watercolour

Sunday Sevens #19 21.2.16

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A special Sunday 

 Last Sunday was a rather special day for me, on a personal note, one of my best friends (who used to live in Gibraltar) came back to visit with her family for half term. Despite being on a flight at the crack of dawn, failing to land at Gibraltar due to 80km per hour winds and the plane being struck by lightning they successfully landed at Malaga and got the bus down to Gibraltar to meet up with nearly 30 friends for a great (late) lunch at Queensway Quay marina. It was so lovely to have the old gang reunited and there were a few emotional moments. The photo above was taken as we left the marina to head home between the storms! 

Aside from that on a Postcard from Gibraltar note I had my most successful day yet. My post from last Saturday, about Gib Talks went bananas on social media locally and my viewing figures went through the roof. I woke to find I already had 39 views that day and that grew every time I looked at my phone to the hundreds!!! Thank you to everyone who has supported me on my blogging journey so far and hello and welcome to anyone who’s new to Postcard from Gibraltar, it’s lovely to have you along for the journey!

Curtain 3 completed! 

 I’m very pleased to say I’ve managed to make up any lost ground in my Home Furnishings course and in this week’s lesson I started and completed a curtain! It was a standard tape topped curtain in a very bland sample material. I have already bought the fabric for my next project and I promise it’s a bit jazzier than the previous three off-white offerings as I’m bored of that colour now.

A new week, a new skirt 

 As soon as one skirt had been completed on my dressmaking course it was time to crack on with the next one. From gathers to a full-circle skirt. This week’s lesson saw no sewing at all, instead there was measuring, drawing, cutting out and sticking. Firstly I had to redraw the pattern for a plain simple skirt to my own measurements, then adjust it to make a full skirt. That’s my carefully drawn out pattern sliced into strips like a grass skirt and then fanned out and stuck onto a bigger piece of paper. Also in the picture is the material I’m using to make it. I love this fabric, I bought it from a reduced / special offer basket at a fabric shop near my parents’ home before we moved to Gibraltar – that makes it coming up to 7 years old. I liked it so much I was frightened of making a hash of it. Now I can make my skirt with the help of an expert dressmaker, and not just bodge it together on my own – I’m so glad I waited!

Watercolour florals 

 After finishing my door painting last week, I decided to take a floral break from architecture for a change. I’m happier with the top 2/3 of this painting of fuschias than I am with the buds at the bottom, but it made a refreshing change before I get architectural again next week. I think I’ll try a window next. 

A bit of flower power 

 Our bougainvillea is doing really well on our balcony at the moment. It’s been such a grey and damp week weather wise, but this shot of magenta is a real pick-me-up as you walk past!

Founder’s Day   Yesterday, Gibraltar’s Scouts & Guides joined together to celebrate International Founder’s Day & Thinking Day. It was so nice to see all the different sections of the groups out in force. There was a lovely ceremony attended by dignitaries including the Governor of Gibraltar and his wife, who are the patrons of the Scouts & Guides on the Rock. The young people had been due to parade along Main Street, as is the tradition on Founder’s Day, but strong winds meant that part of the event had to be cancelled sadly. 

Stormy seas  

Those same winds made for spectacular scenes on the Eastern side of Gibraltar and at it’s most Southerly point, Europa Point. As we drove along the coast we could see the sea was very rough and stopped to admire the huge breakers crashing into the cliffs. The road was soaked by the spray and you needed the windscreen wipers going in order to see where to drive! It was very dramatic although perhaps a little scary to see the true power of the sea.

Sunday Sevens #18 14.2.16

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Happy Valentines Day! Welcome to my eighteenth Sunday Sevens post. Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series created by Natalie at Threads & Bobbins. If you fancy joining in check out her blog for more information.

Tab-top curtain finished!  I finished the second of my sample curtains at my home furnishings class this week. I did fear that I’d fail to reach this milestone, as last week (when I was at class I was feeling a bit under the weather) I managed to sew my tabs on the wrong side! I began this week’s  lesson unpicking them all, remeasuring the spaces between, and having to reattach them -only to discover that the bottom thread spool was loaded in the machine wrong and there was a delightful row of loopy knotted stitches below so I had to unpick it again!!! Persistence paid off and I got there in the end. I proudly showed it off to my boys at home to which they said ‘so which window will you hang it in?’ When I said none -it’s just a sample, were very unimpressed at this total waste of my time! 

Pancakes! 

 Tuesday of course was Shrove Tuesday, and that means pancakes! We are a house-full of pancake lovers – well me and the boys are. As Mr Postcard was away in England on business and therefore didn’t need to be fed by me, I decided that we should have pancakes for dinner. Cheese and ham savoury ones followed by sweet ones (think sugar & lemon or chocolate sauce & sprinkles) for dessert. We loved them. I followed the pancakes with a Creme Egg just to make myself feel really sick and convince myself that giving up chocolate for Lent is a good idea. Here goes… wish me luck!

Gathered skirt finished! 

 At last I have finished the second skirt of my dressmaking course. A week of poorly children and a week with a brain fuddled by the germs passed on by said children meant I’d fallen well behind on progress with this course. One fellow student is on her fourth skirt already!!! I’m pleased with the workmanship of it but not so much with the style. It rather accentuates my widest part, so perhaps it won’t become a wardrobe staple. But at least I can now fit gathers in a waistband, incorporate ‘invisible’ pockets and attach a centred zip so that’s something to be pleased about. Next project: a half-circle skirt (I fear some maths is involved to draw the pattern for this -not my strong point, so watch this space).

 A walk in the clouds Thursday was supposed to be Med Steps morning but the weather had other ideas. I woke to hear the rain lashing against the windows. The wind and rain ruled out the steps as it would have been too dangerous, so I took a trip up the Rock via the roads instead. I got a few strange looks from passing drivers (I was the only loony out on foot) and I got completely soaked but I felt better for it!

Sneaky peak at my latest painting

  This was a practice for my current watercolour painting based on one of my photos from my strolls around Gibraltar. It’s a bit like the finished article but not quite, you’ll have to wait until next week for that one ;-)…

Gib Talks 

 This is the John MacIntosh Hall, venue for the Gib Talks event which was held there yesterday. It was a great event and just one example of the vibrant range of cultural happenings which we enjoy here in Gibraltar. Eighteen speakers talked for 15 minutes each on a wide range of topics from depression to dragon trees, bike-riding to premature babies. For more information on it, see my last post A little bit of Gib Talks 2016.

Bunny capers 

 I’ve not shared any photos of our little bunny lately so here he is. He got a clean cage last night and for the first time we replaced his wooden litter with straw and he loved it! He sat there eating it for ages, I hope he stopped before he got a tummy ache! He really is a sweetheart and a great addition to the family. He loves being cuddled and stroked which is fortunate as number 3 son is totally besotted with him and makes a beeline straight for him after school.

Sunday Sevens #17 7.2.16

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Back to class 

  As all the little postcards returned to school this week fit and well, I was able to return to my sewing and watercolour classes. Home furnishings and dressmaking didn’t yield any inspiring photos this week so I only have watercolour represented here today. Inspired by the photos I’ve been taking for my Stroll around Gibraltar posts I have decided to have a go at painting some of the things I’ve been snapping. In this photo I was trying out different techniques including cling film, wax, bubble wrap and salt to get watercolour effects for my current painting. So far it’s going well but I want to wait until it’s finished to show you. 😉

A big noisy plane  At football training this week we were entertained by watching this huge RAF plane take off. It was enormous, the photo doesn’t do it justice. The noise was pretty awesome too. How on earth it got off the ground – I have no idea!!

 Fairies at the bottom of our patio? 

On a trip to hang out the washing this week I spied a couple of cheeky toadstools which had popped up in one of the flowerbeds on our patio. As they are associated with cool damp weather, winter/spring is a good time for them here as the autumns tend to be pretty dry.

Hot pink!

The bougainvillea on our patio’s doing well too at the moment.   

Blossom’s out
And just look – the orange and lemon trees are blossoming! We have just 3 or 4 flowers open so far but the smell… Ahh it’s divine! 

Europa Point in the sunshine
Saturday was a beautiful day again and we took the scooters out for a trip to the park at Europa Point. Our eldest opted out of the trip so that meant I was able to use his scooter and joined in the fun!!We scooted round the park, past the lighthouse and along the promenade above the crashing waves below. It was great fun and of course ended with ….

 Ice cream! 

It would have been very rude not to, don’t you think?? I can personally vouch for the chocolate variety – it was delicious! 

I hope you have had a good week. Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series created by Natalie at Threads & bobbins.

  

Sunday sevens #15 24.1.16

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Processionary caterpillars  At this time of year we see this interesting phenomenon – the march of the progressionary caterpillars. They are pine caterpillars which live in pine trees (as the name suggests) and when they are on the hunt for food they head off for a walk to the next nearest pine tree in a long line. They are not as cute as they appear though as they give off a poison in the hairs on their backs which can cause irritation to humans and be very dangerous to animals. A good friend of mine almost lost her family dog after she tried and eat one of these. Anyway, these were taking a walk across one of the paths in the Alameda Botanical Gardens last Sunday and Mr Postcard took the photo for me.

Med Steps challenge update  I only managed one trip up the Med Steps this week but I am very pleased to say that I reached a huge personal milestone and did the double. I managed to climb them twice in one hour and forty minutes. I’m very pleased with that effort and delighted that I have overcome the hurdle of being able to do it more than once. I am still a long way off managing the five times required for the Med Steps challenge but I’m closer to achieving it than I was this time last week!

Curtain no 1 finished In my home furnishings class I completed my first sample curtain this week – a rod pocket curtain. Here it is in all it’s glory. Next stop a tab top version…
Meet the newest member of the Postcard family  Please allow me to introduce you to our newest family member. He’s cute, fluffy and doesn’t say much. We’ve only ever kept goldfish before now, so we’re on a steep learning curve with bunny.  He’s going to be a ‘house rabbit’ as both our balcony and patio get a lot of direct sunlight so we worry it would be too hot for him to stay outside permanently. He’s currently residing indoors in the biggest cage we could find in the pet shop but we are hoping to make him a bigger ‘run’ so that he can stretch his legs without us having to watch him constantly. So far his trips out of the cage have seen him making bee line for the edge of rugs and electric wires for a bit of a nibble! It feels so mean to keep him locked up but there are too many hazards for him at the moment to let him have free reign. Any tips on indoor rabbit keeping you can share would be gratefully appreciated. You may be seeing more of him…🐰

Skirt number 2 underway Two weeks into term and my second skirt is coming together quickly in my dressmaking class. This time it’s a corduroy gathered skirt. Its pockets, seams & zip are done. Bring on the waistband, gathers & hem :-). I shall do a big reveal once it’s completed (and if I’m happy with the finished article 🙂 ).

Star struck
I got a little bit star struck this week. I posted this photo on Instagram of me darning in my endy bits on my Attic 24 Cosy Stripe blanket and just look at who liked it… only Lucy from Attic 24. Oh my word – how exciting is that??? I told Mr Postcard and Number 1 son, their reaction to this momentous bit of news was total bewilderment…. Well I was chuffed anyway!

Watercolour door

 Well folks, the cling-film came off and it left me with nice textured stripes on my door. I’m not sure how happy I am with the whole picture but it was just a practice. I cannot take any credit for the techniques or the composition, as I mentioned last week, I was copying an exercise in a Jean Haines book called Atmospheric Watercolours (it’s based on a building in Venice). I would love to try painting a real Gibraltar doorway and I’m just gearing myself up for it!

 

That’s all from me this week for Sunday Sevens. I do hope you have had a good week and are enjoying a nice weekend. Sunday Sevens is a blog series and I’m linking with Natalie at Threads & Bobbins. Have a great day! 🙂

 

Sunday sevens #14 17.1.16

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‘Materials’  
Over on Instagram I’m taking part in a 30 day long photo challenge (#30daysofcraftiness). On Monday the theme was ‘materials’. It was such a gloomy, wet & windy day I chose rainbow bright yarn, fabric, paints and buttons to cheer myself up. I thought I’d share them with you!

Home furnishings WARNING: bland photo alert!

 Monday also meant the start of a new course for me. Home furnishings this time. We’re learning to make curtains and cushions (the proper way – rather than making it up as I go along!). This photo shows the mess I made of my side seams on my sample curtain – turns out I’d sewn the top and bottom by accident and I had to unpick them and start again! Such a shame as they were rather neat…

 Med steps training I’ve only managed one trip up the steps so far this week, I’m hoping to fit another one in this afternoon. Thursday was a stunningly beautiful day and as I set off at 10am the sun was already rather hot making it harder work than my previous recent attempts. These seagulls were taking in the view of the Bay on my descent.
 

Dozing apes

 On my way back down from the top of the Rock I spotted these two large apes having a snooze on the bonnet of a car. I felt like having a lie down myself after that big climb!
Watercolour class  Oh how I have missed my painting these last few weeks over the Christmas break. My class restarted this week and my word it was utterly fantastic to sit down and get totally immersed in something calming and peaceful. It’s been a bit hectic for us lately and my head has been so busy with lots of thoughts about what I need to do and where I need to be etc etc. I really loved it! The above painting will hopefully resemble a doorway once it’s finished. The cling film on the wet paint should create a stripy effect on the door. I’m following a technique in a Jean Haines book (which my teacher has) to create a very loose impressionistic style.  Time will tell if I achieve it!
 

Tulips I treated myself to a bunch of these beauties this week at the supermarket- aren’t they gorgeous?
 

New flower Out on our balcony yesterday afternoon  I was having a bit of a potter and I lifted a leaf to find this lovely surprise hiding underneath. I do love these lilies, they were a gift from a friend who lives across the border in Spain. I have tried growing them several times from the corm or bulb but with limited success. This Spanish clump though has never let me down. 

I hope you have had a good week, thank you for stopping by to visit 🙂 . Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series created by Natalie at Threads & Bobbins.

Review of 2015 … well half of it!

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2015 was the year I took the plunge and decided to have a go at blogging. For several years I have followed blogs including Attic24, The Patchwork Heart, Bunny Mummy and  Just Pootling and I have admired the beautiful photography, their ways with words and their beautiful crafts. A couple of years ago I decided I had a long way to go before attempting my own blog but set myself the challenge of taking a photo each day and writing a bit about it. Obviously on some days (like holidays, trips out & special occasions) it’s incredibly easy to snap away and you’re spoiled for choice, on others you are forced to think hard and be a bit creative about what the daily photo might be. This turned out to be good practice for  my blog posts, especially Sunday Sevens.

  Convent Garden, Gibraltar June 2015

Since I gave up (paid) work on the arrival of my first child, I have struggled to find something to entertain my brain, I’ve dabbled in crafts & craft fairs, done a bit of voluntary work and tried and failed to get a job which can work around my main job as a Mum.   

July 2015 (Manchester, Cheshire, Berkshire)

Recently, I guess my friends have picked up on my need to stimulate my brain and a few have independently suggested I try blogging (I hadn’t told them that I had previously considered and discounted it). I guess the planets came into alignment as when the most recent suggestion was made, I thought ‘why not?’ and set off on my Postcard from Gibraltar journey. In order to protect my boys from future ridicule, I decided to keep my blog anonymous for now.

August 2015 (Algarve & Gibraltar)

And so my Postcard from Gibraltar adventure began in June, hence the review of only half a year! We are very fortunate to live in a vibrant and interesting place, so there is never a shortage of things for me to write about, I also now have an outlet to talk about my various crafty fascinations of crochet, watercolour and sewing (friends and family heave a huge sigh of relief).

  September 2015 (Gibraltar)

I have thoroughly enjoyed it so far, I am thrilled when I look back at my old posts and see photos of things we have done and seen as a family, it’s almost like an online journal or photo album (both are things I have started many times but failed to complete).

  October 2015 (Gibraltar)

I have met some really supportive and kind people through the magic of the blogosphere and found inspiration for future projects and positive criticism for my own crafty endeavours. I used to think I was just a frustrated crafter who never had the time to create the things I want. While I admit I still get a bit frustrated at times as there are so many ideas in my head of what I want to do, but looking back at the makes I have documented I can see that I do churn out quite a bit as it is!

  November 2015 (crafts) 

Away from the world of the internet, blogging has also helped me build some networks in real life here in Gibraltar. There are some very talented people residing on this great Rock and I am pleased to have met some more of them during the past six months.

  November 2015 (Gibraltar & Marbella)

I won’t ramble on any more, but will leave you with my thanks for taking the time to stop by and read my blog, I’ve had a great time with it so far and very much look forward to what 2016 holds. Happy New Year!

  December 2015 (Gibraltar)

Sunday sevens #10 20.12.15

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Sunday sevens is a weekly blog series in association with Natalie at Threads & Bobbins.

‘Special’ Christmas card production line  
 Well if the technological option has let me down (or at least my operation of the technology) I’ll go back to what I can do!  Scrap the home produced printed versions and bring out the watercolours! I have to say it was so nice to be able to sit calmly one morning in amongst the chaos of end of term plays, parties and concerts and just play with my paints guilt free (because they were necessary!).

Christmas cards … Tick!  And for the other 50+ recipients on my Christmas card list, sadly it was shop bought ones this year. But they are all in the post now and sigh, it feels like a weight has been lifted! Aaahhhh!

A parcel for me!  I love it when crafty things arrive here and these little beauties took a rather circuitous route south to Gibraltar. I’d been hunting for some fabric to complete a WIP patchwork quilt for a young man in my life as well as fabric for other projects and on reading a Sunday sevens post from fellow blogger Nana Cathy some weeks ago about her trip to a wonderful looking fabric shop in Harrogate I browsed their website and found just what I was after. An inconvenient consequence of living so far away means that shipping costs can often be very expensive, so I arranged to have the parcel shipped to an office Mr Postcard often visits in London. Unfortunately his pre-Christmas trip to London got cancelled so the parcel sat on a desk in London going nowhere until a kind colleague visiting Gibraltar this week brought it for me in her hand luggage. Thank you Mariana from The Copper Kettle blog for bringing it over for me! Once Christmas has passed, I shall set to work on the quilt :-).

Another beautiful sunset 

 I rarely pass the Europa Point lighthouse in the evening but on Tuesday, our trip between football training and a piano lesson took us that way. Dusk was approaching and the lighthouse looked very atmospheric with a backdrop of misty clouds shrouding the hills of Morocco across the Straits. The photo I took unfortunately didn’t quite do it justice. The sunset which happened literally minutes later was a real beauty, I just wish I’d had the time to sit down and  fully appreciate the colours before dashing off to our next engagement.

Panic!  There has been a bit of baking going on in the Postcard kitchen this week. In amongst the chaos of end of term and the Christmas countdown I had a moment of sheer panic when I ran out of icing sugar at 9:45pm… Morrisons shuts at 10… The cakes needed to be at school for the cake stall at 9am the following day… Would I get there in time?!! Yes, yes I did- phew! A lie down in a darkened room was required!

Gibraltar gets ready for a winter party  

 Saturday (yesterday) saw the Winter Party come to Casemates Square in Gibraltar culminating in a Queen tribute act on stage. There was music and dancing, craft stalls and other entertainment on offer.  It showcases something Gibraltar is really good at – putting on events. Despite being such a small place, we have Calentita!, Summer Nights, National Week and the Gibraltar Music Festival in summer and the Gibraltar Literary Festival and Christmas Light switch on in autumn. There really is rarely a dull moment around here!

Wonky weather … nasturtiums in December!  

 
I’ve been reading and hearing about how mild the weather is at the moment in Britain. Well it’s been unseasonably mild here too. I think 22 degrees C was mentioned one day this week as a high. It does mean that it doesn’t feel very Christmassy, well we never get frost and snow, but it’s normally a good deal cooler than it is right now. One happy accident of the warmer temperatures we’re experiencing is that my pot of nasturtiums has bloomed for a third time, these blooms are coming from the seeds dropped by the second flush of flowers in late summer/ early autumn. They are haphazardly climbing up the back of the bench on our balcony. 

Sunday Sevens #9 13.12.15

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 Knitted nativity

  

This gorgeous knitted nativity scene greeted us when we arrived at church on Sunday morning. The entire church (St Andrews Church of Scotland) had been decked out in it’s Christmas finery ahead of the annual Carols by Candlelight service on Sunday night. Sadly we couldn’t attend the atmospheric evening service this year due to several in the family becoming under the weather with coughs and sniffles. It’s a real highlight in the church’s year and brings a bumper congregation with many standing at the back when the pews fill up. The service was recorded by GBC to be broadcast in the Christmas schedules on Radio Gibraltar and our local TV channel GBC.  The knitted nativity appears each year and just looks so lovely – so much work must have gone into creating it.

Please allow me a little grumble…

 
Not the most inspiring photo I know (apologies for that) but it highlights a grumble I have about food shopping in Gibraltar. Mr Postcard went supermarket shopping on Sunday (5th December) and came home with this packet of Corn on the Cob. Can you spot what I’m about to grumble about? The date has partially been cut out of the packaging so that it could still be sold at full price. It’s a common occurrence in the fruit and veg section as swedes often have their labels ripped off and new ones attached when they have passed their sell by dates. Other veg get the same treatment too. 

Yes I know it’s our own fault for buying it in the first place, but if you really want an ingredient for your dinner and the only one available is out of date you have to take it, there isn’t a huge amount of choice when it comes to food shopping here. I agree with selling food which is out of date, but still edible, rather than dumping it in landfill but I think it’s extremely cheeky to try and hoodwink the customer with such tactics and charge full price for items when you wouldn’t be allowed to do this in the UK. Rant over, thank you!

Race against time  

So many gifts to make, such little time! Will this one be finished in time for Christmas or will it just get put to the end of the list for a birthday present instead?! Why do I set myself such unrealistic goals? I guess it’s the lot of so many crafters. At what stage do you give up on your Christmas gift to – make list and hit the shops instead? Perhaps if I spent less time online, that would help ;-D.

Buttons… Buttons… Buttons… 

Well another milestone was reached at my dressing class this week: button holes! It may have taken 18, yes 18 attempts at practicing them before I was allowed to go near cutting them or sewing actual buttons on a sample, but my persistence paid off and I did it! Next challenge: a centred zip (rather than one under a flap, which I’ve already done), then work properly begins on skirt no 2 🙂
Christmas cards 
On this issue, I wasn’t so successful. I’m sorry to say that I quit. I must have printed over 20 in various states of disarray with upside down wording and white borders in the wrong place, so I’ve decided to paint a few small cards for the ‘special’ people and have bought the usual ones for everyone else. I shall, however, get some cards printed PROPERLY in time for Christmas next year. On a positive note, I’m really pleased with how my holly turned out, and at least I still have that, so it’s not been a complete waste of time. 

Cooking with small people

  

My 7 year old came home from school recently saying he wanted us to cook a recipe he’d tried at school – this week we managed to gather all the (out of season) fruit for the ‘stew’ he took great delight in washing and stirring the fruit and it was delicious!

Parties galore  

It’s been parties galore for us lately, umpteen Christmas parties with various groups and clubs as well as a superhero birthday party for a friend’s 5 year old. The party bag yielded an old favourite I remember playing with with my brother many moons ago. Sadly this Spitfire didn’t last long in the hands of a 4 year old but it was fun while it lasted!
Sunday sevens in a weekly blog series linking up with Natalie at Threads and Bobbins.

Sunday Sevens #9 6.12.15

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Sunday Sevens is a blog series devised by Natalie at Threads and Bobbins.

 Monday morning walk/jog

If I’m going to fit into any of my dresses in time for the soon to arrive Christmas party season without industrial strength under garments I really need to lose a few pounds (weight, not money sadly). With my intention to start the week healthily I headed off for a Monday morning jog. It started and ended with a walk and I stopped to take one or two photos so I can’t claim too much exercise was had, but it was good to get out of the house and get the blood pumping and enjoy the views on my scenic outing. 

For those of you unfamiliar with Gibraltar, the above photo was taken at Camp Bay (or El Quarry as it’s known locally, because it used to be one once upon a time) looking north towards Parsons Lodge, a military building from long ago. Just the other side of Parsons Lodge is a small bay where Nelson’s ship,  HMS Victory, was brought after the Battle of Trafalgar. Anyway, I digress, there was a really moody levante cloud forming over the Rock on Monday morning, that’s the huge dark grey cloud taking up most of the photo. There was blue sky and white fluffy clouds over my shoulder!

I took a detour onto the tiny pebble beach at Camp Bay for a moment before steeling myself for the upward climb through the tunnel towards the Europa Point lighthouse. Although I can see the sea from my home (I know, I’m very privileged to have such a view) it’s so nice to get up close to it every now and again and hear the waves crashing on the rocks.

  

The start of a new month…
 

Good heavens, how did we end up in December so soon? My watercolour class was cancelled this week but I  had a small window of opportunity to crack out my paints at home for a change and spent the last few moments mucking about with the actual paints on the kitchen table rather than actually painting! Will I ever get my Christmas presents/cards done?!

Dressmaking
 
In this week’s class I made a waistband for my little sample gathered skirt. It’s just about big enough to fit round my wrist so would suit a doll I reckon. It really is so gratifying to learn how to do this and find out how garments are put together.

Christmas card frustration

  

I have finally finished my holly watercolour painting to a point where I’m happy with it and decided to turn it into printed Christmas cards. My parcel arrived through the post with my printable cards this week – how hard can it be to get them printed? Well for a complete techno dimwit like myself it’s extremely hard. I have no idea how many hours I’ve spent creating and then losing my virtual cards before attempting to print them. At last! I thought, let’s plug the printer in, I’m on the home straight. Alas, no. I cannot seem to get the image right on the card AND the words inside the correct way up…. I think I may have to resort to buying cards again like always 🙁

Tranquil sunset

Aah, that feels better. We have had a very overcast and cloudy week this week so I’m sorry to say there are no ‘blue sky’ photos this week but one evening the clouds did clear in time for sunset. It was beautiful. 

And finally … A surprise party

  

Last night we were invited to a surprise 50th birthday party. This photo was taken in the few tense moments before the birthday girl arrived. It was a lovely evening and very emotional at times. 

I do hope you had a good week. Thanks for stopping by!

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!