So this is farewell....BLOG HAS NOW RELOCATED!

I am excited to tell you that I have returned to blogging.  I have begun a new blog where you will be redirected in 5 seconds.  See you there! *If redirect doesn't work you can find me at www.houseoflane.com*

Hello there! It has been quite some time since I last posted. In fact it has been nearly 3 months.  If you follow me on other forms of social media you will know why but if not....

Our announcement picture we shared on instagram

Yes, that's right, we are having another baby! I now coming up to 19 weeks and things are going well.  Early on things were a little rough as I had quite a bit of morning sickness.  I had the same with Imogen but I found this time harder as I couldn't just sleep it off.  Running after an 18 month old sure makes that morning sickness feel 10 times worse.

17 weeks and my latest make - a new cape from material I picked up at the Brisbane meet up

As you may have guessed from the title of this post I have decided to take a break from blogging.  Things are pretty hectic here and I just don't feel like I have a lot of time for blogging anymore.  It was starting to feel like a bit of a chore.  I have always been told that once you stop enjoying a hobby you should call it quits.  So I am taking that advice on board and taking a break.

18.5 weeks hanging out on the beach on Easter Sunday

Now there is no way I am going to stop baking, sewing and creating.  If you would like to keep up with what I am doing then I will be posting over on my instagram.  And who knows, one day I may return to blogland be it here or on another blog.  But until then farewell and thank you all for reading.  I have met some amazing friends through blogland and I have really enjoyed connecting with you all.  I wish you all the best and I will still be reading along and commenting on your blogs.

See you on instagram x

Brisbane Meet Up - 30th March

Hey there all my Brisbane and Gold Coast readers (and of course anyone else who would like to join!), it is now time for us to be social too! After seeing all the other great blogger meetups in Melbourne, London, Birmingham etc, it is about time for us to have a meetup of our own.

The adorable Liz (Buzy Lizzie in Brizzy) and I are organising a meetup and would like you all to get out of your sewing rooms and join us for an afternoon of chatting, eating and a swap!!  All are welcome, and of course you don’t have to have a blog.

From some preliminary discussions on Twitter, we have decided on 30 March and we already have good interest, even from out of State bloggers! The venue is yet to be finalised and is dependent on numbers, but we are hoping for somewhere at Southbank for ease of transportation.

Have we convinced you to come along?  If so, please leave a comment below with your email address. We will then email once we finalise the venue etc.

More details soon – put it in your diary peoples!!!

What season is it again?

It seems that I am having a little season identity crisis.  Right after making my perfectly summery Satsuki top I have finished up a wintery scarf of perfection.  While I am enjoying summer a lot more than usual this year I am still hanging for winter. It's my favourite time of the year!

But back to the scarf.  This is the simplest knit in the world but it is also the coolest thing I have knit in a while.  Seriously, it has hot pink pom poms! What's not to love?!



The pom poms perfectly dress up what is essentially just a simple garter stitch scarf.  And they're hot pink! One of my most favourite colours.  I love how the pink stands out against the grey too.  This scarf was made using this pattern which I just made wider to accommodate an adult.  I would recommend this pattern to any beginner knitters as it is super quick!

Summer Victory!

I may be the last person in the sewing world to try out Victory Patterns but I finally have.  I picked up Simone and Satsuki from the darling Sarah of Sew Squirrel while at Frocktails in September.  Satsuki was meant to become my Christmas outfit but I ran out of time. In between sewing Imogen's outfit and teepee and all my baking something had to give.
So it may be a few weeks late but this top was definitely worth the wait!  When I first saw this pattern I was going to make it without the shoulder cut outs.  For some reason I thought they just looked really difficult.  I'm glad I got over that and did them because they are my favourite part.  I think the cut outs are what take this top from being basic to being awesome!
I made this with a green rayon that I bought from Spotlight.  Rayon is fast becoming one of my favourite materials to sew with.  It is so easy to cut and sew and has a gorgeous drape.  Although I would like to start sewing with some new materials this year so I better not get too attached!
All in all I am very happy with how this top turned out.  I wore it out shopping as it is above but I think it would look gorgeous dressed up with some nice jeans for a dinner or movie date.  Versatile items like this are something I definitely need more of in my wardrobe.  Most of my sewing in the past has been dressy items that don't get worn a lot.  This year I want to try to make more functional items so more satsuki-esque items will be perfect!

What's Christmas Without A New Outfit?!

Well, I guess it's still Christmas but it isn't as fun as when you have a new outfit to get dressed up in.  In saying that I didn't have time to make myself a new outfit.  I was working on something but it just didn't get finished in time.  Luckily for Imogen though I managed to get hers finished.
Now am I the only person who is ridiculously in love with jumpsuits? They are my favourite item of clothing ever. I own about 5 and I have plans to make myself a couple this year.  Given my love of jumpsuits when I saw this free pattern pop up on pinterest I couldn't resist making it for Imogen.


I used a Christmas print cotton that I picked up at Spotlight.  What I love about this fabric is that it isn't the usual Christmas colour scheme.  I didn't really want to make something that was red & green and overly Christmasy.  I think this is the perfect amounts of Christmas and class.



This was a super quick make which was a good thing as I started making it on Christmas Eve.  I managed to get this made in between baking 2 cakes, cookies for santa and getting prepped for Christmas lunch.  I'd love to make Imogen another jumpsuit in a more everyday fabric so don't be surprised if you see this pattern pop up again soon.

Teepee Time!

 Before we get too far into the new year I wanted to share a couple of things that I made for Christmas. First up is Imogen's main present that I made, a teepee!

To say that I am happy with how this turned out would be the understatement of the century.  I have been thinking about making this for a long time so I have built it up in my mind.  Usually when I do that the final outcome is a bit of a letdown.  In this case though I was pleasantly surprised!

The main fabric is a decorator weight fabric from Spotlight.  I used a basic cotton poplin for the pink portion and added some gold rope to tie the posts and as ties on the doors.  I really love this colour scheme.  Pink, black and gold is just perfection!  When we move Imogen into a big bed I want to give her room a makeover using this teepee as a starting point.

Luckily for me Imogen also loved her teepee.  She crawled straight into it and sat inside drinking her bottle.  I think I would called that a gift making success!

The best part of the teepee is that it can be collapsed and packed away when not in use.  Ideally I would like to have it up in her room permanently.  I am thinking of making a pink cushion to go inside and making it into a bit of a reading nook.  One day!

Top 5 Goals

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a nice night last night and you aren't feeling too sore today.  Today felt like the perfect time to be sharing my goals for 2014.  I pretty much covered my reflections in my misses post that you can see here.  So onto my goals for next year!

2014 Goals

Sew with knit fabrics. Knit fabrics always scare me so I steer clear of them at all costs. This year I want to change that!  My first mission is going to be to sew a pair of leggings.  I found an awesome piece of material at Spotlight a while a go that I couldn't resist so I am well prepped.  Now I just need to find a pattern.  If anyone has any suggestions of a good legging pattern let me know!

Quality of Quantity! This one is not only for my sewing/knitting but also for my blogging.  I want to sew more items that I know I will wear rather than a million little things that will get pushed to the back of my wardrobe.  I also want to use more quality fabrics so that my makes will last longer.  With my blogging I want to focus on writing quality posts rather than how many posts I am writing.  I notice that this is the key difference between my blog and all the blogs I really love.  So if I'm not around as much this year I apologize but hopefully I will be bringing you lots of posts you love.

Make a jacket.  Jacket's are something that seem really hard to me.  I'm not sure why! This year I want to tackle some of my fears and so I want to make this year the year of the jacket.  I am looking at the Rigel Bomber and McCall's 6611 to start me off.

Refashion! The other day I read through the archives of A Pair and A Spare and it has inspired me to start refashioning more.  I have a lot of clothes! And a lot of clothes that I don't wear.  My plan is to do a big wardrobe clear out and refashion some of the things I don't wear.

Take Time to Enjoy Life!  This is a more general non sewing related goal for the year.  I am a very organised list orientated person.  I like to plan things and make sure everything is organised.  Sometimes this can get in the way of me actually enjoying what is going on around me.  This year I want to remind myself to stop and enjoy what is going on around me.  Imogen is growing up fast and I don't want to miss that because I am rushing through life.

So what are your goals for 2014?  Do you make resolutions or just wipe the slate clean and see what the new year brings?