sunset

Sunday Sevens #160 28.10.18

~ Making Stitches ~ Leave a comment

Hello, this Sunday Sevens comes to you courtesy of the mid term holidays – hooray! Schools broke up on Friday for a week, and we all heaved a collective sigh of relief – no early alarms for a week! Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens:

Making rainbows on a rainy day

Last Sunday afternoon, we had a terrific rain storm. It had been forecast but it was dry and bright-ish so I packed the Little Postcards into the car and headed to Kings Bastion Leisure Centre. Between us parking the car in the multi-story car park and walking to the exit the heavens had opened. We had about 4 hours of monsoon-type deluge. It was a real shocker after our long, hot and dry summer.

The rain came with such force that man hole covers were lifted by the floods and roads were awash with water. People were urged later on by the authorities to stay indoors. We piled back into the car and headed home. It was the perfect afternoon for a cuddle on the sofa in front of a family movie and a bit of crochet. Littlest’s rainbow ripple is now finished (all bar sewing in the endy bits).

Dressmaking class

So my practice run at making a jacket has come to an end. The pattern measurements fit ok and I learned how not to make a bound pocket! (🙈) Now it’s time to go for the real thing, and get it right!

A new project

Now the blanket is finished, I can get cracking on my next project – a jumper for me from a pattern in Simply Crochet magazine. Will I get it finished before the end of winter??!

Goodbye to our old windows

After five years in our home, we finally got round to replacing our old, rattling windows this week. It was a decision I had put off making until last winter, which was really grim and cold. I didn’t want to lose the character of our old apartment. I loved how the window panes had air bubbles in them which cast lovely patterns on the wall at sunset, but I didn’t like being woken on stormy nights by the noise of the sashes rattling in their frames, or feeling the wind on the back of my neck through the closed window and lounge curtains while watching TV of an evening. On some days last winter the temperature fell to below 10 degrees in our lounge – even with the heater on. Coats and a blanket were obligatory for an evening’s tv viewing.

The time had come for them to go. We have replaced them with double glazed wooden framed windows, there are no air bubbles but by Jove they are lovely. They stay shut or open as you leave them, there are no cracked panes and the noise of the traffic from the road outside is stopped too. It was definitely the right decision. They met all the planning requirements for a historic building too.

Football practice crochet

Football training is back into full swing as the season has restarted for the junior leagues, so that gave me time to make some progress on my new jumper!

Moody sunset

Friday night’s sunset was a lovely golden affair. I managed to catch a quick glimpse between dinner and washing up!

Road trip

We headed across the border into Spain for a drive yesterday. There were so many big birds about. There were loads of black and white cranes flying around and I saw a red kite as well as these huge birds too, I’m not sure if they are vultures or not. They were very impressive as they swirled about on the thermals.

That’s it for this week’s edition of Sunday Sevens, seven photos from the last seven days. As always I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series. Until next time, thanks for stopping by and have a great week.

Sunday Sevens #157 7.10.18

~ Making Stitches ~ 2 Comments

Sunday again… here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens:

By the waterside

Last Sunday afternoon I found myself down by the water at Camp Bay. It was lovely to be able to take a few moments to listen to the lapping of the waves and look up at the huge boats. I noticed just in front of me was a huge shoal of fish swimming round and round in circles and coming up for air. They looked like mini sharks!

The last September sunset of 2018

A third photo here from last Sunday, but it was a beauty so I had to share it!

Med steps on a Monday

What better way to start the week than with a yomp up the Med Steps. I wasn’t as quick as I was last time, I didn’t manage to get up there at all the week before and I was a bit out of breath! I also had an encounter with an ape who didn’t seem to want to let me past! I gave it a bit of a talking to and after a few moments, I felt brave enough to go past it…

Dressmaking class

Tuesday saw me back at my Dressmaking class and for this first time this academic year, after weeks of pattern drawing, I was able to actually do some sewing! I have to make a toile first before setting about making my jacket for real.

Watercolour class

I had been trying to paint a picture of stormy seas off Europa Point at my watercolour class but that was proving rather difficult. I decided to make a change and opted for some busy Lizzies instead.

Last rays of sunshine

I was passing Europa Point on Friday evening as the last rays of sunshine were shining. I just had to stop the car and take a photo.

Street art

I featured this art work as it was being painted a few weeks ago and promised I’d show you again once it was finished. It was painted by a local artist Gerry Martinez and is much needed boost to this rather unloved underpass. It’s a great addition to Gibraltar.

September

Here are a few highlights from last month…

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

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday photo challenge (week 33) Reflective

~ Making Stitches ~ 4 Comments

The word reflective can mean several things; a reflected image, light or heat, a geometrical transformation resulting in a mirror image and deep thought. So here’s examples of all of those things….

The first photo was taken on the beach in Spain, and was just so beautiful. We’d gone on a (rare) peaceful evening stroll along the beach and watched as the sun disappeared over the horizon. It’s at times like this that I find myself pondering the most important things in life.

Another sunset photo, this time in Toulouse in France while we were there on holiday last year. The River Garonne was so still and calm, a perfect surface to reflect the bridges and the Ferris wheel.

And finally, the Rock reflected in a wing mirror while heading off on a shopping trip earlier this week.

Next week’s Friday photo challenge is ‘Stitch’.

Sunday Sevens #149 12.8.18

~ Making Stitches ~ 2 Comments

We’ve had one full week back in Gibraltar after our trip to England, and blimey it’s hot here. The weather has been so humid that everything’s so exhausting and wearisome. I’m counting down the days to my next trip back to England!!! Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens:

Back home

It’s been a few weeks since a sunset view like this has appeared in Sunday Sevens… the humid weather has brought with it lots of murky misty days and this evening last Sunday was no different.

Street Art

A new Government initiative to have legally created street art is underway in Gibraltar at the moment. Apparently a number of different murals will be appearing over the coming weeks and months. This one is being painted by a local artist and is meant to signify her childhood memories growing up in Gibraltar. It certainly brightens up this gloomy underpass, I’ll include an ‘after’ shot once it’s completed.

Gecko watch

Nothing represents hot steamy Gibraltar summer nights to me more than geckos on our kitchen windows. We’re having these windows replaced soon, so I do hope they still visit us on the new ones!

Sandblasted

Fancy having the beach to yourself in August?? Well the secret is to go on the windiest day of the summer… we didn’t last long. We looked like sand monsters when we gave up and packed up our stuff to head home, every exposed piece of skin had sand stuck to the suncream…. delightful!

Fun in the sun

The sandy beach day was rounded off nicely though, we were invited to a barbecue at some friends’ villa in Spain. It was a lovely evening and the Little Postcards loved the use of the pool!

Summer nights

Every summer for a night or two each week, the Government in Gibraltar lays on free performances with bands, local dancers and so on. For the first time in the nine years I have lived on the Rock, I attended one of these ‘Summer Nights’. There’s no particular reason why we haven’t gone before, it just hasn’t happened.

The event was great. Entitled Magic Circus, it featured acrobats and magicians and was fab for the children and grownups alike.

Dinner with a view

Last night, we were very fortunate to be invited to our second barbecue of the week. This time it was in Gibraltar on a roof terrace with this fabulous view! How lucky are we?

So that’s it for this week’s Sunday Sevens. I hope it’s been a decent week for you. Thank you to everyone who has commented on my recent posts, I haven’t had the chance to respond to several of them, but I will as soon as I can. Things have been a bit hectic with the boys off school and windows of peace and quiet seem to be few and far between at the moment!

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

Sunday Sevens #146 22.7.18

~ Making Stitches ~ 4 Comments

Greetings from sunny Suffolk, here’s this week’s edition of Sunday Sevens:

Bird family update

A few weeks ago I told you about the couple of collared doves who appeared to be making a nest in the eves above our apartment. Well it looks like they didn’t fancy the location and have gone elsewhere. They have popped back a few times though to say hi, and some sparrows moved in and took their nest making material away to build their own elsewhere.

BBC camera crew

Early this week at sunrise and sunset, a film crew from the BBC who are responsible for making amazing nature documentaries like Blue Planet did some filming from a helicopter of the Bay and Rock of Gibraltar. Can you spot the tiny speck above the tree? That was the helicopter…

Scorchio

I was passing through Sandy Bay on Wednesday morning and by Jove it was hot! It was so hot by 9:45, that I have no idea how people coped on the beach later on!!

Sea mist at sunset

On Wednesday we had a rather unusual sunset as the wispy sea mist rolled into the Bay. It was the last evening of filming for the BBC crew, so it will be interesting to see whether the mistiness makes it into the programme.

First lizard this summer

Lizards (or geckos) are a common sight on our kitchen windows on hot summer nights. They lurk about waiting for moths to fly up to the window and pounce. It’s quite interesting to watch. On Thursday night, I saw my first gecko of the summer.

Holiday time

On Friday we flew to England to visit one half of the Postcard family, and ended up in one of our favourite places, Southwold. Look, they even put the bunting up ready for our arrival! How thoughtful of them!

An evening stroll across the marshes

After spending a bit of time with the family, we headed back to Southwold in time for an early evening walk across the marshes. I love it here, it’s so beautiful and quiet.

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

2018 Friday photo challenge (Week 28) Favourite

~ Making Stitches ~ 6 Comments

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.

Friday photo challenge (week 27) Golden & June round up

~ Making Stitches ~ Leave a comment

I’ve chosen the ‘golden hour’ as the sun sets for my golden photo challenge entry this week. I love how the colour just fills our home for those glorious few moments as it drops down behind the hills across the Bay from us.

However, at the moment, this is my favourite type of golden…

…just the ticket after a long hot day!

Next week’s Friday Photo Challenge will be ‘Favourite’.

June round-up

Sunshine

We kicked off June with sunshine and Crafty creek had some stunning shots in her Sunshine post, I just love the sunrise photo over the sea. So beautiful! You can see it here . Sunshine and trees featured this week on Instagram @mrsscjohnson4 shared a beautiful sunset photo with a line of trees silhouetted in the foreground, while @randallpeck captured the sun’s rays through the branches of a tree.

Line (week 23)

Sandra at Wild Daffodil shared her post about a beautiful lino print she’d made for this challenge. Meanwhile on Instagram, Randall Peck shared the most beautiful photograph of a solitary bird sitting on a power line against an orange sky. Thinking outside the box, Sandra @capanosandra opted for the plimsoll line on a large tanker moored in Gibraltar’s port.

Tiny (week 24)

The most adorable tiny floral arrangement in a little tea cup was Sandra at Wild Daffodil’s entry for Tiny. Tammy (@tsdailytreasures) captured a little bug on a blade of grass, and insects also featured in the pictures by @randallpeck and @capanosandra too. Randall caught the moment as one bird flew to another to share an insect for dinner and Sandra opted for the bane of my life in the summer months… ants!

Midsummer (week 25)

‘Phonhenge’ was the title of @randallpeck’s summer solstice Instagram photograph which made me chuckle. He managed to catch a picture of the sun just peeping out around the side of his mobile phone. Jan @isisjem opted for a beautiful shot of a path across a green field which was taken on her summer solstice countryside walk. For @hookstitchsew, marigolds mean midsummer to her.

Tall (week 26)

Over on Instagram @mrsscjohnson4 shared a photo of the control tower at Mallory Park race track for her ‘tall’ image, Sandra (@capanosandra) chose to share a photo of The Four Columns (Les Quatre Columnes in Catalan) which she photographed on her recent trip to Barcelona. While Susan @bluejake235 chose Blackpool Tower as the subject of her ‘tall’ photo, @hookstitchsew featured her very tall pea plants as the stars of her tall entry. Perhaps the tallest thing of all to feature was Alison (@alisoninandalucia)’s picture of the Burj Khalifa.

Thank you to everyone who has joined in with the Postcard from Gibraltar Friday Photo Challenge so far this year, it’s amazing to think that we are already more than halfway through already! Here’s to lots more lovely photographs over the next 6 months!

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 #124 25.2.18

~ Making Stitches ~ 4 Comments

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

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

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

Sunset across the Bay

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

Seaside blanket silliness

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

Dressmaking class

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

Crochet confusion

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

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

Blue skies

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

Watercolour daffs

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

I love it when a plan comes together…

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

Batman update….

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

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

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