stitches and brings my total Sixty Million Trebles tally up to 33,864 for my three blankets to date. 

For those of you who haven’t heard of Sixty Million Trebles before it’s a charity and awareness raising appeal to make crochet blankets totalling sixty million treble stitches (one treble stitch represents one refugee in the world – figures from the UN in 2016). The blankets will be sent to Syrian child refugees. For more information see: the Sixty Million Trebles Facebook page.

Walking 

I abandoned the car for most of this week and decided to walk whenever I could. It meant that I wasn’t able to fit quite as much into my child free hours while the Little Postcards were in school, but I did enjoy being able to appreciate my surroundings a lot more. There are so many interesting buildings and nooks and crannies here in Gibraltar which you can drive past in a blur so easily. 

I won’t have a body fit for a bikini, but I have walked a good few miles this week!

Watercolour seashells 

I put the finishing touches to some of my seashells this week at my watercolour class. I have really enjoyed painting them and have come to the conclusion that perhaps I’m better at small focused pieces than larger landscapes and compositions. 

Trumpet flowers

I have to confess that I don’t know what these flowers are called but I have seen quite a few about of late. In fact there are a lot of gorgeous plants in bloom around Gibraltar at the moment. They seem to be at their peak before getting frazzled in the hot summer sun. 

A new hobby?


“Not another one?” I hear you say. Well there is blogging, taking loads of photos (although I am not a photographer by any means), sewing, painting, crochet, reading… I really don’t need another one but I may have found a new way to dodge doing housework! 

A friend of mine is a rather accomplished ‘felter’ – is that a word? (Well someone who makes delightful pictures with felted yarn). This week she very kindly showed me how to do it too over the course of two lovely lunches and afternoons. 

I took loads of photos and at some point in the next few weeks I hope to be able to share my foray into felting with you too. Ooh it’s such fun! 

Summer hours

The time has finally come, that time of the year where you no longer have to make school packed lunches, but you do have to come up with afternoon entertainment for the kiddiwinks. Friday saw the end of full days for school children in Gibraltar. With just three weeks left until the end of the summer term, it’s half days from here on in. 9am to 12 noon for first schools and 9am to 12:45 for the older children. 

Hmmm, I will be so happy not to have to figure our what tasty delights to put in the lunch boxes of an evening until mid September, but crikey, what am I going to do with them for all that extra time? I don’t remember constantly asking my Mum what her plans for the day were as far as entertaining me and my brother were concerned, but that seems be the norm for me and the mums I’ve spoken to. We may be exploring boredom and room tidying in the coming weeks… I cannot face the beach everyday! 

A roof with a view

I shall round up this week’s Sunday Sevens with a photo of last night’s Saharan Dust sunset. It was lovely and completely different from the rainbow sunsets we’ve had in recent weeks. I grabbed my camera as I spotted some seagulls sitting on a nearby roof enjoying the view as much as me!

We are enjoying a Bank Holiday weekend this weekend, schools and many workplaces are closed tomorrow in honour of the Queen’s birthday. That means that many Dads who are able to enjoy Father’s Day today, can get a second lie in tomorrow too! However you spend your day, I hope it’s a good one for you.

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