watercolour classes

Farewell old friend….

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The Rock of Gibraltar painted my me at one of my watercolour lessons

Way back in the summer of 2015, I set off on a blogging adventure. Inspired by the likes of Lucy at Attic24 and several other craft bloggers, I decided that I would have a go at sharing a few snap shots of my life on the Rock. At the time, I had a the unique selling point that I was based in Gibraltar, and at that time, there were no other craft bloggers active on the Rock. I thought that even if no one was interested in what I was making, at least I could share beautiful photos of my sunny surroundings way down in the south of Europe.

The Upper Rock Nature Reserve

I felt compelled to share some of the quirks and beauty of where I was living at the time – a much misunderstood place from the outside. There is so much more to Gibraltar than the day trips from cruise ships and bus tours from along the Costa would have you believe. There’s much more than red phone boxes and fish & chips, British bobbies and Marks and Spencer in the sun. It’s home to a diverse group of people with origins from far and wide, the fortunate byproduct of it’s geographical location at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsular and just a short distance across the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco and the African continent beyond.

The Europa Point lighthouse with the Strait of Gibraltar beyond

Soon I began sharing a series of blog posts called ‘A stroll around Gibraltar’ as I took my camera and later my phone along on walks around the narrow streets and back alleys of Upper Town and into the Nature Reserve of the Upper Rock – in fact my post about the ‘facts and figures of the Med Steps’ remains my most read post to date. I posted more than 200 Sunday Sevens posts and hosted a Friday Photo Challenge on Instagram one year as well.

The view northwards from part way up the Med Steps

I also used Postcard from Gibraltar to share what I was making, from the dressmaking and watercolour classes which I was able to attend once all three Little Postcards (my three sons) were old enough to all go to school, as well as a number of community crochet projects I joined in with from Yarndale worldwide appeals for crocheted bunting and mandalas to Eleonora from Coastal Crochet‘s Seaside Stashbusting blanket and Changing Tides blanket crochet-alongs.

My Seaside Stashbusting blanket inspired by Sandy Bay in Gibraltar

As our family went on trips around the place I would blog about our travels in my ‘A Postcard from…’ posts which included Rome, The Algarve, Carcassonne, and skiing in the Dolomites, as well as UK destinations like Manchester, Cheshire, and Suffolk.

A few photos from one of our holidays in Suffolk as I worked on an Eleonora Tully design from Little Box of Crochet for that year’s Summer Craft Challenge

Postcard from Gibraltar also opened doors for me and I began writing for an online parenting magazine in Gibraltar which now no longer exists sadly, I also got articles published in print for the Calentita! Gibraltarian food festival magazine. In short, Postcard from Gibraltar gave me the confidence to venture back out of my domestic set-up after many years being a stay-at-home Mum.

My Attic24 cosy stripe blanket at Europa Point

In 2020, along with everything else which was happening in the world, close to home for us, change was afoot. We found ourselves moving back to the UK after 11 very happy years in Gibraltar. It was a big adjustment, which wasn’t made any easier by the pandemic, but we survived! At the time, I wondered whether I should continue with Postcard from Gibraltar as it would no longer be ‘from Gibraltar’. I had begun my new podcast project ‘Making Stitches Podcast’ by then, and whilst it brought me very welcome creative distraction – especially during lockdown, I felt I would miss Postcard too much if I just finished it, so I kept it going in a slightly less regular, less sunny and blue skies kind of a way!

I may be in the north of England now but we do still get occasional blue skies!
(Photo taken at Dunham Massey this week)

More than 2 years on from our move though, I think the time is right to say goodbye to Postcard from Gibraltar. I won’t be saying goodbye to it completely though. This blog and all of the previous posts will still be available to read and if you should search for Postcard from Gibraltar online, it will still lead you here. Postcard from Gibraltar is evolving, just as I have, and from now on, will be known as Making Stitches.

It felt right to adapt what I’m already doing to compliment what I have been working on with Making Stitches Podcast. In the last two years, that has gone from strength to strength and is now in it’s 6th Series with more than 50 episodes featuring interviews with creative people from many different disciplines including crochet and knitting (including my old friend Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet), dressmaking, embroidery, textile art, weaving, yarn dying and more. In addition to this, I have made a foray into crochet design myself with the launch of my amigurumi crochet patterns. My life has changed quite a bit from what I was doing back in Gibraltar and it’s time this blog caught up with me.

Looking south towards the Rock – photo taken on Alcaidesa beach

I will still post my monthly Postcards (because I would miss writing them too much) although I can’t guarantee I’ll be any more prompt with posting them (!) and I’m pretty sure I will have another go at a Summer Craft Challenge again next year, so in a way nothing has changed, just the name.

View of Gibraltar from La Linea

Thank you to everyone who has read my posts, liked them or commented through the years and a special thank you to those of you who have become friends through this medium too. Your support, although virtual, has been very much appreciated over the years and it’s that which has kept me going. Who knows what lies ahead?

Thanks so much for stopping by!

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.

Sunday Sevens #143 1.7.18

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Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of Sunday Sevens. The first of July… how on earth did we get to this point already? I feel full of excitement about what the summer might have in store for us.

Without further ado, here’s this week’s round up of what I’ve been up to…

Enforced tidy up!

It’s been needed for a long time, but at last, thanks to the arrival of tradesmen to sort out our rather old fashioned floor tiles, I was forced to sort out my sewing/ crafty broom cupboard. I can just fit a chair in when the door’s open to sew at my machine. Let’s see how long this new tidy arrangement lasts…

Sports day season

So as time marches on towards the end of term, sports day season is well underway. This week I had one to go to. It’s a rather warm affair as you sit on the stand at the Victoria Stadium in direct sunlight toasting nicely like a rotisserie chicken. At least the view is stunning, even if you can’t make out which one of those many children actually belong to you!! There can’t be too many places in the world with a more impressive setting for their school sports days…

Morning sun, again

I realise that this photo is rather a lot like the last one, in that it features the Rock and the morning sunshine. I was parking my car one morning and glanced up to see the sunshine casting long shadows formed by the chimneys across Casemates Square from where I was and thought it worthy of a photograph. I was en-route to my sewing class, unfortunately as I am working on something which is a surprise for someone who may see this, I can’t share it just yet. I will though, later on in the summer.

Bright bougainvillea

The bougainvillea is looking fab throughout Gibraltar at the moment and it looks at its best set off against a cloudless blue sky. This great swathe of red / pink blossom caught my eye as I was walking in South District this week, it looked lovely against Parsons Lodge.

Last watercolour lesson

It’s approaching the end of the academic year for children in Gibraltar and this week, I went to my last watercolour class until September. I spent the lesson working on an exercise by William Newton. It didn’t quite turn out like the picture in the book, but it was good fun. I’ll miss my lessons over the summer break, but am determined that I will find time to pick up my brushes at some point before September.

A new perspective

One evening this week, I visited a building I hadn’t been to before – one of the towers at Brympton. I find it amazing that despite Gibraltar being so small, it can be quite easy to find yourself face to face with a view of Gib that’s completely new to you. My trip coincided with a meteorological phenomenon which is rather unusual for this part of the world. The cotton wool ball effect strip of clouds are called Altocumulus Floccus, and looked rather fantastic.

Happy birthday Postcard from Gibraltar!

I didn’t actually realise it on the day, but this Tuesday Postcard from Gibraltar turned three! In some ways it feels like Postcard from Gib has been with me for a lot longer than that. It has opened doors for me, like giving me the opportunity to write for a couple of publications and websites but most important of all, it’s introduced me to a whole host of lovely people around the world, for which I am most grateful for.

Thanks so much for stopping by this weekend, I hope that wherever you are in the world, you are having a lovely weekend. I’m linking with Natalie from Threads & Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Sunday Sevens #141 17.6.18

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Hello there and happy Father’s Day to any Dads out there who might read this. Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens 🙂

International Yarnbombing Day preparations

This time last week I was installing my yarn bomb in the Alameda Gardens close to the fundraising sponsors plaques for the BioDome outdoor classroom. It was fun to do, and less pressure than the last time I did it (which was without permission). I had some lovely comments, which was fab to hear.

A pair of cuties

On Monday we had another bank holiday here in Gibraltar. My parents were over visiting so we did the touristy thing and caught the cable car to the top of the Rock. Up there, we encountered this pair of cuties. I posted the photo on social media asking for possible captions… the hands down winner has to be Sandra from Wild Daffodil with the comment “So, yarnbombing – what’s that about?” Very appropriate seeing as it was actually International Yarnbombing Day 🙂

Evening out

I enjoyed a lovely evening out on Wednesday with my book club ladies. There was a lot of chat, a bit of wine and good food and it was such fun.

Nasturtiums

I think I have finished this paining of wild nasturtiums now. I’ve been working on it for weeks at my watercolour class and I think I should probably stop now before I make a mess of it!

Passion Flower

Talking of flowers, I spotted this beautiful passion flower on a walk around town this week. It looks so exotic and interesting.

A day of sea mist

In late spring/early summer it’s quite common for us to experience fog and sea mists. The mist arrived on Friday and was ever changing throughout the day. It was fun to watch it change direction, thickness and shape. I also love listening to the ships singing to each other as they blast their fog horns!

Tiny coffee

Yesterday morning we had an early drive to Malaga airport to take my parents for their flight home. We decided to take a trip to IKEA while we were in that neck of the woods. We were there so early, Ikea hadn’t yet opened, so popped into McDonald’s next door for a small coffee. When I asked for a small cappuccino, I hadn’t bargained on it being a ‘tiny’ one! It came a day too late for my Friday photo challenge for this week.

I hadn’t been to Ikea for about 5 years. I had a wonderful time and bought so many things I hadn’t realised I needed in my life, like lampshades and picture frames!!! 😉

Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you have a great week! I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Sunday Sevens #139 3.6.18

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It’s been another lovely sunny week here in Gibraltar, it has ended as it began, with cloudless blue skies. I hope you have had a good week, where ever you are reading this. Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens…

Europa Point

Last Sunday afternoon, we took the Little Postcards to Europa Point to play on their scooters and kick a ball about. Unfortunately, a large section had been cordoned off to allow for the redevelopment of the cricket pitch in time for the Island Games, which Gibraltar will host next year. This means that the football court which they used to love kicking a ball about in has gone – a big loss in our family, and it was rather busy with tourists in the only other open space so football was rather curtailed. On a positive note, it was a beautiful afternoon and the wildflowers were looking lovely.

Bank holiday beach day

We were up bright and early on Bank Holiday Monday (not like us at all) and our early morning was rewarded with the beach almost to ourselves. We went along to our favourite beach of Sandy Bay and had a great time. I crocheted, the Little Postcards dug a huge hole which was constantly being filled with buckets of sea water (for some of the time by me – got to get beach body ready – as if!) and everyone had a whale of a time. By the time we left (around 2:30pm) the beach was getting a bit more crowded. We certainly had the best of the day.

Blooming lovely

I have been meaning to share a photo of my orchids for weeks. I have two plants which I had had for a few years and they are currently in bloom again. They seem to be the only house plant that I can look after – I’m rather good at over/under watering others but for some reason these two specimens are rather happy in my care.

Homemade granola

Always on the lookout for something relatively healthy that the whole family will eat, I tried my hand at homemade granola this week. I found the recipe in a magazine. It was very tasty, and we almost had some left by breakfast time…

Watercolour

For the past couple of weeks I have been working on a painting of nasturtiums at my watercolour class. It’s moving on apace. Still got a bit more to do though…

Catalan Bay

I had a lovely sunny morning walk on Thursday through Catalan Bay. It was lovely to see this boat being built/repaired. Apart from the workers getting the beach ready for the start of the bathing season this weekend, I had the place to myself. I will miss these quiet walks when the Little Postcards break up for summer.

Alameda Gardens Tranquility

On Friday morning I found myself walking through the beautiful Alameda Gardens. I do love this part very much. It was so tranquil listening to the water gurgling down the little waterfalls and watching the sunlight reflected off the ripples.

I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for Sunday Sevens. Until next time, I hope you have a good week.

Sunday Sevens #131 15.4.18

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Hello there, and welcome to this week’s Sunday Sevens. It’s been a bit of a busy day, hence the lateness of this!

Sunshine ☀️

After a dodgy start, last Sunday was glorious. In the afternoon we took the Little Postcards to the park to run off a bit of energy ahead of school starting back the next day. On our return, Mr Postcard and I, took a few minutes to sit out on the balcony before dinner to soak up a few rays – rain was forecast for the next seven days – you have to take the opportunity while you can!

Back in the groove

Oh, how I missed my crochet while I was in the UK over Easter. I took a portable project with me but sadly the hook recommended was too small for my tension and although I had the next size up with me that was too small too… I did the first two rows of 300+ stitches and frogged it three times before giving up.

There was a lovely looking yarn shop in Sidmouth where we stayed but it was closed (understandably) over Easter weekend, and in London, we took a big diversion one day to visit Loop in Islington (a gorgeous yarn emporium). They had every size hook imaginable in stock apart from the size I needed – grrr! Never mind, I got to scratch my crochet itch on our return and managed to catch up on about 3 weeks worth of rows of the Coastal Crochet Seaside Stash Busting Blanket.

Med Steps training

I’m committed to doing the Med Steps 5 Challenge again in May this year, but so far my training hasn’t gone to plan very well. On Monday I managed a first for this year, twice round! The second trip was not easy at all but it feels like I’m finally getting somewhere!

As you can see above, I started the first trip up in drizzle with a rainbow in the Bay and finished the second in sunshine….

Back to art class

It feels like it’s been a long, long time since my last watercolour class. It’s got to be about a month since I last put pencil or brush to paper. This week I headed back to my class and began a new ink and watercolour painting, freesias this time.

Happy post & a bumble bee 🐝

I have been meaning to go and pick up a parcel from the post office since we returned from our Easter trip to England and a message on the radio gave me the kick up the behind I needed. The parcel post is moving locations across Gibraltar this weekend, to make way for a new school building project.

I didn’t want my parcel to get lost in the move, so hot footed it over to pick up my latest Little Box of Crochet. Being a native Mancunian, I just love my bumble bee brooch! I also have a friend who’s expecting a baby girl, so I have just the person in mind for that crochet project, once it’s complete!

Wet, wet, wet!

This week, we had storms on Tuesday and again on Thursday. It was pretty wet for us on Friday too but I persevered and climbed up the again on Friday. The Steps were closed on Wednesday and Friday after the storms so I went up the road on the other side instead. I’m chuffed with myself that I managed 3 training sessions in total this week.

Football crazy

Yesterday meant lots of football, and with it lots of very welcome sunshine. We had a league match to attend in the morning for one Little Postcard and then a 5-a-side tournament in the afternoon. Never a dull moment in this house!

And that, as they say, is that. Sunday Sevens complete for another week. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have had a good week and that the week ahead is kind to you.

I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for the Sunday Sevens blog series.

Sunday Sevens #124 25.2.18

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

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

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

Sunset across the Bay

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

Seaside blanket silliness

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

Dressmaking class

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

Crochet confusion

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

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

Blue skies

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

Watercolour daffs

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

I love it when a plan comes together…

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

Batman update….

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

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

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

Sunday Sevens #120 28.1.18

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Hello there and welcome to this edition of Sunday Sevens. I hope you have had a good week. Our lovely weather of late is changing sadly so perhaps this might be the last Sunday Sevens with clear blue skies for a while, so for that reason there are eight pictures not seven this week. I have a feeling next week’s Sunday Sevens will be on the grey side….. Anyway, here it is:

Finished at last!

Last Sunday I finished the last row of the border and weaved the million endy bits in, to complete this green blanket for a certain Little Postcard with a penchant for all things green. It was started as a Christmas gift for Christmas 2016 and actually was going to be based on Minecraft blocks (hence the solid squares). I’m not the best at sticking to a project however, so when it became apparent I wouldn’t hit the December 2016 deadline it was put away for another time. In the meantime, the fascination with Minecraft waned slightly so I opted for just green squares (with a bit of blue variegated yarn too) and a grey border to bring it all together. He’s very happy with his new blanket and snuggles under it on his bed at night time now – perhaps it was worth the wait!

Sunday evening by the water

On Sunday evening we went into Ocean Village for a spot of dinner and as we headed for home were greeted by this lovely view. The sunset was almost gone but the colours of the sky and the Sunborn boat hotel lights looked pretty reflected in the water.

Coastal Crochet CAL (Crochet-along)

As I mentioned in last week’s Sunday Sevens I’ve been cracking on with the Coastal Crochet CAL this week and thankfully Eleonora began this week’s pattern with a reminder to check the stitch count on the blanket so far. It turns out that watching Netflix while working on a foundation chain isn’t a good idea … my first week’s progress was based on 136 stitches and not the 180 it should have been – whoops! I had to start again, needless to say and I’m back on track now – phew!

Car Park Rainbows

I love the way the louvred windows in the new multi-storey carpark make rainbows. I decided to be healthy and take a trip down the stairs this week rather than using the lift and I was rewarded by this rainbow display.

Sacred Heart in the Golden Hour

A late afternoon trip to Upper Town gave me this fab view of Sacred Heart Church during the ‘golden hour’ as the sun was about to set. I have featured the beautiful ceiling inside this church a couple of times before in my posts, but I thought you might like to see it from the outside if you aren’t familiar with Gibraltar.

Watercolour class

In my watercolour class this week, I tried something totally different. I’m using ink to outline my sketch before filling in the colour with watercolours later. I’ve never done something like this before and it was good fun, it even turned out looking like I wanted it to (I’m not the world’s best at drawing – I prefer to attempt to use the paint to make my pictures). Time will tell whether I completely make a mess of it with the paint or not… watch this space!

Dockyard sunshine

I found myself in the industrial estate beside the Dockyard at the end of this week. I don’t often show the more industrial side of Gibraltar as most of the time I get bowled over with views of the beaches and the Med Steps. I thought the view through this big arched shed was pretty with the sun shining on Spain in the distance.

Med Steps training

I know I have already reached seven photos and this one will take me up to Sunday Eights, but I had to include it. I heard that our lovely sunny weather won’t last, so yesterday I made the most of the last of the sun and headed up the Med Steps as I might not get the chance to go again for a few days. It was beautiful up there. This photo was taken looking south west across the Strait towards Morocco at the start of the walk before you get onto the Eastern side of the Rock. In the foreground you can just about make out the building site where diggers are excavating the foundations of the new sports facilities which are being built in time for Gibraltar to host the Island Games in 2019.

Unfortunately the sunshine hasn’t lasted, as forecast a few days ago, the storms have come. As I type the wind is rattling our old wooden sash windows and shutters and when we were out this afternoon we saw that several trees have been damaged by the gusty winds already. Apparently gales are coming this evening along with thunder storms, so it could make for an interesting night. Where ever you are tonight, I hope you are safely tucked up indoors safe and well. Have a great week!

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

2018 Friday Photo Challenge (Week 4) Hobby

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

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

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

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

Sunday Sevens #119 21.1.18

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After last week’s sad demise of my trusty iPhone after 3 years of loyal service, I was very fortunate to have Mr Postcard buy me a new one (hooray!). As a result, normal Sunday Sevens service is restored and I have lots of photos to celebrate. Here’s this week’s edition of Sunday Sevens…

Sunshine after the rain

Last Sunday was a rather damp, grey and dull affair but we were treated to a rather lovely sunset. It’s amazing how a little bit of sunshine, even if it’s fleeting, can lift the spirits.

Joining squares

One of my many New Years resolutions was to finish some of the many on-going WiPs (works in progress) I have going on. This blanket was begun back in the summer of 2016, when I undertook my first Summer Craft Challenge.

The plan had initially been to create a blanket for our bed, but it soon became apparent that that would require a gazillion squares and I kind of ran out of oomph. Recently, I became aware of a place which is in need of small blankets for needy children, so I decided to pick up where I left off and get cracking with this again. When it’s complete I’ll show you how it ends up.

Dressmaking class

Over Christmas I was supposed to go shopping for some new fabric for my next dressmaking project in class. Unfortunately I failed in that matter. The local fabric shop in Gibraltar is up for sale and their stock is quickly dwindling. I had hoped to pop over to Spain to buy some fabric from a shop in La Linea, but unfortunately didn’t reckon on the whole 3 Kings holidays so that rather scuppered my purchase too. So, when it came to my dressmaking class this week, I decided to take one of my WiPs out of storage and use my time fruitfully pushing that towards the final straight.

Those of you who have been following my Sunday Sevens for a while may remember this skirt which was supposed to be made for me to wear to two special family weddings last year. I ended up falling in love with a dress in a shop window and that ended up being my wedding outfit, while this skirt was rather, well, forgotten about. Now it’s back out of its bag and ironed, I think I rather like it again, so I got busy on the hems. We’re not finished yet, but I’m heading in the right direction.

Med Steps training

I have managed to get up the Med Steps a couple of times this week. The first trip was on Wednesday, when it was gloriously sunny. Although we did have a water feature to get our socks wet in. A fresh water pipe which was coming out of the Rock high up above our heads had burst and for part of the route, the path had effectively become a stream. It made conditions a bit slippy underfoot. We reported it to the wardens but they were waiting for the appropriate authorities to come out and fix it. As it was high up on the Rock, it wasn’t a straight forward job.

The next day, Thursday, we went back up and what a difference a day makes! The two photos below were taken 24 hours apart. It was very blustery and grey but on a positive note, the water leak had been fixed, so we didn’t get wet feet this time!

Fabric shopping

On Wednesday, after my trip up the Steps I happened upon a good idea. I had been racking my brains on when I would get the chance to get into Spain to buy my dressmaking fabric whilst the Little Postcards were at school, and in between all my other commitments, when I suddenly realised it was Wednesday and that’s market day in La Linea. The market stands just on the other side of the border between Gibraltar and Spain, and is easily walkable from Gib in just a few minutes.

I keep meaning to visit the market but there always seems to be something which I need to do on a Wednesday morning, and I always forget until it’s too late. This week, though, I remembered. I’m ashamed to say that after eight and a half years of living in Gibraltar, this week was only my second visit to the market. Thankfully, my memory served me well and they did have fabric stalls. After much mooching I found some black stretchy satin and black crepey fabric for my next project. Here’s hoping I bought the right thing or I’ll be going back again next week!

My Year of Colour

Over on Instagram this week, there has been a mini trend of creating your year of colour. I thought I would have a go myself and was rather pleased with this rainbow of bright dots. The idea is, that the year of colour website sifts through all your photographs from the past year and picks out the predominant colours and weighs up how popular certain photos were before generating your year of colour. It’s just a bit of fun, but I enjoyed playing with the site.

Watercolour production line

I was on a bit of a roll at my watercolour class this week, working on three paintings at once! I finished last week’s jam jar posy, did some cyclamen in a pot and had a go at some purple foliage in another jam jar.

Another crochet project

I know, I know I didn’t need another new crochet project when I have others on the go (2 x blankets, 2 Little Box of Crochet projects, 2 shawls & 2 unicorns waiting in the wings) but I just couldn’t resist. I’m joining along with Eleonora of Coastal Crochet and her Seaside Stash-busting blanket CAL (crochet-along) well, it is stash-busting so it’s got to be a good thing right? Each week Eleonora will publish four rows of her pattern for you to crochet along with. I think I can manage 4 rows a week… maybe. Check out her blog or Instagram (@coastalcrochet) for all the details.

So there you have it, a rather longer than usual Sunday Sevens, but then I did have a new camera phone to play with. I hope you have had a good week this week and that the next seven days are kind to you. Thanks for stopping by!

I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for the Sunday Sevens weekly blog series.