granny squares

A postcard from March 2026

Image shows a closeup of some white blossom against a blue sky
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Hello there! I hope you’re doing well. My word, March was a super month in my world, filled with fun, sunshine and lots to interesting chats with super people. The main highlight of the month was the TexStyle Festival in Manchester city centre. It was the first of its kind and I spent the whole weekend at it – it was amazing!

So, here’s a little round up of the past month in my neck of the woods…

Sunny days

Image shows a closeup of some white blossom against a blue sky

I don’t want to sound like a weather bore, but in amongst the usual damp and grey March days, we enjoyed several beautiful sunny and warm days this month. Fortunately for me, some of them happened on days when I wasn’t working so I was able to enjoy some time out pottering in my garden.

It was lovely to be able to give the back lawn it’s first cut of the year – it was getting very long and tufty in places, and it stayed looking pretty smart for a couple of hours until it returned to being used as a penalty shoot out area again! One day I will have a pristine lawn, but only when my resident footballers have flown the nest, so I’m not wishing my life away.

A Literary Evening Out

In early March I went along to our local bookshop along with a very good friend of mine to hear local author, Helen Gaskell, speak about her first novel. Released at the height of Bridgerton Series 4 fever, her book The Regency Switch involves time travel from the present day, back to the Regency era.

Helen gave a really fascinating talk and we really enjoyed our evening out (on a school night too!).

Thank you Helen for a brilliant evening!

Image is of author Helen Gaskell posing for the camera holding her first novel, The Regency Swap in a book shop in front of book cases

TexStyle Festival 2026

It’s official I was in!
It was lovely seeing my friend Christine aka Winwick Mum at TexStyle
Work completed by Yarn Addicts of Manchester
Some of the work done by Yarn Addicts of Manchester

Oh my, where to begin with TexStyle Festival? What a wonderful weekend of fun, creativity and community!

I was thrilled to be asked to compere the Textile Talks stage at the festival, so I was lucky enough to spend the full two days at Manchester Central, enjoying all that it had to offer. The weekend’s speakers were textile artists, Sophia Gardiner, Stephen West from WestKnits, Amelia Rogers from Amelia Stitches, Gareth from Manchester Wool & Yarn, Debbie Munro from The Lace Knittery & Jane Smith from Japanese Embroidery UK.

Sophia Gardiner at her stand
Stephen West in action
Stephen West ready to go on stage

It was a brilliant weekend and I feel really privileged to have been a small part of it all. I took my podcast microphone with me (naturally) and shared an episode all about the weekend.

With Gareth from Manchester Wool & Yarn
Jane Smith from Japanese Embroidery UK
Amelia from Amelia Stitches in action

The whole TexStyle experience was a whirlwind, which I still can’t stop thinking about, I had so many lovely conversations with people and look forward to seeing lots of them again in the not too distant future. I’m really grateful to be a part of this super duper community.

Victoria Salmon from Another Knitted Thing
Alena Ruth from Manchester Tufting Workshops
With the super Debbie Munro who gave 2 talks

To get a true flavour of the event, please check out my TexStyle 2026 episode of Making Stitches Podcast.

My March Makes

My only full length photo of my new cardigan taken in the loos at TexStyle!
Image is of the back of a cardigan made using Orla Squares
The back of my Orla Square cardigan

Last month in my Postcard from February, I mentioned that I was working on something using the Orla Squares I had made during my summer craft challenge. The aim was to get a new cardigan made using the squares and I just about managed to get it finished in time for the second day of the TexStyle Festival.

The pattern I used for the squares was on PS I Crochet’s Instagram account last year in Karen’s Orla Love Bag post you can see her account here.

I’m really chuffed with how the cardigan ended up and received some nice compliments about it when I had it on at TexStyle, which is always nice!

Zeens and Roger Small Bobble Cowl pattern

Once my cardigan was finished and I had time to hit my WIP pile with determination to tick another WIP off the list, I settled on this Small Bobble Cowl. I started it in January and then it was cast aside for cardigan making. The pattern is by Zeens and Roger and is called the ‘Small Bobble Cowl’, you can find a link to the crochet pattern bundle for cowls designed by Rosina here. I loved making this and used yarn from Kitey aka https://www.yarnwhisperer.co.uk I love the vibrancy of the colours against the cream background yarn. I just hoping when I wear it, I don’t look too much like a children’s TV presenter!

My final make for March was this ‘mini-me’ for my Zumba instructor, Guillaume who left us at the end of the month to concentrate on his other, candle making business.

I can’t tell you how much my Tuesday evenings dancing have meant to me over the past 4 years I’ve been going. They have been the highlight of my week and such a laugh.

If you want to support his business, I can highly recommend his candles, wax melts, diffusers and candle-making classes. All of which leave your nose in raptures of lovely smells! You can find all of Gui’s products at https://malumiere.co.uk

The mini-me is not anatomically correct by the way! I used my fail safe of adapting a pattern from the Carla Mitrani book Crochet Iconic Women.

On Making Stitches Podcast this month…

I kicked off a brand new series of Making Stitches Podcast this month with a chat I had with Katy Mitchell aka Kate’s Crochet Creations.

Katy is a passionate advocate for the Granny Square and has designed hundreds of different ones. She published her first book last year ‘The Granny Square Book’ which is filled with over 100 different designs for you to make your own unique Granny Square projects with.

You can find Katy’s episode here

Episode art for Episode 101 of Making Stitches Podcast
Episode artwork for the TexStyle festival 2026 episode 102 of Making Stitches Podcast

I have said so much about this festival already in the post, but in case you missed it before, my second episode of the month came out last week and features the brilliant TexStyle Festival. You can listen to it along with all the previous Making Stitches Podcast episodes in all the main podcast places like Apple Podcasts, Spotify etc as well as on my Making Stitches Podcast website.

And that’s it for this month, I hope March was kind to you and that April goes well too. We have the Easter long weekend just around the corner and with it plenty of time to enjoy time with family and my yarn too! Thank you for stopping by to read my latest update.

Have a lovely month!

Lindsay x

Sunday Sevens #177 3.3.19

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Hello there, I hope you’ve had a good week! March already…. who would’ve thought that?! Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens…

Plane spotting

Last Sunday we had a football match to watch involving one of the Little Postcards. The football pitch they play on is right next to the runway and so plane spotting is a natural side show. It always amazes me that the planes come so close to where we are. Little did we know that just 24 hours later some poor souls would get the fright of their lives as they attempted to land st Gib… if you saw the news on Monday, you’ll know exactly what I mean.

A new project

Last week I was complaining that I haven’t done any ‘fun’ crafting lately as I’ve been too busy doing other stuff. So rather than keep moaning, last Sunday night I picked up my bag of odds and ends and set about granny-square making. It’ll be s long time before I can cover a double bed with it, but it’s been fun…

Stroll at dusk

Camp Bay

On Monday evening, after the crazy winds that disrupted air travel had subsided, I headed out for a lovely evening stroll.

Mosque at Europa Point

It was lovely to see buildings which I usually only see in the daytime lit up so beautifully.

St Bernard’s Church

Dressmaking class

The sleeves are on… and they’re staying on this time!

A jazzy underpass

The decoration of this underpass close to the Alameda Gardens looks like it’s almost finished. I rather like it.

Watercolour class

Now that I’ve finished my Church ceiling painting, I fancied freesias this week at my painting class. The wild freesias are out in abundance in Gibraltar at the moment…

Bunny update…

Diamond’s been a bit naughty this week. I know he’s a bunny and bunnies like to chew stuff but I was rather miffed with his nibbling this week. The bottom of his enclosure was covered with an old Laura Ashley spotted plastic tablecloth (the type of fabric/plastic used for wipe clean aprons) it worked pretty well for keeping the floor tiles underneath clean. But bunny decided he liked to nibble holes in it. He doesn’t seem to ingest the bits of table cloth as he leaves Laura Ashley confetti all over the bottom of his cage.

Over time the tablecloth was looking rather messy and horrible, so this week I threw caution to the wind, threw away the old tablecloth and bought a brand spanking new one. It looked lovely, and lasted less than 12 hours. The tablecloth confetti is back… naughty Diamond.

Thanks for stopping by, that’s all from Sunday Sevens for this week. I hope you have a good one!

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

2018 Friday photo challenge (Week 28) Favourite

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Favourite… that’s a bit of a loose prompt. Favourite what? Well this photo seems to be a bit of a favourite over on Instagram – it’s had more likes than any other on my account. It dates back to April last year.

My favourite photo taken in Gibraltar has to be this one, taken after walking up through the mist and low cloud on the Med Steps.

My favourite pass time has to be crochet…

And my favourite finished blanket so far has to be this rainbow granny square one…

Next week’s photo challenge is button.

2017 Weekly photo challenge (week 48) Comfortable

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You can’t get much more comfy than snuggling under a toasty crochet blanket in my book. One of the joys of actually making one is when you can enjoy the warmth of it on your knee as you hook up another row!

I’m linking with Nana Cathy and Wild Daffodil for this weekly photo challenge throughout 2017.

Sunday Sevens #79 16.4.17

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Happy Easter Sunday to you. I hope that however you are spending it, you are having a happy time. We have enjoyed some gorgeous spring sunshine this week, although today the sun has abandoned us as things are looking rather murky and misty at the moment.

Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens…

A return to the Med Steps


Our trip back to the U.K. as well as other things have got in the way of me climbing the Med Steps of late. On Sunday I had absolutely no energy at all, I think it’s a combination of a couple of very busy weeks and hay fever kicking in (which is unusual for me), but after a very lazy morning I hauled myself up the Med Steps and felt much better for it.

I’m supposed to be doing the Med Steps 5 challenge next month and according  my training schedule (aka Mr Postcard) by last weekend I should’ve been doing twice round. I didn’t, so the jury’s out on whether I’ll be able to manage 5 times round this year…

The Steps are looking very spring-y with wildflowers blooming all over. On my walk back down the Rock, these apes were putting on a good show for the tourists near St Michael’s Cave.

Easter holiday fun


We’ve been doing a tour of Gibraltar’s parks this Easter holiday, first Commonwealth on Monday, then Europa Point on Tuesday… we went back again the next day too! I didn’t eat ice cream on every visit… I promise 😊.

Raising the roof


Mid week saw a bit on excitement on Queensway as traffic was given a front row seat to a very delicate operation. The roof of the one remaining gatehouse at the entrance to the Dockyard was lifted off so the structure could be dismantled and rebuilt on another location nearby. The contractors hearts must have been in their mouths as they watched the roof raised and swung round to another place after over 100 years in the same spot.

Lent Crochet


I made a pledge to crochet a square every day through Lent so that I could create another blanket for the Sixty Million Trebles project. The project aims to raise awareness and funds about the plight of refugees around the world through crochet. My pile of squares was getting bigger but would I succeed in completing the blanket by Easter Sunday?? I’ll have to let you know next week.

Five minutes of peace…

On Good Friday morning I found myself in town, quite early on, killing time before picking up a Little Postcard from an activity. I think it was the first time I had actually been alone (apart from the Med Steps trip) since school broke up for the Easter holidays (barring the shower and trips to the loo – although they invariable involve a knock on the door from someone). I thoroughly enjoyed my coffee with my crochet in hand watching Main Street spark into life around me.

More peace and quiet…


Later on Good Friday I got the chance to go back up the Med Steps, and this time I managed it twice round for the first time this year! I’m so pleased with myself, it’s a bit of a milestone to cross and I didn’t feel half dead at the end of it, so potentially I could have done some more had time allowed. Now I feel a lot less anxious about the Med Steps 5 Challenge which is fast approaching next month. 

This picture features a photo from each circuit of the Steps. I noticed this pretty honeysuckle was out on the road back down the Western side. It looked so pretty, sadly it had no noticeable perfume, but perhaps it comes alive in the evening.
Lunch with a view


Yesterday we enjoyed beautiful spring sunshine. We went round to Catalan Bay and met some friends for lunch. It’s at times like this that we are reminded how lucky we are to live here.

Thank you so much for stopping by, and hope that the coming week is a good one for you.

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

Sunday Sevens #48 11.9.16

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Crochet in the midday sun


On Monday we were given an extra bank holiday here in Gibraltar. We celebrated National Day yesterday, and as it fell on a Saturday we got an extra day off tagged on the end of the Gibraltar Music Festival weekend. Mr Postcard had to go to work for some of the day so I took the Little Postcards to Europa Point to take their bikes out for a spin.

As they cycled round trying to avoid taking out a few tourists on the way past, I carried on with my #sixtymilliontrebles project. It’s coming on so quickly it’s bigger than the lighthouse already ;-).

Sometimes it’s easy to forget just where we live. As I sat hooking up my trebles the voice of a tour guide was carried in my direction on the breeze ‘…the amazing thing about Europa Point is that from here you can see three countries, two continents, an ocean and a sea.’ Good point Mrs Tour Guide, and I’m just sitting on a bench hooking up granny squares oblivious to this amazing backdrop…

An evening out

We had a lovely night out child-free this week. We had no plans and went out for a walk not knowing where we would end up. Our final destination was Queensway Quay where we enjoyed a lovely meal. It was so pretty there at sunset.

And relax…


On Thursday morning I found myself with a whole hour of free time. It was the first time since all three children returned to school that I’d completed my to-do list with time to spare before heading out on the midday school run. Life will be so much easier once full-days return to school next week. (Schools here finish at lunchtime for the last few weeks of summer term and before National Day in September). 

I’d been to collect my latest issue of Simply Crochet magazine from the post office and all the shopping was put away. So I had a guilt free flick through 🙂

Aerobatics 


Friday saw the Rock gearing up for the National Day yesterday. A now regular feature of the celebrations is an aerobatic display. The pilots had a practice run late on Friday afternoon and it was quite a sight to behold across the Bay. I spied them out of the window and dashed to grab my phone for a quick photo. By the time I’d got out onto the balcony they’d gone from right in front of our building to down near the lighthouse at the tip of Gibraltar! 

They were amazing – although I couldn’t imagine ever having a ride in one!!

Gibraltar National Day 2016

It was a scorcher of a day here yesterday as Gibraltar celebrated it’s national pride in style. Some people choose to spend it on the beach, others in town. We had a quiet lunch with friends and a walk through the Alameda Gardens.


It wouldn’t be National Day without a great fireworks display. It was spectacular as usual (not so great for our four legged friends though).


So there you have it, the summer is officially over now. We had a long school summer break, the fair came to town, then the Gibraltar Music Festival last weekend and now National Day has passed us by. Schools go back on Monday for full days, so it’s packed lunches and after school clubs all the way to the end of October! 

Thank you for stopping by, this has been Sunday Sevens, part of a weekly blog series devised by Natalie at Threads & Bobbins blog. 

Sunday Sevens #47 4.9.16

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An evening in Catalan Bay

On Sunday evening, it was still swelteringly hot around our side of the Rock, so we decamped to Catalan Bay for a lovely evening of calamares, pinchitos and Russian salad at one of our favourite eateries The Seawave. As it was the last Sunday of the school summer holidays and a bank holiday weekend to boot, you can see that we weren’t the only ones who fancied spending time by the seaside!

A walk at the Alameda Gardens

On the bank holiday weekend we took ourselves off to the Alameda Gardens in search of shade. As you can see from these photos – we almost had the place to ourselves, the rest of Gibraltar was probably on the beach! My word, it’s been swelteringly hot lately.

Cooling fog at sunset

The heat continued all week, but we had a great respite on Tuesday evening when the fog rolled in from the Strait of Gibraltar at sunset bringing with it a drop in temperature. By the time the sun had gone down we couldn’t even see the ships in the Bay of Gibraltar in front of our apartment. It was bliss to sit out on the balcony and feel the cool dampness on your skin.

One last trip to the beach

Wednesday was officially the last day of the school summer holidays so we had to have one last trip down to Sandy Bay. We met up with some friends from school and the Little Postcards had a great time in the sea and playing in the sand. The plan was to wear them out so that they’d go to bed nice and early ready for school the next day…. they were a little bit too excited for that!

It was a wonderful day though, and as you can see from the photo, for a long time, we had the beach almost to ourselves.

I learned a new skill this week!

If you saw my Summer Craft Challenge 2016 Part 8 on Friday, you’ll know that I have had a couple of crochet lessons with the very talented Marisa Boselli, known as @mariwish on Instagram. This week she taught me how to master the art of joining granny squares as you go along. For non-yarny appreciators this may not seem like a big deal, but believe me it’s a life changing moment… I will no longer have to sew my squares together.

Yarndale 2016

Screen Shot 2016-09-02 at 17.45.33.png

I’m so excited I could burst, I am going to be following Llanita the Gibraltar Yarndale Sheep and travelling to Yarndale later this month. I booked my flights and festival tickets this week. I promise that I will take loads of photos and tell you all about my own woolly Yarndale adventure!

#GMF16

 

It’s that time of the year again, the Gibraltar Music Festival weekend. We spent the day there yesterday and enjoyed music from Toploader, Travis, Paul Young, All Saints, and Foxes to name just a few. I will share some photos from the festival with you next week.

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series created by Natalie at Threads & Bobbins blog. 
Thanks for stopping by!

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Sunday sevens #8 29.11.15

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 1 Europa Point

 

On Monday morning it was such a crisp clear day, that I took a rather scenic detour home from the school run to see the sea off Europa Point. The Trinity Lighthouse is the only lighthouse outside the UK which is controlled by Trinity House in England and looks out over the Straits of Gibraltar towards Morocco in the distance. It was so clear that you could actually make out buildings and cranes in the port across the water in North Africa.

2 Festive Watercolour 

  

I quite fancy having a go at printing my own Christmas cards this year for a change and have been experimenting with designs, I’m liking this holly but this photo was taken after the first layer of paint – it’s not finished yet. I’ll share the finished article with you when I’m happy with it.

3 Dressmaking class



  
Uninspiring photo I’m afraid, but this week’s dressmaking class was all about gathers and pockets.

4 November sunshine  

 
Wednesday was another glorious day, Main Street was chockablock with shoppers at lunchtime. There was a big cruise ship in and the place was bustling, there was a really positive atmosphere no doubt brought on by the beautiful weather.

5 Christmas purchases 

 
A couple of absolutely essential pre-Christmas purchases. I feel a granny square hot water bottle cover and some snowflake gift tags coming on!

6 Christmas makery has begun…  

  

My present production line has begun, a little later than I’d hoped for, but I’m on my way. You’ve got to love granny squares 🙂 well, I do!

7 Thursday flashback 

 

I’m sorry to be repeating a photo from a previous post, but I REALLY enjoyed the Convent Christmas Fair this year. What’s more, my blog post about it got SO MANY views. Far more than I’ve ever experienced before. Thank you to everyone who’s taken the time to have a look at my little blog and for your comments here, on Twitter and Instagram. It’s so nice to hear from you and hear that you’ve enjoyed what I’ve written – it gives me a warm glow just thinking about it 🙂
Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series featuring seven photos from the last seven days. It was created by Natalie at Threads & Bobbins. Take a look at her blog for more information on the series. Have a great week!