Hello there, I’m a bit late with this post – it should’ve been written on Saturday – but hey, it’s the school summer holidays so we’re just rolling with it…
Here’s what I got up to last week in my crafty challenge 😊
Day 15 : Saturday 7th August
More festive leaves on the hook for day 15.
Day 16 : Sunday 8th August
My pile of Daisy hexies is growing… perhaps not as quickly as I had envisioned. I don’t think this blanket will be finished this summer somehow!
Day 17 : Monday 9th August
Summer craft challenge Day 17 went on the road… or perhaps that should be the train! I began a project I’ve been keeping on the back burner for a special occasion – a Little Box of Crochet designed by the lovely ladies The Crochet Sanctuary @Lynda-Rose & Lisa. I got half way through my heart which was made between Manchester & London.
Then I got to visit a place I’ve wanted to go to for aaaaages….. Liberty of London! ahhhh! Those fabrics, all the beautiful things….
I may have accidentally made a teeny-weeny fabric purchase 🤪
Day 18 : Tuesday 10th August
Managed most of the second half of my heart on the train home but I was utterly pooped and ran out of steam. The miles we covered on foot and public transport was bonkers (40,000 steps in less than 48 hours), but it was a very informative trip looking at possible places for Eldest to study next year – eek.
Day 19 : Wednesday 11th August
I made a crown and a chubby squidgy heart!
Day 20 : Thursday 12th August
Thursday’s crochet was all about leaves again!
Day 21 : Friday 13th August
A second project finished! I’ve been waiting over a year to make this and it was well worth the wait – a beautiful heart pincushion designed by The Crochet Sanctuary ladies for Little Box of Crochet. I love it!
That’s all for this installment of my summer craft challenge. I hope I can keep it up – I seem to be powering through my projects which is great. Onwards….
Only on week 2 and I’m late posting this already! Well it is the holidays isn’t it?! Here’s what I got up to in my Summer Craft Challenge this week…
Day 8 : Saturday 30th July
Day 8 of my #summercraftchallenge2021 was all about joining granny squares & making stitches 🧵🪡🧶
Day 9 : Sunday 1st August
A grey cloudy Sunday was perfect weather for staying in and crocheting! Day 9 of my #summercraftchallenge2021 – has anyone seen my ✂️ scissors?! 😉
Day 10 : Monday 2nd August
Day 10 of my #summercraftchallenge2021 was about sewing rather than crochet. 🧵🪡
Day 11 : Tuesday 3rd August
Not much time for ‘real’ craft today – just a paltry hexie round, but I did ‘craft’ a podcast episode – does that count?
Day 12 : Wednesday 4th August
Day 12 of my #summercraftchallenge2021 and the balls are finished and ready to be attached to their final home… can’t wait to share the finished project once it’s completed 😊.
Day 13 : Thursday 5th August
I’ve was playing with festive leaf shapes … feels a bit early for such things but time waits for no one…. Day 13 of my #summercraftchallenge2021 #crochetholly #c
Day 14 : Friday 6th August
It’s finished!!
It may have been started about a year ago, but I think it’s worth the wait? My Craft Room wreath is finished and ready to go on the wall in @making_stitches_podcast HQ!! I’m rather pleased with how it’s turned out. The pattern is by @sewing_the_seeds_of_love & is from Simoly Crochet Magazine issue 96.
And that brings week 2 to a close, I’m looking forward to seeing what week 3 has in store…
Hello there! It’s summertime – could someone please let the weather know?! Our early heatwave has well and truly disappeared! Never mind – damp and cloudy days do make me feel less guilty about not heading off for days out with the Little Postcards, more time for snuggles and crochet I guess.
I didn’t do a summer craft challenge last year for a number of reasons – moving house and countries being just two of them – a challenge was a step too far, but in previous summers I set myself a challenge of doing something crafty each day of the long (9-week-long) summer holidays we ‘enjoyed’ in Gibraltar. This year we are having a UK based summer holiday thanks to our relocation to the North-West of England, with that we have fewer weeks off school, fewer beach days and a lot less sunshine, however that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun!
Fun to me almost always involves something crafty, so why not relaunch my challenge for 2021? I began last Saturday – the first weekend of the holiday for all 3 Little Postcards. I will attempt to do something crafty each day of the holiday which is a perfect excuse to power on with some of my ‘WIPs’ (works in progress) and begin something new too.
Here’s how I got on in week 1:
Day 1 : Saturday 24th July
So here is day one of my #summercraftchallenge2021 – most of the day was spent painting the inside of the summer house (after moving all the boxes!) ready to make it my new craft room – I know! I can’t quite believe it – a whole room for crafty things. And this box of yarn accidentally turned up a few weeks ago ready for me to start a new blanket over the summer.
Day 2 : Sunday 25th July
Day 2 of my summer craft challenge saw lots of progress being made – a first hexie of my new daisy hexie blanket done, plus inroads are being made in the craft room!
Day 3
Day 3 was all about amigurumi hair. Just playing with a few ideas – this little person has a passing resemblance to Frida Kahlo don’t you think?
Day 4
Day 4 of my #summercraftchallenge2021 and I’m working on something for my new craft room.
Day 5
Day 5 meant more crocheted balls!
Day 6
Spot the difference? Part of my crafty fun on day 6 involved making this little pencil ✏️. Fun to make but blimey that lead was fiddly! 😂 Looking forward to sharing all the other components of this fun project soon…
Day 7
It’s all about the granny squares today for day 7 just look at all those ends which need weaving in… thank goodness it’s a teeny-tiny blanket I’m making! Got to love a granny square though – they’re definitely worth it!
So there you have it, one week gone already – 5 more to go!!
As yesterday was August Bank Holiday Monday and as we woke up to sunshine, we jumped into Bluebell (our car) and headed off to the seaside.
Look at that blue sky!
It took less than an hour to drive from our home in Manchester to Crosby on the Lancashire coast. A really good friend of mine who was brought up by the sea and subsequently moved to Manchester recommended it as a trip out if we were ever finding ourselves missing the seaside.
Eldest and I were in Gibraltar recently but the two youngest Postcards haven’t been near the sea since we moved here in July. As they have spent most of, if not all of their lives within sight of the sea, six weeks inland is the longest they have spent away from it for over a decade!
We parked up by the Crosby Marina and followed our noses towards the sand dunes, passed a busy adventure playground and some fairground attractions for small children. There were plenty of people out and about but it wasn’t overcrowded which was good news.
To the left of the footpath was a large boating lake and to the right, a smaller body of water teeming with birds. There were lots of swans looking rather elegant and aloof!
We crossed the sand dunes and spied…
… Sir Antony Gormley’s statues…
I have seen them before on tv and in photos, but I was glad to be able to see them for myself at last!
‘Another Place’ is the name of the installation of 100 life size figures which are set into the sand along the beach at various heights. The installations stretches 3km along the coast and up to 1km out to sea.
The cast iron figures were made from a cast of the sculptor’s own body, and left nothing to the imagination. The sight of his crown jewels caused much tittering (hence the tastefully positioned crown below).
All the statutes stand facing the sea and looking towards the horizon – they are meant to signify man’s relationship with nature and the ebb and flow of the tide.
Crosby beach is a non-bathing beach because of the tides and quick-sand, so visitors are asked not to attempt to reach those statues out in the water. This one (below) looked as though he was striding out towards the Snowdonian mountains in the distance.
I thought I would join him and paddle my toes. It was surprisingly warm to dip my toes in the Irish Sea compared to my swim in the Med just over a week ago. Not sure I would like to go the whole way in though!!
We walked a good distance along the beach…
… before tummies started rumbling and we succumbed to the ice cream van!
We headed back towards the car, this time walking amongst the dunes. The Little Postcards loved scrambling up them and sliding back down again!
What a beautiful place to visit, I’m so glad we had the recommendation to go. The perfect place to spend the last day of August!
Hello there! My word it’s been a busy week this week as you will see. I hope it’s been a good one for you. Here’s this week’s Sunday Postcard…
Stormy skies
Last Sunday we headed out to our local field to play frisbee. It seemed like a great idea at the time – we had a brief frisbee session the day before and the Little Postcards loved it – so we headed back for a longer session on Sunday. It was fun, I’ll give you that, but blimey I didn’t half ache afterwards!! My neck, shoulders, arms, back legs…. I’m showing my age!
Rainy day
After a bright Monday morning, the afternoon was a rather damp affair in our part of the world. Despite that, I thought the rain drops on this spiders web looked rather pretty.
Leaving on a jet plane
Eldest and I had an early start on Wednesday morning…. we were Gibraltar bound for the small matter of picking up GCSE results.
And there she is…
A seat with a view
A postcard from Gibraltar
It had to be done… we left the two youngest Little Postcards behind under the care of grandparents, so we simply had to send a postcard back home on Wednesday when we arrived. I’m amazed to be able to tell you that it arrived in Manchester on Saturday just 4 days later!
Sunrise on results day
We were up early on Thursday so we could collect Eldest’s GCSE results (the reason for our visit). As we were staying on the East side of the Rock this time we were able to witness sunrise over the Mediterranean Sea. It was a lovely moment as we anticipated what might be coming that day.
I’m thrilled to be able to tell you the results were as sunny as the skies above us. I have been having a proud Mum moment ever since.
Friends reunited
Friday evening meant meeting up with some old friends who I only said goodbye to last month! It was great to see them, tell them all our news and hear theirs.
Making waves on the beach
Our trip back to Gibraltar hasn’t exactly been a holiday, there have been things which needed to be sorted following our move back to the UK. A few admin jobs which had slipped through the net before we left and such like. Yesterday though, in the afternoon, I found myself alone and my to-do list was complete so I took my crochet hook, yarn & deckchair down to the beach at Sandy Bay.
I had a few blissful hours crocheting, watching the world go by and also had a solo dip in the sea. I can’t remember if I have ever been to the beach alone before. I normally always have young people with me. I can highly recommend it! It may only have been a few hours but it felt like a holiday after months of planning, packing, unpacking and everything else that moving countries with a family entails. I feel very lucky to have had this time away.
And that brings this week’s postcard to an end. We are now back in Manchester after a very long day of travel – more on that next week!
Hi there, how are you doing? It’s been a quiet week for us just pottering and not getting up to much. Here’s what we’ve been up to this week:
Back from the brink
When we arrived back in Manchester last month, my Mum bought me an orchid to replace the one I had to leave behind in Gibraltar. Unfortunately I managed to under-water it and it looked like I would lose the flowers. Thankfully I managed to nurse it back and it’s doing ok now! Phew!
A trip to the country
On Monday we took a drive out into Cheshire to visit my favorite yarn shop ‘Black Sheep Wools’. I forgot to take a photo in the shop (where I bought some more yarn for my current car blanket project), but I did take one at a farm shop on the way home! I got some gorgeous Cheshire potatoes, a cauliflower and these fresh peas to pod – they were very tasty!
Sultry stormy skies
We have been blessed with some hot, sunny and at times rather humid weather of late – rather reminiscent of hot steamy Levante days in Gibraltar. Overnight there have been some dramatic thunder storms too. One evening as I popped out to the car I saw the sky lighting up above me completely silently. It was rather eerie.
Not finished yet…
So, as I mentioned, I’m making progress on my car blanket for my new car; ‘Bluebell’. I began it by using a yarn pack which I bought from Lucy at Attic 24 at Yarndale back in 2016. I decided not to use it for the project it was intended for and it’s been waiting for the right project to come along, until now! It’s Stylecraft Chunky so works up really quickly. I think it’s going to be my quickest crochet blanket to date!
I decided to join in with the Black Sheep Wools ‘Finished for Friday’ hashtag on Instagram but failed, so I’ll have to #wipthisway for another week!
Lovely Lymm
On Friday we took an afternoon drive out to Lymm in Cheshire (about half an hour from where we live). We parked the car and walked along the canal side to the village. It’s a lovely place…
… then we took a shady woodland path through The Dingle and up to the Dam.
The Dam looked beautiful in the summer sunshine.
We spotted a few green men carved into fallen tree stumps along the path.
Ahhh, and relax….
Bunny update
You may remember that last week, our fluff ball of a bunny, Diamond, arrived in Manchester to join us after a long road trip up from Gibraltar? Well he is well settled into his custom built new hutch made by my Dad!
Granny Square Day 2020
It was Granny Square Day yesterday and Instagram was filled with beautiful granny squares to celebrate. Some were truly exquisite, some were intricate and others were 3D (I saw an amazing 3D unicorn one!) but I went for a plain old tradition granny for my contribution. As 2020 has been a year of ups and downs for many of us, and seeing as there are rainbows all over the place at the moment to give us hope for the future, I simply had to make a rainbow coloured granny square this year.
And that brings this week’s postcard to an end for another week. I hope it’s been a good one for you, and here’s to the next seven days…
Hello there, I hope you’re doing well! Sunday again already…. where are the weeks going? Here’s this week’s postcard…
On the edge of the city
Last Sunday, we popped out to stretch our legs in the lovely Longford Park on the edge of the city of Manchester. The main park and gardens were rather busy and it was obvious we couldn’t visit the swings and socially distance as well, so we had a walk away from the crowd to this meadow which framed the city skyscrapers beautifully in the distance.
Bunny road trip
Our pet bunny Diamond began his trip north to join us on Tuesday. This was him in his cage in his transport as he was picked up from the Gibraltar border. We were hoping he would be alright traveling with other animals because he’s a rather timid chap and not used to mixing with other creatures.
Moody clouds over the park
Our fascination with going to the park hasn’t waned during the month we have been in our new home. We end up there several times a week (weather permitting) although things have got a lot busier since schools broke up here and sometimes we have had to abort our trips to return later on after dinner to avoid over crowded swings.
A walk by the water
We had some warm and sunshiny weather on Friday and headed off for a picnic and walk in the open air. This is Pennington Flash in Lancashire where we ended up on our trip.
Chunky crochet
So this week, I bought a new car! My new wheels (she’s called Bluebell by the way) looked like she could do with a blanket… so I raided my packing boxes to find that stash of chunky yarn I bought many moons ago and have been saving for the right moment!
Sunset on a Friday
I sat out in our back garden on Friday night with my crochet, a glass of wine and this lovely sunset overhead. It’s not quite the view of sunsets across the Bay that I used to look out at, but it’ll do nicely.
He made it!
Look who arrived safe and in one piece yesterday?! Our little gang is complete again – Diamond is settled into his new home and we are all happy bunnies now that he’s back with us!
That’s all for this week, I hope it has been a good one for you inspite of all that has been happening in the world. Where ever you are reading this take care and have a good week ahead.
I’ll be honest with you, it’s been a long three weeks since my last Sunday Sevens! It’s been exhausting and a tad emotional at times. But we survived it. I have come up for air briefly but am heading back into the realm of the packing boxes for a while…
In the meantime, here goes with a look back at our last 3 weeks in slightly more than seven photos from slightly more than the last seven days…
One last Saharan dust sunset on a Sunday
Our last Sunday in Gibraltar was a lovely day for so many reasons, we said goodbye to friends, and ended it with a lovely meal out by the sea. This gorgeous Calima (Saharan dust laden) sunset was the perfect ending.
Haircuts on Monday
In light of the very recent opening of hairdressers in the UK, I figured we might be waiting a long time for haircuts in England, so all three Little Postcards had one last Gibraltarian short back and sides. I love this spot by Southport Gates, I had to photograph it on the way back to the car.
Goodbye Diamond on Tuesday
Our last Gibraltar Tuesday was A DAY. From early morning until late at night it was full on packing. My Fitbit told me I did 18,000 steps. The Little Postcards were entertained with good friends and we said goodbye to Diamond our bunny. He’s gone off to Spain for a short break on the Costa before heading north by road. We hope to see him again in August, he might be glad of all that fluffy fur up in Manchester!
Removal day on Wednesday
Up at 6am for final bits of packing ahead of the removal men arriving just after 8. Once the trucks were loaded I had to cross into Spain to complete the paperwork and pay the duty on our stuff at customs. Off went our things to be stored until there was enough to fill a big lorry to travel up to the north of England.
Thursday by the sea
The Little Postcards had a final hurrah on the beach with their very good friends, while I ran round finishing off the last admin and cleaning up jobs in Gibraltar. When I arrived at Eastern Beach to pick them up we had tea and ice cream with our friends and it was lovely just to be still and enjoy the moment after all that rushing around.
Friday goodbyes…
On our last morning we packed up our final bits and bobs and drove from Gibraltar to Malaga. We had been due to fly from Gib on EasyJet but our flights were cancelled a couple of weeks before and we had to rebook via Malaga. We had to fly to Manchester because at the time of booking we were looking at 2 weeks in quarantine on our arrival and had we flown from Gib to London, we would not have been able to make the trip up north on public transport because of the regulations.
As it turned out, Friday 10th July, which is when we flew, became the first day that travelers didn’t have to quarantine. We were so fortunate.
Queuing to leave Gibraltar
A new view
This is my new view. Once I looked out on the Bay of Gibraltar one way and up the Rock to the summit of the Med Steps the other way, for now, I have this gorgeous leafy colour instead! We have moved into a rented home as a temporary measure until the sale of our place in Gib goes through. I’ll certainly happily take this view as I stand at the kitchen sink – it’s not too shabby!
And breathe
Open space!! Something you don’t get much of in Gib. This gorgeous field used to signal torture in my childhood (think school cross country – I wasn’t built for speed) however now I can appreciate how beautiful it is. It’s just a few minutes’ walk from our new home and en route to the park – a place we have visited a lot recently in a bid to get over the loss of the beach!
Milk bottles!
One of the perks of being back in the UK is the fact we can get our milk delivered to our front door in glass bottles! No more mad dashes to the supermarket for milk to find out there is none, and no more plastic milk bottles going to the recycling.
A not-so-little treat for me
When this special one-off rather large Little Box of Crochet was advertised, I decided to order it to my parent’s house knowing that when I arrived in Manchester, I wouldn’t have any crochet with me until my boxes of stash arrived. What a joy to open it and see all that squishy, yarny goodness.
I thought I’d be able to do a bit each day in my summer craft challenge style of years gone by, but sadly other things have taken precedence. I have dabbled a bit and will share any progress as I go along.
A birthday
We celebrated a birthday too. A Little Postcard is a year older, this time he was able to share his birthday with grandparents (for our first hugs since arrival in the UK) and a socially distant aunt & uncle! (No home made cake this year – my mixer & cake tins were somewhere on the continent in the back of a truck!).
Our stuff arrived!
It all arrived at the back end of last week. Our spacious rental home is now looking a lot less spacious!!🤣
It’s good to know that all our things made it over ok. Now there’s the small matter of finding everything that we need! Wish me luck!
Thank you for stopping by, I’m not sure when my next post will be as I’m still battling my way through boxes and multiple lost items, not to mention still trying to sort schools and other admin bits and bobs. I’ll pop back when I can though. Until then, take care.
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.
Hello there and welcome to another Sunday Sevens. If you read my post on Thursday, you will know that sadly we are preparing to leave Gibraltar after 11 very happy years here.
As a consequence of our impending move, it’s been a rather difficult week with lots of boring packing and sorting of belongings and paperwork, but thankfully good friends sprinkled some fun amongst the drudgery!
Here’s what we got up to this week…
Sunset
Seeing as our days here are numbered I’m reveling in the beautiful view from our apartment as much as I possibly can. I’m always popping out into the balcony to watch the ships or see what the squawking seagulls are up to. This was last Sunday’s sunset.
Packing up
One of the joys of packing is unearthing treasures at the bottom of drawers and the back of cupboards. This isn’t exactly a treasure but was my first and only attempt at cable knitting. I think perhaps I need to have another go at it.
A treat of a boat trip
Friends of ours have a boat moored in one of Gibraltar’s marinas and they invited us for a trip out to see the dolphins on Wednesday. It was a total delight. We saw a mother and baby and a pod of others hunting fish further off.
What a treat it was and a real boost to escape the never ending to-do list for a few hours. The Little Postcards had such fun with their friends jumping off the boat into the Bay, and trying to spy our home amongst the other buildings. It was just what the doctor ordered.
A blogging birthday
So this week, Postcard from Gibraltar turned 5. I am amazed that this milestone has been reached. When I first started writing it I had no idea if anyone would actually read it! Thankfully you have! 🙂
If you missed my blog birthday post on Thursday, you can find it here.
A trip to the beach
Normally by this point in the summer, we would be regularly popping down to the beach, but unfortunately jobs have prevented that until yesterday. We made our first trip to Sandy Bay and it was glorious. What a great time we had. We’ll really miss having this on our doorstep.
Glorious geraniums
The geraniums are looking super on the balcony at the moment. They look brilliant against the bright blue sky & sea.
I had a most wonderful evening last night with some special friends. I didn’t take any pictures as I was so busy eating and talking!! It was a bit of a going away dinner, and was a real treat. I know it’s sad to be leaving this beautiful place and good friends but it’s not goodbye, just farewell until next time.
Podcast update
This week saw episode 10 and the last part of the first series of Making Stitches Podcast go out. I’m taking a bit of a break over the summer and will be looking forward to recording some new podcast episodes for later in the year. This week, my guest was my wonderful sewing teacher, Dorcas Hammond, who spoke of a lifetime in dressmaking. Just search ‘Making Stitches Podcast’ on your favourite podcast app.
That’s all for this week. I’m not sure whether there will be much for me to write about over the coming seven days, I fear it will be boxes, boxes and more boxes, but I’ll do my best!
Until next time, bye for now and thank you for stopping by.
