SALE!

15% off everything in the Yardage Design online shop until the end of 2011 (or midnight Saturday night!).
Simply enter the code word SALE at the checkout.

Happy new year! I will be back in Melbourne by then, and I cannot wait!

merry christmas {feliz navidad}

It's just turned midnight here, which means it's officially Christmas eve! I shouldn't be surprised, but it seems like it's snuck up on me again! We have a full house of Aussie friends and family here in Madrid for Christmas. There won't be any snow this year (devastated!), but it's cold and we're enjoying the northern hemisphere approach to the season's festivities. In Spain, there's not much Santa Claus - it's all about the nativity. Instead of "merry christmas", Spaniards say "feliz navidad", which literally translates to "happy nativity". Christmas day is similar to the way we celebrate, but no gifts are given. That is done on 6 January when the three wise men apparently came to give gifts to Jesus. We can't wait that long - we'll be doing gifts in Christmas day! Our letter to Santa this year included instructions about how to find us in Spain - just to be sure (this was very important to Little Mister Yardage).

Thanks to everyone who reads this blog - for your support, comments and enthusiasm about Yardage Design and my own little adventures this year while living in Spain. I really cannot tell you what a sanity saver this blog has been for me at times! We're going home for a few weeks in January, but we'll be returning to Spain after that, so the adventures will continue. I'm looking forward to some new challenges and projects next year - both for me and for Yardage Design.

Wishing all of you a very happy, safe, hassle-free and fun christmas break. Best wishes for a very creative 2012!

seville {sevilla}

We spent the weekend in Seville ...

We sat under orange trees eating Spanish pastries, wandered the artisan markets, admired the architecture, rowed a boat around the Plaza de Espana, took a horse and cart ride to see the sights, stayed in an old palace, and enjoyed time together. A weekend wasn't long enough ~ we'll be going back to Seville. It is a lovely place. The mosaic of photo's are the ones I posted to Instagram (which I love!) while I was there.

This is me, trying to row a boat ... and laughing so hard that I forgot which oar to use to steer us straight!

It's hard to believe it's going to be Christmas in a few days. It almost doesn't feel like Christmas because it isn't summer here, and we're so used to warm weather at Christmas time. Snow is forecast in Spain for Wednesday, so fingers crossed we get a little more on Sunday so we can have a white Christmas!

Have a lovely Tuesday!

union jack cushion ... my way!

I've had a plan to sew a union jack (British flag) cushion for ages. It's not an original idea (union jack's are on just about everything these days), but I really just wanted to try out this lovely, iconic design in my own way. Using my own fabrics. As you do!

The first thing I did was buy a rectangle shaped cushion. Then I printed a union jack out on paper and worked out all of the dimensions to suit the cushion, as well as being true to the proportions of the design. Then I cut lots of strips of fabric and sewed them onto a rectangle base.

Circa (navy on natural linen/cotton) and Swizzle (deep red on natural linen/cotton) and plain natural linen/cotton were used to create the flag and correspond to the red, white and blue theme.

I really enjoyed sewing this cushion and I love the end result. I think I might sew some more and experiment a little further. In the mean time, it's nice to have prototypes to scatter on the lounge!

A final reminder ~ just a few days left to take advantage of the Yardage Design online store free shipping offer ... until 20 December there is FREE SHIPPING worldwide for orders greater than $35. Simply enter the code word CHRISTMAS at the checkout and your shopping cart will automatically update once the order is over $35.

wordless wednesday ... christmas lights (madrid)

Joining in here today.

wordless wednesday ... wrapping with fabric

Taken with iPhone using Instagram

Taken with Pentax K-r digital SLR

Joining in here. Fabric here.

recipe :: peanut butter hummus

Twitter is an unlikely source of recipes, but the other day I saw someone mention this recipe, so I googled it, realised it would taste better than it sounded, and made it ...

Y.U.M. It is a really lovely combo of flavours - the peanut butter works well with the chickpeas and the cumin, with a dash of lemon juice and greek yoghurt for extra zing! I halved this recipe and it still made quite a large bowl plus a bit extra for my lunch that day! It was an instant hit in this house ~ perfect with a glass of vino!

Peanut Butter Hummus is the creation of one of my favourite foodies ~ Nigella. I was extra especially thrilled when she actually commented on my tweet about this recipe (I know ~ I'm easily pleased!) ... 

You will find more recipes I've made if you scroll down the righthand side of the blog. Have a lovely Sunday!

stocking fillers

After a couple of weeks travelling, I must say it's been nice to just sit down and make something. Yesterday, I started making some stocking fillers for friends and family using a stamp I carved for the handprinted fabric swap. Some little recycled notebooks got stamped in christmassy red and white ink ...

I always have a notebook like this in my bag and next to my bed for writing things down or drawing, so I love giving them to others to encourage them to do the same. You just never know when you might need to record that amazing idea!

{exclaim} handprinted fabric in cherry red used as gift wrap available here

A quick reminder ~ free worldwide shipping for orders greater than $35 from the Yardage Design online shop from now until 20 December. Simply enter the code word CHRISTMAS at the checkout ~ all orders posted from Melbourne, Australia ~ enjoy!

More creative spaces here each Thursday!