salamanca, spain

Salamanca is a small city in the north western part of Spain ~ about 2 hours drive from Madrid. It was the first place we lived when we came here and holds a special place in our hearts. It is a magnificent, historic place, and if you're ever visiting Spain, don't miss it. We spent a couple of days there this past week, so I thought I'd share a few of the pics I took (macro lens) ...

I also took lots of pics on my phone and put them on instagram if you're interested in seeing more. You can find me on instagram via @yardagedesign.

Cheers!

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!

crafty choices

Today I found a patchwork shop. Sounds simple enough ~ they are pretty abundant at home, but here not so much. This little patchwork shop is tucked away in a side street - full of fabrics and haberdashery and sewing machines and ladies crafting at a big table. I didn't want to take a picture ~ it was great just watching Spanish women go about their crafting ~ chattering and laughing. This shop was small but busy - people dropping in saying hello, picking up things. It was a hive of activity, it was heartening and it was lovely. Aside from all of that, it gives me a place to get things I need to make stuff. I now have choices in the type of thing I can make because I have a place to buy the supplies. Priceless.

I couldn't resist this variegated thread today.

Wishing you a great Friday!

today we wandered ...

Sunday is a day for wandering, so wander we did ... around the streets of old Madrid (south of the Plaza Mayor) and around the streets near where we live (near Retiro Park) ...

I couldn't resist the occasional door picture too ... love, love, love them!

Wishing you a great week!

my insta-week

I am in love with Instagram ... I love the filters and the convenience of snapping away on my iphone when I'm without the big camera. This was my week - recorded via Instagram ...

Apartment hunting in Madrid

Date night in the Plaza Mayor

Squirrels in the beautiful Parque del Retiro

The huge metal Toro on the road to Madrid

Ancient monument visiting in small villages

Sunrise on the way to Madrid

It's going to be another hectic week ahead, but full of new things to see and do, so not too bad! I may even get some time to sew - fingers crossed! Have a great week!

P.S. If you haven't already, don't forget to enter my giveaway!

what a week ...

This time last week I was in Melbourne, in my house, working in my studio ... and now I'm in Spain. What a contrast! We've recovered (mostly) from the flight, and we're settling back into Spanish life. I thought you might like to see some photographs I took over the weekend in Valladolid, which has a very beautiful and colourful centro ...

Wishing you a wonderful Monday. See you soon for some craftiness and some new fabric designs!

hasta luego España {see you later Spain}

It's our last night in Spain, and we've just arrived home from a lovely dinner out in town, followed by a walk around the beautiful ancient streets. We dined at Zazu (pronounced Thathu in Spanish because z's are pronounced with a lisp). Little Mister played with the French kids at the next table, and we enjoyed amazing food and wine in the warmth of a summers evening. Europe is a magical place. It's been wonderful to experience as a local (of sorts) as opposed to a tourist.

The Plaza Mayor at night

We'll be back in Australia soon. Until then, have a lovely weekend! Before I forget, thanks for your interest and kind comments about my time in Spain. It's been lovely sharing it with you.

days ...

Days pass by quickly here ... even though they are long and light (about 16 hours each day). We haven't been near an airport for more than a week and it feels good - just hanging around and taking it all in. Here are a few of my favourite pics from the last week ...

A quiet Spanish Street, sheltered from the heat of the sun

"Rain in Spain" on the roof

Ancient typography

Flowering oregano in garden

Amazing architecture and art

There's been a bit of designing going here this week too ... more on that tomorrow.

One last thing - Yardage Design is now on Twitter!

Have a lovely day!

block printing

Block printing is my portable printing craft of choice - when I need a printing fix, I whip out the carving tools, some rubber and some ink and I'm happy! Yesterday, I carved out a couple of new designs ...

I want to re-carve the circus tent design - I like the concept, but I want more detail.

Wishing all of you a lovely weekend. Thanks so much for your comments and emails these past weeks - it has (at times) kept me sane to know you are all there while I am a stranger in a strange land.

zara + knobs

I know the Zara phenomenon is currently hitting Australia right now. Zara is a Spanish store that is now global. They also have Zara Home - infact there is one in the shopping centre near me, where today I found these cute button knobs on sale for just 5 euro ...

My experience of Zara so far is that it's good (lovely stores, great range, lovely colour palettes), but you need to be selective with their products (especially clothing). However, many products (usually the more expensive ones), and most of their homewares are well made, good quality and well priced. Their responsive business model is quite interesting (you can read about it in a brief article here). Have you been to Zara? What did you think?

my {temporary} creative space

I have created a temporary creative space for myself in the attic of the house we are staying in while we are in Spain. I salvaged and old table from the laundry, bought an antique chair at a market for next to nothing (which I love - but how to get it home to Australia!!), and decorated with some of my own bunting and Crayon Chicks crocheted circles ... if only the walls were not sickly yellow!

See the little case on the table? You might remember that I bought it a few weeks ago at the Shabby Vintage Junk Extravaganza - just a few days before we flew out. As soon as I saw this case I knew it would be a perfect, compact vessel for my crafty things. So, I packed everything I thought I might need into it, wrapped it in a towel and placed it safely in my suitcase for the long journey here. What did I pack? A small amount of fabric (mine, of course!), embroidery threads, an embroidery hoop, needles, pins and a pin cushion, good scissors, linocut tools and some speedball rubber to cut, a roll of linen ribbon to print on, some decorations (the bunting and crocheted circles below), an embroidery book, a sketchbook and a pencil case.

There has been a little bit of crafting  - mostly starting things and then getting distracted. I want to do some embroidery while I'm here - it's something I'd like to be good at. I started ... 

I did manage to print some linen ribbon using the little stamp I made ...

But aside from that, it's mainly been about the camera - as I am sure you have noticed with my past few blog posts. Being here has made me slow down, which is a good thing. 

More creative spaces over here!